Advances In Technology - Audio-Visual
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| Coronation Street logo |
The Coronation Street sets have changed since their first broadcast in December 1960. The current set is in Granada Studios in Central Manchester.
The sets consists of early 20th Century terraced houses, with a pub (The Rovers Return) and a corner shop at the other end. The other side of the street has a factory, two shop units, a garage and three semi-detached houses which have been constructed in the late 1980s.
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| Granada Studios |
From 1960 until 1968 the entire set of Coronation Street was erected in one of Granada Television Studios in Central Manchester. The houses were reduced in scale to 3/4. Since it was a small set it was awkward for the actors who needed to walk more slowly so that it would appear to be normal. There are a lot of different reasons for the use of an indoor studio. The main one is that production techniques were in the infancy stages so it didn't allow easy recording of filming in different locations. It wasn't 1967 when editing techniques started to improve that they started to film in interior and exterior sets.
In the studios there wasn't enough space for the entire street so they needed to split it into two halves. On the studio floor the pavements and cobbled streets were painted. Although the sets were small there have been some complex and dramatic scenes have been filmed there.
Granada Television made a decision in 1967 to build an outside set. They decided that it was going to be built on some old railway sidings near Granada Studios. They also made a storyline which coincided with the demolition of Elliston Raincoat Factory and the Mission Hall and then the subsequent building of the maisonettes which were opposite the terrace.
The set in 1968 was not different at all from the set that they had used previous. The wooden facades that they had uses were simply erected into the new site. The only significant change was that there was natural light which was illuminating the street for the first time. In the later part of 1968 the Street was constructed in brick, with roofs and later back yards were added. The set was still reduced so it was still a little bit cramped, although the pavements and the cobbled streets was real, the cobbles were not parallel to the houses and it ran diagonally down the street. The set was referred to as "the coldest place on Earth". Both the actors and the crew didn't like working on it because of the near-constant wind which blew directly onto the set. Filming on the new set was then kept to a minimum not only because the actors didn't like the set, but because of the high cost of using film for the exterior sequences.
1982 - 2013
In 1982 a nearly full-sized exterior set was built back of Granada Studios with the cobbles running in the correct direction. The new set was opened by Queen Elizabeth the II in 1982.
Since the set was intended to be a permanent fixture, the houses were constructed from reclaimed Salford brick and roof slates so that it can look authentic. The building weren't complete because most of them were lacking interior walls. The chimneys are made of fiberglass because they have been insufficient support for brick ones. The interior of the building are used for writers and also as a storeroom for props which are to be used in the outdoor shooting. The take-away, the butchers and also the betting shops props are stored there. Now because of the switch to High Definition, the chimneys are not made of real bricks.
During the following years staircased were added to the inside of the doors and to the houses. There are also a number of Granada tower blocks which can dominate the set. These are not shown through very careful camera angles.
At the end of the 1980's scenes which were filmed on the exterior sets became more after the shows location work was switching from film to videotape in 1988. Although some of the outdoor shooting were using large, tether camera which has been trailed as early as 1977.
During 1989 Coronation Street saw a large development. The Community Center and the factory which had occupied the site since 1971 were now demolished. They built three new houses, two new shops, a garage and a new factory were built on site. These new developments were because of the new executive producer, David Liddiment.
When the studio tour was closed in 1999 the exterior set was extended and also updated. The Graffiti Club which was on Rosamund Street was turned into a medical centre/surgery. There was a new street called Victoria Street which has three shops and also two new houses. There also built a builders' yard which backs onto a betting shop.
There have been a lot of speculation however within the broadcasting industry over the location of the permanent set since ITV have had plans to move to Quay Street site. One of the many different options over active consideration includes Granada moving to new headquarters in Trafford Park which is across the water from the forthcoming Media City UK which is in Salford. This will result in moving the outdoor set permanently out of Manchester for the first time in its history. It is understood however, that there is some opposition within Granada towards this proposal, with the alternative being a redevelopment of the main building, leaving the set, sound stages and the Bonded Warehouses (Granada's new headquarters) as they are.
The Rovers fire which happened in March 2013 will be the last set of filming which will be done on these sets. The revamp of the Rover will be done on the new set.
ITV Trafford Wharf set
It was confirmed in March 2009 that Coronation Street would stay on the current Quay Street site "for the foreseeable future". Following the change of hands at ITV management, there were talks between ITV and The Peel Group for the move to the Trafford Park site which reopened in January 2010. In December of the same year it was announced that the proposal move will now take place.
