We NEED pictures of the lighting grid and soundstage!

MattinSTL

MattinSTL

Sound Modulator
Unfortunately they don't let cameras on the set of tv shows, but last night we watched a taping of an upcoming show called Rules of Engagement... and I think it would help a lot of guys understand lighting if they could see how these sets are lit. I wish I could take some shots of the lighting grid... and of ANYBODY on marks in the set.

There are a hundred lights on each set... and an absolute CACTUS PATCH of dots, fingers, and flags.

The actors move between keys as they move between marks... The basic lesson is that there's no such thing as accidentally good lighting... if something is important to the shot, then it's lit. There's some spill that covers a certain amount... but they really plan the lighting.

As a side note I wonder how long it takes to light a set for a sitcom? I'm guessing that once they have it right that the lights and flags don't move much until the show is canceled.

Does anybody have the ability to show some pics for DVXuser? A shot of the grid and then a shot of the set would be really nice.
 
That would be cool to see pics of. Would be interested to hear more about how consistent the lighting is too. Like Matt said I would assume it stays pretty consistent for the life of the show except for a few tweaks here and there maybe.
 
You know, it really is a pity that all the wackos out there screw everything up for all of us. Sometime in the eighties many of the studios began closing their doors to tours and cameras aren't allowed in for lots of reasons even in those times when you do get to participate in an audience.

When you do get to go someplace like Television City to watch the Price is Right, American Idol or one of the talk shows, you can't even imagine all the history that's taken place there. Built in 1952 especially for television production, 130 foot clearspan, 40 feet up to the ceiling. 28 feet to the grid. 3 of the original 4 studios are all about 110' x 130' and are taken up permanently by soap operas Young and Restless and Bold and Beautiful; and the grid dropped down to about 15 feet or less most of the time. A veritable maze of sets on those stages. Some lighting on stands where necessary. Each studio has a control room with a window but its rare that they can see anything so they mostly pick shots from control room monitors the old fashioned way.

Price is Right is on stage 33, but other shows are shot in there occasionally too. Grid was dropped down to about 15 feet there also I would say. 3 cameras on stage as i recall. All Hitachi Studio HDs on pedestals. I've seen so many shows on TV that were shot in there over the years and I couldn't help but be struck by how small it seemed compared to how it looks on TV.

Most of these places do not use DMX, they still use older methods of lighting control and dimming. But, as Matt said, its mostly about marks on the floor and hitting your marks at the appropriate moment.

Most of the shows I've gotten to see use my preferred method of production and that's the live switched method. For this reason, they tell the audience that they should be careful to NOT be a reason to stop at all. Once they start, they go continuously (except for commercial breaks which are actual breaks and last about as long as they normally do 2 to 3 minutes) and a director in the control room calls shots between cameras; so its realtime editing for the most part with the occasional pickup later for something that was screwed up. That doesn't seem to happen so often because most of these actors are very pro. Bob Barker or the soap opera actors for instance--doesn't get more pro than that. Can you imagine how many lines a soap opera actor needs to memorize. They shoot 5 shows per week every week of the year with no break. No prompters or cue cards allowed. Ah! I can't even imagine; the pressure must be tremendous.

I do have some shots of the coffee shop set of friends somewhere however. That was shot on a stage at Paramount as I recall. If I can find it I'll post it. They had some zip lights and mostly fresnels.
 
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