Vlad 276 Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Many of us have been following the progress of WABC's new studio for the past several weeks. So I created this thread in anticipation of WABC's upcoming Columbus Ave Street Studio. I figured I'd start a whole new forum post. And it's truly been a hot topic around here. Much like when any station comes up with a new set when they want to change their on-air look. nynewsguy and netnewsguy have both been keeping us up to date with the station along with HulkieD. Anyway I live in the New York Area and I'm an astute viewer of WABC, been watching them for years haha, and I figured, why not just go to the city? I had nothing better to do and I felt like driving so I did it and I went to WABC-TV. So yeah, I did it, haha. I drove about 30 miles from my hometown. Drove on the LIE, saw some nice billboards and landmarks along the way. It was the late afternoon so the drive to the city was actually pretty pleasant. The traffic wasn't that bad since I was going into the city during Rush Hour, heading into Manhattan is much easier than leaving during the afternoon rush. I constantly thought about how it would've been a waste of a drive to go there only to find the blinds down upon arriving at the studio, but anyway luckilly enough, the blinds were open and the set was clear as day. I was really amazed. So I got there, found a parking garage, parked the car and literally the station was right in front of me, haha. Talk about luck of the draw, haha. I had no idea so as soon as I saw it. The first thing that I saw was the circle 7 logo outside the building. Looks awesome. The new studio btw, is literally adjacent to the existing studio. Its just in a new building. But you don't have to cross the street or anything like that to get to it. There is a door separating the Regis and Kelly Studio / Current Eyewitness News Studio between the new one. When I got there, the 6PM show was actually still going on and I saw Diana Williams walk out of the building, I also saw Lauren Glassberg leave a bit later. But yeah it was cool to see them. So onto the studio itself. The set was empty, there were tons of LCDs in and around the set. In and around the studio there were columns which contained 3 LCD stacked vertically. I think there were about 3 or 4 groups of those three. The LCDs were designed by NEC. Each of the 3 LCDs had the following: The first one showed the 5 Day Forecast from Accu-Weather. The second one in the middle showed Lower Manhattan from the Brooklyn Bridge and the last was the Live Feed of WABC. Which happened to be the 6PM news when I got there. Anyway I have a ton of pics and a video that I personally took of the new studio. I must say I was really impressed. These pictures were taken with my HTC EVO Shift Camera at (5 Megapixels). I had to resize them a bit so they fit here anyway, here they are: I gotta say this set is gonna look AWESOME on Television. There is more to come.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vlad 276 Posted September 17, 2011 Author Share Posted September 17, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vlad 276 Posted September 17, 2011 Author Share Posted September 17, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vlad 276 Posted September 17, 2011 Author Share Posted September 17, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vlad 276 Posted September 17, 2011 Author Share Posted September 17, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vlad 276 Posted September 17, 2011 Author Share Posted September 17, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYNews 54 Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 I like the panoramic background view. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vlad 276 Posted September 17, 2011 Author Share Posted September 17, 2011 Anyway I must say I'm really impressed. These pictures that I toook are just a preview of whats to come on Monday if all goes well. As you can see there is much more to the set than just the desk. If you look further down, you can see more elements, such as the Accu-Weather Center, An interview spot, behind the desk to the right, a podium, where Regis and Kelly stood during another picture. Towards the right hand side of the desk, looks to be another element where reporters can stand and do reports from (Where it says Accu-Weather) I must say that this set is very modern and very 2011. This is really gonna blow all of the other sets that we seen on TV out of the water. This is really gonna be a remarkable studio hands down. And I'm really looking forward to the launch. My guess is that they'll probably launch it during Eyewitness News at 4PM on Monday.. Other than that it looks awesome. Some other elements that I noticed the set is actually enclosed with two layers of Glass. The primary layer and then the secondary layer. I guess they did this so that they won't have an incident like WLS did, haha. The glass is pretty tough too, its almost as if its shatterproof or even bulletproof. So yeah the people inside the studio are definitely protected. This is why the pictures weren't as clear as I'd like them to be because I had to take the pictures in between two layers of glass. Anyway I also have a 4 minute video that I will be shortly uploading to YouTube. As soon as its up I'll post it here and share it with you guys. A small tiny pet peeve that I have of the new set is the actual gigantic circle seven logo in the center of it. I don't know if its illuminated, or of there is any sort of backlighting element to it. But essentially the illuminated Circle 7 that is outside of the building would've been a better option to have inside the studio. And I think it would look nicer, but again, we