Production Analysis
Radio
The radio module taught me the importance of team work, and to always
consider your target audience; the listeners are key. To be cohesive
within the team was especially relevant in this module, because we had
to put out two bulletins – one lasting four minutes, and the next
lasting three minutes – with a two hour gap between them. We also
rotated between broadcasting as two radio stations, Talbot FM and
South Coast Radio. These two radio stations had very different target
audiences and listener profiles; and so it was vitally important to
keep these profiles in mind when both selecting and writing the
stories. I also gained an understanding of prioritizing news, in the
sense of both putting most newsworthy stories at the top of the
bulletin, and holding softer stories for the afternoon bulletin.
During the practice Radio news days, I had the role of both a reporter
and an entertainment reporter. For the second role, we decided as a
group to try roles that we felt uncomfortable with. I enjoy and
understand the role of reporter, and enjoy selecting stories in order
of newsworthiness. Thus, to report on the entertainment world was a
new experience for me. I enjoyed choosing, researching and writing the
stories; but I found it difficult to distinguish which were most
newsworthy, being used to ‘hard news’ where I am familiar with the
context and conventions.
However, I worked hard to fulfil the role of entertainment reporter
successfully. For our first bulletin, I selected and wrote a story on
Cheryl Cole’s X Factor performance success. For our second bulletin of
the day, I followed the initial story up with a piece on how Cheryl
Cole was on route to break records with her debut single. In this way,
I tried to keep a relevant, popular story going throughout the day;
and to give more information to the audience with each bulletin in
order to keep the bulletins interesting and relevant.
On the first practice news day, working as a reporter, I also acted as
a Political Correspondent in a live two-way with the presenter. The
two-way added depth and variety to the bulletin, and an external
correspondent lends authority and expertise to the story. On that day
we were practising as South Coast Radio, which has a listener profile
of more mature, possibly retired professionals who would appreciate an
expert opinion and a more serious tone to the bulletin. However,
because both the presenter and I were nervous about the live two-way,
we rehearsed it several times and so, on broadcast, it didn’t sound
spontaneous enough. It was difficult to keep it authentic and lively,
but also to be well versed in what needs to be said.
For our assessed news days, I worked as a reporter. As a group, we
decided to stick with the roles we had occupied in the first practice
day as we felt that they had worked well, both individually and as a
team. On the first news day, I interviewed Doctor David Martill, a
Reader at Portsmouth University’s School of Earth and Environmental
Sciences, about a ‘sea monster’ story. The fossilised skull of a
prehistoric predator called a pliosaur was discovered along the
Jurassic coast. I conducted an interview by telephone in the studio,
and asked Doctor Martill to explain what the pliosaur actually was,
how it may have looked like, and the importance of the discovery.
Fortunately, Doctor Martill gave a fantastic interview with plenty of
great information. The ‘sea monster’ interview added hugely to the
story; it added variety in the voices and an air of expertise.
This interview was also condensed down for the second bulletin. Its
timing was halved, as we decided that it was still newsworthy enough,
but it didn’t deserve to dominate our second bulletin. However, it was
still important to keep some of Doctor Martill’s audio in because it
was a great soundbite and added depth.
During our news days, we did have some timing issues. Our first South
Coast bulletin of the first assessed day was late, and on the second
assessed news day it was tight to get the first bulletin out on time.
I believe that this was down to a lack of cohesive organisation and
technical issues. As a team and individually, we were not as familiar
as we should have been with the ENPS system. This could have been
rectified by more practice with it on the practice news days. We were
also all immersed in our individual tasks, and perhaps lacked focus on
how it would all come together. This could have been improved by a
higher level of communication between team members, and a more
definite or stricter plan of action. For example, members of the team
could have been given goals which they would have to have fulfilled by
a certain time. In this way, tasks would get done efficiently and
quickly; and the overall structure would have been better organised.
