After a long summer, it's time to get back into the swing of things with the first unit of the year: TV News. Our task is to:
- Develop an original online news channel
- Find a brand which will fit a particular audience
- Design our own branded online digital news channel, including:
- Title sequence / GFX / branded strapline
- Promotional package / presenter-led teaser trailer
- Create a 2'00''-2'30'' news package
- Create a 2'00'' live OB report with a reporter
- Written material on the webpage to support and explain the channel
- All this, including the research and development journal to be completed by 26th October
- Sourcing stories and telling them
- Sourcing contributors
- Sourcing locations
- Writing to pictures / 'tie-writing'
- Interviewing
- Sequencing and actuality
- SWEFF
- Good coverage
- Good sound
- Factual accuracy / fair dealing / impartiality and balance
- Teamwork and communication
- Time management and organisation
- Interpreting information and finding the angle
As well as this, we would be bringing in new skills for this format of television:
- Reporting
- Fast turn-arounds
- Developing online platform, branding and concepts
- Studio presentation / news anchoring
- Sourcing talent (reporters, presenters as opposed to actors)
We looked at some work from last year to see the sort of piece we would be creating and what we need to do/avoid doing when it came to creating our own work:
- Ensure that audience interest is sustained
- Avoid repetition in the writing and ensure the tone of the script fits the tone of the target audience, branding and subject matter
- PTCs (pieces-to-camera)
- Action / reaction - capture the context behind what is said and done
- MCUs (medium close-ups) for interviews
- Sign-posting - ensure the story is told concisely so a Layman could watch the piece and still understand what is happening
- 'WIIFM' (what's in it for me?) - keep contributors and viewers on board by making them want to be a part of the film
We will be working in groups of 3-4 to produce our news piece - I will be working with Katie, Jason and Melissa. I am glad that I am working with Katie and Jason again as I know their strengths and weaknesses from the documentary unit, and Melissa as I know she worked hard and contributed a lot to her group project last year - I get on with the three of them as friends too, which is a bonus. Unlike the last unit, I feel we have quickly established our idea and I feel a lot more excited and motivated to go ahead with it.
We toyed around with several potential ideas before settling on what we feel we will go ahead with. We initially struggled with whether to approach the piece from a story or brand perspective, i.e. whether to find a good story and build the brand around that, or to find the brand and look for stories to cover relating to it. We decided that we wanted to take a comedic angle, aimed at young people around 16-25. We also brain-stormed some initial and basic potential branding and story ideas:
- Branding / Angle
- Television / film / Netflix
- Focusing on TV shows and films that are popular at the moment and talking to people in the industry and fanatics for their insight and opinions
- Politics
- A young person's perspective on the world of politics to entice the younger generation to take more of an interest in how parliament and the government work
- Student life
- Looking at the lives of students and things that may interest people of our own age group, such as music, tips for university etc.
- Potential stories
- The rapid growth of Netflix and online subscription services
- Stoptober / Stay Sober - encouraging sobriety in the name of good health
- Disproving/debunking urban myths and social misconceptions
We discussed our ideas with Helen and came up with the basis for our digital news platform. We will produce a comedic channel based on urban myths and debunking them, such as exploring supposed cures for hangovers, and more absurd ideas/old wives' tales, for example, sneezing with your eyes open. The issue here falls with how we can make this relevant to current affairs and maintain the journalism for the piece to be a news channel and not just comedy or entertainment. This is where the Stoptober and Stay Sober story ideas come in as we could look at the more light-hearted side of alcohol by looking at social misconceptions around 'curing' hangovers, and then switch to a more serious note regarding the Stoptober and Stay Sober campaigns, potentially allowing us to attend a charity event for the live segment and to speak to experts in the field.
We divided up areas to research into to build a better idea of our brand, our story and the way in which we can present the platform.
- I am going to research the effects of alcohol, including hangovers and the urban myths surrounding the 'cures' for hangovers
- Jason is going to look into e-cigarettes and vaping, looking at research into whether vaping is safer than traditional smoking or just as bad
- Melissa is researching the funnier and more absurd urban myths we can explore to add to the comedic element of the channel
- Katie is going to research mythbusting in general, looking at the definitions and other examples in the media that focus on debunking myths (one show in particular comes to mind)
With our idea sorted, the Google Docs folder ready to go and research already underway, I am eager to get back to work and begin making our news channel.
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