Short, practical articles on shooting breaking stories, editing to a deadline and keeping a newsroom workflow moving, written by the people who do the work in Cambridge.
A new article appears about once a day, covering camera technique, edit suite habits, studio lighting and newsroom organisation. Choose any piece below to read the full text.
Studio Interviews
A practical walk through preparing a guest, framing the shot and lighting a studio interview so the finished piece sits cleanly in a television news segment.
Daniel Hartley
Read more
Breaking News
A practical checklist for news editors weighing up a camera operator and reporter-ready kit for same-day stories, covering what to settle before the crew leaves the door.
Priya Nair
Read more
Workflow
Most delays in a news package come from the handoffs around the edit, not the edit itself. Here are the common workflow mistakes we see on shoots, at ingest and in approvals, and how to avoid them.
Priya Nair
Read more
Live Link Support
A plain breakdown of how live link work is priced for newsrooms: what a standard day includes, which choices raise the bill, and what to settle with us before the van leaves.
Priya Nair
Read more
Client case
A short account of one regional newsroom producer, Maria, who sent us raw footage with an hour to spare, and how editing, captions and delivery got her piece to air.
Tom Whitcombe
Read more
Studio Interviews
With early sunsets and grey daylight ahead, here is how to plan studio interviews so guests look natural on screen and segments stay consistent from week to week.
Priya Nair
Read more
Trade Terms
A plain explanation of turnaround, the trade word every newsroom uses, and what it actually covers when a camera operator is sent to a developing story for same-day broadcast.
Rachel Osei
Read more
Workflow
A comparison of two ways to run ingest and sign-off on a busy news day, with a clear recommendation on which suits a small regional newsroom better and why.
Daniel Hartley
Read more
Behind the scenes
Priya Nair follows a live report from the moment the kit leaves the building to the first clean frame arriving in the gallery, and the checks that happen in between.
Priya Nair
Read more
Rapid Edit
The question editors put to us most often is how quickly footage becomes a package ready to air. Here is how the edit, captions and delivery actually run, and what changes the time.
Daniel Hartley
Read more
Studio Interviews
A look at the setup behind our studio interviews: how we place lights, frame the guest and settle nerves so a segment is ready for the gallery after a single recording.
Rachel Osei
Read more
Crew Kit
A look at the cameras, audio, lighting and power we load for a same-day shoot, and why each item earns its place in the bag before the van leaves Cambridge.
Priya Nair
Read more
Workflow
A practical walk through organising shoots, ingest and approvals in a newsroom, so a story that is filmed in the morning is not still waiting for sign-off in the evening.
Rachel Osei
Read more
Live Link
Before you book camera and signal support for a live report, run through these questions on location, connectivity, kit, people and fallback, so the decision is made calmly and early.
Daniel Hartley
Read more
Edit Desk
Most late packages are not late because of the cut. They slip on captions, file specs and handover. Here are the mistakes I see most often in rapid edits, and how to avoid each.
Priya Nair
Read more
Studio Interviews
A plain breakdown of how studio interview pricing is built, from room and lighting time to edit length and delivery, so newsroom producers can budget before they ask.
Priya Nair
Read more
Case story
A short account of how a breaking news crew was sent to a flooded road for a regional desk, and what the producer, Marcus, needed from us to broadcast the same day.
Daniel Hartley
Read more
Workflow Advice
Shorter days, wet pavements and a crowded autumn diary put pressure on ingest and sign-off. Here is how to organise shoots and approvals now so stories still reach air quickly.
Daniel Hartley
Read more
Cambridge video production for television news: breaking-story crews, studio interviews, fast edits and live link support, delivered in the formats broadcasters ask for.