262MC Formats Production: Blog Task CW6 (TV Viewing Experiences)

What do you think the TV viewing experience will be for viewers in 2020?

First off, TV viewing experiences have dramatically changed over the years with the entry of video on demand services. For example, according to BARB [2]  there has certainly been a rise in numbers for VOD services due to high accessibility and convenience, as many want instant access to films and television shows rather than waiting a whole week for new episodes (see diagram below).

From this particular diagram it’s clear to see that there has been an upward fluctuation. In particular, the largest increase can be seen in the ‘Any SVOD’ streak. Thus signifying a very high demand for subscription-based TV in various households.  Furthermore, the most popular service can be clearly defined as Netflix, with the following findings becoming prominent (via BARB statistics).

In Q2 Netflix completed the process of implementing the price rises it imposed on new customers from mid-2014. At that time, existing customers were protected from the impact of the increase, which added £1.50/month to the price for basic tier subscribers. These existing customers were asked to pay the new price from May-June 2016, which may explain the apparent stalling of the growth in Netflix subscribers in the last quarter. Both Amazon and Now TV continued to grow at roughly their historic rates. [2.5]

One other factor which is currently going towards our tv experiences, most likely to affect our viewing experiences in 2020 includes social networking sites. The following infographic showcases this well (Cummings, 2015):

One main theme within the infographic above, includes the rise in viewers tweeting about their viewing experience, in terms of what they are watching and how they are engaging with it. This in itself showcases how they are sharing their thoughts and feelings about the programme into the wide web. Thus establishing audience contentment/disappointment as they are spreading their views through social networking sites. Thus are actively engaging with the media form itself rather than accepting it passively. Therefore breaking the hypodermic needle theory, which suggests that viewers are almost ‘injected’ with information from the media, of which they accept in the same way as everyone around them. This is, as we know not applicable to today’s day and age where opinions and views are shared extremely openly in context with viewing experiences and so forth.

Personally, I would say this particular service falls hand in hand with people’s television experience, as they are involving themselves in the ‘second screen experience’. In short, this is where the viewer actively watches TV whilst on their phone (or on another media device), eitheviewingng embedded content or gaining a deeper understanding to the show via 3rd party services. A report published through ‘adweek.com'(Flomenbaum, 2015) includes the following statistics:

• More than a third (37%) of consumers own a combination of smartphones, laptops/desktops, and tablets.

• Among those who plan to buy a TV, 61% expect to buy a connected TV, and 25% are planning to buy a 4K TV, an increase of 7% over last year.

• 87% of consumers use more than one device at a time. Globally, the smartphone is the most frequent companion device scoring 57% overall. This trend is particularly strong for millennials, with 74% of 14- to17-year-olds using a combination of TV/smartphones during viewing. 

Thus the above statistics can confirm that many almost multi-task when watching TV as they seek to enhance their viewing experience with added support from social media, to various built in apps available on various app markets. This further shows how TV vieiwng experiences have already evolved in just a few years. Therefore setting up further intrigue to what viewing experiences will be like in 2016 if new viewing aids are already being rolled out and used extremely frequently.

To conclude the question of what viewing experiences will be like in 2020, its clear that they will follow suit to todays day and age, considering the rise in technology and on demand services alongside various other applications which promote TV viewing. I’d further say that so many people are now searching for ‘instant viewing’ as its available to them, offering them ease and accesibility in binge watching a whole series than waiting for the next episode. Thus this not only showcases a change in audiences viewing habits but also the change which technolgy has brought to TV viewing  experiences on the whole, affecting audiences tv sittings in the future.

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Bibliography

[1] IvyBusinessReview. CA and Menon, P. (2013) THE REVOLUTION WILL BE TELEVISED: THE ECONOMICS OF ONCUE. Available at: http://iveybusinessreview.ca/blogs/pmenonhba2010/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2013/10/IntelMast.png (Accessed: 15 November 2016).

[2/2.5] 2016, B. (2016a) The UK television landscape report. Available at: http://www.barb.co.uk/tv-landscape-reports/tracker-svod/ (Accessed: 15 November 2016).

[3] Cummings, C. (2015) Infographic: How Twitter is reshaping the TV landscape. Available at: http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/infographic-how-twitter-reshaping-tv-landscape-167018 (Accessed: 15 November 2016).

