COAL DROPS SESSIONS
Unplugged on the water, powered by @mercurystudios
This acoustic performance series features bands and artists from all genres performing custom, stripped back versions of their hit songs. Stepping off the grid, artists perform from a canal boat on Regent’s Canal and play for unsuspecting passers by.
The sessions deliver genuine spontaneity as we watch for wildlife, authentic interactions with fans and a quiet calm amongst the chaos of the urban backdrop.
Exec Producer: Dan Borrelli
Director: Oisín Bickley
Producers: Amy Hainstock & Claudia Mantle
Production Exec: Cara Harding Post-Production Manager: Claire Rhodes Production Coordinator: Lauren Baugh Production Assistants: Maya Ngoma & Esther Duckworth
Music Licencing & Clearances: Charlotte Godfrey & Barnaby Duff
I lead on the production of Coal Drops Sessions, a series of live acoustic music sessions filmed on Regent’s Canal and a huge standout as one of our flagship digital productions at Mercury Studios. As a producer, I’m the central point of contact on location and coordinated all elements of production from pre-production meetings through to delivery.
I manage our camera and sound crew, kit bookings, call sheets, schedules, data wrangling on site, ensuring the footage gets back to the edit safely, applying for and securing filming permits, and booking the canal boat with Laburnum Boat Club, who we have an incredible relationship with now, they really helped us make the format what it is.
Working closely with the Mercury Live team, I help scout and select talent, schedule the sessions with management and labels, and ensure they have every bit of information needed.
We tackle the challenges you can imagine for this format, such as unpredictable weather and performers battling the elements; however we always found a way to make their performances shine, and somehow still to this day, no session has ever been rained off. Luck of the Coal Drops.
I oversee edit scheduling, approvals, sound mixes, and YouTube releases, while simultaneously running our social channels and filming / editing promotional content.