BBC News Studios

Myan, it's absolutely NOTHING at all to do with the sitting position of the presenter. As everyone here has said already, and they're the ones who work in TV and who direct news programmes, it's solely at the discretion of the director as to what the presenter says, reads, looks, stands on the catwalk and looks at what screen. Directorial instructions only.

Of note, BBC World News Business Edition with Tanya Beckett is the only programme that *generally* always uses the left hand screen as we look at it. In this case only, its due to the fact that the presenter sits very close to it as the left hand catwalk and Newswall is often used as the biz backdrop. But note the use of the word *generally*.

On all other programmes, it's entirely the directors decision.

That's all.

Just think for a moment about what is needed to get a shot of the presenter talking to someone on a screen. It's not just a case of the presenter looking sideways and talking to them.

Firstly - yes - the presenter needs to be in a suitable position. Both side screens can be used with one or two presenters sat at the desk, there have been plenty of demonstrations of this since January.

But you also need - the presenter to know which side to turn, the cameras to be in the right place (not quite so trivial when they can all move around the studio), the right shots to be lined up, the right sources to be fed to the screens and the right lighting to be faded up.

With the automation they are using, there will be presets for all of these settings, meaning the director just needs to inform the presenter what they are doing next (as they will be constantly doing anyway - in all forms of TV) and to hit the right button.

If they are always using the right hand screen in this bulletin - it's more likely to be because of other factors (like the business presenter preparing on the other side of the studio and they want to prevent them accidentally walking into shot) than it be being based on which direction the seat turns in most easiest (or your previous ideas about which side the presenters prefer their faces to be seen).

At the end of the day, the director is god in TV. You do what you're told.

I *think* I've noticed a new swoopy little camera move in Studio E - after the weather at 20:30 the camera began to move from the side, almost like how they start 'The Papers' with space to show the guests, but less zoomed in, and swooped around, arriving at the same sort of position as used during the headlines and so on.

They've been doing that at the half past headlines (with a single presenter) since launch day but I think they've made the opening shot a little wider since then.

Noted there, @JamesWorldNews and @dosxuk.

http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/5020/06c9.png

Anybody knows if this is one of those hologram displays? Is it projected in the air in front of the LED/LCD panels? If so, I believe the item pointed with the arrow looks to be some sort of light filter that helps deliver the hologram, isn't it? I haven't seen this contraption at the start of BBC using this studio, I believe it was used only in more recently. Previously, I think they usually use the main LED/LCD for the conferences. Nevertheless, this hologram display brings a sort of modern Star-Trek like feeling to it, it would be great if they use it in other studios like C as well.

Throwing back to N8, and looking back at the railed ceiling cam it had which provided some quite nice shots, is there any reason why it was barely ever used after the NC moved to N6 in 2008? Looking back on the forum it looks to have generated some considerable noise whilst in motion, which would be good grounds to stop using it, but why then did 'the Hub' use it every day?



It's seen at the start and end of the programme in that video, and it does indeed provide a quite nice move, and it isn't audible over everything else going on - does anyone know anything about this?

No it definitely is not one of those hologram displays, it is simply a back lit lightbox, the lines are probably the actual lights used to light it. For a start A - Why would the BBC Spend tonnes of money on a hologram display that they have never used? B - Why would they need a hologram? and C - Why would the put a Hologram Display about 7 feet off the ground?

D - what on Earth is a hologram display?

I see. Well it looks like one. not too sure whether the technology is really out there and the costs, but I'm basing on the last I read about these displays in a magazine. So the lightbox, is it something similar to those multi-colored light boxes for decorating the different news strands? Sorry, am clueless on how it works. But I think the screen-like contraption above that I marked with arrow, it has to have something to do with the output right? Probably like a projector or something and that screen serves the image where light passes through it, and final image projected infront of the LED panels.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holographic_screen
Display that projects into the air I guess.

What would be the relevance or point of using it on a News Channel?

It may be the case that they would only fade up Nik's mic rather than the other studio mics. Much like when Sky uses a heli shot for their V/O but doesn't take audio from the heli.

So you can't work out how a bit of coloured perspex is lit from behind, however a hologram display is entirely conceivable in your mind?