Shot by shot: New ‘Nightly’ leans even more on video walls for storytelling

Video wall OTSs

For other stories, Holt is seated at the anchor desk with the south video wall behind him.

These graphics features large typography that are anchored by a gold underline and two subtle, vertical white lines.

Some variations of these feature large photographic or video imagery that fill the entire screen, while other variations include more generic backgrounds with smaller topical imagery. 

In both cases, the text on the video walls appears slightly blurry, so it will be interesting to see if NBC switches to inserting the text over the imagery on the video wall to improve the clarity  of the text a bit, a technique it has uses going back to Tom Brokaw’s days.

Vista wall

To introduce additional stories, the three-wall vista wall area with glass topped standing pod, features a mix of text and imagery.

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Covering the entire surface requires a mix of a main, focal image that is fed to the center panels, while additional blurred pictures are combined to fill out the remaining wall space, which remain visible as most of these shots start wide and push in, while text is often added to headline the story.

The ‘alternate’ tower shots

Given the scale and focal point of the video tower, it’s no surprise the panel is prominently used.

An alternate shot setup form the show open, which involves shooting from the opposite direction, includes a dramatic push in that showcase the full height of the two story panel, thematic imagery on the smaller jigsaw array and the video wall behind the anchor desk.

This angle also gives a glimpse of the peacock sculpture mounted on the ceiling. 

After the camera move is complete, the shot becomes essentially a simple OTS shot with the lower portion of the tower and text visible to viewers.

Another variation of the tower is for Holt to start an anchor segment next to it, as the camera trucks to the left and zooms out, revealing additional graphics on the vista wall alcove.

‘Quick’ one shot

Another use of the “jigsaw” array and a portion of the LED blocks connected to the tower are found in quick one shots at t end of packages or blocks. On Friday’s broadcast, and this set up featured generic red graphics. 

Another dramatic use of the tower is simliar to the opening shot, but takes things a step farther by incorporating a dramatic camera move to eventually frame Holt with the three-panel alcove behind him. 

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These shots forgot the use of the glass topped pod, instead allowing the gray floor to subtly reflect the video wall imagery.