With NBC’s Chuck Todd no doubtably burning the candle on both ends for the past few weeks, it wasn’t surprising he wasn’t able to make it for Thursday’s “Rachel Maddow Show.”

So, Maddow decided she’d “take” Chuck’s place by keying a live shot of her own head over a shot of Todd taken from election night coverage footage. It’s an interesting effect that appears to be accomplished with chroma key (rather than just cutting around Maddow’s head and placing it over Todd’s).

If this is the case, where did the chroma key background come from? We’re guessing (and this is just that — a guess) that chroma key green or blue was projected on to one of the RPs in the MSNBC studio.

On last night’s Rachel Maddow Show, Maddow lamented the end of all the MSNBC election music and graphics: “We would no longer get to hear the big sweeping MSNBC election night music any more, with the animation and the neat columns and stuff — it’s gone for another two years at least … well, actually…”

Viewers were then treated to the majestic MSNBC election night opening sequence with all of those great things.

Whew! It appears “The Rachel Maddow Show” is back to using the fancy camera moves.

Hopefully it’s just a case of short staffing due to a camera operators getting sick from too much Halloween candy, but it seems The Rachel Maddow Show may be dropping its use of camera moves.

Friday’s edition of the show featured almost all stationery one-shots on Maddow; no slick push-ins or use of the rear projection screens.

Yesterday’s show, which was broadcast from Sarasota, Fla., featured a never-before-seen OTS graphic template since Maddow reported from a baseball field and didn’t have access to the MSNBC studio’s large RPs. Well, those OTSs were used almost exclusively Friday night.

It’s also interesting to note that Kent Jones, who usually joins Maddow during the show’s last block was shown in split screen rather than at the desk. It wasn’t clear where he was reporting from (he may have been out of town) so we’re not sure if him not joining Maddow at the anchor desk was by design or necessity.

Are fancy camera moves necessary? Of course not. But they do give a show a polished, professional look that’s also interesting to watch — especially for news junkies like me.

With the ratings of “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” soaring, we thought now might be a good time to point out something that’s been missing on the program: cool camera shots and productive techniques.

Back in the days the show was broadcast from the old MSNBC studios, shows always featured eye-catching camera moves that often would incorporate two or more plasma screens with OTS graphics. Jib shots and fast push-ins were the name of the game.

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