N6 New Backing

I'm sure it was you that had said in the past that worked on the rendering of the 1993 national news titles. It may have been Techy Peep or Marcus, not 100% sure. So apologies for confusion there.

My point being (and this is isn't directed at you personally), but it seems every BBC employee on this forum seems to have a weird and rather unjustified loyalty to whatever is on-screen at the time (basically echoing official management sentiments!) and has never spoken out against presentation or content policy at the BBC in anyway.

Until March 2002, the balloon on BBC One was more or less universally loved by the BBC bods on this forum, and I remember reading on this forum just 90 minutes after the dancers launched comments by employees of the BBC on this very forum slating the balloon and previous methods of presentation gratuitously and without any proper justification.

I find it all a bit strange, to be honest. There never seems to be any pride at all amoung BBC employee's about what the corporation has acheived in the past. And I know I'm digressing rather unexpectedly from your original 6-word reply to the 'dreadful' 1999-2002 national backdrop, but it seems every one of the BBC employee's on this forum has some kind of 'duty' to pooh-pooh anything that has gone before.

I know unofficially (ie. not on TV Forum etc.), that most of the stuff the BBC staff on here hate some of the presentation methods implimented by the BBC today, but will not speak out against any of it in case the "monkeys in suits" trace the comments to an individual and bring disiplinary precedures against them.

It's just a shame that some individuals on this forum and others cannot express their true opinions on some of the BBC's presentation/content matters.

NickyS was very quick to slag off the previous News 24 countdown last week. I bet he wouldn't have done that 3 months ago when it was still on-air, though!

BBC One dancers = well, we know that you all hate them secretly, so don't worry about toeing any official lines there!

Er and when did I to quote you "slag off" the previous News 24 countdown? I don't remember doing that ... I think you'll find that nine times out of ten the people who post on this forum from inside the BBC post information etc for people on this forum. You know that people like myself and Noggin etc work inside the corporation and ofcourse some information we can't pass on for various reasons but I think we do our best to let you know stuff is happening. To be totally honest I was so busy yesterday before the One I forgot to post something suggesting you watch. FYI I quite like the current N24 countdown but I also liked the last one. Personally I liked the flags best - nice and calming for me.
As to your other comments - times changes, things move on. One of my favourite title sequences was the original Breakfast Time - great theme, great images, nice bold logo ... but that was the 1980's .... things change. Yes the virtual blue era was good for it's time but the way News is presented has changed. It is less formal ... also it seems in a competitive world that having a BBC News brand is a sensible idea. The changes to the N6 backdrop are just a progression of that. The red stripe behind the presenters is to make it like News 24 and BBC World ... it makes it easier for any studio to be used on any network and for it to still look like a BBC News product. Personally I like the News 24/World real newsroom back drop but that's not practical in the national studio.
I also think you're unfair to say we BBC posters just back the corporate line ... but yes the bottom line is that we have to think before we post. Just like anyone in any job there are some things you can't say in public about your company without getting into trouble. Personally I think that the BBC insiders provide quite a lot of information to the TV Forum and slagging us makes us think twice before posting something.

I thought it was neither real or 'virtual' (in the sense of chromakey virtual reality) but simply a projected and looping DVD background.

I notice there was a different opening sequence on the One today. Same as the opening on the Ten, looks better, I always thought that the camera angle with Anna / Darren in front of the screen made the backdrop look too flat.

I'd have hoped that ITN would have the foresight to keep a spare in the cupboard under the stairs..


If you want dreadful, why not have a look at Reporting Scotland at 6.30?

I distinctly remember someone called Jamez saying that the Jan 2003 refurb of N6 was really good when it launched, and now he seems to have changed his mind. Funny that.

I think the new backdrop definitely makes the studio look a lot better - still don't like the titles and the astons need to be updated soon - but I hope that they don't use the design on News 24 and now on Breakfast, they don't look that great with no clock/tower - like on News 24.
But I'm beginning to get a little annoyed with the BBC's constant focus on using the colour red - it's all over BBC 1's presentation and always makes an appearance in BBC News bulletins. But, anyway - definitely an improvement, still think that the white 'BBC News - bbc.co.uk/news' at the end of the programme should be changed to black.

(Also, has anyone got any shots of the BBC News Election titles that they could post for me?)

I think it looks alot fresher - isn't that the whole point of a refresh...

I do agree that they should have the News 24 animated astons though - all the other network news idents animate to a certain extent.... Even Look North's animate!

Yes, you're right -- it isn't virtual in the way we saw during the 1993-1999 period. The back of the set is comprised of three real screens, but what people are trying to refer to is that the image shown on them is computer-generated, and does not, in fact, exist in Television Centre. I suppose 'virtual' is a bit of a dodgy term to describe it, especially when it has a different meaning in the TV world.

I was about to post this in the election thread but it's better suited to here. I didn't want to open a generic BBC One news thread as we know what happens to those on here.



I don't care but I hope they get rid of the appaulingly clunky end

"those are the headlines so it's goodbye from me and now it's time to join the bbc's news teams accross the united kingdom goodbye."

*urgh*

If they insist not not having a close and an open can't they at least shorten that sentence.

"and that was the BBC's News At One O'Clock now it's time for the news where you are, goodbye"

Also why can't they say One O'Clock News anymore? much fabber. The Sunday Times used to list
13.00 BBC News
18.00 BBC News
22.00 The Ten O'Clock News

It has gravitas, admittedly something the news on BBC1 lacks, maybe it's to reflect that. But this constant mentioning of BBC is tiresome. I know I'm one of the ones who praised the new countdown for being a "we are the BBC and we're *FAB* " device but when you get a presenter saying it over and over it is appauling and reminds you of all those old skits of Sky and American channels



NO! Tiresome. That dreadful sequence was introduced with the new countdown which made the headlines sound even slower than they did before. They've now resorted to simply shouting the first headline to keep up the pace when all the excitement built up by the countdown is ruined by that vamp.

If they insist on plugging the fact they are the BBC constantly they can do it far better. If anything it dilutes the brand. The BBC is above this surely.

Oddly Scotland have their best opening sequence at 1.25 with a sting into silence, "welcome to reporting scotland, the headlines" then the vamp starts and then the full title sequence plays.

Compare this to playing the sting into that dire studio at 6.30 and it just looks poor. Only Jackie and her powers of fab save it from getting the viewing figures of ITV News West.

Glad I didn't post that in the election thread now.

Sorry, when I answered the question, I meant it was a virtual newsroom, rather than virtual in the sense of the way it is projected to the viewer.

Well please continue to pass us info when you can, as it is very interesting stuff, as you know I too dream of working there one day.