Visit to the BBC Studios in Bristol

The BBC in Bristol make a lot of well known programs, such as Flog It and Countryfile, but their specialisation is wildlife work, and Planet Earth and Africa were produced here. Almost all the recording for their output is done on location, in the UK and around the world. For this reason, a lot of the space in Broadcasting House in Brisol is taken up with offices for production planning, management and administration, and there are also post production suites where the recorded material is turned into the finished program.

But they do some live broadcasting from their site. Radio Bristol is accommodated in a set of three studios, and the nightly Points West local news broadcast comes from here.

On this tour we first went to see one of the post production suites. We then went through the large, open office where the journalists were working on Points West, and saw the desk where the weather person of the day studies the metreological data and prepares the forecasts for radio and television. We then went on to the Points West studio where we viewed the formidable array of cameras, lights, microphones and autocues which are required for the show. Then it was on to the control room, where the producer sits with perhaps a dozen assistants, controlling every aspect of the broadcast. Our guide gave a vivid description of the tension which builds up in that room as broadcast time approaches, and the team may be trying to make last minute adjustments to the script on the autocues, or accommodate late breaking news whilst ensuring that the timing will be accurate to the second.

Then we were invited to have a try ourselves. We went to a special studio. where we first recorded a short radio play with sound effects, and then had a go at reading the news and doing a weather forecast. It looks so easy when you see the professionals doing it, but it is not easy. Once you've tried it yourself, you finish up with a much greater appreciation of the talent which the professionals bring to the job.