One thing i did note was the Singapore studio has a noticable echo.
Yes, this is very unfortunate. I'm not a techie but I think I've seen a double-mic radio mic being used in similar circumstances, to help reduce the echo?
Not sure on double mics, I'd imagine that you're asking for phase issues if you try that without an expert balancing them. I know South East Today have problems if more than one mic is open because of the slightly makeshift nature of their studio
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The problem we've had from our launch in 2001 is we don't have an acoustically isolated and treated studio like most regions do. For economic reasons our "studio" was just part of the newsroom with no acoustic barrier between. We then restyled the programme and put in translucent panels to show the newsroom behind the presenters.
This gave some acoustic separation, but didn't sort the inherently lively acoustic of the studio area. It's all hard surfaces and there's no space to fit absorbent panels which you'd find elsewhere.
The acoustic quality is acceptable when only one microphone is live, but when two or more are faded up it can sound a bit loose or "bathroom" like. On our lunchtime and evening programmes, which are directed from our Main Production Gallery, our Sound Operators work hard to minimise this effect by careful balancing, making sure only one microphone is fully faded up at a time.
But on the short bulletins, we don't have the luxury of a fully-staffed main gallery. It's just one technical person directing, vision mixing, dealing with name-supers and timings, all driven from a simple Presentation Gallery.
It proved difficult to mix studio sound while doing everything else. Our original fix for this was to give the presenter their own microphone fader so the Technical Operator only had to control the weather mic. But that introduced another risk.
As the presenter is concentrating on delivering the bulletin, opening and closing their microphone fader at exactly the right time isn't always on the top of their mind. So sometimes the fader has been left open when it shouldn't or not opened when it should.
The ending is awkward though. Babita standing in the middle of the set saying good bye and then camera just staying on her. Would be better if we had a fade with wide shots of both sets.
That shot of Babita in front of the skyline... if she was on the left of the screen rather than the right it could be teatime in the 80s all over again.
Is the dual screen display shot from the catwalk going to be a thing of the past now?
The new dual screen display (London & Singapore side by side) is back to being computer generated.
That 00.30 bit is messy, although technically I guess you could say that the bit after World opts out introducing Hard Talk is effectively an in-vision continuity announcement!
It feels like a World programme that the UK is eavesdropping on.
I think it's a bit odd that they make so many references to BBC World News in the programme, considering for the rest of the overnight simulcast doesn't the presenter just refer to 'BBC News', as it applies to both channels?
One thing i did note was the Singapore studio has a noticable echo.
Yes, this is very unfortunate. I'm not a techie but I think I've seen a double-mic radio mic being used in similar circumstances, to help reduce the echo?
Double mic-ing doesn't help reduce echo AFAIK. It's usually used for one or two reasons. One to protect from mic failure (if one fails you fade up the other), and/or to cope with presenters or guests who have to talk in two different directions (one on each lapel).
If you have a very 'live' studio with lots of glass and other hard surfaces, then you usually have to saturate the non-visible areas with as much acoustic deadening treatment as possible and be quite aggressive with your sound mix, pulling back the mics of those not speaking a bit more than you might otherwise want to.
Automixing is also an approach that can be taken - and modern auto-mix techniques can be pretty effective. However that only helps reduce the impact of multiple mics faded up. If you have problems with a single mic, then acoustic treatments are your only help. (Dead walls covered in thick curtains, acoustic foam tiles in the grid etc.) If you have issues with air con noise etc. then some noise reduction systems can also help mitigate this.
I can't help but think the Newsday makeover is kind of going retro in a few aspects. The sting music is very similar to the ones used on BBC News 24 back in the days, especially at the ending part of the show. The opening voiceover that announces "this is BBC World News.." is akin to the old days too, usually played before the start of a bulletin. The side-by-side screen of London and Singapore is back to 2d-computer generation. I actually have grown to like the previous camera shot of the catwalk panels with Singapore and London on 2 adjacent monitors.
Of the voiceover opening with the rapid spinning of the globe animation and the quick transition between Singapore presenter side shot and London presenter side shot, I find it quite dizzying.
I feel like Newsday focuses on Singapore too much. I mean I know Singapore is a very important city and the program is presented from there, but they should consider news from the rest of Asia as well. But I do enjoy Newsday. I think out of BBC WNs flagship programs, Newsday is my favorite, followed by GMT, Impact, World News Today, Global and the worst is World News America.
I feel like Newsday focuses on Singapore too much. I mean I know Singapore is a very important city and the program is presented from there, but they should consider news from the rest of Asia as well. But I do enjoy Newsday. I think out of BBC WNs flagship programs, Newsday is my favorite, followed by GMT, Impact, World News Today, Global and the worst is World News America.
It's been a few weeks since they went on hiatus for the new studio so I can't remember their prior format exactly but they did feature regional stories. I think they're focusing on Singapore this week as it's been 50 years since the country has been founded.
Also why don't you like World News America? Katty Kay and Laura Trevelyn are my #wcw
Does anybody have like blue prints of any of the sets in world, nc, london or Wales today? What size are the lcd/plasmas? Could someone pm me if anyone knows? We are wanting to recreate one.
I feel like Newsday focuses on Singapore too much. I mean I know Singapore is a very important city and the program is presented from there, but they should consider news from the rest of Asia as well. But I do enjoy Newsday. I think out of BBC WNs flagship programs, Newsday is my favorite, followed by GMT, Impact, World News Today, Global and the worst is World News America.
It's been a few weeks since they went on hiatus for the new studio so I can't remember their prior format exactly but they did feature regional stories. I think they're focusing on Singapore this week as it's been 50 years since the country has been founded.
Also why don't you like World News America? Katty Kay and Laura Trevelyn are my #wcw
Ah, that makes sense then.
I don't like the format of the program or the studio. The presenters are fine though.