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There are two standing sets - Monica and
Rachel's apartment, which occupies the centre of the stage, and the coffeehouse, which is
stage right. Those stay up all the time because they're in every show. Stage left is a
space where they put their larger 'swing sets' (sets that are only needed for one
episode). Those three sets face the audience. There's additional space for sets off to the
side and behind - if they have to build sets there, they feed the scene live to the
audience on overhead monitors. (This information was for season 1. It has probably changed
now.) Friends is filmed every Friday night between 5pm and midnight. The audience of about
250 people sit there for seven hours.
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Monica's
Apartment...
Filled
with a selection of kitsch flea market buys, Monica's apartment broke all the
rules for traditional television set design. "Lavenders, greens.
yellows and pinks - it sounds like too many colours came out of the can,"
says Friends art director John Shaffner. "But it melds together to create a joyous space."
Furniture in here are covered in $125-a-metre fabric.
To viewers, it's the ultimate
dream - here's a twenty something woman who lives in the super-cool Greenwich
Village area of New York, has an antique hand-carved sofas in her lounge room
and a terrace with a view.
The Fridge -
Monica's fridge
has hardly any food in there,
just everyone's favourite drink. But the fridge isn't always on so the drinks are often
off. Matt LeBlanc says "it smells like a rat died in there."
The lampshade next to the couch -
It might look odd, but this is one of the most talked about accessories on the
show. At $3700, it's also one of the most expensive, but set director Greg
Grande says it's worth it. "It has kind of bohemian feel," he says.
The couch - Monica's couch is the
only one that's actually comfortable in real life,
which causes tension on the set. "During lunch breaks, Courteney and
Jennifer like to take naps on the couch in the girls' apartment," says an
insider. "The only problem is that there's only room for one - and there's
always a fight as to who's going to get it."
The coffee table - Greg Grande
says he was trying to play up the differences between the girls' house and the
boys' place. "I was trying to make their living room more formal, with a
couch, coffee table and club chair," he says. "If you notice, there is
no coffee table in the boys' apartment. For them, it's
all about comfortable."
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Joey's Apartment...
He has a giant television and two recliners in the living room and a foosball table in the
dining room.
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Central Perk...
All the paintings on the walls of Central Perk
are commissioned especially for the show, and most of them are replaced every
three episodes or so. Never try to eat the pastries on the set, as they are
plastic. The coffee however, is real.
Among the bright clutter of Central Perk you
might have noticed the fantastic coffee machine. Unfortunately, it's just an
antique top with no working parts. The coffee is kept warm on simple hotplates.
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