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ABS-CBN Studios |
Saturday 23rd Jan |
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ABS-CBN Studios |
Saturday 23rd Jan |
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ABS-CBN Studios | |
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We spent a longer time
than usual waiting for things to happen at the studios this week. The taping had been
delayed even before we arrived, and even then there would be some wait before taping
began. There it was quite late when taping finished.
The presenters arrive at the studios, learn their lines as things are being set up, then taping commences. It seems strange that they are reading the words of some unseen scriptwriter when they do the interviews themselves and are all journalist in their own right. However, this segment of Showbiz Lingo Plus requires punchy headlines and I suspect that giving them someone else to do gives the links a cohesion and helps bind the show together
Therefore it's only fitting that the crew should get some recognition for helping to keep the wheels of Showbiz Lingo Plus running smoothly, as they are the unsung heroes who bring all the latest showbiz gossip to your screens every week ;)
But when it comes to getting the job done, everyone works
together, and you can be sure that Tess will be at the centre of it somewhere ;) Every other occasion of my attending some aspect of the preparation of Showbiz Lingo Plus has been one that has involved the presenters in some way. This week I had the opportunity to experience some different aspects of it. For whatever reason, part of both Pilar's and Aster's voiceovers were not quite right and would have to be redone before the program was transmitted. Normally the taping might finish early enough for any changes to be spotted and redone the same day, but as things had run late from the start it was well into the early hours of Sunday morning - the day Showbiz Lingo Plus is aired - when Pilar was awoken by her pager... |
This is essentially the end of a weekly cycle for the
Showbiz Lingo Plus presenters. All the interviews that have taken place during
the week are collated, edited (or, more usually, dropped altogether), given a
running order and linking scripts written for the presenters to perform here at the
studios in front of the blue screen.
I had followed the crew around while taping
some of the interviews this week, so I had much more idea of the kind of work they do for
the show, in the studio and out in the field.
Not only do the presenters have to be there
for the important interviews, but the camera crew have to make it as well. These
press conferences and launches can be chaotic and crowded with everyone trying to get
their own exclusive, and they can often be difficult to get to - especially with Manila
traffic! but at the right time, the crew always seemed to be there, often seeming to just
appear out of nowhere when the interviews were really to begin.
Here you can see Pilar as she looks when she
presents Showbiz Lingo Plus. Each presenter ensures they look their best for the cameras
each week, but you may notice that during the interviews taken in the week they
often dress more casually. This is for very practical reasons, as a single day can entail
travelling to several locations for any number of reasons - be it a press conference,
album launch, contract signing, studio work, or preparing important deadlines ready for
publication in between all the rest of the chaos. while it's easy to spend a lot of
time in make-up for the Saturday taping, and easy too for the stars prior to their
press engagements, it is a luxury a reporter in the field can't afford, where the most
important thing is be there, and at the right time.
As you can see, the crew of Showbiz Lingo Plus get along together very
well. There is a lot of joking and the atmosphere is relaxed.
