Howard Michaels
In 1974 I was a junior cameraman on Squire Hill`s crew 17.
It was the height of the three day week with power cuts etc and we were making a money programme in Lime Grove studio D.
The Director,who shall remain anonymous, was very young and inexperienced, and during the course of rehearsals was heard to say such things as ” I want you to zoom in through the tunnel to a wide shot”.
We spent the afternoon recording some of the show, but the live bit of the programme was badly under-rehearsed.
When transmission came he had artists in the wrong chairs at the wrong end of the studio, cameras were in the wrong positions etc.
The programme ran live for 45minutes, however when it was repeated it only ran for 30 minutes – I wonder why?
Bernie Newnham
Also in the rota power cuts, I worked on Falstaff in TC1.
Bob Wright, the lighting man, was trying out a new soft light which consisted of a cyc on one wall with a quarter on a megawatt shining on it. It made a brilliant sunrise, the like of which hadn’t been seen in BBC studio before.
When we opened the big doors onto Wood Lane, the whole of the rest of Shepherd’s Bush was in absolute darkness.
Bernie Newnham
Joan Marsden, known to all as Mother, was always floor manager on Panorama.
In the mid-sixties, she presided over the first trans-Atlantic satellite tv interview, with the incoming feed up on a huge back projection Eidophor screen. When the circuits were up and sawtooth and tone removed, the Americans plugged Studio G’s feed back to itself.
Mother and all in the studio marvelled as she talked and waved at her 50,000 miles delayed self.
Bill Jenkin
As a very green recruit, literally only a few weeks back from Wood Norton, I was attached to Crew 10 (Geoff Feld was acting Senior Cameraman) and we were doing one of those “Sunday” serials – an adaptation of Charles Kingsley’s “Hereward the Wake” directed by Peter Hammond.
We were in studio G surrounded by Normans and Saxons (Alfred Lynch as Hereward). I was cable bashing and all the other spare effort had been given an ‘early’. There was a camera tower in the middle of the studio and as we broke for dinner there was a loud AAARRGH! and bump as the cameraman John (Spider) Whatton descended from the tower rather faster than he had anticipated. John was despatched to Hammersmith Hospital. Fortunately he was not seriously injured – only shaken up with a few bruises – but he was not going to reappear for the recording.
As all the more experienced crew reliefs/trainees had gone home there was only one thing for it – I was going to have to do the camera without any rehearsal. Shaking with nerves, I was taken through all the shots by the director Peter Hammond and Geoff before the recording.
I can’t remember what it was, but at some point I must have thrown my inexperience into relief by asking some extremely naive question about one of the shots. There was a short silence as Geoff and Peter looked at one another. Finally Peter turned to me and said
“I’ll leave that to your professional judgement”…..gulp!
Howard Michaels
It must have been the early nineties and there was a power cut at Television Centre.
I was on Doug Watson`s crew and sitting on the back of a Heron. Suddenly all the lights went out, including the back ups! The studio was plunged into total darkness and we had no way of finding the exit without bumping into something or falling over something – what were we to do?
We soon noticed a small glow in the studio – the cavalry had arrived in the shape of Peter Fox with his mini-maglite. The sight of Peter with his tiny torch leading a line of people out of the studio was something to behold!
Bill Jenkin
Roger Fenna during a crew discussion on the importance of getting the rig done properly:
“No director has ever come up to me and said ‘Bloody good rig Rog!'”
Bill Jenkin
Sometime in the 1980s a T.M. who shall remain nameless was setting up a circuit for Breakfast Time with a Russian woman in Dundee who was taking action to put pressure on the various authorities in order to get her husband out from behind the iron curtain.
T.M.: ” would your like to say a few words for level please”
Woman: “what would you like me to say?”
T.M.: “just say what you had for breakfast this morning”
Woman (very annoyed): “I have had nothing – I am on hunger strike!”.
Which was what the item was all about in the first place.
Bill Jenkin
Another Breakfast Time in the 1980s….
Selina Scott turns to the big B.P. screen and asks a question of a man in Belfast.
The man in Belfast only gives a blank stare.
Selina Scott: “Mr xxxx can you hear me?”
Man in Belfast: “No I’m afraid I can’t.”
Scotty: “OK then we had better go on to something else and come back later.”
Man in Belfast: .: “Yes I think that would be a good idea”.
Scotty turns back and carries on with the show.
