Posts Tagged ‘rear projection’

NewscastTip: On-set video backgrounds present many challenges

This week’s incident of a bird wandering in front of a live camera that was feeding an on-set video background — creating the appearance of a giant gull “attack” — is a good reason to consider the options for video backgrounds like this.

It’s no doubt rear projection and huge flat panel screens are becoming more and more popular in set design.

The screens allow the flexibility to instantly changing out a background, instead of having to manually change out duratrans, as well  being able to use motion and video.
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Former WNBC studio to be home of Fallon

WNBC-TV’s former news studio in Rockefeller Center, 6B, will now play host to Jimmy Fallon’s new show debuting in March.

WNBC moved to a new studio upstairs last November as part of the station’s transformation to a local information hub that will support the upcoming 24 hour cable news channel as well as NBC 4 New York News and NBCNewYork.com.

Studio 6B, shown at right, was used for WNBC’s 6, 7 and 11 p.m. newscasts and featured a huge rear projection screen that, when it was installed, was quite innovative. Panoram Technologies, the company behind it, has an interesting case study on its Web site.

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CNBC uses RP to explain Georgia situation

CNBC made effective use of one of its in-studio rear projection screens today to help explain the events in Georgia and their possible effects on business.

WHDH-TV goes HD

After weeks of updating, painting, installing and preparing, WHDH-TV is now HD.

For the HD transition, WHDH-TV has remodeled their newsplex and updated it to include a new rear projection screen, many monitors and some new backlit elements.

Along with a updated newsplex, WHDH-TV also has new graphics. Click Read  More for more pictures including a before and after. (more…)

Examining WX Channel HD

Just a few observations about the Weather Channel’s new “Studio of the Future”:

• The centerpiece of the set, the giant rear projection screen, isn’t being used effectively. When viewed from the anchor desk, the background is washed out and blurry. However, the flexibility of displaying panoramic views of American cities and landmarks does add a nice touch to the set (unlike MSNBC’s somewhat bizarre decision to constantly showcase only Rockefeller Plaza despite the fact it’s a national cable network).
• The studio’s new key wall isn’t nearly as well lit as the previous studio’s — there is some noticeable green glow and harsh lines around talent.
• Overall, the set isn’t even seen that much, which was also true in the old studios. Since the majority of weather forecasting is full-screen chroma key, WeatherPlus’ minimalistic set makes more sense.
• “Abrams & Bettes” seemed to be originating from the old studios earlier this week, but this will likely change when the show goes HD June 16.

By the way, I have some mixed feelings about the Weather Channel HD logo. Using the vertical pipes is a unique way to integrate the “HD” into the logo — and a creative alternative to simply boxing the letters in a rectangle like other networks and television stations. However, perhaps the spacing could be a bit wider so the right half of the logo is a bit closer to the 16:9 shape.