Media 28/04/09

Media Evaluation
By Luke Mitchell


• In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
My media product uses a jingle which you could say sounds a bit like something the BBC would broadcast. I used a news broadcast backing track from garage band and put in a voice – over. For my presenting, I used studio 6, which is formally the RNC Radio studio. Whilst I was in the studio, I used one CD deck, the desk (with all the faders), the computer (to record) and a microphone (for speech). I was able to put my jingle and news stories onto disk so I could simply go to the next track when I wanted it to play out the news piece I wanted, the idea was to make life simpler whilst recording and it did. However, one thing that is different to real media productions is that my news stories are fake.

• How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In terms of social groups, I would say that my media product doesn’t represent social groups as such; however it does represent the value of the listeners. It’s based on a local radio station in my area, so it tells the listeners the stories and the information that they want to hear, to keep them up to date and informed about what’s happening near by. My main story represents a stressed and worried victim of a train crash giving his details of the crash that happened when he was on the train; he is also worried about the other passengers so this represents a shock to him that it has happened on this remote area of Wiltshire.

• What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? The media institution which I feel might distribute my media product might be the BBC (The British Broadcasting cooperation) because I feel that my product in ways is a bit like something that the BBC would do, such as the jingle and the seriousness of the news stories in them. I cant see any other institution distributing my media product because they deal with the charts and their ratio of music to news I find is probably 3:1.

• Who would be the audience for your media product?
The audience of my media product would be workers or students that are perhaps on their lunch breaks. ‘News at Noon’ would target those sorts of audiences and any Old Aged Pensioners that stay at home most days who perhaps listen to the radio at lunchtime. Other than that, I can’t think of any other types of audiences who would listen to the radio at that sort of time. My News piece attracts the local audience because the local news comes first.

• How did you attract/address your audience?
I don’t think I attracted the audience as such, I think the stories themselves play that role; the importance of the stories would keep the listeners listening to see what happened and where it happened. Because this was all planned in the first place, I think my sound effects took a small part in attracting the audience as well as the stories. However if the sound effects were a real scene, then they would still play a role of attracting the audience. From listening to the comments about my news piece, a few people thought it would be believable and it kept them interested, so I think that sound effects are good to use all in all. I addressed my audience be giving a calm and clear voice rather than a worried and frantic voice.

• What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Whilst making this product, I have learnt a lot more about garage band. I now know how to fade and raise the volume of the piece that I am editing, I know how to insert sound effects into voice clips (which wasn’t done in the production of this product) it was a tester to see what it was like, and I now know how to send the finished product to itune’s and burn it onto a blank disk. I also learnt that garage band accepts aiff & MP3 files which I learnt myself when I tried to import a WAV file, it imported ok but it had trouble playing sound, in fact there was no sound at all. The positive side about digital media as apposes to tape which I have learnt, is that with music on the computer, if you make a mistake you can erase it and redo it if necessary; where as with tapes you would have to start again from the beginning.

• Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
From the preliminary task to the full product, I feel I have learnt a lot, including the stuff I have mentioned in my previous paragraph. I have learnt how to set up studio 6; from turning on the main electricity supply, turning on the decks, turning on the desk to starting and running ‘Sound Forge’. Believe it or not, I have learnt a lot more about the Apple Computers, I’m starting to get to grips as to where thing are in the menus and files and how to connect to the NDrive.

Media 24/03/09

I have been into studio 6 today to record my voice (the presenter) and i recorded two takes of the script which were both successfull to my suprise. I burnt a CD with my Jingle and outdoor recordings on it, this was done to minimize complications so that i could play them one after the other when i needed to.

After listening to them both, i chose the second take as it sounded better, so the first got deleted. I put it on the Ndrive and edited it using Audacity to cut out the blanks and the stutters, i also tried to put in a backing track for the headlines using Garageband but it didnt quite fit in with the seriousness with the news that was being read out.

I have saved a copy of the whole news project onto disk, so as i understand, i have only my evaluation to complete.

Overall, i can say that i am very pleased with it.

Media 17/03/09

As it stands, i am currently up to date with my recording.

I have recorded two of the three stories i have made up, 'Train Crash' and 'Car Crash', both of which i have managed to put in realistic sound effects to make them sound as if my chosen people are live reporters and policemen on the scene interviewing witnesses and giving out statements.

i still have to record my last story which is about the drought in Frome and i still have to record me, in the studio, introducing my stories as if i were on the radio, other than that i am on track.

