
Wednesday, 9 September 2009
unit 1 Research techniques & Unit 2 Pre-Production Techniques
unit 39 speech package production


Have a listen to the speech packages above and match each one with a genre, from the list below.
You should also comment on the audience reach; Local, Regional, National, International.
Have a look at the topics below and decide which genre, each issue would belong to and what the reach and target audience might be.
Decide on a topic for your speech package, you can choose one of the titles above if you wish.
and below and answer the following questions.....
Think about your chosen topic and identify the interview materials you will require to produce your speech package:
Create a short report focusing on a variety of Radio Stations that broadcast speech packages and provide the relevant information for each station…
Radio 4 is the main radio station for the majority of speech packages in the U.K. The ways in which we can listen and tune in are DAB receivers which are digital T.V. stations and digital radios, also over the internet on the BBC iplayer and on podcasts. Finally analogue radios are still used, these would include car radios etc. however all analogue will no longer be available after the year 2012 when all television and radio will become digital. The station covers a number of genres including documentaries and drama to news and current affairs. It would have a primary target audience of mainly, 35-65 year old people of both genders but predominately people of the A, B, C demographic.
Another radio station that would broadcast a lot of speech packages is Radio 5. This station mostly focuses on live sport and speech packages would be incorporated into this genre of sport but also the station produces a number of magazine style shows which would fit into the current affairs or lifestyle genre. The primary target audience for this station would differ slightly from radio 4 in that because it is predominately sport it would be mainly males aged 25-65 years old and also it would appeal to people from all of the demographic. It is also a national broadcasting station because it is part of the BBC so therefore will reach a wider audience than many regional stations do.
Alternatively on Galaxy fm, which is a commercial radio station, they don’t use as many speech packages as they tend to focus more on playing music. Galaxy plays mostly dance and R&B music, as well as current popular tracks. But they do use speech packages on occasions, the main genre they would do is the news/current affairs genre because they would, as almost all radio stations do, have a news segment in their shows. Also they may occasionally use speech packages about the music they play, which could fall into the genre of current affairs. The target audience for this station would be slightly different from the BBC audiences, it would be younger people aged around 18-30 of both genders and mostly people from the lower demographics D, C etc. Also because it is a regional station it would attract smaller audiences than the BBC.
Task 8:
Write a treatment for your speech package, use the template below as a guide to your headings…
The speech package that I am producing is about the decline in rugby league attendances and ways forward for the sport. My primary target audience for this would be predominately males and aged between 21 and 40. Also my secondary target audience is again males but aged 40 to 65 and would be fans of the sport in its best years before its decline. This may be because men are generally associated with sports as an audience, so even men who possibly aren't interested in rugby league directly would feel they must be interested in it in some way. Also because of these stereotypical audience views such as, men and sports and women will love gossip and celebrity news, some people may possibly be drawn to topics because they feel they should be. Media producers will most likely aim their shows at specific genders because of this and also advertisers who are aiming specifically at one gender will try to advertise in these shows. These same theories will apply for age as well as gender. For example sport and comedy shows would have a much younger target audience where as a show like The Archers (a radio soap opera) would attract a slightly older audience.
In terms of a family audience there may be some appeal to a family but not majorly because as it is a sport it can appeal to any person individually and also typically sons may have an interest in something their father likes or is involved in. Also Rugby League is considered a family sport with many families going to matches and watching games than perhaps in football ECT. However there isn't a typical speech package as such in which a whole family would sit and listen to together, because the family audience, especially on radio, rarely exists anymore.
Different social classes and geographical location would also effect the audience of this speech package massively. In this specific case these are possibly the most important factors concerning the audience. This would be because Rugby League is a sport which is hugely divided between the north and south of the country and with upper and lower/working class as well but the majority of the divide is geographical. It is a sport which is played hugely in the north (Yorkshire and Lancashire especially) and very rarely in the south and is also considered to be "the poor man's game". This geographical factor is very important in the eyes of a media producers because it means they can target specific radio stations in that part of the country in order to reach their target audience easier and more effectively, for example BBC Radio Leeds or Radio Aire would be more appropriate than Radio 1 or southern stations because they are in the right geographical area. Also the different social classes would effect which radio station was targeted because the stations that appeal to people in classes C to E and possibly B as well e.g. Capital FM and Radio 5 live would be ideal for this topic however more upper class stations such as Radio 4 and Classic FM wouldn't work.
The station it will be broadcasted on would most likely be BBC Radio 5 Live as this is because it is the major radio station for sport speech packages and other sport related productions. Also because rugby league is a major sport in the north but not in the south it could be broadcast on local radio stations such as BBC Radio Leeds or other similar stations. The time it would be broadcast would most likely in the late evening because a vast majority of the audience would have jobs and therefore it would be aired later in the day so that after work people would relax and take more interest in it. The genre in which my speech package would fall into is mainly sport and also slightly related with current affairs, this would be because obviously the speech package is purely about a sport, (rugby league) but also the current state of the game. The pitch and tone of the speech would both be varied in order to stop the speech package seeming monotone and boring. The variety of the tone would range from being very upbeat and excited when talking about the past in rugby league and the great years of the sport to slower and more serious when describing the downfall of rugby. The pitch would vary in order to make it more interesting for the viewer and also the pitch will change with the different people being interviewed.


