ABSTRACT
Without laboring the point, the staging concept does not really work. Next time, the director will probably follow a time-worn approach that does. It is no coincidence that all over the world there are marked similarities between the ways different countries stage certain types of program. These are methods that get the best results. They provide a good range of shot opportunities with successful lighting and sound. Some staging approaches have become so 'traditional' that any radically different design could appear strange and unacceptable to an audience. A quiz show staged in a bar or a religious program in a factory would not somehow carry the same weight as in the surroundings we normally associate with these types of program. Most people working in the medium on cameras, lighting, sound, etc. have a frustrating abundance of great ideas. There are those impressive camera angles, dramatic lighting effects, arresting sound treatments that they itch to use, given half a chance. But, regrettably, these would be inappropriate for the particular production they are working on at the moment! The scenic designer is no exception. Despite these various constraints, the designer's task is to keep recurrent forms of presentation looking fresh, interesting, and eye-catching, and yet appropriate to the needs of the individual show, and that can be a challenge indeed.
