BBC News Studio B: Ask Me Anything

[lepeterrr]

I'm guessing a lack of space meant that the track in front of the huge vertical screen at the front of the studio couldn't turn to be in front of the big touchscreen as well?

Surely that is the camera used for the touchscreen items. There is no other camera in the studio that would provide the angle as seen on screen.

From this image there is another camera but wouldn't provide a head on shot.

[scottishtv]

I'm guessing a lack of space meant that the track in front of the huge vertical screen at the front of the studio couldn't turn to be in front of the big touchscreen as well?

Surely that is the camera used for the touchscreen items. There is no other camera in the studio that would provide the angle as seen on screen.

That's correct, the camera used is on the same track for the vertical screen so you'll always have a shot of the touchscreen at an angle.

I was asking if it was down to a lack of space that meant there couldn't be a turn in the track, and therefore get a camera can get directly in front of the touchscreen.  I think the answer is probably yes (not enough space), maybe the turn would be too tight, or the camera would end up too close? I just get the impression having a massive screen like that always shown at an angle seemed to be a compromise of sorts.

[Critique]

They're at the opposite end of the studio, but there are at least two cameras in the photos above that would give a head-on shot of the touchscreen. I guess this would be okay for the weather where there's no autocue, but on anything scripted they're probably too far away to be of much use.

[Stuart]

I was asking if it was down to a lack of space that meant there couldn't be a turn in the track, and therefore get a camera can get directly in front of the touchscreen.  I think the answer is probably yes (not enough space), maybe the turn would be too tight, or the camera would end up too close?  I just get the impression having a massive screen like that always shown at an angle seemed to be a compromise of sorts.

There is a huge amount of space in that part of the studio. However, I think you'd lose quite a lot of the overall design of the set by having a head-on-shot of the touchscreen.

[Steve in Pudsey]

The camera providing the main desk shot could do the big screen head on I think, but it might be too wide an angle to be square.

I think taking that show from an angle gives a bit more context and looks better for presenters of any height

[Brekkie]

I'm not really a fan of screens used at an angle like that - just comes across as a badly framed shot, especially as it is primarily used for the weather. That said the screen is probably big enough to get away with it in this case.


As for questions - how much do these dalek cameras cost? I guess they must work out cheaper than regular camera equipment and in-studio operators in the long run but I'm guessing they're not cheap at all.

[deejay]

A couple of links for you which also answers a lot of questions put here:

https://www.electricfriends.net/news/ele...nds-at-bbc

https://www.tvbeurope.com/live-productio...s-studio-b

[Stuart]

There are (what look like) small white cardboard boxes on either side of the base of each camera.  I wondered what they were, as they don't appear in the ElectricFriends promotional video.

[deejay]

When the studio floor is unattended these covers are left on the proximity sensors and disable the cameras from moving.

[scottishtv]

A couple of links for you which also answers a lot of questions put here.

Many thanks, very interesting!

[Teilifís]

I may be answering my own question on this one, but are the small black gaps above the weather/touchscreen to allow the touch technology work? Thanks

[all new Phil]

I’m going to struggle making this sound like a question rather than a grumble, but here goes - if the intention was to have a real studio rather than virtual, are the team happy with the desk-seated background and corner shot? It’s the one weak point of the set, looks virtual even though it isn’t, yet gets used the most. I don’t know if it’s the harsh lighting or just the images used on the screens, but it doesn’t look quite right.

I guess my question is - are there any points that haven’t quite gone to plan that are being tweaked or reviewed?

[skynewsfreak]

The 10 certainly needs night time lighting (blues and purples like the old newsroom backdrop in the evening). The white is far to harsh for that time of the evening and my TV brightness is down below the norm.

[KK!]

Are there any "emergency" presentation modes in the event that screens (or part of a screen) fails?

[deejay]

There are always going to be tweaks and improvements as the studio is used and everyone gets used to it.

As for emergency modes, if one part of the set fails, you tend to go for a safe shot somewhere else. Images for the towers work in either, because they’re the same size, but unlike in C and E, where the middle screen of a catwalk can easily be routed to the screen next to the presenter (because they’re both 16:9 screens) it’s much harder to do this in B because the catwalk and the towers are clearly very different!