Rob Lowe hosts The Floor, but the massive interactive LED screen that serves as a stage for the game show’s many contestants is also a star attraction. Anthony Carbone, executive producer–showrunner of the trivia battle's American version, now in its third season on Fox, takes us on an illuminating tour of the spectacular set at BiggerStage in Dublin, Ireland.
Going Big
The Talpa Studios game show was created by John de Mol. While the original Dutch version of The Floor has an LED floor as its centerpiece, that show is "a lot calmer, a lot quieter and a lot simpler," says Carbone, whose approach to making the American version was to "go bigger" and "noisier" and create a set that was simple, sleek and high-tech.
When two contestants face off in a trivia duel, they walk up ramps to the dais on the upper level (above), where host Rob Lowe presides. The ramps were built for more than visual appeal: "Fox loved the game-show element of The Floor, but they were like, ‘What would be really great is telling the stories of these people.’ I was like, ‘Let’s create a world where they walk up these ramps. We can put in bites [while they walk to the dais]. That’s when we can tell stories.’”
Tron Vibes?
"I think Tron is amazing," Carbone says, referring to the visually influential 1982 sci-fi movie. "When we were putting [the set] together, oftentimes Fox would be like, 'This is feeling really Tron. And I was like, 'Well, is that a bad thing?'" he says with a laugh.
The Floor's set is cloaked in black, illuminated with strips of neon yellow and orange. Boxes on the blue floor turn gold when a contestant takes over another player's territory. The studio audience sits behind the floor in darkness.Showrunner Anthony Carbone doesn’t worry about the floor cracking or being damaged by foot traffic, saying, “It’s a fairly robust floor.” Contestants are discouraged from wearing shoes with pointy heels like stilettos, but that’s for comfort — players are on their feet for long stretches of time while playing. “Every time we stop, everyone kind of flops to the floor.”
More, More, More
"For season one, we only had 81 people, as opposed to season two, when we elevated it to 100," Carbone says. "The floor size didn’t change. We just changed the size of the boxes people were standing in."
Showrunner Anthony Carbone doesn't worry about the floor cracking or being damaged by foot traffic, saying, "It's a fairly robust floor." Contestants are discouraged from wearing shoes with pointy heels like stilettos, but that's for comfort — players are on their feet for long stretches of time while playing. "Every time we stop, everyone kind of flops to the floor."
Size Matters
The floor measures 20 by 12 meters, or roughly 66 by 39 feet. It’s like "this gigantic TV screen that everyone is standing on, and we can pump anything we want onto it — any graphics, any content. Anything we want, we can make it," Carbone says. "To us, the floor is like a character. It’s alive."
The floor appears to be one big screen, but it’s actually a bunch of screens married together. That multi-screen design allows quick repairs when technical problems occur: "If any of them go down, you can just pop it out and put in a new one."
The Randomizer
Lowe activates "the Randomizer" when it’s time to select a contestant, setting off a torrent of blinking boxes on the floor. After a few seconds, just one box remains lit, indicating the chosen player. That player then chooses a competitor from the boxes immediately surrounding them. The randomizer is designed to "be a moment," Carbone says. "I wanted it to be like Vegas, like a roulette wheel."
Keep It Clean
The LED floor’s matte coating reduces glare from the studio lights and enhances visibility. Regular cleaning keeps it free of dirt and smudges. "When we go to lunch, there’s a crew of PAs who put on little booties to wipe it down and clean it," Carbone says. "They squeegee it to make sure it shines."
What Lies Beneath
An intricate electronic substructure lies beneath the floor, enabling the fast-paced game to function. "Everything is wired to our games engine controlling the content on the screens," Carbone explains. The games engine itself is in a room that few people have access to, he says, "because that’s where the answers are."
The Floor is based on the Talpa Studios format created by John de Mol. It’s produced by Eureka Productions, Talpa and BiggerStage. John de Mol, Mark van Achterberg, Chris Culvenor, Paul Franklin, Wes Dening, Sean O'Riordan and Jayne Parker serve as executive producers. Anthony Carbone serves as executive producer-showrunner, and Rob Lowe is a producer.