[4] Flomenbaum, A. (2015) Accenture report: 87% of consumers use Second screen device while watching TV. Available at: http://www.adweek.com/lostremote/accenture-report-87-of-consumers-use-second-screen-device-while-watching-tv/51698 (Accessed: 15 November 2016).

262MC Formats Production: Week 2 (finding our audience + further TV planning for ‘Love Clash’).

Today we were briefed on ‘Audience’, attached below, are all my notes from the session. On reflection, this particular session was very effective and intriguing, and it gave me different ways to think about audience demographics. Further making it clear that audience demographics, doesn’t just mean numbers, it means the type of people your audience members are. Thus it gave me a lot to think about, in a short amount of time really stimulating my understanding, in thinking of a new perspective upon looking at ‘audience’ in general.

After the session was over, my team met in the new TV studio to go over all logistics of our show. Upon reaching our session, we started to think about our programme order. This would help as an aid, to see how much content we have so far in the pipeline, therefore adding in anything else where needed. Upon filling in our order, it was noticed by our lecturer that alot of work still needed to be done on our official idea. However what was clear was the type of programme we were opting for and our synopsis message (see below, in bold):

tv-2

Love Clash Script (Katy), rough outline: love-clash-katy

Other things which were touched on today included refining our idea more to the brief, whilst organising set designers and other roles too. This proved extremely beneficial as it meant that we’d not only be sticking to the brief throughout but also planning ahead as well due to our limited time frame. We stressed the importance of TV time, within the group, thus decided that those available the next day could meet and practise possible script lines with the presenter/film mini VT’s in order to make use of our time fully.

Upon reflecting on today’s session in the TV studio, I would say we got a lot done as a collaborative. Considering we really fleshed out our idea more with the help of our lecturer, who critiqued us well throughout. She also gave us very valuable feedback which we included on all of our research file mind maps (see above). This gave us a better peace of mind surrounding our idea. In analysing my performance, I made sure that everyone knew what they were doing, further checking up with all on their roles. I also made sure to brainstorm all ideas with the group and explain in further detail how we’d involve our audience in more, whilst sticking to the brief and delivering a well-rounded TV format at the end of the day. As a team, we also made sure to put together a full to-do list, for us all to stay on track in order to keep up team morale and for us to establish a steady work flow too.

All notes (personal/group):

262MC Formats Production: Research Stage/Producer Preparation

 

‘Television’ (Variety)[1]

Upon reflecting on this weeks progress, in starting on the TV part of our formats module. I thought I’d brainstorm all the factors of my role and how I will be acting in them. Making sure to not only add my own flare but also to stay organised and focused throughout.

First off, in thinking about my role as a producer I began to read up on my knowledge of acting as one. As I researched my role, I began to think about those who executively produce programmes, considering that I am working solo as a ‘producer’ for my tv teams show, without the support of an assistant producer. Thus can carry on some of the responsibilities of an executive producer onto my role.

According to Creative Skillset.org (CS 2016) being an executive producer involves the following:

• Being responsible for the overall quality control and success of TV productions
• Ensuring that television programmes conform to commissioners’ specifications

In terms of analysing this description, it’s clear to me that I will have to make sure that we stick to broadcasting standards, further keeping the audience in mind when it comes to what type of language we use on our show and the quality of our production and so forth. I will further brief my team on this, in order for them to understand the importance of ‘broadcast standards’, if they are not quite familar with it yet.

Next as a producer, I will be sure to organise weekly meetings and file all the necessary paperwork in due course. This will be very beneficial to my tv team, as I will keep all documents in one place and possibly showcase all documents to the team so they are aware of the paperwork that needs to be filled out. Some examples include, audience participation forms, health and safety form(s) etc. I may also over see the participants that we bring on to our show, as I can assess their suitability and can possibly have a small chat with them about the agenda of our programme and their role. However this may be done by the director, but its possible that we may laison to work as a collaborative in the screening of all participants.

Finally, my other role will involve acting as head website designer. This will allow me full admin access, whilst putting together my tv groups website. In revisiting the brief its clear that we’ll only need one primary page on our website, which the programme will play through, thus we do not need additional tabs such as ‘meet the crew’ or ‘competition time’ etc. However, if we have some time left over then it may be possible for us to add in another tab within our website to boost aesthetics.During my time as the main website creator, I’ll be sure to

During my time as the main website creator, I’ll be sure to liaison with our graphics department and logo creator. This will allow us to communicate effectively with each other and stay up to date with how we want our site to look and what else we’d like to include on it. For example, if there are specific theme colours or moving graphics that we’d like to include on our site.

