Storyboard

Over the weekend I finished drawing up the storyboards for our news report.

Sheet 1

Sheet 2

Sheet 3

Sheet 4

Sheet 5

Now we have the storyboards, we will start scripting as it will be easier to write the script shot by shot.

Progress Update

Thursday, 13th December 2012

Rough shot list

In yesterday's lesson, I produced a rough shot list for our news report. This was so that in today's lesson I could draw up the proper storyboards as I knew the rough order and what we wanted to include.

Progress Update

Tuesday, 11th December 2012

In the previous lessons, we have been looking into audience profiling and how we can target our target audience - which is families. This involved looking at how shows, such as The One Show and Daybreak, target their audiences.

In today's lesson, we set up the studio so that we now have a rough idea of what the it will look like. We also decided that we were going to incorporate some christmas decorations as we will be filming around the christmas period.

Audience Profiling

For our news report, we initially wanted to target a younger teen audience as we feel no news programme exists that delivers to this age group. However, we did feel that this would limit our scope for stories, so therefore we expanded our audience and decided to create a news programme that would target families, as most news programmes target the older generation. This can lead to younger viewers feeling alienated - we felt that as they are the generation of tomorrow, they need to have a grasp on what's going on in their area, so that they can function in that society and cast a meaningful vote when they reach the age of majority.

Presenter standing up could provide a more informal atmosphere

We aim to do this by reporting on stories that are appropriate for all age groups, like our story on the shift from GSCEs to the English Baccalaureate Certificate, for example. Of course, inevitably, some stories will be more relevant for certain age groups but, in general, we would like to report universal stories. We will also target families by using, to a degree, an informal studio layout. This could entail the presenter standing up with a screen behind him, rather than sitting down reporting in the traditional way. This is often used by Channel 4 News. The presenter will also report in a friendly manner as opposed to adopting a stern look, which will appease younger viewers, similarly to The One Show or Daybreak. 

Daybreak
Although Daybreak is a magazine show, it targets a similar audience as they are a family-friendly show. They achieve this by having the presenters open the standing up which provides an informal, more relaxed atmosphere. The use of direct-address and the smiley-faced presenters create a more friendly impression. Obviously, as Daybreak is essentially a magazine show, we will differ in terms of stories as ours will combine serious local issues with some lighter-hearted stories, whereas Daybreak is more an entertainment show.

The One Show
Again, The One Show is not strictly a news report, however, we intend to take a leaf from its book as we would like to adopt a slightly more informal approach. Their use of direct address and conversational style is something we could think about when writing our report. We were also inspired by the way in which the presenters sit in front of a window, which offers an interesting and modern look. We may also consider the way in which the presenters adopt a smart, casual dress code, as Chris Evans and Matt Baker often wear a shirt with the top button undone. This could help us portray a more informal feel.

We may dress our presenters and reporters in smart clothing, such as a jacket and tie, as this would reflect the serious stories we are reporting. In terms of mise-en-scene, our presenter will sit/stand in front of a window which will liven up the studio, while also portraying a modern look which reflects how our news is up-to-date and cutting edge. We also plan to have a blue screen next to the presenter displaying relevant pictures/key facts about the story he's reporting. This will also contribute towards the modern feel. For our sound track, we will either find an uncopyrighted piece of music or devise an original piece. Whichever we do, we will ensure that its orchestral, dramatic and building so that it conveys the severity of the stories that we report. We will light the studio well so that everything can be seen clearly, as we plan to set up the different lights in different locations around our studio so that the whole area is well lit. We will also place a light shining up onto the green screen to eliminate shadows to ensure that we achieve a cleaner green screen effect.

Audience Research

From this video, it is clear that Cathie, a middle-aged woman, expects the local news to be relevant to her and her surroundings. Cathie also said that she dislikes the presenter sitting behind a desk as she feels it is too formal but that he should still wear smart, formal clothing, while she feels that the studio itself could be more picturesque and interesting to look at. Cathie then stated her dislike for the same repeated stories, and instead would prefer more up-to-date stories, while she also said that she prefers the report to be presented from the location that's affected.

Similarly, Eddie, a middle-aged man, stated that he prefers up-to-date stories, that are not constantly repeated, and that are relevant to him and his community. Eddie also said that he prefers stories that are short and concise, giving the key details while avoiding waffle, and that he thinks its important for the the presenter to look smart and serious. Eddie also stated that he prefers the studio to look modern and colourful.

Harley, a young student, said that he rarely watches the news for the simple reason that he fails to connect with the stories. He said he'd watch it more if the stories were more relevant for younger people, and if younger people were represented in the Vox Pops and interviews. Harley also said that he'd prefer a more informal atmosphere and presentation of the studio and the presenter as he feels this would be inclusive for younger viewers. Harley also repeated the fact that the stories are often too long-winded, and said he'd prefer it if it was more concise and just the key details raised.

