Mike Giles
From my time in Bristol. Grade C operators used to mix the regional news and current affairs programme, which included the usual mix of studio guests, the odd musician or two and lots of telecine. One of the regular mixers was an Irish chap by the name of Fred McStea – an excellent fellow and a reliable pair of hands, but on one evening the lady director, who did her own vision mixing, was holding forth about a couple of "forced errors" on sound, as she had done on previous evenings that week, whereupon, in the middle of transmission, Fred said, "Well if you want the sound to be right without telling me what’s happening, you’d better mix it yourself, I’m not a bloody mind reader." And with that, being trapped in his seat because of the "compact nature" of the combined control room, in what used to be someone’s sitting room, he climbed up onto the desk and walked out over everybody’s scripts. The next day he appeared as usual and not a word was said.
Alan Stokes
I remember doing something very similar in Pres B. As was quite common at the time, I was mixing alone, with no sound crew. Those who remember the sound desk, a rather unreliable early transistorised design, will also know where it was positioned, in a combined sound/production/lighting gallery. There had been some fairly heavy discussion about the number of people allowed in the gallery during a transmission or rehearsal, on safety grounds. I am not sure what the programme was, possibly "Open Door", but the gallery was absolutely stuffed with bodies and it was virtually impossible to get out and into the studio. I pointed this out to the S Tel E but the response was less than enthusiastic. It got to the point where I needed to go into the studio to make some change to the sound arrangements but it was impossible to get through the crowd of very excited production staff. Since no notice was taken of my need, I climbed up upon the desktop and walked the full length of the surface and out of the door. A lot of people stopped chattering and watched with their mouths open as I progressed.
I carried out the required changes in the studio and, low and behold, a gangway opened up for my return. Nothing was ever said by the production team or the S Tel E but I don’t think it happened again during that series.
Tony Crake
On a similar note but on an entirely different scale…. In 1985 I was sent to China with HMQ! (One of Jeff Baker’s good ideas!) The Grand Arrival in Tianamen Square involved a hired Chinese OB Truck…masses of Useful Bits borrowed from KA Sound Test Room/Stores and Special Projects at TVC…. and a remote Camera from BBC News, diagonally opposite on the far side of the Square.. Tim Marshall, the director, decided he needed full TB facilities to this Camera.. I spent a busy evening adapting some Storno Mobile to Mobiles to do this….
The great day arrived.. I was very busy all morning and suddenly realised the News Unit had departed to the other side. The Square was now FULL of THOUSANDS of Chinese just standing there gawping (I have NEVER seen so many people!) How to get to the other side with my Storno Contraption ?
I held it over my head and marched! The rows and rows of people just SILENTLY parted as if by magic. Eventually I reached the Camera , now on a 50ft Cherry Picker, and yelled at the Cameraman to come and collect his TB Kit! Eventually he came down and I showed him how it worked and to give Tim a test call…. It worked!
Ah! Good! but how to get back?… Held my hand in the air and marched! … Even more people now, but all soundlessly moved aside. I felt like Moses crossing the Red Sea!
A picture of me appeared in the BBC Eng. News Magazine showing me (in Shanghai) coiling up a cable watched by another (much smaller) crowd!
(Click on the picture below to see larger version:
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