Why live studio audience

I didn't go to the screening. The show only lasted 10 episodes, so I imagine the audience reaction at the screenings was not helpful! This isn't common. The only other sitcom I can think of that did this was "How I Met Your Mother," which was far more successful episodes. I am not an expert, but I have sometimes seen episodes of a rather unusual sitcom called Just Roll With It They definately have a studio audience, since closes ups of audience members reactng are seen, and even sometimes views of the stands full of audience members.

The cast members mingle with the audience at the end of the show. And from what I have seen the audience seems to enjoy the experience. Maybe some or all of the audience are extras paid to pretend to enjoy the show, or maybe somebody keeps the audience in a happy mood between takes as other answers suggest.

And possibly there aren't many retakes of botched scenes, to reshoot and bore the audience, since the gimmick of the show is that it will periodically be stopped and changes, voted on by the audience, made to the plot, usually involving gross experiences for the actors.

So presumably the director doesn't complain if, for example, glop spills on an actor in a non photogenic way, and demand a reshoot. Though no doubt having many retakes of a particularly unpleasant experience would be a good prank to pull on an actor, if it wouldn't be too expensive.

Other shows don't have the same gimmick as Just Roll With It. But if - and I don't know if that is the case - the audiences of Just Roll With It are typical of televiscion studio audiences in general, it would appear that most of them don't get too bored during filming.

A lot of Sitcoms haven't use live studio audiences in years. I Love Lucy was the first television series to be filmed in front of an live audience. This was made possible by the idea of Desi Arnaz to use multiple cameras. While sitcoms like Seinfeld and FRIENDS and such still use live audience, they've dipped in utilization, namely because the proliferation of Camera phones allows people to essentially leak potential stories before it has aired.

Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. How do live studio audiences work when sitcoms can have multiple takes? Ask Question. Asked 3 months ago. Active 3 months ago. Viewed 9k times. Improve this question. Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. Improve this answer. As a non-american, what is the appeal in being part of a live studio audience?

I get it might be exciting being able to say "I was on tonights episode" but it has to be really tedious sitting there through multiple takes of the same jokes. I've only been part of a British studio audience - but yes, it does get a bit boring with all the re-takes, so I haven't gone to see a sitcom being recorded for quite a long time now.

It can be a fun atmosphere though, and sometimes the mistakes are the best bit. Also in the UK at least tickets are free. Parrotmaster I wouldn't think it really depends on nationality.

Some people may like a show and want to participate in any way they can. Others may want to see and be part of how a show is made. Others still may be curious what acting is like on sitcoms, etc. And as mentioned, it's typically free to attend. Finally, for late night shows anyways, they are filmed in popular tourists areas, eg NYC.

So if you're going to NY, lots of people may try to see a show be filmed too much cheaper alternative than a Broadway show — BruceWayne.

Parrotmaster as a brit, I've been to a live recording of the British show 'Red Dwarf'. There really aren't that many retakes, certainly not to the point it becomes boring.

And often the mistakes requiring a retake are funny in themselves. It's fun to see the sets, and the actors up close. It's exciting to see an episode of your favorite show ahead of everyone else. It's interesting to see how the show is filmed. Parrotmaster I saw the first series of Not Going Out live.

It was a lot more entertaining than the broadcast version. There are only retakes if there's a mistake which are usually fun by themselves , there's a whole separate comedian to fill the downtime and talk to the audience, and the actors do a bit before and after too also it's free and they give you beer. HorusKol HorusKol 9, 1 1 gold badge 44 44 silver badges 40 40 bronze badges. Rule Four: Don't expect a theatrical-style presentation. Most sitcoms are performed in sound stages that are equipped with temporary risers and convention-style chairs that can be removed when the season is over and the next production moves into the space.

Sometimes, your view of the scene might be momentarily obstructed by a camera or a flimsy wall, and over the night you'll be looking all around the stage because sets may be spread in spaces all around you. But most of the scenes will be visible from about 30 feet away, and the audience always has the ability to watch and hear the proceedings via overhead monitors, too.

No, the appeal of a taping lies in seeing actors you like and being fascinated by the process. And this is where a TV taping becomes incredibly rewarding. At my recent taping, I got to see the legendary director James Burrows, a master of comic timing and full-bodied characters whose leadership made Cheers , Frasier , and Friends such standouts of the genre. Rule Five: Be prepared to give lots of time. In between every take, Burrows would confer with the writers and actors while music was turned up and the audience coordinator tried to distract the observers and keep them jazzed.

Then the ensemble would get back together to try it again, this time with a few new lines. Every scene was delivered three or four times this way, each version testing new punch lines that the writers thought would be increasingly funny. And it meant that our laughter never felt forced—it was funny, for every take.

For our taping, it was illuminating to watch Sean Hayes or Megan Mullally be told a new line out of our earshot, see the cast giggle when they heard it, and then watch them nail it with flawless timing one minute later for the cameras, without ever having had a second to rehearse. It takes talent to work this way, even without the chaos factor. There are plenty of lame sitcoms with less talented players, though, that would make a long taping feel like a circle of Hell, so choose your show by its talent.

Talk shows and game shows tend to be what's called "live to tape," meaning there are almost no re-takes and the show takes about long as it does to watch it on TV.

For these, you'll be out on the street and back into your real life within 10 minutes of the show's end. So if you only have two or three hours to devote to a show, make it a talk show. Talk shows also race along like locomotives, churning through time like hour-long machines, so quick that when they're finished you'll feel like you only had a celebrity-populated dream.

But slow-paced and methodical sitcom tapings, for students of writing and craft, are where learning is at. The stakes are higher, as performers actively lay down footage that will define them for years to come on streaming services, and the craft is more consequential.

We have some more tips on what to expect at TV tapings, including what to wear and how to get selected as a game show contestant, on our dedicated page in our Los Angeles section.

Arts and Culture. Vanessa Jackson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. Loose Women has lost its live audience, so has Question Time. The studio audience has a job to do. Producers of comedy as long ago as the s understood the value of the live audience, with research suggesting that viewers at home would rather not laugh alone.

We are social animals and frequently rely on others to reinforce how we should react to a particular situation, especially if that situation is ambiguous, such as in a satirical show. In past decades the function of the studio audience was simply to provide noise, essentially a laughter or clapping track, but nowadays producers want more, and live audiences are frequently seen, as well as heard.

Audiences are selected: they need to reflect the demographic the show wishes to appeal to and must look and act a certain way.

The studio audience is the representative of the viewer at home, and viewers want to see people like them on camera watching and enjoying the show as it is produced. For The View we were instructed to dress as if we were going to a Broadway show, wearing bright colours, no solid black or white, no shorts, no sleeveless tops, no t-shirts and definitely no logos.

Failure to comply would lead to expulsion. We had to display energy and enthusiasm, while not reacting if we thought we were on camera.