Canada: "Le tricheur" has spectacular set

[Blaq]

This past Sunday, I tuned in to TVA's sneak preview of their new daily game show, "Le tricheur" (The Cheater), which replaces the 5-year old "Le cercle". 5 celebrities play for charity; one of them is "the cheater" — they're fed the correct answer to every question. If they're smart, they'll fake-flub some questions to deflect suspicion. The show is a standard-issue celebrity game; it's linear and repetitive, and would certainly benefit from a couple of extra twists.

What I wasn't prepared for was the set. The sneak preview started with a segment before the game, with everyone in street clothes next to the back wall yukking it up and playing Basil Exposition to convey key points of the game.  While I took note of the rules, what grabbed my attention was the animated set: was it rear projection? Front projection? Green screen?

Then the game started.

Oh. My. God. A clever combination of set design, lighting, and amazing front projection turned the set into an eye-popping, dynamic, colorful, animated environment. I had serious ('80s) TRON flashbacks. I later learned that Moment Factory, the Montreal team who created the set, will team up with Cirque du Soleil to produce Cher's halftime show at the Super Bowl. Here are some links for your optical pleasure; just remember it's even better during the actual show, with all the sound effects.

Moment Factory - Le tricheur
Making Of

Sure looks like TRON, doesn't it?

Ooo drat. The forum doesn't allow images.

[clemon79]

While I took note of the rules, what grabbed my attention was the animated set: was it rear projection? Front projection? Green screen?

From the looks of it, and based on what I read in the clip you linked, the back wall is LED. I suspect the podiums / host station are rear projection, because there simply isn't a way to front-projection it that isn't going to produce some horrible shadows.

[Kniwt]

Here's a full episode from the TVA website, apparently not geoblocked:
http://tva.canoe.ca/video/1337645762001

[DoItRockapella]

Here's a full episode from the TVA website, apparently not geoblocked:
http://tva.canoe.ca/...o/1337645762001

Just watched - the set is certainly amazing, but could somebody fill me in on the exact details of the game? From what I could tell (I don't speak a word of French), each player starts out with a certain amount of money and places a wager on the answer written down for each question, leading up to the vote at the end on who the cheater is. It's far from the first show to use this mechanic (see The Enemy Within, Dirty Rotten Cheater, etc.) and as Blaq said, would greatly benefit from some variation or an extra twist.

Oh, and when is Cher doing halftime at the Super Bowl?

[Blaq]

From the looks of it, and based on what I read in the clip you linked, the back wall is LED. I suspect the podiums / host station are rear projection, because there simply isn't a way to front-projection it that isn't going to produce some horrible shadows.

No, they're front projections. Sometimes, when a guest star steps back from their podium (especially tall Jean-Michel Verrault), some of the back tiles are projected onto their head. That's a shame; it ruins the magic. Too bad they didn't plan an extra 2 feet of space between the back wall and the main area.

One of the making-of videos shows a staff member poking his finger around a podium, instructing someone to nudge a polygon endpoint to match the physical set.

Although the show is simple, it's a real pleasure to watch (if you're a local) — having 5 celebrities constantly joking around creates lots of fun for the people at home, and I don't miss any extra complexity. (Me, the rules guy! Go figure.)

[tvwxman]

That's one of the best looking sets i've ever seen. Wow. I can't believe that's not used more often in all set design. Wow.

[Clay Zambo]

Amazingly impressive.  Overwhelmingly so.  What's it got to do with the game?

[clemon79]

Amazingly impressive.  Overwhelmingly so.  What's it got to do with the game?

Well, nothing, but then you just described Press Your Luck.

It's TV. As such, chrome can be important.

[Clay Zambo]

Amazingly impressive.  Overwhelmingly so.  What's it got to do with the game?

Well, nothing, but then you just described Press Your Luck.

It's TV. As such, chrome can be important.

Understood.  I would argue, though, that PYL needed a gameboard (even if the lots of flashy lights and rotating platform stuff was highly chromed.)  Cheaters needs a podium for each player and one for the host; that's about it, as far as I see.

[clemon79]

Understood.  I would argue, though, that PYL needed a gameboard (even if the lots of flashy lights and rotating platform stuff was highly chromed.)

But it didn't. They needed a randomizer, yes. But you can do that with a deck of playing cards.

[DrBear]

Good gravy Marie.

That set is more watchable for a half-hour than most game shows currently on the air.

[Clay Zambo]

Understood.  I would argue, though, that PYL needed a gameboard (even if the lots of flashy lights and rotating platform stuff was highly chromed.)

But it didn't. They needed a randomizer, yes. But you can do that with a deck of playing cards.

Right. But you're going to make the deck big enough to show up well on camera, and have an easel or podium to hold it... PYL could certainly have been done with less chrome than it was.  You don't NEED the Whammy animations to make the show work, but they were a big part of the fun of the show.  I was honestly wondering what functionality the "Tricheur" set contributes.

[Blaq]

Just watched - the set is certainly amazing, but could somebody fill me in on the exact details of the game?

What I've seen so far:

• 5 celebrities stay all week; each plays for their own charity.
• The only person who knows who the cheater is, is that person. At the beginning of the game, each player sees a message on their screen: "You are the cheater" or "you are not the cheater". This happens when blindingly-bright yellow light shines on their faces.
• Questions are worth from $50 to $150. Everyone who answers correctly banks that money.
• Banked money may be lost, so one question per show is worth more (I've seen $300, and $500 on Friday) and that money goes straight to the charity. It cannot be lost, and is not reflected on the scoreboard. During this question, the set morphs to a golden look.
• At every commercial break, the audience votes on who they think is the cheater.
• After the break, vote results are revealed and the host lets one player grill another for 30 seconds.
• At the end of the show, all players secretly guess who they think is the cheater.
• Players who correctly identify the cheater split his bank. Their share is added to their existing bank.
• Players who guess incorrectly (were duped by the cheater) see their entire bank given to the cheater.
• Even the host doesn't know who the cheater is, making him an integral part of the game as he directs questions, points out inconsistencies (e.g. a tennis fan flubs a tennis-score question), and finally tries to guess the cheater at the end of the game, along with all players.
• If the host correctly guesses the cheater, $400 goes to a random audience member who voted for that person.

Oh, and when is Cher doing halftime at the Super Bowl?

I had a ditzy moment — wrong gay diva. It's Madonna, not Cher, and that gives Moment Factory even more cred! Céline's new Las Vegas show, Madonna's halftime number: that company is going places!

[clemon79]

You don't NEED the Whammy animations to make the show work, but they were a big part of the fun of the show.  I was honestly wondering what functionality the "Tricheur" set contributes.

Same thing; it makes the show more fun to watch. Especially if the game is pretty weak if it were just played around a desk, and based on Blaq's description below, it doesn't sound that enthralling of an actual game.

I had a ditzy moment — wrong gay diva. It's Madonna, not Cher, and that gives Moment Factory even more cred! Céline's new Las Vegas show, Madonna's halftime number: that company is going places!

Wow, think they could get together with Gaga on some project or another and complete the trifecta?

[Clay Zambo]

I had a ditzy moment — wrong gay diva. It's Madonna, not Cher, and that gives Moment Factory even more cred! Céline's new Las Vegas show, Madonna's halftime number: that company is going places!

Wow, think they could get together with Gaga on some project or another and complete the trifecta?

Who could possibly be the announcer on that show--RuPaul?