Good luck to everyone for the live EastEnders tonight. I was in NC1 for the last one in 2015. One of the most terrifying moments of my professional career up to that point. (I’d be far less scared now, but I was still new and relatively inexperienced then.) - ThreadSky

dirtyfeed.org • 9 days ago

Good luck to everyone for the live EastEnders tonight. I was in NC1 for the last one in 2015. One of the most terrifying moments of my professional career up to that point.

(I’d be far less scared now, but I was still new and relatively inexperienced then.)

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dirtyfeed.org•9 days ago

I think we had three diverse incoming live sources, and two different versions of a rehearsal to cut to if all went wrong - one incomplete one delivered on tape, and one more complete one lines recorded on the afternoon of broadcast.

dirtyfeed.org•9 days ago

The rehearsals we were supposed to run in parallel with the live programme, but they inevitably drifted. If I’d had to use them, what would I do? Cut immediately to one, and risk duplicating/skipping material, or gone into breakdown and figured it out?

My gut feeling is the latter, but it’s hard.

dirtyfeed.org•9 days ago

My absolute favourite thing was hearing them run their pre-recorded inserts, and asking for “wet version” or “dry version”.

Each of the pre-recorded inserts on location were recorded twice, in order to be able to match the *current* weather on the live stuff.

dirtyfeed.org•9 days ago

(The above is why I’m relaxed about whether they use any pre-recorded bits. If they do - and I have no insider knowledge for tonight -meshing it cleanly with the live stuff is a skill all in itself.)

dirtyfeed.org•9 days ago

Actually, the hardest bit in 2015 was coordinating the transfer of the live aftershow party from BBC One to BBC Three. (No, you didn’t see a flash back to the studio after the endboard on BBC One, shut up, leave me alone.)

So at least they don’t have that to worry about tonight.

dirtyfeed.org•9 days ago

For the BBC's centenary, I wrote a piece about live drama at the BBC... and suggested that television as a whole was running scared of it in the era of social media.

I don't know whether tonight proves me 100% wrong, but it's a massive step in the right direction.

https://www.dirtyfeed.org/2023/04/the-quatermass-experiment/

jonabuft.bsky.social•9 days ago

I think we did something similar for live soaps on the other side…(also a very for us rare manual take on the end break, as they wouldn’t have been able to hit the end time)

dirtyfeed.org•9 days ago

Yes, I have to admit, this kind of thing is a MUCH easier enterprise for BBC pres than ITV! (Maybe the opposite for the production? They must appreciate the commercial breaks to reset…)

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