We get a good page count compared with other single-camera shows. Instead or two or three pages a day, we'll shoot 10 or 12 pages. We shoot a lot more because we write a lot more. Our scripts are very long, coming in at 37 or 38 pages. When all that material is edited together, it turns out to be around 40 minutes of end product. Then we edit down to our delivery format of about 20 minutes. |
When we approached producing the pilot, we wanted to emulate the essence of the BBC version. We wanted to keep the documentary look of 16:9. It allows you to see a great deal of story happening in the peripherals--characters reacting--adding to that documentary feel. Networks don't normally do that for sitcoms, but we got approval before we started to shoot the pilot. This is the first comedy on U.S. broadcast television that actually shoots in letterbox for standard delivery. |