Off The Cuff

In March 2003 YSTV received a lot of equipment from a company called AccentureUnverified or incomplete information, including a DV camera, a security camera now known as DeathStar, pen cameras, a large equipment desk and a new vision mixer. Whilst this meant the usual DaVE vision mixer wouldn't have to be trundled out to OBs, it left the new Panasonic Max (as it was christened) lying dormant most of the time.

Off The Cuff
Genre:	Light Entertainment
First Broadcast:	May 2003
Last Broadcast:	May 2004
Producer(s):	Whoever wanted to!

The broom cupboard set

With new content desperately needed for the station Jonathan Bufton, along with Dave Baker and Ed Jellard decided to install it in a corner of the studio, with some spare setboards, monitors, a small desk, a bubble tube and the new OB sound desk. The setup echoed - OK, entirely copied - the "broom cupboard" Children's BBC set of the late 80s and early 90s (which was actually the BBC1 continuity announcer's booth). The idea was people would be able to have their own shows without such pesky things as the lack of a crew holding them back, and mix chat with music and whatever people wanted - pretty much as URY had done for decades.

The four inputs on the vision mixer were assigned to the camera, the two VCRs and finally a "guest" source - which included pen cameras, DeathStar, a computer next door in the control room (to facilitate internet reviews) and live TV channels. It also provided a handy booth for the Floor Manager and NaffoCue operator to sit in during programmes such as YSTV Week, with the technology for that also built into the set. Long term, should the concept take off, the idea was to use the set also as a general "presentation" area - for example doing live or pre-recorded in-vision links into programmes.

After an off-air pilot in May 2003 the set was shifted from the fire escape corner of the studio to just in front of the entrance to the studio at the start of the 2003/4 academic year to allow bigger productions to make use of the full back wall of the studio (eventually settling on the YSTV Week set in one corner and other productions in the fire escape corner). A few special Freshers' Week shows followed, including one on the very first night of term, aiming at getting people in bars watching our output when conversation dried up with their new housemates. Word was then put about to freshers that presenters were wanted for a new anything-goes slot (hence the name) every afternoon between 1600 and 1800, replacing the TMF Music Videos slot that usually went out at that time, as a warm up to the evening's programmes. The response was not exactly enormous.

Off The Cuff with Jonathan and Ed and an example of trying to decorate the back walls, which presenters were encouraged to do

The broom cupboard as seen from behind the news desk

After the set was used successfully for Children In Need 2003 (partly to drum up interest and partly because we didn't have enough crew to do a big show properly) the afternoon slot finally launched in January 2004 (losing the bubble tube to give the presenters a bit more space, and to avoid having an enormous tube of water balanced above a lot of equipment). Sadly there were many problems, including the set being quite difficult to learn how to control, the music videos (taped from TMF) having to be cued from ageing VHS machines, the components of the set frequently being removed for OBs or testing and above all lack of interest (or ability) to hold together a two hour TV show as would be easy on the radio. The pressures of the term meant the show effectively ended once pre-production for Elections 2004 really kicked in, and after a period of inactivity the set was dismantled in May 2004 during the YSTV Clean-Up when it was decided it was unlikely to be used in the future.

For the concept to really have worked the set would have needed to be much easier to operate. Most presenters had enough trouble thinking of something to say let alone cueing a video and mixing into it smoothly, so getting people to present as duos would also have been a good idea. As technology has now moved on considerably it would be much easier today to have all videos running from a hard drive, which would ease operations considerably. The tiny active membership also didn't have the time to train everyone up properly and come in every afternoon to nurse them through it, which is a shame as the shows done by more confident presenters were fairly entertaining and a good use of otherwise "dead air" by plugging the evening ahead on YSTV and previewing shows, such as getting the editor of that evening's live show to come on and tell viewers what was coming later if they stayed tuned. But with a producer who could have provided some more content for the show to hinge around (such an events guide or getting YSTV Week to record a news update to play out every afternoon) it could have proved a good way of attracting new members and getting them on air easily. But it didn't.

A gallery of Off The Cuff images can be seen Off The Cuff gallery.

In 2007 CBBC relaunched with a very broom cupboard-esque set, bringing us full circle...