AN
Andrew
Founding member
I recall there was a similar occasion where the North opted out on BBC2 and I think Manchester ran the proceedings.
They didn't have a non North West branded BBC2 ident so used the BBC2 Neon ident with the bottom blacked off, resulting in an unusually high 'BBC TWO' logo and a slightly different shade of black at the bottom
They didn't have a non North West branded BBC2 ident so used the BBC2 Neon ident with the bottom blacked off, resulting in an unusually high 'BBC TWO' logo and a slightly different shade of black at the bottom
BU
Fascinating stuff - looks like a Christmas holiday morning going on the tinsel in the broom cupboard set in the background of the first clip, getting geekier you can just about see the neon tubes of the CBBC set of 1991-1993, which along with that version of the CBBC theme and Phillippa and Toby presenting means it must be Christmas 92. The later Phillippa/Edd link is from early 1993 when all the Bitsa props adorned the set.
The Breakfast News intro is unusual as the announcer doesn't appear to be in the BBC1/broom cupboard booth, unless it was on 2 for some reason? (or the same OU setup displayed later in the clip).
Slightly OT, it's not regional, but nevertheless interesting, a YouTube clip looking behind the scenes at the BBC Presentaion Dept at Television Centre from 1993 or so....
Fascinating stuff - looks like a Christmas holiday morning going on the tinsel in the broom cupboard set in the background of the first clip, getting geekier you can just about see the neon tubes of the CBBC set of 1991-1993, which along with that version of the CBBC theme and Phillippa and Toby presenting means it must be Christmas 92. The later Phillippa/Edd link is from early 1993 when all the Bitsa props adorned the set.
The Breakfast News intro is unusual as the announcer doesn't appear to be in the BBC1/broom cupboard booth, unless it was on 2 for some reason? (or the same OU setup displayed later in the clip).
ET
What a wonderful video!! Certainly agree re the date. If you look carefully - at 7:37 - you'll see the original version of the 1991-1997 era BBC1 clock (top right) and across to the left, the recently introduced revised version of the clock. Interestingly, BOTH appear to be active - so, a separate piece of kit for the newer version presumably?
Fascinating stuff - looks like a Christmas holiday morning going on the tinsel in the broom cupboard set in the background of the first clip, getting geekier you can just about see the neon tubes of the CBBC set of 1991-1993, which along with that version of the CBBC theme and Phillippa and Toby presenting means it must be Christmas 92. The later Phillippa/Edd link is from early 1993 when all the Bitsa props adorned the set.
The Breakfast News intro is unusual as the announcer doesn't appear to be in the BBC1/broom cupboard booth, unless it was on 2 for some reason? (or the same OU setup displayed later in the clip).
The Breakfast News intro is unusual as the announcer doesn't appear to be in the BBC1/broom cupboard booth, unless it was on 2 for some reason? (or the same OU setup displayed later in the clip).
What a wonderful video!! Certainly agree re the date. If you look carefully - at 7:37 - you'll see the original version of the 1991-1997 era BBC1 clock (top right) and across to the left, the recently introduced revised version of the clock. Interestingly, BOTH appear to be active - so, a separate piece of kit for the newer version presumably?
IS
In 1995ish they moved to automated playout (the 'NTA' shown at the end of that video) and there were 4 people per channel - Director, Engineer, Tape operator and Announcer. That's a headcount of 3 less than that video, but the whoever's loading and running the VTs isn't shown, I think then that was done from the VT department.
When the new playout area was opened for digital (the DTA) the engineers were shared amongst all 4 channels so the head count went down to 3. Then in the current setup the channels lost their dedicated operators so AIUI it's now 1 director and an announcer per channel (although I think at some times 1 director looks after 2 and of course there's not always a live announcer)
The computer does all the work of timing, cutting to and running items, replacing the Network Assistant and the vision mixer seen in the first part of that video. Behind them there was also the 'Presfax' operator who updated the system that gives timings to the regions and nations, after automation that was generated by the computer
Are there that many people working on presentation nowadays, or is it more automated/done with fewer people?
In 1995ish they moved to automated playout (the 'NTA' shown at the end of that video) and there were 4 people per channel - Director, Engineer, Tape operator and Announcer. That's a headcount of 3 less than that video, but the whoever's loading and running the VTs isn't shown, I think then that was done from the VT department.
