Discovery Channel is doing a program in collaboration with the Kinsey Institute about the sexual habits of Americans. What REALLY goes on in America’s bedrooms?
My husband and I are representing the 70-year-old contingent, and went across the river to a hotel in lower Manhattan where a “studio” had been set up in one of the rooms. I had never been on television before (though I have been on the radio several times) and did not know what they would assume I already knew. Here are some things — if you should ever be on television:
We brought items from our own wardrobes with us — some conservative, some casual, some light, some dark. They preferred the brighter colored things, which, for me, was a muted wine-colored silk jacket with a grey tee-shirt underneath, and for my husband, a blue shirt. The camera does not pick up patterns well, even, say, small plaids in which the contrasting colors are close, like cream and beige. No black and white: that was a challenge. They don’t want you to wear shiny objects, like a silver locket.
My husband sat with his hands folded, which gave him a defensive look — not the look you want when talking about your romantic life. Once we were given the chance to see how much of our bodies would be included in each frame, he changed that.
It took almost an hour, after we were seated in place, to align the lights, frame the shot, block out ambient noise, get the angles of interviewer/interviewees arranged, powder our faces (the rest of the makeup was left up to us), slip us some water, and otherwise set the scene. We had to sit in place the whole time because everything else was relative to us.
These are reflections immediately post-shoot. I’ll find out all the other novice mistakes we made when we see the program, which will be broadcast on the Discovery Channel in the fall.
I’ll write in a future post about the things we told them, and didn’t tell them.