However, I feel that the tone and feel of our bulletin worked well for
our target audiences. We understood the difference in listener styles
between South Coast FM and Talbot FM. South Coast is a more
traditional, ‘BBC’ style, regional radio station. The stories are
usually longer and there is more use of correspondents and experts to
infer authority. As previously mentioned, its listener profile is
middle aged, retired professionals. When broadcasting as South Coast
FM, we choose stories which were more serious in tone, or were easy
for the older listener to relate to; such as stories on the postal
strike. We used clips from correspondents and interview subjects, to
add credence to the stories and a touch of expertise.
Talbot FM has a far younger listener profile, around 16 to 30 years
old, and are usually females. Talbot FM has a much more commercial
style, a punchy delivery and an emphasis on human interest. Stories
and tricky information is usually condensed and made more palatable
for the listener. We bore this in mind when choosing and writing
stories, and tried to keep the stories relevant to the listener.
Heavier, harder stories were made easier to understand, and
entertainments and sports news played a larger role in the bulletin.
When broadcasting as Talbot FM, the emphasis was on easily-digestible
information delivered in a pacy style.
For the Current Affairs day, I had to craft a radio feature lasting
one minute, forty-five seconds. I found it hard to decide on an idea
which had a strong enough feature element. I initially wanted to
create a feature around the concept of binge drinking, drawing on the
national statistics and the local Bournemouth link. However, after
consultation with my tutor, I came to the conclusion that this feature
idea was a little clichéd and tired. I eventually decided to base my
package around Lord Peter Mandelson’s university reforms, which had
been a story featured on our last news day. I decided that this was
the best idea because it was timely, relevant and appropriate to my
chosen radio station, News Briefing in the style of Radio 4.
I preferred to create my feature for broadcast on Radio 4 because it
is a station I am familiar with, a style I like and enjoy, and I was
confident that I understood the appropriate tone and listener profile.
Within my package, I decided to get the ‘student perspective’ in the
form of vox-pops, and two interviews from people in authority to give
some expertise to the feature. I realised that these ‘voices of
expertise’ were crucial to the style of News Briefing, and to the
target audience; as ‘professionals’ they would appreciate and expect
an authoritative interview on the subject. By including the student
vox-pops, combined with the Councillor and Union of Lecturers
spokesperson, I hoped to encompass a wide range of opinion within the
feature, and therefore make it as journalistically balanced as
possible. If I had had more time, I would have been able to have
included more interviews. I interviewed three Councillors, but could
only include one. The other two Councillors would have been
interesting to include as well, to widen the debate.
My feature was flawed in some ways. I did not include any music beds
or sound effects, which would have been a little more creative and
imaginative. Thus, my feature may have been dull. The structuring
could have been looser, enabling the feature to flow better and be
less formulaic. I tried too hard to be in the style of Radio 4 –
emphasising the serious nature of it and forgetting the more creative
elements.
However, I am proud of certain aspects of the feature. I feel that I
had a good variety of interviews, with interesting and informative
subjects. The script managed to convey the right information essential
for understanding the context of the story; and although the structure
may have been unimaginative, it was well constructed and ordered.
Television
During the television unit, I built upon the teamwork skills I learnt
in the radio unit. Television allowed me to learn how to juxtapose
video and audio in order to create a certain effect or narrative. I
also learnt the importance of a target audience, and how to craft
television accordingly.
My team’s first television task was the News Magazine programme. For
this, each of us created an individual package lasting one minute
twenty seconds. The programme also included a normal news update –
national and local stories – and was presented by a member of the
group. The target audience for the News Magazine programme was that of
South Today; middle aged, possibly retired professionals.
I was slightly daunted by the prospect of the news package. I
struggled with finding an idea that was timely or newsworthy enough.
However, I finally decided to base my package around Bournemouth’s
World Aids Day; as it covered an important issue and I was confident
that I would be able to get good pictures and interesting interviews
on the subject. The event was also very timely, as the event was on
Tuesday 1st December, and it had to be broadcast on the Thursday!
Although this was slightly stressful and rushed, I believe that it was
the right decision because it was incredibly timely and a good package
idea. Covering World Aids Day also appealed to me personally, having a
strong desire to increase awareness of Aids and HIV.
My filming experience for the package was good. I was worried about
the technology, as I was using a new camera that I had never used
before. I took a rough plan of shots that I needed to get, and I had
also created a timing plan, so that I knew how much time I had for
interviews. I had written a script before filming, as I thought that
this would make both the shooting and editing processes easier.
