‘Countdown’ adds window on the world

“Countdown with Keith Olbermann” has added a new use for the BAM (big ass monitor) in the second-floor studio that it shares with “Today.”

The screen is now used to show a projected image of Rockefeller Plaza, which almost creates the illusion of a fully-visible window there. The illusion doesn’t quite work though, because the camera move in to Olbermann’s one-shot created an odd shift in perspective. It’s similar to NBC’s attempt downstairs to use an LED panel project a live image from a camera mounted on the header above (see photo below).

The idea here was to create the effect of a seemless corner window despite the fact that there is a column, presumably holding up the building, in the way. Getting the angle exactly right, however, didn’t quite work resulting in the effect of there being an oddly-distorting piece of glass behind the anchors.