SW England news thread

I don't think there is any rush to change Spotlight CI from 14:9 to 16:9 - all the cameras the VJs use can film in 16:9 and the studio can handle it but there is a piece of equipment in Plymouth that would need to be replaced before CI could make the switch.

No westcountry live at lunchtime today - had news from the west instead.

Also more technical difficulties tonight when Kate was interviewing Kate Reeves, cut to gaza trouble package (which i assume was from London) with someone saying 'we're off air'. Then back to a close up of Richard hastily moving onto other news of the day.

Yes , it was a bit of a weird moment . No great loss though as Kate Reeves chat was lightweight fluff following Midgley's report.

Dicky Bath always seems hyper pi**ed off anytime they have a technical glitch, does he care that much ?

He is such a miserable presenter. I think Westcountry News has gone a bit stale.

Westcountery has always been stale as far as i'm concerned!

On the Spotlight opt out for regional news this morning. Spotlight reported on the Boscatle flooding and they used a video wall ! !

Fisrt time ive ever seen it used to one side of the presenter (no caps unfortunatly)

Well Done Spotlight!

I assume you mean they used the back-projection-screen in the "soft" area of the studio. That's not normally used during the day although I think it would be better for the Breakfast opts rather than the obvious green haze around the presenter from the CSO.

I still have fond memories of Westward Diary from when I was a kid.

The ITN News at 5:45 would finish, and you'd get the Westward TV ident. Next you'd see the Westward DIARY opening sequence with the really fast music.

The main presenter was usually Kenneth McCleoud. Other presenters who appeared on there included Jennifer Clulow, Judi Spiers and Roger Shaw.

Certain evenings (Tuesdays I think) a gardener - Topline Broadhurst appeared on the programme. On Fridays Ted Tuckerman appeared to do his fishing slots.

Towards the end of the programme each evening, Graham Danton presented the weather. Just two boards with a map of the south west peninsula on each - one for TONIGHT and one for TOMORROW.

One oddity which bugged me as a kid, the boards were headed as follows:

First board:
TONIGHT
WARNINGS

Second board
TOMORROW
HIGHWATER PLYMOUTH

Finally you'd get the closing titles and the endcap

A WESTWARD
PRODUCTION
In Colour

Who else remembers all this?

Ha-ha. That made me go in search of an example on TV Ark.

Have a look at this example:
Right-clicky, save as....you know the drill

Extreemly sexist main two stories about "women" being at risk, then a somewhat strange story about a ("God forbid") - Asian wedding in Exeter. Finally the start of the local news read by what appears to be only one-third of the current body mass of the current Fern Britton

The title music is also very 1950s!

This rather odd thing appeared tonight on Spotlight just before the "Coming Next" sequence (as CI join the main programme IIRC). Looks like a very antiquated way of doing it if it's supposed to be a countdown sequence

http://www.rp-networkservices.com/tvforum/uploads/comingup_spotlight_270607.jpg

A few questions about that pic.

What is that piece of equipment ?
How old is it roughly ?

Does that clock section of it look like the face of a slightly surprised baby ?

Since I asked the question, I dunno, but I guess the answers might be (since no one else has bothered to answer are:)
Something old and dodgy
Very
Indeed it does.

Another thing that has bugged me for ages though, is whether that CSO screen used for the weather and interviews actually moves around (I think there is a hinge of sorts on the right hand side). I finally got two caps to prove my theory (YES, OK it's rather sad I know to be obsessed with this).

This pic shows the view from the main desk, the two blue lines I have lined up against the pattern of the laminate flooring and the bottom of the CSO screen (the arrow indicates another point to watch):

http://www.rp-networkservices.com/tvforum/uploads/one.jpg

This shows the different angle (although slight from the distance) between the laminate and the CSO screen from the other angle. I also suspect that this "fixed/locked-off" camera position has a mask of "laminate" covering an area on the right where the red carpet from the main desk would be seen. Also look at the difference where the arrow was in the first pic:

http://www.rp-networkservices.com/tvforum/uploads/two2.jpg

I see Ms Graham seems to have become engaged or got married or...