However, I found that by having a completely pre-written script, I was
limited in my editorial choices. A pre-determined script also caused
difficulty in that the script dictated the shots, rather than the
shots dictating the script. Next time, I intend to write a looser
script which allows for more creative freedom and improvisation when
filming.
I had only arranged one interview prior to going to film, with the
event organiser Desmond McLean. I had no contact information for my
other intended interviewees – visitors and stallholders at the event –
so I decided that the best course of action was to arrive and
ascertain who was willing to talk to me. Fortunately, I found that
people were friendly and willing to talk; I managed to get interviews
relatively easily.
When selecting interview subjects, I tried to get a wide range of
people. I interviewed the event organiser Desmond McLean, who was
crucial to the entire day. He also suffers from HIV and so could give
an invaluable personal opinion. I interviewed a Reverend who was
visiting the event, who could give an interesting perspective not only
as a bystander but from a religious point of view. My other interview
subjects were stallholders, one of whom is a Bournemouth Councillor.
This added a tone of authority to my interviews. Beryl Baxter, the
Mayor of Bournemouth was present at the event, and the interview I
requested was refused. I would have loved to have been able to put an
interview with the Mayor into my package, because she would have been
a figurehead from local government, speaking definitively about the
issue.
I decided to introduce the package with a piece to camera, because I
wanted to add a personal touch of the reporter, and help to vary the
images and add depth. I also thought that it would benefit the package
by setting myself within the context of the subject (World Aids Day)
in order to give myself authority.
A difficulty I encountered when filming was that the number of people
who came was lower than expected. Although the event still drew a
large number of visitors, it meant that I had to be careful when
filming shots of the crowd to avoid possible repetition of people.
Another difficulty was noise levels; a live band was playing
sporadically throughout the day and so this limited when I could do
interviews. During my interview with Desmond McLean the band began
playing half way through, and ruined the interview audio. Fortunately,
Mr McLean was understanding and allowed me to conduct the interview
again, farther away from the centre of the event.
I was careful to check the audio of my interviews after each one, as
during the filming of my package in my first year, I had forgotten to
check the microphone or the audio and found that all the video was
silent. I was determined not to make this mistake again. Another
difficulty I discovered when filming Bournemouth’s World Aids Day was
that the plan of shots I had written was too vague. Had I been more
specific, I would have had a clearer understanding of the pictures
that I needed to get, and as a result would have been more efficient.
However, as my plan was not detailed enough it meant that my
descriptive shots were not of a high quality, or adequately varied.
This in turn made the editing process difficult. A lack of descriptive
pictures to lay under my voice over meant that the images seemed
repetitive and dull. When filming in the future, I will definitely
prepare a highly specific plan of shots. However, my pre-prepared
script helped in the sense that it made editing relatively simple, my
timing was already worked out and I knew how much time I had to devote
to my interviews.
Overall, I believe that the strengths of my package were the variety
and quality of interviews, the script because it gave accurate and
concise information, and my piece to camera which helped to set the
scene. However, my package also had weaknesses. It lacked a variety in
shots, and the overall structure was formulaic owing to my
pre-prepared script; creativity and imagination could have been
utilised more.
My group’s next television assignment was the documentary. We came up
with the idea of focusing the documentary around the movement of
burlesque; through a contact of Ambers. We entitled the documentary
‘Burlesque Undressed,’ and aimed to explore burlesque, what it is and
why people love it. We chose to emulate the documentary style of Louis
Theroux and Dawn Porter, who take the viewer on a personal journey of
discovery. The emphasis is on the presenter, who leads the audience
and explains every step. This style was most appropriate to our chosen
topic because the movement of burlesque is, by nature, tongue-in-cheek
and informal.
