Jump to content

GH to go hi-def?


Recommended Posts

  • Members

I always found early Y&R to be WAY too dark. That Brooks mansion was just...I needed a miner's hat to see the characters.

I noticed an improvement specifically when Lorie Brooks got her apartment. That's when the set had noticeable depth and texture to me, and I remember the bookcase at the back of her set being backlit...which is now commonplace, but I seem to think (outside of the Allegro/Jonas/Gina's) it was fairly unusual on Y&R and on daytime.

Would this have been a Wes Kenney implementation, or did Conboy's regime "see the light"?

I'm wondering if some of the lighting issues you are mentioning are money-based. What if GH just has a bank of lights...fairly cheaply located...and more or less flood the set. Whereas Y&R might have more lighting directors/staff, so they can work on more focused light and key lights and stuff?

I don't know anything about this, but I'm wondering if Y&R simply has a bigger budget to light things more carefully and precisely.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 306
  • Created
  • Last Reply
  • Administrator

Wyman was obsessed with orange, bright colours (unfortunately, Tomin's brought them back when doing flashbacks. I miss Ed Scott's black/white flashbacks).

What was JFP thinking lighting everything so bright and neon? That is so not her style.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Interesting stuff Mark, I think the show was at its darkest in the very early days, I think Y&R lit the actors directly from what I have read, the sets were nearly unlit. The shows I am watching from the mid 80's are the Wes Kenney years and the show is beautiful to look at at. And it looks identical today. Bu then again, I have seen those Katherine scenes with phillip from 1975, I think? And her mansion looks IDENTICAL in lighting, set (although its been painted god knows how many times) It is downright trippy.

I don't know what lighting designer would want their show to look like GH now, or before. The visual of the show is set by the executive producer.

My god, you want flooded lights, look no further than Paul Rauch's OLTL. It was without a doubt the most brightly lit soap ever. There were some excellent sets, I loved Dorians 83/84 penthouse before, and I loved her penthouse in the mid-late 80's, loved Tina's salmon colored lol apartment too. But he did have a bank of HUGE lights - That is what Linda Thorson said in an interview when Linda Gottlieb came on board "that showed every pore on their faces".

I actually like dark lighting much better than cheap bright lighting(AMC, now DAYS). But there is bad, flat, murky, ugly dark lighting (like GH) and then there is Y&R dark lighting. GH seems to just "flood the set" like you said with no nuance, or mood. And as always I love this odd subject. :) But it really does affect the whole "mood" of the show.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Re Y&R,under John Conboy the show's lighting was dark and moody.

From The Soap Opera Book(1976)

"Visually,Y&R is more glamourous than most other soaps.There are many,many facial close-ups,actresses often appear in striking white or black gowns,against bright red backgrounds-Hollywood style.They wear dramatic headscarves or plunging necklines-or both.And the lighting is extraordinary."Absolutely,I strive for artistic effects",says John Conboy.He claims that it is not unusual for his staff to spend 8 ur 9 hours lighting a set.The result is a lighting that is generally darker,murkier and moodier than other soaps.Indeed it is often difficult to make out furniture and other elements of the set.In line with the Hollywood look,bright colours tend to be utilized.The dominant color appears to be orange-orangey lipstick,nail polish and scarves".

In an Afternoon TV interview,Wes Kenney stated that one of the first things he did was change the lighting to get away from the Conboy style.

I guess it fitted in with the changes in storytelling and pace that were happening.

I wonder how much input Bill Bell had in those days, as he was based in Chicago.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I LOVE IT PAUL. THANK YOU!!

Well I guess it is clear that the Wes Kenney era lighting remains to this day. It is still much darker, moody, and artistic than any other soaps. I guess the main difference is that you can clearly see all the sets and set decoration, Y&R has beautiul sets so that is a good thing.

8-9 hours to light a set! WOW. I respect conboy's artistry if nothing else, and I guess he probably did help in the destruction of poor GL.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

HAH! I was totally going to bring that up! YES, the lighting on GH during Wes Kenney's reign was very good and much more Y&R ish. For real. He was there during my favorite era, 87-90. The show was by far ABC's best show production value wise. I will try to find a good quality episode link from his era at Youtube. Alot of them are crappy quality. Also, GH had excellent background music in the late 80's (just like OLTL). AMC's sucked balls. Old fashioned and hokey. GH used to use movie soundtracks, they used the Risky Business instrumental and they used ALOT of the "Flowers In The Attic" score during the Olivia Jerome/mob storyline.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Wes Kenney was really there for a transitional moment for Y&R, not only in production, but in terms of story too. Weren't The Fosters and Brooks phased out while he was there and weren't Victor and the Abbott's introduced? I know a lot of that came from Bill Bell, but I know Bell trusted Kenney a lot and their relationship went back to DAYS in the late 60's/early 70's.

John Conboy is all looks and no substance. He can produce a good looking soap, but the story element and writers he likes are atrocious.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Yes. Kenney came on when the show moved from 30 minutes to 1 hour. I remember, for a time, there was a sudden influx of a few Days stars during that era too.

Why did Kenney leave Y&R, if he and Bell got along?

Who replaced Kenney? It wasn't right away Ed Scott, was it?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I think by the end, Wes and Bill had two completely different visions for the for show, so they ended their partnership amicably. Unlike Bill's relationship with Conboy, which ended on very bad terms. Bill talked about this in his interview with the Achieve of American Television.

It was Ed Scott, he was promoted once Kenney departed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • Members

What are you all thinking of this hi-def stuff?

