Sparkly Light

09/01/2026

Some stories don’t need a full stop...

When Sparkly Light Productions was commissioned to create a promotional film for Pages of the Sea, the brief was clear: tell the story with dignity, clarity, and respect.

What wasn’t written in the brief, but became one of the most important creative decisions, was how to end the film.

As the final sand portrait was revealed on Folkestone beach and the tide began to edge closer, we chose not to explain what the audience was seeing. No voiceover or musical cue.

Because the artwork itself was the message.

Curated by Danny Boyle and commissioned by The Royal British Legion and 1914–18 NOW, Pages of the Sea was designed to be ephemeral. The portraits were meant to disappear, just as lives were lost. Adding more at that moment would have taken something away.

In cultural storytelling, restraint is a skill. Knowing when to stop editing, when to trust the audience, and when silence will carry more meaning than words.

That final quiet shot was storytelling with confidence.

08/01/2026

The first week back after the festive break is always a good indicator of what the year ahead might look like.

At Sparkly Light, 2026 has started with momentum. While there’s still that early-January calm in the air, the work itself is already well underway, and it’s been reassuring to step straight back into projects that demand focus, experience, and care.

Ian is currently immersed in pre-production for filming La Traviata next week. These kinds of productions rely heavily on what happens before filming begins. Careful planning, attention to detail, and understanding the creative environment are what allow everything to come together smoothly on the day.

Glenn is spending the week working with Rolls‑Royce and JBA Training, supporting them with training sessions on clarity, precision, and calm in front of the camera. These are environments where 20 years of experience makes the difference and can be handed down to the next generation of presenters.

George has taken advantage of a few quieter days to explore new editing tools, helping us strengthen and future-proof our post-production offering so we can continue to support a wide range of projects as they evolve.

It’s been a varied start to the year, but one that reflects what we value most: preparation, adaptability, and doing the work properly.

We’re looking forward to what 2026 brings and grateful to be starting the year with such a strong mix of creative and corporate work.

24/12/2025

Merry Christmas from all of us at Sparkly Light Productions!🎄🎁

We look forward to working with all our clients and partners in 2026!

22/12/2025

December might feel festive, but for us it’s still full pace...

As the year winds down for many, December remains one of the busiest months in broadcast production.

Over the past few weeks, the Sparkly Light team has been juggling a wide range of projects, from filming a carol service at Eton College to directing Cancer Clinic Live for Channel 4. And just as one project wraps, another begins.

Ian and Glenn are now heading into five days of live directing at the London International Horse Show at ExCeL, working alongside Gerry Morrison and collaborating closely with Horse Power, the FEI, and No Probs Productions.

It’s a great example of what life behind the lens really looks like. Long days, detailed planning, and constant communication across teams, all to ensure that the final broadcast feels seamless to the audience watching at home.

Once the final show finishes on Monday 22nd, we’ll finally take a breath and enjoy Christmas.
Until then, we’re doing what we do best.

🎄From all of us at Sparkly Light, Merry Christmas.

20/12/2025

Not every hero wears a mic...

When we filmed with Loveworks Food Charity , a local charity tackling food poverty, what struck us wasn’t just the scale of donations or the efficiency of the warehouse. It was the volunteers, the people whose names may never appear online, but their dedication shapes the entire organisation.

They moved with quiet purpose. Sorting tins. Packing crates. Welcoming deliveries. Repeating unloved jobs without complaint. There were no dramatic moments, no big emotional stories, just steady commitment, day after day.

That’s exactly why they deserve recognition.

These volunteers represent the heartbeat of Loveworks. They show that community impact isn’t always loud or visible. Often, it’s the quiet work, the unseen enthusiasm, that keeps everything going.

Shining a light on people like this is one of the most meaningful parts of our work. Whether we’re filming corporate broadcasts or community projects, our job is the same: capture the human story with respect and honesty.

Today, we want to celebrate the volunteers who keep thousands of families supported, because they care.

18/12/2025

Four teams. One shared vision. Zero compromise.

Every successful broadcast has a story behind it, and often, that story is about partnership.

Recently, Sparkly Light Productions worked alongside JBA Training Consultancy and Liveworks to deliver a major internal broadcast for a global luxury manufacturer. It was a project that required precision, trust, and teamwork at every level.

Filming inside such a sensitive, high-standard environment meant that collaboration wasn’t optional… it was essential. Every department had a role to play, from logistics and scheduling, to sound and camera, to creative development and on-site decision-making. And throughout the process, all teams worked as one.

When you’re operating inside a restricted workspace that cannot pause for filming, unity becomes your greatest asset. Every cue had to be timed perfectly, every decision shared, and every technical setup aligned with both the brand’s standards and its operational needs.

The result was a seamless broadcast built not just on skill, but on genuine partnership.
A reminder that when teams trust one another and share the same vision, the work becomes smoother, calmer, and ultimately more impactful for the client.

🎥 Looking for a production partner that plays well with others? Let’s collaborate.

17/12/2025

The best crews don’t compete for attention...

Working around high-profile creatives like Danny Boyle and the BBC requires modesty. Not louder voices or bigger personalities.

On Pages of the Sea, Sparkly Light was commissioned to deliver a promotional film for a nationally significant remembrance project curated by Danny Boyle.

The brief carried cultural weight, and the expectations that come with world-class creative leadership while under public scrutiny.

Glenn worked closely with The Royal British Legion from the outset, ensuring alignment on tone, sensitivity, and intent.

Stakeholders included the BBC, local authorities, and a globally recognised director. In that environment, professionalism shows up in you ability to support and anticipate problems, not to lead the room.