For our filming schedule, Sophia, Amber and I went to Rubyz Cabaret
Club in Bournemouth, where a sale of burlesque garments designed by
Annie Young was held. Amber, designated presenter, was filmed going
into the club in order to introduce our presenter into the narrative
of the documentary. Amber interviewed David Mitchell, also known as
Dame Kitty, who owns Rubyz and is prevalent in the Bournemouth cabaret
and burlesque scene. She also interviewed Charlotte Blake, burlesque
name Lottie Bon-Bon, who is a burlesque dancer who regularly performs
in Bournemouth. We also interviewed Annie Young, who was the crux of
the entire documentary, and our main interview subject. The interviews
were personal and entertaining, with a strong sense of each of the
interview subjects’ characters. Sophia and I had a camera each, and as
well as filming the interviews also filmed decorative and establishing
shots of the club. These were intended to help set the scene and be
laid under a voice-over.
We also filmed Annie showing Amber some burlesque steps and moves, in
order to emphasise the personal style we wanted to create. This was
Amber’s journey, and we were going along for the ride. Other links
that we filmed were Amber in the car driving home, and giving a piece
to camera talking about her experiences that night and about her new
perception of burlesque. We also filmed Amber going into her house, to
reiterate the personal, informal presenting style.
However, when we came to edit the documentary together, we found that
our footage had been deleted because of a lack of space on the
computer. As a group and as individuals, we learnt some valuable
lessons from this. I have since invested in an external hard drive,
and intend to back up every piece of footage or audio I record in the
future.
I also have positive experiences to take and learn from during the
filming and researching of our documentary. I became much more
confident and capable with the cameras, and learnt new ways of
shooting film to create a certain effect. I also became much more
confident with the editing software, and how to become really creative
with it. I learnt the connotations of using specific effects to create
a particular tone or narrative.
Our last assignment was the youth show. We agreed to divide the five
minute show into five sections – ‘Hard News’ followed by Sport,
followed by ‘Wacky News,’ followed by Music and finishing with
Fashion. By utilising these five mainstream interests, and keeping the
themes such as Music and Fashion relatively unisex, we hoped to appeal
to male and females in the sixteen to twenty-five age category. Amber
and Kat were designated as Presenters, and myself, Sophia and Claire
as Reporters. Amber filmed and interviewed the drummer from the
punk-rock band Gallows for our Music section, Sophia conducted some
vox-pops for the Wacky News section and interviewed Lindy Stuart for
our Fashion tips; Claire created the title sequence and worked the
autocue during broadcast, and Kat helped to present. I conducted a
series of vox-pops for our Music section on the race to the Christmas
Number One, helped film the title sequence, wrote national and wacky
news stories for the broadcast day, and worked the vision mixer during
broadcast.
I believe that our Youth Show had many strengths. Its content was well
varied and interesting, in order to appeal to as many people in our
target audience as possible. The pace was punchy and quick, in the
style of a youth programme. Our presenters were charismatic and
relaxed on camera, and really had a rapport on screen. Our Youth Show
included a good number of clips that we had created ourselves – in
Wacky News, Music, and Fashion. After the latter had finished, Amber
and Kat also had some of the clothes recommended to try on for
themselves and give their own opinion. We also made a big effort with
the title sequence, which I think made a difference to the entire
show.
However, our Youth Show also could have been improved in some ways. My
technical skills on the vision mixer were not up to par, and as a
result of not switching between clips quick enough, there was a flash
of green in the broadcast. This could have been rectified by more
practice on the vision mixer, by myself; and a greater number of
rehearsals by the group. Another flaw within the Youth Show was that
we did not manage to get any pictures to run under Wacky News into the
tricaster in time, as a result the presenters were simply telling the
stories with no pictorial assistance. This could have been rectified
by being more efficient about the images we needed to get. We should
have drawn up a thorough list of all images and clips that need to be
moved into the tricaster by a certain time, in order for this mistake
not to happen again.
Conclusively, I have learnt a range of new skills during the Broadcast
Unit; including teamwork, a greater capability with the technology, a
sharpening of my writing skills, and to always consider the audience
when broadcasting.
Monday 18 January 2010
Wednesday 21 January 2009
Court Story
Alcoholic scars woman for life
A woman has been left traumatised after man sliced her face open with a glass.
Carl Stanley, 28, of Poole, plead guilty to a charge of two counts of grievous bodily harm after a bar argument spiralled out of control, the crown court heard today.
