The art director for this episode is Roy Christopher. Christopher was born in 1935 in California. He grew up on a farm in the agricultural area of Fresno. Even though he lived thousands of miles from Hollywood, his desire was to become a part of the world of television. Roy has been the art director, as well as the production designer for the Frasier episodes from 1993-2004. Prior to Frasier, Christopher attended California State University in Fresno. His first job in television was art director for the TV Series Welcome Back, Kotter from 1975-1979. In 1990 he became the art director for the well known TV Series Wings. In 1996 he became the production designer for this series. During his seven years working with the TV series Wings, they were nominated for the GLAAD Media Award, and twice for Primetime Emmy Awards. Wecome Back, Kotter and the Wings television series both helped to set the stage and prepare Roy for becoming the art director and production designer for the Frasier series. Roy Christopher was nominated for several Primetime Emmy Awards throughout his career. In 1999 he won Outstanding Art Direction at the 71st Annual Academy Awards, and again in 2003 at the 75th Annual Academy Awards. His last year as art director for Frasier, he won the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Art Direction for a Multi-Camera Series. There is not a lot of information on Christopher, and no information is given as to whether or not he is still working as an art director or production designer.
Roy Christopher
The Frasier series were mostly filmed on set at the Paramount Studios in California. Although the series is set in Seattle, only one episode was actually filmed there. Each of the sets was built separately. The series had three main sets, with the main set being Frasier's apartment. Frasier's apartment was set up as an open living space, with modern style. The design was a split-level that contained high-end furniture. It had a view from the terrace of Seattle's most iconic landmark, the Space Needle. In real-life no such place really exists, but the Frasier series sparked a desire in Seattle to live that same type of lifestyle. Buyers wanted to own apartments that resembled the "cosmopolitan feel" of the Frasier show.
In designing the set for the apartment, the set designers created a split-level, which seems to be a popular style for television series. From the furniture to the decorative accessories they are well placed to help draw the viewers eye into and throughout the set. Because of the way the set was designed and the different angles that would be captured by the cameramen, this had to be well planned and designed. The cameramen had to take into consideration the lighting, and angles. This must have been a difficult task, especially because of the live audience.
The cast in Frasier had a great chemistry and they worked well together. The episodes had scripts, but the cast could add their own twist at anytime. The main cast handled this quite well, but invited guests often found this difficult.
Each cast member in Frasier has a unique role and that role helps to show the dynamic between the characters in this specific scene. Frasier is an arrogant psychiatrist that has moved back to Seattle to become a radio psychiatrist, and take care of his father. Daphne is hired by Frasier to be a live-in housekeeper (who can't cook), and physical therapist for his father Martin who injured in the line-of-duty. Daphne is an only daughter, with eight brothers and comes from Manchester, England. Frasier's brother Niles is madly in love with Daphne, although she doesn't know it. This love infatuation of Niles adds to the humor throughout the series. Daphne has little tolerance for Frazier's attitude, and feels that he is quite pretentious.
This specific episode is called, Daphne's Room (a.k.a. "A Room With A View") and holds the subtitle, To Go Boldly Where No Man Has Gone Before. Daphne's room has never been seen until this episode. This episode, as like many others throughout the series can relate to the viewers. We all have had those awkward moments, and because of the chemistry seen between the characters it feels as if we are actually there and a part of the scene. Creating this type of atmosphere can be difficult, but is done very well.
David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee produced the Frasier series as well as Cheers, and Wings. Roy Christopher worked closely with these men, and they wanted to create a series using Frasier's character from Cheers. They were successful in keeping Frasier's character alive and well for eleven years for the Frasier Crane Show. This is one of my most favorite television series, and I find humor in it that I can relate to my own life. I feel that this series was so popular, because everyone could in one way or another relate it to his or her own lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment