[JMT1985]

I do love it when they show different angles in the studio

I like it when at the close of a bulletin, you can have a chance to have the camera move around the set, showing more of the virtual news set - also they have a virtual over heard light it seems, as that square lighting rig seen at the end of some bulletins is not actually there in the studio, so computer generated.

[Stuart]

You are in the industry though, it doesn’t need to fool people in the industry it doesn’t really need fool the general viewers.

Even my Sister (who is more than two planks thick) knows it's been a green-screen studio for years. I don't think people are really that bothered. It doesn't diminish the veracity of their reporting.

The current design could exist in reality, whereas the previous 'underground car park of news' was obviously just someone's fantasy after a boozy lunch.

Fun fact - the top of the desk is also a CGI overlay, which is why the reflection is so sharp. It's not simply using the reflected green of the background. I'm sure someone at the blue place showed us how it was done.

[Spencer]

The current design could exist in reality, 

The fact that much of the virtual set design was subsequently replicated in physical form in the regional sets is testament to this.

[XIII]

Exactly - only tweak was going from full width astons to them only being the length of the text.

Indeed arguably the real regional sets have held up much better than their predecessors too - although Granada is fortunate enough to have a real backdrop (well, two) so has always looked better than the regional versions.    Those though have held up better than I thought they would.

ITV London's set which is the same as the National News works well because it's different enough with the small touches like the London skyline and the newsroom on the side rather than behind. 

I do think that we'll probably see virtual sets become more realistic once the technology becomes cheaper, you could probably create a news set that looks identical to a real set.

[simon]

ITV London's set which is the same as the National News works well because it's different enough with the small touches like the London skyline and the newsroom on the side rather than behind. 

I do think that we'll probably see virtual sets become more realistic once the technology becomes cheaper, you could probably create a news set that looks identical to a real set.

Unreal 5 opens up the possibility of photorealistic sets, whenever broadcasters get round to upgrading their kit.

It will be very interesting to see whether broadcasters begin to experiment with extended reality. This could be as simple as having an LED wall behind the presenter (eg BBC NBH Studio B), but with the perspective shifting as the camera moves to create a more realistic backdrop. This could have been very interesting with some of the stuff the BBC was doing in B for the recent local election coverage, where they had fake corridors and workstations on the upper level.

At the more extreme level you can have an entire set where the walls and floor are LED displays, allowing you to have an entirely virtual set (with what's on the wall shifting perspective as the cameras move). It's similar to a green-screen studio except the talent can see the set around them, and people blend in to the set much more convincingly. You also don't have to worry about problems with keying, and those on set don't have to worry about not wearing the same colour as the backdrop. You also get genuine reflections on elements like glass and the floor without having to fudge it like broadcasters currently do in virtual sets with chromakeying.

(skip to 2m15 if you just want to see the effect)

[London Lite]

ITV London's set which is the same as the National News works well because it's different enough with the small touches like the London skyline and the newsroom on the side rather than behind. 

I do think that we'll probably see virtual sets become more realistic once the technology becomes cheaper, you could probably create a news set that looks identical to a real set.

My only criticism of the London corner of the set is the skyline is that it's upscaled, so looks blurry.

[all new phil]

The fact that much of the virtual set design was subsequently replicated in physical form in the regional sets is testament to this.

I’m still surprised they stuck with the black parts of the background in the regional sets. It looks like it was designed for the backdrop to be full height. The only real miss throughout the current branding I think.

[Stuart]

I’m still surprised they stuck with the black parts of the background in the regional sets. It looks like it was designed for the backdrop to be full height. The only real miss throughout the current branding I think.

I thought that at first, but when you consider that the two-head shots include just the screen background it's not so bad.  The smaller plasma screens don't really diminish the effect.

[Studio7]

My only criticism of the London corner of the set is the skyline is that it's upscaled, so looks blurry.

It’s a decent effort, I suppose, for a virtual studio. But it’ll never be as good as studio 7 at LNN:

www.london-se1.co.uk 

[South]

It’s a decent effort, I suppose, for a virtual studio. But it’ll never be as good as studio 7 at LNN:

www.london-se1.co.uk 

Not living in the London area anymore I don't see ITV News London very often, but when I have seen it I did find the background image slightly distorted, like the image had been made too big. I am guessing the reason for this is when the camera footage was originally captured it was for a far smaller rear projection screen from their old studio. However now in the days of HD it does not look great, but i suppose ITV don't have a camera mounted on the building anymore which could capture the image.