TV Graphics Showreel

I've just put an alternative version of my television graphics showreel on YouTube. This version includes some clips from the BBC Arabic TV channel branding which was the last project I was working on at the BBC before I left for the good life in Ireland! In most other respects it's identical to the Flash version on my TV graphics web site - and includes clips from BBC General Elections, BBC Weather and various other broadcast design projects.

I'm linking here also to check whether the little hack works to get the high quality YouTube video embedded.



If you want to link to the high quality version of a YouTube video you need to add '&ap=%2526fmt%3D18' into the embed code after 'rel=0'. The 'HQ' symbol doesn't seem to light up - but I'm pretty sure it's the higher quality version that's playing.

Link to the Mike Afford Media YouTube Channel - TV Graphics, Weather Graphics, Elections, Web Video

Laura White X-Factor Vote-Off Shock

There seems to have a bit of mix-up with last night's X-Factor. For some reason the series winner Laura White ended up in the bottom two and then got voted off by mistake by the Judges. I'm sure there'll be some kind of investigation, and I expect she'll be allowed to rejoin the programme next week.

And what a shame that Diana was too poorly to sing. I was really looking forward to hearing her 'unique' Dolores O'Riordan-style yodelling again.

'Dead Set' (E4). Big Brother. Zombies. Do you see what they did there?

Wasn't it ever so clever? That whole Big Brother scenario?? Ooooh look - aren't the viewers just like a load of zombies? Oooo - the contestants are just fodder to satisfy the cravings of a reality-hungry audience? Ooooh look - it works on so many levels.

Well, not for me it didn't. That one level was worked on so heavy-handedly there wasn't much room for anything else. So when we finally get to the (sigh) inevitable shots of zombies staring at TVs and zombies staring back, I'm thinking 'Enough already! I got the idea f---ing days ago!!'. I knew I should have waited for the omnibus edition. Then it might have all seemed a bit snappier.

Now don't get me wrong...

I do think that Charlie Brooker is a proper talent (I've often sat zombie-like myself in front of 'Screenwipe' well into the early hours). And of course, Davina 'zomb-ed' up a treat. It's just that maybe from Charlie Brooker I was expecting something... I don't know... more cleverer.

Still, fair play for sticking the credits on a website.