In this article, Martin Kempton outlines the case for retaining the large studio known as TC8 as a working studio, as part of the redevelopment plan…
The proposals published by Stanhope in January 2013 indicate the retention of TC1, TC2 and TC3 in the redevelopment scheme. TC1 is ideally suited to large scale Saturday night type entertainment shows. TC2 is relatively small and is only suited to small-scale shows, magazine programmes etc. (Watchdog has been a regular booking.) TC3 is 90ft x 70ft within firelanes. This size of studio is the most in demand in the industry for a wide range of comedy and entertainment shows that fill our screens on all the main channels every night. It can seat an audience of around 300, which is the minimum needed to create a good laughter track and a positive atmosphere in the studio.
The space available for sets is ideal for sitcoms, sketch shows, panel shows, talk shows, gameshows, music shows, current affairs debates, etc. It is this size of studio that is therefore the most in demand. Some productions have a standing set for several days or even weeks (eg Pointless) whilst many book a studio for one day’s recording on the same day each week (eg Mock the Week, Buzzcocks.)
The studios at TVC have been ideally suited for shows that use a studio for one or two days each week as they are so quick to turn shows around. This is partly due to the type of lighting grid and the many electric scene hoists available but is also due to the very efficient design of the building. These studios have 2 scene dock doors for example, giving greater flexibility than those studios with only 1 door (eg TLS, Elstree Film, BBC Elstree, MediaCity Salford.)
The 90 x 70 studio is often referred to as a ‘medium’ sized studio. Until April 2013, London had 4 medium studios at TVC, 1 at Teddington, 2 at TLS, 1 at BBC Elstree and 2 at Pinewood. In the summer of 2013 Teddington is due to cease operation as a TV studio and its technical equipment will be removed. Two film stages at Elstree have been converted to TV studios by S&PP. However, these have monopole lighting grids which are very slow and cumbersome to operate. It is impossible there to do an overnight turnaround between productions in the way that was commonplace at TVC. A show that took 1 day at TVC will take 2 or even 3 days at Elstree.
Thus we will have gone from 10 medium studios to 7 – however, the 2 at Elstree Film Studios are the equivalent of 1 at TVC for the reasons explained above. It is worth noting that in the whole of the rest of the UK there are only 2 more studios of this size – 1 in Salford and 1 in Glasgow. For the next two years whilst TC3 is unavailable the problem will be even more acute.
For the past few years, the demand for medium studio space has been increasing. Sitcoms are gaining in popularity, with even ITV now beginning to commission them after a break of many years. Sketch shows continue to be made each year. The popularity of comedy in general and the panel show in particular means that medium studios are very much in demand. Gameshows are becoming more elaborate, requiring big well-equipped studios. Digital channels are also beginning to commission programmes (eg Yes, Prime Minister for UK Gold, Argumental for Dave) which is adding to the demand.
When a series is commissioned the production manager has to find a slot of a few weeks when all the artistes involved are available. The more popular (and therefore busy) they are, the more difficult this is. Often there is a very tight window of a few weeks when the show will have to be recorded. Sometimes the dates are not known until only a month or two beforehand. At this point the production manager will try to find a suitable studio to book. In recent years this has become very difficult at times – particularly in the spring and autumn.
At the time of writing (April 2013) I know of a production company that is trying to find a suitable studio for a 10 part BBC1 sitcom starting in May 2014. She has discovered that already there are no suitable studios available. That is more than a year ahead – this is a very serious problem.
Certainly, studios will be increasing their hire charges and as mentioned above, productions will have to pay for extra rigging days, adding to their costs. It is entirely possible that some programmes will simply not be able to be made if no studios are available at the right time.
In keeping only three studios at TVC, of which only one is the most useful size, the BBC appears to have taken into consideration only the requirements of its own in-house production departments. However, the vast majority of comedy and entertainment on all the BBC’s channels is made by independent production companies. Even the wealthiest of these could not be expected to build their own studios so it is arguably the BBC’s responsibility to ensure that sufficient studios are available to fulfil this need. It is very much in the BBC’s interest to keep production costs on all the programmes it transmits as low as possible.
There is rising demand for studio space from independents making programmes for all the main channels. This has enabled S&PP to keep the medium studios at TVC booked to a profitable level over the past few years.
