[quote name=\'chris319\' date=\'Sep 18 2003, 03:58 PM\']Randy - how much do you rely on cues from the booth vs. your own timing instincts? Could you announce the show just as effectively without the booth? I'm surprised they don't have you on an interrupt where you would hear the booth only when the appropriate key is pressed. The production people might argue that it's too inconvenient but they're not the ones having to read announce copy and listen to camera cues at the same time.
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Chris, I'd be NOTHING without the genius of the director! The director is the conductor, the maestro, the master of all... he told me so himself!! ;-)
Truly, I rely on the cues and find them reassuring. With an audible cue I KNOW it's my turn, and it keeps me from having to keep one eye focused intently on the monitor while reading with the other eye to see exactly when an item/prize first enters the frame. With cues I can relax and simply dart my eyes back and forth more \"leisurely\" instead of constantly staring to check that every item is clearly visible before I announce it. But I think it's vital that I watch the reveals during the showcase reads as a second pair of eyes to be sure we're in snyc. \"Tipping the reveals\" would kill a lot of the excitement and drama of the show.
Happily I'm left to take my own cues for the \"Who's our next player\" interplay/dialogue with Bob; it keeps the conversation natural. But I get cued for all other reads so we can have perfect sync with the reveal of items/prizes. Still, I occasionally jump the cue on the reveal of one-bid items (and the car in \"Lucky 7\" and/or the money reveals for \"Plinko\", \"Grand Game\", \"Punchboard\", etc), because sometimes Bob has already thrown it to me (\"Randy, what is the next item\") and I want to avoid the \"dead air\" / delayed response that I think can be awkward. I fill with a stretch until I see the item or get the cue. I would guess that's most obvious on the \"train\" and \"tugboat\" one-bid reveals.
The only show I EVER worked with my own PL was \"Hollywood Showdown\". Associate Director Lisa Todd would cue me... it was just she and I in that cozy little set-up. Damned if I know WHY it was that way (I was on Charlie O's mic at the WOF studio at Sony for that show; perhaps Charlie gets the luxury of working that way. I never asked him). Too bad that show had so little copy. It would be sweet for a copy-intensive show like TPIR! But it's a rare luxury that makes more work for the booth. Clearly the expectation on any show is that the announcer can find his cues in the cacophony; I'd never expect to see it again. Hell, if you rent your services as a professional, union, experienced truck driver it's expected that you can handle the biggest 18-wheeler, double, cab-over-Pete with a reefer on. (I have no idea what that means, but it's on that 1970s hit record \"Convoy\")! ;-)
At TPIR the gig is clearly about me fitting into the well oiled mechanism that has been cranking so successfully with comfortable consistency for the many staffers who have worked 25+ years on the show. Besides, I'd be terribly disappointed to think that the bar had been lowered from the expectations placed on Johnny and Rod.
To those enjoying the thread, it's MY pleasure. I only wish I had this kind of internet capability and access when I was thirsting for the knowledge. I had to evade the security staff at 30 Rock until Johnny appreciated and nurtured my interest in his career.
But if you're REALLY grooving on this, gifts are accepted for my birthday on the 29th ;-))
Randy
tvrandywest.com
