70`s studio drama

[faginsgirl]

Hi.



Sorry, I know there is probably a proper name for this kind of production but not sure what it is.



I am talking about dramas such as upstairs downstairs and Poldark which were filmed in a studio or house like a play rather than a t.v film.



This has come to my mind as I have just been watching Our mutual friend 1976, very dark but I found the whole thing realistic by the acting and the set etc.



The same with Poldark etc, its as if we are there rather than watching a piece of action as in a film.



Just wondering if anyone knows why this kind of filming stopped, is it because companies now have more money for different locations and special effects etc? Or has it something to do with the actors and thier prefered way of working?



And does anyone know of anymore good studio dramas that I could look up?



xx

[Steve Crook]

name='faginsgirl']Hi.



Sorry, I know there is probably a proper name for this kind of production but not sure what it is.



I am talking about dramas such as upstairs downstairs and Poldark which were filmed in a studio or house like a play rather than a t.v film.



This has come to my mind as I have just been watching Our mutual friend 1976, very dark but I found the whole thing realistic by the acting and the set etc.



The same with Poldark etc, its as if we are there rather than watching a piece of action as in a film.



Just wondering if anyone knows why this kind of filming stopped, is it because companies now have more money for different locations and special effects etc? Or has it something to do with the actors and thier prefered way of working?



And does anyone know of anymore good studio dramas that I could look up?



xx

It's because good TV drama is comparatively expensive to produce and they found that "reality TV" is a lot cheaper



A few do still get made but nothing like the number that were made in the "golden era" (for TV drama) of the 1970s & 80s



Steve

[oxfam1uk]

It's an interesting fact that, although the viewers remember series like Poldark, Lillie, and The Onedin Line with affection, when many of the actors and production staff talk about them, their stories frequently emphasise the stress and nightmare production circumstances !



Remember that these dramas were recorded on multi-camera systems, usually at night, with recording carrying on until 10 o'clock. And there were only a limited number of opportunities for retakes. If someone made a mistake, it might have to be broadcast - so you can imagine the strain they were all under !



When Mike Leigh was persuaded to record Abigail's Party for the BBC, he was so upset by the experience that he vowed never to enter a TV studio ever again !

By the end of the Seventies, drama people were insisting on going on location to film dramas, with the single-setup method, which allowed for plenty of retakes, and editing techniques which allowed them to get everything exactly right.



Looking at some of those old videotaped dramas, there is certainly a sense of hightened reality, though, which I love. "Hannay" (starring Robert Powell) was one of the last to be made in this way, and it's superb.

[lupinpooter]

The other day I was reading that the BBC's The Mayor of Casterbridge (1978) was the first classic serial to be filmed on location, and this was down to technological advances (i.e. lightweight cameras). Does anyone know of any earlier examples, or was this really the first?

[faginsgirl]

While watching `our mutual friend` it was good to see Mr Barlclough



xx

[oxfam1uk]

Although "The Pallisers" (in about 1973) was mostly the usual mix of studio video and location film, a great chunk of the first episode was video-taped on location, for some reason.

It was an outdoor party scene, so maybe the multicamera video system was used to speed up the recording and get it all done in one day.

[winsfordtown]

What I found when re-watch these old series from 1970's there's any emptiness to the sound which makes the dialogue sound feel dead. I presume that it's something to do with recording dialogue in an empty studio

[faginsgirl]

With this kind of drama, on the odd occasion the actors stammer over thier words, but I quite like that, it makes it realistic.



xx

[alastairr]

I really like thse sort of dramas. The later ones are better as they seem to spend more on sets and are more colourfull. Anyone know when they stopped filming period dramas in studios like these ?

[jaycad]

name='alastairr']I really like thse sort of dramas. The later ones are better as they seem to spend more on sets and are more colourfull. Anyone know when they stopped filming period dramas in studios like these ?

the last BBC period drama i can remember that uses the old sets mentioned is 'the pickwick papers'(1985)

[ghughesarch]

They still do quite a lot of studio stuff - I was surprised watching the "making of the Cranford Christmas specials" doc the other day that several interiors were studio sets rather than real locations. Lighting and filming technology have improved to the extent that it's now pretty well impossible to tell.



"Lark Rise" on the other hand has one of the least-convincing-looking exterior sets (made up of converted barns and new-build cottages etc) I've seen since the heady days of over-using the Pinewood backlot in the Carry Ons.



"The Barchester Chronicles" had a good mix of outdoor real locations and interior studio set.



LWT's Mapp and Lucia interiors (1985-6) were all shot on slightly theatrical looking studio sets.

[James Fox]

I'll never forget watching "Poldark" in college with my roommate. We were both English/History majors and we were absolutely enthralled by this historical soap opera.



I also remember being very disappointed that there wasn't a third series. Although the second series wasn't quite as strong imo, it was still very good and the last episode had a terrific cliffhanger.

[jaycad]

name='James Fox']I'll never forget watching "Poldark" in college with my roommate. We were both English/History majors and we were absolutely enthralled by this historical soap opera.



I also remember being very disappointed that there wasn't a third series. Although the second series wasn't quite as strong imo, it was still very good and the last episode had a terrific cliffhanger.

i thought the second series ended rather abruptly-as though a third series was planned but never got made?