Triangle (TV Series) - Production Limitations

Production Limitations

Interviewed for an earlier TV Hell segment in 1992, the show's producer, Bill Sellars, spoke of several problems with the show's production.

Using a ferry as the setting for a television series had originally looked like a promising idea. The regular cast, playing the crew, could be joined by a constantly changing guest cast playing the passengers as the ship sailed to interesting European locations. Advances in portable video cameras and recording equipment meant that the show could be videotaped on board a real ferry with more realism than using studio sets and more cheaply than using 16mm film which was normal for location television drama at the time.

Unfortunately the plan was revealed to be flawed almost as soon as shooting began. Shot largely in the North Sea, the inclement weather made the exterior scenes appear gloomy and dull, and far from glamorous. In making the first episode Kate O'Mara had to endure a scene in which she sunbathes topless on a clearly freezing deck.

Another problem involved lighting. The cameras were perfectly comfortable with either natural or artificial lighting conditions, but a mixture of the two always produced unnatural-looking colour. The video cameras of the day didn't cope well with contrasting light levels between inside and outside, so interior scenes often had to be shot with the windows or portholes curtained - so that as far as the audience was concerned they might as well have been shot in a studio anyway.

The relatively new "electronic field production" portable video technology used for location footage in place of the traditional 16mm film also exhibited serious problems due, amongst other things, to the movement of the ship which disrupted the stability of the video recorders. Rough seas also induced seasickness in many of the production crew, making shooting an uncomfortable experience.