studio audience

[Max]

Ok, so I went to a recording of the new ABC show being aired this Friday
night – "Frankly", which is a talk show hosted by Fran Kelly.

In the foyer

I arrived at 5.30PM as requested and we were made to wait in an area of
the foyer which was next to the studio that the show would be recorded
in, later told this was "Studio 22".

After about one hour of sitting around in the foyer (during which I saw
Stan Grant walk past), a very bubbly woman got hold of a microphone and
told us it wouldn't be long and a few things about wearing face masks
and the use of 'hazing' in the studio.

Audience warm-up

Eventually we were told to go into the studio. I was surprised at how
small the seating area was. When you watch shows on the TV you imagine
the seating area is a lot bigger. The band for the show was already on
stage, practising a bit.

Then the same woman who was out in the foyer got us to practice clapping
and laughing. This woman is called the 'warm-up' person. Then there were
some records of us clapping and laughing, because they use these when
making the show up – there are no cameras on the audience during the
recording of the actual show.

I am actually worried that I might be on the actual show, because during
this part there was a 'floating' camera that seemed to be aimed right in
my direction for a good while.

Between all of this happening there is a lot of waiting, during which
the warm up lady talks and tries to keep the audience entertained and
engaged, asking people where they are from and whether people have been
to other shows before.

The actual show

Eventually Fran Kelly came out on set and gave a quick hello and welcome
to the audience, then went back off-stage. She was really well dressed –
looked like she was going to a really fancy evening function.

Then the show actually starts and the band plays intro music and Fran
comes out. The first guest was Shaun Micallef and there were two other
guests as well.

The conversations between Fran and the guests were a bit dragged out. I
didn't like being stuck in a seat for that long, and you can't just get
something from the fridge or change the channel. The show will only be
30 mins in total, yet each of the three guests took well over 30 mins to
be interviewed. So they obviously cut out bits that are boring, but in
the audience you have to sit through it all.

Micallef was quite funny though and that was probably the main reason I
went to this particular show.

Post show re-takes

When the actual show ended, there was a re-take needed of a question and
answer with one of the guests. Fran and the floor manager are obviously
being given information through their ear-pieces from the control room
about what needs to happen.

Then the guests just stayed on set and sort of talked and mucked around
a bit with the band and audience. Then there were some still photos to
be taken of Fran with the guests.

It was then decided that the guests no longer were required so they
could leave. Then there was a long tedious process of Fran doing
re-takes of things she had previously said, pretending like the guests
were there. At this point I wanted to just go home, but you are kind of
stuck there.

Fran then had to do some on-camera promos for the show – the things that
are aired at the end of the previous show: "on next is Frankly, where my
guests will be ..."

Final thoughts

A few times during the whole thing I thought Fran was was looking in my
direction, so I just made sure I smiled and looked happy, but then I
realised later she had friends in the row directly behind me, and after
the show she came up and gave them all hugs and talked to them.

Finally, it was finished and we could all leave, which was a relief.

Overall, I'm happy I went. It is something to tick off the bucket list.
A once in a life time experience. It is nice to see how the shows are
actually made, and it's a good look into the whole world of
entertainment and TV.

However, I don't think I will do it again. It's just too long a process
(about 3 hours), to watch what is essentially the content of a half hour
TV show.