Script
Rugby League was once a titanic presence in Sport in the North. Back in the 60’s and 70’s clubs such as Leeds RL, Bradford Northern, Wigan and others alike pulled in attendances to rival football and other major sports. The world thrilled to famous players like Gary Schofield, Billy Boston, Jim Mills and Wally Lewis. and the BBC and ITV found lots of room for it in the schedules.
However the sport has failed to grow to the same degree as other major sports in the U.K. and more recently, many sponsors have deserted the game, which means less money, fewer competitions and less TV coverage. The better supported teams such as Leeds Rhinos gain attendances on average of around 15,000 fans. Although with a majority of teams gates are declining – especially in some parts of the country where the game boomed for a while and then faded. Some famous clubs like Wakefield, a team that recently is on the brink of going out of business, and Harlequins a team from London, only attract 5000 fans on average and grounds are falling into disrepair.
I’m Scott Glynn, and in this programme I want to explore what the reasons behind the problems in the sport and what the future holds.
First of all, I interviewed some people about their preferences and the reasons why they loved their chosen sport
Voxpops- do you prefer rugby or football and why? 5/6 people
Well as you just heard from the voxpops of people in Leeds, which is the part of the country where the game is possibly most popular, the majority of people prefer football and some have negative views on the sport of rugby league and that it is an inferior sport to football. To get a better incite into the game and the many positives of the sport which make it a great game still, I spoke to …… … about the issues in the game today, what could be done to solve these issues and why rugby league is the sport he loves best.
Interviews questions 2/3 people- Are you a fan of rugby league? Why?
Have you ever been to a rugby match? Did you enjoy it?
If not, what is it about the sport that doesn’t appeal to you?
What do you think could be done to improve on the attendances of the sport?
Do you or have you ever-played rugby?
If so, did you enjoy it enough to continue playing ahead of other sports? Why/ why not?
Main Interview-
What is your connection to rugby?
What is your favourite rugby memory?
Do you think that rugby can become a bigger sport to rival football etc?
Why not? Or what do you think would need to be done in order to do this?
Task 12: Produce a professional sounding speech package using the relevant technology.
unit 41 radio drama
Task 2
Magazine Article- War of the Worlds
War of the Worlds originally was a radio drama which was first broadcast in 1938. The drama was a story about an invasion of Earth by aliens from Mars. The drama explained that strange phenomenon's were happening, alien landings, lightening was said to be UFO's. However because the show was aired at the same time as other popular shows, people missed the beginning part of the show and believed it was a true news story.
The radio drama had a massive effect on real peoples lives. The people that heard this story and believed that it was true and really happening fled their houses with towels over their heads to escape the poison gases, they abandoned their homes and drove as far away as possible. People were genuinely scared by this and in some cases people killed themselves.
The reason "War of the Worlds" appeared to be so believable was because the show was made in the style of a normal show that was interrupted by a news bulletin warning people about the extraordinary events, so it seemed like a regular, true show. Also it was aired at a same when war was a realistic thing, so the threat of another war could have been on peoples minds.
Analysis of radio drama
The Archers is a radio drama which is aired on BBC radio 4. The theme music on the show is very relatable with the show so when it is played people know it's on, also it relates to an older audience with the orchestral style of the music.
The cultural codes used in the show are all very different, this could be to appeal to audiences from all over the country, because if you hear an accent local to your own, then you are more likely to listen to the show because they could relate to it. Also the show uses very stereotypical accents, for example there are some strong west country accents used, which may attract the target audience, because it makes it entertaining to have such strong accents and it also helps the audience distinguish which characters are which.
Woman's Hour is another radio drama which is aired on BBC radio 4. Unlike The Archers there isn't any theme music which is starnge for a radio drama because they only have sound to use and a theme tune would establish that the show is on and allows people to know the show is on.
Also another apsect of the show that is different for Woman's Hout than The Archers is that Woman's Hour has a main character "DCI Sue Craven" which gives the show a distinctive plot, this is effective because it gives the show structure and gives possiblities for different storylines. Also it creates personal identity for the listeners because the audience could possibly relate to Sue and therefore want to listen more because it could be like hearing about their own life which draws people into a show. However it does have disadvantages which are that it only creates personal identity with a certain type of person which means that it won't attract a variety of different audiences from around the country like The Archers does. Also it could make the show too predictable and cause it to be boring because the audience would know generally who or what the show might be about.
Task 3
I propose to make a radio drama based on the fairy tale Cinderella. The target audience for this would be young adults of both genders, possibly slightly more intelligent people also. It will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 or 7.
One possible idea for the drama is that the Prince is turned into a rich, young, drug dealer who accidently kills Cinderella's dad by giving him an over-dose. Cinderella then is lives with her step-mother and step-daughter both very kind, smart and hard working. Cinderella isn't as smart at school as her step-sister and becomes very jealous of her. The Prince has a party which Cinderella gets invited to, she goes and starts taking drugs to drown her problems. The step-sister comes to the party to help Cin. home, the Prince sees her and they instantly fall in love. Cinderella is left devastated and still jealous of her perfect step-sister, who ends up being rich and happy with Prince the drug dealer.
