Evaluation

Evaluation

Overall, I thought my multi-camera news broadcast was successful although there were aspects of it that could have been improved if I was to do it again.

The production was very suitable for its intended purpose - my idea was to create a news broadcast, which is a very effective programme to inform my audience and give detailed analysis of important current affairs issues – my research highlighted that these were very important aspects to my identified target audience (Bbcglobalnews.com, 2019). (This can be found in the research part of my blog, where I identified that my intended audience are highly motivated, have a global outlook and enjoy being informed and being able to share their insight within their personal and professional circles. They are well-educated, affluent and career-oriented and engage with everything around them. (Bbcglobalnews.com, 2019). They also tend to read newspapers such as ‘The Guardian’ – a left-leaning newspaper (Theguardian.com, 2011), which suggests they have a left-wing/liberal bias. Their age is late 50’s to early 60’s and they are more likely to live in London and the South East).

I ensured that once I had researched and identified my target audience I kept them in mind throughout the project. I detail further on in the evaluation the steps I took to ensure my multi-camera broadcast appealed to my identified audience.

I had many ideas for my multi-camera broadcast. It was important that I ensured I tried to find an idea that was achievable in the available time, as this was the advice given by my teachers. To find a suitable idea, I looked at numerous different multi-camera broadcasts that I was interested in, such as chat shows e.g. the ‘Ellen Show’, game shows e.g. ‘The Chase’ and news broadcasts e.g. ‘BBC News’. I ensured I analysed many different aspects of the production of these shows. This included analysing the different camera shots (e.g. long shots, high P.O.V shots), and the sizes of the different studios. However, I decided that as my interest for my future career lies in journalism, and that the other productions were filmed in very large studios, a news broadcast would be the most suitable production and fit the available college studio. The idea part of this project certainly taught me the importance of analysing industry examples to further my understanding of what is commonly used and comparing the different productions to determine what would work best with the resources available. The idea part of this project also helped guide me to what I needed to focus my research on and helped give structure to the project. If I were to do this project again I would have investigated more ideas, as I feel I didn’t look into enough examples (such as singing shows e.g. The X Factor) - this would have developed my understanding of multi-camera productions even further.

A news broadcast is a really good way of using multiple cameras as I found from watching professional news broadcasts such as BBC News (Broadcast Mirror, 2017) and ITV News – fulfilling the main criteria of this project which is to ‘apply practical skills, knowledge and understanding of characteristics and contexts to produce creative solutions’. One of the main advantages of using multi-camera, as I identified from research (LisaGG.MultiCam, 2012), is that it is time saving as I can record multiple angles instead of recording in multiple takes. Furthermore, whoever is speaking will always be the centre of attention as you can switch camera’s depending on who is speaking – something you can’t do with a single camera production.

I ensured that I used one camera that was facing me (a medium close-up), one camera that captured a long shot and finally one camera that captured a medium shot of me and Molly Cross (my interviewee). Switching between these camera’s in Premiere Pro worked well, and made it look like a professional multi-camera production. That being said, if I was to do it again I would have one camera facing just Molly Cross (which would be a medium close-up shot) as I noticed that in News broadcasts they usually include this shot, and it would also mean that it would make the production more interesting for the audience, as they would be able to completely focus on Molly when she is speaking.

I think that one of the most successful aspects of the project is how I communicate my information to my identified audience. By carrying out extensive research into the audience that BBC News attracts it really brought to life my target audience, and I wanted my broadcast to be very similar to theirs. Some of the information I found out about them included details such as how they tend to posses left-leaning political views, are intellectual and have a global outlook (Bbcglobalnews.com, 2019). Therefore, to appeal to their personality I adapted my content to appeal to them. For example, when I talked about my main story on the UK’s problem with prescription drugs, I ensured my news broadcast communicated subtle pieces of information to appeal to my identified audience's left-wing leaning views of the major social injustices in the country. I ensured the Chief health correspondent, Molly Cross talked about how doctors are claiming the underfunding of the NHS is leaving doctors with a severe lack of alternatives to the long-term prescribing of prescription drugs to their patients thus making it hard for them to reduce the prescription drug addiction rates. What I am doing here is encoding subtle messages for my audience to decode - known as Stuart Hall's reception theory. Furthermore, I ensured that I linked my main story to the prescription drug addiction epidemic in the USA, which would appeal to my audience’s global outlook, and had detailed analysis to appeal to their intellect. I also ensured that I spoke-well with a typical English middle-class accent to appeal to my target audience. That being said if I had more time and was to do this project again, I would get a focus group of people in my target audience, and read them my script, to see if they wanted to know anything else about the main story I covered e.g. the economic impact of this country, or gather information of what they thought of my presentation style. By doing this it would ensure I would have even more information to adapt my content to suit my identified audience the most effectively.

