Words in the wild Bubble Production relied on FUJINON LA30x7.8BRM 4K broadcast lenses to capture 11 days of author talks, debates and live events at this year’s Hay Festival
Europe, the Americas and beyond. Its work has earned international recognition, including Spain’s 2020 Princess of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities. Since its launch, this ‘Glastonbury of books’ now reaches up to 250,000 visitors and has played host to guest speakers such as Stephen Fry, Bill and Hillary Clinton and Zadie Smith. The 2026 festival took place on 21-31 May and featured over 500 events spanning author talks, debates, poetry and music. Guest speakers at the event included Emma Thompson, Malala Yousafzai, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Gisèle Pelicot. Covering an event of this scale requires a flexible set-up capable of capturing both the atmosphere of a live audience and the detail of individual speakers. To help the festival deliver live productions to audiences not only on site but also around the world, Bubble Production relied on several FUJINON LA30x7.8BRM 2/3-inch 4K portable broadcast lenses paired with Blackmagic cameras. Across 11 demanding days, crews captured hundreds of author interviews, panel discussions,
live audience events and keynote presentations, often working from the early morning through to late evening. With such a varied programme of events, the production team needed equipment that would be able to easily adapt to a wide range of filming environments and presentation styles. From intimate conversations with individual authors to larger panel sessions, each format presented different demands in terms of framing, movement and audience coverage. Maintaining a consistent visual standard across the festival was just as important, particularly when switching between speakers and stages throughout the day. Reliability and operational flexibility therefore played a critical role in the equipment selection. Throughout the festival, the FUJINON LA30x7.8BRM lenses were consistently flawless. With cameras locked in fixed positions and presenters constantly swapping in and out, a versatile zoom range is essential. The 30x optical zoom enabled operators to transition seamlessly from wide stage shots to tight close-ups while
ay Festival is a global charity celebrating stories, ideas and new possibilities. Founded in Hay-on-Wye in 1987, it
brings diverse voices together to exchange ideas, challenge perspectives and explore the political, social and environmental issues shaping our world. Sitting on the Wales-England border, the town is home to an impressive 24 bookshops, which equates to roughly one bookstore for every 70 residents. Through festivals, forums, digital platforms and learning programmes, Hay Festival reaches millions of people worldwide, with events across The 30x optical zoom enabled operators to transition seamlessly from wide stage shots to tight close-ups
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