https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1279060_10200751360370717_1271411182_o.jpg
It is very rare to find BTS photos of Press Your Luck, especially from the actual shows\' run, as most of them are from the pilot. Now, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the show, here\'s a very rare photo of Rod Roddy preparing the audience for taping in Studio 33 at CBS Television City here in Los Angeles, sometime in 1983. I would like to thank the shows\' former Associate Director Rick Stern for sharing this on Facebook. This photo gives you an idea of how the iconic Big Board looks like when it\'s shut off.
I had no idea the audience was so close to the set. Even taking into account how TV makes things look larger, the audience is really close. The shots on TV made them look much further away.
One thing I noticed in this picture is an extra little runway in the middle. I almost never saw it on a lot of CBS game shows. I take it the runway was something that could be installed or removed anytime.
One thing I noticed in this picture is an extra little runway in the middle. I almost never saw it on a lot of CBS game shows. I take it the runway was something that could be installed or removed anytime.
You can see it here too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bq0k55aIHm8
Here it is, sans runway:
http://www.golden-road.net/gg/albums/aroundthestudio/P1010086a.jpg
Note the larger gap between some of those seats. I take it that those are the seats that they\'d remove.
The runway was likely put there to accomodate one of these. I believe \"Pyramid\" was set up the same way.
Awesome photo----I didn\'t think too many PYL eps. were even done in 33.
I had no idea the audience was so close to the set. Even taking into account how TV makes things look larger, the audience is really close. The shots on TV made them look much further away.
That\'s because when they shot in 33, we (the viewing audience) generally only saw the back of the studio. When I got to see the show in \'86, we were MUCH closer than I thought we\'d be. Still, the big board was HUGE.
Tyshaun
Wow, I\'m impressed. That shot really gives an idea of how huge that board is. If anyone here were to put an estimate on how tall it is, what would you figure?
Wow, I\'m impressed. That shot really gives an idea of how huge that board is. If anyone here were to put an estimate on how tall it is, what would you figure?
I\'ve read through various sources that it was about 20 feet tall. I can only imagine the time it took to strike the set....
Tyshaun
Most of the time, the show was at Studio 43 (They\'d alternate between the two, before permanently settling into 43 in early 1985). For comparison, here\'s how the backdrops behind the audience looked like in the two studios:
http://imageshack.us/a/img593/4940/icor.png (Studio 33)
http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/9225/bxm4.png (Studio 43)
Wow, I\'m impressed. That shot really gives an idea of how huge that board is. If anyone here were to put an estimate on how tall it is, what would you figure?
I\'ve read through various sources that it was about 20 feet tall. I can only imagine the time it took to strike the set....
Tyshaun
Makes me wonder... For G$M\'s PYL, was the board structure\'s spec the same or scaled-down?
Interesting...I always thought those blue \"windows\" were simply a part of the studio wall, just obscured by curtains. So I take it Ed Flesh designed that as part of the set?
Most of the time, the show was at Studio 43 (They\'d alternate between the two, before permanently settling into 43 in early 1985). For comparison, here\'s how the backdrops behind the audience looked like in the two studios:
http://imageshack.us/a/img593/4940/icor.png (Studio 33)
http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/9225/bxm4.png (Studio 43)
I never knew Larson\'s episode was in 33, very neat thing to learn. And I\'m guessing the audience in 43 wasn\'t sunken down into the floor the way it was in 33, that\'s what I\'m getting from the two shots.
Wow, I\'m impressed. That shot really gives an idea of how huge that board is. If anyone here were to put an estimate on how tall it is, what would you figure?
I\'ve read through various sources that it was about 20 feet tall. I can only imagine the time it took to strike the set....
Tyshaun
Makes me wonder... For G$M\'s PYL, was the board structure\'s spec the same or scaled-down?
It was a scaled-down, smaller size. They used the big board computer hardware from Whammy, for the remake. Some of the video screens used in the board, had to be mounted sideways to accommodate the inside top and bottom rows. The show logo didn\'t light up either, it was a welded sign. The inside arches of the logo, were removable to allow cameras to film from behind the game board.