My next and upcoming task will be to combine all these scenes together to make a news update.

As far as assignments go i have an upcoming evaluation on my projects this year, which will be completed before the easter halfterm.

Media 09/05/09

News Script

Good afternoon, this is news at noon with me Luke Mitchell.

Today’s Headlines

BREAKING NEWS – Westbury’s Train station has been shut due to a collision between an EWS Freight Train and a stationary London Bound passenger train on Platform 3.

Couple die in car crash after overtaking a tractor on the A36, the car slightly clipped an on coming Mercedes which then caused the car to veer off into a tree.

Doctor’s erg the public to drink more water. That’s what consultants say at Frome’s General Hospital after a sharp rise in temperature has caused the number of stroke incidents to rise to it’s highest level in over a decade. Doctors are particularly worried about the teens and elderly as it is likely it will affect them the most. More Details in a few minutes.

Stories in detail.

Train Accident

Westbury Train station has now been closed down for a number of weeks, if not months while investigations take place after an EWS freight train collided into the back of a London Paddington bound train on platform 3. The driver of the EWS train was taken to hospital in a serious but stable condition and seven people who were on the London Bound train were treated on the scene for whiplash. It is not yet clear how the collision happened. Live at the scene we have our reporter with a witness of the accident. We now go live to the scene.

“Hi yes I am here at Westbury’s Railway Station and I have here a witness who has just seen the accident. So what did you see whilst you were on the platform?”
“Well the London train had just come in and people started to open doors and exit the train. I was stood at the rear of the train waiting to get on when I heard a loud horn being blown, the horn was being blown repeatedly and it started getting louder, I then heard the trains breaks. I looked round and saw the freight train crash into the back of my train which got shunted a few meters. Passengers standing up got thrown forward from the impact. After the crash, we got everyone off and out the station”.
“ok well thank you for that and we will keep you updated on whats happening throughout the week”

Car Crash

Other news now and a couple have died in a car accident on the A36 near Frome’s ASDA at approximately 5:30am this morning. It is believed that the 19 year old male and a 21 year old female tried to overtake a tractor in their Renault Cleo. The Police have issued this statement.

“At approximately 5:30am this morning, a couple have died on the A36 near Frome’s ASDA. We believe that the accident happened after they tried to overtake a tractor in their Renault Cleo on a blind bend, they then came face to face with an oncoming Mercedes and had tried to swerve only to clip the car, they then veered off into a tree. They were found dead at the scene and we are asking for any witnesses to come forward and contact us”.

Frome’s Drought

Frome’s long term drought has caused the number of stroke patients to rise to its highest level in over a decade. Doctors are urging the public to drink plenty of water or risk getting sun stroke, especially the elderly, teens and the young. According to the met office we are due another week of hot weather of temperatures reaching 42’c. After that it is estimated that the drought will cause a mega thunderstorm and from then on the temperature should get back to its normal levels but doctors say carry on drinking until then.

Media 27/02/09

Proposals for Main Project.
News

Station ID: My Station ID will be Frome and West Wiltshire 107.5 3TR FM.

Jingle: My Jingle will comprise a mix of both jingle and voices to identify the station. This will be created in Garage Band.

News and Sound effects: My news will be based on local news which will be fake and there will be one true piece of national news.

As far as sound effects go, I will put in sound effects that relate to the story in the middle or at the end of a piece of speech. This will be good to do.

Editing: Once the jingle and recording is done, I will then edit the recordings down to a total of maybe 5 – 10 minutes, this will then be my whole project done. I will use Audacity to edit my recordings as this is the editing software I am most familiar with.

Fake News Stories – Local

“Now for the News at Noon on Frome and West Wiltshire’s 107.5 3TR FM”.

Local - Fake
News Just In - EWS train transporting 30 tanks of diesel collides into back of London bound train at Westbury train station at 12:45pm on Sunday, causing the freight to derail, Police evacuated the area due to fears of explosions. No one was hurt or killed, other than the driver for EWS who was taken into hospital in a serious but stable condition, and 7 people at the rear of the passenger train were treated on the scene for whiplash. Police say the station will be shut for a number of weeks while the crash scene is made safe and so that investigations can take place. The public are advised to revise their travel plans by logging onto the national rail website. Police are appealing for witnesses to contact them.

