Reference Pictures: The Barry Newbery TARDIS (Original) (1976)

Started by peted, May 09, 2009, 04:30 pm

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Volpone

It's so odd, seeing they never bothered with a back side, but it makes you realize they never really did any dolly shots of the camera circling around the prop, so you cut your costs by nearly 25% by not doing the back (in addition to being able to do the "clown car" gag).  Makes you think about how differently you do things when you're building for the camera. 

Back in the '00s, when I lived in SoCal, I drove up to LA for the Warner Brothers studio tour.  The back lot is very surreal.  You've got City Hall from the old Batman TV series.  Down the block is Uncle Jesse's cabin from "The Dukes of Hazzard," and tucked around a corner is the ambulance dropoff from...I forget, "E.R."?  "Chicago Hope"?  Then there are a few "city" blocks--but all of it is blatantly surrounded by those SoCal ridgelines from the opening of "M.A.S.H."  You wouldn't think you could make a mocked-up block look like anything more than maybe a small town on a studio lot, but they use lighting and camera angles that can make it look like a booming metropolis.  (Also, a lot of the office space is built to look like apartment complexes and other non-office structures, so they can use the exteriors for establishing shots on shows). 
"My dear Litefoot, I've got a lantern and a pair of waders, and possibly the most fearsome piece of hand artillery in all England. What could possibly go wrong?"
-The Doctor.

Osiran

In the text over the door in the photo from The Key to Time, is the 'O' in POLICE different to the 'O' in BOX? It looks more round in BOX.

Dave
"There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes". The 4th Doctor

scotland yard

Yes. The signs were done by hand, stenciled in a black piece of board, probably in a rush by an underpaid builder waiting for the end of the day to go to the pub, so the signs were a bit wobbly and each one was unique, and because they were interchangeable they appear to differ depending on which one they put in. In the top signs section you'll find a wonky version imitating the wonkyness of the signs.
Oh my giddy aunt!!

Osiran

Thanks. There is always a little something odd going on with these props isn't there lol.
"There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes". The 4th Doctor

Volpone

I'd love to hear the stories behind them.  I mean, I can probably guess them, but it would be nice to actually hear:  "Where'd the 1963 blue on white phone panel go and why did they switch to white on dark?"  "No one knows.  We were setting up to shoot and couldn't find the sign.  We had a hunk of black board that was about the right size and didn't feel like painting it white and waiting for that to dry." 
"My dear Litefoot, I've got a lantern and a pair of waders, and possibly the most fearsome piece of hand artillery in all England. What could possibly go wrong?"
-The Doctor.