Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Lighting Spotlight: Gaffer Andrew Taylor

17/05/2022

It's like they are always on standby! Panalux's response is second to none. Gaffer Andrew Tala Taylor has built a solid working relationship with the Panalux family over the past 15 years a span of time that includes Da Vinci's Demons, Horrid Henry, The Game, and the latest Tala-Panalux collaboration, FX Network's 10-part series The Bastard Executioner.

Shot over 16 weeks around the Welsh countryside, The Bastard Executioner crammed together a mega-tight shooting schedule in-studio and on-location that didn't allow for down time or delays, and pushed requests for lighting delivery to the brink. The project was serviced from the Panalux Manchester office under the close watch of Regional Director, Head of TV and Drama John Lawton and Panalux Manchester General Manager Colin Smart.

It wasn't uncommon for me to call John in the very late hours of the evening to request kit for the following day, Tala says of the frequent scene and set amendments. While one location was being shot, the next one was being prepped so production ran as smoothly as possible.

Scene changes became commonplace in part because of unpredictable weather that impacted lighting and rigging set up a familiar phenomenon for a Welsh Gaffer. We could be shooting one scene and suddenly in the space of 20 minutes we had four seasons in a single day, explains Tala. It's no surprise though. That's just the way the weather is in Wales so you just need to roll with it.

For Tala and Panalux, rolling with it meant that new lighting lists were sent over to the Panalux Manchester team during recces for next day delivery, avoiding delays and ensuring that production was still on-track.

We've been in similar situations like this where very last minute requests have come through, so we knew what to expect, Colin explains. It just meant that there was a mad rush both in the office and warehouse to get the kit ready and loaded onto the truck to leave on time for the four-hour drive to Cardiff to guarantee that Tala had the kit.

Equipment for The Bastard Executioner took eight truckloads of studio pre-rigging, including a broad range of Tungsten fixtures and an array of distribution and cabling, an assortment of new Arri M-Series lamps from M800s to M90s and a supplement of Arri-Max 18Ks in the location package, and a bunch of Fresnels. An 18-tonne truck worth of lighting equipment and an 180kW 4x4 generator truck were used on location in addition to seven and a half tonnes of pre-rigging equipment and 100kW of lights. Panalux's brand new 80kW 4x4 generator was called to action for the more difficult of the location shoots.

FIRST CLASS SERVICEDuring the course of shooting, Colin put his 25-years of valuable industry experience to good use coordinating complex logistics and the frequent equipment requests, while John liaised with production. Beyond having regular interaction with John and Colin, Tala has worked, at one point over the years, with more or less everyone in the tight-knit Panalux Manchester operations team from office to warehouse to transportation.

They all have their roles to play and if one of them is off, another will step in and make sure that the job gets done in the best possible way, says Tala, commending the company on an attention to personal service and a dedication to quality work. They go the extra mile and I'm always made to feel welcome at Panalux. The boys will go out of their way to help me find what I'm after.

Panalux's personal service extends well beyond productions. Visits to the Panalux Manchester warehouse have resulted in some important hands-on demo time with the latest kit, including Panalux proprietary products - a worthwhile and welcome experience for Tala and other Gaffers. No Gaffer wants to show up on set and see some kit that they haven't ever seen or heard of before.

Uniquely, Panalux offers Gaffers and other clients the useful opportunity to stop by any of the regional UK offices in London, Manchester, Glasgow and Cardiff to try out, play with and familiarise themselves with kit new and old.

While he has historically had the most amount of contact with Panalux Manchester, Tala applauds the company's recent move to open Panalux Wales, predicting that Now that more productions are coming to Wales, it can only benefit production companies knowing that they have the world's largest lighting company on their doorstep. With the help of Panalux and new regional manager Ceiron Jenkins, productions can achieve more with local equipment at local cost.
LINK: https://www.panavision.com/highlights/highlights-detail/andrew-taylor...
See more stories from panavision

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

18/05/2026

For PPI, New Patents and ProCrewz App Development Portend Positive Outlook for 2026

Despite a bumpy start to the year, the provider of event-production support and ...

18/05/2026

Daktronics to Install 11 LED Displays at UNCs Kenan Stadium in 2026

Daktronics has partnered with the University of North Carolina to manufacture and install 11 LED displays totaling more than 10,000 square feet and more than 14...