Drought raises the number of stroke victims in A & E at Frome’s General Hospital. Locals are advised to drink plenty of water over the next few days as there are fears of temperatures rising above 42’c.

Couple die in car crash at 5:30am, Monday on the A36 near Frome’s ASDA. The couple believed to be a 19 year old male and 21 year old female clipped a Mercedes Benz in their Renault Cleo whilst over taking a tractor causing the couples car to veer off into a tree. The Mercedes driver was unharmed and his car suffered only minor dents before spinning out, amazingly avoiding other traffic and obstacles, after pulling onto the hard shoulder the driver was able to call the emergency services. The Renault was a total write–off. Police are appealing for witnesses to contact them.

National News - Half Real, Half Fake.

Credit crunch effecting businesses all over the UK. Woolworths, Zavvi and Jane Norman have all been shut down due to the credit crunch. WHSmiths close down locally and in the southwest.

Media 05/12/08

Digital Radio Assignment

I will be answering the following question on Digital Radio.

With reference to specific stations, how has digital radio changed the audience experience, for listeners to both public service and commercial radio in the UK?

DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting Systems) I think, has changed the experience for audiences rapidly. Since DAB was invented, it has had a huge impact on how we listen to radio. It has clearer signal than the FM or AM signals which were originally off putting and had rather poor signal, unless of course you are in a town or city but with DAB, you can listen to clear radio where ever you are, or nearly.

Britain, at present has DAB broadcasting right now to around 80% - 90% of the country. Even now, radio stations are working together to get that percentage higher by installing more transmitters and building new websites.

By having DAB, listeners are able to listen to more music, shows, comedy and more news, sport and weather updates. However it’s not just adults they want to attract, its kids as well. They want to introduce more Children’s shows, which in my opinion will get kids listening to the radio more often than watching the telly.

It’s not just stand alone radios that have DAB now, you can have portable radio or music players which can receive DAB transmission which makes it accessible for all audiences who maybe don’t have DAB on their radio. If you can’t receive DAB, you can buy DAB adaptors which plug into your music player or iPod giving yet again more accessibility to more people around the country. By looking at this, I think that the UK’s audience has been taken seriously to make sure that DAB is accessible to as many listeners as possible.

Radio 1 and 2 for example has DAB transmitting throughout the country. These two stations are the most listened to in the UK, and by having DAB, people can listen without having to listen to crackling all the time, especially for people who are driving to and from work in their cars, newer cars are starting to have DAB, which I forgot to mention earlier. However the only disadvantage with DAB is, if by any chance you do lose signal, which is rare, then you lose signal completely maybe for a few seconds or minutes, where as with FM you only partially lose signal, which results in a bit of crackling but it least you can just still make out what they are saying.

I don’t think that there are any stations now that don’t transmit DAB, from what I’ve seen anyway. On my DAB radio, I can pick up radio 1, 1 extra, 2, 3, 4, 5 live, 6 music, 7, world service, Asian. Others I can pick up are, Planet Rock, Classic FM, Virgin, used to be able to pick up Jazz, birdsong (not worth listening to) and more. When I’m at college I can pick up Wyvern FM, BBC Hereford and Worcester as well as all the stations I have mentioned so far. When I’m at home I can pick up all my local stations as well as all the stations I have mentioned so far apart from BBC Hereford and Worcester and Wyvern FM.

All in all, I think that radio has gone up a level for the UK and for many other countries that are developing their own stations to transmit DAB. I think that now DAB is here, more and more people will listen to DAB now that radio has improved, quite a lot.

Media 02/12/08

Christmas is coming soon, and so are exams. I have an AS Media exam mid Januarary and i am almost certain that it will go well, i hope. For my exam i will have a radio play played to me, but only the first five minutes or so. I will not be able to take notes the first time round but it will be played again and it is only then that i will be able to take notes. I will then have to answer the question which relates to that play which could be about anything. It could be about how sound and speech is used or anything like that.

The situation as it stands is i am up to date on all of my assignments which you will find on my previous posts and i am running smoothly on my radio project although i will need to get the main part of the recording done very soon, which is the interview with my guest speaker. Other than that, i seem to be on task.

My only outstanding assignment is the one i am still working on, but it should be on between now and Friday 5th of December at the latest, which is the deadline.