I was very lucky to get the tickets to Millionaire Hot Seat as a part of theire live audience and it was an amazing, priceless experience. It was the perfect timing for me to get this opportunity as well, because this experience has significantly enhanced my understanding of contents of this course.

Unfortunately, no recording devices were allowed in the studio and I will not be able to provide pictures from the set, but I will do my best to describe it.

Upon arrival, me and the other audience members were escorted in a waiting room, where we had to register and sign an agreement form. Friends and family of the contestants were kept separately, as I understood in the same room as the contestants. There were two security guards in the room with us, as well an audience coordinator. All of our phones and other devices were taken away immediately at the entrance, which made the waiting more boring than it had to be. However, it wasn’t too long until we were invited in the studio.

The studio

The studio was incredible. It had very high ceilings covered with multiple lightings, several massive cameras very similar to the ones we use at RMIT, and the stage. There were 7 cameras in total, my favourite one being the giraffe crane.

I was always wondering how they filmed those smooth, wide-ranged zooms in and zooms out that we see on the TV. The answer, apparently, is with this camera. It was fun to watch it swoop around the studio: it could just quickly go from behind the stage to one of the contestant’s face. I also think they were using some sort of a fish lens, because the stage was much smaller than it looked on TV: at least two times smaller than I expected. This camera clearly made it look more spacious.

Another thing I liked in the studio, is the lighting. It was projected in such way that the contestants were always in the white “natural” light, and the audience was more in a coloured shadows. The contestants’ friends, however, were always seated in a specific place in the audience with a much better lighting. I think it’s a really smart way to visually separate the audience and the players, because it is both functional and aesthetically pleasing.

Another thing I thought was interesting is that there weren’t many crew members on the set. There were the audience coordinator, the audience host, the cameramen, and the floor manager. During the breaks a couple of assistants would come out to fix something, but that was it. From my experience at RMIT studios I imagined it would be more crowded.

The Audience

The show, apparently, has two hosts. One is Eddie, who is seen on TV, and the other one was called Marco and he was in charge of the audience warm-up and interaction. He was always there with us and his job was to make sure that the audience reacts at a certain time with certain noises. When we settled in, he explained that Millionaire Hot Seat is a live audience show and that we were there to provide soundtrack. There were 3 basic reactions we had to give on his signal: clapping, clapping and cheering, and the disappointed “ooooh” when a contestant gives the wrong answer. He made us practice several times to make sure it sounded good, as well as explained exactly when we had to react. And we had to do that a lot. A LOT. At the very begging we had to clap and cheer, and then clap and cheer even more when the host Eddie McGuire appeared at the stage. Clapping and cheering again after Eddie introduced all of the contestants, and then again when he announced the fastest finger first game. Every time the first contestant to get the question right was announced, we had to give a round of applause. Then again and again when the winner of the fastest finger first was announced, when another contestant moved to the hot seat, when someone got the question right, and every single time Eddie mentioned the million dollar prise. Of course, we also had to laugh at every joke he made. Marco was sitting between the cameras and directing us like an orchestra conductor, making sure there was always the reaction they needed.

I have to say, it got difficult to sound genuine very soon. We filmed 6 episodes, the first 2 were really exciting and everyone was clapping wholeheartedly, the second 2 were okay, and the last 2 were pure agony. I never realised how much cheering there were on this show. I had mixed feelings about the whole process: on one had it was fun and it looked really good on the screen. On the other hand, however, 90% of the audience’s reaction was completely insincere and forced. It was the exact same structure every time, 6 times over, and everyone got tired pretty fast. I don’t think it would be the same if it was a filming of a sitcom, I feel like people would be more excited if something new was happening every time.

They tried everything to entertain us in between the episodes though. Marco was really funny and kept making jokes and interacting wit the audience, he was asking question and encouraging everyone to ask questions back. It felt great to feel appreciated and cared for, they were really trying to make the experience as pleasurable and fun as possible for us.

Another interesting thing I noticed was that the audience coordinator always moved us after each episode. She explained that it’s a bit weird for the audience watching at home seeing the same faces all the time. Apparently, changing places makes it look more fresh. Makes sense if you ask me.

All in all, the audience was controlled to an extreme. By the end, it felt exhausting and sometimes even demeaning to clap and cheer when I really didn’t feel like. But I can’t think of a better way to get the necessary background sound and the audience to look good on TV, and it was fun experience. This show really cares about its audience.

Mistakes

Although Millionaire Hot Seat is filmed live, it is only aired a few months later. So, even though everyone tries to film everything in one take, mistakes are not crucial. I was there  approximately from 10 am to 6pm, and I noticed following slip ups: one time the graphics were put up on the screen too early, and they kind of awkwardly stayed there for a couple of seconds and disappeared. This would have been definitely noticed if it was broadcasted live, but I think they will just replace that with a footage from another camera. Then, at one point, one of the cameras moved abruptly, as if someone bumped into it. The director quickly switched to another camera, but the damage was already done. Lastly, we had to restart the episode. It happened twice actually. One time Marco was late to give us the signal to start applauding, and the second time there was a problem with one of the contestants’ mike.

It was interesting to see that even a professional production organised to an extreme isn’t safe from occasional mistakes. Of course, it wasn’t actually live, and maybe the crew would be more attentive if it was. But it still felt good to realise that it’s not that scary to make a mistake.

To conclude, it was an amazing day. It was exhausting, but I would gladly do it again. With every time I get close to a film or TV production, I become more and more sure that this is what I want to do in life.