We didn't get it in my market till today. I actually had to contact the network (ABC), the cable provider and the local affiliate and get them talking to one another.

Sara Bibel waxes positive and optimistic about the HD switch today, and I guess I agree with her. It is definitely a sign of investment.

GH looked pretty good--in terms of crisp and clear--in HD on my TV. It is not quite as beautiful as my regular show, but I liked it.

I do notice that orange hue over everything...and I'm guessing that is an aesthetic choice to deal with tans, etc. But I could get used to it. And it varies. Jason Cook and Kristen Storms and CERTAINLY Leslie Charleson looked normal colored. Steve Burton and Sarah Brown and Lisa Locicero (sp?) and even Ric Hearst looked pretty orange; so did Ingo Rademacher. I wondered therefore if it had more to do with particular sets and the lighting of those sets.

Still, I'm very pleased to see the investment, it does matter to me, I like when soaps strive to up their visual appeal and join the rest of television.

Good heavens, Maurice Benard just came on and he looks like an over-cooked lobster!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Recent Posts

    • Maybe Guza is becoming Y&R Head writer and Jilly will be named EP! Remember CBS installed Latham as consultant and later Mal Young, both of whom took over the show. Of course, they each got credit during the consulting days.
    • Don't forget Carrie, who as Carrie2 was screwing everything in pants, and PPD Reva, who to either get back at Josh for his supposed affair with Vanessa (or just to prove she's more desirable than Van) tries to screw half the male population.
    • Post-production isn't exactly akin to sweeping the floors, but it makes more sense given her CV.  And, it would invalidate any concerns that she has an undo influence on the creative process, as opposed to visual and sound design of the show.  In fact, given her interests, it makes sense that she would want to consult and see the impact of newer technology in a post-production facility.  I could only imagine how much has changed in sound technology since she worked on SB, and that might be intriguing to utilize. As well as their impending move (not as soon as B&B, but we all know it will happen) and helping set up post-production at the new facility. 
    • The last five or so episodes of season 8 after the Jean Hackney story ended were pretty strong with the Laura/Val friendship breakdown, Ben's PTSD with Val trying to help him, and the start of Jill realizing that Val was as much of a threat to her happiness with Gary as Abby was. I always thought that the Jean Hackney story should have ended at mid season at the latest... and then deal with the fall-out because seeing Ben/Val switch roles with Ben in mental decline instead of Val would have been interesting to explore.  And seeing Val and Laura's friendship suffer also was interesting and should have been explored especially with Karen caught in the middle and Abby both intrigued and amused at the conflict that she didn't cause. However, season 8 was the only Latham run season where Val was well written.  
    • Well, she's not in there sweeping the floors at the end of the night, and you don't bring in an award-winning producer to just sit on their backsides (or hey, maybe you do!). Again, without knowing the specific capacity she's in there working as⏤and it seems as if we are not going to at the present time⏤it's hard to speculate/discuss. I would interpret she's in a role that either would not require being credited, or she's, as others have speculated, is back and not receiving credit for the work she's done. That'd be like saying, per the WGA, all writers must be credited, but as we've seen by those who've worked as fi-core, they don't always receive credit. 

      Please register in order to view this content

       And, if my research is correct, per the DGA, you can request not to be credited for work you do. I could only assume the same would be for the PGA, as well.
    • When Anita read Barbara's letter, it started out with the viewers hearing it in Barbara's voice as Anita read silently. And then Anita saying the next portion aloud while Barbara's voice continued simultaneously. And then ending with Anita alone saying the last part aloud. Excerpt from interview  (link to full interview) The rest may be spoilerish -- Only the nonspoiler part here: I love the idea of reading that letter,” shares Tunie. “And at one point in the script, I think it said that my voice joined her, and [Anita] started reciting the letter from memory because [she] memorized this letter. I suggested to Steve Williford, our director, ‘What if it’s like that moment in Hamilton when Hamilton is writing the resignation letter to George Washington, and then he starts saying it too, and then Hamilton’s voice fades away, and then it’s all George. What if we do something like that?’ And he was like, ‘Oh, my God! I just got chills. Let’s do it!’ So, we did it.” I understood that it worked really well, so I’m really happy about that.”  
    • I think MVJ and Guza made a good team in the launching of the soap, and I'm hoping that the rotation of all stories and characters is maintained once he officially departs from the credits. And so far, Ron C's breakdowns have been decent... but they pop only when he's paired with a good script writer like Jazmin.   I hope once Guza leaves officially... that MVJ is able to reign in Ron C and the dread Jamey G.
    • I read that, but my interpretation was that she is uncredited because it is in a non-production capacity.  In others words, she's not secretly producing, or writing, as some had speculated prior to the confirmation. Her likeliest position would be in a post-production consultant capacity. I assume we agree on this?
    • Errol already confirmed she is back at Y&R and in a non-producing role; this alludes to she is not credited for the role she has.
    • I don't think Lisa served a purpose after the serial killer storyline. The writers never gave her anything to do but be Vicky's nemesis. Joanna Going deserved better. Another example of a character taking over the show and then the writers not having a longterm plan for the character.  Exhibit B: Sally Spencer. Such a missed opportunity. It really angers me how they misused her. She could sing and act and they just threw her away in that sexist nonsense storyline. Once the story was over, they wrote her off. The McKinnons should have lasted for years. I will give the show credit for how they introduced Sandra Ferguson as Amanda. I thought it was expertly done. She comes in and she immediately connected to RKK's Sam. She has chemistry with Matthew and she has realistic conversations with MAc and Rachel. That's how it is done. 
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy