Private Passions

[Quarky]

The episode with Ben Watts arrived at last, Yesterday. A worthwhile programme, I thought. I guess it's the way many Jazz and Pop musicians develop.
More please.

[smittims]

No human input available? Sounds like my energy suppliers: the unthinking machine...

[oddoneout]

I see this on one of the R3 Facebook pages:

"I have rung the BBC duty office who told me that they are aware of this problem and are trying to fix it but as it's Sunday there's no human input available at Radio 3."



PS Nick - I've met that Mr S Baldrick, you know. We were both defeated candidates in the same election

And the divine is evidently having the day off - or has been sacked as not diverse enough...

[french frank]

I see this on one of the R3 Facebook pages:

"I have rung the BBC duty office who told me that they are aware of this problem and are trying to fix it but as it's Sunday there's no human input available at Radio 3."



PS Nick - I've met that Mr S Baldrick, you know. We were both defeated candidates in the same election

[eighthobstruction]

....Could be Rob Cowans rucksac finally found gumming up the works....

[Ein Heldenleben]

Just found a LinkedIn for Bill Nicholls, formerly chief producer for TTN, among a number of other R3 duties, where he mentions responsibility for "Automation of transmissions for weekend afternoon and evening schedules". That's what I remember hearing about. I'd gathered it was a cost-cutting necessity which involved no more than a skeleton studio staff.

Very interesting - “ a digital playout” specialist .Talk about finding a niche. Often with these things there’s just as many people employed on transmission as before esp IT engineers - the real saving is in the people who used to look after the tapes and move them around the building. The big savings are in getting people to multi - skill e.g. drive their own sound desks like DJs or shoot , record and edit their own material on video . I’m not sure they’ve ever been real savings in playout systems when the set up , huge softwares licence and maintenance costs are taken into account.

[Nick Armstrong]

a skeleton studio staff.

[french frank]

Just found a LinkedIn for Bill Nicholls, formerly chief producer for TTN, among a number of other R3 duties, where he mentions responsibility for "Automation of transmissions for weekend afternoon and evening schedules". That's what I remember hearing about. I'd gathered it was a cost-cutting necessity which involved no more than a skeleton studio staff.

[cria]

He tweeted @ 12.03

[Ein Heldenleben]

I thought I'd posted this I read a few years ago that R3 would be almost entirely automated at the weekends - no one at home to notice anything. So a mistake made in the preparation was lodged in the system.

I think the play out system is pre programmable but I would have thought there’d be a small team in to cover eventualities like the wrong tape being played out. There was a live announcement after the incident so there was definitely an announcer in and they would almost certainly have had a technical operator with them. When this happens the problem is finding the right programme and that’s when you need things like duty tape clerks (as they were once called ). These days I guess you just key the Programe ident number into the server and discover …..it’s not there .

[Nick Armstrong]

I think he’s pretty unflappable isn’t he ? Done a lot of live work himself and seen it all before. Fuming gets you nowhere.

You may well be right. I hope so. I imagine the baronial roast beef was savoured somewhat less than usual this lunchtime however…

[french frank]

Don’t know the system in radio but in TV there used to be several separate checks to ensure the correct programme was lined up and you had to view the first two minutes to check it didn’t have the wrong ident no. on the front. I guess things are just automated now.

I thought I'd posted this I read a few years ago that R3 would be almost entirely automated at the weekends - no one at home to notice anything. So a mistake made in the preparation was lodged in the system.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Most of us have heard these incidents over the years. Does anyone else remember when Edward Seckerson tipped his coffee into a bank of faders and put Radio 3 off the air for 15 minutes?

Wasn’t it Tom Crowe ? I only ask because I’m not sure Ed as a contributor would have been in a position to do that but who knows?
I do know some one once split a can of coke over a desk and that cost a fortune to sort out as it’s so sticky. At one stage there were so many incidents drinks were banned. That led to a sort of peasants’ revolt as you could be in an operational area for hours with no caffeine. So in a brilliant BBC compromise they bought in coffee cup holders set at knee level on the sound desks . And that was the problem - people were constantly banging their knees into them so they removed them.

Final point . The old (I’m talking 1930’s to 80’s ) radio mixing desks were vertical and you had a wooden desk in front of you perfect for scripts and coffees. In the 70s horizontal desks came in with a small wood or Formica area in front for scripts but also perfect for a coffee - all ready to be knocked over the faders.

[smittims]

Most of us have heard these incidents over the years. Does anyone else remember when Edward Seckerson tipped his coffee into a bank of faders and put Radio 3 off the air for 15 minutes?

[Ein Heldenleben]

....someone will be out in the stocks - and curators egg aimed at them

Honestly it doesn’t work like that . It’s a bit bemusing why it happened. Don’t know the system in radio but in TV there used to be several separate checks to ensure the correct programme was lined up and you had to view the first two minutes to check it didn’t have the wrong ident no. on the front. I guess things are just automated now.
One of my earliest jobs was checking tape spools in continuity against the transmission list but that was forty years ago in the days of 1/4 in tape. Now I suspect it’s just staring at a screen and checking ident numbers.