A Week at Endemol
Day One Schedule
Monday 2nd March
12.15
Arrive on-site – report to Annalise:
H&S induction, completion of forms, site tour, intro to mentors etc
(audience/studio floor/cams)
13.15 – 14.45
Sit in audience to view show
15.00 – 17.00
Report to Steve Richmond, Studio Runner, shadow floor management and assist runner with tasks if need be.
17.45 - 19.45 (or when final record ends)
Dinner Unit A
Report to Scott, Cam Asst. – shadow with access to ‘talk-back’ so you can listen in on direction from the Gallery
As this was my first day I was a bit nervous and really didn't know what to expect. But after meeting Annalise any concerns I may have held where quickly dismissed.
She is very warm and friendly and extremely organised. In fact 'organised' is as good a word as any I can imagine to describe Endemol and the Deal or no Deal production team.
With 3 recordings a day five days a week they really need to be running like a well oiled machine, and they are!
After meeting Annalise she sent me over to the audience holding area so I could sit in on a show being filmed. I must admit I have never watched Deal or no Deal before, I am not a big fan of game shows in general. But I can see the appeal of this one. keeping the same contestant day after day creates and connection for the audience and it runs four days a week so its almost like a soap, a regular part of the day.
After the filming I took a short break and then reported to Steve Richmond, the studio runner. Steve is about 25 and has a degree in media production. He applied for a work experience placement, as did most of the junior members of the production team. After his two week placement he applied for any job that was available and was taken on. The production crew rotate the more junior roles such as runner, researcher, and audience control. Steve was the floor runner that day, which involves making sure everyone on the studio floor has everything they need. I helped him clean up after the last contestants, removing water bottles and rubbish and moving the used boxes back stage for the art department to re set them. We took a log of contestant placement and logged all the values of the boxes that had been opened and made copies of the pg to give out to various staff such as the director and online editor. Steve was also on call for whatever the floor manger needed during the shoot.
After that I reported to Scott the camera assistant to sit back stage with the camera crew and listen in to the directors instructions to them form the gallery. I found this was fascinating. There are 8 camera set up for the show two permanently facing the audience and controlled from the gallery, one floating on the floor, three at the top rear of the studio looking down over the audience and one hand held on a steady cam attached to a harness and carried by and very muscular cameraman. This 'loose' shooting is the hallmark of the show and requires immense trust from both the director and the cameramen, they have to listen to the directors instructions and shoot the show practically in a live format. two shoot three shows a day there must be seamless camera operation and perfect timing and coordination. Each show takes about 1 1/2 hours to film and must be edited to a 30 minute show, so there is little room for mistakes.
I asked a lot of questions about the camera kit, particularly the steady cam. All the cameras are Sony heads with Panasonic and Olympus lenses. the steady cam weighs about 40lbs and is placed in a stand every 5 minutes or so to ensure the cameraman is okay, this is obviously a health and safety issue.
But basically I observed and stayed well out of the way of everyone and tried not to laugh out loud at the directors and the bankers often racy remarks. It was wonderful!
Day One Schedule
Monday 2nd March
12.15
Arrive on-site – report to Annalise:
H&S induction, completion of forms, site tour, intro to mentors etc
(audience/studio floor/cams)
13.15 – 14.45
Sit in audience to view show
15.00 – 17.00
Report to Steve Richmond, Studio Runner, shadow floor management and assist runner with tasks if need be.
17.45 - 19.45 (or when final record ends)
Dinner Unit A
Report to Scott, Cam Asst. – shadow with access to ‘talk-back’ so you can listen in on direction from the Gallery
As this was my first day I was a bit nervous and really didn't know what to expect. But after meeting Annalise any concerns I may have held where quickly dismissed.
She is very warm and friendly and extremely organised. In fact 'organised' is as good a word as any I can imagine to describe Endemol and the Deal or no Deal production team.
With 3 recordings a day five days a week they really need to be running like a well oiled machine, and they are!
After meeting Annalise she sent me over to the audience holding area so I could sit in on a show being filmed. I must admit I have never watched Deal or no Deal before, I am not a big fan of game shows in general. But I can see the appeal of this one. keeping the same contestant day after day creates and connection for the audience and it runs four days a week so its almost like a soap, a regular part of the day.
After the filming I took a short break and then reported to Steve Richmond, the studio runner. Steve is about 25 and has a degree in media production. He applied for a work experience placement, as did most of the junior members of the production team. After his two week placement he applied for any job that was available and was taken on. The production crew rotate the more junior roles such as runner, researcher, and audience control. Steve was the floor runner that day, which involves making sure everyone on the studio floor has everything they need. I helped him clean up after the last contestants, removing water bottles and rubbish and moving the used boxes back stage for the art department to re set them. We took a log of contestant placement and logged all the values of the boxes that had been opened and made copies of the pg to give out to various staff such as the director and online editor. Steve was also on call for whatever the floor manger needed during the shoot.
After that I reported to Scott the camera assistant to sit back stage with the camera crew and listen in to the directors instructions to them form the gallery. I found this was fascinating. There are 8 camera set up for the show two permanently facing the audience and controlled from the gallery, one floating on the floor, three at the top rear of the studio looking down over the audience and one hand held on a steady cam attached to a harness and carried by and very muscular cameraman. This 'loose' shooting is the hallmark of the show and requires immense trust from both the director and the cameramen, they have to listen to the directors instructions and shoot the show practically in a live format. two shoot three shows a day there must be seamless camera operation and perfect timing and coordination. Each show takes about 1 1/2 hours to film and must be edited to a 30 minute show, so there is little room for mistakes.
I asked a lot of questions about the camera kit, particularly the steady cam. All the cameras are Sony heads with Panasonic and Olympus lenses. the steady cam weighs about 40lbs and is placed in a stand every 5 minutes or so to ensure the cameraman is okay, this is obviously a health and safety issue.
But basically I observed and stayed well out of the way of everyone and tried not to laugh out loud at the directors and the bankers often racy remarks. It was wonderful!
link:http://www.endemoluk.com/?q=taxonomy/term/1&tid=1
1 comment:
1 x photos,2 x links C&P, good desc.
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