BBC News Channel Presentation - 21/03/16 onwards

I think that this would be the case for any of the mayoral election debates (same thing for London, it's just more in the media than others because it's well London). It appears that we're getting BBC Parliament and the BBC News Channel rolled into one these days!

BBC News Special tonight from 1am simulcast with World on the US Primaries.

Also as posted in the North West thread, NC took the special currently going out on BBC 1 NW as an opt-out, at 8:30pm and repeated at 12:30am tonight.

edit @23:00: despite this schedule change they have just trailed Hardtalk as coming up.

Firstly we've had 25p images creeping pointlessly (or incompetently, difficult to tell) into news packages, now there appears to be a new annoyance to add, the use of shallow depth of field.

I noticed it being used a couple of weeks ago on an Orla Guerin report from Libya, last night on the 10pm news it was used on a Chris Butler report from NI.

Why this continual move towards poncy 'art house' style shooting and direction for news ? Neither report required any visual 'spicing up' so WTF is going on ?

Increasing use in the field of DSLR type cameras I suspect. I actually don't mind the depth of field and think it can add a great deal to some packages but I don't much like the progressive look for some reason. It's subjective, though I think it reminds me of when news was all shot on film.

What on earth does it add ? Orla Guerin's report it was used on was harrowing enough, without having
most of the image out of focus on each shot, I honestly don't understand the need for it ?

It's entirely subjective, as I say, but I personally feels it makes it more 'documentary', fly-on-the-wall (to use a very old fashioned phrase), realistic even. The filmic look on considered, slightly longer form, correspondent-told packages works for me. Maybe because we've been so used to news being entirely video ENG shot for over 30 years, it feels so strange ? So long as no one even thinks about using progressive for live 2ways I'll be ok with it...

Thankfully I think there will be some time before that happens. Last I checked a lot of these DSLR's commonly used for video don't have SDI outputs so adapters would be needed.

DSLRs look good for packages like you mentioned.

Has the BBC NC abandoned it's plans to have the 7 - 8pm hour as reports from around the UK regions and have news 8 - 9pm without Hardtalk?

Also, with more and more World content on the NC these days, in the run up to the most unpredictable US elections for many years, I'm very surprised that World News America isn't being shown on the NC in some form. Certainly a delayed, slightly shorter WNA would be better after 11pm rather than the immediate Newsnight repeat in my opinion.

I don't agree, if factual programming be it news, or documentaries needs to be enhanced with such effects, to make it interesting or 'attractive' then that implies to me there are gaps in the underlying journalism.

As said on packages produced by the calibre of reporters such as Orla Guerin, it serves only as a distraction.

I find it ironic one part of the industry is hard at work with UHD and HDR, and another part is simply impairing the quality with nonsense like this. Anyway don't worry, I'm more than capable of switching my TV off if required.

Tell that to London Live who use them for their studio cameras

BBC News had breaking news on the ticket at 23:30 last night, during Newsnight repeat. It was a domestic story (doping in cycling) so with Newsday following, I wonder how long it was before it was even mentioned on air?

Even worse when it's Click who are on the one hand praising UHD while on the other hand degrading their picture with film effects and soft focus.