Custom Consoles supports BBC studio upgrades

Custom Consoles has completed a relocation and renewal project for BBC Studios and Post Production, the BBC’s commercial facilities arm. Whilst the Television Centre site is being redeveloped, BBC Studios and Post Production has relocated its London studios business to Elstree and is providing HD TV studios at BBC Elstree and Elstree Film Studios in Borehamwood.

The commission included moving the existing main production desk, production monitor wall and the lighting and vision monitor wall from Television Centre Studio 6 in London to the Elstree studio complex. Three additional desks have been provided – two from Custom Consoles’ Module-R series plus a specifically designed lighting control desk.

The new facility is structured as two separate rooms and becomes the main technical control resource for the 11,800 square foot Elstree Studio D. A Custom Consoles monitor wall at the front of the production control room accommodates 26 video display panels of various sizes plus a studio clock and monitor loudspeaker. Facing this is the main vision control desk which is designed for use by a five-person production team. Technical facilities embedded in the desk include a production mixer, slow-motion effects controller and director-to-camera communication.

Immediately rear of the relocated front desk is a new Custom Consoles Module R desk with three computer-based workstations used in supporting production roles. Each workstation is equipped with a monitor display screen mounted on an Ergotron adjustable support arm.

Lighting and vision control are performed in a separate room. Here, too, the monitor wall is of Custom Consoles design and has been relocated from Television Centre Studio 6. The control desk here is designed for use by a team of three people with support from an additional colleague seated at a rear Module-R desk.

Gary Fuller, sales manager of Custom Consoles, comments: “All of the pre-installed equipment was carefully removed prior to the production desk and the two monitor walls being relocated from Television Centre to Elstree. Once at the new site, the furniture was repopulated and integrated with the rest of the production system. The relocation and new installs were all completed efficiently and on schedule.”