Prosecutor Stuart Ellicott said the victim, Kim Hiscott, was in Yate’s bar at the time of the incident. Hiscott saw Stanley throw his drink over a friend of hers.
In retaliation, Hiscott preceded to throw her drink over Stanley, said Mr Ellicott. Stanley hit Hiscott in the left side of her face with his glass, cutting her face.
Ms Hiscott has deep lacerations on her face; ranging from 1 to 3 cm long. She needed 25 stitches in total. Mr Ellicott said she is now “deeply reluctant to go out” and was “moved to tears whenever she looks at herself in the mirror.”
Defence barrister Emma Southern argued that Stanley is a self-confessed alcoholic and was not in a clear state of mind. Stanley had consumed one litre of vodka, six two-litre bottles of cider, and shots of sambuca.
Ms Southern said Stanley “wants to address his drink problem” and spoke of his “desire to sober up and make something of his life.”
Stanley had a previous conviction for wounding with intent, in March. During a fistfight Stanley produced a penknife and stabbed two men.
Running News Story
Mad man’s trail of terror
A man began a manical rampage through Bournemouth today ending in the decapitation of his mother, the destruction of his home, and his own death.
A man now identified as Pascal Tonk is believed to have broken into the Keiran Verdon Archery Range at Chapel Gate Leisure Centre using a JCB digger. The JCB is suspected to have been taken from a nearby building site. A spokesman for Dorset Police confirmed that an Olympic-standard crossbow and bolts had been taken.
Mr Tonk is then thought to have crossed to Horseshoe Common at around 8.30 am, ridden his pushbike around the park before shooting Ms Pippa Shufflebottom’s schitzu Bounce Back Ability with the crossbow.
Animal Ambulance collected the month-old dog and its condition is unknown. Ms Shufflebottom, a twenty-year-old mobile hairdresser from Canford Heath, says her attacker looked “really weird” and that he was “just a sick person.”
At approximately 10.30 at St Augustine’s Church, Wallisdown, Belgian national Mels Rattue was shot in the eye by Tonk. He is believed to have used the stolen crossbow. Rattue was pronounced dead on the scene.
A professional bonsai tree grower, Mr Rattue had only recently arrived in Bournemouth from the Netherlands for a bonsai tree cultivator’s conference. He had a wife and two children of 3 and 7.
His companion Dennis Lansbert, 52 and a fellow bonsai tree grower, was at the incident. “I’m just devastated…it is really sad,” he said.
At around 12 noon, Mr Tonk then continued his rampage to his very own house at St. Antony’s Road and set it alight. Nineteen fire engines were called to the scene. Once firefighters had managed to beat the blaze, an examination of the inside of the house led to some grisly discoveries.
Mr Tonk’s German Shepherd Laughing Gravy and his mother, Louise ‘Lulu’ Tonk, 32, were both found decapitated and covered in petrol. They are thought to have been decapitated by a machete, and died before the fire started. They were discovered on the ground floor.
During the blaze police cornered Mr Tonk at Talbot Combined School, Wallisdown. Upon attempting to shoot his crossbow at police, Pascal Tonk , 23, was shot by officers in self defence.
“My main concern is for the safety of my officers,” says Barry Lindon, Chief Superintendant, of Tonk’s death.
Mock Running News Story
Deadly poison leak in Poole Harbour
Two people have died and seventy are hospitalized after two ferries collided in Poole Harbour at 10 o’clock yesterday morning.
Chief ferry loader Nick Gosney claimed that the accident was the result of a large hole in the ferry and a chain snapped. The two ferries that were involved were a commercial Sandbanks ship and a cargo ferry; the latter leaking a poisonous liquid into the water.
Talben Lee, 58 and a pollution consultant from Norway, has confirmed that the liquid is linandane, a highly toxic substance that causes ecological contamination.
Desperate passengers aboard the ferry jumped into the water, attempting to escape injury aboard the sinking ships. However the water was contaminated with linandane.
A spokesman for the Poole Coastguard has confirmed two deaths as a result of the incident. The bodies have yet to be identified, but are said to be that of a man and and a woman in their eighties.
