^{Image Credit: Michael Muller / Amazon Freevee}

The Project:

In early 2023, Procam Take 2's Projects Division supported the filming of Monumental: Ellie Goulding at Kew Gardens, an hour-long special which will debut exclusively on Amazon Freevee in the US, UK, and Germany on March 31, following the release of Goulding's fifth studio album, Higher Than Heaven.

Background:

Procam Take 2's Projects Division was brought on board by Director Liz Clare and Producer Kate Sinden of Gold Dust Films as the camera rental and technical support partner for the production.

Monumental: An Artists Den Experience is a series of intimate, narrative-driven performance programmes produced by Artists Den Entertainment. Each hour-long special presents a dynamic performance, exclusive interviews, and venue vignettes with a featured popular recording artist. The special premiere, Monumental: Ellie Goulding at Kew Gardens, will see global musical superstar and United Nations ambassador Ellie Goulding performing songs from her upcoming fifth studio album, Higher Than Heaven, due for release at the end of March on Interscope Records.

Equipment and Workflow:

For the performance filming, Procam Take 2 supplied nine Sony VENICE I and II camera packages with a combination of cinema lenses, including Angenieux Optimo 12x FF 36-435, Angenieux Optimo EZ1 45-135mm and EZ2 22-60mm, Canon CN7 17-120mm zooms and a CN8 15-120mm, a Hawk 150-450mm, Tokina 11-20mm, Fujinon Cabrio 14-35mm, and Sigma FF High-Speed Primes. The cameras and lenses were used in a broadcast workflow, using Procam Take 2's bespoke lens control system, allowing for remote focus, zoom, and iris control.

Procam Take 2 also provided outside broadcast vehicles OB2 and OB3, which served as the control and monitoring hub for the cameras. To accurately represent the beauty of Kew Gardens as the filming location, it was decided, in collaboration with camera supervisor Alex Dodd to shoot full-frame on all compatible cameras. This resulted in visually stunning footage with a sophisticated, high-quality ambience featuring impressive bokeh and drop-off.

For interviews, Procam Take 2 supplied three Sony Venice packages with Angenieux Optimo 12x FF 36-435, Angenieux Optimo EZ1 45-135mm, Canon CN7 and Sigma FF High-Speed Primes.

Crew and Support:

Procam Take 2 provided a comprehensive crew and technical support team for the production.

Because of the venue availability and the season, the performance needed to take place early in the morning, which posed a challenge for the team. The crew could only begin rigging from 10 pm the night before, necessitating the involvement of two teams. One team was responsible for the overnight rig, while the other arrived at 6 am to manage the shoot and subsequent de-rig.

PT2 Projects supplied crew included an OB unit manager, a technical unit manager, eleven camera assistants, a vision engineer, two comms engineers, three riggers, two camera managers, an OB driver, three OB vision guarantees, an OB audio guarantee, and two RF engineers. Both teams collaborated closely to guarantee the filming process was seamless and of superior standards.

Watch Monumental: Ellie Goulding at Kew Gardens on Amazon Freevee from March 31, 2023