Evaluation - The Journey From Prelimenary to my Finished Radio Extract

I feel that I have achieved a lot since my preliminary task especially in terms of my understanding and skills regarding technology and what can be achieved through adding sound effects and music.


There are definitely similarities between my preliminary task and my final extract, however the differences between the two are massive and it is clear to see the contrast in terms of how long each one took to produce through quality and details in editing.

I entered the process of recording and editing my preliminary script with little idea about what could be achieved through the use of software and I spent minimal time planning my script and selecting characters, which is a huge contrast when looking at my final production. I used the process of the preliminary task just as a way of beginning to understand how to use the software and technology and how it could be used to achieve desired results for my final piece. Once I had completed my preliminary task I created a list of everything I felt I had learnt and the things I would of to do before creating my final radio extract. These involved planning and research into all conventions of radio and organisation of choosing characters in order to obtain the correct representation.


One of the most important thing I took away from the preliminary task was the fact that I could use the sound effects and editing to make it sound like a person was in a certain place and make it sound authentic and realistic. This therefore made me think about the locations I wanted to have my news stories take place in and what news stories I could come up with for example the news story with the press conference I used camera clicks and for the voxpops i used street sounds these layers allowed for it to seem like characters were actually in these locations.

I hope that when you listen to both my preliminary task and POP FM you can hear that what i took away from the preliminary task informed the decisions I made with my full radio show.

Evaluation - Using Technology

A variety of technologies have been essential in helping me not only record and edit my radio show but also in creating the blog where I have been able to detail all my research and planning and my evaluation. I have used a range of software and hardware throughout all elements of my AS coursework and the technology has helped me be incredibly creative and achieve things that I didn't think would initially be possible.

Blogger has meant that I can record each of my research and planning tasks and include images, sound clips and videos of various parts of the planning process, to help bring to life the information I have put down. It has also helped with my organisation, giving me a structure to follow. I have been able to link certain pages and essentially keep a diary of my progress.

Here is a screenshot from one of my blog posts

As part of my research into listening to other existing radio stations I used the TuneinRadio app which was very efficient and helpful way of obtaining the radio extracts that i needed. I was able to carefully re-listen to any stations that weren't available through listen again.

This was helpful when I chose to listen to a number of news bulletins from different radio stations all aired at the same time. I was able to carefully analyse the recordings and identify conventions for each one. This helped me when it came to writing my own script and allowed me to establish what would work well for the type of radio I was producing and the audience.

To record the different voices I used the Shure SM58 microphone and I used the mixing desk to alter the volume levels when recording and editing. I recorded each voice individually. As I was only able to record each voice separately this extended the recording time and inevitably the time it took me to produce my radio extract which was quite frustrating. Despite this it allowed me to focus on each voice individually and ensure it was up to scratch and edit out any flaws. I saved each recording with the mistakes aswell as without the mistakes and all edited and placed them in suitable folders so that they were easy to access when producing the final product and for evaluation purposes.

The software I used to edit and mix my show was called Adobe Audition 1.5, and it allowed me to add a variety of effects to different voices as well as making it possible to layer sounds on the multi-track allowing me to create complex clips e.g. jingles and certain parts of my news bulletin.

During recording the actors made mistakes such as repeating, missing out words or stuttering, or not using the correct tone which was to be expected. This software however allowed for me to edit out any mistakes rather than having to start from the beginning and re-record this therefore meant that time was saved and actors didn't have to worry too much about making mistakes as well as allowing for higher degree of control. I have added a sound clip below of Louise the newsreader making mistakes and then the following track is of Louise presenting the news with no mistakes and editing complete. The technology meant that she didn't re-record the whole thing but instead just repeated anything she didn't do correctly and then cut out all the mistakes.

Adobe Audition also enabled me to layer a number of different sound clips on the multi-track some that I could mix them together. A perfect example of this is when I created the voxpops and put background effects to make it sound as if the characters were on a busy road outside.  Also it allowed me to play music tracks in the intro and outro whilst the presenters were talking and this is often what happens in real radio broadcasts similar to mine; so layering allowed for a sense of authenticity.

I was abled to easily add effects to almost every section of my extract, and areas which required sound effects depending on the location it was set for example cheering or camera clicks this again allowed for authenticity and to clearly set the atmosphere and scene of where it was taking place.

A final way that I used technology to make my show as realistic as possible and sound like real radio was by adding compression to the mixed and edited extract. As all the voices had been recorded at different times and added effects and music the volume level across my show was very different. thus adding compression allowed for a consistent volume level across my whole shoe so that no one sounded drastically louder than others.

Evaluation - Audience

Throughout my research and planning I did a number of tasks that were directly related to audience, including primary research, distributing a questionnaire to gain a greater insight of audience's listening habits, and secondary research, looking at existing radio stations.

Audience
Primary Research - Questionnaire
Target Audience and Websites
Target Audience and Websites II

Carrying out this research allowed me to obtain a better understanding of who my audience was. and the ways in which radio stations target and attract their audiences e.g. through the songs they play, adverts, the guests or the way in which presenters speak and design of their websites.

My radio station (POP FM) is a local radio station targeting audiences within the London area. Being a contemporary/chart music station aimed specifically at under 30's in London at both genres.

Much of the content of my show is suitable for a local audience, targeting them directly. Examples of elements of my show that would directly appeal to local audiences in the London region include the majority of news stories, the jingles (stating the word 'London' clearly indicated the region it is based in) and the weather for that region. The majority of my research into local news involved thinking about how stories I had looked at were directly targeting a specific audience.


