BBC News Pres: Nostalgia - Printable Version

+- Pres Café (https://pres.cafe)
+-- Forum: Pres Café TV and Radio Forums (https://pres.cafe/forumdisplay.php?fid=1)
+--- Forum: News and Sport Presentation (https://pres.cafe/forumdisplay.php?fid=3)
+--- Thread: BBC News Pres: Nostalgia (/showthread.php?tid=24)

---

RE: BBC News Pres: Nostalgia - Steve in Pudsey - 06-05-2023

(04-05-2023, 09:40 PM)DTV Wrote:  N4 I don't believe was ever a studio and rather a nickname among news staff for the BBC Club.

I thought that TC2 was considered to be N4, at least on the routers in the original SCAR, so it was never used for a physical studio?

---

RE: BBC News Pres: Nostalgia - DTV - 06-05-2023

(06-05-2023, 01:08 PM)Steve in Pudsey Wrote:  

(04-05-2023, 09:40 PM)DTV Wrote:  N4 I don't believe was ever a studio and rather a nickname among news staff for the BBC Club.

I thought that TC2 was considered to be N4, at least on the routers in the original SCAR, so it was never used for a physical studio?

That may well have been the case and makes a lot of sense, it's just hard to get definitive details on some of these peripheral news studios - at least without noggin present. I was going to say 'I wonder what the short-lived WSTV studio was listed as by SCAR (or was it CAR back then?)', but I assume it must have been N3 given that it used N3's old gallery.

---

RE: BBC News Pres: Nostalgia - Worzel - 07-05-2023

(05-05-2023, 05:09 PM)Newsroom Wrote:  On the occasions I was in the (news centre) Stage 6, I recall N6 being through a set of doors at the back of the newsroom and it was there, a mere hop, skip and a jump. Trying to work out how it was in stage 5. Very confusing.

Yes, as I recall from my various visits to the news centre, N6's 'studio door' access was via the corridor leading into the newsroom through a set of doors. The gallery itself was in the newsroom, next to where the network bulletins preparation area was.

You can see Huw going into the 2000 incarnation of the N6 studio here...

https://youtu.be/F9pDi6CdR0k 

Note at 3:09, the gallery is behind Huw/ to his right with the tinted black glass.

This video also gives you a good look around stage 6 when Breakfast was still coming from N6...

https://youtu.be/Cxe5PcZmeyI 

---

RE: BBC News Pres: Nostalgia - Newsroom - 07-05-2023

Worzel Wrote:

Newsroom Wrote:On the occasions I was in the (news centre) Stage 6, I recall N6 being through a set of doors at the back of the newsroom and it was there, a mere hop, skip and a jump. Trying to work out how it was in stage 5. Very confusing.

Yes, as I recall from my various visits to the news centre, N6's 'studio door' access was via the corridor leading into the newsroom through a set of doors. The gallery itself was in the newsroom, next to where the network bulletins preparation area was.

You can see Huw going into the 2000 incarnation of the N6 studio here...

https://youtu.be/F9pDi6CdR0k 

Note at 3:09, the gallery is behind Huw/ to his right with the tinted black glass.

This video also gives you a good look around stage 6 when Breakfast was still coming from N6...

https://youtu.be/Cxe5PcZmeyI 

That takes me back to looking at the day Breakfast moved into N6 for its short stay of two years. Contrary to what Huw had said about the studio having been relatively small, which is was of course, the trickery used to make it look very big was impressive. 

I had no idea Breakfast had a hard and soft set while in N6. 

https://youtu.be/Zsyv3JMkL-M 

---

RE: BBC News Pres: Nostalgia - AaronLancs - 07-05-2023

(07-05-2023, 07:25 AM)Newsroom Wrote:  

Worzel Wrote:Yes, as I recall from my various visits to the news centre, N6's 'studio door' access was via the corridor leading into the newsroom through a set of doors. The gallery itself was in the newsroom, next to where the network bulletins preparation area was.

You can see Huw going into the 2000 incarnation of the N6 studio here...

https://youtu.be/F9pDi6CdR0k 

Note at 3:09, the gallery is behind Huw/ to his right with the tinted black glass.

This video also gives you a good look around stage 6 when Breakfast was still coming from N6...

https://youtu.be/Cxe5PcZmeyI 

That takes me back to looking at the day Breakfast moved into N6 for its short stay of two years. Contrary to what Huw had said about the studio having been relatively small, which is was of course, the trickery used to make it look very big was impressive. 

I had no idea Breakfast had a hard and soft set while in N6. 

https://youtu.be/Zsyv3JMkL-M 

I wonder if when Huw said it was relatively small was because of the 1999-c.2002 set was on a curve and not right up to the fire lane like it is shown in the BBC Breakfast clip.

---

RE: BBC News Pres: Nostalgia - DTV - 07-05-2023

Just to clear up any confusion about the location of the 'News Centre' studios at TVC, here is a floorplan showing their locations relative to each other and the newsroom.