Overall I would say that I am ready to act in the following roles, highlighted above. I’d further say that I’m very enthusiastic about intrigued to see how our programme evolves from initial development to final post stage (on filming day). For now, I’d say that I’m organised, highly focused and engaged to really add my creative opinions plus flare to my role and also my team as well.

Bibliography

1) Magazine, V. and Spangler, T. (2014) Media and Entertainment Sector Profitability Forecast to Rise Again in 2014. Available at: https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/television-streaming-television.jpg?w=1000&h=562&crop=1 (Accessed: 12 November 2016).

2) 2016, C.S. © (2016) DCP author. Available at: http://creativeskillset.org/creative_industries/tv/job_roles/295_executive_producer (Accessed: 12 November 2016).

 

262MC Formats Production: Blog Task CW5

 

Main Evaluation (Radio Programme-Group 2)

One of the main positives of our final radio program, included our voice actors and the way in which we showcased our subject material. This for me was a strong point, as I felt that me and my team really conveyed a true life murder case (which I found), very sensitively and innovatively too. Considering the suggestion from our lecturer on switching our radio programme from a factual interview-based format to a procedural drama really paid off. This is because it gave us more material to work with, further allowing us to showcase our abilities surrounding sound, soundscapes, drama and emotion.

Upon recording our first few takes, my group could sense that our police drama wasn’t hitting all the right notes. This prompted us to switch around many of the voice actors, further adding in transitions and countdowns (in order to leave appropriate gaps to leave for third party media links).

After we sampled each voice actor in a prospective role, we came to a better understanding of where their strengths lied and their weaknesses. This proved effective, as we fed back our thoughts to them which they took on constructively and excelled in the rest of the takes.

In terms of drawbacks, I would say audio levels were our biggest issue. This was luckily fixed by our sound lecturer Paul, who helped us with our difficulties. However, before this was fixed the audio came out at a very low volume, which lost some of the effect of our program and atmosphere too. This was evident, due to the fact that when levels were corrected our radio program sounded much more rounded and complete.

In terms what could be improved, I would say we could have branched out to more voice actors. This is because personally I felt at times that the characters didn’t always merge together so naturally. Therefore, if we were to maybe include more smaller characters, then this would have created more of an effect and added to visual imagery through voice and texture. Furthermore I would say possibly addng more sound effects, as although we had a good soundscae, some sounds seemed like they were missing throughout. For example, the opeing of doors, chatter and so forth. A change of location could also have aded to the drama itself, as it would take the audience to a different place through sound and motion effectively and swiftly.

If our programme were to be moved into a transferable format, then I would say a podcast format would fit really well or even a weekly radio drama format (such as The Archers on BBC Radio 4). This is because I feel we could focus on different true life coventry murders against a fictional background of local police station and force. We’d further include different characters each week with particular traits who may narrate on the case itself, but also bring it back to whats happening around them (such as  Killer Clowns running around in Coventry, highlighted in episode one of our procedural drama). In terms of accesibility we’d make sure t make it available as a downloaded file, this would attract more listeners, reaching to our demographic of young adults + as we’d be including relatable topics to them (which they may have seen in the news) and formulating it into a case, almost acting as the dual narrative of our programme.

In acting as a producer for my groups radio show and also co script writer (for the first draft. I would say that I stayed focused throughout and really pushed myself each week. Further making sure that I booked enough radio time each week and made sure that we all stayed in contact, whilst developing our idea thoroughly and researching it well in order to convey our subject matter in an appropriate/engaging way for our audience to understand and tune in too. In terms of the development of my skills, I made sure to listen to alot of radio formats (i.e The Archers and Serial).

As both of these programmes were vastly different it helped that they contrasted each other well. Thus giving me enough material to work off of. For example the podcast Serial (based on true murders), really shaped our soundscape as it showcased a lot of drama, intensity, emotion and impact all in one listen, thus really progressed the programme along. As for scriptwriting, me and my other peer came up with individual drafts, with me starting on the foundation of the story, whilst he added and tweeked bits after which worked well, as we stayed in communication throughout making sure to really emboss script and to enhance it into a fluid and consistent radio programme.

