Notes on studio equipment, camera work, acoustics, lighting and live production habits, written by the people who do the work.
The journal publishes about one article a day on the practical side of live television. Expect clear explanations of techniques, setups and procedures that studio teams can apply to their own work.
Lighting
A practical walk through the first stage of lighting design for live television: measuring the set, placing key and fill, and checking skin tones on camera before anyone goes to air.
Acoustics
Before you commission acoustic work on a live studio, these are the questions worth settling first: what the room does now, what you need it to do, and who will check the result.
Camera Setup
Priya Nair walks through the camera positioning, framing and movement errors that most often cause trouble on news desks and interview sets, and the checks that prevent them.
Costs
A plain look at how a gallery integration is priced, which parts of the job add cost, and what you can settle early to keep the quotation realistic and steady.
Client case
A short account of how a written workflow review helped one regional news team tighten its running order, cueing and fallback steps, told with the producer's first name only.
Lighting
Shorter days change the light in a live studio more than most teams expect. Tom Whitcombe sets out what to check on your lighting plot now, before winter schedules begin.
Acoustics
RT60 is a trade term that sounds technical but describes something you hear every day: how long a sound lingers in a room. Here is what it means and why it matters on air.
Camera Setup
Two ways to cover a small news desk in a live studio: locked-off robotic heads or a staffed pedestal camera. We compare them on cost, flexibility and risk, then give a recommendation.
Behind the scenes
A behind-the-scenes account of how a gallery integration is carried out, from the first cable schedule to the final run-through, written from the audio side of the desk.
Workflow
Clients ask us this more than anything else. Daniel Pryce answers it plainly: what we read, what we watch, what we write down and what you receive at the end of a review.
Lighting
As the evenings draw in, studios lean harder on their lighting. Here is how we plan plots and rigging so presenters and guests look consistent from the first segment to the last.
Acoustics
A look at the measurement tools, test signals and treatment materials we rely on when assessing a studio, and how each one informs the advice we give.
How-to guide
A practical walk-through of positioning, framing and movement for a two-guest interview with three cameras, from marking the floor to the final check before going live.
Studio Integration
A practical checklist for production managers weighing a studio equipment integration: what to confirm about signal paths, intercom, playout and handover before you commit to a plan and a schedule.
Workflow
Tom Whitcombe walks through the common errors that surface when we review a running order, cueing and fallback plan, and how a small written change prevents most of them.
Lighting costs
A plain account of how lighting design for live television is priced, which parts of a studio and a brief push the cost up or down, and what to prepare before asking for a quotation.
Case story
Tom tells the story of Marcus, a news editor whose small interview studio sounded fine to the eye and poor on air, and how measurement and modest treatment brought the voices back.