Clovis Canopies provide BBC’s Holby City with outdoor canopies

The BBC’s Holby City series designer recently approached Clovis Canopies regarding updating the canopies for the ambulance bays on set.

The series designer asked for ideas on how they could update the existing ambulance bay canopy for the television series after the design company worked with a number of NHS trusts in the UK to update their canopies.

In response Clovis Canopies provided details of units supplied to the NHS around the country.

The most recent contracts for Frimley Part Hospital caught their eye and Clovis worked closely with the series set designer to develop the design to work with the hospital set design.

Greg Revell from Clovis Canopies said,

‘One of the recent contracts for Frimley Part Hospital took their eye.  We then developed a design based on Frimley Park but within the constraints of the existing film set.’

‘The existing ambulance canopy did indeed look tired and was of a wooden construction with a felted flat roof and multiple front columns that were hindering filming scenes from different angles.’

‘The final design had to not only be practical, but conform to the artistic wishes of the film directors.’

He then went on to discuss the design of the new canopy stating that,

‘The rear canopy support on the existing unit was reused.  Roof girders were formed into a flat ‘S’ shape with the high end at the front and a gutter at the back.  The front had only two columns opening up the area for filming.’

‘Roof covering had to let light through but the material had to be obscure, (a request from the set designers) so solid opal polycarbonate was selected.  The overall size of the finished canopy is 6.3m wide x 5m deep.’

‘An unusual request on the canopy design came from the set designers.  All night time shots are actually filmed during the day, so around the top edge of the canopy hooks were provided to fix black out curtains.’

The canopy had to conform to the artistic requirements of a film set and with the use of HD cameras, the canopy finish had to be perfect in all details including the sign at the front of the unit.

The erection of the canopy had to fit in around Holby City’s shooting schedule and story lines.

Clovis Canopies had to work around Holby City’s shooting schedule and story lines for the erection of the canopy and patiently wait for a story line that did not require scenes in the ambulance bay area.

‘The site foreman was issued with a short wave radio when asked why, we were told that filming was still taking place in the adjacent building and when they were ‘going for a take’ all work had to stop as the director insisted on silence while filming.’

The first filming of the new canopy was aired around the end of August start of September 2013.

Clovis Canopies design manufacture and install canopies throughout the UK including entrance canopies, outdoor shelters, schools, offices and hospitals. For more information on outdoor canopies, visit the Clovis canopies website.

About Clovis Canopies

Clovis Canopies design, manufacture and install a wide range of outdoor play shade, entrance shelters,walkway canopies, and glass canopies for schools, offices, hospitals, housing, airports and the wider construction markets.