New look GMTV set

GMTV - “Britain's Biggest Breakfast Show” attracts 6 million viewers daily and recently won a National TV Awards for- Most Popular Factual Entertainment Programme. It’s also the longest live terrestrial broadcast currently on UK TV – running at three and a half hours.

The project brief offered some challenging elements, not only, but including budget!

Further in line with GMTV’s directive (to provide a set lighting scheme that is 60% more energy efficient than ‘normal’ TV studio sets) an RGB LED lighting and fluorescent lighting installation was designed in conjunction with all relevant parties to aid with meeting this directive. New technology was designed and produced to meet the specific requirements of a challenging TV environment. The whole of the backdrop is ascent lit and other specific areas within the set are highlighted using the Luxeon LED lighting colourchange system. General and backdrop LED lighting was achieved using fluorescent fittings.

Project Constraints

> Project Budget: £8,200
> Lead Time from Specification to Completion: 3.5 weeks
> Energy Efficiency – Traditional TV sets are incredibly expensive to run. (Aim: 60% overall reduction in headcount and 60% energy saving).
> Technology – Dimming Luxeon LED’s to perform effective colourchange in a TV environment.
> Scheme Versatility – GMTV have a vast range of specific features within their daily live schedule. This places a great demand on the lighting design to be both incredibly reliable and very versatile at short notice.
> Heat Reduction - Due to show length, presenters & guests need to be kept in an environment which offers comfortable temperatures.
> Health & Safety – To reduce the amount of high-voltage cable and weight constraint placed upon the grid.

GMTV is the UK’s longest live regular broadcast for terrestrial TV, so commercial running costs as an issue has arisen in recent times. GMTV wanted to pioneer lighting energy efficiency within their marketplace and achieve a 60% reduction in running costs.

This is the first time in the UK (possibly in the world) that an architectural Luxeon LED lighting scheme has been permanently installed into a TV set to perform colour changing facilities. The scheme offers the GMTV lighting team the opportunity to change the feel and ambiance of the set to suit the dynamic and ever-changing requirements of live TV programming.

The updated lighting scheme and set revamp is part of the series’ continual evolution, aesthetic reinvention and pushing technical boundaries to meet ‘abnormal’ energy efficiency aims for its given marketplace.

Lead Time

Though the Sunstar fittings are available at short lead time (off the shelf), i-Vision manufacture LED systems to fit specific project requirements. A modification of the new Lumos Drive 36 (RGB LED driver – see technology) was achieved at short notice to meet the requirements. In addition, the scheme was installed on a bank holiday Monday, offering little time for snagging before the show went live at 6am Tuesday Morning.

Technology

The ‘Lumos Drive 36’ is a recently upgraded “TV friendly” driver system addition to i-Vision’s Lumos range of LED products. Using PWM (pulse width modulation), LED’s are pulsed at a far greater frequency than previously (2500-4000Hz as opposed to 50-60Hz). This enhances the smoothness of the RGB colour-change so it interacts with modern TV cameras without flicker. In addition, an “S-Shape” curve has also been added to the dimming software. This interpolates the dimming - stopping the visual steps (caused by the DMX Stepping) at the top and bottom end of dimming.

Scheme Versatility

Allard was keen to utilise LEDs because of their rich colour range and diversity, and their energy efficiently and robustness, as well as because it is a new concept for lighting installed TV sets.

For General & backlighting, Allard used 25x Sunstar fluorescent fittings.
For colourchange, Allard & Dodd used 51x Lumos 3 down-lighters, 12x Lumos 3 Birdies and 12x Lumos 400 strips. These are ensconced into the tasteful, modern Miranda Jones designed set, backing the famous GMTV curved sofa.
The LED lighting is used to create different colour hints and identities for the three different sections of the show – the News, the main magazine programme and the women’s section, LK Today, which has its own separate set.

The News programme is hinted with blue, the main programme with orange and LK Today with a glorious, rich, girlie purple (all interchangeable by request).

Allard is delighted with the results, “It’s meant a vast reduction in the amount of fixtures I need to achieve the same result – a huge asset when working in a small studio like this - and it’s a huge leap forward in terms of being able to stretch the imagination and dynamics of the show’s lighting” he declares.
The ability to change the colour and feel of the set at the touch of a button is also a great asset. Being live television, unexpected events, guests or performers pop up every day and the lighting department is constantly on standby to ‘rock ‘n’ roll’ it if necessary. This is also far easier with the new fixtures.

Heat Reduction

See Energy Efficiency & Project Stats. Accurate temperature reduction statistics have not been calculated at this time – though a considerable reduction of heat generation through lighting has been achieved.

Health & Safety

Many of the new fittings are Low Voltage, reducing the need to have heavy duty mains cables placing a great deal of pressure on the grid. The size of the fittings and heat reduction also offer considerable H&S benefits.

Energy Efficiency & Project Stats

> Project Cost: £6916.89
> 550A saving (from 900A to 350A)
> 61% energy saving for lighting alone
> £7.12/h saving (Based on 5.65p/KWh)
> 5 hours/day – Daily saving: £35.60
> 5 days/week - Weekly Saving: £178 (5 day broadcast)
> 52 Weeks/Year - Annual Saving: £9,256 (excluding air conditioning costs for studio)
> Installation Pays for itself in 39 Weeks
> Wattage of fittings replaced: 39,939W
> Total LED & Sunstar wattage: 2133W
> Heat Reduction for the Studio: 37,806W

www.gm.tv