Endemol - Ready, Steady...Deal Or No Deal (Did you see what I did there!)

Endemol is one of Britain's largest independent producers of TV and digital media content and is responsible annually for more than 5,000 hours of programming.

I was lucky enough to go along to Endemol UK's facilities in Bristol for a trip around the site. The site consists of a series of brick built warehouses. It wouldn't look out of place in a flick with themes of 80s political oppression in a northern mining town. (Think 'Billy Elliot')

The reason for this is simple, as prices rise regarding hiring facilities built for the purpose, Endemol have chosen to fabricate their own site out of old warehouses which can be cheaply turned into studio facilities and accompanying pre and post-production facilities.

The result is a site which is actually very practical because it means there is room for: Studios, scene docks, workshops, offices, artist and audience reception rooms, production galleries, edit suits and other accompanying pre and post-production facilities; all of which Endemol UK has.

So what is so special about Endemol that warrants my presence?
Well, Endemol are special for a couple of different reasons. They are currently Britain's top producer of content that does not broadcast. They also have some very VERY important, high rating shows under their belt.

These include:
Big Brother
Deal Or No Deal
Ready, Steady, Cook
8-10 Cats

and many others...

So what did you see Michael?
Well, my day began with a pleasant bus trip to the site during which I found a new appreciation for my iPod. I arrived a bit early so went for a stroll around a neighboring graveyard. (Don't look too deeply into that) I went and made my presence known at the reception and was invited into the waiting area where I was joined by Ved, Will, Rob and Reuben...hurrah!

We then met Annalise who took us through the Deal Or No Deal set to the audience reception area where we were given identification tags and introduced to the audience researchers.

Audience Researcher: From my understanding there job appears to be to book audience and then look after them when they are on the site, this involves providing safety information and information about the program and how it works. They also control the audience seating arrangements regarding where people should sit relating to how it will look on camera.

Studio Layout:

Once inside the studio, we watched a recording of the show which was filmed almost in chronological order other than some audience reactions which were 'picked up' after principal shooting had finished.

Some other roles we saw in the studio were:

Floor manager
Makeup Artists
Camera Operators and Camera Assistants

Please click here for a detailed explanation of these roles.

Then what happened?
After the recording, we were shown round the rest of the facilities by Annalise. We were told that they shoot three shows a day and simply rotate the audience. The editing was handled by a seperate company hired by Endemol on the same site, 'The Farm'.
There were I believe five editing suits all using Avid. It takes four days to edit one show together and there is a two month period between the program being shot and the program being broadcast. We were going to meet the production manager but unfortunately she was too busy.

It was a really good day and I think I actually learned quite a lot. I was surprised by the amount of time it took to edit a show and how many shows they shot in a day. I was also surprised by the amount of crew in the studio. And now I finally understand Deal or no Deal. Our episode will be broadcast on the 29/02/08.

So...are you ready for the big question? Deal, or no deal?