Furthermore as I controlled the main radio desk, although this proved a litte challenging at first, I quickly adapted myself to all the controls and levels, with some assitance from Paul. Upon doing more and more takes however, I felt my actual performance on the main radio desk improved vastly, as I acted more quicker and responded well in the time we had left. Thus would definitely work on the radio desk again, as it really challenged me and pushed me in a short amount of time (upon recording our live take). To sum up, my overall contributions included acting as: The main producer of our programme, main scriptwriter, main radio desk operator and organiser for my group at large.

Upon viewing our final edit, many of my team were proud of our achievements. Some of the strong points of our production included thorough research into our source material plus our format. Personally, our story worked well in a drama as it really capsulated the mood and tone of the case, further engaging the viewer every step of the way.

Upon receiving feedback on our radio show, many praised our subject matter and our ability to dive straight into our subject material. They felt this worked really well as it kept them engrossed and engaged straight from the get go. However,some drawbacks specifically aimed towards the overall flow of our program and the voice actors. This is because at some stages our program seemed rushed, with some of our voice actors appearing lower in volume than the other. Furthermore one of our voice actors, spoke quite fast thus it was quite hard to understand fully what he was saying after one listen, therefore encouraging viewers to re-listen to programme to get a better understanding of the radio show itself. Finally one short dialogue passage at the end, seemed to come in a bit too quickly therefore confusing audience ever so slightly, in terms of its use and so forth ( as it showcased one of the witnesses of the case itself, but almost seemed to act as anotehr case, due to no intervals or next time, thus giving uds food for thought next time.

Bibliography

Baker, C., Patel, A., Mbudaya, F. and Wallace, F. (2016) A Killers Mind (Police Drama). Available at: https://vimeo.com/190641659 (Accessed: 26 November 2016).

262MC Formats Production: Television Brief

Date: 8/11/16

Today, we started to transition over to TV, this involved us revisiting the brief:

the-262mc-tv-brief

As my group came together in the TV studio we started to brainstorm some ideas. Initially, we came up with one main idea, which you can see from my notes below. However, after our lecturer sat with us she pointed out some issues. Considering we were very fond of the idea we were quite quick to jump in, in its defense. However, after being explained the brief in a little more detail, my group went back to the drawing board and expanded on points by our lecturer. We further sorted out the rest of the roles and also our plan for the coming weeks, which really showcased our dedication and energy for the project. As far as my role, as a producer. My duties switched slightly as we’d agreed that I would play a key part alongside the idea, but possibly not write up the  intial script,  instead the director would take over from me, whilst I added my expertise to website creating, which I’m very fond of. I found this switch over to be a good suggestion, as I felt I could test my abilities in another role more, whilst still involving myself in those roles of a producer, which I’d research soon.

One particular formats based programme (which one of my peers brought up) was the entertainment show ‘The Late Late Show’, in particular the mini segment of ‘Live Tinder’. For many people in our group, the notion of involving a ‘live tinder’ segment or even format proved very appealing. In regards to how we’d switch things up, we thought of the following:

• Different segments
• Societies playing each others sport (determining compatibility)
• Viewing profiles rather than pictures of the individual.
• Working off peoples talent rather than what they look like, fitting in with the brief more, in celebrating university love life.
• Breaking down stereotypes (using a range of sexes)
• Possibly sending people on a date, where they’d take part in the others society activity (i.e ice hockey).
• Including an audience poll, where the audience choose dates for the contestants as they are the only one to see the person’s bio plus their talent too, thus can make an informed and fair decision. Furthermore working off this idea of the power lying in the audiences hand when it comes to choosing love for a contestant.

In terms of The Live Tinder segment on ‘The Late Late Show’. I would say that it’s very effective in pleasing the audience. This is because of the formation, as James Corden brings out an audience member alongside a celebrity to help the contestant out while they swipe left or right on real time, with one swipe leading to the men being thrown in a ball pit. Thus in terms of inspiring our own programme, I would say the Tinder element definitely brought out something in our own development of our programme, as we’d like to focus on this area, feeling the subject material is relatable and current especially within university life.