When the new playout area was opened for digital (the DTA) the engineers were shared amongst all 4 channels so the head count went down to 3. Then in the current setup the channels lost their dedicated operators so AIUI it's now 1 director and an announcer per channel (although I think at some times 1 director looks after 2 and of course there's not always a live announcer)
The computer does all the work of timing, cutting to and running items, replacing the Network Assistant and the vision mixer seen in the first part of that video. Behind them there was also the 'Presfax' operator who updated the system that gives timings to the regions and nations, after automation that was generated by the computer
SP
Was it also mocked up in terms of the announcer not wearing headphones, and appearing to do a vision mix into the programme? In normal circumstances wouldn't the announcer's mixer stay on the symbol and the gallery next door would mix away from Con to the programme?
There's some more behind the scenes in pres here from But First This, the CBBC holiday mornings strand, this time in NC3 (while NC1 was being re-engineered to handle stereo. At the time the Broomcupboard was replaced by "The Boiler Room" - Andy Crane presented stood in front of the monitor stack)
The Breakfast Anno was mocked up for this video and recorded in NC2's con. Glad you liked the video 
Was it also mocked up in terms of the announcer not wearing headphones, and appearing to do a vision mix into the programme? In normal circumstances wouldn't the announcer's mixer stay on the symbol and the gallery next door would mix away from Con to the programme?
There's some more behind the scenes in pres here from But First This, the CBBC holiday mornings strand, this time in NC3 (while NC1 was being re-engineered to handle stereo. At the time the Broomcupboard was replaced by "The Boiler Room" - Andy Crane presented stood in front of the monitor stack)
DE
Was it also mocked up in terms of the announcer not wearing headphones, and appearing to do a vision mix into the programme? In normal circumstances wouldn't the announcer's mixer stay on the symbol and the gallery next door would mix away from Con to the programme?
No, actually that's exactly how Breakfast and Schools shifts worked (although I dare say they would normally have worn headphones). The yellow faders on the Con mixers were for Vision. The opening link on BBC-1 was done by the announcer and they mixed from Black, to Testcard, to Ceefax (running in some music), then to the BBC-1 Symbol, then to Breakfast. The on-air time for Breakfast was agreed in advance and was usually at a sensible time like 06:30:00. The annoucers may have been able to do cue-dots... not sure.
Schools shifts were also self-op by the announcer, hence the reliance on holding slides and countdown clocks into programmes. Even when there was a director in NC1 or 2, the announcer still handled some of the vision mixing, particularly in breakdowns. This is perhaps most spectacularly demonstrated by the infamous Philip Schofield link during Children's BBC on BBC-1 when he got utterly lost in the combined vision/sound desk and put the BBC-1 Symbol to air (an absolute no-no during Children's !!) And as demonstrated in the video, OU shifts were entirely self op by the announcer - and that OU Suite could actually run both BBC-1 and 2 at the same time. So in those days, announcers were pretty skilled at their job!
The Breakfast Anno was mocked up for this video and recorded in NC2's con. Glad you liked the video
Was it also mocked up in terms of the announcer not wearing headphones, and appearing to do a vision mix into the programme? In normal circumstances wouldn't the announcer's mixer stay on the symbol and the gallery next door would mix away from Con to the programme?
No, actually that's exactly how Breakfast and Schools shifts worked (although I dare say they would normally have worn headphones). The yellow faders on the Con mixers were for Vision. The opening link on BBC-1 was done by the announcer and they mixed from Black, to Testcard, to Ceefax (running in some music), then to the BBC-1 Symbol, then to Breakfast. The on-air time for Breakfast was agreed in advance and was usually at a sensible time like 06:30:00. The annoucers may have been able to do cue-dots... not sure.
Schools shifts were also self-op by the announcer, hence the reliance on holding slides and countdown clocks into programmes. Even when there was a director in NC1 or 2, the announcer still handled some of the vision mixing, particularly in breakdowns. This is perhaps most spectacularly demonstrated by the infamous Philip Schofield link during Children's BBC on BBC-1 when he got utterly lost in the combined vision/sound desk and put the BBC-1 Symbol to air (an absolute no-no during Children's !!) And as demonstrated in the video, OU shifts were entirely self op by the announcer - and that OU Suite could actually run both BBC-1 and 2 at the same time. So in those days, announcers were pretty skilled at their job!
IS
How did the programmes get played out during schools when self-op? Were they played locally on Umatic like the OU ones or did they have to liase VT like the Network Director would?
Schools shifts were also self-op by the announcer, hence the reliance on holding slides and countdown clocks into programmes.
How did the programmes get played out during schools when self-op? Were they played locally on Umatic like the OU ones or did they have to liase VT like the Network Director would?