Best Set Designs for News

[cityprod]

So, there's a bit of a discussion going on about the new set design for Piers Morgan's new show on Talk TV, and it got me thinking. Out of all the various sets we've seen worldwide, which sets that have been used for news programmes, were the best?

Set designs have changed so much over the years, starting off as very basic, and have especially since the late 90's/early 2000's become more spacious.

To start things off, I'm going to highlight some sets from CNN. I feel that CNN's sets were at their best when they were simpler. The classic CNN Headline News set from the late 80s and most of the 90s, was one of the best versions of this. A small green screen on one side gave them surprising flexibility with the main backdrop being the gallery producing the programme. I feel this perfectly suited Headline News.

https://youtu.be/APyfEY814-w

In 1994 when CNN International launched their new production facility, the set design was simple but effective, and did so much to establish CNN International as being separate from domestic CNN.

https://youtu.be/9q9RW7u5aQE

But domestic CNN wasn't totally bad in their set designs, the stand out there I always felt was the Larry King Live set, a simple but very effective design that looked the same in Washington, New York, Atlanta and Los Angeles. I always loved that desk design, it was perfect for an interview programme, and the backdrop was distinctive, but yet elegant too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK_rem8vUjY

[lepeterrr]

Not sure if it classes as a 'news' programme but Good Morning Britain's sets are quite good (designed by Erron and the same people who designed Piers' new set).
They have that good mix of being American but also looking like they belong in Britain which other people have failed at.


But, then they kinda ruined it by adding some huge out of place desk.

[Newsroom]

Not sure if it classes as a 'news' programme but Good Morning Britain's sets are quite good (designed by Erron and the same people who designed Piers' new set).
They have that good mix of being American but also looking like they belong in Britain which other people have failed at.


But, then they kinda ruined it by adding some huge out of place desk.

I've always thought GMB set is utterly revolting, way too busy for a morning show. One of many reasons I don't watch it.

Clickspring Design are my far the leaders in news sets. Pure class.

[Jayesyn]

The GMB 2018 relaunch set was very nice, in my opinion. But they have really ruined it. Not just with the mega desk, but also with all the unnecessary new elements, such as the pointless lines on the screens and extra lighting elements. It really went from a bright and clean to over the top and way too busy.

[AaronLancs]

First off all images are sourced from TV Live itself.

Now, as much as a love a set like this one with all of its presentation areas, all three of them and the flexibility that that brings.



There has got to be something said for the simplicity and elegance of this particular form of design.




Even when modifications are done.



And multiple presentation areas are involved.

[Brekkie]

Proof their that most 21st century BBC News studios don't really belong in this thread.

[Fanoftv]

For me, sets from the 90s gave me a love of news presentation.

Channel 5 1997
[img] https://tvlive.site/news/wp-content/uplo...dio2-3.jpg[/img]
To this day when I look at clips from this era I still think that it works so well, adds energy into the programme and puts you at the heart of it. Why they changed away from this rather than updating the design of the newsroom is beyond me. I don’t believe they have had a better news set since this version.

News at Ten 1992-99
[img] https://tvlive.site/news/wp-content/uplo...ng94-7.jpg[/img]

In the late 90s the programme had such a strong identity, their simple, elegant, authoritative set helped with this in my opinion. The use of screens for that time seemed modern, mixed with the map background and the beautiful use of lighting made this a fantastic set.

Moving to the 00s…

Sky News 2001-05
[img] https://tvlive.site/news/wp-content/uplo...200159.jpg[/img]
We first got Sky in 2002, and Sky News’ presentation at that point was a different level to what I’d seen on terrestrial TV. The large, logo fronted desk with the beautiful wide shot at the top of the hour delivered grandeur, whilst the newsroom behind offered liveliness and urgency to the broadcast. The large bank of monitors at the back gave a lovely backdrop to main broadcasts, offered a position to do large scale demonstrations and became even more prominent with the fantastic Sky News Today programme.

