[DTV]

I think TW already have them fitted after their recent revamp?

Tunbridge Wells might use LED screens for the main desk section, but I think the main videowall in the middle of the studio might be Barcos? The expectation of the current set rollout is full-on LED videowalls, as per London, Cardiff and Belfast. Though this depends on how recent the revamp has been, I haven't caught South East Today in a while.

[Critique]

Aren’t the Barcos in Tunbridge Wells formerly of Television Centre? Would make sense for them to be cast offs from elsewhere as they’re the only region that has them.

[DTV]

Aren’t the Barcos in Tunbridge Wells formerly of Television Centre? Would make sense for them to be cast offs from elsewhere as they’re the only region that has them.

Possibly could be ex-N8. Too small to be from TC7 or N6, though could have kept any good lamps on for spares.

[AaronLancs]

From digging around on the excellent TV Live and finding these images. Are the Barcos cast offs? As they seem to me from being in N8 in Television Centre a tad too big or did N8 do some visual trickery.

TV Live – Switch on.
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Television Centre: N8


Tunbridge Wells

[Phil]

About 6/7 years ago i took part in some training for teachers organised by BBC introduce about film editing. At the end of the day we got to have a look around the studio. From memory you enter the studio from the bottom right when looking at DTV’s outline. 

What I couldn’t get over was just how small it was. There was a camera literally in the door way. From what I can remember, the set took up the trapezium shaped area, leaving the narrow rectangular area for the cameras. Will say memory isn’t crystal clear.

Yes, according to the plans that I have (which are very dreadful quality), there are two sets of doors - one, as you say, on the bottom right of the trapenzium and one on the middle of the left of the trapezium. Presumably, the other set of doors is out of action (not uncommon in smaller studios) as that would be behind one of the projection screens.

It'd be great if anybody had any leads on any of the missing studios - unfortunately the planning websites come up blank for them. I know that Mike worked out roughly the external dimensions of Nottingham in an earlier discussion, but it's hard to know how thick the studio walls are (can vary quite a bit) or the exact internal layout. It's clearly a reasonable size, but I get the impression it's a bit long proportionately like Hull's. Leeds is trickier - it's clearly not as cramped as Hull or Norwich, but there doesn't seem to be room for a full second presentation area like Southampton or Bristol.

I'm not sure on the dimensions of the studio in Nottingham, but this is a very rough sketch of the layout of the studio.
   

The large double doors are the scenery access into the car park, and then there are two other doors into the studio. The most recent set was installed with the sofa pretty much in front of the scenery door.

[Former Member 406]

Based on the pictures of the set we've seen, I'd say that the set itself seems to have a footprint about 13.5 x 9m - so the width of the Hull studio and the depth of the Birmingham studio.

If the new Sport & Breakfast set is indeed "Birmingham (Length) x Hull (Width)" dimensions, then that seemingly all-but-confirms what we've previously been told about the remaining English Regions getting a standard set size.

It would otherwise be a remarkable coincidence that they've chosen a set size for the middle of the Salford sports newsroom that just-so-happens to be such that it would fit in even the smallest English Region studios, if that is not also what is planned for the regions themselves.

[DTV]

If the new Sport & Breakfast set is indeed "Birmingham (Length) x Hull (Width)" dimensions, then that seemingly all-but-confirms what we've previously been told about the remaining English Regions getting a standard set size.

It would otherwise be a remarkable coincidence that they've chosen a set size for the middle of the Salford sports newsroom that just-so-happens to be such that it would fit in even the smallest English Region studios, if that is not also what is planned for the regions themselves.

Not sure this is right. A set that was Birmingham depth and Hull width wouldn't fit in either the Birmingham or Hull studios, nor Norwich or Tunbridge Wells. The new Salford set is being built to incorporate the structural columns in Quay House (which are 9m apart centre-to-centre in that part of the bulding) which just so happens to be as deep as the Birmingham studio. In fact, the set actually overshoots the centres of the columns, so is probably a metre and a bit deeper than 9m from furtherest points (I was just thinking of the set in terms of the fact it is about 1 x 1.5 sets of structural columns). Plus, the new Salford set incorporates windows, so can't be of a standard design as only two other regions have possible window views - neither of which are in the same positioning.

If they are designing a one-size-fits-all regional set, which I doubt, it'd have to fit in the small area that in the earlier diagram fits within the Birmingham, Hull and Norwich studios. That's tiny - it'd have to fit in a space of about 8m x 7.2m, which would be highly constraining and wasting space on even the smallest studios.

[Stuart]

The new Salford set is being built to incorporate the structural columns in Pacific Quay (which are 9m apart centre-to-centre in that part of the bulding) which just so happens to be as deep as the Birmingham studio.

BBC Quay House, rather than Pacific Quay, which of course is in Glasgow.

[DTV]

The new Salford set is being built to incorporate the structural columns in Pacific Quay (which are 9m apart centre-to-centre in that part of the bulding) which just so happens to be as deep as the Birmingham studio.

BBC Quay House, rather than Pacific Quay, which of course is in Glasgow.

Thanks for spotting that, corrected now. Too many Quays! Much better when they named everything Broadcasting House or Broadcasting Centre.

[DTV]

If they are designing a one-size-fits-all regional set, which I doubt, it'd have to fit in the small area that in the earlier diagram fits within the Birmingham, Hull and Norwich studios. That's tiny - it'd have to fit in a space of about 8m x 7.2m, which would be highly constraining and wasting space on even the smallest studios.

The launch of the new Nottingham set has made me wonder whether the claim about similar sets is half-true. It might just be the style of the new set making it harder to gauge, but it did feel like it may not have taken up the whole studio. If this is the case, it might be true that they are limiting the amount of LED videowall panels each studio can have, but I highly doubt that all the sets will be wholly identical in dimensions - a set with that height and shape would simply not fit in every studio.

Will obviously have to wait and see for other regions, but it might be the case that there is a limit on set size, even if they are not all wholly identical.