An inflatable wall has been constructed around the coast to avoid future contamination, and the spillage is thought to have reached as far as the South East Henistbury coast line.
Fishing has been banned for the foreseeable future, as all sea life who have come in contact with the linandane will be contaminated and eventually die.
Enviromental agencies recommend not going near the water for 48 hours.
Vox Pop Piece
Who is facing the credit crunch?
The past year has seen a major collapse in the world’s economy. The housing markets are plummeting and food prices are rising; the future of our economy and how it will shape the way we live is uncertain. But who is this financial crisis affecting the most?
Bank employee Julie Osbourne, 49 from Poole said ‘it is the twenty-fives and over that will suffer the most from the credit crunch. Anyone running a home.’ Elizabeth Bellamy, a forty-two year old shop assistant from Amesbury Park agreed. ‘Anyone who’s not in full time education, anyone who’s earning money. Parents the most.’
Stephen Moore, 37 from Winton argued ‘people with outstanding debts are hit hard. The interest rates will send their debts soaring up.’ But student Esmerelda Koletski, 23 from Bournemouth, disagreed. ‘I think students will be the worst off. The credit crunch will make it tough for students to pay off their loans.’
Paul Wilkinson, 45, a contractor from London, offered an alternative view – ‘those with poor credit rates will suffer most as banks won’t be giving them loans or overdrafts at all.’
Alex Penge FranieStevenson
Frankie Stevenson, 18, a student from Bournemouth, and Alex Penge, also 18, a business student from South London, agreed that families with more responsibilities will feel the crunch. ‘They have more to pay, like mortgages,’ said Mr Penge. ‘Middle-aged people are definitely worst off,’ agreed Ms Stevenson, ‘they have mortgages and bills to pay.’
Lynsey Lecorq
Katie Moses
Lynsey Lecocq, 20 from Wallisdown, offered a different opinion. ‘It’s worst for first time buyers,’ she said. ‘The banks are refusing to give people mortgages; it’s so hard for people to get on the property ladder.’ Katie Moses, 18, a marketing student from Boscombe argued, ‘twenty-fives to thirty fives are more likely to have children and cars – bills that add up and cost a lot of money.’
Hum Quareeshi
But media student Hum Quareshi, 26 from Charminster, offered a more rounded view. ‘I think it affects all age groups differently,’ he explained. ‘Students will be denied overdrafts, professionals in the city can’t have their lavish lifestyles anymore. Social attitudes are going to change – with houses being repossessed, people are going to be stressed and unhappy, business regulations are going to get tougher; and this could cause conflict.’
Original News Story
Christmas Lights Light Up
By Nancy Duckels
Held in Salisbury Market Place, the evening begins at
The big moment arrives at
“The Christmas lights really are the highlight of my year,” says Philippa White, 35 and nurse from
“I go to the lights every year with my friends. It’s such a nice atmosphere,” says student Clare Strong, from
November 27th promises to be an excellent night for all the family. For more details about this fantastic event, call Salisbury City Centre Management at 01722 434654.
Interview With A Journalist
‘I love interviewing ordinary people to whom something extraordinary has happened’
Polly Dunbar claims that good reporters are “interested in people and what makes them tick, and curious about the world around them.”
Miss Dunbar, 27, works as a journalist for the Mail On Sunday. Earning an impressive £40,000 a year, she enjoys a busy and successful career which can take her to all kinds of places and people.
‘None of my days are ever the same,’
Miss Dunbar’s hours vary as she works for a Sunday newspaper. At the beginning of the week, she will do an average eight hour day; but towards the weekend can easily work ‘from first thing in the morning to last thing at night.’
Dunbar, from London, completed a year-long postgraduate diploma in newspaper journalism at the University of Central Lancashire after finishing a degree in English. During her diploma she was able to have some work experience on the Daily Express, and was lucky enough to be accepted onto the paper’s graduate training scheme in 2004. Of the experience
Miss Dunbar says her favourite field of journalism is real-life. ‘I love interviewing ordinary people to whom something extraordinary has happened…I believe reporting should be both informative and entertaining…In the media, there’s something for everyone, and I believe that’s a positive thing.’
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