Keeping at least one more medium studio would begin to go some way to satisfying this demand. Many people are asking for all eight main studios at TVC to be retained in order to fulfil this need and keep production costs low for everyone. There is clearly a strong argument for that if a way can be found for it to happen as keeping TC8 along with TC3 will still leave a shortage of medium studios in the UK at busy times.
Background to TC8
TC8 opened in 1967. It was the first studio in the UK to be equipped for colour from the outset. It is structurally part of the Spur (stage 4) and was built after all the other studios in the main block. Its design drew upon the lessons learnt from the other studios in TVC which were built some years earlier. It quickly became the favourite studio for producers, directors, designers, lighting directors and most importantly – performers. It was the first choice for a huge range of comedy and entertainment shows. The studio is the only one with no asbestos used in its construction and also has the best designed air conditioning system.
Size:
The studio is 90ft x 72ft within firelanes. The 90 x 70 studio has remained the most popular for a wide range of programmes from sitcoms and sketch shows through panel shows, quiz shows, music shows, standup shows, talk shows and gameshows of every kind. Even Hole in the Wall was made in here which involved the use of a swimming pool into which celebrities were pitched to great effect. The extra couple of feet width has proved to be extremely useful over the years and enabled sets to be built that would not fit in other studios. For example, studio 2 at MediaCity in Salford (the only studio of this type on that site) is 4 feet narrower than TC8, which limits the sets that will fit there.
Audience facilities:
TC8 is the only studio at TVC which had retractable audience seating installed from the outset. The audience enters as they would in a theatre from dedicated doors at first floor level. Audience handling is thus far easier in this studio than any other. The seating takes up less floor space than in the other studios so more working area is left available.
Grid:
The grid has a large number of motorised scenery hoists giving huge flexibility to set designers and helping to speed up setting and striking time. These remotely controlled scenery hoists are not to be found at Elstree or in other studios such as Pinewood, Teddington or TLS where scenery is usually manhandled on ropes.
The lighting grid consists of a large number of closely-spaced short motorised bars. This system gives great flexilbility to the lighting director and is superior to the widely spaced long bars found in TC3 and TC4. Rigging and making changes to the rig are very quick and simple to do. This enables rapid turnarounds from one show to the next. This is not possible in the studios at Elstree – all of which have grids with monopoles which take a great deal of time to rig or make adjustments. This single fact means that TC8 is able to handle twice the programme output of studio D at BBC Elstree or stages 8 and 9 at Elstree Film studios. Those stages need a whole day to rig lights, then a day to build the set and light it. In TC8, the light rig and set build can be done overnight and the lighting director can light the set in the morning before rehearsals take place. Thus a panel show or quiz show takes 1 day to make in TC8 but 2 or 3 days at Elstree.
Wardrobe, make-up, props etc:
The studio is surrounded by rooms containing all the facilities required by the various departments involved in making programmes. This enables faster and more efficient working from all the departments than other studios where these facilities are located further away.
Suggestions for incorporating TC8 into ‘The Television Factory’
The studio could be incorporated into a visitor attraction area on the ground floor of stages 4 and 5. This would include bars, cafes, shops etc. TC8 would be an entertainment venue within this area. It would thus be somewhat similar to studio 1 at Riverside Studios, which shares its audience handling areas with those of the very busy arts centre.
If it was deemed that the studio would not generate sufficient income from TV bookings throughout the year (unlikely, frankly) then it could be shared with BBC Worldwide. They could operate it as a conference hall, a studio theatre, an arts cinema and an exhibition space. It could be used for BBC exhibitions during school holidays. These might be based around Dr Who or other popular dramas. However, the studio was best known for its comedy so a suggestion would be to have sets built from various popular sitcoms – Only Fools and Horses, Porridge, Fawlty Towers, Dad’s Army, Ab Fab, Miranda etc which the public could look at and be photographed in. The Harry Potter exhibition at Leavesden shows how this could work. It would all be in the studio actually used for these shows and would give the public a unique opportunity to get a sense of what a TV set actually looks like.
For the rest of the year it would be used of course as a very busy TV studio.
Power requirements:
There may be problems supplying the studio with the same power it has had in the past if all 8 studios are not retained. However, TC8 could be refitted as a ‘green’ studio using mostly LED and fluorescent lights rather than the high powered tungsten lights it has been using. This would be essential anyway for exhibitions. The technology is now available to replace all but the most powerful studio lights with LEDs. The consequent lack of heat also reduces the need for very powerful air conditioning.