Progress Update

Friday, 30th November 2012



Over the last few lessons, and lessons to come, we have been playing with Adobe Premiere CS5 in an attempt to film in front a green screen. After following a guide on-line we have produced the video above. It's far from perfect but we do now have a vague idea of what we should do. According to the on-line guide, positioning the speaker 6 foot in front of the screen will create a better effect, while lighting the screen and speaker more fully will reduce shadows. For our final film, we will also hang the screen better to eliminate shadows and creases which are visible in the video above.

Progress Update

Sunday, 18th November 2012

Running Order

Order:

Channel ident -> introducer introduces news

Summarize the day’s top stories: 4 stories -> inserts of relevant footage

‘Also’, ‘And’ used as co-ordinating conjunctions -> last story is light-hearted/uplifting

Intro sequence

“Good Evening. Welcome to the news at 6” -> stood up in front of desk

Introduces first story -> “Our middle-eastern correspondent ‘John Davis’ reports from Gaza”

Dramatic opening shot of story -> outside reporter states time of incident -> reports the story

Shot of reporter talking about story -> may be walking towards the camera

Back to voiceover inserts

Interview with person related to incident

“Will Davis. BBC News. Gaza” sign out

Back to studio -> “Our correspondent Kathy Smith is in Ashbor. Kathy…” -> she gives her opinion, other facts she has learned -> LIVE -> “Kathy Smith in Ashbor. Thank you.”

Here, is a rough running order that we drew up after watching the BBC News at 6. We had realised that presenters introduce stories in a certain order, while sticking to certain agendas, and we wanted to follow this recognized formula to make our news report look as authentic as possible.

Progress Update

Friday, 16th November 2012

Marjon Masterclass

Here is the video diary of our day trip to UCP Marjon.

Throughout this day, we created a news story for the front page of a tabloid newspaper, and then created our own viral video to raise attention for our story. This process should really help our final project as we will have to present a story that we have researched and then film one of us presenting this news. This is similar to the process we followed at Marjon.

Our front page covering the 'Marjaws!' story

Our task was to create a story that had a link with Marjon but was to be as exciting as possible. So, we decided to cover the presence of a shark that had got into the Marjon pool. This involved taking the picture, editing the shark into the picture, creating the headline, and writing the story.

Marjon's Trip

Tomorrow, 14th November, we will be visiting UCP Marjon's for a Media Masterclass on Journalism and the process of making a news reel. This will hopefully give us a fuller insight into how to make a professional-looking report and help us with our final project.

Progress Update

Tuesday, 13th November 2012
Today, we discussed how we would film our tracking shot. We decided to create a structure that would allow the camera to slide over a piece of wood. This would then allow us to produce a seamless and smooth tracking shot.

Our Animatic

Progress Update

Friday, 26th October 2012

In our final lesson before half-term, we wanted to ensure that we were ready to start filming as soon as we came back. So after creating our storyboard, we filmed our animatic which detailed the opening sequence of our news report.

The script that I wrote on Microsoft Word for our animatic

Me working on the animatic script

Charlie putting the animatic together

Our original storyboard

Progress Update

Thursday, 25th October 2012

Our News Corporation Logo

Here is the logo that I created for our group's news report. I used Adobe Photoshop CS5 and some useful guides I found online to create it as I had had some experience with the program in the past. However, I did not know how to create the 3D effect so I looked up a guide.

The red colour scheme and drop shadow creates a bold text that reflects the importance of the news that we will be delivering. The black palm tree contrasts nicely with the red text and illustrates how we are a local news corporation. The palm tree is a symbol of the English Riviera and Torbay area, so the inclusion of it in our logo reflects the way in which we will be reporting on local stories.

Studio Analysis

Website Research

BBC

The BBC website features the instantly recognisable BBC colour scheme - red and white - which allows the viewer to recognise the high production values of the BBC. This encourages the user to use this service as they link the detailed stories from the news broadcast with this website. 

The Home Page also features the top headlines which enables the viewer to easily learn of the most important stories, especially if they are short of time. 

The graphic of the world emphasizes their 'around-the-world' coverage, while still retaining the BBC colour scheme. 

The clean-cut approach to their layout portrays the modern, up-to-date and relevant news stories that they report on. Their modern outlook is also reflected by the incorporation of an online RSS subscription link, allowing regular users to receive regular updates.

ITV

The ITV website does not feature any particular colour scheme, but does use a very clean-cut black and white style. This 

Progress Update

Thursday, 4th October 2012

In today's lesson, I continued my research regarding our news report. Today, I looked at the difference in studios. I decided to look at BBC News, ITV News and Channel 4 News so that I would be able to see the difference methods used by different channels. Next lesson I plan to record myself talking about these differences.

