Announcers scripts

BBC announcements are scripted. The script is made available on the intranet, so as Jamez rightly points out Wales & Scotland know what London are going to say

My thanks to the person (a TV company employee) who showed me this site. Can I now say Philip Banks 'mentioned in dispatches' ?
Do announcers write their own scripts? I do, within a framework given to me. I have the advantage over staff announcers. I can't be fired and am very scary, don't believe 'the really nice bloke' claims.

Within reason each announcement should be both 'telling and selling'. Or you can follow the Meridian example, they do continuity for Meridian, Anglia and HTV West. Each anouncement from them effectively says 'I'm only doing this because I found being an accountant at an undertakers too exciting'.

If you're interested in what else I do www.philipbanks.co.uk and feel free to get in touch.

Happy Christmas and a prosperous new year to you all.

Banksey

> Tut-tut!  A BBC publication, in vision on an ITV(1) station, it would never have happened in the old days!

Hehe, certainly not, in fact in the past announcers would make mentions of the TV Times at every available opportunity!!!

What I'd like to know is, how did other ITV stations get round the problem of having no autocue on in-vision announcements? It's an art in itself, looking as if you're not reading from a piece of paper when in fact you are!!!

> As The TV Room shows, there are PA systems in the toilet, so than an announcer knows when a technical error occurs! I couldn't believe that one!

Hmmm, the annos at Tyne Tees just had a beeper -- and they very rarely escaped from their little box studio anyway!

> Within reason each announcement should be both 'telling and selling'. Or you can follow the Meridian example, they do continuity for Meridian, Anglia and HTV West. Each anouncement from them effectively says 'I'm only doing this because I found being an accountant at an undertakers too exciting'.

Hehe, I have noticed a certain lack of enthusiasm from Southampton announcements!!! 'Now on Meridian, Emmerdale'. Hmmm, that must have taken some writing :rolleyes:

You are great on HTV! Where do you announce from when you announce on HTV Wales?

(Edited by Whataday at 4:47 pm on Dec. 21, 2001)

ALWAYS when I flick between BBC 1 and BBC 1 Wales the announcments are the same. I have never seen different except on regional things.

It is funny watching C5 in the daytime. When I am ill I used to watch the hilarious soaps around 1030ish (now all gone sadly) and the voiceover (always a woman) would mock the terrible storylines and all the makeup they would ware. Very funny.

Whataday asked where continuity comes from for HTV Wales.
Culverhouse Cross in Cardiff. By the way ITV1 six times per day?
Not as far as I'm aware. Thanks for the vote of confidence Whataday and thanks to the fan of Meridian continuity who visited my web page and emailed me a virus. It obviously wasn't a Meridian announcer as it showed, ingenuity, flare, creative problem solving, a sense of humour and initiative.

By the way I'm back Saturday and Sunday on HTV Wales.

You think Meridian is bad. You ought to hear the ice-woman (Maggie summat-or-other) and the guy who sighs his way through every announcement (Bob Preedy) on the Granada North channels.

The former is so formal and lacking any warmth, and the latter, although he's loosened up recently, sounds like he's half asleep!

I agree with your comments about Bob, but Maggie, she's ok, you need a bit of formality some times

Well OK, everyone's entitled to their opinion, personally I prefer Bob to Maggie, at least Bob has a certain character, Maggie just seems better suited to voice-over work. I just switch right over when she's on, her voice grates on me and she formats her announcements in exactly the same way every time, which is just so lazy IMHO. I can't stand using HSBC's telephone banking service either (she's on that as well )

Yeah and she also VOs the safety video you watch on JMC Airlines before you take off

It's great to know that there are people out there interested in our work. Yes we do write our own scripts for ITV1 and we also sit in the studio watching the programmes and recording announcements. Regards Banksey...You may wonder why he targets Meridian, Anglia and HTV West announcers!!???!!! It's because he failed to get a job there and has obviously become VERY BITTER!!!!!! This is sad, but we're not going to take it to heart. Our brief is to be pleasant, warm and informative in the time our schedulers allocate us. It's a very difficult one. If you try to be witty and clever, you will only please some of your viewers. We have had proof of this in letters received after someone who likes to blow his own trumpet (because no-one else will) was made redundant at HTV WEST. His style annoyed some viewers! Our viewers are all ages and from all walks of life. You have to strike a happy medium. We won't please everyone I'm sure. But I am angry at the way Banksey speaks about my fellow announcers. They are talented and creative people and all have other jobs that they do. I won't stand by and let a bitter man slate my colleagues. Normally I would ignore it, but this just made my blood boil (OOOH is that to much passion for a Meridian, Anglia, HTV announcer...perhaps I should tone it down). And as for sending a virus to Banksey...we have much better things to do with our time!!!!!!!!!!!!!! His comments were so nasty and unnecessary!! and I hope he won't make any more!!!!

Hmmmmm - well i will have to side with Banksey on this one!

It looks like YOU are the bitter and twisted one!

Banksey always adds thats something special to each announcement he makes and adds much to otherwise a boring announcement!
How on earth are you suppose to say next on itv coronation street with no personality? Well meridian seem capable of doing this in EVERY announcement and its no wonder that viewers in the htv west region have turned off in their droves!
If i had to listen to their monotonous drones every fifteen minutes i would seriously consider wathcing htv west news back to back for 24 hours.....

Lets not get into a personal argument about certain announcers but there are some good very capable guys out there and some that dont even deserve to be on bbc local radio!