(07-05-2023, 08:15 AM)AaronLancs Wrote:  I wonder if when Huw said it was relatively small was because of the 1999-c.2002 set was on a curve and not right up to the fire lane like it is shown in the BBC Breakfast clip.

That N6 set did take up relatively little of the studio's floor space, largely due to its use of rear projection, but I guess referring to the studio as small depends on the point of reference - compared to the main block studios, N6 was tiny, but compared to the other news studios (both at the time, previously and since) N6 was not abnormally sized - being only slightly smaller (though less weirdly shaped) than N2 and about the same size as Studio E at NBH (though with a higher ceiling, but without the depth afforded by a newsroom view).

---

RE: BBC News Pres: Nostalgia - JMT1985 - 07-05-2023

There was a bit of a squeeze when N6 had to share two BBC News sets in 1999 - when they built the new set for launch in May 1999, the old blue set was also in N6, sharing the same space for sometime before the relaunch in May 1999.

---

RE: BBC News Pres: Nostalgia - AaronLancs - 07-05-2023

(07-05-2023, 10:18 AM)DTV Wrote:  Just to clear up any confusion about the location of the 'News Centre' studios at TVC, here is a floorplan showing their locations relative to each other and the newsroom.

(07-05-2023, 08:15 AM)AaronLancs Wrote:  I wonder if when Huw said it was relatively small was because of the 1999-c.2002 set was on a curve and not right up to the fire lane like it is shown in the BBC Breakfast clip.

That N6 set did take up relatively little of the studio's floor space, largely due to its use of rear projection, but I guess referring to the studio as small depends on the point of reference - compared to the main block studios, N6 was tiny, but compared to the other news studios (both at the time, previously and since) N6 was not abnormally sized - being only slightly smaller (though less weirdly shaped) than N2 and about the same size as Studio E at NBH (though with a higher ceiling, but without the depth afforded by a newsroom view).

I doff my green army cap to you DTV.

Looking at that picture N8 is instantly recognisable for me as someone who has seen the Martin Lewis Design models for BBC News 24. For both the original 1999-2003 era set and then something that evolved to be the 2003-2008 one. Can't seem to find it since their (Lewis Design) website has had a redo and their archive section seems to be unavailable.

N9, oh hello the gallery at the back. Plus above where you have added 'N9' is that partial circle the famous column? If so, also instantly recognisable.

N6, talk about so well hidden. If TVC still stood as it did today and you told me to go find it. I would be lost trying to find it. Surrounded by three offices and several edit suites.

As I said, I doff my cap to you.

P.S. If I can find the concept images that I mentioned about N8 I'll post them as and when.

---

RE: BBC News Pres: Nostalgia - DTV - 07-05-2023

(07-05-2023, 01:23 PM)JMT1985 Wrote:  There was a bit of a squeeze when N6 had to share two BBC News sets in 1999 - when they built the new set for launch in May 1999, the old blue set was also in N6, sharing the same space for sometime before the relaunch in May 1999.

I can believe that elements of the 1999 set (particularly the projection screens, which would have required a bit of calibration) were installed whilst the blue set was still standing, but surely it would have been impossible for both to stand in full without significantly impairing the strict camera positions needed for the blue set.

If you look at the positioning of the 1999 set, it was quite restrictive, despite being fairly small within the studio. The partially rebuilt blue set was positioned in the bottom left corner.

(07-05-2023, 01:32 PM)AaronLancs Wrote:  N9, oh hello the gallery at the back. Plus above where you have added 'N9' is that partial circle the famous column? If so, also instantly recognisable.

Yes, the small dot above 'N9' is the central column that featured in many a backdrop. Unfortunately, couldn't fit all the room in, as the actual studio in N9 is cut off in the above image.

---

RE: BBC News Pres: Nostalgia - JMT1985 - 07-05-2023

(07-05-2023, 01:57 PM)DTV Wrote:  

(07-05-2023, 01:23 PM)JMT1985 Wrote:  There was a bit of a squeeze when N6 had to share two BBC News sets in 1999 - when they built the new set for launch in May 1999, the old blue set was also in N6, sharing the same space for sometime before the relaunch in May 1999.

I can believe that elements of the 1999 set (particularly the projection screens, which would have required a bit of calibration) were installed whilst the blue set was still standing, but surely it would have been impossible for both to stand in full without significantly impairing the strict camera positions needed for the blue set.

If you look at the positioning of the 1999 set, it was quite restrictive, despite being fairly small within the studio. The partially rebuilt blue set was positioned in the bottom left corner.

(07-05-2023, 01:32 PM)AaronLancs Wrote:  N9, oh hello the gallery at the back. Plus above where you have added 'N9' is that partial circle the famous column? If so, also instantly recognisable.

Yes, the small dot above 'N9' is the central column that featured in many a backdrop. Unfortunately, couldn't fit all the room in, as the actual studio in N9 is cut off in the above image.

Hi, I was told by someone who worked in the BBC News Centre back then that this is what happened. In the final few weeks before the relaunch, the new BBC News set was built into N6 whilst the old blue set remained on the other side of the studio. Facing each other literally. 

I am just going what was told to me by that engineer.

---