Tuesday, 2 November 2010

Self Evaluation

I think overall our shows were a success, we made 3 different, interesting and appropriate shows that fitted the target audience perfectly. We had allot of technical and group problems along the way, but everything came together for the last live show which went brilliantly.
I hadn't done any radio work before this assignment so had to find out my own personal strengths and weaknesses. fr the first show I did everything except researching the travel news, but due to time restraints I couldn't get all the work done to my high standard on time. By the 3rd show we had decided I was the best person to produce the live show as i knew what i was doing and was capable to do it at a high standard as is reflected in the end show. I also presented the show as i didn't feel I got the recognition i deserved from the first show as the levels were so bad.
For all the shows i made the jingles and wrote at least my script, but on multiple occasions i also wrote scripts for others. I wrote the menus and produced the radio clocks for the 1st and 3rd show, i also made corrections and contributed to the 2nd shows running order and radio clock. I was in charge of the music programming for the shows as i was also in charge of structuring the shows, this allowed me to easily structure the show around songs i chose. These were then discussed with the group and changed where necessary.
In the group I seemed to take a leading roll from the start, I think mainly to ensure all the work got done on time, and the preporation was done ready for recording. If anything had to be done last-minute it was down to me to make sure it got done, this brought on allot of stress as i didnt feel some people were pulling their weight and leaving it to me. I think i showed great persevearance, staying up until 3 in the morning on some occasions editing the shows and correcting mistakes ready for the next day. I think i chose very approprate music and features for the shows that reflected the target audiences interests and lifestyle. I also beleive that when I presented I did it in an appropriate, energetic way that appealed to both the AC audience and the student audience.

Monday, 1 November 2010

Week 3 (student radio live show) Analysis

I think this weeks show went brilliantly, everyone pulled their weight and i think it showed in the final product!
i got allot of positive feedback about my presenting and mixing, but also because of the features of the show and the jingles; people especially liked the student stories section utilising  the common student language 'Fail' and 'Epic Fail'.  I belive our music choice was spot on and our presenting was very good, this helped to keep the audience engaged.
I thought the other groups shows were very good, Group one only made one small mistake with song selection, but rectified it by making a joke about it. their chemistry and mixing skills were impecable and worthy of the distinction they got. Group 2's show had a few mistakes and didn't personally interest me but would be more suited to an older demographic as it was relaxing and easy to listen to. Group 3's show was plauged by technical hitches but appart from that it was very good with dylans presenting massivley improving.
I think our show worked because we had managed to work as a group for the first time, I was producing and structuring the show as the main presenter, charlie was in charge of the student stories section, luke was in charge of the news and chris was helping me introduce and present. This show just seemed to click together, everyone had done relevent preporations and was suitably ready for the show, i think this showed in the final product.

Week 3 Production Live Show

This week we were given the task of producing a radio show for students. My initial idea was to make something different from what i had heard on stations such as Demon Fm and Burn FM. These shows were aimed at someone in my age group, but they failed to engage and interest me. I will use the conventions i have learned from listening to student radio to form a skeleton around which i can build a show that i believe my peers will want to listen to.
I decided to include allot of student interaction and came up with the idea to have 'student stories' where people would text in funny/ drunken stories, i like to see this as a main part of the show as it gives other students and listeners something to relate to and be entertained from. Along with this we will have shout outs, text ins and competitions; i believe this will help keep the audience entertained and fell part of he station.
We are all going to present during this live show to utilise all the groups talent. I would once again take the roll of producing the show as well as being the main presenter, i will therefore produce a script and radio clock for the show to help me.
This show will aim to be 70:30 with music and speech to keep the listener informed, but also have allot of their music to entertain them and give people another reason to  listen to the show. I will create allot of jingles and stabs to lay over the intros of songs and to introduce segments of the show, this was one of the conventions of student radio that I enjoyed; because of this we have decided to name the show Weird Wednesdays as this fits in with the Wacky and Weird nature of the show.
As presenters we must be lively and entertaining, but also sound clear and informed, and it will be my job to correct and set the levels for each of the presenters, the computer volume, and the levels coming from the cd players and Ipods.

