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Broadcast Clocks

Origins and examples (January 2021)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
MA
Markymark
Markymark posted:
There was a Grampian TV news report, that also got shown on the IBA's Tuesday morning Eng Info programme. It's on You Tube, I'll see if I can find it later, or someone might beat me to it!


Ta da
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qqva2pB63c
Last edited by Markymark on 24 January 2021 4:20pm
MA
Markymark
Coronavision posted:
Markymark posted:
Which ITV companies never had an electronic continuity clock ?

I'll open the batting with Thames?


Thames may have been the only one, although didn't LWT just scrap theirs altogether in the early 80s?

.


I've seen an electronic LWT clock, it had the Orange/White/Blue corporate ribbon as a circular band around the clock face?
RO
rob Founding member
Markymark posted:
Coronavision posted:
Markymark posted:
Which ITV companies never had an electronic continuity clock ?

I'll open the batting with Thames?


Thames may have been the only one, although didn't LWT just scrap theirs altogether in the early 80s?

.


I've seen an electronic LWT clock, it had the Orange/White/Blue corporate ribbon as a circular band around the clock face?


*
CO
Coronavision
james-2001 posted:
Coronavision posted:
Tyne Tees never had an electronic clock while independent, but YTV did put out TTTV-branded clocks on overnight continuity in the 1990s.



Not just overnight, there's one into the early evening news here:

https://www.tvark.org/?page=media&mediaid=125045

Looks like it had gone by the "Channel 4 North East" rebrand, though, Yorkshire had a clock until the generic look in 1999, along with Granada, which must make them the last ITV regions to use on, unless you count Channel having pre-recorded sequence which had a clock in it on their regional news into the early 00s.


Yes of course, they used it during the day during 1996 between March (when Newcastle continuity ended) and September (when C3NE started).

So given that LWT one it looks like only Thames (the largest contractor) and possibly Channel (the smallest) never upgraded. Strange how these things turn out.
JA
james-2001
rob posted:
Markymark posted:
Coronavision posted:

Thames may have been the only one, although didn't LWT just scrap theirs altogether in the early 80s?

.


I've seen an electronic LWT clock, it had the Orange/White/Blue corporate ribbon as a circular band around the clock face?


*


Looking at this video, I don't think it's electronic:

https://www.tvark.org/?page=media&mediaid=95379

They did use the 1989 generic electronic clock though:

https://www.tvark.org/?page=media&mediaid=96321

I think them and Yorkshire were the only ones who did.
BR
Brekkie
Can't quite work out whether that LWT clock is a thing of beauty or a thing of horror.
JA
james-2001
Here's the video of Thames with the mechanical clock over the 1989 generic background:

https://www.tvark.org/?page=media&mediaid=116054

Even looks like the background is a physical slide, not electronically generated. Very bizarre for ITV's biggest company in 1990.

I'm sure I remember reading somewhere that Tyne Tees were going to do something similar, but decided it didn't really work.
DE88 and Night Thoughts gave kudos
VM
VMPhil
I don't think anyone's posted the clip of Border's physical clock from 1990 yet, but it turns out it wasn't entirely outmoded, it did have a sweeping second hand! Look how lopsided the 'Border' caption is though.

https://www.tvark.org/?page=media&mediaid=110821
DE88 and Night Thoughts gave kudos
BR
Brekkie
james-2001 posted:
https://www.tvark.org/?page=media&mediaid=95379

This LWT clip begs another question from someone who is just slightly too young to remember front caps - did regions airing their own programme air an ident and frontcap back to back?
GM
Gary McEwan
This was Grampian's clock from 1984.



Scottish's clock from 1994.

MA
Markymark
james-2001 posted:
Here's the video of Thames with the mechanical clock over the 1989 generic background:

https://www.tvark.org/?page=media&mediaid=116054

Even looks like the background is a physical slide, not electronically generated. Very bizarre for ITV's biggest company in 1990.

I'm sure I remember reading somewhere that Tyne Tees were going to do something similar, but decided it didn't really work.


And Sally McLaren's jumper doesn't look very good, certainly after being through the mangle of VHS!
IS
Inspector Sands
Brekkie posted:

This LWT clip begs another question from someone who is just slightly too young to remember front caps - did regions airing their own programme air an ident and frontcap back to back?

You mean did they play their ident twice? No they wouldn't.

Worth remembering that the current convention of having an ident + announcement before very programme is a fairly new one. Look at clips from the 80s and the ITV stations went into programmes in all sorts of ways: straight off the back of promos or adverts, announced over a slide/clock, or of course an announcer in a studio.

There's some recent clips on YouTube of some 70s Ulster junctions where they don't mention their name at all, but the company who made the next programme gets a full ident
Last edited by Inspector Sands on 24 January 2021 1:07pm

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