All my notes (including group notes)

To conclude, our first session proved very interesting. I would say that we cracked on with the task at hand extremely quickly, considering out limited time frame. This proved a strong trait for our group. One drawback would be that due to us being very excited about our first idea, we did not take to criticism well, however upon hearing ourselves back and reflecting on the whole experience, I would say that we came to a better understanding on where we want our programme to go, and how we will do so in the time that we have. Lastly in terms of our programmes segments, we roughly drew out that we’d include mini challenges in our show, which could possibly test out compatibility between contestants and even create an audience poll at the same time.

Bibliography

The Late Late Show with James Corden (2016) Late late live tinder w/ Chelsea Handler. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kf9RtsXQPWU (Accessed: 9 November 2016).

262MC Formats Production (Blog Task CW4)

A Press Release/Proposal for ‘A Coventry Murder: A Killers Mind’

A short procedural radio drama based around real life Coventry murders, against a backdrop of current local situations, set in a police station.

The duration of our programme will be around 5 minutes, whilst the genre will be ‘crime’, ‘murder’ and ‘drama’. In terms of our theme, we will focus on real life Coventry murders as our main source material to work off of. We aim to reach out to our intended audience (young adults +) through our theme and style of programme, considering we’ll be merging current happenings into our radio drama (ie. Killer Clowns roaming around Coventry). Finally, our preferred broadcasting platform would be an online demand service, or we’d make our police drama available as a weekly podcast, such as Serial. Thus allowing repeat viewings and site traffic, due to broadcasting platform.

In terms of the how the story will be told, we’d start off from one main character setting the story off. However, they’d be triggered by another group of characters. For example, our first episode highlights some rookies who are misbehaving, getting distracted by a killer clown video. This then informs the main chief in charge that he needs to step in, bringing about a sense of deja vu regarding a particular case. Therefore its in this way that we’d almosts set the scene in real time, but reference a past case in the same time space, however still include all the details, sounds and possibly archive clips (abiding by copyrights laws of 2014/15 under ‘under educational use’) to make our radio drama more impactful and dramatic, leaving a lasting effect on our audiences in terms of our source material, formation of drama and much more.

In terms of our emotional connection, upon researching this case itself I was extremely shocked and taken a back by the particular murdering style. Furthermore researching all interview clips etc, to gain a better understanding of the case, and to think about main points that may be intriguing to include in our own program. Thus making sure throughout to think about audience/case sensitivity, dramatizing real life events etc. Furthermore giving me some source material to work off of, and to formulate into our own radio drama. I’d further say that by adding in relevant topics within the case material (i.e whats going on now, e.g killer clowns), that this really grounded our research and gave it more context in present time as its an old case. Thus we needed to make sure that we’d not bore our audiences with already speculated facts and so forth. To conclude its important that we tell this important story,as it brings light to the psychology behind a murderer as such, considering the audience can listen to a short excerpt of the interview clip with the ‘murderer’ himself who constructed a whole narrative where he took no responsibility

To conclude its important that we tell this important story,as it brings light to the psychology behind a murderer as such, considering the audience can listen to a short excerpt of the interview clip with the ‘murderer’ himself who constructed a whole narrative where he took no responsibility of killing his wife, when he planned and calculated the whole thing. Thus gives audience some food for thought, in terms of murders, crime, investigation procedures and so forth. Furthermore as we based our police drama within a police station and included a code of conduct, in order to stay true to this we made sure to research code of conducts, in order to get a better idea of the formalities of one as the main aspects of the ‘codes’, to be as authentic as possible when showcasing our characters who are in the force (i.e chief/constable).
Full Programme Script: a-killers-mind-farais-edit

Running Order:

Item	Studio	Duration	Theme Music
1. Disclaimer	Producer	0:20	No
2. Soundscape	Sound	0:08	No
3. Introduction of ‘code of conduct’	All Characters	0:25	Yes (soundscape)
4. Misbehaving rookies	Characters (Rookies)	1:02	No
5. True life Coventry Murder Case 6. ‘present time’. 7. Witness Clip (fade out).	All Characters	1:00 1:00 1:00   Final: 5 mins 04 Seconds	Yes (outro)

262MC Formats Production: Blog Task CW3 plus Production Paperwork (all)

 

