By: Craig Ketchum
It seems as though no matter what your interests are there is something that comes out of the British Broadcasting Corporation that is right for you. The 2006 BBC facility, Quay House, exemplifies this sentiment. Whether you are interested in seeing how the world’s largest public broadcasting corporation is innovating to use modern technologies, standing on famous morning show sets or taking your picture with Dr. Who’s legendary nemesis, the Daleks, Quay House has something to offer you.
Despite its name, Media City stands out as an odd place for BBC to be located. It has many benefits when it comes to attracting and recruiting talent, but it is not in the center of some major city. This is because before building Quay House BBC was criticized as being too London focused and lacking representation outside the metropolis. Tour guides said BBC took this criticism to heart and showed its dedication to its patrons by taking operations to a place where they felt that they could better represent the citizens of England. Although many found the criticism to be with its merits, the BBC has seven national stations and roughly 40 regional stations throughout the UK, not to mention its global presence.
The guides at BBC are great fun and really know how to get the group engaged. One of the first places they took the Point Park group was to the radio operations room. While radio may seem nostalgic to the current generation, there are still millions of people who tune in to hear BBC’s broadcasters, disc jockeys and commentators. BBC 6, for example, has 3 million listeners, the tour guides said. One of the attractions of the room is seeing where legendary musicians performed from the Beatles to more current bands such as the Arctic Monkeys. There is a project underway to digitize older broadcasts that have been archived on tape.
When touring the sets of BBC’s popular television news and sports shows, the first thing anyone will notice is how empty the space feels. Despite there being hundreds of lights hanging from the ceiling, there is virtually no other equipment. This is because the BBC rents its gear, and because it is not brought out until actual production work is underway, the guides said. And secondly, the reason the cameras were not there is the studios were between shows. This gives them the ability to focus on their craft and not worry about faulty equipment. If something doesn’t work properly, they can send it back and get back to what is important to them. The studio is ultimately just a couch and several blank platforms that can be moved and lit differently depending on the show. There are a few tiny cameras screwed to the walls that are responsible for generating the AR for the final product. The only other significant element of set design that is visible is the floor, which is painted different colors, depending on what is filming during that season. The paint used on the floor is magnetic so when it is time to switch sets, the facility team uses what is essentially a magnetic Zamboni to remove the last coat of paint used.
There were moments on the tour where we were not permitted to touch the set, but the Point Park group did get a chance to see the BBC Morning Set. The background of the set is a city that looks real but is actually an artist rendering after a live camera failure involving a bird blocking the lens, one of the guides said.
The final stop of the tour is a small studio that is used for a morning show and weather. Visitors can have a good time fooling around in front of a green screen and taking pictures, but this part of the tour can feel exceptionally touristy. The guides were conscious during most of the tour to give the students the deeper story of what they were viewing.