‘Nightly’ uses creative staging, camera shots to cover financial news

We’re a bit late in reporting this but it’s worth posting.

On Monday, “Nightly News” originated from CNBC headquarters across the river from 30 Rock in Englewood Cliffs (see a tour of the set here) to better cover the financial market news.

After an introductory report, Brian moved from the main anchor desk to the center of the CNBC newsroom, with multiple CNBC reporters seated at desks around him. Using a combination of jib and handheld shots, Brian walked for each one in turn for their angle of the story.

This is a particularly well-planned way to present such a multi-faceted story and also gave the viewer the sense of a the team behind the coverage, as well as giving a peek into the physical resources NBC has with CNBC, which has used similar camera techniques before.

More photos and analysis follow after the jump.

Brian's opening shot

Advertisement
Brian tossing to a reporter

Brian being debriefed by a CNBC reporter

When moving from one report to the next, NBC was't afraid to show the camera people used

When moving from one report to another, NBC wasn't afraid to show the camera people on-screen

Click here to view the full clip.

Wednesday night, “Nightly” was back at 30 Rock, this time bringing the CNBC folks over to his turf. After an introductory segment, CNBC’s Carl Quintanilla and Brian walked from Studio 3C down the hall and into the newsroom. The CNBC reporters were now gathered around the a news desk and Brian interviewed them each in turn, similar to how it was done on the Monday edition.

Brian and Carl being the walk down the hall

Brian and Carl begin the walk down the hall

Walking by the newsroom mailboxes

The reporters gather around the news desk

A shot of Brian filmed through the window of Studio 3C into the newsroom

Click here to view the full clip.

It will be interesting to see if NBC uses this format to report other big stories. In addition to being an effective way to promote yourself as a news leader, it also is an excellent way to combine a large quantity of information into a short period of time.

Rather than using multiple packages, this technique essentially combines standups/voiceovers in rapid succession. It’s also a very effective way to connect and link aspects of a story. Another advantage of using multiple experts in a topic as this is that viewers get insight behind the news and practical advice and analysis on how the news affects them.