The Newsroom

BBC News @ 8pm

(February 2008)

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NS
NickyS Founding member
cityprod posted:
NickyS posted:
cityprod posted:
Normally Victoria Graham does the South West bulletin at 8pm. Always looks kinda strange with the national presenter being seen as further away from the camera, and Victoria always looks like she's almost on top of you. It's a head and shoulders only shot.

That's the way it's designed - otherwise you'd have a jump cut with two similiar sized presenters but suddenly swapping sides.


The jump cut wouldn't look so bad though if the background looked more like a studio than just an image on a black screen, then it would look like they were on oppositie sides of a studio that featured two angled screens. The design is somewhat flawed.

You forget that this is supposed to look like one joined up bulletin - all the studios around the country look different. The one consistent thing everyone can achieve is the black hence why it looks like it does.
CI
cityprod
NickyS posted:
cityprod posted:
NickyS posted:
cityprod posted:
Normally Victoria Graham does the South West bulletin at 8pm. Always looks kinda strange with the national presenter being seen as further away from the camera, and Victoria always looks like she's almost on top of you. It's a head and shoulders only shot.

That's the way it's designed - otherwise you'd have a jump cut with two similiar sized presenters but suddenly swapping sides.


The jump cut wouldn't look so bad though if the background looked more like a studio than just an image on a black screen, then it would look like they were on oppositie sides of a studio that featured two angled screens. The design is somewhat flawed.

You forget that this is supposed to look like one joined up bulletin - all the studios around the country look different. The one consistent thing everyone can achieve is the black hence why it looks like it does.


Err, no, I didn't forget that part at all.

We're talking about using a CSO background that actually looks like a studio, the same one for both national and regional. It doesn't have to be mega complex, it could look like a virtual version of the video wall in N6 and TC7. Then it would look like they were in the same studio, hence the joined up bulletin look.

Black is a very difficult colour to use in a news environment, on account of it's starkness. Only the old ITN World News set from the mid 1990s has really managed to pull it off with any degree of success, and the current 8pm look doesn't pass at all.
RO
roo
cityprod posted:
NickyS posted:
cityprod posted:
NickyS posted:
cityprod posted:
Normally Victoria Graham does the South West bulletin at 8pm. Always looks kinda strange with the national presenter being seen as further away from the camera, and Victoria always looks like she's almost on top of you. It's a head and shoulders only shot.

That's the way it's designed - otherwise you'd have a jump cut with two similiar sized presenters but suddenly swapping sides.


The jump cut wouldn't look so bad though if the background looked more like a studio than just an image on a black screen, then it would look like they were on oppositie sides of a studio that featured two angled screens. The design is somewhat flawed.

You forget that this is supposed to look like one joined up bulletin - all the studios around the country look different. The one consistent thing everyone can achieve is the black hence why it looks like it does.


Err, no, I didn't forget that part at all.

We're talking about using a CSO background that actually looks like a studio, the same one for both national and regional. It doesn't have to be mega complex, it could look like a virtual version of the video wall in N6 and TC7. Then it would look like they were in the same studio, hence the joined up bulletin look.

Black is a very difficult colour to use in a news environment, on account of it's starkness. Only the old ITN World News set from the mid 1990s has really managed to pull it off with any degree of success, and the current 8pm look doesn't pass at all.

I think the point is that although a CSO version of the N6 screens might look better, that's harder to deploy consistently across the regions, making sure it's implemented in a way that doesn't make an even more jarring transition. As is, it's fugly, but works. That's reaching for the stars for you.
NG
noggin Founding member
Don't forget that only some regions use CSO. Others use a dark studio with a projector screen or plasma shot obliquely.

Not all regions have CSO facilities - particularly some of the sub-regions.

The screen against black is something that all regions could achieve either with CSO or with a real screen - there aren't many other designs that could be.
MO
Moz
noggin posted:
The screen against black is something that all regions could achieve either with CSO or with a real screen - there aren't many other designs that could be.

Surely just sending a curtain (or something like that - not too up on my scenery!) to all the regions with the same backdrop printed on it would be very easy?
SP
Spencer
Moz posted:
noggin posted:
The screen against black is something that all regions could achieve either with CSO or with a real screen - there aren't many other designs that could be.

Surely just sending a curtain (or something like that - not too up on my scenery!) to all the regions with the same backdrop printed on it would be very easy?


And would probably look like an in vision continuity set from the 70s.
MO
Moz
Spencer For Hire posted:
Moz posted:
noggin posted:
The screen against black is something that all regions could achieve either with CSO or with a real screen - there aren't many other designs that could be.

Surely just sending a curtain (or something like that - not too up on my scenery!) to all the regions with the same backdrop printed on it would be very easy?


And would probably look like an in vision continuity set from the 70s.

I don't mean a curtain like that. Rolling Eyes
SP
Spencer
Moz posted:
Spencer For Hire posted:
Moz posted:
noggin posted:
The screen against black is something that all regions could achieve either with CSO or with a real screen - there aren't many other designs that could be.

Surely just sending a curtain (or something like that - not too up on my scenery!) to all the regions with the same backdrop printed on it would be very easy?


And would probably look like an in vision continuity set from the 70s.

I don't mean a curtain like that. Rolling Eyes


I realise you weren't talking about a crushed velvet, pleated one. But either way, a plain cyc curtain in a small studio would look very plain and dated, as I suspect would some kind of printed background.
BR
Brekkie
Spencer For Hire posted:
I realise you weren't talking about a crushed velvet, pleated one. But either way, a plain cyc curtain in a small studio would look very plain and dated, as I suspect would some kind of printed background.


I think he's talking about a green curtain which can be used for CSO purposes.


There really is no need for the presenter to be in-vision throughout though - if the national team just opened with their own newsroom background, and the national headlines played out full screen before switching to the regions, with a brief view of the studio before the local headlines full screen it would work fine.


And regardless, they don't seem to care too much about the differences in the main bulletins, so why here?
MO
Moz
Brekkie posted:
Spencer For Hire posted:
I realise you weren't talking about a crushed velvet, pleated one. But either way, a plain cyc curtain in a small studio would look very plain and dated, as I suspect would some kind of printed background.


I think he's talking about a green curtain which can be used for CSO purposes.

No, as it's been pointed out that not all have CSO facilities.
SP
Spencer
Brekkie posted:
I think he's talking about a green curtain which can be used for CSO purposes.


But Noggin's just explained that not all regions have CSO facilities. Whilst I'm not 100% up on the technicalities, I suspect there's more to equipping a studio with CSO than just sticking a green curtain up.

Edit: Moz beat me to it.
BR
Brekkie
Fair enough.


Talking of regions, do we think the 30 second regional update is worth it?


I suppose the BBC would argue it gets regional news to people who wouldn't otherwise watch it, but I think the national segment would benefit so much more from an extra 30-seconds.

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