Spotlight Opening Analysis

The opening titles are played with the BBC News theme music playing to show that it's part of the BBC company. The opening uses images and clips from local areas, such as the Eden Project, while local place names are imposed upon the images. The red and white colour scheme link Spotlight to the BBC News empire which gives it credence.

The opening titles finish with the name of the programme, Spotlight, and the BBC News stamp which again provides the local news with credence, while the red and white colour scheme is continued. The BBC News stamp appears in the top corner of every clip to remind the viewer that it is a BBC News broadcast.

 The studio presenters then provide a brief summary of the main headline while a clip from the news story is shown.

 A snippet from an interview, regarding the top headline, is then shown to entice the viewer to continue watching.

The studio presenters then list the other headlines through direct address. A mid shot is used to create a formal, serious atmosphere. In terms of mise-en-scene, the presenters are always dressed smartly and formally in a suit and tie and a smart dress, respectively.

 A clip from the other headlines are then shown while the presenters briefly describe the story - that a local pasty company is asking its staff to accept a pay cut.

A simple wipe is used as the transition between headline clips to neatly link the two segments.

There is a clip for each headline, for example, a dispute over Brittany Ferries.



A slow zoom is used, with a different angle, to add interest for the viewer. The closing part of the soundtrack is then repeated to show that is the end of the headline reel. They then go into more detail regarding the first story while an appropriate graphic appears behind the presenters to illustrate what they're talking about.

An outside reporter then provides full details of the main story while an image of the affected person is shown. Here, it's discovered that this boy was wrongly accused of rape.

Often, there is an interview with someone who is related to the story and/or is affected by the event. For example, here, the boy's grandmother expresses her relief.

A freeze frame is then used while bullet points appear to summarise the key details. The freeze frame is related to the story while sometimes a film clip is paused and then turns monochrome, which the bullet points then appear over.

Finally, the reporter summarises the key details of the story and then signs out with his name, location and 'BBC News'.

Pitch

EDIT 20/10/2012

After much deliberation we have shifted the target audience from a teenage audience to a more wider and perhaps older target audience, similar to the local BBC news programmes. However, our lead story remains the same, getting the teen and younger perspective on the drastic education changes. 

Progress Report

Thursday, 20th September 2012
In today's lesson, we talked about our news report pitch and decided that we would produce a filmed pitch. We also discussed further what kind of stories we could include. We have decided that the GCSE story is a definite but decided that we would target a younger audience, teens for example. We thought we could then interview the different year groups and find out their opinions. For example, we could ask the current year 12s whether THEY thought the exams were easier, and ask the year 7s if they thought it was fair that they had to take all their exams at the end of year 11.

Progress Report

Wednesday, 19th September 2012
In today's lesson, we researched further into the conventions of a news report and looked at the sort of stories that are used in a local news report. We decided we could include a report on the change in GCSE's and the fact that the exam boards are removing the coursework elements from most courses.

Progress Report

Tuesday, 18th September 2012
In today's lesson, we looked at the conventions of a news report. This was in preparation of our pitch where we would outline our idea for our final piece. This included the structure of a news report, the use of direct address, and the use of cutaways where the main anchor passes over to a travelling reporter.
We looked at some of last year's News Reports and noticed conventions such as the use of establishing shots to present the area that is affected.

News Opening Titles - Brand Identity

BBC
The music used  by the BBC news has a constant, regular beep which imitates a countdown. This, along with the synths which get higher, help to build up to a climax where the headlines will be read. 
The titles centre around a graphic of the earth, suggesting that the BBC report on stories from across the world, while there are also shots of London (on some of the longer openings) which suggest a sense of patriotism and how the majority of the stories will often be about the UK.
The red and white colour combination used during the titles is vibrant, giving it a modern feel as the viewer wants to think that the news they are watching is cutting-edge. When we see the presenter, they are dressed smartly to reflect the serious nature of the news, while they directly address the camera so as to report the news straight to the viewer.

ITV
The synth-driven music gives it an epic, grand scale which reflects the important nature of the news while the regular chime sounds like Big Ben which again presents their London-based roots.
Again the smart dress of the presenters, reflects the serious nature of the news while the direct address reports the news straight to the viewer.

Spotlight
The BBC's local news programme 'Spotlight' uses the same music as it's mother broadcast, which links the two and gains respect as the views knows they are still watching the BBC,  but the titles include local images of the local area - for example, cows for the South West as it's mainly countryside. The use of direct address and the smart presentation of the presenter still offers a serious report of the news, however the stories themselves are of a lesser importance as they are all based around the local area.