Thanks for those Phen – indeed you’d wonder if the laptops are used soley to help cover up the slanting white line!
Why didn’t they just lower it to out of shot? Where possible they should zoom to MCU when there’s no insert, as per One today:
http://tvtitles.thetvroomplus.com/images-news/rte/2006-2/one-11.jpg
Preferably
with an ounce of headroom
The map graphics look so much better in 16:9 than 14:9 letterbox!
Ah now James, RTÉ isn’t that bad at all. TV3 barely even HAS a set – little more than a couple of veneered flats up against a warehouse wall. It’s absolutely dire!
But on that very point, at least we can be thankful (well, not all of us
) that RTÉ didn’t do for a ‘cutting edge’ ‘cool’ show-all-the-shyte style, bringing cameras and lighting into shot as per TV3 and certain other broadcasters. It wouldn’t have surprised me in the least if they had – so hopefully this move has confirmed that they intend to stick in ‘Establishment mode’.
I think the two-shot on Six One is fine (two pics further down), off-centring aside. In spite of it being very similar to the sleep-inducing 2000-2003 two-shot in terms of plain cyclorama background…
http://thetvroom.com/images-rte-one/rte-one-news/images-01/weekend-six-d.jpg
…it’s still a great improvement on the above, with the interest of the curved desk and white skirting. Those giant supporting pins look ridiculous though!
http://www.rp-networkservices.com/tvforum/uploads/ch045_0828_182716.jpg
http://tvtitles.thetvroomplus.com/images-news/rte/2006-2/one-23.jpg
And the skirting incredibly garish in raking shots as mentioned:
http://tvtitles.thetvroomplus.com/images-news/rte/2006-2/one-14.jpg
If toned down, would the plastic become too evident?
Saying all that, the set does generally look rather classy on a wide in above pics
Overall there seems to be neither LED screens or clever glass in use – just a plain old illuminated cyclorama, which does the job very nicely still. A great pity the colour doesn’t change for various bulletins however – at least it seems there’s going to be a lighting change for Nine, as they advertised the LEDs lighting as changing at least something!
There must be a screen over to the left, for use in News2Day if nothing else – maybe this will become activated once they start off ‘proper’ next week, and the CSO screen was only temporary?
And I’ve only just noticed that the white parts are pronounced from the cyclorama by about six inches, with wood ledges. Does this mean the cyclorama itself can be changed for a different colour/pattern for use in The Week in Politics? (TWIP). Surely the most likely, as it seems the brown colouring is imbued in the cyc itself rather than generated by an external element.
Fully agreed about the overly generous picture window distance from newsreader Phen, especially given the lack of picture visible in 14:9 too – i.e. for the majority of viewers. It doesn’t make visual sense to have so much space between them, and then such a narrow strip of picture.
http://www.rp-networkservices.com/tvforum/uploads/pvr001.jpg
I also don’t like the lines running across the image – they were borderline okay on the One, but looked terrible this evening when imposed over an image of President McAleese. The insert department has always produced RTE News’s finest work; they have a fantastic team in there which is why I’m so glad windows have been retained, but disappointed about the lines. Let us see your work in all its glory!
All in all, there’s a blatent influence of BBC News via the square set with skirting, grey floor, and the astons, and of RTÉ News 2000-2003 via the very neutral cyclorama backdrop and the airbrushed picture inserts which I think they’re acknowledging, like everyone else, to be RTE News’s finest hour.
I suspect we’re not going to get to see half of this studio till this day next week, which is a very odd way of doing things. Very odd indeed in fact, relaunching on a skeleton service, and minus the impact of a reinvigorated RTÉ One to boot…
And just on widescreen, have we yet seen anything as astoundingly unprofessional aspect ratio-wise as Coleman’s cropped report?! It was nothing short of obscene. Even if it was commissioned a few weeks ago and they didn’t know when it was to be broadcast, do they still not have the resources to at least pan and scan?!
Already we’re seeing the disadvantages of News widescreen in terms of imported content too. At least the BBC and ITV shoot a lot of their foreign material themselves, but RTÉ import the vast bulk of it with stories from outside Europe, where the television world is still very much 4:3. At least three of the reports we saw this today were cropped 4:3, with hideous resolution and mauled picture composition. Admittedly there’s little you can do about this, but it’s a great shame
. Weekend bulletins with all their acquired material are going to be dismal at times with all their acquired material.
Interesting Coleman said “for RTÉ News”, as she doesn’t work for them anymore