Saturday, 18 April 2009

Friday, 17 April 2009

Main Task

As mentioned in my mother blog the task specification for my main task was :- To produce a 5 minute news bulletin for local radio which includes; title music, presenter and specialist reporter(s), OB’s, a recorded interview, a vox pop and appropriate sound fx and structure.


For this task i would be working with the infamous Jack Shea and Mark Bates who have cameo roles in my task to help make it good.


Before i could start my main task i had to do Audience and Marketing Research aswell as Radio Focus Groups - both in order to decide what type of radio news programme i would produce aswell as what time of the day for it to be broadcasted.

Thursday, 16 April 2009

Evaluation for Total Coursework

Media Coursework Evaluation


In what ways do your media produce use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

My radio broadcast uses standard forms and conventions of real media products in such a way that it uses simple aspects combined and doesn’t try to over complicate or show off more that needs to be shown off in the way of skill and technology. I wanted to show that i know what i am doing and to show that i am not scared to have a wise crack on the radio. I didn’t want to be the usual rigid radio presenter you find on not so popular radio shows. I felt that my radio broadcast challenged some forms of the standard radio news broadcast by having a broadcast almost interrupted by a live ‘special guest.’ I think it worked well as Mark and I knew that as long as it stayed to the point and even had quirky comments from Mark’s point of view, that the audience would stay listening to the radio show and not get bored. If people in my class listened to it and said it was boring then i would have gone back to the drawing board.
My news stories in my media produce were a mixture between fiction and real life. I did this in order to give a sense of timing to when i researched the news for my broadcast and combine that with imagination to be able to make up news stories which are believable. And to be honest i think the way a radio personality reacts to news stories also makes them believable, and i felt i delivered that perfectly.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My media product represents different social groups in a way that shows different views of local citizens in the Reading area. Asking them a question about a local topic like how the local football team is doing this year provides me with different sides of the spectrum with people thinking they are doing well but with others thinking they are doing rubbish and needing to improve. I represent teenage secondary school children as bad in my product by saying that a local school had closed down due to a poor reputation. It is not my true feelings at all but i have heard stories myself so used that to manipulate my script.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media produce and why?

My media produce would be distributed by any radio broadcasting institution as it is a lenient media because radio is very flexible due to that fact that it doesn’t need to look good as there is no visual produce anyway so I have to mainly concentrate on how it sounds and how it can be interpreted. Radio distributors like BBC or even more local Reading 107 fm would be the ideal distributors as they both provide local news and items (BBC with the local station BBC Radio Berkshire). My produce is suitable for being a podcast because most radio institutes have websites that provide free streaming and podcasts of their shows.
It is suitable for my show to be able to combine radio distributors as well as online podcasts in order for it to be easily accessed.

Who would be the audience for your product?

The audience for my product probably wouldn’t be based for a certain type of person, anyone who likes to listen to the radio. But in all honesty the majority of my audience would be adults on their way to work as i feel my broadcast would be good to be in the morning as it talks about the television for that night so it gives people an insight of what to expect. Also as i give a list at the end of shows coming up for the rest of the day. My audience would be people from the local area as it is for a local station but they could even be passing through the county so can pick it up on their car radios. I think had i done it again i would have given more thought into having a set audience. Different conclusions can be drawn from my show to suggest who it is made for. Even with the end song as it is Depeche Mode – Just Can’t Get Enough, which yes is quite an old song but at the time of recording it was covered for Comic Relief by The Saturdays who are a modern pop band.


How did you attract/address your audience?

I attracted the audience by using a light hearted introduction as well as slightly more light hearted news. This was to be able to keep the show free flowing and also to enable myself to be versatile with the content and the way I delivered my broadcast. If I did it again I actually wouldn’t keep all of the content as maybe I could have added some more serious news into the broadcast and now just kept it fun and light hearted. Having shown my radio show to some peers in my class, i got quite a positive honest reaction. One of my peers said that it had realistic news items amongst some conventions with fictional news combined and interlocked. Another one said that i could have done with possibly including more aspects of a radio show with possible phone ins or promoting competitions ran by the radio station. The last one said that he felt it was good but didn't like the beginning jingle as it wasn't his preferred jingle for my show.


What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

During the construction of my media product I have learned how to use the school’s radio station more than before as I learned how to upload music from external devices as previously I had no clue on how to upload them. It is an expensive piece of equipment and I needed to ensure I kept it in good order.
To do this I needed to use the production system as I had to upload and rip the music from the hard drive. I uploaded all the music I needed to thanks to making sure it worked. If I hadn’t learned how to use this tool I would have struggled to finish my piece.
Also I needed to learn how to use audacity before the whole media coursework started. Even though it didn’t come out 100% professional it came out as well as possible because I tried to make sure I got the basics right and used the complex skills later on for a possibility of making it as good as it can be.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Looking back from my preliminary task I can see that I have learned that I can produce a real broadcast and I can write a decent script for my shows. It is useful for me as I am looking into using my school’s radio studio to record shows to play around school and to be podcasted so this skill is going to help me.
Compared to my preliminary task my main task uses more depth in the field of radio broadcasting. However I felt I also used the editing better as I needed to be able to prove that I could produce a quality piece of radio broadcasting.
However if I had a chance to do it again I would have made sure that my preliminary set a higher standard than it did because in all fairness my preliminary was quite poor. I knew that because it was slightly rushed and I didn’t use my time as effectively as I would have hoped.
For my main I felt I did it well, as I used all technologies possible for me and made what I thought was a good enough piece of radio broadcasting.

