‘NBC Nightly News’ returns home with some new on set graphics, shooting techniques

“NBC Nightly News” returned home Monday, Nov. 9, 2020, after over six months of anchoring remotely and from alternate setups — and introduced new on-set video wall graphics and a new approach to blocking the show that follows its Decision 2020 editions from Studio 1A.

‘Nightly News’ tinkers with video wall graphics, lighting cues in days since new look debuted

Anchor Lester Holt was back in the normal “Nightly” studio — which is known as 3A, 3AW and originally 3C (even multiple NBC sources NewscastStudio talked to still aren’t entirely clear what the official designator is).

View on Giphy

NBC opted to update the rich wood slatted columns and header elements that cover structural supports that hold up 30 Rock with a metallic shade but kept the slivers of color-changing LED visible. 

On the Nov. 9 edition, Holt spent the entire broadcast standing and the show flipped to using the “vista” video wall alcove and LED “tower” as its primary background,  instead of the opposite side of the space’s “news wall” and opening overlooking a small newsroom space that had become the favored area before production shifted to alternate venues in the spring due to coronavirus concerns. 

Nov. 9’s newscast featured wider, sweeping movements around Holt, who was standing at the small pod-like desk that came with the original version of the set and also has been used in other NBC studios. The L-shaped anchor desk he would sit at previously was parked in the vista alcove as a background element but was never actually used.

Advertisement

This included using the video tower to showcase live shots tosses to Holt as well as having him conduct a socially distanced debrief with correspondent Kristen Welker. 

Correspondent Kristen Welker debriefs Lester Holt Nov. 9, 2020.