So young kids in their teens and 20s like to pretend that soap operas (or "stories" as my grammie liked to call them) are, like, so totally moldy and ancient. And they are. Procter & Gamble Co. created Guiding Light for radio in 1937 to air ads for its soaps. It was brought to the small screen in the 1950s and they haven’t changed their format since. The median age of their viewer is 56. But GL producers are noticing young peoples’ obsession with MTV’s Real World, The Hills and ABC’s The Bachelor (you know you’re obsessed with at least one of those "reality" shows). So they’ve decided to make some changes to attract those young whippersnappers. CBS Studios in Manhattan is going through some major changes to accomodate the revamped sets. What’s their master plan? Hand-held cameras.
The Los Angeles Times reports:
“Soap operas have been shot, by and large, the same way since the 1950s, the same way that ‘I Love Lucy’ was shot — with pedestal cameras, in just a few interior sets,” Ellen Wheeler, executive producer of “Guiding Light,” said in an interview Monday. “Our audience is sophisticated enough to understand that’s old-fashioned, and it isn’t working for them anymore.” Beginning Feb. 29, viewers of “Guiding Light” will see their favorite characters in a different light. The show will be shot using hand-held cameras.
Its sound stage on the second floor of CBS Studios in midtown Manhattan, which for decades has accommodated eight large sets, has been carved into more than 30. There will be more outside locations — shot from a town in New Jersey. The show’s executives also have lent their offices to serve as additional backdrops.
