"Bottom" End Credits Fight - Raw Footage?

[markboulton]

Here's a thought for everybody... Would the BBC have the raw footage for the fight scene seen under the end credits of this Rik Mayall & Ade Edmondson classic? By that I mean seeing the raw image from the camera without the lumakey silhouetting, seeing the detail, in colour, not just their outlines.

I've searched the usual video repositories but have never had any joy. This begs the question, was it lost, simply never looked for because the question never occurred to anybody, OR (and I hate to say I suspect this is the most likely answer) that they never recorded the raw feed in the first place, only the output of the key mask.

Anyone with any ideas or inside information as to the method of production of this segment?

[Paul Vanezis]

I don't think it was ever recorded clean.

When we did 'Bottom Fluff', I ordered the iso tape and it was most certainly a black and white matte, recorded at TVi. I think that tape, along with all of the studio recordings has now been wiped.

Paul

[Richard Marple]

I assume the original was done against CSO cyclorama.

I'm sure I've seen some Bottom outakes, so hopefully they were saved.

[markboulton]

May 26, 2020 21:19:10 GMT Paul Vanezis said:

I don't think it was ever recorded clean.

When we did 'Bottom Fluff', I ordered the iso tape and it was most certainly a black and white matte, recorded at TVi. I think that tape, along with all of the studio recordings has now been wiped.

Paul

As I suspected, but hoped wouldn't be the case!

It still amazes me that even when Auntie's Bloomers and various video releases were crying out for outtakes for such popular comedies, that as soon as a small handful of clips were retrieved, they still decided to junk the rest of the rushes. No doubt the good old 1993 purge again but I digress.

I'm sure the sequence was recorded in its final form only purely for expediency, especially if shot at an independent facility, but it's a shame.

[Mark Tinkler]

That's alot of videotapes to keep the rushes as well - it is a shame but 1" tapes did take up space and cost to store...

[markboulton]

Indeed. But certain shows and all that... But anyway, moot point.

[Richard Marple]

Luckily with Red Dwarf they managed to keep a lot of unused material, though the scene of Kryten lighting a candle with his fingers in a sauna never turned up.

Some material looked like it only exists as timecoded VHS copies though.