Final Evaluation and Module Questions

 Now that the production is over, I’m glad I’ve been able to see what goes into making a TV studio production. Up to the start of this module I’d only done outside camera work, so t be able to now say that I can do indoor studio work is very fulfilling. Now that it is complete, I can say that a career in studio work could be something id look at now, whereas before, I didn’t know enough about it to want to do it. I have defiantly enjoyed this module the most out of all modules and feel more like a media producer now than ever before.

As for my role in the production, I can see that the role of PA is much more important than just assisting the Producer. In my mind it is its own role that is only “assistant” in name. I can see that Production Assistants have an important part to play in the pre-production of a piece, by giving ideas, format and logistical help to the Producer and Director. I enjoyed having the responsibility of timings on my shoulders because it meant that I was fully involved with the show and what I was doing actually had an influence on the final product. I thrived under the pressure of knowing that if I failed, the whole show could over run and be invalid, it meant I kept focused and did my job well. I’ve taken the role very seriously and even something as “everyday” as loaning out the equipment from the Media Loan Shop, I saw as my role in helping with the Production of the show.

I can now see more clearly than ever after doing this module the importance of magazine shows in TV.

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

Just because tape is cheap and available, doesn’t mean its the only expense of outside broadcasting. By having a studio set up with cameras and a Gallery near by, it means that only a set needs to be changed and then the show is ready to go.

What are magazine shows? Why do audiences like them?

A magazine show is one normally filmed in a studio, that has features that fit with the theme of the show and that will appeal to the target audience. It will usually have between 2 and 4 hosts of both genders who will be friendly and introduce the features as they come up. It is this predictability, friendliness that I feel appeals most to audiences and it the reason magazine shows are so popular.

What are the limitations of magazine shows? How can they be improved to ensure they continue?

The fact that they are so predictable can sometimes be am issue for magazine shows and is something that certainly limits them. When someone tunes into their favourite magazine show, they will generally know what to expect, and if the show suddenly did something that was unexpected, they risk alienating regular viewers. It is this that sometimes stops magazine shows from reaching past its current viewers and trying to reach a larger audience.

However, saying that, I don’t think they (as a format) need to do anything to ensure continued success. There are enough magazine shows out there appealing to a whole range of audiences to ensure that they will continue.

Consider other sources of distribution for magazine type shows?

This may sound very obvious, but a printed magazine could improve distribution. Take the Gadget Show for example. They don’t have huge viewing figures, but by releasing a magazine with their show logo on it, people who are interested in gadgets but don’t know the actual show may see the magazine and want to find out more, leading to more viewers.

Also, a strong website is something that I don’t feel has been fully utilised by a magazine show yet. By having their features from the show, plus other things, on a web page, its is an easy way for people who may miss the actual scheduled show too catch up and stay in touch with the programme.

Show Recording

The day of the final recording was both worrying and exciting. The group agreed to meet at ET at 0730, the earliest time we’d be allowed, to start putting the set together. After practising it a few times, we knew that we needed to leave ourselves as much time as possible, otherwise we’d be left with either an incomplete set, or with very little time to get a good take of the show.

As is normally the case, everything that could have gone wrong did, such as issues with staplers and the background boards. However, the group pulled together and we managed to get not only 3 passable takes (in my opinion), but one perfect take where everything went right (again, in my opinion).

The final assessment was actually the first time we’d ever used the VT machine with time codes on them, and it was something that both me and Darren weren’t quite comfortable with. It was much more difficult to coordinate than I think both of us expected and at different times I think we were both to blame for getting the times wrong. Sometimes Darren for not following my countdowns, but more crucially, my fault for sometimes not being flexible enough to work around the problems. Looking back now that everything is complete, it is very easy to say that we needed the VT’s and time codings on much earlier in the production process so that we could all practice with them.

Also out of this, I really feel our Director, Nicola stepped up and took control. Again looking back, I can now say that there were times when everything Nicola was doing was brilliant, but maybe her strength to take charge as a director was missing. However, on the day, when it really came to it, she really got the best out of her team, and put me in my place too for not being flexible enough with the VT timings.

