LEE
01-05-2003, 11:28 AM
THE BIG BROTHER HOUSE
For the second year running, the Big Brother house is located in Elstree studios, Hertfordshire. Numerous famous films and television series have been recorded there including Star Wars, Indiana Jones, The Avengers and The Dambusters.
In brief:
Ø The cocoon-like, open plan design of the main living space includes a lounge, kitchen and dining areas which lead up a staircase to the exit, through which is a platform and a flight of stairs leading back to the outside world.
Ø The diary room is located off a corridor which leads to the bathroom and toilet
Ø There are also two bedrooms, a storeroom, a bathroom with a bath and shower and a separate toilet
Ø The garden contains a vegetable patch, a swimming pool and a chicken coop
Ø The garden this year also includes an arbor, a sheltered seating area for all weather use
Ø The house and garden are specially equipped to record what happens around the clock with 34 cameras
House Design and Interior
This year’s Big Brother house has been given a completely new look by designer Markus Blee. A qualified architect, Markus specialises in film and TV set design and previous designs have included The Priory, TFI Friday, Boys and Girls and The Salon.
The house features a large, open-plan living space including areas for the lounge, kitchen and dining. There are two bedrooms, a bathroom with a bath and a shower and a separate toilet. Once again, there is a storeroom that housemates can only enter when instructed by Big Brother. One-way glass mirrors are situated on all the walls as are, for the first time ever, a number of full-length mirrors.
The design of the house is simple and uncluttered. Natural colours and materials are used throughout to create a space that is practical and unobtrusive. The exterior of the house is waterproof and soundproof and has been constructed using a combination of recycled wood and timber from a renewable forest source.
The house (excluding the garden) covers approximately 307 square metres, smaller than previous years. The house has been re-built almost entirely in the round, creating a cosier, cocoon-like atmosphere.
The Garden
Last year’s heated swimming pool will remain in the garden. Hexagonal in shape, the pool measures 5 x 5 metres, 1.5 metres deep and is surrounded on all sides by wooden decking.
As in previous years, the house has a large garden with a substantial vegetable and herb patch containing courgettes, broad beans, potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage, carrots, spring onions and lettuce. Strawberries and rhubarb also grow in the garden.
The garden area covers approximately 180 square metres and includes a lawned area surrounded by a variety of trees and foliage. Once again there will be a chicken coop, and this year the chickens are a mixed group of various hybrid breeds, chosen for their calm temperaments and egg-laying abilities. There are seven chickens in total, comprising three different breeds: two Boveneras, two Exchequer Leghorns and three Little Red Hens.
The Diary Room
This year’s Big Brother Diary Room boasts a brand new chair that is yet to be revealed.
Participants go to the Diary Room to nominate their housemates for eviction as outlined by the Big Brother rules. The participants can enter the Diary Room at any time of day or night. Here they cannot be overheard by other housemates and can share their personal observations about life in the house and their feelings about the other house members. Big Brother can call individual participants to the Diary Room via the house tannoy system to talk, as deemed necessary. If Big Brother calls a housemate to the Diary Room it is compulsory for them to attend.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
The Big Brother house is fully equipped with state-of-the-art audio and visual recording equipment to document every movement and every word of all the participants in the house and garden around the clock. This includes:
Ø Five manned Sony broadcast cameras that follow participants from behind one-way glass. Sound proofing runs within the house.
Ø Producers in the Big Brother control room operate an additional 15 cameras fitted to remote-controlled pan and tilt head cameras located in the house.
Ø A further 13 fixed cameras ensure that every area of the house and garden is under surveillance.
Ø Over 40 microphones provide comprehensive audio coverage.
Ø Each participant wears a compulsory radio microphone.
Ø A tannoy system allows the voice of Big Brother to issue instructions to the house members.
Ø 50 monitors are housed within the Big Brother control room, watched over by a 24/7 production team of directors and vision mixers.
Ø 50 kilometres of cable have been used in the technical construction of the Big Brother house.
Ø Over the course of the series, around 2,000 radio mic batteries will be used in the house.
Ø 10,000 hours of tape will be recorded.
Ø 150 producers, directors, editors and webmasters work to bring Big Brother to terrestrial TV, digital TV and the web.
Ø A 60-person crew is needed to bring each nightly show to the TV screen.
Ø It takes over 30 web experts to produce the 24/7 live web streaming.
Ø The Big Brother team works around the clock and, even at midnight, there are three producers and two directors on duty, plus 22 other crew members.
