Shine TV Deploys LiveU-Powered Smartphone Rigs for ITV Doc A Very British Lockdown: Diaries from the Frontline

Using expertise gained on its productions of Hunted and The Heist, production company Shine TV uses LiveU technology to create a documentary reflecting the current UK situation

Executive Producer Tom Hutchings at Shine TV, says, “A lot of productions have been put on hold, for obvious reasons. Networks are now faced with finding content to fill their schedules. Production companies are trying their best not to shut up shop, adjusting to new ways of working to make compelling TV in the current climate while adhering to government restrictions. This is what we have done with this documentary, creating TV simply with LiveU technology that provides a real cross-section of what’s happening. It means we can stay safe and ensure we capture great content. Everything in the film – with the exception of GVs (general views) – was shot through the app.”

Drawing on their experience in making technically challenging productions such as Celebrity Hunted and The Heist, which utilized LiveU’s technology, Shine TV began to develop a workflow to allow remote filming by members of the public while maintaining editorial quality.

Having reached out to possible participants, Shine TV ensured each one downloaded LiveU’s LU-Smart app to their smartphone. That meant no crew onsite – or physical contact at all with participants – with footage then uploaded to Shine TV servers and edited from home by Shine TV’s editors. Using LiveU Central to manage and monitor what was being shot in real-time, additional instruction updates were communicated to participants as and when required.

Shine TV was able to adhere to all lockdown rules while creating quality content that still had the desired feeling of being raw and real. Although this documentary is about the UK experience, Shine also received footage from other countries, including India and South Africa.

Tom Williams, the Executive Producer of the documentary, says, “Lockdown is the most extraordinary time in recent British history, and we were desperate to tell ordinary people’s stories of hope, fear, and resilience in the fight back against the pandemic. But how can you film unfolding dramas without ever actually meeting the people involved? By teaching our contributors remotely to use an app on their smartphones we cracked it! A Very British Lockdown is a really intimate picture of the first month of lockdown told by Britain’s families, shopkeepers, key workers, and those most vulnerable to Coronavirus. This new way of filming has taken us behind closed doors into some totally different worlds. We’ve ended up making a really candid, unfiltered film in a way that we simply wouldn’t have thought possible, and certainly wouldn’t have tried, before lockdown.”

Paul Shepherd, Regional Sales Director with LiveU, said, “Once again, Shine TV has taken LiveU’s mobile bonding technology and run with it, this time to deliver a documentary of real power, created in a way that adheres to all lockdown requirements. This is a real achievement. It’s exciting to see it aired on ITV and, of course, on its catchup service ITV Player too.”

LiveU technology was provided by its UK partner Garland Partners.