The Newsroom

The Sky News Thread

(October 2019)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
GL
globaltraffic24
valley posted:
mediamonkeyuk posted:
Better still, have a live shot so it is dynamic with the weather and seasons. As things stand, it will be dark at 7am in a couple of weeks but Westminster will be in full daylight

The cost of having a live camera installed there would be exorbitant and you’d still need backup shots for when the camera fogs up or some idiot sprays paint on it.
And there are lots of different backdrops, so they can use those for when it’s dark if they want.


The simplest solution is to actually get a camera crew out there and film the scene 'live'. This is how ITV's regional news teams used to do it. It was a bit time consuming, but meant that the backdrop could be played out 'as-live' with the sun rising roughly at the right time.
VA
valley
globaltraffic24 posted:
valley posted:
mediamonkeyuk posted:
Better still, have a live shot so it is dynamic with the weather and seasons. As things stand, it will be dark at 7am in a couple of weeks but Westminster will be in full daylight

The cost of having a live camera installed there would be exorbitant and you’d still need backup shots for when the camera fogs up or some idiot sprays paint on it.
And there are lots of different backdrops, so they can use those for when it’s dark if they want.


The simplest solution is to actually get a camera crew out there and film the scene 'live'. This is how ITV's regional news teams used to do it. It was a bit time consuming, but meant that the backdrop could be played out 'as-live' with the sun rising roughly at the right time.

Indeed, although in the current climate that might be a slight indulgence!
AA
aaron_scotland
Could you not send a team out to record say a 5 hour chunk from dark, through sunrise, to daylight then just play it and adjust for sunrise every week or so?
WH
what
Or could they not attach a camera to a building with a decent view, and take it live on the screens?
JO
Joe
These seem like relatively complicated solutions to 'we see a red bus a lot'. Easiest thing, surely, if it's deemed a problem is to just make a slightly longer loop. Don't think you'd want raw camera footage or live feeds anyway – you really want to edit, enhance and colour adjust background footage, especially when it's going to fill the screen.
ME
mediamonkeyuk
Joe posted:
These seem like relatively complicated solutions to 'we see a red bus a lot'. Easiest thing, surely, if it's deemed a problem is to just make a slightly longer loop. Don't think you'd want raw camera footage or live feeds anyway – you really want to edit, enhance and colour adjust background footage, especially when it's going to fill the screen.


I didn’t say I saw a red bus a lot, the bus disappeared into thin air right before our eyes at least twice behind Annelise whist she was being interviewed. It just looks messy. Your point about enhancement is also a moot point given that it looks dreadful and washed out during Kay’s show. Oversaturated on AOP. Tonight just about gets away with it but there’s a definite wobble on that shot (wind during filming perhaps?)
CA
cat
Genuine question, not intended to be ranty/moaning: can someone with a bit more technical expertise explain why are the image quality on the screens isn't great?

Given the glass box was 2016 and its very bright and sharp, I'm surprised that four years later with LED technology moving on all the time that the screens here look as bad as they do. Colours are over-saturated, it's blurry, contrast is poor.

Is it hindered by the studio facing out onto an open newsroom with daylight? Is it a software issue that can be fixed with some work? Or is it that the screens are cheap / poor quality and they've done the best they can with limited resources (fair enough, if so)?
VA
valley
cat posted:
Genuine question, not intended to be ranty/moaning: can someone with a bit more technical expertise explain why are the image quality on the screens isn't great?

Given the glass box was 2016 and its very bright and sharp, I'm surprised that four years later with LED technology moving on all the time that the screens here look as bad as they do. Colours are over-saturated, it's blurry, contrast is poor.

Is it hindered by the studio facing out onto an open newsroom with daylight? Is it a software issue that can be fixed with some work? Or is it that the screens are cheap / poor quality and they've done the best they can with limited resources (fair enough, if so)?

There’s a subtle diffusion filter in front of the screens to cut out on aliasing which also reflects light which leads it to washing out when hit with soft light.
Some of the source files are a bit rubbish too.
The cameras are a bit noisy too due to the fact they’re pretty old LDK8000s - I think they went in at the same time as Studio A was built.
Last edited by valley on 21 September 2020 2:36pm
AL
alexjac0788
Aaron_2015 posted:
Brekkie posted:
Funny how everyone loves the glass box now.


Some of us have been defending the glass box since it launched. Wink

With some tweaks to the atrium surrounding the glass box, it could make a very effective backdrop. Some creative lighting, a range of monitors and maybe a ticker somewhere in the background would really bring the atrium to life. Sky Central itself looks like a really nice space, it’s modern, bright and feels fresh. It’s a nice contrast to the very dark, gloomy backgrounds on BBC and ITV News studios.

Unfortunately they insist on having the desk face the big screen and the surrounding corridors, so much wasted potential. The actual studio itself, however, is a nicely designed space.


After the 2019 Election, I was so excited to see that Sky had finally brought back some of its creativity. They showed what they could do with Sky Central. However, since then, they've gone backwards.
GL
globaltraffic24
valley posted:
globaltraffic24 posted:
valley posted:
The cost of having a live camera installed there would be exorbitant and you’d still need backup shots for when the camera fogs up or some idiot sprays paint on it.
And there are lots of different backdrops, so they can use those for when it’s dark if they want.


The simplest solution is to actually get a camera crew out there and film the scene 'live'. This is how ITV's regional news teams used to do it. It was a bit time consuming, but meant that the backdrop could be played out 'as-live' with the sun rising roughly at the right time.

Indeed, although in the current climate that might be a slight indulgence!


Fair point! We used to do it when I worked in regional newsrooms. One cameraman all day. A thankless task but it worked well. In a later role, we tried the corner-cutting one hour loop option. Received complaints about a mysteriously vanishing boat on the river routinely!
AJ
AJ
alexjac0788 posted:
Aaron_2015 posted:
Brekkie posted:
Funny how everyone loves the glass box now.


Some of us have been defending the glass box since it launched. Wink

With some tweaks to the atrium surrounding the glass box, it could make a very effective backdrop. Some creative lighting, a range of monitors and maybe a ticker somewhere in the background would really bring the atrium to life. Sky Central itself looks like a really nice space, it’s modern, bright and feels fresh. It’s a nice contrast to the very dark, gloomy backgrounds on BBC and ITV News studios.

Unfortunately they insist on having the desk face the big screen and the surrounding corridors, so much wasted potential. The actual studio itself, however, is a nicely designed space.


After the 2019 Election, I was so excited to see that Sky had finally brought back some of its creativity. They showed what they could do with Sky Central. However, since then, they've gone backwards.


Sky Central is a bit different right now with lots of one way systems, floor stickers and safety info banners - like most offices.

Using the atrium for broadcast wouldn't be particularly wise whilst trying to make space available for physical distancing.
TV
TVViewer256
globaltraffic24 posted:
valley posted:
globaltraffic24 posted:

The simplest solution is to actually get a camera crew out there and film the scene 'live'. This is how ITV's regional news teams used to do it. It was a bit time consuming, but meant that the backdrop could be played out 'as-live' with the sun rising roughly at the right time.

Indeed, although in the current climate that might be a slight indulgence!


Fair point! We used to do it when I worked in regional newsrooms. One cameraman all day. A thankless task but it worked well. In a later role, we tried the corner-cutting one hour loop option. Received complaints about a mysteriously vanishing boat on the river routinely!

Or alternatively, if they wanted the backdrop to look realistic (be it light or dark), they could go down the route GMB used from 2015 until the TVC move and have a selection of loops, all with different light levels.

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