The Newsroom

The new NEW Central West and BBC Midlands thread

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MW
Mike W
Philip Cobbold posted:
I think the only thing letting it down is the reused square rostrum. If this was changed for a curved shaped one similar to East Midlands Today, then it would be pretty perfect.

Having had a day to take it all in it's far more versatile than the previous set, and is being used in a far better way. I am in complete agreement with the above, the square rostrum doesn't fit and looks like it's just been shoehorned in, maybe in time a newer shaped rostrum will replace it (or even a catwalk like NBH!).
I am disappointed at the lack of a return to the BBC Birmingham Newsroom, as it would be completely on brand (maybe David Gregory-Kumar's tweets were deliberately misleading to build hype on this forum...)

What is nice though is the fact the presenters are properly lit and the set itself is lit correctly and isn't too overpowering. I always felt the last set's panels below the screen array looked washed out and almost pink (a lot of the warm white lights were casting shadows and highlights where there shouldn't have been).
:-(
A former member
Jon posted:
RDJ posted:
To compare the two main presenter shots, you'd barely know anything has changed, though you can see there there has been a tinkering with the colouring.

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The second image is much much better though. Better positioning and as you say looks much sharper but that shot is only half the story here. The new set feels quite a bit bigger and much more flexible.


It's not an amazing revolution but they have corrected the problems of the original.


Strangely, when the last set was introduced, the first - lunchtime? - bulletin had the brighter/whiter/bluer colouring, and looked really good. However, by the six o'clock bulletin, it had been turned into the dull orangey hues shown above.

Let's hope it stays brighter this time around.


Lunchtime:

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6 o'clock:

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Last edited by A former member on 4 May 2017 12:06am
MW
Mike W
noggin posted:
Mike W posted:
Rkolsen posted:
Seeing the changes in monitor graphics look good. But I got to ask since they're still an SD operation - are the graphics and "newsroom backdrop" created in and played out in HD?

The stuff on the screens is HD - all their reports are also filmed and edited in HD and downscaled at playout.


Are the background LCDs hardwired to HD playout servers (Ravens?) then, or have BBC Birmingham upgraded their studio router and/or vision mixer to handle HD-SDI? (Or added a small HD-SDI screen router and some upconverters to allow SD sources to be routed instead of an HD background server?)

Having seen the old screens up close a few times it was definitely not SD imagery, quite how it was achieved I am not sure. The Vision Mixer at Birmingham's primary gallery is a rather awful Grass Valley thing all the regions were getting in the early 2000s however the screens aren't driven by it, in fact a lot of the screen graphics were inserted via web terminal from memory (I wouldn't know if it was a Raven or some other hybrid solution used to drive the screens)
RD
RDJ
The set looks quite nice dressed for the Sunday Politics.

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WO
Worzel
Andrew Wood posted:
Jon posted:
RDJ posted:
To compare the two main presenter shots, you'd barely know anything has changed, though you can see there there has been a tinkering with the colouring.

*
*

The second image is much much better though. Better positioning and as you say looks much sharper but that shot is only half the story here. The new set feels quite a bit bigger and much more flexible.


It's not an amazing revolution but they have corrected the problems of the original.


Strangely, when the last set was introduced, the first - lunchtime? - bulletin had the brighter/whiter/bluer colouring, and looked really good. However, by the six o'clock bulletin, it had been turned into the dull orangey hues shown above.

Let's hope it stays brighter this time around.


Lunchtime:

*
*

6 o'clock:

*
*


Still a damn sight better than the washed out, dirty and tired looking backdrop and set that greets BBC Look East viewers. Put that with a desk with a dirty great big scuff on the front that looks like its been gaffer taped up, flickering/washed out side rear projection screens and a scratched floor, the Norwich set is in dire need of a refresh after 8/9 years in service.

http://norfolksuffolkmentalhealthcrisis.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Michael-Scott-on-BBC-Look-East-300x117.jpg

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ST
Stuart
RDJ posted:
The set looks quite nice dressed for the Sunday Politics.

Yes, but better. Just the absence of the rectangular rostrum makes the space look bigger.
DO
dosxuk
Worzel posted:
Still a damn sight better than the washed out, dirty and tired looking backdrop and set that greets BBC Look East viewers. Put that with a desk with a dirty great big scuff on the front that looks like its been gaffer taped up, flickering/washed out side rear projection screens and a scratched floor, the Norwich set is in dire need of a refresh after 8/9 years in service.


Think on the bright side - at least it's easy to fit a circular set into the Norwich studio!
WO
Worzel
dosxuk posted:
Worzel posted:
Still a damn sight better than the washed out, dirty and tired looking backdrop and set that greets BBC Look East viewers. Put that with a desk with a dirty great big scuff on the front that looks like its been gaffer taped up, flickering/washed out side rear projection screens and a scratched floor, the Norwich set is in dire need of a refresh after 8/9 years in service.


Think on the bright side - at least it's easy to fit a circular set into the Norwich studio!


Which begs the question, why haven't they upgraded it yet? They're also still using Aston, so one would hope an upgrade to their graphics system would be on the cards too.
MW
Mike W
Worzel posted:
dosxuk posted:
Worzel posted:
Still a damn sight better than the washed out, dirty and tired looking backdrop and set that greets BBC Look East viewers. Put that with a desk with a dirty great big scuff on the front that looks like its been gaffer taped up, flickering/washed out side rear projection screens and a scratched floor, the Norwich set is in dire need of a refresh after 8/9 years in service.


Think on the bright side - at least it's easy to fit a circular set into the Norwich studio!


Which begs the question, why haven't they upgraded it yet? They're also still using Aston, so one would hope an upgrade to their graphics system would be on the cards too.

Why? A lot of regions are still using Astons (including Birmingham). It gets the job done!
VM
VMPhil
If they stop using Aston does that mean we have to call the lower thirds 'vizzes' from now on Wink
MI
m_in_m
Mike W posted:
Worzel posted:
dosxuk posted:

Think on the bright side - at least it's easy to fit a circular set into the Norwich studio!


Which begs the question, why haven't they upgraded it yet? They're also still using Aston, so one would hope an upgrade to their graphics system would be on the cards too.

Why? A lot of regions are still using Astons (including Birmingham). It gets the job done!

It does create inconsistencies for viewers in the west of the region where they have full animating straps on and off for the Cambridge originated segment and not for the Norwich orientated section.

I guess the average viewer doesn't notice. Do the other sub-opts have the same inconsistency?

I presume the Norwich studio is partially circular? Fitting it into Cambridge would be harder though.
MW
Mike W
You're right, the average viewer doesn't notice! But surely discussion of Look East belongs in their own thread, it's been a long time since the days of BBC Midlands and East

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