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Shaun Micallef was lost for words. It was a rare moment for the comedian, overcome by what he called surprising "human emotions."
The occasion was a teary farewell to Studio 31 at the ABC's Ripponlea building, marking the end of an era in Australian television.
The Micallef Program was the final show to be produced in the iconic studio nicknamed 'The Dream Factory'.
Inside that building on Gordon St in Elsternwick, in Melbourne's south-eastern suburbs, was where Australian television history was made.
Here, an exceptionally talented group of individuals learned how to produce live and recorded television programs from the ground up, after the first television broadcast of the Melbourne Olympics in 1956.
It was an era of experimentation and extraordinary creativity for those who worked there.
There was a critical mass of creative people — from set designers to make-up artists, camera staff and producers — dedicated to making the impossible possible.
Shows like Bellbird, Adventure Island and Countdown were made there, followed by D-Gen, Recovery and Spicks and Specks.
What the stars had to say about Ripponlea:
"You know, prosthetics, back in the early days. They didn't farm stuff out because they couldn't. They created the expertise, they trained up the experts themselves."
Actress Sigrid Thornton
"It's almost like a mini-Hollywood. So many programs have gone through here over the years and the development of so much innovation, [there was a] preparedness to try new things. The ABC would do that."
Paul Drane, former Countdown director
"When you go into those other commercial studios, they have these big posters of their stars. You go into the foyer of Ripponlea, which was kind of like a building that was designed by a Communist refugee from World War II, that was painted by surplus military paint. It was a completely different experience because [there was] no ego."
Actor Simon Westaway
"There's a bit of magic in Ripponlea. It allowed people … to be more creative, to have more artistic leeway."
Actress Deborra-lee Furness
"It was so important in our lives, it was the window to the rest of the world. This kind of mythical dream factory, where all the greatest ideas occurred and people were having the most amount of fun."
Myf Warhurst, Spicks and Specks and Double J
'Anything was possible' at The Dream Factory
Micallef said after watching the programs created at Ripponlea, he downed tools in an Adelaide solicitor's office and moved to Melbourne.
There, he learned what he called "the Ripponlea method", founded by renowned TV director Ted Emery.
Emery made programs by creating a "family atmosphere", Micallef explained.
"The ABC Gordon St method is the only method I know how to make a program. You make a little family together then everybody gets involved," he said.
"In fact if you watch the Micallef Program … you think they are actors, but they are actually just members of the crew who have been dragooned into a sketch."
Micallef said anything was possible at Ripponlea.
"You would come up with an idea and you would expect it to be turned around in a couple of days," he said.
"You would have a set built for you and you would [say] 'I need to drive a tank onto the set', and [they said] 'Okay, sure'."
Charlie Pickering, host of The Weekly, felt lucky to be "that little bookend on history", filming one of the last programs in the famed Studio 31.
"It's hard not to feel sentimental about it. This place was built as a factory of entertainment," he said.
"Walking into this studio made you feel like you were stepping into history. You can see, almost feel, the history on the walls.
"You can get enough of an audience in here to get a really good response, but it's not so big that it doesn't feel intimate."
A broadcast culture 'we're proud of'
The ABC television studio itself was an ugly duckling sitting next to the lush gardens of the heritage-listed Ripponlea Estate.
The building was a rundown rabbit warren that always seemed to be shedding paint.
By the 1980s, when Belinda Hawkins arrived as a cadet journalist, most of the old iconic programs were gone.
"But you could feel the footsteps and whispers from them. You could feel it coming up through the floorboards, you could feel the energy," she said.
Hawkins painted a vivid picture of the newsroom when she arrived, with everyone smoking, the clatter of typewriters, the long paper autocues.
"It was absolutely deafening," she said.
"It's gold here, It's gold. It's as good as it gets. This is where I started a dream career."
Having everyone together in one building — including news, the drama department, technical crews, set designers, the natural history department and the costume department — created a unique environment.
"Having so many people in the one building, I think it created a culture. It's a culture that is this broadcast that we are all proud of. We are proud that we're a public broadcaster," Hawkins said.
"When you start dissembling a building like this, my fear is that you risk tearing at that fabric of that culture.
"I think it's the culture that many of us will miss."
Watch The Dream Factory on ABC TV tonight at 9:00pm
Topics: television-broadcasting, broadcasting, television, arts-and-entertainment, ripponlea-3185, melbourne-3000
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