[Spencer]

I still find the date concept at the top of the programme a bit odd. At breakfast time, the date can matter but by 6.30pm not so much. I keep wondering who’ll be the first to drop it but last time I looked, they were all still doing it!

I don’t dislike it, but it would make more sense if it mirrored something the national bulletins were doing. As it is, it just seems a bit random.

[chris]

Feels even weirder in London when you’ve just had half an hour of television in the same studio!

[m_in_m]

I think the PTZ on the rear of the tower is actually being used to frame an angled shot towards the sofa, particularly when they use the video on the right hand wall for interviews (which I don't think they used on Monday). AFAIK, a standard straight on shot is used from a full sized camera near the rear of the studio when the weather is presented.

Judging by a shot just seen the camera is for a guest sitting in the middle of the sofa - so will probably be a regular appearance.

I'm not sure though that this camera isn't also doing the weather. It looks too tight to get the shot without the tower intruding.

[Mike]

Well being a PTZ it can do both, I noticed in their first bulletin in the new set the weather presenter's eyes shifted to her right/back of the tower to begin the forecast.

Remembering of course that rarely are autocues used or needed for weather forecasts.

A look at the Lunchtime bulletin from today shows the presenter standing behind the tower's rostrum and where the tower would be, so I do think the Look East set is slightly narrower than the other installations and a compromise was reached. They also seem to have two PTZs set up, one on the reverse of the tower and one on a ped in the opposite corner of the studio - this may have been a space saving thing.

EDIT: Actually on reflection I think they're using a normal camera for the weather forecast, the wide shot before the throw to the weather presenter on the lunch bulletin was the picture quality of the PTZ cameras seen elsewhere (on the ped) and it increases once they go to the normal shot. The PTZ on the reverse of the tower might be to get the right angle for DTL interviews?

[Tvtrombome]

Anybody else think the set is smaller than other regions?

[Kendal87]

Alex Dolan doesn’t seem to want to get involved the choreographed walk and sit down on the sofa. Yesterday she did and looked awkward and today seems to have refused.

[anglia99]

Alex Dolan doesn’t seem to want to get involved the choreographed walk and sit down on the sofa. Yesterday she did and looked awkward and today seems to have refused.

Yes she certainly does appear to be the most uncomfortable on screen! Everyone else comes across as enjoying it except her.

In relation to the weather I can never work out what the rota system is - Julie/Alex will sometimes disappear for weeks!

They also put the lighting/screens to full use for a report on retro arcade games in the evening edition - looked very smart lit purple (even the coffee table).

[Spencer]

Alex Dolan doesn’t seem to want to get involved the choreographed walk and sit down on the sofa. Yesterday she did and looked awkward and today seems to have refused.

The trouble if they don’t go to the sofa, and I’m assuming this is the reason they all do it, is the weather forecaster is hidden behind the tower screen in the standard closing shot which looks a bit odd.

[m_in_m]

The trouble if they don’t go to the sofa, and I’m assuming this is the reason they all do it, is the weather forecaster is hidden behind the tower screen in the standard closing shot which looks a bit odd.

It feels necessary now as the weather presenter is further away from the presenter. Previously they were so close it wasn’t necessary. It however does seem slightly pointless and for little benefit - surely no one things they sit and have a long chat after the programme. It might work better if there was an and finally story that they could get involved in after the forecast.

[Spencer]

It feels necessary now as the weather presenter is further away from the presenter. Previously they were so close it wasn’t necessary. It however does seem slightly pointless and for little benefit - surely no one things they sit and have a long chat after the programme. It might work better if there was an and finally story that they could get involved in after the forecast.

But the point I was making (maybe not very clearly) was the closing shot of the programme with the tower screen on the left means that if the weather forecaster remained where they were in front of the map, they’d be hidden by the tower. So you’d have the presenter chatting (mics down) to someone out of view, which would look a bit weird, hence why the forecaster joins the presenter in view on the sofa.

I don’t think the distance between them is a factor, as they interact adequately well at other points in the programme at their respective positions, and it’s not a massive studio.

In other related news… this is a nice look around the new set and gallery, and it confirms Norwich’s left hand video wall is shorter than on the other regional sets…

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