18/05/2026

CBS LA and Los Angeles Rams Announce Multi-Year Local Television Partnership

CBS LA has announced a multi-year partnership with the Los Angeles Rams, covering exclusive local broadcasts of Rams preseason games, weekly year-round programm...

18/05/2026

Skyline Communications Integrates DataMiner xOps with AWS Elemental MediaConnect Router

Skyline Communications has announced an integration between its DataMiner xOps p...

18/05/2026

eCLUTCH Expands International Distribution and Content Partnerships

eCLUTCH, the hybrid esports platform powered by iKOMG, has announced an expansion of its distribution across Europe, MENA, Africa, and Asia, along with new cont...

18/05/2026

Behind The Mic: Yankees Legends Reunite to Call Game Against Red Sox with Kevin Burkhardt

Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...

18/05/2026

NBC Sports Brings the WNBA Back Home After 23 Years Away

With 22 games this season, the production team looks forward to tweaking and enhancing the coverage After 8,660 days off the air, the WNBA returned to NBC yest...

18/05/2026

A Morbid Weight Loss Trick Triggers an Insatiable Ghost in Saccharine

(L-R) Midori Francis and Natalie Erika James attend the Saccharine premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 22, 2026, in ...

18/05/2026

And the Winners of the 2026 Spotify Podcast Awards in Mexico Are. . .

Last night, the Spotify Podcast Awards in Mexico returned to the country's capital. Now in its second year, the evening honors creators whose voices are hel...

18/05/2026

Roland launch Zenology GX for iPad

ZEN-Core synth goes mobile Roland's powerful ZEN-Core software synthesizer has just been introduced to the iPad, offering a convenient entry point into ...

18/05/2026

leONE from fedDSP

Versatile new limiter plug-in announced Based in Sheffield, UK, fedDSP offer a range of plug-ins that span the music production, live sound and high-end med...

18/05/2026

Viiri Audio launch Aava

A new use for convolution? Viiri Audio's debut plug-in aims to do something a little different with convolution processing, allowing users to adjust all...

18/05/2026

Delta Goodrem shines for SBS as more than 3.27 million Australians tune in for Eurovision

Delta Goodrem shines for SBS as more than 3.27 million Australians tune in for E...

18/05/2026

L3Harris Delivers Life-Saving Robotic Systems to Keep Australian Defence Personnel Out of Harm's Way

The Australian Defence Force uses L3Harris T4 and T7 robots for explosive ordnan...

18/05/2026

CVP strengthens commitment to the DACH broadcast market w...

Continued investment across Europe and Germany is expanding local teams and improving access to stock, regional expertise, and specialist broadcast support. CV...

18/05/2026

VEON Announces Investor Meetings for a Potential Dual Tranche USD Notes Offering and Related Tender Offer for 2027 Notes

18 May 2026 Dubai and New York, May 18, 2026 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), a glob...

18/05/2026

Sky News offers ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes for just 2.99 as listening surges 102%

Monday 18 May 2026 Sky News offers ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes for just...

18/05/2026

Comscore March 2026 Consumer AI Chatbot Usage Rankings Show Claude Gaining Share

Comscore March 2026 Consumer AI Chatbot Usage Rankings Show Claude Gaining Share OpenAI's ChatGPT maintains lead while Anthropic's Claude continues to c...

17/05/2026

Delta Goodrem's Eurovision Eclipse marks end of a stellar run

Delta Goodrem's Eurovision Eclipse marks end of a stellar run 17 May, 2026 Media releases Bulgaria wins Eurovision 2026 Relive every spellbinding mome...

17/05/2026

'Oasis' Premieres on Netflix June 19

Back to All News Oasis Premieres on Netflix June 19 Entertainment 17 May 2026 GlobalSpain Link copied to clipboard Summer, sunshine, the beach, parties. T...

16/05/2026

Eventide & Newfangled Audio release Fixate:Midrange

Helps to deliver a clean, balanced midrange Developed alongside Newfangled Audio, the latest plug-in in Eventide's software collection has been designed...

16/05/2026

Engine DJ 5.0 update now live

Brings onboard stem rendering to RANE System One Engine DJ have just released Engine DJ 5.0, a free update for their Engine DJ OS embedded hardware and Engi...