The construction of the set began in September 2011 after the area next to the Imperial War Museum North was surveyed for any possible bomb threats from World War II. The construction of the studios is being built by MACE group and it is set to be completed in 2013. This set will be built on a greater scale than the set at Granada Studios. There will also be several changes to the structure of the street and the surrounding areas.
Although the houses are being built to look more realistic than at the present set, it is still believed however, that filming will still be completely studio used for the interior scenes.
Broadcasting Format
Coronation Street was broadcasted on a Wednesday and a Friday between 9th December 1960 and 3rd March 1961. During that period, the Wednesday episode was pre-recorded 15 minutes before they went on air and the Friday episode was broadcasted live. When the programme went fully networked which was on 6th March 1961 the changes in the days in which they broadcasted the show to Monday and Wednesday The last episode to be shown live was on 3rd February 1961.
Coronation Street was shown in black and white through most of the 60s. There were preparations made so that they could film episode 923 which will be transmitted on Wednesday 29th October 1969 in colour. The installment featured the residents on a coach trip to the Lake District. For the event the suitable colour film stock for the cameras was not found so the entire footage was shot in black and white. The following episode which was shown on Monday 3rd November was videotaped in colour but they also had black and white inserts in the title sequence.
The reasons why some episodes were produced in colour for monochrome transmission isn't stated in any literature but its possible that it was for testing purposes so that they can see how things look with the new cameras. The Rovers Return set went under a very subtle change of color in November 1969 without any on-screen explanation.
In October 1970 there was a technician's dispute which was turned into a work-to-rule when the sound staff were denied a pay rise which were given to the camera staff the year before for working with the colour recording equipment. The terms of the work-to rule were that staff refused to work with any of the new equipment and therefore programmes were recorded and transmitted in black and white. This included Coronation Street. The dispute between them was resolved in early 1971 and the last black and white episode was broadcasted on 8th February 1971.
Episode 5191 which was originally broadcasted on 7th January 2002 was the first episode to be broadcasted in 16:9 widescreen format. Coronation Street was the last British soap to make the switch.
For the first time on 22nd March 2010 Coronation Street was produced in 1080/50i for transmission on HDTV which will be shown on ITV1 HD. The first transmission in this format was episode 7351 on 31st May 2010 with a new set of titles and a re-recording of the theme tune. On May 26th 2010 ITV showed a preview of the new HD titles on the Coronation Street website. Only viewed in the UK can view it though due to copyright reasons.
High Definition
There have been a lot of different changes made to Coronation Street since they have started to show the programme in HD. These include:
In the studios there wasn't enough space for the entire street so they needed to split it into two halves. On the studio floor the pavements and cobbled streets were painted. Although the sets were small there have been some complex and dramatic scenes have been filmed there.
Granada Television made a decision in 1967 to build an outside set. They decided that it was going to be built on some old railway sidings near Granada Studios. They also made a storyline which coincided with the demolition of Elliston Raincoat Factory and the Mission Hall and then the subsequent building of the maisonettes which were opposite the terrace.
The set in 1968 was not different at all from the set that they had used previous. The wooden facades that they had uses were simply erected into the new site. The only significant change was that there was natural light which was illuminating the street for the first time. In the later part of 1968 the Street was constructed in brick, with roofs and later back yards were added. The set was still reduced so it was still a little bit cramped, although the pavements and the cobbled streets was real, the cobbles were not parallel to the houses and it ran diagonally down the street. The set was referred to as "the coldest place on Earth". Both the actors and the crew didn't like working on it because of the near-constant wind which blew directly onto the set. Filming on the new set was then kept to a minimum not only because the actors didn't like the set, but because of the high cost of using film for the exterior sequences.
 |
| Queen Elizabeth the II opening Granada Studios |
In 1982 a nearly full-sized exterior set was built back of Granada Studios with the cobbles running in the correct direction. The new set was opened by Queen Elizabeth the II in 1982.
Since the set was intended to be a permanent fixture, the houses were constructed from reclaimed Salford brick and roof slates so that it can look authentic. The building weren't complete because most of them were lacking interior walls. The chimneys are made of fiberglass because they have been insufficient support for brick ones. The interior of the building are used for writers and also as a storeroom for props which are to be used in the outdoor shooting. The take-away, the butchers and also the betting shops props are stored there. Now because of the switch to High Definition, the chimneys are not made of real bricks.
During the following years staircased were added to the inside of the doors and to the houses. There are also a number of Granada tower blocks which can dominate the set. These are not shown through very careful camera angles.
