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Old 6th Jul 2014, 8:55 pm   #1
Andy Green
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Default "A Hard Day's Night"

Just watching the Beatles Hard Days Night on BBC4. Some lovely clear shots of cameras and the gallery monitors showing live pictures. Anyone care to fill in the details of what they used and where it was done? Was it an OB scanner I wonder?
Incidentally the black and white film stock looks really crisp and clear in HD!
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Old 6th Jul 2014, 9:24 pm   #2
paulsherwin
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Default Re: "A Hard Day's Night"

It has recently been digitally restored prior to Blu-Ray release.
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Old 7th Jul 2014, 1:00 am   #3
FERNSEH
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Default Re: "A Hard Day's Night"

14" EMI picture monitors as well.

DFWB.
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Old 7th Jul 2014, 4:10 am   #4
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Default Re: "A Hard Day's Night"

Quote:
Originally Posted by Andy Green View Post
Was it an OB scanner I wonder?
What is an OB scanner?

Tim
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Old 7th Jul 2014, 6:29 am   #5
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Default Re: "A Hard Day's Night"

Hi.

An OB scanner is a BBC term used to describe an outside broadcasting truck containing camera control units and a mixer desk.

See

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outside_broadcasting
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Old 7th Jul 2014, 8:59 am   #6
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Default Re: "A Hard Day's Night"

I seem to remember that ex-cameraman Dicky Howett had quite a lot to say about the studio scenes in the film. It may be worth looking up his stuff on the web.
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Old 7th Jul 2014, 11:03 am   #7
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Default Re: "A Hard Day's Night"

Quote:
Originally Posted by n_r_muir View Post
An OB scanner is a BBC term used to describe an outside broadcasting truck containing camera control units and mixer desk.
It was a general term in British TV broadcasting from the 40s to the 90s, not restricted to the BBC. One theory is that the early OB trucks resembled WW2 mobile radar scanners to the engineers, many of whom had worked with radar.
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Old 7th Jul 2014, 11:11 am   #8
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Default Re: "A Hard Day's Night"

The cameras are 4.5 inch EMI 203 Image Orthicons - the 'green machine'. Popular in the UK with the BBC and some of the ITV companies, but never sold in the US and was not a great export success. Several are still around. We use them on recreations.

The 'scanner' is a hangover from the 'Baird Scanner Van' which was used to televise the Derby in 1931 and again in 1932.

Cheers,

Paul M
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Old 7th Jul 2014, 10:11 pm   #9
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Default Re: "A Hard Day's Night"

My dad died on December the 4th 1963 and the following summer mum and I spent a couple of weeks with my sister and her new husband in their home in Selly Oak, Birmingham. I remember we all went to see 'A Hard Days Night' at the local cinema.
To be honest we all thought it was rubbish but all 'pop' films always are! It was the Beatles after all and the cinema was packed! It seems such a short time but was half a century ago. The crazy, fantastic 60's but we did not know it! Regards, John.
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Old 8th Jul 2014, 12:30 pm   #10
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Default Re: "A Hard Day's Night"

http://www.movie-locations.com/movie...l#.U7vVsbcU-1t
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Old 12th Jul 2014, 7:54 pm   #11
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Default Re: "A Hard Day's Night"

I watched it on my Decca DR101 from 63 via a youview box and dvd recorder. The audio faded out half way through, so a quick run to the valve store to replace the audio valve got it running again (may have just been dirty contacts in the valve base though). Now the line's stopped running and a new ECC82 didn't fix it so it looks like the damn thing's got to go on the bench again. Hopefully it's just an anode resistor or something, as Corporal Jones once said "Just my luck and the guarantee's run out".
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Old 13th Jul 2014, 12:04 am   #12
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Default Re: "A Hard Day's Night"

We watched it to. Superb.

I just had a look on the IMDb site:

Scala Theatre, Charlotte Street, Fitzrovia, London, England, UK
(studio) (TV studio - finale concert) (demolished)

So, it was done at the Scala theatre; no sign of a Scanner (or mobile control room as they were more correctly called), if there was, the gallery which was clearly visible to the side of the stage would not have been used - the program would have been directed from the scanner parked outside.

Steve.
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Old 17th Jul 2014, 11:06 pm   #13
Andy Green
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Default Re: "A Hard Day's Night"

So was the gallery populated with monitors for the film only or was this theatre used for TV work? I noticed that some of the operators were adjusting the brightness and contrast of the monitors during the transmission / recording. Probably thought it looked technical!
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Old 18th Jul 2014, 12:04 am   #14
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Default Re: "A Hard Day's Night"

Don't know 100% for sure but I confidently guess it was all done for the film.

I believe the BBC had bought the Shepherd's Bush Empire in 1953 which was well in use as the 'Television Theatre' when the film was made.

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Old 18th Jul 2014, 12:13 am   #15
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Default Re: "A Hard Day's Night"

It might have been used by one of the ITV companies like Associated Rediffusion. It's difficult to believe that a full studio setup complete with operational gallery would be installed just to provide set dressing. The producers of this film would have considered it to be a low budget exploitation movie at the time, like the many other films quickly made as vehicles for the pop stars of the day.

The ITN headquarters from the late 60s to the 80s was built just round the corner at the junction of Wells Street / Riding House Street a little later, which implies an ITV presence in the area.
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Old 18th Jul 2014, 12:23 am   #16
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Default Re: "A Hard Day's Night"

What makes you think that it was an operational gallery, it looked very much like a film set to me

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Old 18th Jul 2014, 11:11 am   #17
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Default Re: "A Hard Day's Night"

I have to confess I have never seen A Hard Day's Night complete before (obviously caught a few snippets from various re-runs), and have to also say I thoroughly enjoyed it the other night. Monochrome never looked so gorgeous I thought.
It certainly captured something from those times and all the memories came flooding back.

Full marks too, to whoever locked up and phased the monitors to the camera. All manually done in 1964.
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Old 19th Jul 2014, 12:30 am   #18
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Default Re: "A Hard Day's Night"

Quote:
Originally Posted by fetteler View Post
Scala Theatre, Charlotte Street, Fitzrovia, London, England, UK
(studio) (TV studio - finale concert) (demolished)
Ah, the Scala theatre - the original home of Channel 4. I had a look round whilst it was being built. The raked seating area had to be levelled up to make it usable as a studio floor. I think they used heavy duty boarding to level it up - don't think it was anything like concrete etc.
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Old 29th Nov 2014, 12:55 pm   #19
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Default Re: "A Hard Day's Night"

Was the Channel 4 building built on the site? As the theatre was demolished in 1969, well before Channel 4 launched.

Was anything filmed at TV Theatre (Shepherd's Bush Empire) ?
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Old 29th Nov 2014, 1:52 pm   #20
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Default Re: "A Hard Day's Night"

I think Channel 4 moved into 'Scala House' rather than having it purpose-built like their current Horseferry Road Building.

The Charlotte Street basement was used as a television studio by Channel 4 and later Channel One (Cable TV). I remember being told that the site used to house a cinema and there was a condition that any alterations should leave the cinema intact, should someone want to return it to use in the future.

I'd forgotten about this until reading this thread, not sure if how much of it was true, but ties-up with boarding it over, rather than filling with concrete.

More reading here....

http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/Scala.htm

Last edited by Stuart R; 29th Nov 2014 at 2:06 pm. Reason: Typo
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