XL Events at ExCel Centre, London

XL Events supplied video and visual production-- including camera and PPU system, projection, playback, and crew -- for The Big Bang, a 2,500-seat live performance space run in the ICC at London's ExCel Centre alongside the UK Young Scientists & Engineers Fair.

The raison d'être for the whole event was to encourage young people to engage with the invention, fun, and vast potentials of science. The ICC element was production managed for M4 Entertainment by Nigel Mousley and project-managed by XL's Bill Hughes.

Over the three days, hour-long special versions of two high-profile different TV science shows were showcased in the ICC - Sky 1's Brainiac, and the BBC's Bang Goes The Theory, each with two shows a day.

This was followed on the Friday evening by the national finals of the CREST Awards (managed by the British Science Association) and the Young Engineer for Britain Competition. The awards were presented by professor Brian Cox and BBC science journalist Kate Bellingham.

Says' XL Events Rich Rowley, "It was a very exciting event in which to be involved, The turnaround time pressures of 30-40-minute resets between the shows were intense and a lot of precision was required to ensure seamless transitions."

XL Events supplied a three-channel Grass Valley Kayak PPU with three Sony D50 cameras. Two cameras had long lenses and were stationed at the front of house; one was locked off and the other was operated. The third was used as a hand-held onstage for close ups on Bang Goes The Theory, and on a spider dolly in the pit for Braniac and the awards. The IMAG director was XL's Jerry Rosenfeld.

Three 20' x 15' IMAG screens were provided onstage, each fed with a pair of front-projected Barco R12 projectors.

Content playback for Braniac consisted of Power Point and VT files which were played off a Sony Anycast system, operated from front-of-house. XL Events also provided the audio playback system for this show, run on PC based show cue software.

Bang Goes The Theory was all triggered from instant start HHB DVD players backstage. Both systems were operated by Chris Johnson.

Wired and wireless RTS show comms were also supplied as part of the XL package; Rich Rowley undertook the sound design, utilizing the venue's in-house system.