KXAN set upgrade uses video technology, warm design elements

Nexstar’s KXAN in Austin, Texas, debuted a new set that cleverly uses different formats of on-set video panels to give the station a flexible, brandable news environment.

The set, from FX Design Group, features a modular anchor desk made from a mix of glass, wood and metal elements. The far side of the left camera and right side of the camera, with clear bases with metallic gray banding, can be wheeled to make the table more compact while also doubling as a lectern-style pod for of talent and even used for special programs such as the recent Austin mayoral. debate.

The background of the anchor area is equipped with the backdrop of a window made from a mix of displays, creating a large video wall, with the Digital Video Group integrating various on-set technologies.

A banner-style LED from Neoti is used above the anchor area, which serves as a way for the station to bring its branding into the space, including standalone programming such as its political show “State of Texas.”

Below this LED are four vertically-mounted Philips 86″ displays grouped in two sets of two and cut to match the windows. The array allows the station to show different cityscapes based on the time of day or exchange it for a topical or branding look, with Datapath managing the video processing.

Meanwhile, between these panels is a seamless Neoti 1.8mm LED pillar, almost the same width as the 1.5mm LED part in front of the anchor desk, which extends from the floor to the grid.

This feature is also positioned directly behind the anchor two shot and allows the station to display branded and topical graphics between the anchors without unsightly bezel lines interrupting the image.

Not only does this combination of seamless and vertical panels bring a sense of depth to the main anchor background, but it also allows less expensive technology to fill in distant, less prominent features. on the wall. Of course, this also means that the crisper, uninterrupted wall of video ends up front and center on the anchors.

It can also be used as the main background for an anchor movies or segments, with the talent sitting in the middle and the video wall graphics over his shoulder.

The majority of the wall in the anchor area is framed with indoor lighting, while above the 2.5mm LED ribbon there are additional 43″ video panels, installed horizontally in this case, simulating the transom window above below.

The central seamless LED is often adorned with a larger version of the station’s logo that appears in wide anchor shots. This layered video wall approach has become a hallmark of recent Nexstar sets, which combine a large vertical array with banners to convey branding for the newscast daypart or story.

Meanwhile, the studio also includes a working weather center positioned perpendicular to a freestanding seamless video wall.

This layout allows the station to use this significant piece of seamless 1.5mm LED as a background for weather and for other standups.

In select cases, the corner of the U-shaped weather presentation desk is visible in the standups and there is also the option to have the talent start at the desk and then turn and walk to a secondary video wall shot that is more like a chroma key setup. .

The video wall itself is covered with an additional LED ribbon, which, again, serves as a useful tool to bring weather, news or franchise branding to the space depending on what it is used for.

The center of time usually sits behind an open wall made with a gray frame, frosted panels and a wooden head in the doorless passage between the two spaces. Part of this wall has a 2 × 4 Philips array that can be used to present two different images or graphics, with TVOne Corio video processing.

Behind the divider is a collection of workspaces and wall-mounted panels for displaying weather graphics and other feeds.

The updated studio also includes an additional 3 × 3 video wall camera left, which is often used for standups, including those with the option for talent to walk the anchor desk with a coordinated camera movement.

The station also uses this array (as well as seamless near-time) in a “video on video” format, including throwing talent into a VSOT.

Additional elements include a wall with 3 displays that can rotate and track to form different arrangements. This area, along with the rest of the set design, combines stacked stone and concrete walls with light textural panels to add depth.

The surfaces are also finished with backlit horizontal slats, gray finishes with integrated accent lighting and bold white, horizontally internally lit parts along the floor and header that take cues from the large frame of the anchor wall.

The studio includes Ross Video Cambots with CueScript for prompting.