The production ran smoothly because the crew knew when to act and when to step back. Communication remained clear. The story remained uninterrupted.

This project is a clear example of Sparkly Light’s approach. We don’t compete for attention. We simply deliver our expertise.

🎥 Need a team that fits seamlessly into high-pressure environments? Let’s talk.

14/12/2025

Some projects need a full team. Others need someone who knows every role by heart.

Recently, Glenn took on a project that looked very different to our usual multi-camera broadcasts: a one-person shoot for Loveworks, a local charity supporting families facing food poverty.

There was no crew - just Glenn, a Sony FX3, a radio mic, a small LED kit, and a warehouse full of donated food. What made this job special wasn’t the scale… it was the purpose.

Despite juggling larger corporate productions at the same time, Glenn approached this promo with the same professionalism and editorial care we bring to global clients. Producing, directing, filming, recording sound and editing solo meant going back to basics, and remembering how much craft sits behind every good story.

Loveworks originally had no clear direction for what their film should focus on. Working with them, Glenn shaped their message into a day-in-the-life narrative centred on volunteers, donations, and community impact.

The final film received overwhelming praise from the charity’s leadership, and will now sit proudly on their revamped website.

12/12/2025

Some places aren’t designed for cameras… yet sometimes, the cameras are invited in.

For Sparkly Light, one of the greatest honours is being trusted to work inside environments the public rarely sees.

Recently, our team was invited to film inside one of the most restricted luxury manufacturing spaces in the world - a workspace defined by extraordinary craftsmanship, advanced tools, and a culture of complete precision.

Gaining access alone required months of preparation, collaboration and trust. Once inside, every decision mattered.
🎬 Rigging: Timed down to the minute to avoid disrupting tightly coordinated workflows.
🎧 Audio: Managed through advanced live-mixing and noise-control to preserve clarity while keeping the natural atmosphere alive.
🎥 Broadcast Flow: Every frame planned to respect the space, the people, and the craft unfolding around us.

Working in partnership with Liveworks and JBA Training Consultancy, our team delivered two 90-minute live broadcasts in a single day… all while maintaining full discretion and zero operational disruption.

Projects like this remind us why we do what we do. When a brand opens its doors to you, especially behind the scenes of a world-class manufacturing process.

It’s a privilege, and a reminder that some stories have to be captured with the same precision used to create them.

🎥 Want your internal communications to reflect your brand’s prestige? Let’s make it happen.

10/12/2025

Every performance has a story, and we made sure LIFEM could share them.

While filming concerts at the London International Festival of Early Music, we captured a series of intimate artist interviews for LIFEM’s social channels. These conversations offered a rare glimpse behind the scenes, where musicians spoke about their influences, their instruments, the craft of Early Music, and the joy of performing for such passionate audiences.

For festivals and arts organisations, this kind of content is invaluable. It means the stories last longer than just the hour performances.

By combining performance filming with short-form interview content, LIFEM were able to:
➡️Increase engagement across social platforms
➡️Humanise their performers
➡️Create repurposable assets for PR and marketing
➡️Extend the festival’s digital life long after the final concert

It’s a reminder that the best event coverage is about capturing the people, the context, and the emotion behind it, not what is just on stage.

🎻 Need engaging stories beyond the stage? We’ll help you share them.

09/12/2025

Behind every great broadcast is a sound team you rarely see...

Most people expect cameras, lights and presenters.
What they don’t expect is how many specialists it takes to make a production sound clear, natural and professional.

So in this week’s behind-the-scenes spotlight, we’re celebrating five essential sound roles that many clients don’t even realise they’re relying on:

🎧 Location Sound Mixer
The person balancing every microphone and environmental sound live on set. Without them, the audience hears chaos.

🎤 Boom Operator
Positioning and moving the boom mic discreetly to catch dialogue without entering the shot.

🎹 Foley Artist
Common in drama: recreating real-world sounds like footsteps, movement or handling objects when they weren’t captured during filming.

🎚️ OB Sound Mixer
For live broadcasts: taking multiple feeds from presenters, contributors and remote locations, mixing them in real time so everything feels seamless.

🗂️ Dialogue Editor
Cleaning up, syncing and piecing together dialogue so the final story is smooth and broadcast-quality.

These roles exist for one reason: sound holds everything together.
You can forgive a slightly imperfect shot, but audiences never forgive bad audio.

🎥 What roles have been missed from this list that deserve their flowers?

07/12/2025

Whether we’re filming for a global brand or a local food bank, our standards never change.

A recent project took us somewhere a little different. A warehouse full of tins, crates and volunteers quietly powering one of our local charities, Loveworks Food Charity, and their mission to reduce food poverty in the community.

There was no crew on this one. No big lighting setup. No big budget.
Just Glenn, a camera, a radio mic, and a charity doing extraordinary work behind the scenes.

The challenge was meaningful: create a professional, broadcast-standard promo film while protecting the dignity and privacy of the people receiving support.

That meant focusing the story on the volunteers, the daily rhythm of the operation, and the message Loveworks needed to communicate - donations, awareness, and the growing need in even well-off communities.

What stood out most was the dedication of the team at Loveworks Food Charity. Every box packed, every conversation, every early morning - done with purpose. We simply captured it.

We didn’t do it for praise… we did it because every story deserves to be told well.

And because sometimes the most meaningful work isn’t the biggest job… it’s the one that stays with you.

🎥 Looking for a production partner that cares as much as you do? Let’s connect.

Loveworks is a food bank charity providing emergency food provision, preventing food poverty recurrence, and growing food in our community. Help us by donating food, cash, or your time as a volunteer. Join our events and make a difference.