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Watch A Fascinating Behind-The-Scenes Video About Creating SNL's Cue Cards
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jan 31, 2019
Modified Jan 31, 2019
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Jan 31, 2019
Modified Jan 31, 2019
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If you've ever gone to a taping of Saturday Night Live—a.k.a. "S&L"—you've witnessed the chaotic ballet of camera operators, grips and workers who make the show run behind-the-scenes. SNL has released a really fascinating look at one of the most essential parts of the show: the cue cards, and the people who write and hold them.
Wally Feresten, who runs the cue card department for the show and has been there for decades, explains everything from how cast members can tell their lines apart, why they're written in a certain way and with certain spacing, how they're positioned, and how they pull off the trickiest camera shots with them. You can see footage of the cards being written and re-written before and after dress rehearsal—apparently they sometimes rewrite them right through Weekend Update!
If you enjoyed that glimpse behind-the-scenes, we recommend you check out two more such behind-the-scenes videos which SNL has released during this season: the first is about those crane cameras, and the second is about the wardrobe.
Tagged
behind-the-scenes
cue cards
saturday night live
snl
television
tv
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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