For those not familiar with the layout of BBC Plymouth's studio, there is another plasma screen used for the weather (usually at weekends) and for sport segments, which is on the other side of the desk.
Furthermore, that view of Plymouth is a blown-up photograph printed onto a backcloth/transparency.
There is only the daytime photo. Lighting changes are used to make that daytime photo look like evening/night, including yellow/orange LEDs (or something) to look like lights in windows of the buildings and coloured lighting to make the sky look dark blue.
Therefore, it always looks like an "idealised" night view (akin to the London backdrop used on BBC World News), which is never any darker than dark blue, even if the sky in the real world would be pitch black by that time of night.
I don't think it's actually a view of Plymouth, as I don't recognise much of it. I think it's just an amalgam of various coastal scenes from the region.
However, you are correct that it has different appearances. There are 3 in total (day, evening, night), the latter having 'reflections' in the water of the lights in the buildings.
A black sky never works on TV, as BBC World News have established. So the evening/late night versions are indeed just darker shades of blue.
It's something that hasn't been replicated by any of the other English regions, as far as I know. It's better than the 'newsroom' light boxes, for sure.
EDIT: I'll grab a pic of the 'night' view after 10:30.
Here's the video from when the set launched, featuring the transition from day to night - it is referred to be the presenter as a 'panoramic view of Plymouth'.
I don't think it's actually a view of Plymouth, as I don't recognise much of it. I think it's just an amalgam of various coastal scenes from the region.
I think it's a view seen from somewhere like Mount Batten, looking towards Sutton Harbour.
In the first pic you posted, I believe that the low wide grey rectangular building to the right of Victoria's shoulder is the National Marine Aquarium.
At the very left of the view (near the weather screen), one of the buildings that you can see a bit of (which looks a "golden"-ish colour) is part of the Drake Circus shopping mall I think.
Last edited by Lou Scannon on 29 August 2016 9:50pm
Something I've noticed in recent weeks/months on ITV News West Country...
The programme name of course changed to incorporate the phrase "West Country" (rather than plain old "West") in 2009, as part of the amalgamation with the Plymouth region.
However, outside of the actual name/title of the programme, the presenters have generally continued to refer to the region as e.g. "here in the West" (look, no "Country"!) on the HTV version until at least as recently as early 2016.
It's only in very recent times that I've noticed them starting to generally say e.g. "here in the West Country", thus finally bringing the way that the region is generally described during the bulletins in-line with what the actual title calls it.
They also like talking about the "South West" (government region) when it suits them to do so, which seems to be at least once per week most weeks. I didn't live in this region until long after "HTV News" was dead, but I doubt that "south west" was
ever
uttered on the programme in the pre-ITV plc era (and/or pre-2009)?
Until recently, on those occasions that the HTV version had the luxury of being the live edition the presenters' opening blurb would include something like "we're live across the West tonight". The opening wording would of course be more vague if the programme was the pre-recorded edition. Nowadays if there is any bragging about being genuinely live to be had, it seems to be reserved for e.g. throws to OBs etc rather than at the top of the programme.
I do think it's quite annoying. They still refer to the region as the 'West' yet officially in ITV terms they are actually the 'East'.
I believe they should do a Tyne Tees/Border and reinstate their respective names. When I used to live in Bristol I did not regard myself to be living in the West Country and rather in the West of England which the BBC still recognises.
Indeed the towns of Stroud, Cirencester and Swindon which ITV West Country serve are very much not a part of the West Country.
Something I've noticed in recent weeks/months on ITV News West Country...
The programme name of course changed to incorporate the phrase "West Country" (rather than plain old "West") in 2009, as part of the amalgamation with the Plymouth region.
However, outside of the actual name/title of the programme, the presenters have generally continued to refer to the region as e.g. "here in the West" (look, no "Country"!) on the HTV version until at least as recently as early 2016.
It's only in very recent times that I've noticed them starting to generally say e.g. "here in the West Country", thus finally bringing the way that the region is generally described during the bulletins in-line with what the actual title calls it.
They also like talking about the "South West" (government region) when it suits them to do so, which seems to be at least once per week most weeks. I didn't live in this region until long after "HTV News" was dead, but I doubt that "south west" was
ever
uttered on the programme in the pre-ITV plc era (and/or pre-2009)?
Until recently, on those occasions that the HTV version had the luxury of being the live edition the presenters' opening blurb would include something like "we're live across the West tonight". The opening wording would of course be more vague if the programme was the pre-recorded edition. Nowadays if there is any bragging about being genuinely live to be had, it seems to be reserved for e.g. throws to OBs etc rather than at the top of the programme.
I have also noticed that there is now only one option on the ITV News website when selecting ITV West Country as "Your Area". It used to have "ITV West Country (West)" and "ITV West Country (East)". The live news feed for ITV West Country now covers both areas with two weather forecasts uploaded daily, one named "Your weather for the West" and the other "Your weather for the South West".
If you google ITV West Country you can still select different areas of the region via topics/tags, a feature which they don't seem to be using to it's best potential. I can't see a quick way of doing this easily on the ITV News website itself!
A pan-regional half hour programme from ITV News West Country tonight, dominated by news of the approval of the Hinkley Point power station in west Somerset.
Kylie Pentelow at the main desk alone, with Bob Crampton at the weather screen. GCI gallery backdrop used throughout, with no appearance whatsoever of the respective Clifton/Tamar backdrops.
Much of the programme was a live OB of Ian Axton at Hinkley Point itself, introducing various related packages. Kylie in the studio not appearing much apart from the start of the programme and for the roundup of other news, from circa 18:20 onwards. The "other news" was a mixture of stories from both parts of the region.
The weather was fully sub-regional, but the bit of "side window" visible behind Bob nevertheless had the CGI gallery backdrop. At least one version of the forecast proper (book-ended by sponsor stings etc) obviously must've been recorded, but the preceding/following banter with Kylie was part of the live pan-regional material.
9 days later
LS
Lou Scannon
The final 6 minutes (-ish) of tonight's ITV News West Country were pan-regional.
At about 18:20 there was a slightly slow mix from the end of the previous package back to the studio, which now had the GCI gallery backdrop (having hitherto been the usual Clifton backdrop since 6pm).
There was a bit of a pregnant pause by the presenters before they spoke - presumably waiting for the pre-recorded "Plymouth" version of the programme to reach a suitable point and join the the live programme. The purpose of the pan-regional section was to throw to an OB in relation to the Somerset/Yorkshire cricket match results.
The remainder of the programme after the cricket OB continued to be pan-regional right until the very end (which was at something like 18:26:30, due to a commercial break before the Evening News). The only exception was the sub-regional weather forecast, presumably both versions of which were pre-recorded. Bob Crampton was stood at the weather screen for some pan-regional banter, both pre- and post-forecast, obviously with the CGI gallery on the "side window" behind him.
Jarringly, the bit of "side window" visible behind Bob during the forecast proper (book-ended by sponsor stings etc) was the Avon Gorge view - making its only post-18:20 appearance.