have yet to see it on TV so we'll know for sure how it looks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vlad 276 Posted September 17, 2011 Author Share Posted September 17, 2011 Video of the exterior of the new studio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazynetjunkie 34 Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Some other elements that I noticed the set is actually enclosed with two layers of Glass. The primary layer and then the secondary layer. I guess they did this so that they won't have an incident like WLS did, haha. The glass is pretty tough too, its almost as if its shatterproof or even bulletproof. So yeah the people inside the studio are definitely protected. This is why the pictures weren't as clear as I'd like them to be because I had to take the pictures in between two layers of glass. WLS has the 2 layers of glass too. I believe WABC ordered their glass from the same company WLS got their glass from.. It's bullet proof, has to be custom made, and extremely expensive. It also doesn't allow a laser light beam to penetrate. There are only a couple companies in the US that make that glass in the large enough sizes for large windows and it's a 2 to 6 month process from order to delivery of those windows. However, how the glass itself is irrelevant to the protection from a vehicle crashing through. It has to do with actual structure towards the bottom of the windows. WLS has a couple steel beams which are attached to the building frame structure itself. One runs only a couple inches off the ground covered by a "stoop" and one runs about 3 feet off the ground covered by window framing. That's what prevented the vehicle from actually entering the studio. WABC likely has the same thing but they covered it with a wall (like WBBM's studio) instead of leaving it exposed with glass. Unfortunately, there isn't a clear window glass that will prevent a vehicle from crashing through that would be practical for a TV station to use for a window studio unless they wanted glass that is 3 or 4 inches thick.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nynewslover 269 Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 This is a very big time for WABC.. Everyone in the city pretty much knows about it and is talking about it! Either the 11:00 news on Sunday night or the Noon news on Monday will be the end of a very long chapter in history at WABC..and they will get ready to open a new and very exciting chapter Monday evening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Great pics, Vlad... thanks for sharing! I can't tell if I love this set or hate it. To be honest it looks a little plain... but I will hold judgement until I actually see it on air. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfomspphl 453 Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 If it weren't for the black borders of the monitors, this basically executes the concept of the old KTRK skyline set but without an awkward Chromakey. Let's see if they have fun with the lighting when they close out the newscast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProButtonPusher 230 Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 The set will look bigger on TV, for those of you who think it's too small. Cameras have a tendency to do things like that, almost a forced-perspective sort of thing. Another FunFact, the double-paned glass helps with soundproofing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susquvalleywgal 494 Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Great video ... thanks for posting that. The studio looks great. Love the monitors that on the outside for us common people to look at. And that studio is the reason why ABC7 is number 1. Great job. -- Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wabceyewitness 767 Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 Anyone tuning in at 11p tonight in case they do a soft launch of the new studio like they did with the current set when it debuted? If not, maybe it'll debut tomorrow in the morning or with First @ 4pm. Can't wait to see it! PS: I noticed on Friday's 6pm newscast, during one of the bumpers, they showed live footage from the tail camera of NewsCopter7 hovering over the city (so you could see the ABC7 logo on the side) while Liz said "...and NewsCopter7 following breaking news and traffic...". Have they done this before or was it a one time thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wabceyewitness 767 Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 Regarding the possibilty of a vehicle crashing through the windows --- they should just request (and offer to pay) the city install those short metal pole barriers on the sidewalk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vlad 276 Posted September 19, 2011 Author Share Posted September 19, 2011 Regarding the possibilty of a vehicle crashing through the windows --- they should just request (and offer to pay) the city install those short metal pole barriers on the sidewalk. Yeah that would be effective, especially since there aren't any of them. Also the set is adjacent to the existing studio if people wanted to know. The studio is literally in the building right next to the current studio adjacent to the existing set. There is a door that one can use to enter the studio to the right upon entering the building. When I was there on Friday there was a painter painting the outside entrance to the studio and a few other things. Its really nice. I wish I could go in but I didn't even bother lol because I'm pretty sure it was off limits to the general public... I did however see Diana Williams and Lauren Glassberg that day leave the building, it was pretty interesting to see them in person. And literally the set is larger than it seems in those pictures. Because there is just so much to the set that simply cannot be seen. If you look at some of the pictures it looks like further down there is an Accu-Weather Center all the way in the back. There is a podium, there is a spot for standing up, apparently there is a green screen. So yeah the set is massive and much larger than what they had before and very modern too I must say. Its really gonna look nice when you see it on TV. I'm sure of it.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