Sunday, 31 October 2010

Week 2 Evaluation (Music Show)

This weeks show was allot better than last weeks, the work was more evenly spread and we are starting to work better as a group, We achieved a distinction grade for our show which shows how much we improved over our previous effort!
The other groups shows we heard were brilliant too, you can tell who had been listening to their respective shows in preparation. Group 1's Student radio show was brilliant and the chemistry between Lemar and Romley worked brilliantly!
Group 2's AC show worked well, and was different from the normal AC formula by adding a christmasy twist; the content and presenting were good as well.
Group 3's show was very good, and again the chemistry between Jemma and sam was brilliant.
Our show was very well structured and i received allot of positive feedback about the interview and the mixing. I didn't have a large presenting roll this time as i thought it was good to see what strengths other group members had. During this show we realised that Luke would have been perfectly suited to the AC show!
From this knowledge and from feedback from our peers we will try and produce the best show we possibly could for our live show drawing on all of our expertise

Week 2 Production

Following on from last weeks less than perfect show this week wewere given the task of producing a music show. I quickly decided and talked over with the group the idea of a Festival themed show aimed at a younger target audience. We would take the spirit of a music festival like Reading or Download and turn it into an interesting radio show. I again made the radio clock and running order and researched appropriate festival events and news that could be used in the show. I also had the idea to use an interviewwith a famous musician as this would add another informative segment to break up the music and add variety.
In preporation for this show i listened to stations such as Kerrang, but also listened and drew what i had learned from student radio to use in this music show as they will have a similar target demographic. I also watched some music channels on my tv including MTV and Kerrang to give me a better idea of interviews and features i could include in the show.
We decided that this show should be called 'Festival Fridays' and would serve to entertain and inform the audience but also give them a good start to the weekend, if tis was to be a commercial station people would be able to know when our show was on and people may start to make a routine arround listening to it and the start of the weekend; this is why it is important to have upbeat energetic presenters and music.
I will once again make Jingles for the show that will help with the station and programme branding.

Week 1 Evaluation (AC Show)

For week one we produced an AC show, I got allot of positive feedback from my presenting and was told it was very fitting for an AC style show. Other feedback also included the good features of the show like interviews and quizes as well as the facts segment. I have very high standards for anything i produce, and i have to say i would not listen to the show i produced, because of time limitations and the fact that i had to produce everything and the software peoblems that caused the levels to mess up, and the conversion between sample rates. Our group only got a pass for this show mainly because of the levels, but if we had been given time in the radio studio when we were supposed to none of these problems would have occured.
For the next show we really need to get on as a group and make sure everyone is in on production days and pulling their weight.
Our groups show was the only one to contain a menu outlining the order of the show and what is coming up to keep the audience interested; it was also the only show that contained self made jingles.
 I thought the other groups shows were very good for first attempts and really enjoyed Group 1's music show.

Week 1 Production

This week was our first production week, following the planning i had done over the weekend since last week i could inform the group of the basic structure of the show. I created a radio clock and running order to keep everything on schedule. I decided to take the main presenting roll for this show as i had wrote the script and planned all of the show. We didn't get any time in the radio studio on the Wednesday as other groups didn't keep to their time slots, we had to make do and record all the presenting rolls separate from the music parts of the show. I had no time In college to use Audition in college so had to edit the show at home using Audacity. This caused lots of problems, mainly with the programme crashing and messing up the levels. I had about 1/2 hour the next morning to quickly edit the show to an acceptable standard which was nowhere near enough time, but its the best i could have done under the circumstances.
I also made the jingles at home, but again these were slightly distorted as the college systems use a different sample rate.
In preparation for my presenting role i listened mainly to BBC Radio 2 as this is the most popular AC station in the country; I based my script and features for my show around these ideas and tried to create a show that would interest someone like my dad who listens to Radio 2 all the time. I also asked my dad and other older family members what the like in a radio show, allot responded with the Jack FM style of show. In my show I tried to create a fusion between the Classic Rock Music from Jack FM and the Witty presenting and informative nature of BBC Radio 2.
As a Group we didn't work its as simple as that; we have never worked together before and didn't know each others strengths and weaknesses, so I had to make sure things were done by doing them myself, that way i knew they would get done.