I wasn't able to catch the whole show but I'm impressed by the title sequence. The opening fly over of London at night is so dramatic and demands attention. It's a shame though that the depiction of Big Ben looks strikingly false and the bongs associated with it fail to match the pace of the visuals that went moments before - it's as if the sequence slows and loses its gusto at the crucial lead in to the headlines.
The fact the constant stings and sweeps to glass panel logos were off-putting, and irritating means I will not be in favour of it. Yes we know its News at Ten, we don't need reminding every 5mins.
It seems a pres fan has gone wild in the gallery
"go to sting 1a, ok next VT, oh but first sting 4c, now roll vt, switch camera's and prepare for sting 2d" etc.
Isn't that a good thing?
Yeah, i think it's a good thing too - Martin, we're all pres fanatics so are keeping eyes out for this sort of thing. For Joe and Josephine Bloggs, it's a great device to break up the programme and speed things along. As many people have mentioned, it didn't feel like 25 mins at all, despite (what I think was) a lower story count than the BBC...
If anything, it's Michael Grade we should be thanking for bringing back News at Ten.
Brekkie'll have none of that. Michael Grade's a geriatric old fool and they should have moved the News to 11pm and filled daytime with CITV don't you know!
It just made the bulletin feel like a clunky normal edition of ITV news where everyone has cramp in their legs...
Cut back on the irritating music, only use a logo sweep after the titles, halfway through, and perhaps at the end if they cant be bothered to make a graphical end credit sequence.
Also, scrap the stupid logo glow and zoom for the bongs, and perhaps separate with a shot of Big Ben, or logo graphic. Add a strap showing the story's title and reporters name, so the package has more of a sense of occasion and ownership.
Sort out the live location graphics, they look ****.
Give us an "and finally..." on one of the glass screens with a logo/caption saying "and finally", Also give us markets, sport and newspapers at the end, even if it means forgoing the break to the regional news, or even cutting it back.
That's how I would start sorting it out... Oh and remove the extra drum beat from the titles, it sounds odd.......
I have no brief for the Beeb but having just watch part of NaT I'm glad I stuck with the 10. The titles may be a resurrection of the old ones but now they just look tacky with their computer-generated weaving across London. It also says a lot that NaT began with an interview with someone who had something to do with Diana whilst the BBC smuggled someone into Zimbabwe. It says a lot about intent - start as you mean to go on and all that. They could have pulled anything out of the hat and it's an interview with an old crush of someone who's been dead a decade! As for the live from Antarctica - the Beeb had someone on board Greenpeace's boat chasing the Japanese whalers OFF Antarctica.
For Joe and Josephine Bloggs, it's a great device to break up the programme and speed things along...
It did feel a tad overdone to me. Probably the worst was the pan off from the presenters to the virtual glass plinth only to cut back to them. It felt like a "Going to break" shot - but there wasn't a break to go to.
If there HAD been a break then the sting count was probably about right - and they obviously threw lots of toys at the first show.
However I don't agree that stings make the show feel faster to Ron and Gladys - it is surprising how annoying real people can find them... Music in particular is a real bug bear with viewers - and it is surprising how sophisticated viewers are. "Stop with the graphics and music, I want the news not a sound and light show" is not unheard of audience feedback. Balancing slick production without going overboard and alienating the audience is a tricky balancing act. In years gone by ITN were the masters of it...
I suspect we'll see it slightly reined in over coming months. Be interesting to see whether tonight was staffed and resourced at higher levels than normal - and how long these levels will remain for.
I have no brief for the Beeb but having just watch part of NaT I'm glad I stuck with the 10. The titles may be a resurrection of the old ones but now they just look tacky with their computer-generated weaving across London. It also says a lot that NaT began with an interview with someone who had something to do with Diana whilst the BBC smuggled someone into Zimbabwe. It says a lot about intent - start as you mean to go on and all that.
Not really, believe it or not the Diana story was the big one of the day, all media outlets are leading with it, even the BBC News website.
Not that it isn't worthy of mention, but ITV News already did the Zimbabwe thing late last year.
Great execution but while they may harp on about video blogs and extra material, just a few minutes after the BBC's 10 has ended I can watch it on-demand from the website. No such showing for the NaT...
That's right. Because it's the News at TEN. And the point is the programme is an appointment to view.
Why would you want to watch it later/tomorrow? There's rolling news channels for the up-to-the-minute stuff.
