BP
The sofa area:
Nice sofa - but why do people always feel the need to fill them with scatter cushions? It always feels like they've bottled out.
I suppose in a move to make the area look more homely, warm and realistic. You wont see many sofa's in the UK without cushions. GMTV have done it now too. they drafted more in at christmas and they have stuck!
The sofa area:
Nice sofa - but why do people always feel the need to fill them with scatter cushions? It always feels like they've bottled out.
I suppose in a move to make the area look more homely, warm and realistic. You wont see many sofa's in the UK without cushions. GMTV have done it now too. they drafted more in at christmas and they have stuck!
TV
The problem with the GMTV cushions is that they're red, so they blend into the sofa and don't have the same effect! Not that GMTV will lose viewers through that though 
I think Sunrise is a good model for GMTV to aspire to both in terms of look and structure, but it would take time and investment. Its whether ITV are willing to take that risk and put the effort in, or if they're getting ready to stamp 'ITV' allover GMTV. If ITV are ready to invest, then it could be a good idea to completely scrap the morning ITV News bulletin and have GMTV running from 5.30am-8.30am, and Lorraine until 9.25am. The current 5.30am bulletin has 'budget' written allover it, especially when they end up broadcasting an American news channel midway through! They might as well just start the cycle of stories GMTV uses half an hour early. Also I think its time to change the set design and move away from yellow window background with a red sofa which they've had for years. But again its whether ITV will want to give it the investment it needs.
I think Sunrise is a good model for GMTV to aspire to both in terms of look and structure, but it would take time and investment. Its whether ITV are willing to take that risk and put the effort in, or if they're getting ready to stamp 'ITV' allover GMTV. If ITV are ready to invest, then it could be a good idea to completely scrap the morning ITV News bulletin and have GMTV running from 5.30am-8.30am, and Lorraine until 9.25am. The current 5.30am bulletin has 'budget' written allover it, especially when they end up broadcasting an American news channel midway through! They might as well just start the cycle of stories GMTV uses half an hour early. Also I think its time to change the set design and move away from yellow window background with a red sofa which they've had for years. But again its whether ITV will want to give it the investment it needs.
Last edited by TV Geek on 15 February 2010 7:52pm - 2 times in total
MW
The Cube's nearly done now.
Is there much of a view now - or is the Cube huge?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/england/webcams/live/birm_mailbox.jpg
It's not awful, but it's not recognised Birmingham.
(They now use a CSO position - though that may have more to do with the original view becoming a building site)
The Cube's nearly done now.
Is there much of a view now - or is the Cube huge?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/england/webcams/live/birm_mailbox.jpg
It's not awful, but it's not recognised Birmingham.
BP
But the set is very new and I am dubious about whether ITV will invest in GMTV at all without them commissioning a new set after it has only been in use for 18 months. The red sofa is a pretty iconic prop on GMTV, one that is shared by breakfast however. It could change, but to what colour? Sunrise got it right! But a red sofa seems quite newsy?? (GMTV might not present from a sofa in the future so this doesn't really matter)
The yellow is getting tired, but the previous set wasn't really yellow. GMTV really needs to decide what type of program they are and then base the set around that instead of just reworking what they have already for something that is just a different coloured clone. Lorraine said on the relaunch show last January that the current set is a reincarnation of the previous. It is impossible to argue that this set arrangment suits the target audince as they haven't experimented with anything else and viewing figures are struggling to compete with Breakfast. I know that Studio 5 doesn't lend itself to being a very flxible space but it can be utilised better.(maybe)!
there is a gap in the market at the moment for desk-presented breakfast news so GMTV could explore this avenue! But I am positive GMTV could make a better desk presentation than BBC Breakfast as GMTV is so much easier to watch. All they need to do is stick a desk in front of the main window and then put the sofa back when Lorraine comes on! (that's the creditcrunch budget plan!)
Also I think its time to change the set design and move away from yellow window background with a red sofa which they've had for years. But again its whether ITV will want to give it the investment it needs.
