Fake newsroom backdrops

The virtual sets go back slightly further to ITN News in 1995, a look which disappeared in 1999 but returned with a vengeance in 2006. I don't mind them, it depends on how its done, for example ITV News at Ten from 2008-2009 is the best single news set ever in my opinion, and even better when they rolled it out to the other bulletins. The evening one was the best one.

I don't think BBC News or ITV News can compete with Sky News at the minute. Their sets are very impressive, you can tell a lot of money has gone into them and they look brilliant in HD. But they have the space to play with, and demonstrate perfectly well that virtual and reality can come together very nicely if done properly.

I don't think the BBC Breakfast background is that bad and its a big improvement on the dull London one, but it does remind me a lot of the main Daybreak graphic. My only problem with the new BBC Breakfast set is the size of it, coming from such a small studio just doesn't seem right and makes for some awkward shots.

Birmingham's looked like a window, in that it was two rotated plasmas initially and a UPVC Window Frame in the set!
http://hub.tv-ark.org.uk/images/bbc_midlands/bbcmidlands_images/news/midlands_today_close_2000a.jpg

Though this was to last 6 months, people on this site genuinely believed they'd moved the Midlands Today set into the lift shaft atop Pebble Mill and punched a hole in it! Reality was they attached a weather camera (which was also converted feed for the weather webcam) to the roof of The Mill looking towards Brum.

EDIT: Also noting now, looking back MT changed desks midway through 2002, before the red panelling was added to the set - is this one of the old BBC World desks?

http://hub.tv-ark.org.uk/images/bbc_midlands/bbcmidlands_images/news/bbc_midlandstoday_2004e.jpg
http://hub.tv-ark.org.uk/images/bbc_midlands/bbcmidlands_images/news/bbcmidlandstoday160902c-01.jpg

Ignore the dates, the first was definitely pre-2004 as the set changed in Sept. 03! But am I right in thinking that desk absconded from TVC as World got the 'split' desk?

I don't really know to be honest. Like I said in my first post, fake cityscapes can be awful but the ones used in N6 from 2006-2008 weren't too bad. The overlapping squares motif over the cityscape made it clear to the viewer that the backdrop wasn't attempting to look like a real window, but rather was just something nice to look at in the background. Failing that, some nice, old-school swirly graphics could work if well designed.

Ideally, I'd rip all those BARCOs out and install an actual set, as opposed to a rectangle of projector screens, which is going to look a bit crap no matter what you put on them.


Nope that's not at all what I'm talking about. The ITN atrium is a real place that actually exists. The fact that it wasn't physically behind the ITV studio (it is behind C4's) was immaterial IMO.


Not me. Care to enlighten me?

That breakfast always has the utter worst implementation of anything. They always had the worst Barco background, the worst graphics, the worst titles. I have no idea why this is.

Breakfast has a smaller budget perhaps?

Perhaps, however surely it is a one off cost rather than a continuing thing and many times it has been implemented at the same time as other revamps (as I mentioned, the shoddy clouds / sunrise when they first got the barco set).

I think it's a creative problem rather than a budget one.

The issue of backdrops for me is not whether they're fake or not but rather if they're believable. For instance, take a look at this:



Couldn't find an image of just the CSO in question, but the Westminster CSO used on Breakfast is just awful. It's static and in the Thames...seriously? Why don't they just use the standard one which is both live and at a believable height.

BBC Newsline certainly still have a Belfast backdrop on their show, and while we are on the island of Ireland RTÉ's frosted blue news room used on the One O Clock and Six One looks really impressive.
They then switch it over to a Evening skyline for the Nine o Clock and News on Two.
Anyone think that the skyline should return to the BBC Nationals?

Isn't that Westminster backdrop intended as just a graphic to indicate the location? I don't think anyone is expected to believe that Hague was in a studio on the banks of the Thames, with 'BBC News Swirls' frosted onto the window behind him.

Well why can't they make it look like a studio? When the below, believable shot is available, why does Breakfast use the above, inferior version?



To me, it's like saying someone is in Hawaii and sticking them in front of a picture of a picture of hula dancers. It's not a believable shot, but is it just a backdrop intended as just a graphic to indicate the location??

I'm not sure if any fake newsroom backdrops have ever annoyed me. Except one: BBC Scotland's short-lived attempt at one, which only lasted a short time before they moved into PQ:
http://tvnewsroom.co.uk/images/news-staff/david-henderson/david-henderson.jpg
image from tvnewsroom.co.uk]tvnewsroom

It was mostly a bit meh - apart from those randomly places CRTs hanging down from the ceiling. They're just.. wrong!

They now, of course, use a shot of the Clyde from the top of the building - either live, or slightly shoddily animated still. Looks much better.

I don't think that was quite as short lived as you remember, it was used for 3 years between 2004 and 2007.

The short lived look was the one below, which lasted between February and August 2007, after which they moved to PQ.

http://www.tv-live.org.uk/wp/media/bbcnews2008/regions/scotland/repscot0710.jpg