TPIR: New studio details

[cmjb13]

From what I understand, it does. George said during the break "It only took us 50 years to figure that out!" I believe that started in S49.

It did not.  They only started doing it sometime early this past season.

Well, when you are regularly taking 90 minutes to tape an hour show, every little bit of time savings helps.

[Nick]

From what I understand, it does. George said during the break "It only took us 50 years to figure that out!"

Fifty years and many advances in recording and editing technology.  In an era where you'd prefer to do anything to not have to splice tape, it made total sense to not shoot out of sequence (but I would argue it still makes sense for other reasons).

But come to think of it, why not just play through the six games and then the Showcase Showdowns back-to-back on air?  While I cannot suggest changing something that's worked for them for nearly fifty years at this point, the Showcase Showdown is--generally speaking, to put it politely--dull compared to the rest of the show.  Sandwich both sets of wheel-spinning into one act or two consecutive ones.  I don't think I'd be bothered.

Well, when you are regularly taking 90 minutes to tape an hour show, every little bit of time savings helps.

If that logic was applied (again), then they'd be back to shooting live-to-tape; and given that they believe they need "perfection" in how a contestant reacts to seeing patio furniture or how Drew makes his entrance that they'll reshoot if they didn't like the first take, I would say their efforts to save time are misdirected.

But as much as I truly am neutral on them shooting the first Showcase Showdown out of sequence right before the second, something is eventually going to happen that they won't be able to cover up.  Drew gets bonked on the head by a Samoan in game five, but what?  In the first Showcase Showdown he's got a gash on his head that wasn't there a segment ago and is gone in the next one!  (OK, maybe not quite like that, but you get my point.)

[Kevin Prather]

But come to think of it, why not just play through the six games and then the Showcase Showdowns back-to-back on air?  While I cannot suggest changing something that's worked for them for nearly fifty years at this point, the Showcase Showdown is--generally speaking, to put it politely--dull compared to the rest of the show.  Sandwich both sets of wheel-spinning into one act or two consecutive ones.  I don't think I'd be bothered.

I disagree. I think six straight pricing games would be a slog without something breaking it up at the halfway point.

[cmjb13]

I would love to see how much they are spending in editing costs over a single season.

It has to be a huge amount

[jmangin]

But come to think of it, why not just play through the six games and then the Showcase Showdowns back-to-back on air?

This is totally not a knock on your comment but more my own opinion.

People would drop out after the sixth game. I love the showcases (especially the ridiculousness of the 1980s with the time capsule, pirates, and all the wackiness--mainly because I'm a sincere fan of kitsch as a form of catharsis), but the vast majority of people would turn it off if there are no more games and it's just the big wheel and showcases.

[Joe Mello]

I would love to see how much they are spending in editing costs over a single season.

It has to be a huge amount

This feels like an overblown take. Assuming the editing protocol already chops the recording up into individual segments, dragging one segment to a different part of the timeline takes a trivial amount of time.

[JasonA1]

I would love to see how much they are spending in editing costs over a single season.

It has to be a huge amount

This feels like an overblown take. Assuming the editing protocol already chops the recording up into individual segments, dragging one segment to a different part of the timeline takes a trivial amount of time.

I took it as an overall comment on the show, not how much it costs to move Showcase Showdown #1 into an earlier position.

-Jason

[Otm Shank]

I think this also boils down to the end of the classical broadcaster era, when emcees had the clock in their head. Ludden trying to squeeze in the last password puzzle of the episode, Tomarken talking over whammy animation when there is a high spin count, Barker pacing out each game and dumping out of the Showcase Showdown when a spinoff is won, Clark always aware of the time at his disposal, etc.

Strahan might be the closest to that mold being steeped in live TV after football. The pacing is pretty much set for current Pyramid, so other than the Winner's Circle wrap-up there's no clear example of him doing this. I know from being in the audience in Season 1 that the introductions needed some time editing, and it seems there might still be a reliance on that. (Not counting editing in prize announcements.) Also, we can't evaluate Banks because the length of the bonus round is so variable, and she has to create more material than they might need.

Sure the production company loves the cost savings, but Bob said the added benefit to live-to-tape is that he controls what goes in the show (taking out the executive producer role for a moment). Why hand that control off to an editor to make a decision of what line to cut?

[Casey Buck]

Also, we can't evaluate Banks because the length of the bonus round is so variable, and she has to create more material than they might need.

To be fair, even the original Press Your Luck needed editing or padding since the spin rounds are also equally variable (editing is most likely to occur with episodes where the question rounds generated the maximum 20 spins, or anomalies like the Cathy/Lori spin battle episode and the Michael Larson episode).

Also, cable game shows tended to tape segments out of order, too. Supermarket Sweep did all of the front game rounds, then all of the Big Sweeps in batches. Also, Legends of the Hidden Temple did all of the Moats, Steps of Knowledges, and Temple Games in batches, with the Temple Runs done at the end of the long taping day, which is likely part of the reason it had such a low win rate.

