INTERVIEW
Television is falling apart! After three months without the possibility of shooting major live entertainment programs due to coronavirus, TF1 broadcasts Friday evening from 9 p.m. The song of the year , presented by Nikos Aliagas from the gardens of the Palais-Royal, in Paris. For the 2019-2020 season, sixteen songs will be in competition. Guest of Culture Media , Mathieu Vergne, producer and co-president of DMLS explained how the show was prepared.
Part of the show has already been recorded on Thursday
To "avoid the stress of the live broadcast and to simplify things with the rules of social distancing", part of the program was already recorded on Thursday evening. Except that the weather was far from mild in the capital, which could cause false connections on Friday evening. "We will assume them," replied Mathieu Vergne. "Nikos will tell viewers from the start that we shot footage on Thursday and I hope that we will have footage with a beautiful sun tonight," he said at the microphone for Europe 1. "We are watching minute the weather per minute, "he smiles.
"We are very happy with what we have done"
"We prepared the show like almost everyone who goes back to work at the moment," says Mathieu Vergne. "We respected the sanitary regulations and we worked with someone responsible for foreseeing the risks. Also, a protocol was put in place and was sent to the artists and to the people who work with us", he continues . Friday evening, physical distance will therefore be ensured, including on stage, and masks worn, except when the artists are singing.
But won't these particular conditions impact the quality of the program? Not necessarily, to understand the producer. "We are very happy with what we did yesterday and what we are going to do this evening," said Mathieu Vergne, who recalls that the organization of the event was decided with TF1 "fifteen years ago barely days. "
Indochina live with "Our celebrations"
"The pride we have is that artists (Amir) told us Thursday evening that they had made the best filming of their lives," he said. Mathieu Vergne promises a real spectacle, with images projected on the facade of the Council of State. "We are going to do mapping by projecting images, and the more the show goes on, the more the show will take on its meaning," he explains.
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Musically, in addition to Amir, who won the prize in 2019, we can find Vianney, Benjamin Biolay or Gradur. "We have been very eclectic in the programming, so that the whole family will benefit," explains Mathieu Vergne, who recalls that the public will be able to vote live. But above all, the group Indochina will be live Friday evening, with a "sort of Medley" and the cover of their last single Our Celebrations . "We are very proud to have them," concludes Mathieu Vergne.