civic110 10 Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 Anyone tuning in at 11p tonight in case they do a soft launch of the new studio like they did with the current set when it debuted? If not, maybe it'll debut tomorrow in the morning or with First @ 4pm. Can't wait to see it! PS: I noticed on Friday's 6pm newscast, during one of the bumpers, they showed live footage from the tail camera of NewsCopter7 hovering over the city (so you could see the ABC7 logo on the side) while Liz said "...and NewsCopter7 following breaking news and traffic...". Have they done this before or was it a one time thing? I saw WCBS show the tail of their chopper while heading into a break, and also during the morning show last week; not sure who started it or when that became a new fad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nynewsguy 66 Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 Yeah that would be effective, especially since there aren't any of them. Also the set is adjacent to the existing studio if people wanted to know. The studio is literally in the building right next to the current studio adjacent to the existing set. There is a door that one can use to enter the studio to the right upon entering the building. When I was there on Friday there was a painter painting the outside entrance to the studio and a few other things. Its really nice. I wish I could go in but I didn't even bother lol because I'm pretty sure it was off limits to the general public... I did however see Diana Williams and Lauren Glassberg that day leave the building, it was pretty interesting to see them in person. And literally the set is larger than it seems in those pictures. Because there is just so much to the set that simply cannot be seen. If you look at some of the pictures it looks like further down there is an Accu-Weather Center all the way in the back. There is a podium, there is a spot for standing up, apparently there is a green screen. So yeah the set is massive and much larger than what they had before and very modern too I must say. Its really gonna look nice when you see it on TV. I'm sure of it.. LOL. yes - the set is very much off-limits to the general public. ABC does not do studio tours like NBC does. The building just wasn't designed to support such a thing. The new studio debuts tomorrow. The plan is for the 4:30AM show. Barring any last-minute decisions, expect it for the morning. p.s. - Believe it or not, the new studio (13A) which yes, "next" to TV13, is actually in a different building, different address, etc. The new studio is at 147 Columbus, the old studio (Regis/Kelly) is at 149 Columbus. (7 Lincoln Square). Before the new studio was built, there was no way to get from old space or newsroom without going into the basement and coming up next door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weeters 1811 Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 I saw WCBS show the tail of their chopper while heading into a break, and also during the morning show last week; not sure who started it or when that became a new fad. I've noticed tail cameras seem to have disappeared as helicopters were updated for HD (mainly because they were already pretty crappy as it was). I've always liked them. Nice to see they still exist. Regarding the possibilty of a vehicle crashing through the windows --- they should just request (and offer to pay) the city install those short metal pole barriers on the sidewalk. Easier said than done. Bollards extend several feet into the ground, and it looks as if there are several utilities running underground in that area (two manholes on the corner alone). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vlad 276 Posted September 19, 2011 Author Share Posted September 19, 2011 Well as of 6:30am they are still in their CURRENT set. So no changes yet. My assumption is a launch, during First at Four, later today... What's cool is that WABC essentially has two physical news sets now so if anything they may keep using one set such as this one they currently have if they choose.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nynewslover 269 Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 Well as of 6:30am they are still in their CURRENT set. So no changes yet. My assumption is a launch, during First at Four, later today... What's cool is that WABC essentially has two physical news sets now so if anything they may keep using one set such as this one they currently have if they choose.. Yeah I was kinda disappointed when I saw they werent on the new set lol. But I had a feeling they would wind up waiting till 4pm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abc7 Man 25 Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 I wonder why they didn't have a teaser promo for the new set. They had one for the new NewsCopter7 like 3 weeks before they debuted it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abric 157 Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 We're pushing for First at Four. Maybe they will give us a tease during their noon broadcast today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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