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Post by Terry Kinane on Nov 30, 2011 12:05:08 GMT -5
That's a good way of putting it. I suppose that is the mark of a true professional. It was an unfortunate parallel though; a case of life imitating art. I've seen Liz in other shows over the years, and she always impresses me with how she gets completely into her character. Did any of the Sweetheart actors, particularly Dervla and Liz, get accent training specifically for the role? The accents are all very convincing, especially considering Dervla is Irish and Liz has a strong northern accent. I can't imagine it was something they just picked up by themselves. Both Dervla and Liz could turn on and off the Phoebe accent like a tap. It was easy for them.
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Post by maximus on Nov 30, 2011 13:04:17 GMT -5
Lucky them It's one thing putting on an accent...quite another to sound completely natural with it! Dervla in particular was very natural. I suppose Dervla would have been under pressure in the interviews to convince Marks and Gran that she was worth the risk over other girls from London.
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Post by Terry Kinane on Nov 30, 2011 13:20:08 GMT -5
The Casting Director would have given advanced warning to the actresses coming to read regarding the London accent requirement.
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Post by maximus on Nov 30, 2011 14:02:34 GMT -5
Yeah, but I remember thinking, when I first watched the show, that the actress playing Pheobe must be a genuine cockney girl! She was that convincing. Obviously, once I knew her name it was clear she was Irish. My point is that there must have been some reservations by the casting people before meeting Dervla, and she clearly won them over. Great piece of casting. In fact, all of the senior cast were perfect for their roles. The recasting of the two girls worked very well. So well, in fact, that I genuinely was not put off by it. A testament to all involved.
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Post by maximus on Nov 30, 2011 17:20:01 GMT -5
Terry, how did you get into Directing? Was it something you always wanted to do, or did you just drift into it?
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Post by Terry Kinane on Nov 30, 2011 19:03:38 GMT -5
Terry, how did you get into Directing? Was it something you always wanted to do, or did you just drift into it? I always wanted to direct comedy and comedy drama. I started out in News, moved to LWT as a vision mixer. Became a director at LWT and then went freelance as a Director.
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Post by maximus on Dec 1, 2011 15:55:27 GMT -5
I thought the introduction of Noel Coward as a supporting character worked very well. Terry, do you remember if Noel was supposed to have a one off appearance, or was it known from the start that he would be a recurring figure? Also, have you any recollection of any other historical figures that were considered but were not introduced in the series? David Benson did a great job with Noel.
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Post by Terry Kinane on Dec 1, 2011 20:59:10 GMT -5
Noel And George Formby were the only historical characters considered. We had a hunch that Noel would be a runner because of how good David was. David would perform for the audience as Kenneth Williams during the costume changes.
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Post by maximus on Dec 3, 2011 10:17:47 GMT -5
Terry, do you think the cast liked playing in front of a live audience? I'm sure they all have experience acting in theatre's, but having to perform in front of several cameras and have the audience must have been difficult. Do you recall any of the cast having an issue with it, or not being comfortable with it in the beginning? Particularly Liz, Emma and David, as you were directing when they first started the show.
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Post by Terry Kinane on Dec 4, 2011 18:11:49 GMT -5
The first thing I taught any actor who hadn't done sitcoms before, was to play it as Drama with laughs, and to just use the audience to split the laughs. When an audience laughs at a joke in a scene, the laugh builds to a peak, and then starts to lessen. That is the point for the actor with the next line to continue the scene. If an actor tries to continue before the laugh has peaked, the begining of the line will be smothered and the Director would then have to do a retake. Once a new actor has experienced the feel of it once, they quickly get how to do it. I also made them aware that I could tighten the laugh in editing so that the completed scene will have the correct rhythm, and it wouldnt appear at all like they are waiting for the laugh to subside on the shots.
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Post by maximus on Dec 4, 2011 18:49:26 GMT -5
Ah, I see. Obviously it must feel strange for an actor who is new to sitcoms to have to pause between lines while waiting for the audience to stop laughing. It must seem very unnatural at first. I've noticed a number of tv moments over the years, where an actor's line was lost in the laughter. It happened a number of times in Only Fools and Horses. I don't recall any problems in Sweetheart. I guess your advice to the new actors paid off Did you have to redo scenes often; perhaps due to the camera's view being blocked, or an unexpected problem with the scene on the day of filming? You have described before the process of blocking scenes in rehersals, and only having limited time to practice on the final set. Do you recall any instances where problems occurred on the night of filming?
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Post by Terry Kinane on Dec 5, 2011 6:19:06 GMT -5
Yep. Nine times out of ten because the boom either caused a shadow or dipped into the top of the frame. Operating a boom is without doubt the most difficult technical job on a tv sitcom. Out here in the States, they put everyone on body radio mics and the boom is hardly needed at all. That makes life much easier for the Director and the camera crew, but old school sound professionals would tell you that the sound is not quite as good as on a British tv sitcom. In the old days, a boom operator was able to follow the camera script and push the boom further into the set for the tighter camera shots. This created a realistic perspective, but if he pushed too far, he dipped into the top of the shot.
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Post by maximus on Dec 6, 2011 18:11:52 GMT -5
Nic is a very good actor, and his singing voice is adequate. However, I was wondering Terry, did Nic ever consider getting singing lessons during the six years of Sweetheart? Especially considering that the show is very musical. It just seems strange to me that he didn't improve his voice and take full advantage of what was a great role. Did you ever speak to him about it? I know from experience that singing is more about training than good genes, despite what most people think. Surely he at least considered it?
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Post by Terry Kinane on Dec 7, 2011 6:29:31 GMT -5
Nic is a very good actor, and his singing voice is adequate. However, I was wondering Terry, did Nic ever consider getting singing lessons during the six years of Sweetheart? Especially considering that the show is very musical. It just seems strange to me that he didn't improve his voice and take full advantage of what was a great role. Did you ever speak to him about it? I know from experience that singing is more about training than good genes, despite what most people think. Surely he at least considered it? No. We never considered that. We were able to develop Phoebe's singing ability because of Liz, but the singing component as it applied to Gary was cosmetic.
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Post by royaloakregular on Mar 15, 2012 13:11:03 GMT -5
Were most of the sets in the same place? and did you have to ask the audience to move to which ever set was being used at the time? Was it very time consuming?
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Post by Terry Kinane on Mar 15, 2012 17:12:28 GMT -5
Were most of the sets in the same place? and did you have to ask the audience to move to which ever set was being used at the time? Was it very time consuming? The sets were built in front of the audience seating. Although the audience could see all of the sets from every seat in the audience, the reality is that as soon as the cameras and booms position themselves in front of the sets, the only way to see what's going on is to watch the scenes on the monitors that are slung about 10 feet above the audience seats.
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Post by Jay on Mar 31, 2012 15:34:35 GMT -5
Hi Terry,
What would you say is the percentage chance of ant further episodes? I unfortunately think 0% but what do you feel?
Jamie
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Post by Terry Kinane on Apr 1, 2012 7:01:36 GMT -5
Zero is about right, Jamie. Sweetheart was a gem in it's day, but that day is long gone.
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Post by aspadistra on Apr 3, 2012 5:03:01 GMT -5
*sigh*
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Post by royaloakregular on May 6, 2012 13:06:37 GMT -5
Firstly I'm not having a go at the writers, because I think GNSH is the best sitcom ever!!
But something that I noticed, at the end of series 4 Yvonne was distraught because Clive ran off with her money, but at the beginning of series 5 she was a multi-millionaire still working with Clive.
Was this a mistake on the writers part?
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