29th June 2022.

Barry Johnstone started as a client and them became a friend.

I am incredibly saddened to hear that Barry Johnstone the husband of the late Libby Johnstone has now passed away. I first met Barry when he wanted his late wife Libby’s Church funeral service live streamed all over the world for all their friends and family who could not make it over.

As well as providing the live stream with 5 cameras we also supplied and operated all the PA sound and 75 inch TVs so we could play memorial videos for the family. This was a big service with a highly respected, best in the world TV outside broadcaster asking us to help him. I was very humbled. He said he could get in all his outside broadcast team to come and do it all but he didn’t want all that he wanted us. He said he had looked over the other funeral streamers and said they were not good enough and he has chosen me.

When I first met Barry there was something about him , I didn’t quite know what but he had this drive, vision and authority that no matter what we must be the best and he will put total faith in us that the service will go perfect for them all.

We spent a lot of time on the site visit in the Church not only talking about the service but talking about his history and all the things he had done and he was also very interested in my background of video production, live events and funeral streaming. We really did get on very well.

After that site visit I thought wow, that guy is amazing and he knows some my friends in the TV broadcast industry, the pressure was on but I am going to deliver for this family was my thoughts. The 4G was awful too so that was another challenge I had to overcome. ( I went back there twice as the 4G was so bad but i was so determined to make the live stream work) it had to.

The day after Libby’s service Barry, phoned me up and said “ We are a credit to the industry everything went totally perfect.” I did shed a tear to get such a lovely comment from a a lovely man on the phone the following day.

Barry Johnstone started as a client and them became a friend. Its hit me a bit today.

Bless you Barry you are an incredible well respected world class outside broadcast specialist and loving family man, You will be dearly missed by so many. It was a pleasure to meet you.

Here is a great tribute video of Barry Johnstone that has been going around Youtube recently

We have been asked by his family to help them out again with streaming Barrys Funeral service.

Below is the content I wrote just after Libby’s funeral service

Below is Libby Johnstone Funeral Service live stream which Barry asked us to use to show other families our great work.

A recent ‘Memorial case study’ for our client Barry Johnston for his wife Libby

We were contacted by Barry Johnston. Barry had sadly recently lost his amazing wife Libby.

Barrys requirements and expectations were quite high with a Multicam up to 5 or 6 (small hidden cameras) as well as 2 x 75 inch TVs to have holding slides up and run some videos and he also wanted us to override the Church PA and have total control of all the mics in the Church as well as the VT sound but all to blend in with the fabric of the Church.

To add to this the 4G at the Church was pretty awful on all 4 networks.

It turns our Barry Johnston is a very well respected TV producer having owned and sold TV stations as well as now owning and being on the board an TV outside broadcasting company. His company today still do many live TV broadcasts we all see on TV today.

Barry decided he did not want to bring all his team in with cameras and producers everywhere, he wanted a discreet professional Funeral Audio Visual company that do this sort of thing daily, not just streaming but all of it and they must be the best.

Most the mourners at the Church and watching online were pretty big players in TV and music.

Libby had spent her early years in TV with appearances in Benny Hill, 321 as well as dancing on TV, Libby loved her dance.

Barry was clear from the start, this must go right please do all it takes.

We done a site visit to meet Barry at the Church to talk over what would happen on the day and where to put TV screens etc and mics as they had pianist and many singers.

We did have to make another trip back to the Church to try and get to the bottom and find a solution to this 4G coverage problem that was there. We decided to invest in even bigger 4G mast and antennas than our stock kit as no matter what we had to make the happen for Barry. Funeral Audio Visual has not failed on a stream to date with nearly 400 funeral streams under our belt and I was going to make this work whatever it takes.

Barry said to me “ Darren I have total faith in you that you will make it perfect for me”

The van was loaded full of kit and it was an early start. Everybody was lovely at the Church so helpful and the reverend was so accommodating and kind. In fact he went to the shops to grab us coffee while we were setting up and bless him even helped load the van after. He was amazing.

All the planning paid off. When Barry arrived in true TV producer style and wanting it to be perfect for Libby he was still trying to help everyone but he soon realised it was all in great shape and he had nothing left to do.

The service went perfectly. Everything perfect. It just had to be.

On Saturday morning Barry phoned me and said

“ Darren I cant thank you enough it all went incredible and that we are a credit to the industry :”

Now this coming from a highly respected TV Outside Broadcast specialist was very humbling indeed.

he added give me some time I going to write you a review so please watch this space below for Barry’s review

Barry has kindly allowed us to post the live stream below so we can use it to show other families how we can help them when it must be the best.

Our Client Barry

BARRY JOHNSTONE

CHAIRMAN - UNITED KINGDOM

Chairman EMG UK / Founder CTV Outside Broadcasts

Barry Johnstone was born and educated in New Zealand and moved to London in 1970. From 1971 to 1980 he was International Director at Magnet Records, in 1980 he co-founded a small Post Production Facility which was acquired by Carlton Communications, the company was rebranded Carlton Television Facilities (CTV) and in 1981, Barry was appointed CEO and broadened its services in the mid 80’s to include Studios, Outside Broadcasting and Transmission / playout .

In 1995 Barry bought back CTV from its parent company and in 1996 renamed the Outside Broadcast division CTV Outside Broadcasts.

In January 2018, after 37 years as the head of CTV, he became Chairman of EMG’s UK companies CTV, BRF and ACS and stepped down as CEO of CTV.

He was inducted into the ‘Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame’ in 2013 and in 2018 received SVG Europe’s award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to European Sports Broadcasting’