Philip Stevens discovers how social distancing has been implemented for Later...With Jools Holland
By Philip Stevens
Published: May 22, 2020
Philip Stevens discovers how social distancing has been implemented for Later With Jools Holland
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin> Philip Stevens discovers how social distancing has been implemented for Later With Jools Holland
https://www.tvbeurope.com/production-post/making-music-at-a-distance title=Share via Email class=share-email>
Later with Jools Holland has been the home of live music for almost 28 years on BBC Two, having started back in 1992 and with over 350 shows to date. It is known over the world for its live performance format with all the artists in the studio at the same time, taking it in turns to perform with Jools at the helm. It is also known for giving a TV platform to brand new artists as well as established names and in recent years has offered up TV debuts to the likes of Adele, Amy Winehouse, Arctic Monkeys, Ed Sheeran, Stormzy, Gregory Porter, Christine & The Queens and many more!
But, like many programmes, Later with Jools Holland has needed to adapt to the lockdown restrictions in the current situation surrounding Covid-19. So, what changes have been implemented with the new series that started on 15th May?
We had to move away from Television Centre in west London, explains Alison Howe, executive producer, BBC Studios. But we are lucky in that Jools has his own studio based in south London. This is his musical home, it's where he rehearses, where he records and where he collaborates with artists. He opened that up for us to do the shows from there, because it would have been difficult to find an alternative natural home for the show's format. It feels in keeping with what we'd normally do, but also gives the audience an insight into Jools' own music world.
Howe points out that the studio show is normally transmitted live (or as live) so this has been a whole new experience for the production team. We decided that we wanted to match the production values of our usual show where we could, so pre-recording the show gives us the chance to make sure the sound and pictures are the best they could possibly be.
New look The revised approach meant the team had to rethink the production format for the show. We need to fill the time differently and engage the audience with someone's personal story and the archives, for the first show this was Christine and the Queens. Laura Marling also shot a performance herself, we gave her a style guide of how we want to do performances in terms of the look, sound, camera angles etc.
For a future programme the team worked with Lianne La Havas from her home, again with guidance and technical help in terms of what was needed to deliver the best possible performance within each show.
One of the things we were all quite keen on achieving in getting these specially shot performances is that they were of the highest possible quality, explains Howe. A lot of work was put into how they're captured, what they're recorded on and the sound quality, so it's all in keeping with the normal high levels of production that we achieve when we make the show in the studio. We've put a lot of effort working with artists in the delivery to ensure we're all collectively creating something with which we are all proud.
She adds, This is a 45-minute show and we want to hear as much detail as we can about our guest's musical story so it feels about right to feature a single artist.
Howe says she is keen to see if performances from Holland's studio space can be included but, at the moment, that is not possible because of social distancing.
On the ground at that studio there is a two-person crew filming and capturing the guest interviews that take place over Zoom, and recording the links needed to be included in other parts of the show. Two cameras are used, one locked off, the other manned with an operator maintaining social distancing. Normally, we would have a full multi camera operation, a full sound team and a floor and design team. The audience normally comprises 250 to 300 people, and five or six artists and interviews. It's a very full busy show and we know how to do that. But something different was needed for these unusual times.
She concludes, It was challenging, and indeed a little scary, to start with as we had never made the show any other way than in a regular studio. However, it's been incredibly exciting to almost start again, learn how to do things differently and offer the audience a different type of Later with Jools Holland. A small team of people have worked very hard to bring an established music show to the BBC Two schedule in a new way and so far after one show, the response has been terrific. The mix of Jools with a great and interesting guest with stories to tell, unrivalled archive as well as some new performances has offered up a real visual and sonic treat at a time when its most needed.
SubscribeFor more stories like this, and to keep up to date with all our market leading news, features and analysis, sign up to our newsletter here.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Bitmovin, a leading provider of video streaming infrastructure, and Akamai, the cybersecurity and cloud computing company that powers and protects business onli...
04/06/2026
American Underground (AU), the Startup Hub of the South and a community of mor...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
NVIDIA and Microsoft Reinvent Windows PCs for the Age of Personal AI
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
RTX Spark - a 1-Petaflop Superchip, the Full...
04/06/2026
Inside the Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man Grade
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
Simone Grattarola discusses shaping the look in DaVinci Resolve...
