Waterloo Road, BBC – Shade Sails Case Study

Waterloo Road, BBC – Greater Manchester

Product Installed: Shade Sail Array

Sail Sizes: 1no. Triangle Sail; 4m x 4m x 2m

2no. Irregular Quadrilateral Sails; 5.5m x 4m x 4.5m x 3m

Sail Colours: 2no. Yellow & 1no. Sky Blue

Installation Dates:

Posts – July 2023

Sails – August 2023

Installation Duration: Five days over two phases

Intended Use: TV Set Shade Sail

The Brief

Wall to Wall Media is a UK television production company that is part of Warner Bros. Television Studio UK. They are suppliers of hugely popular, award-winning programmes since the 1980’s. One of which is Waterloo Road, a British television drama series set in a troubled comprehensive school in northern England.

Having recently moved the set of their hit show Waterloo Road, they were looking to add a shade sail array within part of the production filming area.

Shade sails are very popular within schools to provide shade and shelter from the sun including up to 96.5% protection from harmful UV rays. So, installing shade sails on set would add to the authenticity of the school setting.

Waterloo Road’s Production Designer therefore got in touch with us, explaining their need for a shade sail array to be installed in the new filming location for ‘Waterloo Road’, but they had to be installed before 1st September to fit in with the filming schedule. A free full site survey which was promptly booked. Conducting a full site survey enables us to create a firm quotation with no estimated or hidden costs.

The Solution

Upon completion of a site survey, it was established that shade sails were indeed feasible in their chosen area. After discussing the size and design options. We provided a couple of scenarios for this product, and they opted for a shade sail array which consisted of; 7 No. post’s with 2 No. irregular square sails and 1 No. Triangle Shade Sail.

Wall to Wall Media chose option A, the array of 3no. shade sails including one sky blue 4m x 4m x 2m triangular shade sail, and two yellow 5.5m x 4m x 4.5m x 3m irregular quadrilateral sails.

The Installation

The shade sails were installed over two phases, this is because we always install the posts first, this enables us to then measure for the sails to ensure they fit within the area where the posts were installed, and also importantly, the posts are left to set for four weeks. We then return to site to install the shade sails and tension them tight to avoid sagging.

There are a couple of reasons why we do not install the posts and sails on the same day. Firstly, if we have an issue where a post had to be moved due to unknown underground conditions, the sails would then not fit and would have to be re-made. Secondly, if the concrete had not cured in time, the tension from the shade sails could cause the posts to move and the sails to sag.

The posts were therefore installed over four days during the middle of July, and the sails were installed within one day during the middle of August. This schedule worked perfect for the production company as they required the installation to be completed before they began filming for their 14th series in September. When asked how she felt about the product and service received from Able Canopies, Katy Tuxford, the Production Designer said “Great job. Highly recommend.”.

Although the shade sails were installed as prop for the TV show Waterloo Road, the actors and staff can all benefit from shade and shelter during their breaks under the shade sails.

You can catch the latest series of Waterloo Road which features our Shade Sails on BBC iPlayer, along with series 1-13.