#boltonfm

On the 20th June 2015, Bolton played host to the 9th annual Midnight Memories walk in aid of Bolton Hospice. Being part of the Bolton FM technical team and now the lead in the station’s video production, I was tasked with filming the event for projection to a live audience of over 1,500, as well as rendering the footage in the form of highlights to promote next year’s event.

We met that afternoon on the Town Hall steps. Flight cases, lighting, cameras and a lot of cables. The crowd would arrive that evening for registration while we ran warm up events to get the masses excited. The walk raised £80,000 for the Hospice last year and we were keen to help smash this record.

Much like our last event with Bolton Hospice (Strictly Learn to Dance), we set up a large projection screen, produced a media overlay with sponsors, and connected our cameras to our Blackmagic ATEM Television Studio via STI. The only difference with my camera being out in the crowd (much like being on the dance floor with Strictly), we opted for a wireless transmission system eliminating problems with cabling we encountered last time. This new-found freedom got me up close with the crowd, capturing their excitement and passion for this charitable cause.

As the walkers began their 8 mile journey around Bolton at 10pm, I quickly captured what I could before returning to the Town Hall steps to wait for their return.