The Newsroom

TV News Terminology

(October 2019)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
BA
bilky asko
It was actually just a bulletin that had been uploaded to Vimeo with all that left in at the start.

Was it the on the official ITV News site? They previously (or may still) use Vimeo for uploading news videos.

I think it was uploaded by one of the ITV regions as they used Vimeo to embed videos in posts on the ITV News site.


Correct, it was Central that uploaded it, the YouTube video is a condensed version with all the interesting bits.
GE
thegeek Founding member
Can anyone think of any other strange broadcasting terms?


At BT Sport a break bumper that animates over live/VT pictures is called a "splodge".

It did originally look like a bit of a splodge when it was based on the old BT logo - I like how the name has stuck even though it's no longer splodge-like.
SP
Steve in Pudsey
What’s Big Ted and Sonic Sophie (or who they replaced her with) and how are the integrated? I know for the lower thirds you don’t use the VizRT software.


You probably need a bit of British TV history to get the Big Ted reference.

Big Ted and Little Ted were characters on the iconic pre school kids TV series Play School.

*

As far as I'm aware it is software which sits between the automation/ ENPS (back in the day) and the graphics software (originally Astons). I guess it's effectively middleware to get otherwise incompatible systems to communicate.

Sonic Sophie was the automated gallery countdown generated by the automation, which Sophie Raworth voiced. So rather then a production assistant or the director counting out of each VT the automation did it. Later versions used Fiona Bruce's voice.
Night Thoughts, davidhorman and ToasterMan gave kudos
MW
Mike W

Sonic Sophie was the automated gallery countdown generated by the automation, which Sophie Raworth voiced. So rather then a production assistant or the director counting out of each VT the automation did it. Later versions used Fiona Bruce's voice.

Some of the 'Project England' English Regions still use this, others turn it off completely, obviously newer builds don't have it or don't enable it.
DE
deejay
BigTed originally stood for Baysys Integrated Text Editor (the B has since been amended to Broadcast) and is still used with OpenMedia to format lower thirds, provide timing information and script viewers. The voice for counts is Fiona Bruce by default. It works via MOS and essentially tells a caption generator what to type, on what background, in what font and in what colour. It has many auto styles, logic rules and clever features. It can control Aston, Clarity, CasparCG, can have main and reserve character generators and a separate still store. It’s a very clever powerful piece of kit and is use all over the BBC, but only in the BBC.

“Piddle”, as used by BBC world was Presentation Interruption Device for a Live Event. It was essentially a DVE move with live pictures zoomed back in a box with “Live Coverage” or “breaking news” text at the bottom of the screen. N9 would put this on their output with the press conference in it and at the point it started, presentation would interrupt the programme and cut to news, who would then zoom full frame after a few seconds. Again a BBC only term, entirely unofficial, though there are still directors who refer to “piddling on air”!
Night Thoughts, itsrobert and Steve in Pudsey gave kudos
DE
deejay

1. When "The World Today" returned in 2001, the opening vamp was commonly referred to as a "twinkle". I've never heard this term used anywhere else before or since.

2. When BBC Four News launched, its opening vamp was called a "sprinkle".



Twinkle and sprinkle were used simply because they were twinkly bits of music. I dare say it was considered amusing at the time and it stuck.
DE
deejay

Is the VO, SOT, PKG, NATVO etc. nomenclature used in the UK as well, or do you have different terms?


Yes, though there are differences between broadcasters. I think almost everyone refers to recorded items as VT or Package.

BBC specific terms I can think of are:
OOV (out of vision) (everyone else calls these VOs, underlays, or overlays)
CSO (colour separation overlay) (everyone else calls this chromakey or green screen)

SOT (sound on tape, occasionally SOF) / UPSOT (up sound on tape) is common, though ACT for actuality is also common in the BBC.

VAMP is common in the network newsroom, but in the regions I’ve worked in at the BBC, music running under headlines is known as a bed (which is a radio term I think).

VIS is common in the BBC when the presenter is to be brought back into vision, but I have seen freelancers put NCIV ‘Newscaster in vision’ which causes some confusion the first time it’s seen by BBC lifers!
RK
Rkolsen
BigTed originally stood for Baysys Integrated Text Editor (the B has since been amended to Broadcast) and is still used with OpenMedia to format lower thirds, provide timing information and script viewers. The voice for counts is Fiona Bruce by default. It works via MOS and essentially tells a caption generator what to type, on what background, in what font and in what colour. It has many auto styles, logic rules and clever features. It can control Aston, Clarity, CasparCG, can have main and reserve character generators and a separate still store. It’s a very clever powerful piece of kit and is use all over the BBC, but only in the BBC.

