Printer-friendly Studio Tips [PDF, 205KB]

Arrival

• Address: 120 W. Jefferson Street, Springfield
  
  
• Parking: You may park on the street in front of the building in metered spaces, or in guest spots in the parking lot next to our building – ask one of the guards on the parking lot for a spot. Let the guard know you are a here to do business with the IIS Studio.
  
  
• Security: Bring a driver's license or official State of Illinois Photo I.D. issued by the Secretary of State, for admittance into the building. One of the guards in the reception area will call a representative in IIS to escort you up to our Studio.
  
  
• Business Card: We ask that you bring a business card, so we have a reference for the correct spelling of your name, working title, and contact information, if applicable.
  
  

Clothing and General Tips for TV

Everyone

• Microphone: We suggest you wear a jacket or a sweater with lapels, and a shirt with a collar, so we have something to hang a microphone on. Avoid wearing as much jewelry as you can.
  
  
• Lighting: If you wear glasses, the kind that self-tint outside can be a problem under bright TV lighting, bring a spare non-sunglass pair if you have them.
  
  
• Grooming: We have no grooming supplies on the set.
  
  
• Makeup: Upon your request and your expense, we can book a makeup artist.
  
  
• Speaking: The best drink for speakers is plain water, room temp, not overly-chilled.
  
  
• Electronic Devices: If you have phones, pagers, Blackberries, etc. turn them all the way OFF, muting is not good enough; their radio signals interfere with our recordings. We will hold them in another room for you until recording is done.
  
  

Men

• Shirts: Avoid bright white – grey, tan, beige, or ecru is a better light color choice for the studio lighting. Earth tone colors look great on TV. Avoid French cuffs/collars, polka dots, pin stripes, and hounds tooth checkerboards. Avoid wearing anything with logos.
  
  
• Ties: Avoid tiny-thin stripes and repeating patterns – conservative solids are better. If you wear stripes, go with a thick stripe. The point of your necktie should almost touch the top of your belt buckle when you are standing. Silk ties can cause microphone problems, so let us know if you're wearing a silk tie.
  
  
• Best Shirt/Tie Choice for TV: Pastel, blue solid shirt with a plain, solid darker blue tie. Light grey or teal is also nice. Avoid wearing red.
  
  
• Slacks/Socks: Wear extra-length socks in case you're on our talk show set, because your pants WILL ride up a bit and expose bare leg otherwise.
  
  
• Grooming: Shave extra-close in the morning, and if you have an electric shaver, you might want to bring it along for a touch-up as the day goes on.
  
  

Women

• Makeup: Do your regular "daytime" or "office" makeup – you don't need to change anything special for TV. Bring your own hair and skin products and brushes or combs; we do not supply any of that here. The most you need for TV is a little powder to cut shine. If you favor bright reds for makeup, lipstick, etc, you might want to tone that down a shade or two; we don't want a lot of bright red on TV; it "bleeds" on the screen. Warm and cool makeup tones are better.
  
  
• Blouses/Suits: Avoid bright, starched snow-white for blouses and suits.
  
  
• Sweater Sets: Avoid bright-white-over-black high-contrast sweater sets. Go with off-whites like bone, ecru, beige, tan, grey, etc.
  
  
• Skirts/Pantsuits: As far as skirts or pantsuits, the desk set we use has a modesty panel, we're likely to only see you from the waist-upwards, but if you're not sure which set you'll be sitting on, longer hemlines or pants would be advisable.
  
  
• Shoes: We don't usually see your shoes on these programs, so please feel free to wear what's most comfortable for you in that regard.
  
  
• Fabrics & Patterns to Avoid: Shiny materials – instead pick clothing more flat matte. Silver and micro-metal meshes and sheers are a bad choice. All black clothing is not a great choice, as it makes it harder to see you. Polka dots, pin stripes, checkerboards or hound's-tooth check – these all will "vibrate" on screen and are very distracting to viewers.
  
  
• Best Colors: Pastels and color palettes found in autumn outdoors.
  
  
• Jewelry: Bright, big, noisy or dangly jewelry is a problem; please go with as little as possible for ear rings, necklaces, bracelets, brooches, eyeglass chains, etc.
  
  
• Microphone: We appreciate it if you wear something with a collar and/or a lapel, it makes it less awkward and time-consuming hanging a microphone on you, otherwise we have to ask you to snake wires down inside your clothes and this can be a bother. Avoid wearing a silk scarf – to eliminate microphone problems.
  
  
• Temperature in the Studio: Bring a sweater; the studios are cooled to keep the equipment functioning right and to offset the heat of bright lights, but when you are not under those lights, you may feel chilled in our offices.