Looking at Breakfast this morning, I was extremely surprised to see how yellowish-cream the set backgrounds and most of the set had become. It appears extremely different to the set introduced in June 2003, and IMO now looks absolutely AWFUL. Since the two coffee tables were joined, things have gotten steadily worse.
Any opinions on this? And why did they join the two tables in the first place?
Looking at Breakfast this morning, I was extremely surprised to see how yellowish-cream the set backgrounds and most of the set had become. It appears extremely different to the set introduced in June 2003, and IMO now looks absolutely AWFUL. Since the two coffee tables were joined, things have gotten steadily worse.
Any opinions on this? And why did they join the two tables in the first place?
J
The Breakfast set is really quite poor all round. The layout is so weak; the major failing is that the set is so open. The designers obviously wanted to create the illusion of a vast set as part of a huge BBC NEWS complex, but the ultimate result is simply a cold open space with disparate elements working against each other.
The bench is simply silly, and anyone who sits on it always looks excruciatingly uncomfortable, and there seems to be little logic to having the duty newsreader exiled to an island in a corner of the studio. The wide shot during handovers between newsreader and presenters simply emphasises how stark and bare the set looks.
It's a shame because the individual elements of the set aren't offensive in and of themselves; they simply don't work together. It wouldn't take much effort to make the set work though - get rid of those stupid red squares everywhere, swap the bench for some highback armchairs (when will desks be back in fashion for news programmes?), and stop trying to make the set look so enormous. A morning show - even one with a news-oriented agenda - should be relatively cosy and welcoming. Breakfast is too often cold and distant.
I wouldn't want a GMTV clone - GMTV does what it does very well, and we certainly don't need duplication - but Breakfast really doesn't need to be quite as icy as it often is.
I'm not saying that the success of Breakfast is reliant exclusively upon its set - I recognise entirely that the presenters themselves bring their own warmth to the presentation - but I don't see that as an excuse not to make the set warmer.
Looking at Breakfast this morning, I was extremely surprised to see how yellowish-cream the set backgrounds and most of the set had become. It appears extremely different to the set introduced in June 2003, and IMO now looks absolutely AWFUL. Since the two coffee tables were joined, things have gotten steadily worse.
Any opinions on this? And why did they join the two tables in the first place?
J
The Breakfast set is really quite poor all round. The layout is so weak; the major failing is that the set is so open. The designers obviously wanted to create the illusion of a vast set as part of a huge BBC NEWS complex, but the ultimate result is simply a cold open space with disparate elements working against each other.
The bench is simply silly, and anyone who sits on it always looks excruciatingly uncomfortable, and there seems to be little logic to having the duty newsreader exiled to an island in a corner of the studio. The wide shot during handovers between newsreader and presenters simply emphasises how stark and bare the set looks.
It's a shame because the individual elements of the set aren't offensive in and of themselves; they simply don't work together. It wouldn't take much effort to make the set work though - get rid of those stupid red squares everywhere, swap the bench for some highback armchairs (when will desks be back in fashion for news programmes?), and stop trying to make the set look so enormous. A morning show - even one with a news-oriented agenda - should be relatively cosy and welcoming. Breakfast is too often cold and distant.
I wouldn't want a GMTV clone - GMTV does what it does very well, and we certainly don't need duplication - but Breakfast really doesn't need to be quite as icy as it often is.
I'm not saying that the success of Breakfast is reliant exclusively upon its set - I recognise entirely that the presenters themselves bring their own warmth to the presentation - but I don't see that as an excuse not to make the set warmer.
Not being funny, but couldn't this have gone into the Breakfast thread already running?
Remember the Natasha-era set? (Introduced about mid-2002, withdrawn June 2003). That was quite warm, and I liked it a lot. If only they had done something else with the flowers and not had a gap in the back of the sofa. It would have worked extremely well. IMO, it did - surprising there isn't much material from that era though. Was that when Moira was in the CSO in N6?
Edit: No, I wanted this thread to be seperate, as people seem to be having an argument over the lovely Sian Williams in there. I'll leave the handbags alone and stick to an independant thread.
Looking at Breakfast this morning, I was extremely surprised to see how yellowish-cream the set backgrounds and most of the set had become. It appears extremely different to the set introduced in June 2003, and IMO now looks absolutely AWFUL. Since the two coffee tables were joined, things have gotten steadily worse.
Any opinions on this? And why did they join the two tables in the first place?
J
The Breakfast set is really quite poor all round. The layout is so weak; the major failing is that the set is so open. The designers obviously wanted to create the illusion of a vast set as part of a huge BBC NEWS complex, but the ultimate result is simply a cold open space with disparate elements working against each other.
The bench is simply silly, and anyone who sits on it always looks excruciatingly uncomfortable, and there seems to be little logic to having the duty newsreader exiled to an island in a corner of the studio. The wide shot during handovers between newsreader and presenters simply emphasises how stark and bare the set looks.
It's a shame because the individual elements of the set aren't offensive in and of themselves; they simply don't work together. It wouldn't take much effort to make the set work though - get rid of those stupid red squares everywhere, swap the bench for some highback armchairs (when will desks be back in fashion for news programmes?), and stop trying to make the set look so enormous. A morning show - even one with a news-oriented agenda - should be relatively cosy and welcoming. Breakfast is too often cold and distant.
I wouldn't want a GMTV clone - GMTV does what it does very well, and we certainly don't need duplication - but Breakfast really doesn't need to be quite as icy as it often is.
I'm not saying that the success of Breakfast is reliant exclusively upon its set - I recognise entirely that the presenters themselves bring their own warmth to the presentation - but I don't see that as an excuse not to make the set warmer.
I feel it started to become cold and distant after they begun tinkering with the original October 2000 set. That one was perfect for Breakfast - a desk area facing the sofa area, with a large open set in between which was used for some business interviews IIRC, as well as for items which needed more space. The set felt cosy due to the warm oranges and yellows that were used throughout, together with the trademark red carpets at the time.
I won't repeat everything you've said regarding the current set but suffice to say that it is too cold.
I preferred the time when the colour behind the glass panels was pink-yellow, with the plants. They still had 2 parts to the set then, didn't they? Part of the problem now is the lack of warmth and also news and features coming from the sofa, really all news should come from a desk. The studio is also too different from the titles.
To be honest, I think they should make a departure from the corporate look - I always preferred Breakfast News, and I also think Breakfast is the wrong style of programme, it doesn't really fit in on either of the channels. Give BBC1 Breakfast News back and show European Breakfast Time, then a UK Business Hour from 8-9am on News 24.
I think they have a problem that they had 4/5 years ago. When Breakfast News was changing to Breakfast the editor at the time, Andrew Thompson said that viewers were never sure when news ended and features began - and i think that is the problem now. Because they only have one presentation area, you are never sure if they are doing news, or something a bit fluffy.
I also seem to notice that Natash 'slumps' on the sofa, she seems to slip down a bit further at times, and IMO looks sloppy.
They need a desk and sofa mix. Surely all the years of desk only pres., and now sofa only pres shows BBC NEWS that by having a sofa/desk mix is the best solution.
Oddly enough I was just thinking this morning how poor the current Breakfast set is looking.
I have to agree with everything which has been said so far, although I'm surprised no-one's commented on the utterly dismal backdrop. It looks like one of those fake outdoor views you see on the Neighbours set when they open a front-door. And where exactly is it supposed to be? It looks like the inside of an airport terminal building.
