Combing through footages of old TV news reports recorded on VHS tapes, I have been fascinated by different types of spatial illusion constructed to assist news presentation. In 1998, ATV had introduced virtual studio technology to their news broadcasting. This had allowed them frequent changes in the design of news desk, the use of Victoria Harbour as backdrop for morning news programme, and even providing unknown territories and seas for news anchors to stand on while reporting about the Kosovo War. As time goes by, the novelty of reporting real life affairs from a virtual new studio has faded and ATV has now become history. Yet, from Renaissance's multiple-plot storytelling in complex perspective to double exposure of photographic film, from Hollywood's matte painting to CGI technology and nowadays’ digital imaging applications that are available to all, our pursuit of compositing techniques that enable us to construct fine image of an unified and probable realistic world has only become stronger.

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重看一大堆舊年用錄影帶錄下的電視新聞節目時，我特別被新聞直播室的空間營造安排吸引。亞洲電視曾於1998 年投資引入「虛擬演播室」技術，讓主播檯的設計可以不時更新，主持晨早新聞時可背靠維港中央，甚至在報導科索沃戰爭的時候主播們可以在不知名的國界海域之上行走。時移世易，在虛擬演播室報導現實世界新聞資訊或者只是一個潮流玩意，亞洲電視亦已經成為過去。但對這種運用「畫面合成」技術――從文藝復興時期構建多重空間說故事，到攝影膠片的多重捕光，早期電影的繪景玻璃板到近年零瑕疵的電腦成像技術，及至今天普及的各類製圖軟件程式――人們意圖精巧地構建營造一種完整可信、真實世界的追求，就一直沒有減退。

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Acknowledgement
VHS tapes collection: Mr LAM and family
Digitalisation of VHS tapes: William YUEN
Compositing consultant: CHUNG Chi-ho

鳴謝
錄影帶藏品：林先生及家人
數碼轉化：袁永康
畫面合成技術顧問：鍾智豪

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