16/05/2026

Boris FX Continuum Pairs AI Precision and Advanced Creative Controls

Boris FX Continuum Pairs AI Precision and Advanced Creative Controls Jessie Electa Petrov May 16, 2026 0 Comments The 2026.5 release adds automatic de...

16/05/2026

Spectrum TV Adds Free Access to Discovery+

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

16/05/2026

Tower Family Foundation Passes $3.5 Million Milestone

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

16/05/2026

AIMS to Offer IPMX Education at InfoComm 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

16/05/2026

Rise AV Launches Second Year of UK Elevate Program

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/05/2026

Seattle Sounders FC and Reign FC Announce Seattle Soccer Celebration at Waterfront Park

Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Reign FC, in partnership with RAVE Foundation an...

15/05/2026

How Sound Designer Dan Brumm Built Blueys Audio World with Sennheiser and Neumann

Dan Brumm has served as sound designer on Bluey, the Australian children's t...

15/05/2026

Applications Close May 31 for Mark Brunner Professional Audio Scholarship

The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated are accepting applications for the 6th annual Mark Brunner Professional Audio Schola...

15/05/2026

Netflix Expands NFL Coverage With Additional Games Starting in 2026

Netflix has announced an expanded NFL schedule for 2026 and beyond under a four-year partnership extension with the NFL through the 2029-30 season. Each season,...

15/05/2026

Ateme Supports TVRIs SRT-Based Live Sports Contribution and Distribution Workflow

Ateme is supporting TVRI (Televisi Republik Indonesia) with a contribution and d...

15/05/2026

Concacaf Launches New Website and Mobile App Powered by Deltatre

Concacaf has announced the launch of a new website and mobile app built on Deltatre's FORGE platform. Concacaf.com and the mobile app, available on iOS and ...

15/05/2026

Qatar Media Corporation Launches QBC Business Channel in 4K via Eutelsat

Eutelsat has announced the launch of QBC Business Economic Channel by Qatar Media Corporation, broadcasting in 4K/UHD via Eutelsat's 7/8 West video neighbo...

15/05/2026

Amazon to Serve as Exclusive Launch Home of MLS Original Series Cup Dreams on May 14

Major League Soccer has announced four original content series timed to the 2026...

15/05/2026

AIMS to Focus on IPMX Education at InfoComm 2026

The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has announced it will exhibit and present at InfoComm 2026, taking place June 13-19 at the Las Vegas Convention Cente...

15/05/2026

InfoComm 2026To Feature Sports, Broadcast, and Live Event Technologies

InfoComm 2026 will take place June 13-19 (exhibits June 17-19) at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The show will include sessions and exhibits covering broadcas...

15/05/2026

Tracy McGradys Ones Basketball League Signs First Streaming Agreement with Fubo Sports Network

Tracy McGrady's Ones Basketball League (OBL) and FuboTV Inc. have announced ...

15/05/2026

Disguise and Creative Technology Return for Eighth Year at Eurovision Song Contest 2026

Disguise has partnered with Creative Technology (CT) to deliver visual playback ...

15/05/2026

Sony Announces Alpha 7R VI Camera and FE 100-400mm F4.5 GM OSS Lens

Sony Electronics has announced two new products for professional imaging: the Alpha 7R VI full-frame mirrorless camera and the FE 100-400mm F4.5 GM OSS super-te...

15/05/2026

SVG GameDay, Ep. 15: New Jersey Devils Joe Kuchie - Growing the Game in the Garden State

In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...

15/05/2026

Ratings Roundup: ESPN Secures Top Viewed Second Round Game 4 of Stanley Cup on Cable; NBA Draft Lottery Viewership Up 23%

Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...

15/05/2026

The Future of Sports Analytics: Building Trust and Intelligence With SmerSports and Cisco

For sports organizations, the most valuable assets are often the most sensitive:...

15/05/2026

NFL Broadcast Schedule Roundup: Breaking Down CBS, ESPN, FOX, NBC, Netflix, and Prime Lineups

The NFL's broadcast partners released their 2026 regular season schedules ye...

15/05/2026

Netflix Steps Into the Cage for First MMA Production With Rousey-Carano Showdown at Intuit Dome

Besides drawing on experience with boxing, the production integrates specialty c...