Tuesday, 7 April 2009

Main Script

0-30 seconds


‘You are listening to the Wonderful World of Wit with me, Jack Shea– coming up new hit tunes but first the 1pm news with Ryan Butler.


31seconds – 54 seconds

A jingle/compilation plays




55seconds -1 minute 20 seconds



“Hello, this is the Sports and Entertainment News with me Ryan. It was a good night for Reading born actress Kate Winslet last night after she picked up 2 awards at the Golden Globes. We don’t currently have any reaction due to technical reasons but in our news update at 3pm today we should have it.


1 min 20seconds – 1 min 40 seconds


Locally, a school in Reading is being closed for getting a poor OfSted report too many times, the expensive John Madejski Academy hasn’t been open long but its reputation was too much in the end.


1 min 40 seconds – 1 min 55 seconds
Sports now, and as Man City line up a £91 million move for AC Milan midfielder Kaka, and as Cristiano Ronaldo is crowned FIFA Football Player of the Year for 2008, Reading FC find themselves flying high in the Championship behind Wolves by 4 points. The fans are optimistic.
A vox pop of Reading fan’s feelings on the current situation Reading find themselves in.


1 min 55 seconds – 2 mins 35 seconds


(Vox Pop of fans thoughts on Reading plays)


2 min 35 seconds – 3 mins 50 seconds

The weather for today will be sunny but not particularly warm with a few clouds scattered here and there, temperatures rising to a high of 12 degrees C in Berkshire and the London area.



STOP! A special visitor has arrived, TV personality Mark Bates is here, lets bring him in to talk about his upcoming TV war time epic with Steven Wooldridge called The Light of Dawn.

Hello Mark, nice of you to drop in on us here.


Now tell us a bit about what we can expect from you in your new show – The Light of Dawn.?

*Mark answered spontaneously to keep it realistic every time*

Due to our busy schedule we will have to end it right there I’m so sorry about that

3 mins 50 seconds – 4 mins 30 seconds
Now here is what’s coming up for the rest of today.
Straight after I have finished in about 2 minutes time it is Andrew Sebkhi with his ‘Music of the Week’ show where he interviews the math rock pioneer band Foals. Then this evening Adam Westbury with his Live Lounge which today is the band Black Kids.
And Daniel Ashfield with his entertainment review show, tonight he reviews Batman – The Dark Knight. He is followed by ‘Up Late With Sam Gardner and Christian Mitchell’ and their theme tonight is cheesy love songs.
None

4 mins 30 seconds – 5 mins

Now as Andrew gets ready I will leave you with this to think about, if a man isn’t considered a man for wearing a dress, is a woman not considered a woman for wearing trousers? Here is Depeche Mode

Monday, 6 April 2009

Focus Group

BBC Kids World News

The Comments were made that it was dull and boring. How could children listen to it as it was patronising towards children and questioning their intelligence? Also the news topics weren’t interesting for children, like murders in Zimbabwe wouldn’t be liked by children.
However the sound effects at the start were good with good delivery of show.




Manchester’s News on the Run

The comments towards this one were also critical as it gave too much description for a small, quick news bulletin. Going down to the detail of what a woman was wearing is more suited for a newspaper article not a radio broadcast. Pretty dull but more was happening unlike the BBC Kids World News.



BBC Radio5 Story of the Day

The comments made about the story of the day were that it was too short for a main bulletin but too long for a single story. Good introduction with a nice, friendly voice starting off the piece but yet it dragged on for a solitary story. The news topic was also dull as it wasn’t attention grabbing.



Following this being completed i had to decide on what content i had to included as i needed to entertain the audience to keep them interested.

Thursday, 2 April 2009

Audience Research

To carry out my audience research i needed to see what type of radio they listen to and when they listen to it. I produced a questionnaire and handed them out. Here is a copy of the original questionnaire:-



1. Do you listen to the Radio?


Yes


No


2. Do you prefer local or national radio?


Local


National



3. At what time of the day do you listen to the radio?

Before 6.59 am


Between 7-9.59am


Between 10-12.59pm


Between 1-3.59pm


Between 4-5.59pm


Between 6-8.59pm



9pm and later



4. What do you listen out for on the radio?


News


Sport


Music


Gossip


Competitions


Upcoming Events


All of the above


5. Have you ever downloaded a podcast or listened online?


Yes

No



6. If yes, how convenient was the streaming/downloading process?


Very Convenient


Convenient


Quite Convenient


Inconvenient

7. Do you listen to FM, AM or Digital Radio?


FM


AM

Digital


8. Do you prefer…


Having songs for most of the show



Having news bulletins at brief intervals in the show



Chat show



Listening to live sport broadcasts




All of the above


9. How long do you think a radio broadcast should last?


Between 30 mins – 1 hr 15 mins
Between 1 hr 16 mins – 2 hrs

Over 2 hrs




10. Would you listen to my radio broadcasts? (if no, leave now)


Yes


No




Having finished handing out and gathering my results i needed to show them in an orderly manner