noggin's posts, page 254

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NG
noggin Founding member

EastEnders

MetalGearRex posted:
noggin posted:
Steve Williams posted:

Well, there is a team involved, of course, and a lot of the time the executive producer will be told what to do, by the Controller of BBC1 or the Head of Drama and so on. But someone does have to have the final say.


Yes - though there are no longer channel controller roles. Charlotte Moore (former BBC One Channel Controller) now has a wider ranging role that includes broad brush controller roles across all general channels (poss linear only).

It has been changed slightly with the reinstatement of the BBC TWO controller post - where the channel editor, Patrick Holland, was promoted to the role earlier this year. Still, I can't help but think that they're still reporting to the director of BBC Content.


Ah - had missed his 'upgrade'. But yes - I think Director of BBC Content is still overall 'in charge'.
NG
noggin Founding member

50 years of Test Card F

deejay posted:
I think Carol Hersee, the girl with the clown, was interviewed on BBC South Today some years ago, presumably for a similar anniversary. I suppose there's a chance that could happen again. Carol was the daughter of one of the engineers that designed the card AIUI. They needed a colour photograph as skintone is quite tricky to line up properly. The photo is still incorporated into the current HD testcard which is still shown on BBC TWO as part of the overnight barker. I believe it's officially known as Testcard X and comes accompanied with a 5.1 sound test sequence. Testcard X replaced Testcard W, which was the first 16:9 aspect ratio card.

Some years ago, they re-positioned the photograph so the X on the blackboard is at the centre of the screen.


TCW was SD - the current test card is HD (the frequency gratings are different)

Also the current HD test card is 16:9 precisely, whereas TCW, the older SD one, was 'wider' as 720x576 is slightly wider than 16:9.
NG
noggin Founding member

EastEnders

Steve Williams posted:
james-2001 posted:
It makes you think that maybe just one person shouldn't have so much control over the direction of a soap, and maybe there should be a team.


Well, there is a team involved, of course, and a lot of the time the executive producer will be told what to do, by the Controller of BBC1 or the Head of Drama and so on. But someone does have to have the final say.


Yes - though there are no longer channel controller roles. Charlotte Moore (former BBC One Channel Controller) now has a wider ranging role that includes broad brush controller roles across all general channels (poss linear only).
NG
noggin Founding member

Watchdog

Jon posted:
toby lerone 2016 posted:
The fact that Holby was offered to the independent sector was down to the fact that all BBC in house shows are going to be offered to the independent sector as part of their new charter and BBC could in theory then make shows for other broadcasters. The first 3 shows offered was A Question of Sport, Songs of Praise and Holby and Songs of Praise is going to be made by an independent in the future and the BBC retained the rights to make the other 2.

You say that but I can't see EastEnders, The One Show or Strictly ever being allowed to go over to an Independent, most other shows probably could though.


Every single BBC Studios production will be tendered. That's the deal... There is no 'not allowed' in a tender - you win or you lose.

BBC Studios is now, effectively, another indie...
scottishtv and London Lite gave kudos
NG
noggin Founding member

50 years of Test Card F

James Vertigan posted:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y276/pleccy2000/TCF-Original.jpg

Next Sunday, 2nd July, marks the 50th anniversary of the first transmission of the BBC's famous first colour test card, Test Card F featuring Carole Hersee and Bubbles the Clown.

Not that I'm expecting the BBC to mark the anniversary in any way, but I think it would be nice if some sort of mention was made of it's 50th anniversary, considering it's such a well known part of British TV history, having been broadcast for over 70,000 hours since it's first appearance.


I think Wimbledon will the focus of celebrations for Colour TV in the UK. It was the first major colour TV broadcast in the UK 50 years ago (and Wimbledon celebrates its 90th radio anniversary and 80th TV anniversary this year I believe)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/historyofthebbc/research/programming/wimbledon
NG
noggin Founding member

Al Jazeera to close?

Markymark posted:
gottago posted:
Inspector Sands posted:
Interesting background article about Al Jazeera and the Arab world's attitude to it:
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/06/al-jazeera-qatar-saudi-arabia-muslim-brotherhood/531471/

Very interesting but very disappointing to hear that AJA has lost its impartiality. Does anyone know if BBC Arabic TV has any impact in the region? I would at least hope that people are going there for a better insight.


AJA was (originally) staffed by many disgruntled ex BBC Arabic service employees !