It was only down to our final take, when Me, Darren and Nicola all joined together to sort out the VT timings that we had the perfect take. Without watching it myself, and not having time to watch it back, I personally think it went off without a single problem. It really felt that everything fell into place. Even the timings of the performance with the final credits were spot on. I just hope watching it back it comes off as good as it seemed in the gallery!

Group Issues

Over the course of the production, there have been different issues with different group members.

Probably the biggest problem we’ve had with the crew has been the unreliability of Laura Meades. Coming into the group late, she quickly took on the important role of the presenter. However, even though she was good in that role, attendance became a problem and as such, the group made the decision to change her role to one that required slightly less commitment. It was a difficult decision for the group to make, as we were already on our way with the production and didn’t want to upset Laura, but I think it was important that we had a presenter that we could count on to always be there. To step in as Female presenter we chose Producer Kyrie Parkes. She had done presenting in studio practice at the beginning of term and came across very natural on screen so was a good fit.

The next biggest issue we had with attendance was with our Vision Mixer. Ben Baker was very competent on the mix desk and knew how it worked, but in the last few weeks of practice, his attendance dropped. As such, the Director and Producer made the decision to move David Hanna onto the vision desk and move Ben into the studio to help with setting up sound. Again, the decision was difficult to make, but as we were getting closer to the final assessment, the Director, Vision Mixer and Camera Operator were coming up with very specific shots that needed communication and practice. As such, it was decided that on the day, David would be better on the desk.

Tone of the Show

 After watching and analysing magazine shows in my Task 1 and outside of the task, as did the group, we all made decisions to make the magazine show as professional as possible. It is because of this that we used This Morning as a rough template for our show. As a show that has been running successfully for over 20 years, it seemed like there were features on it that we could benefit from taking inspiration from.

One of the first decisions we made was to have a Male and Female presenter team. This was to help us appeal to a wider audience because it would reduce the alienation that some people may feel from only male OR female presenters.

Also, the overall tone of the show is to be friendly and inviting, again so that we can appeal to a wide demographic of people who will likely not be offended by the presentation style.

The set too took inspiration from This Morning. It is very light and earthy, not to isolate any audience demographic.

My Role: Production Assistant (Task 3)

 After having the meeting to choose production roles, I am glad that I was chosen as the Production Assistant.

Beforehand, I’d decided that I wanted to go for possibly Director (but not that strongly), Floor Manager and PA.

Director was a new position that id found an interest in but maybe didn’t feel strongly enough about it to do it. So when 3 people nominated themselves for the role I didn’t feel the vote needed me to complicate it.

As for choosing between PA and Floor Manager, it was just that the PA job was being selected first, and I didn’t want to risk not getting the Floor Manager job and being left with a role that would disappoint me.

I feel I pitched for the role very well, highlighting the qualities I possess that would be beneficial in my position of Production Assistant.

The video shows a few of the parts I play in my job….badly

Production Roles

The meeting with Bex and Shelly to choose the final production roles was interesting. Some of the votes of who would get which role were actually very close and needed a lot of discussion between the group. I did feel bad for some people, as they’d made it clear all along which part they wanted to play in the production, but when it came to the votes, they were left without their favourite jobs. It was also difficult choosing between people who had equal skill and experience on some equipment. For example, 2 people nominated themselves for a certain role, and the only thing it came down to was that one of the nominees was so good on another piece of equipment, we had to make that decision on his behalf of which role we wanted him to play.

On a lighter note, another thing we got from the meeting was that I think it brought the group closer together and made everyone think about each others strengths and weaknesses, which I feel, considering we all need to make a TV show together within 8 weeks, is very important.

