Your Public Best - Lillian Brown [105]
Master Control. The ultimate objective of all of the activity is to route the television program to various stations, or directly to air, or to record it on video tape for later broadcast or distribution. This is done in another nerve center of the station that is usually called “master control” or “central control.”
It is from here that studio lights are controlled, color output is adjusted for proper skin tones, input and outgoing signals are switched from one point to another, etc.
Back in the Studio
The Set. In the pioneer days of television, it was thought that the most flattering background was a black velvet curtain and spotlight-type lighting. While many set designers still like plain cycloramas as backgrounds, now we have the wonderful creative effects of modern lighting techniques made possible by advanced computers and sophisticated equipment. (An example would be the projection of clouds against a sunset-colored cyclorama that, unlit, is simply a plain, beige, muslin-type fabric drape pulled in place across the back of the set.)
The prime function of a television set is to create a suitable environment for you, the human being. The setting should not be so fancy that it overpowers your message. Some backgrounds are so ornate and busy that you can hardly see the guests who inhabit them. There may be so many plants, pictures, and brightly colored objects that the set itself is the star of the show. As viewers, we have all seen flower arrangements growing out of someone’s head, props that are out of perspective, or objects that you puzzle over but cannot identify.
For example, I have missed many a funny line uttered by guests on “The Tonight Show” and “Late Night with David Letterman” because I was so distracted looking at various parts of their busy background sets. On the Carson show, it often looks like a part of a large plant is growing out of guests’ bodies.
Networks and individual television stations spend a lot of money on their sets—especially for morning and evening news broadcasts. Many shows are beginning to discard the old, ornate sets in favor of more neutral and realistic backgrounds.
The color of the set is very important because it affects the clothes you can wear. Obviously, a bright blue or red or plain black background makes it nearly impossible to wear any of those colors. This explains why the best color to wear is gray, and why good, strong middle-spectrum colors such as wine red, medium blue, or camel also look good on most sets. (See the sections on clothing in chapter one.)
One of the most important parts of the studio set is whatever it is that you will sit upon. This will determine your posture, your body language, and your ability to breathe.
The ideal television chair would be a small, hard, straight-backed one with no arms, which would permit you to sit straight from the center of your back and to tuck your heels under your shoulder blades. However, you will find few such chairs in the typical studio.
I remember once, when I was the producer of a talk show, that the chair provided for the guest seamed ideal—it was hard and straight-backed. The one problem was that it rocked. Just in time for air, I stuck a matchbook under one leg to stop the wobble.
Most of the chairs you will encounter will be upholstered armchairs, which you can easily cope with by sitting slightly forward on the front edge. Then there is the soft, fat, over-padded sofa, which can be a hazard in that it tends to swallow you up and overpower you. If you sit back in it and cross your legs, you will completely lose control of your breathing and speaking apparatus. You can overcome all that by perching as best you can on the front edge, ignoring the armrests and finding some way to anchor your body.
Swivel chairs promote busy-looking movements, so if you are seated in one, stabilize it into a fixed position.
At times,