Evaluation

For this term we had to make a Magazine show we was put into groups based on the way that we learnt. I found through this exercise that I was a kinetic/ visual learner so I was put in to group of people who learnt in different ways to me so that the group had a good mixture of learning styles, which would mean that all the job roles were cover and also there was more scope for ideas. Put into a group of about 15 was a bit daunting at first as I only knew a select few of the group members.

After a session where we had icebreakers the group gradually got to know each other and the first hurdle was past. In future when group meeting arose people were a bit hesitant at first but confidences around each other gradually grew and we the felt comfortable in each others company and could share ideas more freely. There was a lot of time to get to know each other we would sometime spend most day of the week in this group and do group activates which acted like bonding experiences for the group.

We had a lot of time in the studio setting and were able to get a feel for the job that we believed that we were best suited. I was lucky enough to get the job I pitched, but some of the other members were not so lucky but they took the job they were given and did the best they could with it for the good of the team which I very much respect. People who did attain there dream job got it the fairest way I saw possible and this was a democratic vote, the class was able to say which person they believed was best for the job.

After theses decisions were made it was just preparation for the final show that was need. We had a basic outline of the script that was going to be used and from there on in it was just going to be rehearsal, rehearsal, rehearsal up until the assessment day. With a great team of set designers we were able to buy most of what we needed for the set in several hours. It was an ambitious set to put together but it all added to the challenge come assessment day.

There was I lot I learnt from this production which has changed my mind about broadcast media. For instance the amount of people that you need on set to make this event happen and the mass amount of people that you need behind the scene in the gallery. Also the amount of hard work that go in to making such a show, these are usually made on a daily basis and must test the producer’s creativity every day to make something fresh and new.

There was a lot of positive which I took from this process, one of which was the group. I feel that I couldn’t ask for a better set of people there was a mixture of personalities and no one seemed to clash it was a joy working with them and I look forward to working with them in the future. I feel that I have leant a new job and am confident that I am accomplished in it and want feel this way about other roles in future. The day of assessment went pretty well in my opinion and every thing on the studio floor went off with out a hitch.

Thing that I would change for next time would be some of the minor hitches that took away form the quality of the piece. Such as getting the timing of the VT’s right fixing camera two so that we were able to move it more improve the stability of the board. I feel if we had a few more days’ rehearsal the production would have gone of witho out a hitch.

Module Questions

Why are studio used to make programmes when tape is cheap and available?

There are many reasons that a studio setting is used for the making of magazine programmes. For instance this is a form of logo for them the studio for these sorts of programmes are rarely revamped it acts as something which is instantly recognisable by an audience which will pull in more viewing figure, as people who enjoy this show will stop to watch on. An example of this would be the Paul Ogrady show which has now become the 5 oclock show even though the host has changed the set is pretty similar to each other audience will know to watch this show as the content will be similar to the show they previously enjoyed.

People may watch these shows due to there unpredictability. There is always a chance of people getting there lines wrong or things going in demonstrations and this is what some shows are remembered for. Live shows have fluidity about them where the presenters build chemistry and they can go outside of the script which makes it more enjoyable for the audience. Shows like the Wright stuff and The Morning would no have such a connection with there audience through there live call.

What I feel is most important of all is that the show remains topical this is so they don’t insult the audiences intelligence by offering them old stories and out of date knowledge. “Because of the daily schedule of the it has its own studio” this was a quote from http://rooreynolds.com/2008/10/29/behind-the-scenes-at-the-one-show/ which was in reference to the One show and this being the main reason for them requiring a studio setting, also this setting is homely and will instantly make there audience feel comfortable.

What are magazine programmes and why do audiences like them?

General show seem to offer something for all so even though you may not enjoy all the show most offer a menu which allows the member of the audience to pick and choose what they want to watch. But there are more specific programming which target certain pastimes called specialists show this would include shows like soccer AM and Football focus have a more specific audience which is targeted through the content of the items. I feel that the specialist show are more successful to a niche audience people are able to relate to them with minor hesitation as they know what to expect and are comfortable with the subject matter. With these show there is less room for error with in items and links as they know the audience better as it all evolves around one subject matter.

What are the limitations of magazine programmes and how can they be improved to ensure they continue?

There are many draw backs and limitations to magazine shows, they come in many forms. Due to each show having a tag line which helps them target a certain audiences, each link VT and item have to fit into these specifics or else that item will not fit into the show. This limits the show to what it can air with these strict rules in place they might be missing out on an untapped market which may increase there viewing figures.

Most of these shows air early in the morning but failing that they air before the watershed. This limits what they can show or say even though these shows are aimed at adults. But it being live always leaves this open to abuse as some guest can be a bit of a live wire this could go ary.

Due to the space in the studio there is something which can’t be done there so they end up resorting to VTs. This takes away from the unpredictable nature of live TV which may leave viewer slightly disappointed.

Consider other sources of distribution for magazine shows?

I know that this is an obvious choice which everyone will go for but it maybe the future of T.V anyway. A new channel of distribution for these types of show may be online. Everything else has seemed to go this way such as magazines (Rio Ferdinand’s #5), news and television which can now be found online. With web 2.0 the option of streaming things live is becoming realise sporting events and music concert are being streamed live online daily, so magazine shows will not have to lose that unpredictability and spectacle which it has at the moment.

Assessment Day

Today started at 7.30 where we began to put together our ambitious set. The jobs which I was give today was the heavy lifting and also putting up the wallpaper trying to make it all match up and try to the make the faltering set look seamless. The wallpapering was the one of the most time consuming jobs in putting the set together and with the help of some of the other group member were able to do this with limited hassle. Also after all the set was in place it was my duty to fire guard the items so there was no chance of there being any fire related health and safety issues and the presenters were in no danger.