For the second year running, the Big Brother house is located in Elstree studios, Hertfordshire. Numerous famous films and television series have been recorded there including Star Wars, Indiana Jones, The Avengers and The Dambusters.
In brief:
Ø The cocoon-like, open plan design of the main living space includes a lounge, kitchen and dining areas which lead up a staircase to the exit, through which is a platform and a flight of stairs leading back to the outside world.
Ø The diary room is located off a corridor which leads to the bathroom and toilet
Ø There are also two bedrooms, a storeroom, a bathroom with a bath and shower and a separate toilet
Ø The garden contains a vegetable patch, a swimming pool and a chicken coop
Ø The garden this year also includes an arbor, a sheltered seating area for all weather use
Ø The house and garden are specially equipped to record what happens around the clock with 34 cameras
House Design and Interior
This year’s Big Brother house has been given a completely new look by designer Markus Blee. A qualified architect, Markus specialises in film and TV set design and previous designs have included The Priory, TFI Friday, Boys and Girls and The Salon.
The house features a large, open-plan living space including areas for the lounge, kitchen and dining. There are two bedrooms, a bathroom with a bath and a shower and a separate toilet. Once again, there is a storeroom that housemates can only enter when instructed by Big Brother. One-way glass mirrors are situated on all the walls as are, for the first time ever, a number of full-length mirrors.
The design of the house is simple and uncluttered. Natural colours and materials are used throughout to create a space that is practical and unobtrusive. The exterior of the house is waterproof and soundproof and has been constructed using a combination of recycled wood and timber from a renewable forest source.
The house (excluding the garden) covers approximately 307 square metres, smaller than previous years. The house has been re-built almost entirely in the round, creating a cosier, cocoon-like atmosphere.
The Garden
Last year’s heated swimming pool will remain in the garden. Hexagonal in shape, the pool measures 5 x 5 metres, 1.5 metres deep and is surrounded on all sides by wooden decking.
As in previous years, the house has a large garden with a substantial vegetable and herb patch containing courgettes, broad beans, potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage, carrots, spring onions and lettuce. Strawberries and rhubarb also grow in the garden.
The garden area covers approximately 180 square metres and includes a lawned area surrounded by a variety of trees and foliage. Once again there will be a chicken coop, and this year the chickens are a mixed group of various hybrid breeds, chosen for their calm temperaments and egg-laying abilities. There are seven chickens in total, comprising three different breeds: two Boveneras, two Exchequer Leghorns and three Little Red Hens.
The Diary Room
This year’s Big Brother Diary Room boasts a brand new chair that is yet to be revealed.
Participants go to the Diary Room to nominate their housemates for eviction as outlined by the Big Brother rules. The participants can enter the Diary Room at any time of day or night. Here they cannot be overheard by other housemates and can share their personal observations about life in the house and their feelings about the other house members. Big Brother can call individual participants to the Diary Room via the house tannoy system to talk, as deemed necessary. If Big Brother calls a housemate to the Diary Room it is compulsory for them to attend.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
The Big Brother house is fully equipped with state-of-the-art audio and visual recording equipment to document every movement and every word of all the participants in the house and garden around the clock. This includes:
Ø Five manned Sony broadcast cameras that follow participants from behind one-way glass. Sound proofing runs within the house.
Ø Producers in the Big Brother control room operate an additional 15 cameras fitted to remote-controlled pan and tilt head cameras located in the house.
Ø A further 13 fixed cameras ensure that every area of the house and garden is under surveillance.
Ø Over 40 microphones provide comprehensive audio coverage.
Ø Each participant wears a compulsory radio microphone.
Ø A tannoy system allows the voice of Big Brother to issue instructions to the house members.
Ø 50 monitors are housed within the Big Brother control room, watched over by a 24/7 production team of directors and vision mixers.
Ø 50 kilometres of cable have been used in the technical construction of the Big Brother house.
Ø Over the course of the series, around 2,000 radio mic batteries will be used in the house.
Ø 10,000 hours of tape will be recorded.
Ø 150 producers, directors, editors and webmasters work to bring Big Brother to terrestrial TV, digital TV and the web.
Ø A 60-person crew is needed to bring each nightly show to the TV screen.
Ø It takes over 30 web experts to produce the 24/7 live web streaming.
Ø The Big Brother team works around the clock and, even at midnight, there are three producers and two directors on duty, plus 22 other crew members.