When Sparkly Light went to Kendal
Last year, the Coronavirus pandemic threw challenges at us all. It wasn't just our health and well-being we had to protect, but our livelihoods too. Individuals had to make changes to the way they worked, where they worked, and how they communicated with each other.
As lockdown hit, it looked like the world of broadcast had shut down too - with the exception of news outlets. But, as the year progressed, broadcasting learnt to live again as new ways were found to produce new content. Lockdown has tested us all but among the challenges coronavirus has brought, there have been some unexpected positives too.
One project I fondly remember began in September of last year. I was approached by the team behind the Kendal Mountain Festival and given the mission to help them ensure a presence in the world for 2020; the year the Festival was set to celebrate its 40thanniversary. In pre-Covid times, it had grown to become a four-day annual gathering attracting up to 20,000 people to the small market town of Kendal in the Lake District. There the festival goers would experience talks and seminars by luminaries from the world of adventure and extreme sports, survival, literature, and the environment; as well as watching over 200 of the world's best outdoor-based films.
When I joined, the team were well on the way to forming a plan to replace the physical Festival, turning it digital - but they were seeking reassurance their plans would translate successfully to an online platform. And this is where Sparkly Light's experience was to prove invaluable. As lockdown led more events to seek a presence in the digital world, I have realised that our experience and knowledge gained from decades spent producing and directing live broadcasts, was also a valuable resource for those who, until March of 2020, had hitherto not needed it.
My work started on the Kendal Mountain Festival, with my favourite pastime of creating and editing the running orders. My live broadcast experience of decision making, timekeeping, editing and transforming content on the page - all came into play in pre-production. But of course, over Zoom meetings and phone calls I had no real sense as to whether these disciplines and words of advice were actually 'hitting home' and being absorbed by the Kendal Mountain Festival team. So to be honest I was a little nervous as I headed to Cumbria, because my first real gauge as to whether I'd successfully communicated broadcasting essentials to the Kendal team, was when I turned up at the Brewery Arts Centre in Kendal, the day before our first live broadcast - the first of 38 live and as-live sessions.
What followed was without a doubt - one of the most inspiring 10-day periods of work that I have experienced in a long time. And note to reader, here I am very aware of not wanting to be arrogant or patronising. In a nutshell, I led a team of 20+ people with no live broadcast experience, and together we created some incredible content. Session producers learnt on the job, sometimes the hard way, what was needed to produce and direct coverage of a wide variety of sessions. Anything from 1+2's to 2+3's with 5 video-call injects; VT's turning up late, some with black at the top or tail, and expected durations changing; presenters with varying degrees of experience - from zero to network newscasters; guests arriving with unexpected props - or routines even (!); and a set that had to be changed before every session to show prominence to different sponsors. Add to this huge learning curve, the restrictions imposed by social distancing and other Covid-19 health and safety protocols, then you may begin to understand just what an undertaking the broadcasts became.
VT editors understood the need for extra S+V to top and tail their films, and presenters and crew all became used to having talkback and earpieces - all regularly disinfected of course. I remember after directing the first session, I walked from the fly-away gallery down to the theatre floor to see some very white faces. After the inevitable first show hurly-burly, I was nervous we may have slipped up at some point; I needn't have worried as I was met with 'stunned exhilaration'. The floor crew, producers, session presenter and theatre staff who'd been listening to talkback were now very aware as to what disciplines were required for a successful broadcast - and more importantly, why they were necessary.
Over the next 10 days, it was wonderful to see people grow in confidence and learn to love roles they had no experience of a week prior. By the time I left Kendal, we had transmitted over 50 hours of live broadcasts. The digital Festival reached 82 countries, offering 80+ speakers, 30+ literature talks, 200+ films, 14 awards, and engaged adventurers from 4 to 87 years old, and seen in 22,000 homes. Ultimately over two and a half million minutes of curated content was consumed. Not bad for a first-time digital Festival - and something Sparkly Light Productions is very proud to have been part of.
As for the Kendal Mountain Festival 2021 - who knows where the world will be by mid-November - but I have a sneaking suspicion, after this year's success, a digital offering might be on the cards again. Of course, my fingers are crossed for an actual live event attended by thousands of people (all injected with the Covid vaccination of course). But part of me wants to see a digital presence, not only to produce engaging content that will reach around the globe, but also to work again with this wonderful team of people, and re-ignite the passion for live broadcasting.
