The cameras are moving around too much, just to try and convince us that the background is real, despite the obvious giveaway of the chromakeying - which hasn't improved for 10 years...
Well I have to say this is the best chromakeying I've seen in a long while, especially so when you consider the mixing with real elements, I think it all blends superbly.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ronald.jones4/itvnewsRELAUNCH01.JPG I think that this shot looks gorgeous - no problem with lack of depth here, as you can see the floor and the bottom of the newswall in the background of the shot. The main depth problem is on the shot of the 2 presenters at the desk, as you can't see any other studio features behind the desk - which gives the imression that the background is just a flat CSO curtain.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ronald.jones4/itvnewsRELAUNCH18.JPG Not keen on this at all - a total mess, and it just looks like it was hastily knocked up with some basic 3d design software. Plus, I'd quite like a nice dramatic voiceover announcing the presenters at the start of bulletins.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ronald.jones4/itvnewsRELAUNCH19.JPG Something's been annoying me very slightly about this shot all morning, and I've just worked out what it is! It's the fact that the newswall curves a bit too sharply - I think it would look much better if the wall curved along the same line as the desk.
But, at the end of the day, I still really like the relaunch!
Because no one has ever done CSO with real elements before, obviously!
Think back to the mid 90s when BBC sport did all their work from 'virtual' studios up to and including the Sydney Olympics.... its nice to see that ITN have decided that adopting this concept several years later is 'groundbreaking'!
It does look good and it even looks as though they have sort of 'blurred' the graphics a bit to make them look like they're coming from a real newswall instead of a greenscreen... however I still think the actual graphics made for each report on the greenscreen don't look too nice...
The Cameras in the studio, are linked to Computer 3D Cameras built into the 3D scenes used for the Screen Graphics, so they almost move in synch with each other, hence the 'seemless' movement.
Anglia managed a very, very clean opt-in back to the Lunchtime News. Rare for them. Their studio looks like it is just a painted wall, though, rather than a CSO.
End of the Lunchtime News was impressive, but not at all keen on the music.
Because no one has ever done CSO with real elements before, obviously!
Well they have been doing it on special reports, usually from the HOC. But the point is that you CAN tell, no matter how good it is, so it's never going to work convincingly. There are fundemental problems with chromakeying, such as colour bleed and the fact that it can't cope with motion blur, which mean that any real-time system isn't going to be able to do it well enough to convince.
Granada news is exactly the same only with an added DOG! How ironic...
Interesting report though, ending with Trevor Green reporting, with some cynicism, that 'regional identity' will apparently remain intact.
Because no one has ever done CSO with real elements before, obviously!
Think back to the mid 90s when BBC sport did all their work from 'virtual' studios up to and including the Sydney Olympics.... its nice to see that ITN have decided that adopting this concept several years later is 'groundbreaking'!
I wasn't aware there was a rule that just because CSO has been done before nobody is allowed to do it again.
The current ITV News CSO screen and graphics is definally the most impressive we've ever seen on terrestrial. When BBC1 had their blue look they didn't use it like ITV are doing.
Some of these regional looks are a bit iffy though, especially ITV West News
Central News West's CSO set includes a background that had the skyline of Birmingham in the four ITV squares, so I assume that they'll be keeping the main 6 pm set (with the Bham skyline) except they'll get rid of the Central News planet above Bob/Jo's head and replace it with the new logo...