BBC Alba

I was in the Persian TV newsroom recently while they were piloting, and am ashamed to say I didn't notice what the branding was or how it was being used.

If it has not made an appearance somewhere before, then you should start to see it in about a months time when bbcpersian.com is relaunched with the new branding included ahead of the TV channel launch.

Quite right. It would be wrong to give too much away about the schedule, but from what I've seen it has more in common with BBC 2 then it does BBC Arabic.

I know you can't say much Bvsh House, but from what you've written, I think we can expect BBC Persian very soon. Would I be right in thinking next month maybe?

Just watching the news programme on BBC Alba at the moment. One thought, what language is used on the studio talkback, English or Gaelic ?

(Similar question applies to S4C)

As BBC Alba's main gallery (and director) is, I believe, in Glasgow I'd expect the show to be directed mainly (entirely) in English - as the studio crew in Glasgow may well not speak Gaelic. AIUI that is how Newyddion operates for S4C - as they share a studio and crew with Wales Today. This is also how the original BBC Arabic operation ran at TV Centre - and is how I believe the current BBC Arabic, and proposed BBC Farsi, services also operate?

Don't think either Glasgow or Cardiff require their studio crews to speak Welsh or Gaelic - though an understanding of the language is appreciated, and part of the job application? This is particularly important in Arabic and Farsi where non-roman script is used.

My understanding is that the BBC Alba studio has a small vision mixer for local pre-records (when Glasgow are not able to assist) and live sub-mixing the plasma, but the live show is co-ordinated in Glasgow - where they are able to use the graphics, server playout, and wider production infrastructure used by Reporting Scotland to make the show (a bit like the original Hull sub-opt). AIUI the cameras in the BBC Alba studio are individually fibred back to Glasgow - rather than being submixed - and there is a reverse vision from Glasgow to the BBC Alba studio to allow for a plasma to be used. (However there is quite a long delay on the circuits, so the source in the plasma is out of sync with the sound in Glasgow, by the time the pictures get back to Glasgow).

This allows higher gallery production values than if you were having to do the entire show from a small local operation, and is also lower cost. You can still shoot/edit locally and feed back to Glasgow for play-in (either using vision circuits, or FTP or similar store and forward tech) It also means you require less space on-site as you can use a mini-gallery, without compromising the main technical standards of a show that mini-gallery production can sometimes entail.

Thanks Noggin, very interesting. Must be odd for the presenters to be counted in and directed in English, at the same time as speaking in another language ?

Or perhaps not ? (I can only speak one language, so I can't imagine)

But what about the English speaking production staff catching the correct out cues etc ?

That's right - the programme is mixed in PQ's Studio C. The vision circuits from Inverness (and Stornoway) are IP, which explains the delay.

The Studio's crew use both languages in the control rooms and Gaelic speaking was a prime requirements for the technical operators jobs in Inverness for An La. As the autocue can be controlled and adjusted from both Inverness and Glasgow, there is Gaelic requirement in both control suites. In practice, the Inverness Technical operators speak to the Studio mainly in Gaelic, whilst the Glasgow Control room speak to the Inverness Control Room primarily in English.

One of the vision circuits used is actually the old Inverness - Aberdeen Durris to Glasgow analogue circuit and 2 are IP Codecs, But the timing problems are more down to the overly complex firing up and down of signals between sites, which is actually over kill. Inverness can actually mix the entire show and play in live and pre-recorded pieces for the whole programme, this is the back up plan and has been been done during the dry runs when there has been massive circuit failures. So each day, all the pre recorded pieces are are dual stored in case one site fails, the other can do the play ins. So it does beg the question why Studio C is involved in the first place - I know the reason is more than likely political and certainly not for a technical reason or cost saving.

I used to work with someone who was involved in the original BBC Arabic service, and asked the same question to them. They developed working practices so that non arabic speakers/readers could still direct and work in the gallery. This meant they could follow the script on the autocue and knew what the out-cue sounded like (i think it's still 'BBC' in Arabic!) so knew when a package had finished

The bbcpersian.com site is due to relaunch in the next month. However it has always the case that the site would launch if the channel was ready or not, just to make the management of the bbcpersian.com project easier, in terms having a of fixed deadline to work towards.

AFAIK a launch date has not been fixed for BBC Persian TV, so the number of days/weeks/months/years after the site launch is an unknown to me, as it is for virtually everyone else working on the project.

We all have our own ideas when launch will be based on intuition, experience, or a conversation overhead in the Bush House bar. But after seeing how many times the BBC Arabic launch slipped I don't think anyone would be brave enough to name a date just now.

And to drag this thread back on course, I was very impressed that BBC Alba were able to broadcast astons complete with launch date and countdown several weeks before the launch.

World Service operates all galleries, or cublcles for the radio, in English. While there may be staff present who can speak the target language in some cases (such as phone ins), pretty much all of the non-English programming leaves Bush House driven by a studio manager who can't speak a word of the language.

As noggin says, the Arabic gallery is all English. And the Persian gallery was also all English when I wondered through recently. In some respects this helps, as you can concentrate on the technical aspects of the production without getting districted by the content - if that makes sense?

Presumably there would be problems if Studio C was required for an evening sport programme? Would they make arrangements for one of the other PQ studios to handle the sport or let Inverness run the entire show?