Talk:Bernard Lodge: Difference between revisions

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(Created page with "==Paper trail - Norman Taylor== I've added a {{tlx|facts}} tag to this piece of info on the page: :A paper trail would seem to exist in the [[British Broadcasting Corporation...")
 
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The source cited doesn't actually provide the paper trail, nor does [[Norman Taylor]]'s page, nor does the [[title sequence]] page source this illusive paper trail. Is this source lurking somewhere? --[[User:Tangerineduel|Tangerineduel]] / '''[[User talk:Tangerineduel|talk]]''' 14:43, November 11, 2013 (UTC)
The source cited doesn't actually provide the paper trail, nor does [[Norman Taylor]]'s page, nor does the [[title sequence]] page source this illusive paper trail. Is this source lurking somewhere? --[[User:Tangerineduel|Tangerineduel]] / '''[[User talk:Tangerineduel|talk]]''' 14:43, November 11, 2013 (UTC)
:Yeah, the source is just the BBC Archives.  According to ''[[The First Doctor Handbook]]'', there's a memo dated 18.9.63 from R. W. Bayliff (Head of Technical Ops for TV Studios) to Verity.  She had written him earlier (on 12.9.63, in fact) to get Norman Taylor credit on the pilot ep for the howl-around effects. But Bayliff denied permission for this credit because the notion of pointing one camera into its monitor wasn't deemed to meet the BBC's internal requirements to be "both artistic and substantial, or of significant interest to viewers". 
:He was in the room supervising the equipment when Lodge created the opening theme, but it's best perhaps to think of Taylor as kind of the "IT guy", not the creative.  It's important to note that he didn't actually invent or discover "howl-round" — that was actually done in the 50s by a guy named Ben Palmer for a thing called ''Amahl and the Night Visitors''.
:There is some suggestion by Lodge himself, though, that Taylor may have come up with the single line at the very beginning. All Lodge says in ''The Handbook'' is that he "can't take credit" for that bit, but doesn't actually say who can. Still, we can probably assume that the tech guy (Taylor) and the ideas man (Lodge) talked to each other in the process and came up with something together. 
:Basically, it seems that Verity was trying to credit generously. She was well known to have loved the titles, a fact we're reminded of in the recent ''[[An Adventure in Space and Time]]''. So she probably wanted to highlight the value of the titles creator to the BBC by giving credits that emphasised the work involved. Though she was denied the ability to credit Taylor, it's certain the work of someone ''like'' Taylor would be credited in the BBC Wales version. He's definitely a part of the story of ''Doctor Who''. {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}} 22:43: Mon 25 Nov 2013</span>

Revision as of 22:43, 25 November 2013

Paper trail - Norman Taylor

I've added a {{facts}} tag to this piece of info on the page:

A paper trail would seem to exist in the BBC's archives which indicates Taylor was the principal discoverer of the "howl-round effect" seen in 1960s and early 1970s Doctor Who titles.[1]
  1. "Norman Taylor's Story of Dr Who". The Tech-Ops History Site (28th November 2010). Retrieved on 12th November 2013.

The source cited doesn't actually provide the paper trail, nor does Norman Taylor's page, nor does the title sequence page source this illusive paper trail. Is this source lurking somewhere? --Tangerineduel / talk 14:43, November 11, 2013 (UTC)

Yeah, the source is just the BBC Archives. According to The First Doctor Handbook, there's a memo dated 18.9.63 from R. W. Bayliff (Head of Technical Ops for TV Studios) to Verity. She had written him earlier (on 12.9.63, in fact) to get Norman Taylor credit on the pilot ep for the howl-around effects. But Bayliff denied permission for this credit because the notion of pointing one camera into its monitor wasn't deemed to meet the BBC's internal requirements to be "both artistic and substantial, or of significant interest to viewers".
He was in the room supervising the equipment when Lodge created the opening theme, but it's best perhaps to think of Taylor as kind of the "IT guy", not the creative. It's important to note that he didn't actually invent or discover "howl-round" — that was actually done in the 50s by a guy named Ben Palmer for a thing called Amahl and the Night Visitors.
There is some suggestion by Lodge himself, though, that Taylor may have come up with the single line at the very beginning. All Lodge says in The Handbook is that he "can't take credit" for that bit, but doesn't actually say who can. Still, we can probably assume that the tech guy (Taylor) and the ideas man (Lodge) talked to each other in the process and came up with something together.
Basically, it seems that Verity was trying to credit generously. She was well known to have loved the titles, a fact we're reminded of in the recent An Adventure in Space and Time. So she probably wanted to highlight the value of the titles creator to the BBC by giving credits that emphasised the work involved. Though she was denied the ability to credit Taylor, it's certain the work of someone like Taylor would be credited in the BBC Wales version. He's definitely a part of the story of Doctor Who.
czechout<staff />    22:43: Mon 25 Nov 2013