| OUR GREAT FIFTIETH PRODUCTION ! As this was a rather special production, co-founder and producer/director decided he wanted to do something rather different. Rehearse one the Saturday, Record the entire production on location the next day. Oh yes and just to throw panic into the actor, Tech Bod Dennis Rookard was to record for the first time using a brand new Zoom H4 digital mini recorder.
So we asked John Glasscock to explain himself,
Mr Humphreys & His InheritanceAs Dr Johnson SHOULD have said, “Next to being hanged, nothing concentrates the mind quite like knowing one rehearsal period is all you're getting.” Saint FM at Burnham made us very welcome and it was an interesting experience to be able to visit the studios of a new radio station. They seemed pleased with the drop-in numbers they were getting for their open day, although most of them apparently came while we were busy rehearsing. It's probably just as well there were no visitors left by the time we came to do our rehearsed reading against the clock, because, exhilarating experience though it may have been for us, dodging about to get onto the nearest free mic. with not a moment to adjust the height probably didn't do a lot for audibility.
As for the recording day, it was more like May than October and it brought out all the Sunday drivers and light aircraft owners, with all the frustrated delays they entail. Recording on location throughout means only one channel picking up both speech and ambient sound, so if you try to edit the speech you get a hiccup in the background atmosphere. Or that's Dennis's story, and he was SO right with his larger- than-life Dickensian characterisation that you almost forget the lack of editing on the exteriors. Yes. almost!
I've already thanked everybody concerned for their patience and fortitude. It seemed a good idea at the time to try a different approach for our 50th production, but it didn't quite work, and that's nobody's fault but mine for not foreseeing the snags. As for the end result - it's not one of our very best but it's a credit to all concerned that it works as well as it does – which brings us back to Dr Johnson again, who said much the same about dancing dogs…dodging about to get onto the nearest free mic., probably.
JG
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BEHIND THE SCENESOf course if we were a major film production company we would have had some on site location catering. But this is Hosiprog, so it was all down to fish and chips !
the glamour of location dining… Dennis and Scott enjoy a break from rehearsals at Burnham
John Glasscock sort of laid this little surprise on the team. "Lets record the Rehearsal" he cried. which explains the looks of the faces of our actors.
Sue, Keith, Scott, Frona and Angela at the rehearsed reading at Saint FM
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