Favorite Graphics Packages from the 90s & 00s

[qunewsguy 377]

I forget the firm that did the film but they were EVERYWHERE in the mid 2000's. Partnered with both Hothaus and Giant Octopus to provide footage for a lot of packages. I've seen the raw stuff they shot here in Hartford and they certainly had a lot of talent!

[MidwestTV 1232]

I grew up on the (I believe?) Giant Octopus early 00s NBC look. They had one or two variations of this look.

 

 

 

the WDTN variant 

 

[WCAUTVNBC10 413]

19 hours ago, 24994J said:

 

I've always been partial to this one. Similar styles popped up elsewhere, but I maintain that, while not the style of today, these opens have not only held up best, but still look nice now.

 

 

Their adaptation of this look for KYW was really good too:

 

 

They really nailed the lowers and other insert elements and as mention before, the footage used in the opens was brilliant.

Edited February 22, 2022 by WCAUTVNBC10
double post

[mark 55]

Some really great work mentioned here. While there is so much good stuff from this time period, I want to echo what's been said about WNBC 2003. Really cutting-edge work with light effects for that time. Classy and modern. 

 

I'll add KHOU 1997/98. The gold/red/black look that debuted with the fantastic 1997 set. Designers took the layout of the previous set (blue background at center/ monitors screen left/ skyline screen right) and gave it new life. The fact that the set had three different two shot options without the anchors having to move from the desk is still pretty cool to this day. But back to the graphics... so far ahead of the time. Clean and well thought out. From the elegant lower left bug to the lower right special coverage branding bug options seen in the video below.
 

 

[VHSgoodiesWA 303]

I grew up N of Seattle, so I remember those Fisher graphics (and Al Vanik's voiceover - 'First 4 Local News!') very well from KOMO 4. Best anchor pairing ever - Dan Lewis and the late Kathi Goertzen. Through all of Kathi's brain tumor struggles, Dan and the KOMO team cheered her own as if they were her own family members. My parents lived in Seattle from 1987 to 2010, and I was born in the mid '90s...and channel 4 was still their favorite station even before I was born. They watched more news on KOMO than any other station, and Mom always watched Northwest Afternoon to get recaps of the soaps with Cindi Rinehart. The set with the Seattle skyline was gorgeous. I got to shake hands with Elisa Jaffe and the late Ken Schram as a kid, so that was fun - no, not on camera. Other Fisher stations did the same thing. KIMA's *best* set occurred in a major overhaul during the Fisher era, with a view of Mt. Adams and the valley behind the anchors. That can be seen at the bottom of this post.

Then there was KIRO 7 Eyewitness News, with the unmistakenable voice of Scott Chapin on the openings. This was my family's #2 station, even though KING 5 didn't go through as many anchors as 7 did in those days - they preferred Steve Raible over Dennis Bounds. The set dated back a few years, to when they reunited with CBS, but it's what I grew up with. Lost my baby pictures in a move, but there was a picture that my mom took of me as a little toddler pointing to the TV as the late Harry Wappler gave a weather report.

Again, this was about as good as it got for Yakima (thanks to Fisher) and it's too bad KIMA severely cheapened this set years later.

 

[EricTheEnthusiast 39]

I grew up on the CT shore, so our station was WTNH. I remember watching Action News 8, and this was the graphics package I remember. I still love the simplicity of the package, especially the lower thirds. 

 

However, in the late 90's (I believe 1997), they rebranded from WTNH Channel 8 (general) and Action News 8 (news) to a singular News Channel 8 (general and news). Supposedly, the graphics and music were all custom for them. If anyone has an info on who made the graphics, I'd love to know.

 

 

[Matt Jackson 7]

If your living in the New York metropolitan area or still recieved PIX11 as a superstation, does everyone remember the 1995-1998 graphics package for the PIX11 News at Ten which was known as the Channel 11 News at Ten?

 

 

Edited July 11, 2023 by Matt Jackson