On Friday 4th July 2014, HMS Queen Elizabeth, the largest warship to be built in the UK, was officially named by Her Majesty the Queen at Rosyth Royal Dockyard in Fife. BroadSword Productions and freelance project manager Jay Goldson, appointed by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance to produce the event, engaged Metro Broadcast to film the occasion and provide a live feed to the BBC and Sky News. Live video was also relayed to two large screens positioned on either side of the vessel for VIP guests and no less than 3,600 employees and their families to enjoy
London-based Metro Broadcast enlisted local support from its Scottish operation Metro Ecosse to provide HD cameras, a Portable Production Unit, camera crew and technicians. Equipment was installed for a rehearsal two days prior to the event during a normal working day at Rosyth while operatives were busy adding the finishing touches to the 65,000 tonne vessel.
Metro Broadcast’s Project Manager Carmelo Amenta said, “While security guidelines were obviously paramount on the day, Health & Safety was actually our biggest challenge during the installation and rehearsal. Working in a fully-functioning dockyard was a first for us and our procedures had to be rigorous.”
On arrival, Her Majesty The Queen and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, were saluted by the pipes of The Royal Scots Regiment, a Royal Marines brass band and an honour guard of Royal Navy personnel while The Red Arrows flew over the vessel leaving a signature trail of red, white and blue smoke. The vessel was officially named as a bottle of malt whisky was launched on its bow.
Bruce Teggart of BroadSword Productions said, “It was an honour to manage such a momentous event and one of such national significance. Our technical suppliers did a great job of capturing the essence of the event on film for live broadcast under extremely strict security measures and safety regulations.”
Her Majesty the Queen and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, were also accompanied by the Prime Minister and First Minister Alex Salmond as well as 3,600 workers involved in the gigantic vessel’s construction. George Osborne also attended as did local MPs Gordon Brown and Sir Menzies Campbell. The Secretary of State for Defence and First Sea Lord also joined the celebrations along with allies from around the world.