We were able to set up the talk back in minutes. This is where our first issue arose and the issue was with one of the head set was expelling a high pitched screeching sound so one of our camera operators was unable the director and follow her lead. We had to formulate a signing routine so that we could tell the camera operator what to do when, but lucky this was not for long as we found out it was the wire that was the problem and the camera operator was back online.

On the studio floor everything seemed to work without a hitch the presenter and guests were in on time. The runners got the set changed on time, the cocktails and after eights were put in place everything run like clockwork. The rehearsals worked and the performance in the studio was very strong. I was later informed that in the gallery some of the timings of the VT’s were out but the director was able to work out a contingency plan which gave us a strong last recording.

All in all the days events were very successful. Even though we had a faltering we had a very good final performance which the group should be very proud of.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Final Running Order

This is what I required on the studio floor. This was to make sure everything was in place on time so I knew when to invite guests on and could help out the presenters when they didn’t know where they were in the script.

1. Titles (12secs)

2. Presenter’s Introduction

3. Menu (16secs)

4. World Cup Discussion

5. World VT (1min)

6. Home or Abroad Debate

7. Festivals Discussion

8. Festival Camping Essentials VT (2min)

9. Fashion Discussion

10. Competition VT (1min)

11. Cocktails Discussion

12. Cocktails VT (2min)

13. After Eights Discussion

14. Britain’s Got Talent VT (20secs)

15. After Eight Challenge

16. Post After Eight Discussion

17. Presenter’s End Show

18. Music Performance

19. Credits

Task 3

This is a short video which briefly explains my job role:

Performer

Today was the first time that the group had seen or heard the performer sing and personally I was very happy with the choice and believe we had the perfect candidate for the job. This was the first time we were able to have her in the studio for practice we were able to take timings for the song and also sound check to see what she sounded like in the studio. Robyn seemed to ignore the cameras and was able to give a comfortable and natural performance which we were all quite impressed with and the group was happy to have her on board as this is something which ended the show quite well as the credits rolled over the top.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

VT filming

I have taken part in two on the three VT’s that have been shot. These were the world cup VT where we asked members of the public there opinions on the world cup and who they thought would win. The other VT I was involved in was the demonstration for the summer fruit cocktails and how to make these. We as a group started with the world cup VT as we thought this would be the easiest to film and edit, therefore  we would have one of the three VT’s done.

My part in the world cup VT initially started with setting up of the camera making sure all the sound was working and that we was filming in the highest quality possible and adjusting settings so that I wasn’t to bright so forth. After that my job was then to converse with the public trying to find people willing to take part in this VT. I had instant success with the first person I asked and thought it would be easy to get others to take part how wrong I was. After a good few hours of being out on the street we got about 10-15 people to take part. When we were actually filming my responsibilities was mixed between being a camera man and also holding the rifle microphone to make sure we were getting the best quality sound. There where many environmental factors affecting this as the microphone was picking up sound from the fountain and building works which was going on around us. Even with these hindrances we were still able to do professional job.

The cocktail video was the other VT that I was involved in. I had a similar job role in this I set up the main camera sound brightness and quality. But this time the set up was a little problematic as the camera I was setting up even though I had put the rifle microphone in it was picking up sound from else where after a short deliberation and assessment of the situation I realised that a connection had slipped out and we were able to file again I shared my responsibility between camera and sound we had to adjust the sound levels as after testing it was hard to hear our presenter. Again I believe this VT turned was well turned out and due to a better day weather wise and a better quieter location.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

VT List

The VT’s that we have chosen for our final piece are as follows

-          The first is asking member of the public there views on the world cup which players they think will perform and who the women think is the hottest player. We didn’t want to jst go for the stereotypical gendered questions and wanted to suit our show and aim it at men as well as women.

-           The second VT is how to make non alcoholic cocktails. This again is something that any one can join in and do (men, women and children). The choice of making it non alcoholic cocktails also opens up the target audience range this is aimed at.

-          The last V.T of original footage would be that of festival essential. This ties in with the show tag line which is “hot tips for a cool summer”. It is nicely aimed at our target audience of student who may part take in these events over the summer season.

We are to make some non original footage VT’s to tie in some of the links these are:

-          A competition this links to fashion section where we will offer tickets to the clothes show live.

-          Britain’s got talent the man who attempted a world record, as we are going to recreate this challenge on the show (above).

T-Shirts

We have chosen to make our own T-shirt to have a more professional look on assessment day. A few of the group members have taken up the responsibility to make these T-shirts which was designed by out team of set designer who I believe have done a really good job on looking at a few of the completed shirts. The T-shit idea has made us take more pride in being part of the red group and see this as more of a competition between us and the other groups. What I really like about this shirt is that they are personalised with the job role you have and your name. Also them being hand made adds a more personal touch as people have gone to the effort to make these t-shirts for you which I feel is more special.

Shopping for set

As a group we went shopping for the set. Our group adventure took us to Ikea where we found most of the items we needed, even thought set design had been attributed to one group member we were able to give input to what we thought should have on set our opinion was asked on several items included tables, table cloths, wallpaper and rugs. I like this way of working I was glad that some of the group had a clear idea of how they wanted it to look like as I liked having input but I don’t fell that set design is my forte. Even though only some of the group part took in this exercise I believe it was a good team bonding experience which I believe bought us closer as a group getting to know each other outside the studio/ university setting.

These sorts of activities which the group partake in I feel can only make the end product stronger as the better team chemistry that you have the easier it will flow come the final assessment.