ITV’s Theatre of News 2004
[img] https://tvlive.site/news/wp-content/uplo...n04e21.jpg[/img]

This may not be to everyone’s taste, but I thought this set offered something grand for the brand, advanced the presentation and created a lovely balance of real and virtual elements in the studio, the set felt large and grand, even if a lot of that was the VR software’s doing.

Sky News 2005
[img] https://tvlive.site/news/wp-content/uplo...ws0557.jpg[/img]

Large? Yes. Over the top? Possibly. But a great design creating a multitude of presentation areas, each working well and looking brilliant on screen whilst surrounded by part of the newsroom creating the lively, energetic atmosphere? Definitely.
Part of me prefers the 2001-05 set up for the channel, but for a presentation fan this set gave me something different for each different part of the schedule ensuring that nothing looked stagnant and made me tune in more… Something that I don’t find myself doing that often these days.


Images courtesy of TV Live

[Mouseboy33]

Oh this should be a fun thread, enjoying it so far. Hopefully everyone can share their opinions fairly. Nice idea @cityprod

[Quantum+83]

I always liked BBC News 24's set from 1999-2003.



I'm not exactly sure why, but I think it was the incorporation of the nice, curved wall behind, aswell as the red flooring. I think it looks gorgeous!

[AaronLancs]

I always liked BBC News 24's set from 1999-2003.



I'm not exactly sure why, but I think it was the incorporation of the nice, curved wall behind, aswell as the red flooring. I think it looks gorgeous!

What about the earlier first version of this set?



When the revamp of the set occured. I thought it was a bit of a let down as it made it more of a bubble. Especially with those very tight shots.

[Quantum+83]

I always liked BBC News 24's set from 1999-2003.



I'm not exactly sure why, but I think it was the incorporation of the nice, curved wall behind, aswell as the red flooring. I think it looks gorgeous!

What about the earlier first version of this set?



When the revamp of the set occured. I thought it was a bit of a let down as it made it more of a bubble. Especially with those very tight shots.

Apologies - I forgot two existed. I preferred the older one because of the background. I think it just looks more natural compared to an empty physical newsroom 'bubble'.

[Rob]

I loved the 2005-2008 5 News set.

[johnnyboy]

I always liked BBC News 24's set from 1999-2003.



I'm not exactly sure why, but I think it was the incorporation of the nice, curved wall behind, aswell as the red flooring. I think it looks gorgeous!

Horses for courses, isn't it? I detested this set perhaps more than any other BBC news set.

[bfgarmy]

The Al Jazeera sets are brilliant - gorgeous and grand but without feeling over the top.

The current CNN London set is superb too - a number of different presentation points but without being too over-the-top.
I did like the Sky News set up between 2009 and 2011 - the right mix of a number of places to present but without going over the top with the walking around like they did before. You had the newswall, ‘the island’ , the Sunrise area and then the desk with newsroom or gallery view.

And the BBC1 bulletins studio they used from 1999-2002 was superb - simple but gave a feeling of gravitas and the newsroom view looked even better once they added some red.

There’s a lot to be said for keeping things simple with news presentation - better to do a simple but effective set up rather than bells and whistles and thousands of screens.

[Critique]

Not sure if it classes as a 'news' programme but Good Morning Britain's sets are quite good (designed by Erron and the same people who designed Piers' new set).
They have that good mix of being American but also looking like they belong in Britain which other people have failed at.


But, then they kinda ruined it by adding some huge out of place desk.

Not that I know the answer, but I’ve often wondered how much credit the director actually deserves when it comes to set design?

I really like the GMB set (mega desk notwithstanding) and remember that when it launched the director received a lot of praise for it. But surely a director has so many other responsibilities and set design isn’t really one of them? I get that they’d be consulted and feedback on the early iterations of a design and have views on shot blocking etc but surely they’re not coming up with designs themselves. As such, it’s always struck me as a bit odd that the director gets so much credit when really it should be the designers, lighting people etc that get the lion share of the credit?