The "talent's" view of a TV camera with an teleprompter on it. Note that the readable screen is actually a partial mirror reflecting the flat display in front of the camera. The mirror is used because it will reflect the image to the presenter but not into the camera lens, whereas the lens will see the presenter. The output of this camera is on the screen at the back; I suppose had I worked at it, you might have been able to see me taking this photo. But I didn't think of it and/or think it was important.
There wasn't really all that much to see in here; I couldn't see the "News Desk", which of course may have been put away for the day. However, this wall of photos bought back many memories; a couple of photos are shown in better detail below. Some of the faces are (the late) Richard Carleton, Max Walshe, Richard Morecroft, Geraldine Doogue, Ross Symonds, Bill Peach, Peter Young, Margaret Throsby and Caroline Jones!
James Dibble was ABC TVs first news reader, and if I remember, not exactly planned as such. There was some event which it was thought should be broadcast, so the duty announcer was asked to sit in front of the camera and read it out. That anouncer was James Dibble, who went on to read the news until 1983 when he retired. And as a nice tribute, on the 50th anniversary of ABC TV, he signed off at the end of the nightly news.
A very young Alan Wilkie from 1960. From memory, in those days, the weather charts were on swivelling boards, so that the front one would be swung out to reveal the next one. How technology has changed! And how Wilkie has changed - last time I saw him, his hair was gray, though I seem to recall there was still quite a bit of it, so I am not saying too much about that.
This is a capture of the screen of a monitor which normally displays the outgoing program, but in this case it was showing the output from one of the cameras in the news studio from which I had just emerged. Note that this image was in colour, but the plasma screened showed little colour in the image I have, and it had a quite unpleasant green, so I have turned that section into monochrome. But this is entirely consistent with the original image - the backdrop (chroma keyed in, I expect) was an early news broadcast background from 50 years ago. The desk etc. was sitting in the studio. But notice the couple of interlopers in the bottom left. Bananas in Pyjamas if you aren't old enough to recognise them.
Ah, Aunty Jack. Brings back many memories, as Aunty Jack and Thin Arthur lead the parade. The lighting was not as uniform as I would have liked, and that's the reason for the darker view on the right.
And be good, or she will come and "Rip your bloody arms off". I remember the clever way the ABC switched on colour transmission on the official start date. It was a special edition of "Aunty Jack", starting in black and white in their regular set. When they entered the room they were being chased up the path by the colour ghost. Slamming the door, they tried to keep it out, but it seeped in through the cracks and where it appeared, the scene turned to colour. Much more imaginative than simply flipping the switch to all colour, all the time.
TV Studios
2007