1959-12-19 — Page 6

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THE CHINA MAIL, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1959.

The Story Behind The Queen's

S three o'clock approaches on Christmas Day. the atmosphere grows tense. Two cameramen are crouched at their cameras, peering through the viewfinders. A sentence glows brightly on screens of two teleprompters. Hidden behind the

Broadcast

acoustic screens, a lighting engineer stands waiting Told_by_Antony___ Craxton

over his switch-panel.

The chimes of Big Ben die away. I break the silence with the words, "Cue Her Majesty," and the floor manager gives a signal. It is exactly 25 seconds past 3 p.m. in the Long Library at Sand- ringham House, Norfolk.

Beneath the brightness of the television ghts, ten feet from the two cameTUS, Queen Eliza- beth leans forward and relies. "A Merry Christmas to you

1

A royal Christmas Day brond- cast has begun.

Christmas last year or next- The it makes little difference. Tural message may change, but not the problems and the method of televising this cutstanding event of the B.D.C.'s Christmas Day programmes, which is also relayed to the Independent Tele- vision network.

This year the Queen, peeling her third child, will ap-

■ televised

broad- The radio cast will pre-recorded.

not make pearance.

Normally, the Queen's task is

seven

to speak for six to minutes. Mine is to help her prepare for that speech, and to produce 11 for British, Euro- and Commonwealth ickvision. And for me, they are vasily the most inspiring six or seven minutes in a crowded, eventful working year.

xin

It must not be forgotten that the vast majority of those larta in to the Queen do so by radio, and Archie Gordon of the Sound Broadcasting Talks Departammi is present at the consultations on the content of the speech.

Fifty million television view- ere, including over 20 million Britons, see--simultaneously in Britain or very soon afterwards verseas-the 'Queen's broadcast.

EWELLERY Probably fewer than 50 know

Visit our showroom: MAN YEE BLDG. H.K.. 71 QUEEN'S ROAD, C.

the involved story behind it.

It is essentially B

coun-

(Who produces it)

to

Donald Nielson

The Queen, as she appeared to TV viewers last year,

But the Queen's introduction new medium came ira

to this 10

at

Antony Craxton-man behind the scenes.

This time, we simulated the scene on Christmas Day. Even work the netual Sandringham

desk tains were there, and similar to the one the Queen would sit at to make her broad- cast.

visible to the Queen. The others behind the acoustic currereena.

No one else is permitted to

the enter

room during the broadcast. Prince Charles, Prin- cess Anne, the Queen Mother and other members of the Hoyal Family sit in an adjoining room-one of Sand- 200 rooms and

two scene

On December 23, after

rehearsals, the Palace shifted to Sandringham's Long drawing Library, built by Edward VII as ringham's

television set.

a bowling alley, and the sessions watch the Queen on an ordinary

continued resumed. They

"screen 90-minute through a test" that day, and to Christ- mas Eve, ending with a 43- private discussion on inute the breast.

As the Queen end I were dis cussing this, a door opened and Prince Charles walk-

ed in He tot down and listened quietly. then junt

as quietly left. He must be well aware that one day he will

be faced with this same ordeal,

Earlier, he had shown such insatiable curiosity over our

big "zoom" cameras outside that the cameramen had holated him on to the rostrum

"shoot" and let htt

hiz father- hectic operation strer the Duke, in fun, kept dodging the lens,

And where am I? As prd- ducer, I am seated in a control van iFT A courtyard outside, head-phoned, intently watching live television screens, and in verbal contact with the camera- men every second of the broad-

east and with Lon- don'a central control room nt the filck of a switch.

Nothing can be left Lo chance. Frogn July, when we begin our technical survey

of the installations at Sandring- ham, to Christmas night, when tete-recordings are processed and

Airport for. rushed to London delivery to the Australian and Canadian television authorliles.

The

is urgency

infectious. Last year . * Boac alrliner delayed its Christmas Day fight Aus- Technically, itüe has changed 10 hours to take on the

telervcording, As as broadcast in 1957. True, the scheduled, Australians saw the эту December 250 were hid- message

behind-the-TCDES microphones-three den in 1957 in a vase of flowers triumph of

The first royal

the Canadian television preparations for plete web of apparatus, much of it permanently installed within message on December 25, 1957, four. A few days before she left

on October 12 1 took a B.B.C. since the Queen's first Christ- tralian - the 200-acre grounds of Sand- was, by a happy colmeidence, the

Arst team with me to the Paloen and, ringham itself. Countless mare 25th anniversary of the are vitally engaged all over the radio message to the Common- in the giant State Dining Room, television rehearsal country in controlling the bread wealth by her grandfather, King her first

began.

on her desk-have been changed organisation. But that, after all, cast and seeing it is received as George V.

to "boom" inlcrophones, long is what we hope the whole perfectly as possible. In case of

During that And subsequent metallic arms reaching, out of operation will always be. a breakdown of any kind, every

August, 1937-two months, in rehearsals I had the advice and sight, to a point just above the single item--from cameras

encouragement of the Duke of Queen's head. each enble in the two miles of fact, before her Canadian TV. Edinburgh-already a master of trenches

across Sandringham speech in July, I produtoo! the medium.

