Cape Town – It's Monday morning 4:40am and I’m driving down the N1, even for this early riser it’s a bit too early.
I arrive at my destination, take the lift to the 7th floor and it’s like its 10:00am instead of 05:00am.
The smell of coffee, the murmur of voices, the chirpy ‘good mornings’ ringing out are all very different from the quiet office I walk into most mornings.
In no time there’s a cup of coffee in my hand. Sigh. Bliss.
It's around 05:40am and things start getting busier, the crew is setting up, guests are arriving, presenters are getting dressed and I hear the sound of a blow dryer coming from the back somewhere.
I finally meet Paul who introduces me to everyone. I get a quick run down of where I can stand and what not to do.
One of the presenters say, "we might just strap a mic on you" and I say, "okay".
"Good answer," she says!
The countdown begins, the floor manager says quiet on set and in 5,4,3,2,1 we’re live!
I’m on the set of the feel good morning show, Expresso. The morning lifestyle show recently celebrated its 1 000th episode.
The show’s unique brand of infotainment makes it different from anything else that’s currently on offer in the morning programme category.
The presenters are an integral part of making the show so successful. Katlego Maboe, Elana Afrika-Bredenkamp, Ewan Strydom, Graeme Richards and Leigh-Anne Williams work together like a well oiled machine.
I stand in a safe spot careful not to step on the red cables and take it all in. And it’s amazing to watch a live show in action. Standing on the sidelines watching it all I’m in awe at how everything runs so smoothly.
While a segment is being done in one part of the studio the presenters are going over the lines in various other spots.
Over in the kitchen a crew member preps, in the band area the live performance scheduled for the day is doing a sound check and outside the floor manager is trying to determine whether the next segment can be done outside or if the infamous Cape Town wind is just too strong.
The studio situated on the 7th floor at the Equinox building in Sea Point is surrounded by some of the most beautiful views in Cape Town.
The open flowing plan allows the presenters and camera crew to move around fluidly, which is very different from the conventional studio set up.
