Editing Press Gang (section)

==Production==

===Inception===
Bill Moffat, a headmaster from [[Glasgow]], had an idea for a children's television programme called ''The Norbridge Files''.<ref>Stephen O'Brien and Jim Sangster {{cite web|title=The Norbridge Files|work=Off the Telly|url=http://www.offthetelly.co.uk/childrens/pressgang.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070218015921/http://www.offthetelly.co.uk/childrens/pressgang.htm|archive-date=18 February 2007|date=February 2000|access-date=19 December 2006}}</ref> He showed it to a producer who visited his school, Thorn Primary School in [[Johnstone]], [[Renfrewshire]], when it was used as the location for an episode of [[Harry Secombe]]'s ''[[Highway (TV series)|Highway]]''.<ref name="herring">{{cite web|title=Interview With Steven Moffat for the Guardian Guide |work=richardherring.com |url=http://www.richardherring.com/press/press.php?id=10 |year=1997 |access-date=11 May 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928031433/http://www.richardherring.com/press/press.php?id=10 |archive-date=28 September 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Stuart |last=Jeffries |title='There is a clue everybody's missed': Sherlock writer Steven Moffat interviewed |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2012/jan/20/steven-moffat-sherlock-doctor-who?newsfeed=true |date=20 January 2012}}</ref><ref name=Lourie>{{cite news|author= Lourie, Adrian|date= 22 March 2010|url= http://www.scotsman.com/features/Interview-Steven-Moffat-Doctor-Who.6169021.jp|title= Interview: Steven Moffat, Doctor Who screenwriter|work=The Scotsman |access-date= 22 March 2010}}</ref> Producer Sandra C. Hastie liked the idea and showed it to her future husband Bill Ward, co-owner of her company Richmond Films and Television. When she requested a script, Moffat suggested that his 25-year-old son Steven, an English teacher, should write it. Hastie said that it was "the best ever first script" that she had read.<ref>{{harvnb|Cornell|1993|p=215}}</ref>

All 43 episodes were written by [[Steven Moffat]]. During production of series two, he was having an unhappy personal life after the break-up of his first marriage. His wife's new lover was represented in the episode "The Big Finish?" by the character Brian Magboy ([[Simon Schatzberger]]), a name inspired by Brian: Maggie's boy. Moffat brought in the character so that all sorts of unfortunate things would happen to him, such as having a [[typewriter]] dropped on his foot.<ref name="big finish">Steven Moffat & Julia Sawalha, "The Big Finish?" ''Press Gang: Series 2'' DVD audio commentary</ref> This period in Moffat's life would also be reflected in his sitcom ''[[Joking Apart]]''.<ref>''Joking Apart: Series 1'' DVD audio commentary, and featurette</ref>

Central Independent Television had confidence in the project, so rather than the show being shot at their studios in [[Nottingham]] as planned, they granted Richmond a £2 million budget. This enabled it to be shot on [[16 mm film]], rather than the regular, less expensive [[videotape]], and [[Filming location|on location]], making it very expensive compared with most children's television.<ref name="putp">O'Brien, Stephen. "Picking up the Pieces" ''Breakfast at Czar's'' Issue 1. [Available as a PDF file on the ''Press Gang'' Series 2 DVD]</ref> These high production costs almost led to its cancellation at the end of the second series, by which time Central executive Lewis Rudd was unable to commission programmes by himself.<ref name="big finish"/>

===Directors===
More than half of the episodes were directed by [[Bob Spiers]], a noted British comedy director who had previously worked on ''[[Fawlty Towers]]'' amongst many other programmes. He would work again with Moffat on his sitcom ''[[Joking Apart]]'' and ''[[Murder Most Horrid]]'', and with Sawalha on ''[[Absolutely Fabulous]]''. According to Moffat, Spiers was the "principal director" taking an interest in the other episodes and setting the visual style of the show. Spiers particularly used [[tracking shot]]s, sometimes requiring more dialogue to be written to accommodate the length of the shot. The other directors would come in and "do a Spiers".<ref name="Moffcomm"/> All of the directors were encouraged to attend the others' shoots so that the visual style would be consistent.<ref name="hastie">"Interface: Sandra Hastie, part 2" ''Breakfast at Czar's'' Issue 2. [Available as a PDF file on the ''Press Gang'' Series 5 DVD]</ref>

