Last Updated on August 27, 2017
The longest-running show in the history of broadcasting is getting a major makeover that hits the air today.  And based on what I’ve read about it, I’m glad I’m not a fan of the show.
That show is Guiding Light, which began its record-breaking run 71 years ago on radio and made the move to television in 1952.  I have a lot of respect for any show that has been able to last that long.  But ‘GL’ is generally at the bottom of the ratings, and in an effort to keep it running while cutting production costs, the producers of the show are trying to redefine the way soaps are made by using smaller handheld cameras and adopting a New Jersey town as the stand-in for the show’s fictional town of Springfield.
The show’s executive producer, Ellen Wheeler, says it’s time to shake things up:
“Soap operas have been shot, by and large, the same way since the 1950’s, the same way I Love Lucy was shot – with pedestal cameras, in just a few interior sets.  [It’s] old-fashioned, and it isn’t working anymore.”
Daytime’s number one soap opera for 16 years, another CBS show, The Young and the Restless, seems to be working fine doing things the tried and true way.  (I doubt if she added that little fact in the conversation.)
The show will go for a cinema verite look.  This is a fancy term for a kind of “documentary” shooting style, in which cameras are handheld, up-close and personal, and follow the action by generally moving around much more.  Generally, that style works for documentaries and when it makes sense.  But when a production actually “tries” for that look, rather than using it when it’s the obvious thing to do, it has been my experience that what ends up happening is a lot of annoying camera moves — especially unnecessary shakiness — that is more annoying than innovative.  There was some cop show on a few years ago…I don’t remember which one…maybe NYPD Blue, but don’t hold me to that…that relied on handhel, intentionally shaky camera work.  I tried to watch an episode, and noticed that before every cut, the camera would suddenly jerk left or right slightly.  I began to notice the distracting move more than I was paying attention to dialog.  I never made an attempt to watch the show again.
Unfortunately, a lot of the people in the business who really like this style are some of the same people in film class who toss around big words like juxtaposition whether they know what they mean or not, and are more caught up in emulating a style than thinking about whether what they’re shooting will actually work in that style:  it’s supposed to be what works for the viewer and lets them stay engaged with the show, not what the crew thinks is “cool.”
Guiding Light has been working some of the “new” style into episodes over the past few months.  Here’s a sample:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAJqvzAyul4[/youtube]
What will take soap opera fans some getting used to — beyond the shakiness, which could easily be avoided with steadycams if they just have to go off-shoulder — is lower sound quality and bad lighting.  In the clip above, featuring two actresses in a gym, there are lots of echos in the room and lots of shadows on their faces because the room isn’t really lit for television.  A side effect of the bad lighting, one that will probably make some more vain actors and actresses start checking their contracts, is that wrinkles will be a lot more obvious.
Making your characters look like hell just so that the cameras can move around more, to me, isn’t exactly a worthwhile trade.  But maybe that’s just me.
The show is also doing a lot more outdoor scenes in the small New Jersey town of Peapack, which has agreed to become the real-life Springfield for shooting purposes.  That, I’ll admit, is a cool idea; I’m sure fans of the show will enjoy seeing characters out and about in “real-life”-looking settings in the town they “live” in.  Even so, steadycams wouldn’t really destroy the mood.
It is worth noting that the show won Best Drama Series last year in the Emmys, so I doubt that this is really some “last ditch effort” to “save the show” from cancellation.  But still, are all of the changes the “next great thing” or will it be a sad attempt at hip?
If you watch the “new” look, I’d love to know what you think.
Looks to me like they’re trying to copy the look and feel of a “REALITY” show, like Survivor, or Big Brother.
I don’t watch soap operas, never could stick with the uncertainty and the high drama for long. On the other hand, my husband was crazy about NYPD Blues. The show was interesting, but after a while the shakiness of the camera made me queezy.