Scenery access:
Some compromises might have to be made regarding scenery delivery and collection. By incorporating the section of scenery runway that runs along one wall of this studio, this would provide sufficient storage to enable props, flight cases etc to be stored by the production currently using the studio.
Filmography:
TC8 has been used by thousands of programmes over the years. It has without doubt been the preferred choice for many of the nation’s favourite comedies. These have included:
Sykes, The Liver Birds, Monty Python, Q, Are You Being Served, It Ain’t Half Hot Mum, Open All Hours, Citizen Smith, Up Pompeii, Porridge, The Goodies, The Good Life, Reggie Perrin, Not the Nine o’Clock News, Fawlty Towers, Butterflies, To the Manor Born, Yes Minister, Only Fools and Horses, Bread, Hi Di Hi, Blackadder, Alas Smith and Jones, ‘Allo ‘Allo, May To December, Just Good Friends, Ever Decreasing Circles, The Young Ones, French and Saunders, One Foot in the Grave, The Fast Show, Absolutely Fabulous, The Brittas Empire, As Time Goes By, Keeping Up Appearances, Dinnerladies, 2 Pints of Lager…, The Catherine Tate Show, I’m Alan Partridge, Little Britain, Mitchell and Webb, Not Going Out, Yes Prime Minister, Miranda.
The studio has also been used for many other classic entertainment shows including Parkinson, Morcambe and Wise, The Two Ronnies, Bob Says Opportunity Knocks, The Dick Emery Show, Blankety Blank, National Lottery Live, Jet Set, In It To Win It, Saturday Night Armistice, The Paul Daniels Magic Show, Look: Mike Yarwood, Dave Allen at Large, Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge, Top of the Pops, Tonight’s The Night, Shooting Stars, Big Fat Quiz of the Year, 8 Out of 10 Cats, Mock The Week.
Although mostly used for comedy and entertainment TC8 was also used for several drama series in its early years including Dr Who, Grange Hill, Softly Softly and many single plays.
Martin Kempton
April 2013
Pingback: A VERY DEPRESSING EVENING | Save TV Centre Studios
Paul Wilkinson
·
As ever Martin Kempton is the voice of common sence and as a big fan of Television Centre myself, I would love the historic Studio 8 to be saved and even Studio 4 aswell. The BBC have spent millions over the last 20 years on Asbestos removal and refurbishment in 7 of the older studios at Television Centre and this made the studios safe and up to date with modern technology. It all seems such crying shame to demolish studios such as Studio 4, 6, & 8, all of which have been fiitted with HD technology. Keep up the good work Martin, your Television Centre website has always been of great interest to me.
Paul Wilkinson
·
As ever Martin Kempton is the voice of common sence and as a big fan of Television Centre myself, I would love the historic Studio 8 to be saved and even Studio 4 aswell. The BBC have spent millions over the last 20 years on Asbestos removal and refurbishment in 7 of the older studios at Television Centre and this made the studios safe and up to date with modern technology. It all seems such crying shame to demolish studios such as Studio 4, 6, & 8, all of which have been fitted with HD technology. Keep up the good work Martin, your Television Centre website has always been of great interest to me.
Jonny Haw
·
An excellent, well-reasoned argument. How can they not agree….?! That idea of using TC8 to host sets from popular sitcoms is one I’ve had in mind for years – admittedly with neither the means nor inclination to do anything about it. Who wouldn’t want to stand behind Fawlty Towers’ reception desk or explore The Young Ones’ filthy kitchen? I would be first in the queue for such an attraction. It could even be offered as a package deal with a stay in the new hotel overlooking the doughnut…
Tom Mackenzie
·
Martin Kempton makes an honest and truthful idea of how TVC could be used in the Television factory, I also put a suggestion that all the main studios could be kept 3 kept by the BBC and others by Stanhope PLC. Stanhope could then open a television production centre and rent the studio’s as when needed. We must keep TVC for what it should be used for, use the other areas for other things like the hotel, flats ect but keep the main studios. We will only regret once there gone, you cannot just rebuild TVC when its smashed to bits.
Tom Mackenzie
Radio Broadcaster