Research is certainly one of my strong points when it comes to project work, and it is a skill which has really developed during this course which should help develop my future projects. Researching news stories and journalistic techniques was key to developing this particular project, and it is a subject I would like to study at University after this course. The main story I covered was the UK’s addiction problem with prescription drugs, and this was chosen after extensive research. For example, I found out from a book called 'Broadcast News Writing, Reporting and Producing' that "Health and medical subjects rank high in interest among radio and TV audiences for obvious reasons - we all want to remain healthy " (Barnas and White, 2013). I also carried out a survey amongst a sample of my family and my parents’ friends (a total of 15 people in the target audience) to supplement my secondary research and health was the most popular topic. I found out the prescription drug story on the BBC News website, where I extracted all the information and statistics, so I knew extensive details on the story that would allow me to write a detailed news script based around it. It was vitally important that the information I was giving to my audience was reliable, as I wanted to attract a similar audience to the BBC. I was confident the news article that I found on the BBC News website (Triggle, 2019) was reliable as the information included in it was found from a report published by Public Health England (a government agency). It also included lots of quantitative information such as statistics which meant I could include this in my broadcast which would help give my audience detailed analysis of the story – important aspects that my target audience really value. I believe my research was of a high standard as I used a range of sources such as books and surveys, however to improve my research in the future I would include more primary research instead of relying too heavily on secondary research.

Another successful aspect of this project were the production values. For example, through research I identified common shot types of news broadcasts and ensured I implemented many of these in my broadcast. One of the most common shot types in news broadcasts (Roen, 2013) is the medium close-up, so I ensured this was the main shot as it was vital to ensure my news broadcast closely replicated professional broadcasts like BBC News. However, the medium close-up in my news broadcast didn’t work as well as I hoped because I was off-centre in the shot. As a result, it didn’t look as professional as I hoped as in all the news broadcasts I watched the news presenters were in the centre of the frame and my research also confirmed this (Adam, 2016). If I had better managed my time in terms of the practical aspect to this project this could have been resolved. I did manage however to directly address the camera – a common code and convention of news broadcasts (Adam, 2016).

I also thought my tracking shot at the beginning and the long shot of the studio at the end were successful which really contributed in making this a multi-camera broadcast that replicated BBC News. During the project I ensured I studied the opening and closing of BBC News broadcasts in detail (Broadcast Mirror, 2017). Once I knew how they opened and closed, with the equipment available I decided to use a dolly tripod to achieve my opening tracking shot. This worked well, although at times the camera did judder, which reduced the sense of professionalism. For the closing shot, by using the dolly tripod I pulled the camera back to the end of the studio to get a long shot – a shot commonly used in BBC news broadcasts. Like the opening there was some camera judder, therefore to solve this problem I applied the warp stabiliser on Premiere Pro to reduce this, which really worked well. If I had more time, I would have ensured my camera operator rehearsed using the dolly tripod to perfect the camera movement and therefore reduce the camera judder.

In my research I identified that male BBC news presenter wear smart suits (Adam, 2016) and have neat conservative haircuts. I also identified during the research process that by wearing smart clothes in broadcasts such as news the producer is encoding messages and values of professionalism and importance for the audience to decode. These are exactly the messages and values I wanted to get across, hence why I wore smart clothes (blazer, shirt and tie). Originally, I was going to also wear smart shoes (such as brogues) and suit trousers, however I completely forgot about these items of clothing on the day of production. This meant that I had to wear my white trainers and ripped jeans which obviously doesn't look smart and professional and certainly wouldn’t communicate professionalism to my identified audience. To ensure that these couldn't be seen I ensured that I didn't do many wide shots, and instead stuck to medium shots and medium close-ups - however during the opening and closing wide shots these items of clothing can be seen briefly.

Another issue was that Molly Cross (my interviewee) was wearing jeans and a hoodie as I forgot to tell her to wear smart clothes which certainly takes away from the professionalism aspect that I wanted to achieve. I need to ensure next time I work on my organisation, as if I was more organised and gave clear communication to my crew this wouldn't have happened.

