Blackout Ltd provided bespoke heart shaped draping for this year’s star-studded National Television Awards (NTAs) held at the O2 Arena, Wednesday 25th January 2012.

Broadcast live on ITV1, the annual event was hosted by Dermot O'Leary and saw stars from across the TV world commended in 14 categories.

Winners included Coronation Street for Serial Drama, Celebrity Juice for Comedy Panel Show, Gary Barlow who walked away with the award for Outstanding Contribution and Ant and Dec who made NTA history when they won Entertainment Presenter for the 11th year running.

This year’s set design was the brainchild of Nicoline Refsing of Rockart Design Ltd and featured a stunning giant heart framing the stage and surrounding a projection screen for the show’s graphics.

Blackout were contracted by NTA Producers Indigo Television and have provided extensive draping for the NTAs for the last five years. This year the five-strong team installed a custom made black wool serge drape 60 metres wide with a 24 metre drop , with a heart shape cut out to perfectly fit the set’s design and allow flawless rear projection.

Chris Brain, Blackout’s installation director led a team of five. He said:

“This project required a careful eye to detail as the heart shaped drapes needed to be seamlessly finished and cut to the exact dimensions to fit the screen. We liaised closely with Indigo Television, Rockart Design and Blackfriars Scenery, who made the set, to ensure that the drapes followed the precise curves and dimensions required.”
Nicoline Refsing of Rockart Design, the show’s set designer, commented:

“The NTAs is always an interesting show for me as the audience is very different to the rock and roll and music clients I also work with. The audience consists purely of television fans and my design was created with a focus on providing the 7m+ viewers with a truly visual experience. This year I wanted to create a strong identity for the awards which built on last year’s well-received design.

“I’ve worked with Blackout on many shows over the years and can always trust them to deliver. As a designer I appreciate the extra mile they go to make things perfect.”

Blackout provided additional drapes across the staging area of the arena, and extensive pipe and drape for the VIP and after party.

For more information on Rockart Design Ltd visit: http://rockartdesign.com

For more information on Indigo Teleivsion visit: http://www.indigotelevision.co.uk