‘The production team made a great show even better’
As one of the earliest lockdown productions, the second series of The Ranganation was forced to change its format as the scale of the coronavirus crisis became clear.
For its second outing, the production had to transition from an Elstree studio to the garage at host Romesh Ranganathan’s home in Crawley, using technologies previously unexplored in entertainment TV, without losing the established look and tone. Ultimately, the production team “made a great show even better”, according to one judge.
Led by director of operations Debra Blenkinsop and production executive Helena Parkhill, the team cracked the problem of how to maintain 23 contributors talking live in a garage with only the host in situ. Embracing Zoom and Skype TX, they “utilised technology in the best way possible”, said one impressed judge.
This involved a system whereby the Zoom and Skype callers could react without cutting each other off, transforming the show’s comic potential through the use of natural laughter.
Described by one judge as “upbeat, hilarious and great entertainment”, The Ranganation pulled off a complicated technical brief without losing the show’s chatty magic.
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