[nowhammies10]

Also, cable game shows tended to tape segments out of order, too. Supermarket Sweep did all of the front game rounds, then all of the Big Sweeps in batches. Also, Legends of the Hidden Temple did all of the Moats, Steps of Knowledges, and Temple Games in batches, with the Temple Runs done at the end of the long taping day, which is likely part of the reason it had such a low win rate.

Double Dare did this too, they'd shoot two or three front games before lunch and then the corresponding obstacle courses in the afternoon.

[Nick]

I disagree. I think six straight pricing games would be a slog without something breaking it up at the halfway point.

Could be, but in an age where people binge watch on shows, would that really matter anymore?  Though I suppose the longer commercial breaks that TV (still) has compared to streaming might be a factor.

People would drop out after the sixth game. I love the showcases (especially the ridiculousness of the 1980s with the time capsule, pirates, and all the wackiness--mainly because I'm a sincere fan of kitsch as a form of catharsis), but the vast majority of people would turn it off if there are no more games and it's just the big wheel and showcases.

Fair enough, and I get that's why separating the Showcase Showdowns makes sense, though the Showcases nowadays are hardly the theatrical spectacles of yesteryear.

I would love to see how much they are spending in editing costs over a single season.

It has to be a huge amount

This feels like an overblown take. Assuming the editing protocol already chops the recording up into individual segments, dragging one segment to a different part of the timeline takes a trivial amount of time.

I took it as an overall comment on the show, not how much it costs to move Showcase Showdown #1 into an earlier position.

I would say that is the most reasonable way to interpret it, and accurate too.  I was in the studio years ago when they did a pickup of a contestant's reaction to the reveal of a home gym in the Showcase was deemed too strong.  The stage manager said to her, "You gave me a ten (on a scale of excitement).  I need a six".

[Fedya]

I'd say how dare the contestants be spontaneous, but I have a feeling the people picking the contestants are picking for tens and people play up to that.

[TimK2003]

Also, we can't evaluate Banks because the length of the bonus round is so variable, and she has to create more material than they might need.

To be fair, even the original Press Your Luck needed editing or padding since the spin rounds are also equally variable (editing is most likely to occur with episodes where the question rounds generated the maximum 20 spins, or anomalies like the Cathy/Lori spin battle episode and the Michael Larson episode).

PYL was easy to pad, either with a longer shot of the happenings going into commercial breaks -- including the occasional on-screen poem, or with Peter reading one or more poems at the end of the show.  And the Contestant/Ticket Plugs which ISTR were pre-recorded once by Rod and dropped in when needed.

On the flip side, when the gameplay would run long, they had the options of shortening the contestant intros, come out of commercial break with Peter going right into the first question ot the first contestant's spins and going right into a commercial break as soon as Peter says what's coming up next.  Plus, as we saw with GSN'S "Behind The Scenes" of the Michael Larson episode(s), some of the banter and decision-making between spins was edited out.

I think what was one of the hardest shows to time out was the nighttime Match Game weeknight (x5) episodes: With "X" amount of 2-game matches that needed to be played AND to end it all nicely at the end of the Friday episode, they had to determine which questions were given the 2-5 second think music treatment and which questions do they leave the celebrity banter in while they write out their answers.

[jjman920]

I would love to see how much they are spending in editing costs over a single season.

It has to be a huge amount

I have to imagine editing nowadays is a lot different than it used to be. It made sense for producers back then to discourage editing because I'm assuming it required cutting and putting together videotape; something that could be a long process and require specific equipment. So, if they could keep that at a minimum, it would be best. I get that too, but it's 2023 and I'll take a hunch they aren't hurting that bad because they have to drop in some pick up shots.

The show still runs smoothly in my eyes, when things don't go wrong (which they have). Having been to the show many times over the past few years, including this past week, I'd say the thing that makes tapings get up to 90 minutes is setting things up for the next act. They do film pickups of prize reveals and sometimes Come On Downs, but those take next to no time whereas they might have to take an extra five minutes to roll a car into position on stage to play Gas Money and also plug in the prop and get its electronics going. Or conversely, removing a car off stage after playing Lucky Seven or Card Game. Maybe it's because I enjoy paying attention to Drew's interactions with the audience during the breaks or I like guessing what the crew is setting up behind curtains, but it's usually a process that doesn't drag often for me. And maybe that's also because the wait to get into the studio takes so long that, after going through that, the taping feels like it goes by much quicker. I was quite pleased to end up getting out as early as I did last week as it allowed for me to do other things I thought I wouldn't have time for.

[Chief-O]

I have to imagine editing nowadays is a lot different than it used to be. It made sense for producers back then to discourage editing because I'm assuming it required cutting and putting together videotape; something that could be a long process and require specific equipment.

Up until around the time TPIR debuted, it did. From there, "video editing" pretty much went all-electronic; anything as simple as going from one machine/tape to another with basic cuts-only edits, to multiple machines feeding through an almost control-room-like setup (look up terms such as "linear editing" and "CMX"). Either way, though, it was a rather time-consuming process, with bits of the show having to gradually be laid down in real-time. Nowadays, non-linear editing programs make it a lot easier and quicker to polish things up.