The Gallery

BBC News 24 Countdown 1999

HD Recreation Mock (October 2014)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
MD
mdtauk
Smaller text size, Bold (MT) and looser tracking...
MI
Michael
*sigh* Those were the days.

Did anyone else notice in the YouTube video posted upthread with the 2:00am Joanna Gosling bulletin they used the plain UK titles (i.e. weekend news) instead of the BBC World News titles?
KT
KT4YU
Yep! It's because at that time, BBC World was still stuck with the flags look. BBC World only got the 'red and cream' look later in 2000 (so the titles didn't even exist/weren't used at this point), whereas BBC News 24 and the national news got the look in 1999. When BBC News 24's overnight broadcast was simulcast on BBC World the generic BBC News titles were used - that's what we see in the clip Smile

Lambie-Nairn also seemed to get much better at refining this look as it developed...
MI
Michael
Thought as much.
MD
mdtauk
KT4YU posted:
Yep! It's because at that time, BBC World was still stuck with the flags look. BBC World only got the 'red and cream' look later in 2000 (so the titles didn't even exist/weren't used at this point), whereas BBC News 24 and the national news got the look in 1999. When BBC News 24's overnight broadcast was simulcast on BBC World the generic BBC News titles were used - that's what we see in the clip Smile

Lambie-Nairn also seemed to get much better at refining this look as it developed...

I wonder how much was Lambie-Nairn and how much was the internal designers. The titles remained for some time untouched (other than music) and with BBC World it was only really the countdown that changed until the "horrible" orange swirls came in.
KT
KT4YU
I think the internal designers were a little lost themselves at the start, I didn't think they realised that red was going to end up the prominent colour. Remember the original national news studio? All cream walls, red carpet?? (Who thought that would look good as a set? It looked like a snazzy reception with a window).

I even remember World's set when it launched, it had a blue wall to the right of the gallery, luckily it was mostly hidden by that column behind the desk, then finally they realised they needed more red - adding the red wall panels in 2001, then the two red pillars in front of the gallery a bit after that. Best set in my eyes, always hated N8's symmetry and emptiness at the time.

But even the quality and detail of the titles changed significantly, the national titles from 1999 were much simpler and somewhat more jerky than even News 24's, let alone World's package.
MD
mdtauk
KT4YU posted:
I think the internal designers were a little lost themselves at the start, I didn't think they realised that red was going to end up the prominent colour. Remember the original national news studio? All cream walls, red carpet?? (Who thought that would look good as a set? It looked like a snazzy reception with a window).

I even remember World's set when it launched, it had a blue wall to the right of the gallery, luckily it was mostly hidden by that column behind the desk, then finally they realised they needed more red - adding the red wall panels in 2001, then the two red pillars in front of the gallery a bit after that. Best set in my eyes, always hated N8's symmetry and emptiness at the time.

But even the quality and detail of the titles changed significantly, the national titles from 1999 were much simpler and somewhat more jerky than even News 24's, let alone World's package.

I wonder if work had started with BBC World and BBC News 24 at the same time as the branding changed for domestic news in 1999. I would have to imagine it was part of the plan from day one, although the graphics for News 24 and World were more sophisticated than the domestic news - but I think that had as much to do with the fact those channels had much more capable graphics systems, than those of the National and Regional news teams.
BK
bkman1990
I have looking for a high quality video of this countdown for ages on Youtube. At last I've found it here via a Youtube video on this site.

You have done a great job here as the rendering is beautifully clear. Well done.
KT
KT4YU
Cheers

@mdtauk, yeah of course in terms of on-screen graphics etc. Though I see no reason for the titles to be intentionally less sophisticated, if it's just being played off a server or other media? I think it probably came down to the refinement of an initial concept. The regional titles were great (minus Newyddion - don't know what happened there) BBC News 24, BBC World, BBC Breakfast's opening idents were on par. But even the 2002 BBC World countdown that you mentioned - something about it never sat with me, it was too black the large dark decoders seemed stretched...

Anyway, I've changed the details we were talking about, just wanted to post before I render the whole sequence. We good to go?

*
KT
KT4YU
Here we go:

MD
mdtauk
Very Well done. Good attention to detail, and the fact you went back to change things based on feedback and a closer look at the original material, shows you are dedicated and care about the work you did.
KT
KT4YU
Thank you Smile I greatly appreciate the feedback, particularly from people who are constructive such as yourself. I hope we get to see that 10 second BBC World countdown soon!

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