Having well-placed monitors for talent to see stories is a vital part of your studio setup and while there are solutions designed to mount flat panel LCDs to either the side of the camera, facing the anchor desk or the front of the teleprompter, these can be costly and sometimes are only compatible with certain equipment, there are less expensive options.

Obviously, in-desk monitors are a popular option and have the advantage of being discreet and not taking up studio floor space.
However, as designers try to pack computers and multiple monitors into desks, along with any structural elements needed for the appearance of the desk, having just one monitor in the desk can be a challenge.

Anchors may find it difficult to find a place to keep scripts with so much in the desk surface. Also, if your anchor desk wasn’t built this way, it could be cost-prohibitive to make the addition.

Another option is to place monitors on stands out in the middle of the studio facing the anchors. These stands can be either wheeled or not, though be sure to leave enough room for operators to move cameras and cables without getting tangled no matter what you chose.

A good location is behind the cameras with the monitor fairly high so it can be seen over cameras and floor crew. One downside of this type of setup, however, is that anchors often will glance off camera after reading a package intro, which some viewers might find disconcerting.

Monitors can also be placed on the studio floor, tilting slightly upward to allow better viewing from the desk. It’s common to have these placed at the edge of the anchor desk riser or under the center two-shot camera position.

However, this positioning can restrict your ability to use wide closing shots or some toss shots, depending on your set and shooting style.

An alternative to floor placement is having monitors on racks hanging from the ceiling.

The advantage of this option is that the screens are out of the way of camera operators and crew.

However, depending on how high the monitors are installed, it can look odd when anchors glance upward after introing a story.

There are ceiling mounting systems available for both tube-style and flat panel screens.

Depending on your studio configuration, you may be able to mount the racks to the grid or the ceiling.

However, be wary of extremely long distances between the mount and screen since this affects stability significantly.

Also try to mount them as low as possible while still allowing some extra room to prevent a camera accidentally ramming into the unit.

In addition to monitors for anchors, also considering placing a screen above the center of the set facing away from the set toward the floor crew, allowing them better viewing for what’s on the air. An additional monitor can also display the teleprompter feed for crew reference.

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Michael P. Hill is founder and publisher of NewscastStudio. Contact him with your own tips and feedback.