The first two episodes were directed by [[Colin Nutley]]. However, he was unhappy with the final edit and requested that his name be removed from the credits.<ref name="newtons1"/><ref name="petford">{{cite web |first=Adrian |last=Petford |title=Press Gang – The Complete Series Guide |url=http://www.yoyo.org/pressgang/pgguide.txt |date=16 December 1995 |access-date=19 December 2006}}</ref> Lorne Magory directed many episodes, notably the two-part stories "How To Make A Killing"<ref name="htmak">{{cite episode |title=How to Make a Killing |series=Press Gang |credits=wr. Steven Moffat, dir. Lorne Magory |network=ITV |airdate=27 February 1989 |series-no=1 |number=7}}</ref> and "The Last Word."<ref name="lw"/> One of the founders of Richmond Films and Television, Bill Ward, directed three episodes,<ref name="newtons5"/><ref>{{cite web |first=Matthew |last=Newton |title=Press Gang: Series Four |work=Newton's Laws of TV |url=http://www.mjnewton.demon.co.uk/tv/pgang4.htm |access-date=19 December 2006}}</ref> and Bren Simson directed some of series two.<ref name="newtons2"/> The show's [[cinematographer]] James Devis took the directorial reins for "Windfall", the penultimate episode.<ref>{{cite web |title=James Devis |work=IMDb |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0222695/ |access-date=19 December 2006}}</ref>

===Location===
Whilst the show was set in the fictional town of Norbridge, it was mostly filmed in [[Uxbridge, London|Uxbridge]], in the west of [[Greater London]].<ref name="moffint"/> Many of the scenes were shot at [[Haydon School]] in [[Pinner]]. The first series was filmed entirely on location, but after the demolition of the building used as the original newspaper office, interior shots were filmed in [[Pinewood Studios]] for the second series, and the exterior of the building was not seen beyond that series. Subsequent series were filmed at [[Shepperton Studios|Lee International Studios]] at [[Shepperton]] (series three and four) and [[Twickenham Studios]] (series five).<ref name="petford"/>

===Music and title sequences===
The [[theme music]] was composed by Peter Davis (who after the second series composed the rest of the series alone as principal composer), [[John Mealing]] and John G. Perry.<ref name="petford"/> The opening titles show the main characters striking a pose, with the name of the respective actor in a typewriter style typeface. Steven Moffat and Julia Sawalha were not very impressed with the opening titles when discussing them for a DVD commentary in 2004.<ref name="Moffcomm"/> They were re-recorded for series three, in the same style, to address the actors' ages and alterations to the set.

Many of the closing titles in the first two series were accompanied by dialogue from two characters. Episodes that ended on a particularly sombre tone, such as "Monday-Tuesday"<ref name="m-t">{{cite episode |title=Monday-Tuesday |series=Press Gang |credits=wr. Steven Moffat, dir. Bob Spiers |network=ITV |airdate=3 April 1989 |series-no=1 |number=11}}</ref> and "Yesterday's News",<ref>{{cite episode |title=Yesterday's News |series=Press Gang |credits=wr. Steven Moffat, dir. Lorne Magory |network=ITV |airdate=29 March 1990 |series-no=2 |number=11}}</ref> used only appropriately sombre music to accompany the end credits. After an emphatic climax, "At Last a Dragon" used an enhanced version of the main theme with more extravagant use of electric guitar. Moffat felt that the voiceovers worked well in the first series, but that they were not as good in the second. Hastie recalls that Moffat was "extremely angry" that ''[[Drop the Dead Donkey]]'' had adopted the style. They were dropped after the second series.<ref name="hastie"/> The cast, according to Moffat, were "grumpy with having to turn up to a recording studio to record them."<ref>Steven Moffat & Julia Sawalha "At Last a Dragon" ''Press Gang: Series 2'' DVD audio commentary</ref>