The final job roles;

Director: Nicola Sandry

Producer: Kyrie Parkes

Production Assistant: Michael Peace

Floor Manager: Alton White

Vision Mixer: Ben Baker

Sound Mixer: Dave Barnett

Presenter: Daniel Atkinson

Presenter: Laura Meades

Camera Operator: Matt Riddle

Camera Operator: Tayo Daramola

Camera Operator: Anca Chifor

VT Producer: Darren Moore

Graphics and Autocue: Rochielle Parkes

Lighting: Anna Jocelyn

Studio Sound: Sabrina Costache

Researcher: David Hanna

Studio Practice

Now that I have been in the TV Studio for a few practices, I am starting to pick out the roles that I am enjoying most.

Unlike some of my other group members, I am doing my very best to try out every position I can, including as presenter (which is actually more enjoyable than I expected). The only positions I haven’t et had a chance to practice are Vision Mixer and Lighting. I hope to at least have one go on the vision mixer because even if I don’t enjoy the role and want to do it in the full production, I feel its important to know how it works as its such a vital part of the production. I don’t feel so compelled to try the lighting desk however. It isn’t that I don’t realise the value of lighting to the show, more that I would really prefer a hands on role when were actually making the feature that I don’t feel the lighting desk could give me.

So far, the roles that I have enjoyed most have been Floor Manager and Production Assistant. I like being floor manager because I am the bridge between the Gallery and the Studio. This means I would know everything that was going on in both places more than other roles would let me. Also, I think I have the qualities to do the role. I am friendly and approachable, so when it comes to interacting with guests I would make them feel comfortable, but also I can be authoritative in relaying the commands of the Director to the crew and make sure they are followed.

The same can be said for the role of Production Assistant. However, as well as what I outlined above, I would say that PA would let me have a more decisive leadership role, but I can also follow instructions from the Director and Producer if the situation called for it. The outline for qualities a PA should have in the course booklet said they needed to be good-humoured, and that, I would say, is one of my strongest traits.

Not to mention I can handle a stopwatch!!

Ideas and Features

Our idea of using the summer as a theme for our magazine show, I feel, is the best of any groups. It is the most relevent, with it being the summer when we are filming it, which means our show should be the most current, because most things we are discussing, World Cup and festivals in particular are going to be happening in the following weeks.

By having quite a loose theme that didn’t alienate any particular topic, we were free to delve into a range of different subjects that would make our show more accessable to viewers. These subjects could cross all sorts of audience profiles, most importantly gender, as the theme itself wouldn’t favour a particular sex (everyone loves summer!). We had segments focusing on football for the males, and  fashion and cocktails section available to the female watchers. However, I’d like to think that these segments, as well as the others, were accessable in some way to both genders.

The features we came up with didn’t take much discussion to find, as after having our basic idea, everything else (pre-production wise) fell into place. We picked the best things about the summer and found ways to link them together. For example, we decided to start with football, but if that didn’t interest you, we had festivals that may be of more interest, and then fashion to wear at the festivals. Each segment was chosen partly on its merit of how it would fit with the rest of the features because it was always important, to me, that the show flowed. It would have been incredibly easy to just throw VT’s and discussions together, but if they were disjointed and didn’t feel part of a bigger show then it could come across very amateur.

113MC Task

When initially told about this task, I was nervous about the daunting tasks of working with a group of people who I hadn’t really talked to, and then putting together a full 20 minute magazine show that we had to come up with from scratch.

Luckily, the group gelled together extremely well from the start with no cliques forming. This has helped us all the way along the process of making the show because when decisions have needed to be made, we could all sit down together quite comfortably and talk about things honestly and openly.

Our first group meeting went well, but it was definitely difficult to get started. There were lots of ideas thrown around, whether or not it should be a general magazine show, if it should be themed, what features we should have, what should be shot as a VT amongst other important decisions. However, at the end of the meeting, as it was winding down, we had the break through idea of doing a summer themed show. As soon as it was mentioned, everybody knew it was the right idea, and within 10 minutes, the rough ideas of what we have now were being formed.

Task 1

Tv production Task 1

My Task 1 looking at the Gadget Show and The One Show. I chose these 2 shows because it allowed me to look at the differences between a general magazine show and a specialised magazine show.