[Tech1] FW: some advice please

[Alan Taylor]

If you want to be authentic for  a 1940’s OB, you wouldn’t be talking about recordings because video recorders weren’t going to be invented for another twenty years or so.

Live OBs would generally start with a countdown on talkback from a production secretary ( production assistant ) and the director would then cue the action, which would be relayed to the floor manager, who would be wearing long lead STC headphones, who would then cue the people in shot. There was no radio talkback in those days.

At the end of the transmission, there may be a countdown from the PA if the show was supposed to end at a specific time and the director would probably say “ ... and cut”. Red lights were used in OB trucks too, but on the set, the only red light visible would be on whichever camera was live.

If the OB were an insert into a bigger show, the PA and director might take their cue from an off air feed of that main programme, together with a feed of talkback from the studio (  generally called a four wire  - two wire carrying the feed from the studio and the other two wires carrying the reply to the studio ) .

If Adele could be more specific about the type of programme, we might be able to come up with something more appropriate for that context.

Alan Taylor
… who was most definitely not around in those days, so might be wrong about some of the details, but as far as I know it’s correct.

> On 18 Apr 2020, at 18:03, patheigham via Tech1 <tech1 at tech-ops.co.uk> wrote:
> 
> 
> Anyone got any suggestions?
> Pat
>  
> Sent from Mail for Windows 10
>  
> From: Adele Fletcher
> Sent: 18 April 2020 15:39
> To: pat.heigham at amps.net
> Subject: some advice please
>  
>  
> Hi Pat,
>  
> How are you? My name is Adele and I’m on Amps council. Hope you and your family are keeping safe and well during these strange times.
> 
> I was wondering if I could pick your brains on behalf of a friend please? Clive and Brian suggested I get in touch with you as you worked in television. She needs to write some authentic ADR for a scene set in the 1940’s for a TV show. This is what she said to me - 
> 
> "Hi Adele, I’m just looking for some pointers on what a director/producer could say at the beginning/end of an outside broadcast so not in a studio with red light etc, to indicate beginning and end of recording.”
> 
> I’m sure you’re far too young to have been working then but do you have any idea of what the lingo might have been please? 
> 
> Many thanks!
> 
> Adele
> Adele Fletcher
> Dialogue + ADR Editor
> www.adelefletcher.com
> 07775 897544
> 
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