Alec Bray

How we all made Studio-based theatrical style multi-camera live or a “as-live” drama productions in the early 1960s.

An old “Monitor” programme surfaced recently on the BBC Archive YouTube channel, and has been captured for you all before it disappears. (Like most BBC programmes of the time, not much of “Monitor” survives” or survives as snippets).

“The Bedmakers” – Studio 3 TC, Marconi Mk IVs, including a tower, a Heron and a Creeper.

1964: How to Make a Television Drama | Monitor | Making of… | BBC Archive

BBC arts programme Monitor documents the various processes that go into creating a single television drama. In this instance, the drama is a play called “The Bedmakers” written by David Turner – which will be broadcast as part of the BBC’s First Night series of contemporary television dramas.

I think I recognise one Tech Ops person shown: Chris Pocock. Here is his Wood Norton photo and how he was in the “Monitor” programme:.

T.O 16 course photo Gram Op on “The Bedmakers”

Martin Dilly

Cameraman at 12:46 probably Derek ‘Yossel’ Wright. Vision mixer Fred Law?

Mike Minchin

Margot Hayhoe found this on ?YouTube, and commented there that I had worked on “The Bedmakers”. I operated a Ped up on the 6 foot tower (roughly a third or a half of TC3) – very smooth cladding, but not very flat. The ped tended to run away from you! We knew that “Monitor” was filming us. Then, during one supper break, we were sitting around in the Gallery and the film crew came in and wanted to get some cutaways of the mixing desk in operation. I was closest and obliged by running my fingers along the buttons, and then did a cross fade between the banks. To my embarrassment, the editor used that cross fade to show the fade up of the start of the programme. I said “oh no!” when the Monitor film was first shown, and again this year – but I knew it was coming, this time!