Measure Twice, Cut Once
Measure Twice, Cut Once
Director of photography Karl Freund has his back to us as an assistant pulls a tape on Desi Arnaz in the living room set of ‘I Love Lucy’. The action in each weekly episode takes place on three basic sets erected more or less permanently on Stage 2 at General Services Studio. The sets, which represent the Ricardo apartment consisted of a kitchen, a living room, and a third room which is dressed as required. The sets adjoin one another and are, in fact “intercommunicating,” so that action, such as a player entering the living room from the kitchen door, becomes a natural thing; and when the continuity of such action is to be picked up by the cameras, they are merely moved before the adjoining set and filming is resumed in a matter of seconds. Beyond this three-set arrangement is still another set representing the nightclub where Ricky Ricardo is employed as entertainer…this was to the right of the kitchen set. The orchestra was assembled for every show, whether or not it is to be used in the picture filmed that evening.
Both the bedroom and kitchen could be taken down so other sets could be built. And the nightclub was mostly curtains. What sets this production apart is that all of the sets were able to be seen by the audience. The show would even but sets up in front of the apartment (Lucy Does A TV Commercial for example). And the show was shot in less than an hour. Today sitcoms can take up to 4 hours to shoot a single episode. The crew worked on multiple shows and the Desilu production schedule was interesting. One series, Our Miss Brooks, was produced in 2 days (from the first table read to the shooting).
I used to live a block from General Services in the 70’s and 80’s. Finally actually worked there in 1993. I was doing what the man with the tape is doing albeit with a Panaflex rather than a Mitchell and with Madonna not Desi.