Production Paperwork (Radio Show) for ‘A Killers Mind’

risk-ass-form-final

running-order-template-1

Consent Forms (Actors)

consentformmp-tara-r * Verbal consent given before hand aswell

consentformmp (Group-Actors)* Verbal consent given before hand aswell

Farai: faraiconsentformmp (includes consent for soundscape done by Farai too)

Connie:

Fallon:

Matt * Verbal consent given before hand aswell

matthew-osbornecf

Clip(s) used within our production (abiding by Copyright Law):

The above clip was originally sourced from ITN.com, however, the clip has been posted on youtube by a user, who has deemed the licence as ‘Standard Youtube License’. Thus in using the short excerpt clip for our radio show, we have classed our use of it as ‘educational’ thus fitting into the copyright law of 2015/16. Furthermore, as we are not using a long excerpt, we possibly may alter the clip in some way, manipulating the sound to either echo or to sound or defined. Furthermore, the clip has been labelled as ‘third party content’, further allowing us to use a short snippet of it, making sure to provide a full reference if we were to use the whole clip. In terms of being

In terms of being respectful of those involved in the case, we’ve made sure to not dramatise events too much. Making sure to stick to the information that we’ve researched. A full profile of the case itself can be found below:

Gordon Wardell (profile) [1.5]

In terms of those being related to the murderer himself, our research has fallen short as we cannot find any reference of any of Wardell’s relatives etc, this may due to the privacy of their identities, as they may not want to be known.

One other video which was used included the following  (clip number 8)[1.6]:

Upon using the video, my team made sure to specify our interest in the video, as our use of it would be ‘educational’, complying with the copyright act of 2015/16. We’d further make sure to edit the particular clip, in order to other heighten levels for effect and ambience, further constructing clip in our own way to use in our radio police drama.

Blog Task CW3

Chosen Area: Violence

I would say that violence would be appropriate for TV if its post-watershed. Furthermore, if it’s to a certain degree. For example, extremely offensive and  distressing violence would not be permitted. However, if it fits into the shows context or goes towards a particular message, then a small sample or even clip of it is acceptable to a degree.

As a ‘programme maker’you have the right to protect your audience from such harm. For example, if your programme carries a particular message then it’s okay. But say if it’s too much violence all in one scene or even your programme then you are breaching audience comfortability.

For example, the official Ofcom’ guide lists some guidelines to be followed regarding radio and offensive language.

Ofcom (Radio GL)[2]

Many listeners consider the station and type of programme to be more important in determining audience expectations than time of day. However, in general listeners do not expect to hear strong language during the day on radio, regardless of whether children would likely to be listening to the station or type of programme in question; and • in live programming, it is difficult for broadcasters to prevent the use of potentially offensive language, on the occasions that this happens. However, in such circumstances, listeners would expect to see quick action from the broadcaster to prevent further incidents and an apology.[2]

In terms of our audience for our radio programme, we aimed to target young adults to older adults due to the nature of our programme and our subject material. This is because some violence is portrayed within our show during the recollection of the case itself and possibly the use of third party media clips too (which we’d deem under ‘educational use’ to use in our radio show). I’d further say the style of our programme adds to the type of audience we are aiming to target, as we are doing a short yet intense police drama rather than say a quiz show or murder segment. This also comes just in time for Halloween and makes our show relatable as we are adding in killer clowns into our drama to trigger a truly Coventry murder case being revisited or reviewed as such. Further making our show current and in the know, as we are using dated subjected material and new material also (i.e killer clown video). Our own made soundscape will also set the tone and mood of our programme aswell.

In terms of ethical considerations, we’d make sure to not reference individuals directly/as much. This is due to the sensitivity or the case and also those involved in the case as it may trigger some emotions which have not been revisited in a while. Also, our subject material focuses on real people involved in a case, with some still alive (i.e Murderer), we definitely have to consider how to approach the case sensitively without overall dramatising it.

Finally, in including a disclaimer before the start of our programme, we’d make sure to state all the facts and guidelines to our audiences before starting our police drama, so they can gain information on our viewpoint of the case itself and how we are approaching it and so forth.

