Game show sets

[ActualRetailMike]

[quote name=\'TheLastResort\' post=\'220576\' date=\'Jul 20 2009, 03:19 PM\']I'm surprised the Smithsonian wasn't interested in at least part of the original set.[/quote]
Perhaps they were, it's just that the Smithsonian only accepts items that are donated.  Which means someone would have had to pay for shipping the set 2500 miles from California.  Not like Fonzie's leather jacket or Archie Bunker's chair, which could have just been UPS-ed.  Display space at the museum for something that large might also be an issue.

[tvrandywest]

[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'220790\' date=\'Jul 21 2009, 07:45 PM\']

The letters are not raised (thicker than the card stock), and appear and feel to be bonded to the cardstock with a slight indentation into the card around the perimeter of each letter. Does that help identify the process? What was/is that called?

That there art card was made with a hot press. Metal type was laid out on a hot plate having a flat metal surface. The hot metal letters were picked up with big forceps and placed into a metal carrier which was then loaded into a big stamping thingie. Below the stamping thingie was placed an art card and a piece of plastic with some kind of pigment stuff on one side. The operator pulled a lever, causing the thingie to stamp the card with the plastic foil in between the type and the card, and the heat transferred the pigment stuff to the front surface of the card. Make sense? And this was for just ONE LINE of type. If an "answer" had three lines, this process had to be repeated for each line. Jeopardy! must have had LOTS of people working full time making those hot-press cards.
[/quote]
Perfectly described, sir. While on the subject, what was the likely process for the 30 cards in each round on the big board? At times they appeared hand lettered, in that the type was compressed to accommodate long "answers". But they were too print-perfect for hand work.

Randy
tvrandywest.com

[geno57]

[quote name=\'tvrandywest\' post=\'220793\' date=\'Jul 21 2009, 09:53 PM\']Perfectly described, sir. While on the subject, what was the likely process for the 30 cards in each round on the big board? At times they appeared hand lettered, in that the type was compressed to accommodate long "answers". But they were too print-perfect for hand work.[/quote]


For longer answers, they'd prolly just use a narrower version of the usual font.

[chris319]

I'm thinking all 61 cards were hot pressed. In order to keep up with production they'd have to make 61 of those multi-line cards per day[/b], so I'm thinking they must have had five or six full-time "artists" churning them out. Based on my limited experience in TV graphics during that era, I can't think of any other technology they would have used. Nowadays if you wanted to do 61 hard art cards like that you'd do it all on computer and print the background (blue part) onto white or yellow card stock and have gallons and gallons of blue ink on hand.

[dazztardly]

[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'220829\' date=\'Jul 22 2009, 02:05 PM\']I'm thinking all 61 cards were hot pressed. In order to keep up with production they'd have to make 61 of those multi-line cards per day[/b], so I'm thinking they must have had five or six full-time "artists" churning them out. Based on my limited experience in TV graphics during that era, I can't think of any other technology they would have used. Nowadays if you wanted to do 61 hard art cards like that you'd do it all on computer and print the background (blue part) onto white or yellow card stock and have gallons and gallons of blue ink on hand.[/quote]

Yep. Nowadays, we just print a decal or stick a piece of cardstock into a printer...and trim it with a paper guillotine and an exacto knife.

I have appreciation for those roots. Stickers on posterboard, hotpress, slides, anyway you slice it. It was quite a beast back then for the production value. Even though I do everything cgi, I still am a purist by heart. I'm more of a fan of watching a spinning trilon, over a video monitor.

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'220829\' date=\'Jul 22 2009, 03:05 PM\']I'm thinking all 61 cards were hot pressed. In order to keep up with production they'd have to make 61 of those multi-line cards per day[/b], so I'm thinking they must have had five or six full-time "artists" churning them out.[/quote]
How thick were the cards back in the 60s/70s?

[Jimmy Owen]

Would "Eye Guess" and "Concentration" have used similar art card set-ups?

On "Eye Guess" (the one episode GSN showed) there was a difference between the board the home audience saw during the eight second study time and the actual on-set board.  I wonder why that was?

[chris319]

How thick were the cards back in the 60s/70s?

It was called Crescent board and was, mmm, about 3/32" or 1/8" thick. It came in sheets which measured 22" x 28" and had to be cut into quarters to get four 11" x 14" cards:

http://www.crescentcardboard.com/

Would "Eye Guess" and "Concentration" have used similar art card set-ups?

In all likelihood. I dispute Norm Blumenthal's assertion that the Concentration puzzle pieces were made on plywood. Plywood would be heavy and expensive and would need to be cut with a saw in a shop and just plain overkill. They were likely on cardboard. I'll call Norm at home and ask him.

[Jimmy Owen]

Tonight might not be a good night to call Norm.  I hear he's invited the Kalehoffs over for dinner.

[chris319]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'220885\' date=\'Jul 23 2009, 03:47 AM\']Tonight might not be a good night to call Norm.  I hear he's invited the Kalehoffs over for dinner.[/quote]
As guests or as the main course? There is that axe murderer running around New Rochelle -- gotta be careful.

[Timsterino]

I have nothing really to add to this conversation other than just wanting to say that as a fan, I really enjoyed reading this thread and would love it if one day Bob Boden put his collection on some sort of public display.