In the XXL carpentry of France Télévisions, in Vendargues -

N. Bonzom / Maxele Presse

  • In the studios of “Un si grand soleil”, France Télévisions has set up a vast carpentry room, where the sets for all its fictions and programs are built.

  • The infrastructures scattered until recently in the four corners of France have been pooled into one, in the huge hangar occupied by the group.

  • Carpenters make decorations that are more real than life.

A stone's throw from the Un si grand soleil studios, in Vendargues (Hérault), near Montpellier, saws and drills are running at full speed.

In a large workshop, set up far enough away so that the noise does not disturb the shooting, craftsmen make the sets for the series, designed by the chief decorator, according to the needs of the scenario.

From simple wooden planks, these eight carpenters build places more real than life.

"We are in the process of finishing a hospital decor," says Yves, chief builder.

It took us about six to seven weeks.

"We have very modern machines, which allow us to save ourselves physically", adds Nathalie, one of the carpenters.

These little hands will then install their creations on the set, when the cameras are not running.

“It's an exciting job,” Nathalie continues.

At the time, I didn't work in this sector at all, and I didn't really have an eye to see the sets.

Today, when I watch television, I perceive things that I absolutely did not see before!

"

Behind the scenes of Un si grand soleil - N. Bonzom / Maxele Presse

The only carpentry in France

But this XXL carpentry was not designed to design only the decorations of

Un si grand soleil

.

France Télévisions has made it its only workshop in France for the production of major sets, for this series, but also for other fictions, such as

Plus belle la vie

, or even broadcasts, or television news.

The infrastructures scattered until recently in the four corners of France have been pooled into one, in the huge hangar that the group has occupied since 2018.

A carpenter sets up a decor in the studios of Un si grand soleil - N. Bonzom / Maxele Presse

"The first sets were built in Marseille, and assembled in Montpellier," says Olivier Roelens, executive producer of

Un si grand soleil

.

And our ambition was to create a centralized joinery in Montpellier, for the entire France Télévisions group.

This is the case today.

»Thus, once designed in the Hérault workshop, the sets travel through the shoots.

In Marseille, Paris or Lille.

One more proof that the Hérault is in the process of becoming a real little Hollywood.

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