Local News Analysis
Local News Analysis II
Comparing Local and National News




 






Another way that I targeted my audience is through the age and genders of my show presenters who, and the choice of music I chose at the beginning and end of my extract.

 

Evaluation - Institution

POP FM is a local, commercial radio station targeting listeners in the London area, which is funded through advertising revenue it generates through the sale of advertising space (although I didn't demonstrate averts in my radio extract).

My show, Drive time with Marvin and Amy, is on air from 5pm until 8pm on weekdays. I created my own completely original station rather than simply creating a show for an existing radio station. POP FM is similar to stations such as Capital FM and Kiss FM in terms of the kind of contemporary popular music it plays, the age and gender of its target audience and the types of news stories it includes in its bulletins.

The format of my radio station is a contemporary hit radio station, with news, entertainment, speech and showbiz. Most of the content, such as the examples below, target the local London area, such as the weather for London, the stabbing in popular area in London. The jingles repeatedly reference London.

Evaluation - Representation

As part of my research and planning I thought carefully about representation when listening to existing radio shows. Having listened to presenters on contrasting radio stations (BBC Radio 2 and Magic Radio) I analysed the ways in which presenters spoke, the language they used and their tone of voice and how this related to the target audience and radio genre.

Analysis of Representation on Magic FM and BBC Radio 2

When I scripted my preliminary task I didn't think about the ways that the characters in my script might sound and I especially didn't think about representation when choosing my actors. After completing a number of listening tasks where I listened to news presenters, show presenters, voxpops and adverts, I realised that I had to carefully choose my actors for each role, and that I may have to explicitly tell them exactly what tone to use so that the representation was accurate.

After I had completed my script, I went about about choosing the actors for each role. I had over 10 different characters in my script ranging from the news presenter to voxpops accompanying my news stories and I made sure that I gave careful consideration to who I chose for each character. Below are the links to my posts on choosing actors.

Choosing Voices for my Show 1
For my news presenter I wanted a female as after listening to radio stations such as Kiss FM and Capital FM I found that they used mainly females for news presenting however I wanted her to sound slightly more serious than my show presenters. I chose Louise the drama teacher at school as I felt she had an authoritative yet calming voice so when listening to her it didnt get boring nor was her voice annoying.



When researching, I noticed that the show presenters on stations such as Magic and Capital sounded young in comparison to those on BBC Radio 2 and spoke in an excited manner when discussing what they had coming up on the show or introduced a song. I decided on two show presenters, one male and one female as this is what was most common on the stations that I felt mine was most similar to. I also that that a male and female presenter would help my show appeal to a wider audience. I asked Jess, a friend of mine, to play the role of female presenter Amy Morgan and I asked another friend Michael to play Marvin Kemp.




I chose Jon, one of the Media teachers, as the voice for my jingles. I wanted to use the same voice for all of my jingles so that my station had a consistent identity. I felt that Jon had the right tone of voice for a jingle - informative with a degree of authority. The clip below contains Jons jingles without any music







For my voxpops I wanted people to sound less formal and more natural, as they were supposed to represent members of the public rather than professional  broadcasters. I still chose my actors carefully and didn't edit out any pauses or mistakes in the same way that I did my presenters and other characters.

Evaluation - Using Conventions Of Real Media Prodcuts - News

The main part of my radio show is a news bulletin, so I did lots of research into the 5W's, news values and the ways that news is presented online, in both newspapers and on radio. This was to help me make my news stories as authentic as possible

Research into the 5W's
Research into News Values



I analysed a number of news stories online for both local and national news to see the similarities and differences. This was important because I wanted my news stories to highlight the conventions I found in local news as my station was broadcasting specifically to the London area.

Local News Story - Disaster
National News Story - Disaster
Comparing Local and National News



After this I listened to a number of news bulletins on different radio stations, both national and local to see if the news stories changed depending on the genre of the station and the target audience, I have listed my findings below. This helped me when scripting my own stories and deciding the order in which my stories should appear.

News Bulletin - Kerrang!
News Bulletin - Magic Radio
Comparing News Bulletins On Local Radio



I have also researched other elements that are found in news bulletins, for example; voxpops, archive clips, specialist reporters, outside broadcast and soundbites, so I could include some in my radio across different news stories.


Below are the voxpops that I used in my story about the death of singer Bella Rose. The voxpops are people being interviewed outside the house of Bella Rose being asked about about how they feel about the news. i advised the actors who recorded the voxpops to speak naturally and not as if they were reading a script as this would hep make it sound more authentic.

Research into Voxpops and other research found in News Bulletins





Accompanying my news stories I also included soundbites one of a detective outside about a death and another of a footballer talking about an upcoming game on a football training ground.





Here is my complete news bulletin after mixing, as you can hear it includes all of the elements that i noticed when researching existing news bulletins from real radio stations.

Evaluation - Using Conventions Of Real Media Products - Jingles

When carrying out my research into jingles I found that there are many different types of jingles that help give radio shows and the station its own individual identity. After listening to a range of stations of different genres and similar genre I found hat depending on the target audience and genre of the radio station jingles shared similar characteristics and slogans are often used to make the station catchy and memorable.



Here are the links to my research into jingles that I did in my research and planning:

Introduction To Jingles
Types Of Jingles

I incorporated various jingles into my own radio show as demonstrated below.







The show jingle and station jingle was played over the music playing at the time, the music reflected the genre and audience of the radio station.

The music used in the background of this jingles is quite upbeat and electronic as it is introducing traffic updates I found this to be suitable and well fitted.



The news jingle had a more serious feel yet the background music helps keep the genre and type of radio station.