Editing Coupling (British TV series) (section)

===Recording===
All of the location sequences for each series were filmed in [[London]] during the first week of each production block. As Moffat was generally late delivering the final few scripts of each series, those episodes contained no location material.<ref name="naked-comm"/> The exterior shots of the bar were filmed in [[Clerkenwell]] in the first series. After a nearby Thai restaurant complained that filming was disrupting their business, a street just off [[Tottenham Court Road]] was used from series two.<ref name="naked-comm"/> The house in which Moffat and Vertue lived at the time was used as the exterior for Steve's flat, with the surrounding area used for other sequences.<ref name="dressed-comm"/>

Material that was technically difficult was filmed the day before the recording with the live studio audience. A common example of this would be a dinner table sequence, where some characters would be filmed against the [[fourth wall]], rather than the often-used contrived method of cramming everyone together around the [[proscenium]]. Readjusting the set and refilming against the fourth wall would have been too time-consuming.<ref name="s2s"/> However, the absence of the studio audiences made it more difficult for the actors to judge the timing of the laughs. For instance, Moffat says that this prevented Gina Bellman from "milking" a particular laugh in the episode "Dressed", an episode in which most of her scenes were prerecorded because she was wearing minimal clothing on set to provide the illusion of complete nudity.<ref name="dressed-comm"/> The prerecorded sequences were tightened in the editing process once the scenes had been played to the studio audience.<ref name="naked-comm"/>

[[File:Thames Television and ABC Weekend TV studios in Teddington London cropped.jpg|thumb|right|Episodes of ''Coupling'' were filmed in front of a live studio audience at [[Teddington Studios]] in London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.]]

Episodes were mostly filmed in front of a live studio audience at [[Teddington Studios]] in [[London Borough of Richmond upon Thames]] on Wednesday evenings. Sue Vertue says that the live audience reinvigorated the company because no one had laughed at the material for a few days, as everyone knew it so well.<ref name="s2s"/> A [[warm-up comedian]] updated the studio audiences about any important plot detail, introduced them to the performers, and provided entertainment while cameras and sets were being repositioned. [[Rob Rouse]] fulfilled this role for the fourth series.<ref name="s2s"/>

Despite some critics' comments, all of the laughter in ''Coupling'' was from a genuine live studio audience.<ref name="naked-comm"/> Although artificial [[canned laughter]] was not used, the laughter sometimes had to be tweaked during the editing process. For instance, the studio audience might laugh for longer than might be expected of the home audience. Also, the audience's laughter decreased if a scene was shot multiple times; in these cases the laughter from an earlier [[take]] would be used.<ref name="s2s"/>

Moffat felt uncomfortable and powerless during the studio recording. Sitting in the [[Television studio#Production-control room|gallery]], he wrote the word 'help' repeatedly on the back of his scripts. In an interview for the DVD release, he says he was aware that their most successful show received the least amount of laughter from the studio audience.<ref name="s2s"/> Conversely, studio audiences reacted emphatically to his previous studio sitcom, ''Chalk'', yet it received a poor critical reception upon transmission.<ref name="dust"/> Martin Dennis would start editing from the following Monday afternoon. The episodes were then [[Color grading|colour graded]] and dubbed with sound effects and music.<ref name="s2s"/>

[[Mari Wilson]] performed the song "[[Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps]]", written by [[Osvaldo Farrés]] and Joe Davis, to accompany the opening and [[closing credits]]. [[Simon Brint]] composed and arranged the [[incidental music]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Raw Sex star Simon Brint dies aged 61|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13845248 |work=BBC News |date=20 June 2011 |access-date=7 June 2012}}</ref> The title sequence, as [[Mark Lawson]] described, consists of "brightly coloured and suggestive shapes swirl around the screen: circles, curves, and angles tumble like limbs locked together in sex. As the names of the actors discreetly sweep across in black lettering, the bright shapes form the title: ''Coupling''."<ref name="lawson-title">{{cite news |title=G2: Stylish from the very start: Mark Lawson on Mad Men's title sequence - and five other classics |first=Mark |last=Lawson |author-link=Mark Lawson |page=15 |work=The Guardian |location=London |date=3 February 2009}}</ref> Lawson calls the design "elegant simplicity, showing how a clever choice of theme tune can evoke an atmosphere and set a pace to which images can be cut."<ref name="lawson-title"/> The colour scheme was changed for the fourth series, although the basic design remained.