One of the main problems that I faced during the production process was with the sound. As my interviewee and me were both sat very close together, and both mic'd, when I created the multi-cam sequence in Premiere Pro you could hear my voice through my microphone and also through Molly's microphone, which caused an echo effect. This same problem occurred for Molly's audio. Finding a solution to this problem involved me experimenting using different tools on Premiere Pro. To solve the problem I eventually realised I had to cut my audio from the timeline every time Molly spoke and vice versa. I used the razor tool in Premiere Pro to achieve this, a tool, which I had never used before this project. I learnt that this could be used to separate video clips and audio tracks, something that will be really useful to use for future projects e.g. music videos and news reports. In the future I will look at YouTube tutorials on how to solve production issues like these, as this would be more a time efficient process instead of having to experiment with many different tools on Premiere Pro. This experience has also taught me that although using lavaliere microphones is very effective for capturing high quality audio, when two are used close together problems are likely to occur.

Although my project was well planned, I do believe my personal time management for the practical side of the project was poor. A clear example of this is some of the rushed approach in the studio. For example, I had only hired the lavaliere microphones from Springboard TV for around 1 hour, whereas I had hired the studio for 2 hours. This led to having to rush some of the filming of the broadcast, as I had very little time. Furthermore, compromises were made such as I was not in the centre of the frame of the shot – in future I would hire out the microphones for longer which would mean I would have more time to adjust this. However, the use of planning documentation such as scripts, shot lists and storyboard certainly did ensure that the filming of my production was a relatively efficient process, and this documentation meant my crew could carry out the filming with clear instructions on what to do.

Overall I feel like my planning was very through. One of the main purposes of carrying out the planning is to ensure the production process is efficient, safe and meets the intended aims. My storyboard and shot list were the most useful planning documents, as they clearly outlined the different shot types that I wanted each of the production crew members to achieve with the cameras. One of my production crew members said to me afterwards that the production process was very organised and that the shot list really helped her achieve the shot that was planned. This taught me the importance of planning documentation, though I don’t think I sufficiently utilized my risk assessment form. For example, I identified that there would be numerous different power cables on the floor for the lighting in the studio which would be a trip hazard and concluded that the best control measures would to use Velcro cable ties to reduce this risk. However, I didn’t put these control measures into place and on several occasions some of the production crew did trip over these cables. This experience has really taught me how important risk assessments are in the planning process and how the risks identified need to reduce by implementing the control measures during the production process – something that will be done in future projects.

Perhaps one of the most valuable lessons I have learnt from carrying out this production is how to effectively manage a team (this was required of me as I was the production manager). My crew consisted of me, and three people from my college group. The hardest part in terms of managing the group was the setting-up process, as everybody had different tasks they needed to carry out such as attaching the external lavaliere radio microphones, tracking cameras and setting up the timecode. This required me to go to each of the crew members and spend time instructing them on what I needed them to do (the production documents certainly sped up this process).  This certainly required patience, however I feel that after this project I have learnt more patience which will really help me in managing teams in the future.

Another major positive of this project were the many technical skills I learnt and developed. For example, I learnt how to set up timecode with the Panasonic cameras using REC Run in the TC/UB setup menu – and learnt that you should set all the camera’s to 01:00:00:00 to ensure they are all in sync and that you need to ensure you press record all at the same time. Furthermore, carrying out this project reinforced my understanding of the ‘SWEFF’ technique (Sound, White balance, exposure, focus and frame). A useful skill I learnt was how you should focus on someone’s eyes when setting up the focus of the cameras. Another useful skill I learnt was how to use the lavaliere radio microphones with the Panasonic cameras, including how to connect the radio receiver into the XLR input. This skill will be helpful in the future, as I want to go into journalism and reporting and these microphones will be good to use to record high quality audio for pieces to camera. If I was to carry out this project again in the future I would like to learn how to use the FREE RUN timecode technique as this allows you to use time of day to sync cameras – this was something that I didn’t understand how to set up when I was taught. It’s important for me to learn as many different techniques as possible because if one technique goes wrong then I can use another.

By completing this project I also learned a completely new skill which was how to edit and create a multi-cam sequence in Premiere Pro. This was something I had never done before, and something which is a valuable skill as I may have to use this production technique in my future journalism course at University. Creating the multi-cam sequence was in fact very simple – it just required you to create a ‘BIN’ with all your footage from the different cameras and right click on this, then click create ‘Create Multi-Camera source sequence’. The most interesting part of the editing process was switching between the cameras – I had to use the keyboard and click ‘1’, ‘2’ or ‘3’ depending on what camera I wanted to switch to. Carrying this out really underlined the benefits of multi-camera productions – it was incredibly quick and time efficient. Knowing this editing technique has certainly developed my confidence of carrying out future productions like this.

