The Newsroom

The NEW Central West and BBC Midlands thread

Suzanne Virdee's sudden departure from BBC Midlands (September 2004)

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JJ
Juicy Joe Founding member
I'd much prefer to watch Peter Levy on Look North than watch Nick "I love raising my eyebrow" Owen and random hordes of people walk around on MT any day of the week.
AB
ab
Juicy Joe posted:
Rolling Eyes

whilst I was having breakfast before work this morning, they were using RED Midlands Today titles on the plasma in the background, but when I come in from work, the opening titles had the same orange Midlands Today titles


That was when Midlands Today was being presented from Nottingham with a bulletin across the whole Midlands. It was the usual East Midlands Today red end cap, with the word "East" removed since the bulletin was covering both regions.

The lunchtime bulletin was the first MT from the Mailbox.
TVF
TV Forum Team
Juicy Joe posted:
Rolling Eyes

Not too sure on the new look myself! Changing the theme tune slightly should tie in with a new titles screen. Yet, whilst I was having breakfast before work this morning, they were using RED Midlands Today titles on the plasma in the background, but when I come in from work, the opening titles had the same orange Midlands Today titles as before with a few new pictures.

And what were all those people doing walking about behind Nick's back? It looked as though MT has set up camp in the entrance to Brum New Street Station with people running desperately to catch their train!

Pretty untidy in my opinion....also, unmatching astons etc...and the average passer by couldn't give a toss about MT's new set up, as they so clearly showed in their silly documentary about the MailBox:-

"Do you want to come and see Midlands Today's new studio?"
Joe Soap:- "No...couldn't give a toss - I'd much rather get run over by a bus, thanks!"

As someone has already said, doesn't really say much about the new studios does it now??? Rolling Eyes


I Agree!
IS
Inspector Sands
I saw their lunch bulletin, oh the irony when their special package about The Mailbox started as something else and then when the modern technology was mentioned.... there was a big black hole in the package Rolling Eyes
PO
Pootle5
noggin posted:
Not sure if others have mentioned it - but I think that it is a great move not to shoot the weather completely flat on to the projector screen.

Traditionally projector screens get dimmer if you shoot them off-axis - but if you have a good enough screen and projector and can get away with it, making a feature of shooting obliquely can look quite stylish.


I didn't think this worked at all, Wolverhampton and other places in the far west were too blured, it looked wrong to me.

I'm not impressed with the efforts at all really, I thought they looked uncomfortable on the sofa, was it too low for the desk? The live news room at the back was too close and very distracting, particularly at the start of the 6.30 where some guy was almost as big as Nick on the screen, there needs to be some distance there somehow. I thought the lighting looked a little dark, the graphics were dreadful, very messy - particularly the dark "Midlands Today" aston. I'm sure it'll bed down in time.

The opening titles were better, but I didn't like the headline sting at all.
:-(
A former member
Very curvy MT breakfast bulletin. A shame the 16:9 ratio means that Kay was rather misplaced to the left on analogue - though fine on digital.

Also, I thought it was tasteless to use the scene of the woman's death at the flooded ford (not even mentioned) in a very general report about the weather.
AP
AdamP
Just looked at the caps at the TV Room, and noticed that in the titles, the shot of the people playing with a football in the street, comes from the South Today titles.
WT
The World Today
Functional Aesthetic posted:
The World Today posted:
Also die hard brummies will have to confirm or not whether that was the Carlton tower block on the package with the female presenter on the canal?


Carlton/ITV Central/whatever are near to a tower block (a hotel I think), but not in one! Their building is only two (or possibly three?) storeys high!

The World Today posted:
...she clearly has national material written all over her.


She's Suzanne Virdee, and yes she is a fabulous anchor, isn't she?


Right, she is very good what did she do before presenting this programme...reporter on it?
MB
Mr.B
Juicy Joe posted:
And what were all those people doing walking about behind Nick's back? It looked as though MT has set up camp in the entrance to Brum New Street Station with people running desperately to catch their train!

Not yet we weren't, we got the 7.30 train... erm.. yes... I was one of those people 'milling' about in the background... don't suppose anyone has got any captures of the period around the end of the sport bit. There's a wide shot of the studio, then you cut back to Nick & Suzanne... and there's 2 people passing behind Nick (just as he throws his hands up). One in a green top, and one in a white shirt - I'm the white shirt (yeah OK, I need to lose some weight)... note the little look to camera as I exit-screen-left...

It's a lovely studio & office though. Tinged with sadness at not being 'The Mill' though... The studio feels bigger than at The Mill, but I guess it's a similar floor space. This new one is square, whereas the old studio was oblong. The new set is wonderful, not just a standing set - it's been built into the studio, although you might notice part of the sofa is missing... it's being stored out in the corridor, just round the left hand side of where the set ends.

There is public access... or there will be, and you can see directly into the area right behind the set, but it won't be visible on air. It's simple to get in - just go to the mailbox, up to the BBC Birmingham area and during the day the large doors are open to allow access to the cafe and BBC Shop. Eventually you'll be able to go upstairs to a special area adjacent to the newsroom - where you can see almost into the studio and the gallery. You can also 'edit your own Midlands Today'.

And the Newsroom itself is massive! Although only the first bit behind the studio is actually Midlands Today. The mid section of the area you see in BBC WM & WM News, then The Politics Show is at the extreme end - and that's the area that overlooks the canal outside the back end of the Mailbox - the windows which have "BBC Birmingham" plastered on them.

And the whole team clapped when the presenters and prod team walked out - they were well pleased with it... especially since there had been a server crash at 5.40!!

It was fun!
ST
South Today
AdamP posted:
Just looked at the caps at the TV Room, and noticed that in the titles, the shot of the people playing with a football in the street, comes from the South Today titles.



No it was the Midlands first...
AP
AdamP
South Today posted:
AdamP posted:
Just looked at the caps at the TV Room, and noticed that in the titles, the shot of the people playing with a football in the street, comes from the South Today titles.



No it was the Midlands first...


I wondered which came first. Now I know.
ST
South Today
AdamP posted:
South Today posted:
AdamP posted:
Just looked at the caps at the TV Room, and noticed that in the titles, the shot of the people playing with a football in the street, comes from the South Today titles.



No it was the Midlands first...


I wondered which came first. Now I know.


Are ST Oxford still using their 'Summer' Titles then?

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