Polygraph for TV production
A polygraph for TV production is a scheduling problem as much as a technical one. The examination takes around forty-five minutes to an hour per contributor including fitting the sensors, and that has to sit inside a day already built around other things.
What production needs to supply
A room the contributor and examiner can work in without through-traffic, a table, two chairs, and one standard socket. The examiner brings the instrument and their own laptop.
Somewhere for the camera if the examination is going on screen, which it usually is. The examiner will tell you which angles show the traces best.
Working with compliance
Broadcasters ask the same questions every time: is the contributor informed, is there a duty-of-care plan, and how will the result be described on screen. We answer all three before the booking is confirmed.
We will decline a format that depends on the result being a particular answer, or one where a contributor is being tested on something they have not been told about in advance.
Questions we get asked
- How long does a polygraph take on a shoot day?
- Around forty-five minutes to an hour per contributor, including fitting the sensors and running the questions. That is usually faster than producers expect.
- Can the examination be filmed?
- Yes — most of this work is for camera. The examiner will advise on framing and tell you where a cutaway would lose the moment.
- Will the examiner appear on camera?
- Yes, if the format needs it. Talking an audience through what the traces are doing is part of the booking.
See the productions we have worked on, or the instruments we bring.