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Studio Sets, Infrastructure and General Technical

(July 2020)

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EG
eggsontoast

What amazes me about that video is that they pack away the seats for Total Wipeout and then put them back out again for You're Fired. Couldn't they have just put the Total Wipeout set a bit further to the right?

After the Total Wipeout set there's a lot of lighting equipment going up above the position of the seating on the scissor lifts
ST
stuart621
This has been a really interesting thread. I was in the audience for Countdown a few years ago (at Granada studios in Quay street) and I was amazed how different the set looked when the studio lights were switched off. The lighting really does make all the difference.

I’m always amazed at how so many different sets were used in Fawlty Towers. In some episodes they had the whole of the ground floor as well as the first floor landing and different bedrooms. Squeezing all that and an audience into the studio must have been quite a feat.
DE
deejay
This has been a really interesting thread. I was in the audience for Countdown a few years ago (at Granada studios in Quay street) and I was amazed how different the set looked when the studio lights were switched off. The lighting really does make all the difference.

I’m always amazed at how so many different sets were used in Fawlty Towers. In some episodes they had the whole of the ground floor as well as the first floor landing and different bedrooms. Squeezing all that and an audience into the studio must have been quite a feat.


Yes and quite often on studio sitcoms with a large number of sets, some more minor rooms were actually facing away from the audience, who were asked to watch the studio monitors for those scenes.
IS
Inspector Sands
Yes, a lot of being in an audience is watching the action on monitors, either because the sets are out of view or because the scene was recorded before hand.

The latter is done for many reasons - because its on location, or a set that won't be in the studio on the night, a scene that involves some setting up or clearing down which won't be possible in the night, or something very complex. I've also seen it used for surprise reveals - when the joke is a cut away, they don't want the audience to see the punchlime early.


Sketch shows often have even more sets. I went to a recording session of Little Britain and there they had just three sets in the studio. They performed three sketches on those and inbetween showed us prerecorded sketches. While these were on Matt and David got changed for the next live one.

Interestingly there were more sketches shown than were in an episode, so there were presumably less than 6 studio sessions for 6 episodes. Some of the sketches we saw set up new running jokes and characters which otherwise would have meant subsequent ones not making sense
NJ
Neil Jones Founding member
I’m always amazed at how so many different sets were used in Fawlty Towers. In some episodes they had the whole of the ground floor as well as the first floor landing and different bedrooms. Squeezing all that and an audience into the studio must have been quite a feat.


Seem to recall reading somewhere that the layout of the set of Fawlty Towers was such that the ground floor of the hotel (ie the lobby, the bar and the dining room) was on show to the audience and the rest of the rooms (ie upstairs or the landing or whatever else) was "behind" it. The presentation of the kitchen and the camera view seems to suggest that's where the set ended, where the cameras are.

This article suggests John Cleese might have planned more than just the scripts:
https://cstonline.net/inside-fawlty-towers-by-marcus-harmes/
JW
JamesWorldNews
I’m always amazed at how so many different sets were used in Fawlty Towers. In some episodes they had the whole of the ground floor as well as the first floor landing and different bedrooms. Squeezing all that and an audience into the studio must have been quite a feat.


Seem to recall reading somewhere that the layout of the set of Fawlty Towers was such that the ground floor of the hotel (ie the lobby, the bar and the dining room) was on show to the audience and the rest of the rooms (ie upstairs or the landing or whatever else) was "behind" it. The presentation of the kitchen and the camera view seems to suggest that's where the set ended, where the cameras are.

This article suggests John Cleese might have planned more than just the scripts:
https://cstonline.net/inside-fawlty-towers-by-marcus-harmes/


I recall that too, Neil. Cleese was somewhat of a micro-manager, as legend would have it. Given that there were a very limited number of episodes and only two series, any minor changes to the set (and there were quite a few) would be quite instantly recognized by regular viewers who would watch the classic series over and over again over the years.

There were quite a few upstairs scenes, with Fawlty quite often running up and down them at lightning speed. Cleverly done considering those stairs were only a very few in number.

Another one Neil, as a child viewer, I was always mystified by the set of Bob Monkhouse's Celebrity Squares. To me, as a child, how did those people get up there? Was it by magic? I guess if we could ever see a view from the other side of that set (which appeared vast to me), it would just be an array of ladders, cages and scaffold with lights attached to the front!

On that theme, I always also believed that University Challenge was filmed on a two-tier set, with one team above the other. The famous sketch on The Young Ones (where the team "above" would throw missiles down to the team "below") was very much my youthful take on reality.

The magic of tv, often held together with gaffer tape and scaffold, as this thread is revealing. Lighting is everything.
BR
Brekkie
I've seen Celebrity Squares suggested as a perfect Zoom format for current times and would have to agree.
SP
Steve in Pudsey
Blankety Blank could work on zoom too
ST
Stuart
Another one Neil, as a child viewer, I was always mystified by the set of Bob Monkhouse's Celebrity Squares. To me, as a child, how did those people get up there? Was it by magic? I guess if we could ever see a view from the other side of that set (which appeared vast to me), it would just be an array of ladders, cages and scaffold with lights attached to the front!

On Celebrity Squares the two spiral staircases were often shown on screen. The left hand side went to the top level, the right hand side to the middle.

*
NJ
Neil Jones Founding member
I always also believed that University Challenge was filmed on a two-tier set, with one team above the other.


They did that for real I believe at the back end of the ITV years, but its one of those shows that is surprising it was on ITV of all places, but then I suppose it would have ticked a few PSB boxes for the various companies.
DE88, Stuart and JamesWorldNews gave kudos
MA
Markymark
I always also believed that University Challenge was filmed on a two-tier set, with one team above the other.


They did that for real I believe at the back end of the ITV years, but its one of those shows that is surprising it was on ITV of all places, but then I suppose it would have ticked a few PSB boxes for the various companies.


I'm not sure what's particularly PSB about the quiz show ?

I've always found it faintly self-serving, and a tiny bit elitist ?
EL
elmarko
Knowing stuff is not elitist.

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