WSMV Goes NBC Look F

[MidwestTV 1173]

 

Lastly, this is the THIRD graphics package that was meant to go on WNBC, but never did. They didn't pick up their version of Look C, the Mother New York block look/"Look E" never made it to air, and now a WNBC Look G has surfaced. Geez. That is a lot of wasted spending right there.

 

I wouldn't call it wasted spending at all dude! It's like what was mentioned earlier, while WNBC didn't use it, several smaller market affiliates have. Hell, KARK in Little Rock, Arkansas was the first station to pick this up, followed by KXAS in Dallas I believe. "To have the #5 market pick up the graphics package from a #50-something market? What? Wow. Really?" That's pretty much what I said. It also almost seems as if Nexstar made a deal with Artworks or something to have their NBC affiliates pick it up, so if anything, it was a good spending of their money for now multiple stations get to use it at once compared to WNBC being the sole users and no one else being allowed to use it for perhaps at least 4 years.

 

As for the flashiness of it, I swear that the actual package we see on air now is a tad bit more subdued than this. I think it actually looks good with the WNBC branding for a demo reel, but for actual use by the station and the market, then yeah, I agree with you guys that no, it shouldn't be used at all. However this might actually be too subdued for a station like WHDH.

 

Although I wonder if WTVJ could have pulled this off...yes...I think so.

[Jess 1110]

 

What? A designer made a graphics package for a station only for it not to make air? Unheard of.

 

Clearly someone here has never worked in TV before...

 

Guilty as charged. x_x

 

I'm never going to get into the full story in public, because I've put it behind me, but I managed to land a gig at one of the television stations in this market that turned into an absolute nightmare. It didn't last long. In all honestly I actually consider it one of the most important POSITIVE developments in my life. I learned that the stress and hustle of working in a television environment was simply not the business that I wanted to be in. I applaud everyone who's made the decision to enter the field - it's one of the most intense and stressful fields out there. But it's just not for me.

 

I'm doing okay - I've transferred into web design and development. That field is intense in its own way, because it seems every few weeks you have to rethink your strategy. When I started ramping up a few years ago, I felt like I had to relearn everything I knew - because HTML5, CSS3, and jQuery were out. Now, you have to consider responsive design, WordPress, and now new CSS layout methods. HulkieD.com will likely be getting yet another redo because the theme I usually build with - Genesis - has gone to 2.0. It's a lot of things to remember, a lot to juggle. But nothing beats the satisfaction of getting a website uploaded to your server.

 

But you can't take the interest away, and I've still followed local news avidly, if not more so. My perspective is that of a viewer, but I know enough "inside baseball" to at least delude myself into knowing what I'm talking about. Sometimes you do have examples of the above, where I am clearly kind of talking out of my ass. I think my reaction was more that we've seen these versions leaked out to public. I'm sure there are unused gfx packages, it's unusual for that kind of stuff to be so public like it is at WNBC.

 

But yeah.... guilty as charged. :}

[christopherjon 0]

I like the look but dislike the font choice for Look F.

[Guest]

 

But yeah.... guilty as charged. :}

 

One key thing to walk away from with this is that TV stations spent a lot of money on things that never see air time. Not just graphics but sets and music too. Even formats of newscasts. Or newsroom/control room technology. Anything.

 

A few years ago I was working at a CBS affiliate... we had a complete revamp of the morning news in the works. We were moving it to a virtual set and had a whole new look and sound ready to go. We did rehearsals on and off for about a month. We had a launch date set. (We never advertised the change, we were just going to flip the switch on a Monday morning.)

 

The weekend before the launch the news director had a change of heart - and we did nothing that Monday.

 

I'd tally up the number of newscast designs I have worked on in my career somewhere up in the 20s - and maybe only five have ever been approved by newsroom management, corporate and consultants and made air.

 

Not trying to out you. It's great to have a hobby and be passionate about it. I can also tell you first hand as most people who work in TV will tell you -- it's not that great.

[Guest]

Also keep in mind Artworks has a large enough staff that they can throw people on projects like this and it really isn't a big deal if it doesn't get picked up. Now, being the only artist at a station and having management pull this BS is a whole other story.....

[Bsean 138]

I think I'm in the minority of those who like Look G. I prefer it over Look F for KNSD. One thing I really liked about the look was that the time/temp/ticker was at the top of the screen and not just attached to the L3 making the L3 look too cluttered.

[MidwestTV 1173]

 

I think I'm in the minority of those who like Look G. I prefer it over Look F for KNSD. One thing I really liked about the look was that the time/temp/ticker was at the top of the screen and not just attached to the L3 making the L3 look too cluttered.

 

No I like it too, but I actually DON'T like the ticker being up there. Maybe the time/temp stamp, but not the ticker. I'm more inclined then to look up at it rather than the anchors. I'd rather have all the stuff in one spot then all over the screen.

[WXmanTim 88]

 

I think I have to disagree. It looks too flashy. It would fit better for some entertainment show, but not for a newscast that one would deem serious.

 

I don't see how *this* can be considered too flashy, considering the open for the 2003 Pyburn-designed package featured what I always thought looked like a movie-marquee open.

[WCAUTVNBC10 408]

 

I don't see how *this* can be considered too flashy, considering the open for the 2003 Pyburn-designed package featured what I always thought looked like a movie-marquee open.

 

Well Pyburn is a film design company by trade.

[groupwfan 95]

I was dreaming for WSMV to get this look.

Now the count goes to three stations that had SUPER-customized Look F to their stations needs.

(The other two being WCAU and WTVJ, which both stations had customized alterations for Look C, also.)

[caliwxdude 252]

The WNBC logo in the Look G demo is "for placement only." Since they're syndicating this look to other NBC affiliates across the country (Nexstar, et. al.), they needed a brand to stick in there. Why not go with the flagship?

 

This wasn't a case of wasted resources or anything. As others have noted, plenty of other stations have purchased this look.