Disgruntled? I think you mean redundant... When the Saudi owners of Orbit TV (which carried the original BBC World Service Arabic TV channel in the mid-90s) tried to exert a little editorial control, the BBC pulled the plug on the service, and left a lot of BBC-trained Arabic-speaking presenters, reporters, production journalists and technical staff without jobs... Perfect staff for a new Arabic news channel...
NG
noggin Founding member

International News Presentation: Past and Present

WW Update posted:
Antenne 2 (now France 2); news at midnight, 1989:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l34dkxwJ4Bc


Wow - that desk has a certain resonance with the current BBC look... Circular desk with circular outer surround.
NG
noggin Founding member

EastEnders

JAS84 posted:
The last four month's schedules tell a different story. Hardly any missing, and when they are there was a legit pre-emption.


That's the scheduled output - not the production output. It could be that the gap between recording and TXing has reduced to cope with the reduced output - which would mean something would need to be done before it had an on-air impact?
NG
noggin Founding member

The 1980 ITV franchise auction

Markymark posted:

In Dec 1988 TVS create a news/ads sub opt for Hannington, (5 min bulletin within South version of Coast to Coast, and separate 22:30 bulletin)

1990 ish TVS create a news/ads sub opt for Heathfield, (5 min bulletin within South East version of Coast to Coast, and separate 22:30 bulletin)

In TVS's 1991 application, the plan was for another sub opt (not full sub region) for Whitehawk Hill, so
they would have had a total of five sub opt news services (Hants/Wilts/Dorset/W Sussex), Thames V, Brighton, East Sussex, and Kent)


Odd - I knew about the Whitehawk proposal - and I guess the other sub-opts must have been what I remembered - though I have no recollection of them! (I was a Southern/TVS Dover viewer from 1977-1990)

I'm assuming they were presented from the smaller pres studios in Northam and Vintners Park - or did they have small sub-opt studios 'in region'?
NG
noggin Founding member

Watchdog

Jay Lee posted:
Jon posted:
It makes sense for this move, as the shows were always meant to be in the same world, so their needs to be a link at the highest level. The link between the two shows have largely lost in recent years, probably since the days of trying to get Holby Blue off the ground, I remember even in those days even though the programme was based in Elstree they'd film bits in Bristol to keep the continuity across all shows.

Although I'd be wrong to do it now and I'm all for a daily show set in Birmingham. It seemed like a miss opportunity for Doctors to not be part of the 'Holby World'.


Holby and Casualty have shared an Executive Producer for years prior to Simon Harper - Oliver Kent. It's not a new thing. And Kent only ever linked the two shows sporadically. I imagine the will to bring the two shows more closely together just isn't there at the BBC - otherwise they would have moved Holby to Cardiff when Casualty completed its move there from Bristol several years ago. The fact they were also willing to give Holby to an independent production team also suggests that there's a real disconnect between the two.


One being made in-house and one being made by an independent should have no real impact on joint storylines. I would imagine that kind of thing bounces up to commissioner level on occasion.
NG
noggin Founding member

Watchdog

JAS84 posted:
That's ridiculous. They should only share an EP if they're filmed in the same place. The commute will cost him valuable hours that could be spent on research.


Why would an Exec be spending time on research?

They are there to make high level decisions on the direction the drama is going, and also sign off storylines, handle high level casting and staffing decisions etc. They may also approve episodes before they are picture locked etc. They will also need to be across budgets.

A lot of this can be done remotely, though I suspect it would be entirely feasible to be based in London or Wales (or mid-way between the two - lots of BBC Execs seem to live in Oxfordshire...) and commute to either location.

Unless you actually live in Cardiff or Elstree - there will be travel time either way let's face it...

It's entirely possible for an Exec to look after series in multiple locations - particularly two weekly programmes. It's probably more cost effective than having an Exec per show... Doesn't strike me as ridiculous at all, particularly as the two shows are supposed to be linked.
NG
noggin Founding member

The 1980 ITV franchise auction

London Lite posted:
623058 posted:
Where there not all operated off by four sub relays? How many sub relays were there in TVS area?


TVS/Meridian have Whitehawk Hill (Brighton) as a advertising sub-relay (South news/South East ads). Heathfield, Dover and Bluebell Hill were South East and Hannington is Thames Valley (Beckley joined much later). Rowridge is South.


ISTR there was some discussion about Whitehawk Hill having a sub-regional news service at one point - given that Brighton is an important part of the patch? I think it was a TVS plan for post-1992? Or was it Meridian? I have some dim memory that it might even have been trialled?