Must say that I'm impressed by BBC News's bravery today in virtually abandoning their shiny new HQ. Most of what I've seen over the last hour (and I presume it's been similar since the budget speech was given) has been from College Green or on location elsewhere.
Must say that I'm impressed by BBC News's bravery today in virtually abandoning their shiny new HQ. Most of what I've seen over the last hour (and I presume it's been similar since the budget speech was given) has been from College Green or on location elsewhere.
Indeed, since 11:30 we've only been at BH for The One and Five bulletins (and a few weather bulletins too).
Another thing I notice is tv cameras being in shot always used to be a no no in the old days but we have seen these new cameras in shot a fair bit. I'm assuming this is partly because these cameras are quite minimalist compared to the older studio cameras?
Lightweight cameras of a similar style have been in use in News studios since the early-90s (Thomson 1647s and 1657s, Philips LDK100s and Sony BVP-E30s at TVC, now Sony HSC300s) They all look pretty similar - maybe the backs are a bit smaller but they're all basically 'handhelds'.
It's a style thing increasingly - and with the studio designs you only really get big wide shots if you embrace cameras in-shot (as they can't pull back out of shot when they're on circular track)
Thanks for that. Yeah I guess it's not possible to move them all out the way when on a circular track. It just seemed to stick out to me as certainly in N6 it was very rare to see a camera in shot but I've noticed them a few times since we've been in E. Just another thought do the studios at Broadcasting house have a prefix like TVC did? I.e. BH-E, BH-A?
Having watched bits and pieces of BBC News since the relaunch on Monday, my opinion is decidedly mixed.
On the positive side, I do like the space itself. The newsroom and studio are contemporary, impressive and seem much more inviting and flexible than did the studios at TVC. I also think the new graphics are a vast improvement over the last set.
But, I do have some issues:
1. The sweepings shots of the newsroom and studio look amazing, but I fear that after a few weeks they are going to become rather boring. If they were just used once at the top of the hour then it wouldn't be so bad. As it stands they are using them at every given opportunity, which equates to multiple times per hour. I'm almost certain it will get too much after a while. At least the presentation in N6 was fairly low-key and down to business.
2. The titles are ridiculously short. I've already mentioned the newsroom/studio shots, but the graphical element of the titles needs to be longer and properly synchronized with the music.
3. Whilst some people here have practically wet themselves over presenters standing up, I'm not a fan. I remember the 2003-2008 period all too well and wasn't particularly a fan of it then either. Standing next to a screen does nothing to enhance viewers' understanding of the news stories. If anything, it's a distraction. It's like watching someone deliver a PowerPoint presentation with too much text on the slides: you can neither read the text nor follow the presenter, which just leads to confusion. I was quite happy with the predominantly desk-bound presentation in N6. It was just straightforward delivery of the news. Leave the innovative and showy stuff to ITV and Sky News. From the BBC, viewers expect clarity and straightforwardness.
4. The newsroom backdrop in Studio E does look impressive, but I'd prefer it if they blurred the glass somehow, maybe with frosting? At the moment, it's too easy to see individual people in the newsroom, so they prove a distraction when walking around. The benefit of N6 was that there was little movement in the background so this wasn't an issue. However, a live newsroom backdrop was executed well at TVC in the form of N8 and N9, so I think they should try to emulate that.
5. Whilst I like the new astons and graphics, I too am a little irritated by the small gap at the bottom of the screen. I'd rather the graphics were properly anchored to the edge of the screen, just like they were before Monday. That said, they are a huge improvement over the previous graphics.
6. The music is rather disappointing. It's just more of the same - even more so than at any other rebrand. Other rebrands have used David Lowe music, but at least each was a significant update to the previous set. The new music is effectively the 2008 music that has been tweaked in minor ways, albeit with the addition of some new cuts.
The broader point that I would like to make is that it feels like something of a missed opportunity. Yes, the technology is better, some of the execution of various elements is vastly improved (e.g. graphics, studio etc.), but when is the BBC ever going to have a totally new brand? I mean totally new - as great a change as the 1993 and 1999 rebrands were. Ditch the red, ditch the music, ditch the graphics, ditch the basic set design. It's all been used for years and years now and each "relaunch" has merely tweaked the last in some way. I really do feel like it's time for a whole new look, but that's very unlikely now this has just launched. Why can't the BBC be as bold as ITV has been with its news presentation? ITN has skillfully pulled off several totally different relaunches for ITV News over the past decade. I wish the BBC would finally do the same.