Television Christmas Package Evaluation

After our first attempt at creating a package and link on Christmas shopping failed due to lack of time, our camera running out of battery and no script we decided it would be best to try again.

This time we allowed ourselves enough time to get a script together and actually plan what we were going to do. As well as this we had time to edit our package and link until we were happy with it. My group and I decided we wanted to include more than we had managed to last time to make our package and link appear more realistic.

The whole group helped to write the script making sure we used short and simple sentences that would grab the audience’s attention. My main role was actually being in front of the camera and carrying out the interviews on screen. I spoke about Christmas offers in Boots and then interviewed different people who didn’t mind being on camera. This was quite difficult as hardly anybody wanted to be on camera and some people just ignored me when I asked if they would mind being interviewed. I also found it difficult when I didn’t know what I was meant to be saying so I learnt that if I read the script just before I am meant to say it and keep repeating it in my head it normally worked out well.

I also did a voice over which was placed over different clips of Farnham shoppers and decorations. I feel this worked well, however because there was a handover from Anna who was creating the link on camera, with the microphone quite far away from her. To me doing the voice over off camera, with the microphone right next to my mouth, the change in volume was quite dramatic. Next time I will not hold the microphone that close to my mouth.

As well as this I edited the package and link so that my voice over went with the images being shown on screen and any bits we messed up could be removed. I did the editing simply because I know how to use Premiere Pro and I was able to quickly cut and edit the bits we did or didn’t want. Nevertheless we did have a few technical difficulties as the computer kept breaking on us but after a few tries I eventually edited it and we all put it on our blogs.

Seeing as we had a second try most of things I would have done better we did in our new one although there are still a few things that could have been improved. For example, the filming of the Christmas decorations and Christmas shoppers wasn’t very good as the camera was not steady. I think we would also improve the volume problem we had in the handover from Anna to me. Another major thing that I would improve was the ending when I lift up my script and read from it as you can see it on screen and it doesn’t look very professional. Next time I will learn my script so I do not forget my line.

I noticed when writing the script for television we would write a bit then when I tried to read it back I would get all my words muddled or run out of breath. This was because when writing it we was writing how we would for print, detailed long sentences, with little punctuation. However because I kept reading it back we knew what bits didn’t work so we learnt to stick to short, simple sentences with lots of punctuation to make sure I had time to breathe and to slow down my speaking.

On a whole I feel that our second try at creating a package and link was quite successful and I was very proud of what we had managed to put together.

Radio- Vox Pop Evaluation

We created a Vox Pop in which we asked different people a question on Remembrance Day. As there were 5 people in my group each of us asked a different member of the public the same question and we recorded what each of them said.

The question we asked was ‘As you know it is Remembrance Day soon, do you think we should still be commemorating the deaths from the past wars or should we now be focusing on the deaths from the current war?’ Part of my role was to ask a member of the public if they would mind answering the question for us and if they didn’t, I then asked the above question and recorded their response.

This worked well however I feel that because our question was quite long some people we asked had to get us to repeat the question. If we had used a simpler straightforward question I think the people we asked would have understood it more easily. I also think that our question was quite limiting as some people only gave a yes or no answer and we had to ask them to elaborate on why they thought that.

Another part of my role was to edit the recordings we collected. For example, we didn’t need our question in the final Vox Pop we just needed he answers, therefore I cut out the bits we didn’t need so that all we has was five different peoples answers. Once we put the recording on to the computer I noticed that there was a slight sound issue with one of them, this was because the man we asked spoke very quietly and the microphone was obviously not held close enough to his mouth. I learnt that we should always check to make sure that you can hear what the person is saying before recording the whole thing even if it means asking them to speak a bit louder.

I feel that if we could do this again I would try to ask more people with a larger age range, as most of the people we managed to ask who didn’t mind being recorded were over 40. This would give more of a fair reflection of what the residents of Farnham felt and perhaps give a more interesting response as nearly everyone had the same view. I would also make the question simpler and more open so the people being questioned would understand what we were asking and be able to elaborate more on what they felt.

I feel that as a group we worked well and managed to get the task done. I do think we were successful as we completed what we were supposed to, however if we had more time and asked more people a simpler question, I do feel that our Vox Pop would have been better with a more interesting range of answers from the members of the public.

Christmas

So with 26 days till Christmas I often wonder if I am turning into scrooge?! For the past 2 years I have worked for 5 hours on Christmas day for pocket change simply because I had to if I wanted to keep my job! Last Christmas I vowed to never, ever work another Christmas day however after realising I am completely poor guess what...I'm working it again! :(

I no longer look forward to Christmas as I know I'm going to see families having Christmas dinner, relaxing and enjoying their day and I'm slaving away serving them their food to make sure they have a happy experience...when really I couldn't care less as I don't get to be with my family for most of the day!

This is why I feel like I am turning into scrooge because whilst everyone else is looking forward to the day I really am not all I want is to be able to wake up on Christmas morning and spend the day with my family not my work colleagues!

Farnham nightlife the SU

So after the past two friday and saturday nights have been completely dead I can't wait to go back to london for a night out! I sat in and watched films for the past two weeks, although I have been ill and on antibiotics so I haven't been that bothered about going out however now I am back to my normal self I have realised that I go out less at uni than I ever did at home?! Surely that's not right...every one of my friends that are at different uni's are out near enough every night ESPECIALLY friday and saturday! Therefore I have decided that our student union definitely needs to change! Or I shall just come home every weekend to london where there is always something happening.

Christmas Package

Reality TV are you really in control?

Everyone complains about how the X-Factor is a fix and it is all a big set up...but then they still vote?! I just don't understand what people are thinking.

I personally wouldn't say the X-Factor is a fix however people do get mislead by it and they are made to feel in control. For example the public votes for who they want to leave...therefore this make them think that they are in control of who wins the X-Factor and who has to go home.

What they don't realise that all along the show are the ones who chose which acts get put on telly in the first place, then the judges pick who gets to go through to the final 12 so all along the public hardly have any say.

The shows makes the audience think that they are the ones who are choosing the winner when all along it was the producers and people working behind the scenes that chose the people in the first place. They know what they are doing they know who to choose to improve the shows ratings and get people voting.

It's the same for shows like Big Brother the audience think they get to pick who they want to see on TV when all along the people that the audience can choose to vote for have already been carefully picked by the shows producers so who is really in control.

Although you may think you are in control of who you want to see on your television don't be fooled!

FINALLY...got my loan!

After two and half months of having no money student finance have FINALLY given me my loan however I don't get much of it because most of it just paid off my overdraft! I am very disappointed that the people working for student finance have been given a bonus for all their 'hard work'...how ridiculous the whole company is an absolute mess and they don't even deserve to be paid for the hours they were supposed to have worked. How about they take the money they are giving as bonuses and give to students in grants to pay off our student loans or better yet to help pay for the extreme phone bills I know I have after being put on hold for half an hour everytime I rang them!