04/06/2026
Cine Gear Expo Announces 2026 Awards of Excellence Recipients
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
Ed Lachman ASC, Caleb Deschanel ASC, and M. David M...
04/06/2026
St. Vincents Live with Orchestra Tour to Feature Berklee Alum Ruby Plume Berklee alumni St. Vincent and Ruby Plume will appear on the same bill across seven d...
04/06/2026
Keeping conversations real on LinkedIn Published on Jun 4, 2026 Categories: Product News
LinkedIn Corporate Communications
Share
LinkedIn
Facebook ...
04/06/2026
BackStory follows four Irish young people as they travel back to their parents' homelands
Modern Irish identity is enriched by cultures and influences from...
04/06/2026
June's forecast with GeForce NOW: 100% chance of gaming.
GeForce NOW is lining up new adventures for the month, from big-name blockbusters to quirky indies...
03/06/2026
SES and Viva, Mexico's ultra low-cost airline, have launched multi-orbit satellite inflight connectivity on Viva's Airbus aircraft. A total of 60 A320s ...
03/06/2026
The College Football Playoff, ESPN, and TNT Sports have announced kick times and...
03/06/2026
RED Digital Cinema will exhibit at Cine Gear Expo 2026 (Booth 33, June 5-6, Universal Studios Lot), hosting three panels and hands-on product demonstrations.
P...
03/06/2026
Roku has announced the Soccer Zone, a dedicated hub for FIFA World Cup 2026 content available across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Argent...
03/06/2026
Liverpool FC and Wasabi Technologies have announced a multi-year extension of their partnership, with Wasabi continuing as the club's official cloud storage...
03/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced that Australian News Channel (ANC), operator of Sky News Australia, has deployed Grass Valley AMPP as part of the relocation of its n...
03/06/2026
The Riedel Group has announced the appointment of Gudrun Scharler as CEO of Riedel Networks. She succeeds Michael Martens, who has led Riedel Networks since 201...
03/06/2026
Clear-Com has announced the deployment of its intercom solutions at Itaka Arena ...
03/06/2026
Scott Coker has announced six senior executive appointments for his new global MMA promotion, which launched earlier this year with $60 million in financing. Ad...
03/06/2026
Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the FIFA World Cup 2026, has announced its digital and social media programming for the tournament, running Ju...
03/06/2026
The Bundesliga has announced the launch of Captain, an AI assistant built into t...
03/06/2026
Anthony James Partners (AJP) is serving as technology consultant for a moderniza...
03/06/2026
Audio-Technica has announced the recipients of its annual sales rep firm awards for the 2025-26 fiscal year. The awards were presented by Jim Schanz, Executive ...
03/06/2026
iodyne will exhibit at Cine Gear Expo 2026 alongside RED Digital Cinema and Adob...
03/06/2026
The broadcaster will deploy 39 cameras for game coverage, six cameras for studio...
03/06/2026
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is providing a great opportunity for not only Fox Sports...
03/06/2026
Sony Electronics is introducing the SRG-AS10, a 4K 60p compatible PTZ Auto Framing camera that uses Sony's proprietary AI to automatically recognize and tra...
03/06/2026
Game Creek Video's Flagship A, B, C, and D unit will wind up its first year ...
03/06/2026
According to Caretta Research, the sports-rights market may be hitting the brake...
03/06/2026
Retrieval still courtesy of Tribeca.
By Jessica Herndon
This year, the Tribeca...
03/06/2026
Step sequencer-style panning tool revealed
Alongside their flagship self-titled sound-design platform, Sound Particles offer an array of creative effects an...
03/06/2026
Now features full H90 algorithm library
Eventide have announced the upcoming launch of the H9 Harmonizer Gen 2, a new and improved version of their hugely p...
03/06/2026
Significant discount available until 1 October 2026
Aim Audio have just announced a promotion that sees a significant discount applied to their Essence micr...
03/06/2026
Clarification: SBS's position on definitions of antisemitism
3 June, 2026
Media releases
Statement by Mandi Wicks, SBS Director of News and Current Aff...
03/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz to supply CERTIUM advanced communications system to Memmingen Ai...
03/06/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
03/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
Philip Stevens discovers how social distancing has been implemented for Later...With Jools Holland
