Logies looks for a touch of class

Bump-in at the The Star began on Sunday for the 63rd Logie Awards.

Producers certainly have a big week ahead as Seven hosts its first Logies in 28 years.

“We’ve got rehearsals on Friday and Saturday. In the room I think we’ve got about 15 cameras, a spidercam in the roof, we’ve got a jib hanging from one of the balconies,” Network Executive Producer for Seven, Digby Mitchell tells TV Tonight.

“We’ve got a camera up the front, which hasn’t been done before. It’s something they’ve employed at the Oscars. It’s a motorised camera that’s right up the front of the stage to get a bit closer to the action.

“It connects the viewer to what’s going on, on the stage, rather than feeling like we’re all at the back of the room watching on.

“It’s a huge Red Carpet”

“Bump-in for the Red Carpet starts at 2am on the morning of the event. That comes together very quickly. It’s a huge Red Carpet that we’re putting in and will hopefully be quite impressive.

“We’re taking over the whole driveway from the Darling at one end all the way to the other end of the building. The whole Red Carpet will be 70% of that driveway.”

Sonia Kruger and Chris Brown host the Red Carpet from 7pm Sunday.

Amongst the other changes in the move from Nine to Seven is returning to a single host, in comedian Sam Pang, and appointing ITV Studios Australia to produce the event.

Head of Content for ITV Studios Australia Beth Hart says the network is hoping to bring a touch of class to the event and to celebrate all of the industry, across Free to Air and Subscription TV.

“I think the message that we’ve had clearly from Channel Seven, since weve started working on the show, is that this is a celebration of our industry,” she says.

“We make brilliant television, world class TV”

“We make brilliant television, world class TV, some of the best versions of the best formats in the world, and we should absolutely be celebrating that. So I think it’s an overwhelming tone of positivity.

“We do have some surprises lined up for the night, just to give it a bit of a freshen up.

“It’s the first time the show has had a host for many, many years. I think that’s a really big difference. He’s well on board with our tone while still being very truly Sam Pang.”

Even while viewers sometimes have a love-hate relationship with all things Logie, Pang remains respectful of Logie history.

“We when we first spoke to Sam, he had that enthusiasm about the Denton years, and Micallef hosting. It was such an amazing list of comedians and he was excited to be a part of that history,” says Mitchell.

“For a long time, Australia really struggled with a tall poppy syndrome. If you stick you head up, it gets cut down. I think that’s changed a little bit in recent years with the standard of television that the country’s been making. There’s a lot to celebrate about the shows, especially broadening from network TV to streamers. If you look at the nominees this year, it’s a wide field of shows that are in play, and being able to celebrate all of that amazing content is what we’re really trying to achieve on the night.”

“I think another reason people kind of have a love-hate relationship with Logies and award shows is that people care passionately about who wins and who loses,” Hart suggests. “If your favourite hasn’t won, and you’ve been dedicated to watching, you know, every single frame of Dancing with the Stars, and it’s been taken out by The Voice or something else, I think people really care about that.”

“We wanted an act that was going to get the room on their feet”

Producers have been kept on their toes by the US actor’s strike but have confirmed all their presenters, revealed Foxtel’s Brian Walsh for Hall of Fame, and announced music acts Amy Shark and closing act Peking Duk.

“We wanted an act that was going to get the room on their feet and give an injection of excitement towards the end of the show,” says Mitchell.

A musical act for In Memoriam and the secret person “fitting” to present the Gold Logie, will be one of several surprises on the night.

Another change sees live voting for the Gold continuing to 10:30pm on Sunday plus bringing fans into the room for the first time since the 1960s.

“This is the night of nights and people are getting a chance to be a part of it. It appealed to Sam too, when we talked to him about it. That atmosphere will be trying to bring the viewers into the room,” Mitchell explains.

Not returning this year is Tony Martin as announcer.

“With a host the whole way through, I think that Tony’s voice isn’t as required to be consistent across the night. The V/O will be a lot more functional. We’ve got Sam providing the laughs.”

“We’re making the show for the viewers”

For Mitchell and Hart the night is about ensuring a celebration of television across the board.

“We’re not making it just for Channel Seven,” says Hart. “It’s being made for the viewers as well as to celebrate the industry.

“It’s going to be a massive night. There’s a huge team of people with a thousand moving parts and lots of things to deal with on the night.”

Mitchell adds, “I can’t speak enough of how amazing it’s been to work with Sam. He really, really has a passion for this side of the industry and a respect for what’s gone before him.”

63rd TV Week Logie Awards 7pm red carpet / 7:30pm ceremony Sunday on Seven.

Photo: TV Week.