At the end of the 1980's scenes which were filmed on the exterior sets became more after the shows location work was switching from film to videotape in 1988. Although some of the outdoor shooting were using large, tether camera which has been trailed as early as 1977.
During 1989 Coronation Street saw a large development. The Community Center and the factory which had occupied the site since 1971 were now demolished. They built three new houses, two new shops, a garage and a new factory were built on site. These new developments were because of the new executive producer, David Liddiment.
When the studio tour was closed in 1999 the exterior set was extended and also updated. The Graffiti Club which was on Rosamund Street was turned into a medical centre/surgery. There was a new street called Victoria Street which has three shops and also two new houses. There also built a builders' yard which backs onto a betting shop.
There have been a lot of speculation however within the broadcasting industry over the location of the permanent set since ITV have had plans to move to Quay Street site. One of the many different options over active consideration includes Granada moving to new headquarters in Trafford Park which is across the water from the forthcoming Media City UK which is in Salford. This will result in moving the outdoor set permanently out of Manchester for the first time in its history. It is understood however, that there is some opposition within Granada towards this proposal, with the alternative being a redevelopment of the main building, leaving the set, sound stages and the Bonded Warehouses (Granada's new headquarters) as they are.
The Rovers fire which happened in March 2013 will be the last set of filming which will be done on these sets. The revamp of the Rover will be done on the new set.
 |
| ITV Trafford Wharf set. |
It was confirmed in March 2009 that Coronation Street would stay on the current Quay Street site "for the foreseeable future". Following the change of hands at ITV management, there were talks between ITV and The Peel Group for the move to the Trafford Park site which reopened in January 2010. In December of the same year it was announced that the proposal move will now take place.
The construction of the set began in September 2011 after the area next to the Imperial War Museum North was surveyed for any possible bomb threats from World War II. The construction of the studios is being built by MACE group and it is set to be completed in 2013. This set will be built on a greater scale than the set at Granada Studios. There will also be several changes to the structure of the street and the surrounding areas.
Although the houses are being built to look more realistic than at the present set, it is still believed however, that filming will still be completely studio used for the interior scenes.
Broadcasting Format
Coronation Street was broadcasted on a Wednesday and a Friday between 9th December 1960 and 3rd March 1961. During that period, the Wednesday episode was pre-recorded 15 minutes before they went on air and the Friday episode was broadcasted live. When the programme went fully networked which was on 6th March 1961 the changes in the days in which they broadcasted the show to Monday and Wednesday The last episode to be shown live was on 3rd February 1961.
 |
| Coronation Street logo 1960 |
Coronation Street was shown in black and white through most of the 60s. There were preparations made so that they could film episode 923 which will be transmitted on Wednesday 29th October 1969 in colour. The installment featured the residents on a coach trip to the Lake District. For the event the suitable colour film stock for the cameras was not found so the entire footage was shot in black and white. The following episode which was shown on Monday 3rd November was videotaped in colour but they also had black and white inserts in the title sequence.
 |
| Rovers Return set 1960 |
In October 1970 there was a technician's dispute which was turned into a work-to-rule when the sound staff were denied a pay rise which were given to the camera staff the year before for working with the colour recording equipment. The terms of the work-to rule were that staff refused to work with any of the new equipment and therefore programmes were recorded and transmitted in black and white. This included Coronation Street. The dispute between them was resolved in early 1971 and the last black and white episode was broadcasted on 8th February 1971.
Episode 5191 which was originally broadcasted on 7th January 2002 was the first episode to be broadcasted in 16:9 widescreen format. Coronation Street was the last British soap to make the switch.
For the first time on 22nd March 2010 Coronation Street was produced in 1080/50i for transmission on HDTV which will be shown on ITV1 HD. The first transmission in this format was episode 7351 on 31st May 2010 with a new set of titles and a re-recording of the theme tune. On May 26th 2010 ITV showed a preview of the new HD titles on the Coronation Street website. Only viewed in the UK can view it though due to copyright reasons.
High Definition
There have been a lot of different changes made to Coronation Street since they have started to show the programme in HD. These include:
- More Viewers who are more interested in watching the programme
- They have had a much better picture quality
- They have also had a much better resolution
- The sound is much clearer
- They can use AVID which means that they will have faster access to the material which they have been shooting
- Budget
- Cameras
- Production Vehicles
- Lighting
- Editing Systems
Technical Changes
There have also been a lot of technical changes since Coronation Street have started showing in HD. They include:
- Production Services
- Technological Services
- New Directors
- New Musicians
- New Journalists
- HR
- Legal
- Freelancers
- Strategy
- New Designers
- Finance
- New Writers
- New Actors
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