Riverside Studios a 12-ralute, Park-ls duplicated.

The Duke rarely misses a re- Sylvia Peters, film, "starring"

H.B.C.

hearsal, never the live broad an- an experienced

the During which

Christmas nouncer,

demonstrated cast. Avo possible methods

message in Sandringham's - 109 only the long library (we use Lodevising of

one-quarter of it), he site quiet- Those five methods ly on a window seat watching were: Eavesdropping the Queen. I belleve his pre-

is a big factor in on a racto broadcast; ence

Queen's confident and relaxed standby ustry A script unti

manner. stealing rare glances

technical tour de force. For instance, four mobile visual-radio-wave relay stations have had to ba specially installed in the tryside to relay the broadcast House to from Sandringham

thence by Birmingham, and permanent cable to London. All these links are in duplicate. This is about one-third of the B.B.C.'s tolal mobile radio link equipment and it is assembled from all parts of the country.

During the broadcast, alto- gether 35 people-including Post engineers-are Office electrical

checking buy controlling. standing guard over the

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clunce, Nothing is left to Even a posible power failure Is anticipated, Engineers are

ready at #split

to nolico second's switch over to a specially installed power renerator. Even the second facing the La от

camera

Queen

*

separate elreult Just

CASC..

Christmas message.

ww

But let us remember that the supreme ordeal is the Queen's, The desk itself has been re- To broadcast to her subjects the placed by " more informal world over is, in itself, sirain white sofa and chair, with an enough, but when television is occasional table for the Queen's kled, the sympathy and good script, und the two 1857 cameras, wishes of all who watch and which wheeled to within two or listen must surely pour out to- three feat of the Sovereign, warda hez, have been replaced by a "zoom" camera which never approaches

the nearer ihan ten feet, with, a camera alongside, us well as one in the grounds out-

While the Queen speaks, only

On December 17, the Cana- side. In at the camera; speaking with a

(alted on teleprompter

broadcast the dian

successfully again Invaded the front of a camera and projecting over,

with our apparatus, the Duke and seven technicians the script, by mirrors in large Palace

#cross an letters right

The lens): settling down in the drawing are present in the curtained-oll section of the Long Library. of the Belgian sulte 'halt room using half teleprompter,

And of those seven, four are script; using a teleprompter with the ground floor. occasional glances at the script.

But this is now

routine in most im- B.B.C. Television's or portant annual assignment,

honour It is privileged to undertake. The real story lies In the months of preparation, the conferences, the long rehearsals in which the Queen herself works as hard as any of tis.

Queen Elizabeth II was, of course, the first Sovereign to televise

the

Christmas message. An easy transition? Just a question of putting a camera in front of her while she made a radio broadcast?

I wish it weTC.

Try sometime facing un im- personal object like the lens of a camera and talking to it as you would a friend,

Them, together with a teleprompter. Was went to Balmoral at the beginning of August-and the Queen chose the last and. I believe, the most natural method.

This technique is certainly the most effective. Prince Philip had already used it in an earlber production of mine and had been a notable success.

The Queen returned to Buck- ingham Palace OD October 4 and straight away set about ber

JACOBY on

WITH only 12 points in high

caris South should have been happy with a two-diamond rebld but somehow or other he decided that his seven-card sult warranted stronger oction.

Needless to say the jump rebid gave North ideas cbout a slam But he really had no excuse for bidding it all-by himself. South could have a perfectly sound hand such as the king and queen of spades, the queen of hearts and a diamond sult headed by the nce-leing-queen and

two club tricks would set the hand but North went to six diamonds regardless.

♥÷CARD Sensens

10

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West North

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PREN

Opening lead K

When both partners overblä -you should expect trouble bub there is no substitute for lucic and Bouth" had no trouble mak“. ing his contract.

He took his nos of clubs, and www that he Badīto get rid of that chab lower right"| GWBY. Henoo, be led the king and four of spades and finessed Hummy's Jack. This worked and now the acc of madey took care of the ten of clubs.)

The lack of diamonds was overtaken by the queen and all West could do was melte bia sco

On

* Personally I'm glad my wife prefers mink

SCHERZO

This is a personal message given to cach and every one subjects whorever of her

be, and the foeis

they may deeply about

st. It is her

sincerity, shining through the screen отп Christmas Day. that makes all toorthwhile.

and more.

our efforts

a thousand-fold