“Piddle”, as used by BBC world was Presentation Interruption Device for a Live Event. It was essentially a DVE move with live pictures zoomed back in a box with “Live Coverage” or “breaking news” text at the bottom of the screen. N9 would put this on their output with the press conference in it and at the point it started, presentation would interrupt the programme and cut to news, who would then zoom full frame after a few seconds. Again a BBC only term, entirely unofficial, though there are still directors who refer to “piddling on air”!


BigTed sounds like it could be replaced by the common MOS used in ENPS or what have you and the existing chroma keyer.

Do you have an example of a piddle? Would the Live Coverage be there on screen before cutting to to N9 ( sorry is not clear to me).
EY
the eye
I remember years ago on BBC World there would sometimes be a live event sometimes too important to stop for news and at the top of the hour the vt frame would zoom out and text below would say live coverage continues or something. Is this a piddle?
DE
deejay
I remember years ago on BBC World there would sometimes be a live event sometimes too important to stop for news and at the top of the hour the vt frame would zoom out and text below would say live coverage continues or something. Is this a piddle?


Sort of. Lots of directors referred to that as a PIDLE but it was subtly different. The DVE used at the top of the hour was for when partner broadcasters were joining BBC World for a Bulletin. If news coverage was rolling over the top of the hour this DVE move was used to welcome viewers joining on BBC America (or whatever).
DE
deejay
BigTed originally stood for Baysys Integrated Text Editor (the B has since been amended to Broadcast) and is still used with OpenMedia to format lower thirds, provide timing information and script viewers. The voice for counts is Fiona Bruce by default. It works via MOS and essentially tells a caption generator what to type, on what background, in what font and in what colour. It has many auto styles, logic rules and clever features. It can control Aston, Clarity, CasparCG, can have main and reserve character generators and a separate still store. It’s a very clever powerful piece of kit and is use all over the BBC, but only in the BBC.

“Piddle”, as used by BBC world was Presentation Interruption Device for a Live Event. It was essentially a DVE move with live pictures zoomed back in a box with “Live Coverage” or “breaking news” text at the bottom of the screen. N9 would put this on their output with the press conference in it and at the point it started, presentation would interrupt the programme and cut to news, who would then zoom full frame after a few seconds. Again a BBC only term, entirely unofficial, though there are still directors who refer to “piddling on air”!


BigTed sounds like it could be replaced by the common MOS used in ENPS or what have you and the existing chroma keyer.

Do you have an example of a piddle? Would the Live Coverage be there on screen before cutting to to N9 ( sorry is not clear to me).

I'll see if I can find one, but I'm not sure I've seen one on Youtube or anything. PIDLE was used during a back half hour programme. So imagine HARDtalk is on the air, but the newsroom have warned Pres that there is a press conference imminent. Pres run HARDtalk at the appropriate time, but news have the PIDLE on their output with the camera from the presser squeezed back in the box. When the presser starts, news tell pres to take them to air. Pres cut (or fade via black if they're on the ball) to news and news take it away, un-squeezing the pictures full frame after a few seconds. I can't remember if there was a musical sting for a PIDLE.
RK
Rkolsen
BigTed originally stood for Baysys Integrated Text Editor (the B has since been amended to Broadcast) and is still used with OpenMedia to format lower thirds, provide timing information and script viewers. The voice for counts is Fiona Bruce by default. It works via MOS and essentially tells a caption generator what to type, on what background, in what font and in what colour. It has many auto styles, logic rules and clever features. It can control Aston, Clarity, CasparCG, can have main and reserve character generators and a separate still store. It’s a very clever powerful piece of kit and is use all over the BBC, but only in the BBC.

“Piddle”, as used by BBC world was Presentation Interruption Device for a Live Event. It was essentially a DVE move with live pictures zoomed back in a box with “Live Coverage” or “breaking news” text at the bottom of the screen. N9 would put this on their output with the press conference in it and at the point it started, presentation would interrupt the programme and cut to news, who would then zoom full frame after a few seconds. Again a BBC only term, entirely unofficial, though there are still directors who refer to “piddling on air”!


BigTed sounds like it could be replaced by the common MOS used in ENPS or what have you and the existing chroma keyer.

Do you have an example of a piddle? Would the Live Coverage be there on screen before cutting to to N9 ( sorry is not clear to me).

I'll see if I can find one, but I'm not sure I've seen one on Youtube or anything. PIDLE was used during a back half hour programme. So imagine HARDtalk is on the air, but the newsroom have warned Pres that there is a press conference imminent. Pres run HARDtalk at the appropriate time, but news have the PIDLE on their output with the camera from the presser squeezed back in the box. When the presser starts, news tell pres to take them to air. Pres cut (or fade via black if they're on the ball) to news and news take it away, un-squeezing the pictures full frame after a few seconds. I can't remember if there was a musical sting for a PIDLE.

Sounds confusing. In my mind I’m picturing a DVE where presentation does a two box with text underneath and then the presser in another box, as it starts goings to full screen while transferring to N9.

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