-Dan
Wow, I\'m impressed. That shot really gives an idea of how huge that board is. If anyone here were to put an estimate on how tall it is, what would you figure?
I\'ve read through various sources that it was about 20 feet tall. I can only imagine the time it took to strike the set....
Tyshaun
Makes me wonder... For G$M\'s PYL, was the board structure\'s spec the same or scaled-down?
It was a scaled-down, smaller size. They used the big board computer hardware from Whammy, for the remake. Some of the video screens used in the board, had to be mounted sideways to accommodate the inside top and bottom rows. The show logo didn\'t light up either, it was a welded sign. The inside arches of the logo, were removable to allow cameras to film from behind the game board.
-Dan
Isn\'t that how some of the camera work on the original series was carried out as well? Cameras inside the board, shooting from inside the arches of the logo?
Wow, I\'m impressed. That shot really gives an idea of how huge that board is. If anyone here were to put an estimate on how tall it is, what would you figure?
I\'ve read through various sources that it was about 20 feet tall. I can only imagine the time it took to strike the set....
Tyshaun
Makes me wonder... For G$M\'s PYL, was the board structure\'s spec the same or scaled-down?
It was a scaled-down, smaller size. They used the big board computer hardware from Whammy, for the remake. Some of the video screens used in the board, had to be mounted sideways to accommodate the inside top and bottom rows. The show logo didn\'t light up either, it was a welded sign. The inside arches of the logo, were removable to allow cameras to film from behind the game board.
-Dan
Isn\'t that how some of the camera work on the original series was carried out as well? Cameras inside the board, shooting from inside the arches of the logo?
I believe so, yes.
http://www.press-your-luck.com/images/1500PlusSlide.jpg - Here\'s one of original projector slides made for the show.
I had no idea the audience was so close to the set. Even taking into account how TV makes things look larger, the audience is really close. The shots on TV made them look much further away.
That\'s because when they shot in 33, we (the viewing audience) generally only saw the back of the studio. When I got to see the show in \'86, we were MUCH closer than I thought we\'d be. Still, the big board was HUGE.
Tyshaun
Having been in 33, I always wondered about that. I guess the studio audience probably just looked at the studio monitors when contestants were spinning, because a large part of the board must have been obscured because of the sunken audience area. I don\'t think they stayed in 33 for long.
Awesome photo - I\'d love to see some from the back of the board - if any exist!
I had no idea the audience was so close to the set. Even taking into account how TV makes things look larger, the audience is really close. The shots on TV made them look much further away.
That\'s because when they shot in 33, we (the viewing audience) generally only saw the back of the studio. When I got to see the show in \'86, we were MUCH closer than I thought we\'d be. Still, the big board was HUGE.
Tyshaun
Having been in 33, I always wondered about that. I guess the studio audience probably just looked at the studio monitors when contestants were spinning, because a large part of the board must have been obscured because of the sunken audience area. I don\'t think they stayed in 33 for long.
Awesome photo - I\'d love to see some from the back of the board - if any exist!
Send a message on facebook to Rick Stern... he\'s the one who shared this picture. If any were to exist, they would likely be in his possession, I\'m betting.
43 originally had a sunken audience like 33 until it was filled in with concrete.
I remember taking a tour of 43 while Bold & the beautiful was taping. I remember they were filming a lake scene in a pool when I saw a guy using what looked like a mini forklift. I later saw it as the unit that drove the TPIR train/tugboat minus the shell.
I thought that 31 was the studio which used to have the sunken-in seating.
EDIT: Yup, I was right...
43 originally had a sunken audience like 33 until it was filled in with concrete.
I remember taking a tour of 43 while Bold & the beautiful was taping. I remember they were filming a lake scene in a pool when I saw a guy using what looked like a mini forklift. I later saw it as the unit that drove the TPIR train/tugboat minus the shell.I thought that 31 was the studio which used to have the sunken-in seating.
EDIT: Yup, I was right...
You could sometimes tell when they were in (31?) I believe, because it was the same studio Tattletales was taped in. Up until the time TT was cancelled, you could see the colored steps designating what section the audience member was sitting in.