In terms of broadcasting work done by the others the following link offers information on this: Policy (Creative Work)[3]. To sum things up, the link gives a detailed list the the do’s and don’t regarding work done by others. The main thing it discusses is making sure to credit all contributors no matter their role, as they still have a role within the outcome of that activity etc, no matter how big or small their part may have been. Also

• making sure that there is a plurality (or mix) of media owners
• working with industry to address online copyright infringement (Gov.Uk)

In conclusion, as our radio drama was based off a true life murder case, we made sure that we research all the facts and details before continuing with the subject matter. This was so that we not only learn’t about the case, but could all plan out our drama in a sensitive yet engaging way as e didn’t want to ‘reconstruct’ the source material but rather reference it a little, in our police drama.

Bibliography

[1] pubspros.com (no date) Radio-Question Mark (Google Images). Available at: http://pubspros.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/QuestionMark.jpg (Accessed: 2 November 2016).

[1.5]  Blanco, J.I. (1995) Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers. Available at: http://murderpedia.org/male.W/w/wardell-gordon-david.htm (Accessed: 5 November 2016).

[1.6] Top15s (2016) Top 15 Scariest clown sightings videos. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il_KGsw2miI (Accessed: 7 November 2016).

[2] Baxter, A. (2011) Ofcom guidance offensive language on radio. Available at: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/40541/offensive-language.pdf?lang=en (Accessed: 30 October 2016).

[3] (No Date) Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2010-to-2015-government-policy-media-and-creative-industries/2010-to-2015-government-policy-media-and-creative-industries (Accessed: 2 November 2016).

262MC Formats Production: Radio Police Drama Script (Makeover)+ Latest Meeting

Recently my group came together to finalise our script. Upon doing so, I presented them with the latest edit of the script.

a-killers-mind-short-drama-latest

Upon reading out all the dialogues and paying closing attention to the source material/general flow of our drama, many of my peers raised some concerns. Their overall feedback was that the latest edit (which I’d amended) was an improvement however the overall story and dialogue passages were lacking in punch and rhythm. For example, they felt the intro was quite abrupt in the sense that it may not be truly clear that the setting is a police station (although the soundscape would add to authenticity of setting in the final edit). Other feedback included minimising ‘The Cheif’s’ lines as they were very long, thus splitting up dialogue with his second in command (his Shadower). Whilst further making the personas of the rookies more apparent and their traits.

As we did a full run through of the script, a few of my peers began to initialise changes that they’d like to implement. After we had done a full reading, me and another of my peers worked together in amended the very last edit of the script. This worked well, as we both shared our ideas effectively, further asking our other peers for suggestions. In breaking down the script in this way, it gave us all a chance to see the script with fresh eyes than before, thus noticing things to stretch out or even take off. After we’d begun with the changes I suggested that my peer finish of the edit, to then send it back to me. I then suggested that I’d look over the script and give analytical feedback on it.

Upon receiving the script (attached below) I wrote a few comments on it.

a-killers-mind-farais-edit

Upon reflecting, on today’s session my team really excelled. Especially when we all read over the script, when constructive criticism was given throughout and also acted upon. I’d further say that we also made sure to think about our to-do lists. For example how many actors we’d need for next week, script deadlines and also the timing of our practice (as test runs). This helped us to really organise everything before our final assessment next week.

In our next meeting, we did a full one through with the new edit by Farai. This proved successful as we managed to reach our time mark, granted that we’d still have to include a witness clip, a clown video (snippet) and a short snippet from an official interview with Wardell in front of the press. Furthermore, we managed to record our session too. This would then be used to analyse our performance, thinking about aesthetics, atmosphere, voice projection and the elements that we can distinctly pick up from our performance, in terms of our piece being a police drama.

Upon reflection, I would say that today was a good session. Personally, I got to try our the radio desk, thus acting as the main producer. This worked well as I check all equipment before and after and made sure all levels were set, further turning on the record button to tape some of our rehearsals. Considering I was quite anxious at first, I quickly adjusted remembering what I’d learnt  from our skills session, making sure to put all into practice straight away. I further made sure to advertise on FAH skills page, to enlist voice actors, see image below:

 

260MC Formats Production (Finalising the Script, Phase-One/Two)

Following on from last weeks session. I started to amend the script after taking on board the notes from all my peers. This helped me a lot as it gave me a checklist to work off of.

Please see the notes attached below of the draft which was shown to my peers (last week):

radio-drama-draft-1-plus-session-notes

Upon amending the script, I began to listen to the podcast Serial. This helped me a lot as it offered me a lot of inspiration in thinking of the music, set up and of course dialogue delivery.

