The one thing as a TV geek I would have loved to have seen would have been more of an actual tour of ITV Studios/London Studios building. Getting to see Phil go into Studios 1 & 2. Seeing some more of the editing suites, seeing a bit of ITV Creative areas etc. Being given some of the history of the buildings and studios etc. This would have just topped it all off for me as a perfect broadcast.
This will give you some more info - at least how it used to be in the late 80's/early 90's.
Thanks for linking that video. Was great to watch.
Would be good if ITV did an up to date version for the facilities now, but doubt we will ever see one.
Something which may be of interest:
:-(
A former member
Just to ask before ITV bought out full control of the building who else bar LWT were in Kent house? or was it just coal broad pension company who built and kept the up keep of the building?
Just to ask before ITV bought out full control of the building who else bar LWT were in Kent house? or was it just coal broad pension company who built and kept the up keep of the building?
As far as I know it was always just LWT/ITV and associated companies/organisations, for example ITV departments like Network Promotions and weather and of course companies like LNN.
According to the reports about ITV's purchase they owned just the lease to the building but the Coal Board Pension Fund owned the freehold. This isn't uncommon, pension funds buy or develop property and land as investments.
Just to ask before ITV bought out full control of the building who else bar LWT were in Kent house? or was it just coal broad pension company who built and kept the up keep of the building?
One oddity from the early 2000s - LWT/Granada's presentation and planning operation was based at Grays Inn Road alongside the sales operation (and the Network Centre, which was then an entirely separate entity). Carlton's equivalent meanwhile was based in offices in the tower on the South Bank, so Carlton pres resided within the "LWT" building but LWT themselves didn't! Upon merger all that relocated to GIR, where many iterations down the line it remains, but the Network Centre (or its equivalent of commissioning and strategy) moved to the tower in 2009 and is based on the 21st floor, just below where Phil walked through on Monday to get to the roof.
One thing I've been meaning to mention - in the clip of Phil being given a tour of ITN, when he is in the graphics area the room behind the glass wall at the back was the former London Tonight/ITN News Channel studio, which of course is now just office space again.
If ITV are still using Grays inn Road, I'm guessing that means the ITV tower offices are full, rather than it being like the old Granada building or the BBC TV Centre which were apparently half empty?
I do agree that this marathon showed just how stale Comic Relief and especially Children in Need have become over the last few years, in terms of the entertainment factor. Obviously they're not exactly the same type of fundraiser, but it reminded me of how they used to be exciting or surprising, instead of the same thing every year.
I don't understand the comparisons between the Pipathon and the main shows for CiN and Comic Relief, they're different things. Just a few years ago we had David Walliams' 24 hour show for Comic Relief which in many ways was more interesting than Red Nose Day itself, same as that extended Graham Norton show. On the radio we've had Mayo's and Moyles' marathons. Obviously they're going to be a bit more interesting and stranger than the main shows because they go on for so long and they've got a much smaller budget so they have to be a bit more creative. The point of the main shows of all three charities is to raise as much money as quickly as they can so obviously it's going to be dominated by big set pieces that get bums on seats, not rather esoteric broadcasting like this.
You should compare the main Text Santa show with the CiN and Comic Relief shows, and the Pipathon with David Walliams', Moyles' and Mayo's things. The Mayo show in 1999 was brilliant, I listened to as much of it as I could, and it clearly helped that Mayo, like Pip, is clearly a lovely bloke who you want to spend time with.
The Pipathon was good fun, though. Loved the bit where they were trying to stop the telly going to standby.
My point wasn't that I thought these 24 hour marathons were better (and should somehow replace) the main shows - it was that these 24 hour marathons reminded me of how much more exciting and spontaneous the main shows used to be. They aren't doing anything technically wrong seeing as for shows like Children in Need the total donations still increase every year, but it would be nice to have a little bit of experimenting in the main shows so that interest doesn't gradually wane year on year.
I've been watching Telethon 2014 on France 2 this evening. Unlike CiN or Text Santa, it's done over two nights.
France 2's are using a glass dome near the Eiffel Tower with one musical performance from Lenny Kravitz, otherwise they've been utilising the resources of the France 3 regions for lives across France and one from Guadalupe, a French Overseas territory for what would be the CiN regional output (but is aired nationwide) with a couple of OB's outside the dome . They even have a totaliser on the Eiffel Tower!
Tomorrow evening is the main show with mainstream French celebrities.
Sorry I'm late to the party everyone.
A handful of observations from dipping in and out - and watching a combined total of around 5 1/2 hours (including the 5am hour - which for me was the best as we took a quick tour of NEP Visions OB unit HD4)
I found two things curious.
One the total lack of vt's about 'where the money is going'. Yes I saw on the Monday evening around 5.30 a studio guest whos severely handicapped daughter has been helped by one of the supported charities - but you would have thought, instead of yet another walk from Studio 3 into lift, picture breakup and sound sync issues, then into the bar - they could have covered some of these up with a minute long vt.
Second - we had the number/website displayed in the top right corner, but at no point when I was watching did we ever have a total of money raised so far. Presumably someone thinks that would have stole the thunder for the big reveal in a couple of weeks time.
Be great to see another one done next year - and if so, (and given the constant switching between Studio 3 gallery and OBU HD4, not sure where this would 'sit' in the broadcast chain) but instead of Phil saying they are going to set 'the next thing up' and then sitting there with some cover music playing in the background whilst he is seen looking blankly at the Floor Manager just to the left of off camera
- have a lower third strap, typed on the fly, explaning the lack of sound - or, where his is going to, or in the case of rehearsing for the weather or the TOTH on GMB at 5.55am, saying 'Phil is now rehearsing for the live show starting at 6am'.
Would have helped add a bit of context to what was on screen for the casual dipping in and out viewer.
I think that the bit in the 5am hour where he was sitting like a lemon with music playing was due to a cockup - Phil threw to an ad break, the bumper played but the ads failed to appear, so ITV3 took what would have been going on the web stream.
During the early hours of I think between 3am and 5am there were no ads at all but still "ad breaks" during these we could still see everything, but usually no sound and often was a chance for Phil to get changed etc.