NBC News and MSNBC continued its election coverage dominance by pulling out all the stops.
Besides having 14 anchors, analysts and reporters on set in multiple studios in 30 Rock, the two networks continued its extensive use of virtual and touch screen technology.
While the technology was new for many U.S. networks in 2008, the networks have had more time to learn and tweak, meaning a well rounded and polished look for this election.
Unlike other networks, the technology, powered by Orad, worked. The iPad app didn’t fail. The real-time virtual graphics didn’t twitch.
Here’s a quick look at some of the NBC News and MSNBC coverage:
MSNBC Set:
View more photos on NBC’s Flickr Photostream.
The large desk is back, and worked well to accommodate five talking heads at once.
By the Numbers Set:
Chuck Todd was back breaking down the numbers in a secondary set in studio 8B. Unlike 2008, this set was real and featured a touch screen and an area for virtually inserted graphics.
NBC News used technology by Orad to power the iPad application and touch screen, along with many of its other graphic elements.
The Voices of the Voters Virtual Set:
Lester Holt was on the green screen with the voice of the people. The virtual studio was powered by Brainstorm’s technology, a Brainstorm rep confirmed to NewscastStudio. We talked about this technology in detail after the last election.
General Graphics:
At various times MSNBC also added a sidebar with quick updates on key races. In HD, another bar was added to update the “balance of power.”
Overall, NBC News and MSNBC had a clean and well executed election night, topping many of the other networks efforts.
While they could have over used the gimmicks and technology, they didn’t. They instead used them when needed to break down the story.
NBC ALWAYS has the best graphics…ALWAYS
I agree that NBC (broadcast) had probably the best-looking set of the night. While I stayed primarily with ABC for 2008 I found myself sticking with NBC this year. Their new graphics package initially struck me as being just a bit too “Web 2.0,” but they grew on me as the night went on… simple and crisp, with lots of subtle nuances (for instance, on the “projected winner” stills which only showed a single photo, you’ll note that any screens that for GOP projected winners were had the photo on the right, whilst any screens showing DEM winners had the photo on the left.
Wanted to watch, but had to bail because they had “Keith” as anchor, and I was looking for legitimate coverage, not vituperative buffoonery.
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The coverage looked great and the graphics were crisp, clear and smart. Awesome job.
My only beef was with the somber music. What happened to the great sound of Decision 2008, likely NBC’s best election music since Henry Mancini’s work in 1976.
You forgot to mention that most of this technology was based on Orad’s virtual products, which worked flawlessly
We’ve been working to confirm with Orad what they did and just received confirmation. Though the virtual studio was still by Brainstorm.
What I noticed about the NBC News set was it was just a repurposed use of the Football Night in America set.
I would think with all the money NBC News spend on the Nightly set, they could have used that more effectively.
You did a great job NBC with all your crew and talent. Keep up the good work! Amazing as usual!!!
NBCnews and MSNBC had the best look!