In drafting up the final version of my group’s script (phase one) I began to pay more attention to the order of each dialogue passage, further linking the passages more closely. Helping me to see where to add fillers and pauses to create effect and atmosphere.

Final Script (Phase One):

a-killers-mind-short-drama-latest

Overall, I would say the second official draft is much more tailored and refined. It also feels more like a radio drama, thinking about its layout and also the actions within the script. In terms what I could improve on I would probably say the duration of the script, as the passages are quite long. Thus in order to effectively keep all the detail I will show my script to my group in our next meeting to refine it further and of course to shorten passages down, to grab audiences more in a very ear-grabbing way.

One other thing which I did was to advertise my groups need for voice actors. This involved me reaching out to different students to enlist them onto our project. One of those interested responded very quickly, see below for the conversation. I further re-advertised the post on skills circle to reach out to others who may not have seen the post already.

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The next day, the majority of my group and I met up to go over the script which I edited. In doing so, my group analysed it thoroughly generating some great points for us to all re-do the script with. In reflecting on today’s session, I would say we really pulled together as a team, as we stayed focused and really let our individual creativity flow. Further allowing us to truly demonstrate our craft and to push ourselves further in working on a very realistic yet detailed police radio drama. In terms of me reacting to feedback, I would say I responded well as I really took on board all the feedback. Further allowing me to broaden my horizons in terms of the ideas fed back to me. Another thing, which was done by my group including reading out the whole script (alongside the amendments and timing it. This proved really useful as it helped us to document how much more work we needed to do on the script. Upon timing ourselves we reached under the four-minute mark, thus came up with pointers such as more detail on the subject, fleshed out characters, police vocabulary, another character (a shadower) to fill time and bulk up our script up more.

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During the night I made sure to write pointers for the script, this was then followed by feedback recieved by our lecturer the next day. Her points included fleshing out our characters more, whilst also adding more detail about the case. Below is the latest edit, alongside character profiles:

a-killers-mind-short-drama-latest

 

Upon reflecting on todays session, I would say I really responded well to my lecturers feedback as I added to her suggestions promptly. Further making sure to do character maps in order to add more layers to the characters and also make them more aunthentic and natural rather than to 2D.

260MC Formats Production:’Running Order(s)’ Blog Task CW2

RUNNING ORDER for ‘The Surgery’ (BBC One)

Item	Studio	Duration	Theme Music
1. Titles	Pres 1	0:25	Yes
2. Introduction (hosts)	Pres 1	0:03	Yes
3. Topic 1	Pres1 & Pres 2 Link	0:30	No
4. Guests	Pres 1 Caller 1	14:25	No
5. Analysis of topic plus guests   6.Stories/Help lines 7.  Newsbeat/outro	Pres 2	25:00     59.54   Final: 01:00:56	No

I would say the intro was very clear cut. It further helped to establish the radio program and the style it was laid out in.

The links to keep the program moving include the transition screens and music as well. In terms of the programme segments, these were quite long due to the content of the show. One part of the show which I really liked would have to be the chemistry between the presenters. This for me was a highlight of the show, as both complimented each other really well.

In discussing the techniques adopted by the programme I would probably bring up the following factors: presenting style, layout, content and set-up. In terms of the presenting style I would say the chemistry between the hosts flows fluidly. As for the layout of the show, it’s set out in a way which is very accessible for the audience to dip into. I’d further say its very engaging as it provides useful tips amongst a very relaxed environment where the audience feel comfortable in sharing their thoughts.  Finally, in terms of the set-up I would say it’s not only very functional, but it’s well drawn out. This is because the show revolves around 2 presenters, one main host and one professional one. It’s in this way that they feedback on each others thoughts whilst involving the audience along the way.

Overall, thinking about our lecture on ‘Running Orders’ its clear to me the importance of them and also the functions of them too. For example, a running order not only shapes one’s programme but it also acts as a barrier as such in terms of the content that’s provided and all the added extras, so whole production team can stay on track. Furthermore, a running order which is detailed and precise informs all production in members in due time of how the show (radio) will plan out, further giving them enough time to prepare and get the ball rolling.

Bibliography

BBC (no date) The Surgery with Gemma and Dr Radha (Official). Available at: https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/1920×1080/p036gbff.jpg (Accessed: 2 November 2016).