But the set is very new and I am dubious about whether ITV will invest in GMTV at all without them commissioning a new set after it has only been in use for 18 months. The red sofa is a pretty iconic prop on GMTV, one that is shared by breakfast however. It could change, but to what colour? Sunrise got it right! But a red sofa seems quite newsy?? (GMTV might not present from a sofa in the future so this doesn't really matter)
The yellow is getting tired, but the previous set wasn't really yellow. GMTV really needs to decide what type of program they are and then base the set around that instead of just reworking what they have already for something that is just a different coloured clone. Lorraine said on the relaunch show last January that the current set is a reincarnation of the previous. It is impossible to argue that this set arrangment suits the target audince as they haven't experimented with anything else and viewing figures are struggling to compete with Breakfast. I know that Studio 5 doesn't lend itself to being a very flxible space but it can be utilised better.(maybe)!
there is a gap in the market at the moment for desk-presented breakfast news so GMTV could explore this avenue! But I am positive GMTV could make a better desk presentation than BBC Breakfast as GMTV is so much easier to watch. All they need to do is stick a desk in front of the main window and then put the sofa back when Lorraine comes on! (that's the creditcrunch budget plan!)
NG
The sofa area:
Nice sofa - but why do people always feel the need to fill them with scatter cushions? It always feels like they've bottled out.
I suppose in a move to make the area look more homely, warm and realistic. You wont see many sofa's in the UK without cushions. GMTV have done it now too. they drafted more in at christmas and they have stuck!
Yep - I never follow that logic. It's a TV studio with a TV sofa. People don't have sofas like that in their living room, just like they don't have the rest of the stuff you see in TV studio sets... You often see cushions appear a few days or weeks after a relaunch. Designers usually hate them - but for some reason visually-challenged producers love them, and normally buy them themselves, without a designer or art director being involved.
There is an argument for them on some sofas - particularly if they make a decent design statement - but otherwise they usually look a bit "granny's front room" to me...
noggin
Founding member
The sofa area:
Nice sofa - but why do people always feel the need to fill them with scatter cushions? It always feels like they've bottled out.
I suppose in a move to make the area look more homely, warm and realistic. You wont see many sofa's in the UK without cushions. GMTV have done it now too. they drafted more in at christmas and they have stuck!
Yep - I never follow that logic. It's a TV studio with a TV sofa. People don't have sofas like that in their living room, just like they don't have the rest of the stuff you see in TV studio sets... You often see cushions appear a few days or weeks after a relaunch. Designers usually hate them - but for some reason visually-challenged producers love them, and normally buy them themselves, without a designer or art director being involved.
There is an argument for them on some sofas - particularly if they make a decent design statement - but otherwise they usually look a bit "granny's front room" to me...
GS
Or where they cover fat thighs.
It's a real thing.
Gavin Scott
Founding member
There is an argument for them on some sofas - particularly if they make a decent design statement - but otherwise they usually look a bit "granny's front room" to me...
Or where they cover fat thighs.
It's a real thing.
ST
Although the studio in the Sunrise pictures look very good (and the sofa looks more comfortable than anything on UK TV), if ITV want to create a new look for GMTV then they need to get rid of that semi-circular sofa.
I always thought that BBC Breakfast looked better with the hotel foyer style armchairs: despite Jeremy Bowen referring to that set design as similar to a "Romanian Dentist's Waiting Room".
GMTV's original (and very short-lived) set was the best. I never quite understood why they went for the TV-am clone so soon. They've never really altered it much for the main segment since, despite the fanfare of revamps, except perhaps for the addition of the proper news desk last year.
I always thought that BBC Breakfast looked better with the hotel foyer style armchairs: despite Jeremy Bowen referring to that set design as similar to a "Romanian Dentist's Waiting Room".
GMTV's original (and very short-lived) set was the best. I never quite understood why they went for the TV-am clone so soon. They've never really altered it much for the main segment since, despite the fanfare of revamps, except perhaps for the addition of the proper news desk last year.
:-(
A former member
Is there any clips of the original GMTV format 