ABS-CBN Studio Tours & Shop
The first part of the whole tour/trip was meeting at the ABS-CBN Studio Tours & Shop area. This is where they would hold the orientation for those who will undergo the tour or even for those audience members for the different shows. This is also the are where they sell the tickets for the different shows like It's Showtime, and ASAP, albeit a hard process of waiting in line early in the morning. And of course from the name, it also serves as their gift shop for the different souvenirs like mugs, id laces and whatnot.
~A little note about getting tickets for the shows. THEY ARE NOT FREE. And you have to work for them (wait actually hehe.) If I remember correctly, getting a ticket for a particular month, you'd have to get the ticket a month or two in advanced, and on the first day of the month too. Lines can start as early as break of dawn. Yes, they're that valuable. Especially for ASAP that only has 4 shows a month, worth a ton of concerts already and doesn't cost more than 300 PHP. And tickets are very very limited, since a portion already goes for the employees first, then there are those TFC subscribers which are given priority. If you have any plans in getting some, you can call a number, but you have better chances when you go in line, and even better--er chances when you rise up early in morning.
So the orientation starts with a brief history of the ABS-CBN Corporation. A short clip was presented showing the different endeavors the broadcasting company have come across and the different achievements they have accomplished. Pretty standard stuff.
The next part was the actual tour itself. We were assisted by a couple of people from the network's studio tours department. I would mention their names but I won't. Because I can't.
A series of studios we have visited, although all not active. Meaning we weren't able to see/watch any shows. Just empty studios, some under construction, some dark and gloomy (Kris TV). Now of the many many studios in the ABS-CBN compound, there actually only a few that are actively used as sets for the different shows of the network. Apparently they have studios that have permanent sets and, uh, I guess, temporary sets.
Permanent sets are those like of Kris TV, wherein the set and the stage set-ups aren't deconstructed to give way for a different show. The program "owns" the studio so it just stays there until the program is terminated.
For the temporary sets, the set is actually teared down after the shooting for an episode, an example is Toda Max. As inefficient as it may seem, it takes so much longer to construct the set of a particular show than to shoot the show and tear it down again. But I guess that's how they operate.
~A little note about getting tickets for the shows. THEY ARE NOT FREE. And you have to work for them (wait actually hehe.) If I remember correctly, getting a ticket for a particular month, you'd have to get the ticket a month or two in advanced, and on the first day of the month too. Lines can start as early as break of dawn. Yes, they're that valuable. Especially for ASAP that only has 4 shows a month, worth a ton of concerts already and doesn't cost more than 300 PHP. And tickets are very very limited, since a portion already goes for the employees first, then there are those TFC subscribers which are given priority. If you have any plans in getting some, you can call a number, but you have better chances when you go in line, and even better--er chances when you rise up early in morning.
So the orientation starts with a brief history of the ABS-CBN Corporation. A short clip was presented showing the different endeavors the broadcasting company have come across and the different achievements they have accomplished. Pretty standard stuff.
The next part was the actual tour itself. We were assisted by a couple of people from the network's studio tours department. I would mention their names but I won't. Because I can't.
A series of studios we have visited, although all not active. Meaning we weren't able to see/watch any shows. Just empty studios, some under construction, some dark and gloomy (Kris TV). Now of the many many studios in the ABS-CBN compound, there actually only a few that are actively used as sets for the different shows of the network. Apparently they have studios that have permanent sets and, uh, I guess, temporary sets.
Permanent sets are those like of Kris TV, wherein the set and the stage set-ups aren't deconstructed to give way for a different show. The program "owns" the studio so it just stays there until the program is terminated.
For the temporary sets, the set is actually teared down after the shooting for an episode, an example is Toda Max. As inefficient as it may seem, it takes so much longer to construct the set of a particular show than to shoot the show and tear it down again. But I guess that's how they operate.
The Promil Pre-School iShine Talent Camp is one example of a temporary set, but temporary or not, they still have the same kind of equipment and other tricks that other shows also use. One kind is the use of the green screen or more technically know as chroma keying! Nice word. Anyway, Chrome Keying is defined as a special effects / post-production technique for compositing (layering) two images or video streams together based on color hues (chroma range). The technique has been used heavily in many fields to remove a background from the subject of a photo or video - particularly the newscasting, motion picture and videogame industries. Too technical? It just means you get your shot and place it on top of another shot, most of the time already recorded but not limited to that. In short, it's cool, and it's fake. and it's fun.
Another thing they use is the CYCLORAMA. Oooh, biking. No. Cyclorama, for theater, is a large curtain or wall, often concave, positioned at the back of the stage area. It has many purposes but one defining function of the oh so wonderful cyclorama is that it helps given the area, the studio, or the set some depth and this is fake depth of course. It's not some magical dimension changing cloth. But besides that function, it also captures light or just doens't let it bounce off their surface. It is key in production I guess.
A plus in adding depth to their tiny little studios is the use of wide lens cameras. What we see on the telly is a lie! Yes, all of them are thinner in real life, and the studio, of how it looks like it can handle a big party? Not true. It can only handle a moderate party. Moderaaate. But that aside, it's a trick to make the show, I guess, look more comfortable. But as our tour guide would describe it, it's like sitting on a PUJ. Crammed up to fit the maximum allowable number of people. I hope audience members don't get to bummed out about this.
Another thing they use is the CYCLORAMA. Oooh, biking. No. Cyclorama, for theater, is a large curtain or wall, often concave, positioned at the back of the stage area. It has many purposes but one defining function of the oh so wonderful cyclorama is that it helps given the area, the studio, or the set some depth and this is fake depth of course. It's not some magical dimension changing cloth. But besides that function, it also captures light or just doens't let it bounce off their surface. It is key in production I guess.
A plus in adding depth to their tiny little studios is the use of wide lens cameras. What we see on the telly is a lie! Yes, all of them are thinner in real life, and the studio, of how it looks like it can handle a big party? Not true. It can only handle a moderate party. Moderaaate. But that aside, it's a trick to make the show, I guess, look more comfortable. But as our tour guide would describe it, it's like sitting on a PUJ. Crammed up to fit the maximum allowable number of people. I hope audience members don't get to bummed out about this.
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/2/3/13238335/2709239.jpg?530)
Softlight: Don't they just look divine?
Next stop was the News Center. If you think it's smaller than the studios previously mentioned. You maybe right. But it's practically the same actually. It doesn't have seats so it looks more spacious. Haha. Two equipment stand out of the news center actually. One is the softlight (yum) and the camera they use (which has a thingamajig on the lens).
The softlight is something worth noting. It's really cool and it's really simple too. Basically the softlight hits the soft spot for the newscasters (bad pun I know.) But with the use of this softlight, you can eliminate the blemishes on the faces of the people on the set. Like the one on the picture above.
The next equipment is their camera which has a teleprompter attached to the lens. This would make it easy for the reporters to read the text while still looking directly at the camera. It's just an application of mirroring and one way mirrors but still, it's a good trick. Here's a picture!
The softlight is something worth noting. It's really cool and it's really simple too. Basically the softlight hits the soft spot for the newscasters (bad pun I know.) But with the use of this softlight, you can eliminate the blemishes on the faces of the people on the set. Like the one on the picture above.
The next equipment is their camera which has a teleprompter attached to the lens. This would make it easy for the reporters to read the text while still looking directly at the camera. It's just an application of mirroring and one way mirrors but still, it's a good trick. Here's a picture!