I played back the broadcast to my target audience (who I had originally surveyed for my research) and the response was very positive - people commented that they found the stories covered very "relevant" and "engaging" - and that the way it was packaged was very professional. They also liked the level of detailed analysis, and the link to the problem the USA faces with prescriptions drugs regarding my main story. One of the pieces of critical feedback I received was they thought at times, visual cues would have made the piece look even more professional e.g. footage of prescriptions drugs prescribed, as I talk about this news story. Looking back, I regret not asking my audience for feedback sooner, as I could have implemented these changes if I had done this - I will certainly not make this mistake again for future projects.

To conclude I believe my project reached its aims (as discovered from my consumer feedback) of appealing to my target audience, which was achieved through extensive research, and detailed analysis of BBC News broadcasts and audiences. I am happy with how this project went, in terms of learning new skills such as editing multi-camera sequences, managing teams and the importance of research in delivering news stories. Furthermore, I have developed detailed knowledge of multi-camera productions, further widening my understanding of different production techniques. I have also learnt what I need to work on in the future, such as practical time management.

Bibliography:

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Bbcglobalnews.com. (2019). Audience. [online] Available at: https://www.bbcglobalnews.com/audience/ [Accessed 24 Sep. 2019].

Ofcom (2018). Ofcom’s Annual Report on the BBC: 2017/18. BBC Performance Report. [online] 

Ofcom, p.15. Available at: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0013/124420/BBC-annex-2-performance.pdf [Accessed 24 Sep. 2019].

Fustich, K. (2017). Statistics reveal the favorite hobbies of the rich and the poor. [online] Mail Online. Available at: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-4608044/Statistics-reveal-favorite-hobbies-rich-poor.html [Accessed 24 Sep. 2019].

Theguardian.com. (2011). Who are the target audience for The Guardian? | Notes and Queries | guardian.co.uk. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,,-197896,00.html [Accessed 24 Sep. 2019].

Usborne, S. (2017). A dying habit: why the average BBC1 viewer is 61. [online] The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/shortcuts/2017/mar/29/a-dying-habit-why-the-average-bbc1-viewer-is-61 [Accessed 24 Sep. 2019].

Ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk. (2019). Income distribution. [online] Available at: https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/work-pay-and-benefits/pay-and-income/income-distribution/latest [Accessed 24 Sep. 2019].

Skoulding, L. (2018). Salary Survey 2018: what are UK accountants earning right now? - Accountancy Age. [online] Accountancy Age. Available at: https://www.accountancyage.com/2018/04/18/salary-survey-2018-uk-accountants-earning-right-now/ [Accessed 24 Sep. 2019].

BBC News (2019). BBC News Audience Guide. BBC News.

BBC News. (2018). Where are the richest households in the UK?. [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44237180 [Accessed 24 Sep. 2019].

Bakar, F. (2018). Are poor people less likely to have a successful marriage? | Metro News. [online] Metro.co.uk. Available at: https://metro.co.uk/2018/01/07/are-poor-people-less-likely-to-have-a-successful-marriage-7204283/ [Accessed 24 Sep. 2019].

Barnas, F. and White, T. (2013). Broadcast News Writing, Reporting, and Producing. 5th ed. CRC Press, p.80.

Triggle, N. (2019). Too many 'hooked' on prescription drugs. [online] BBC News. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-49639914 [Accessed 16 Sep. 2019].

Broadcast Mirror (2017). BBC World News - Intro + Outro (2017) [1080p]. [video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksUqhuzqiNo&feature=emb_title [Accessed 18 Sep. 2019].

Roen, U. (2013). Codes and Conventions of TV News Broadcasts. [online] Available at: http://factualprogrammingjacksonjarvis.blogspot.com/2013/10/codes-and-conventions-of-tv-news.html

Adam, B. (2016). Codes and Conventions - TV News Programme. [online] Available at: https://www.slideshare.net/baileyadam1878/codes-and-conventions-tv-news-programm

ROLFE ET AL

What?

-was my role in the situation? e.g. director

-was I trying to achieve? e.g. camera

- in all pages, research, etc (except introduction)

So what?

-does this tell me?/teach me/imply/mean about me

-when I acted?

- what did I base my action upon?

- new understanding

- broader issues

Now what?

-do I do now to make things better

-do I do to solve the problem

-final consequences?