Another possible approach to the story could be that the world has nearly been ended by a comet and the only people left in the world are Cinderella and her family (step-mother and two step-sisters) the fairy godmother and the prince. Cinderella's father has been killed during the comet hitting earth and her family has become bitter and try to kill Cinderella because they are jealous her father loved her more. The prince (a young navy seal) helps Cinderella escape into the countryside to his castle, whilst the fairy godmother distracts the evil step-mother and sisters with her magic card tricks and an endless magic show where she cuts the step-mother in half.
A third way is to have a mix of some other fairy tales with where Cinderella is a slave to her evil step-sisters and step-mother but after years of hard work and slave labour Cinderella is rescued by 7 dwarfs called Grumpy, Sleepy, Bashful, Happy, Druggy, The Tall One and James. Whilst The Tall One, charms and flirts with the evil family, using his dashing good looks and witty charm, Happy rescues Cinderella from her cage in the dungeon using his expert skills as a locksmith and the other 5 rig the castle with explosives to kill the evil family. All goes to plan apart from Druggy who leaves behind his drugs and goes back to get them just as the house blows up and he dies. But nobody is sad because none of the over dwarfs liked him and everyone lives happily ever after.
My Mind Map

Right then, I'm going to see a friend, be back soon
Which friend?
It doesn’t matter you don't know him. Don’t wait up for me. Your mum will be back soon.
Don’t call that woman my mum.
Who was Cinderella’s dad seeing you may wonder. Was he seeing a woman? No it was...
You got my money mate?
Yeah s'all here and my stuff?
You know am good for it. 10g grams, yeah?
Yeah, Yeah.
Money?
Cinderella’s Dad handed the man a wallet of cash. They both dissappeared into the night.
The drugs however were a bad idea, as Cinderella’s dad was rushed to hospital and died that night. Cinderella never knew it was Prince’s fault. Cinderella was crushed by losing her father. She was now left, only with her step-mother and step-sister.
Step-mother: (Kind, soft voice)
He wasn't your dad, you don't know how hard this is and your not even my mum... Just leave me alone.
Hmm are you going?
Well yeah i think i'll go then.
Now then ladies, you think you both guna make it Saturday?
Cinderella & Claire: (little laugh)
Saturday night, before the party and Cinderella & Claire were all dressed up ready to go. They got a taxi upto his house.
They get out of the taxi and walk into the party, Claire gets soaked and Cinderella couldn't be happier. They get in and start dancing and looking for Prince.
Yeye thanks, your not looking bad tonight, Claire here yet?
Errr, yeah but oh you ont even wana see her, she looks ugly ha. (giggling)
Narrator:
Surprised, Cindy? (laughing) That's carma for you.
Yeah sure babe.
Romance Radio Clip.
Horror Radio Drama
Proposal
We propose, for our radio drama, to make it in the style of a horror genre. This would mean the target audience would be for both genders, possibly slightly more appealing to males and mainly young adults, aged 15-21 roughly. It would be broadcast on BBC radio 4 or 7.
The plot of the story would be that it starts with a girl being in prison, with a short dialogue, and she begins to tell the story of how she got there. There is a flashback to the story, in which it starts of with the girl cheating on her boyfriend with his best friend. The girl starts thinking that he is going to confess to her boyfriend so she kills him. Before he died he told other people about what had happened. The story skips forward years to when they are getting married, but people object to the marriage because she cheated and a reporter ends up piecing the story together and discovering what she has done. Then it goes back to her in prison, she says one line and it ends.
The Setting of the story would be in a small old fashioned village. The plot to this story would be that it starts with, murder mystery's where, a number of teenage girls have been killed with teeth marks on their neck. There is confusion with the police and people in the town of how the people have died and who could have killed them. Sightings begin to happen, of apparently a person with wings flying above the town. Then it becomes discovered that there are vampires roaming the town and thats who has been causing the murders. Eventually the police find out who the vampire is and hunt him, finally catching him and hanging him for the crimes he has committed and the story ends with the village being safe and a happy ending.
Treatment
In our radio drama that we plan to make, the genre would be horror, as it has basic elements of this genre, these elements are that there is a
murder. Although there is an element of crime drama in the show as well, this is also because of the murder. The drama has a restricted narrative in a way because the audience knows that a girl (who would also act as a narrator) has done something wrong because the show starts with her in jail beginning to tell her story of how she ended up in the prison, however there is also a unrestrictive narrative in a way because the audience doesn't know exactly what this girl has done to deserve to be put in prison. Also this isn't based on a true story were the audience would know the ending.
Our radio drama will contain Propp's theory that there is a hero, villain, damsel in distress and a helper. The villain is established at the start as the woman who is in the prison and throughout the drama it is established even more when she kills her boyfriends best friend after cheating with him. The hero and the helper would be the boyfriend and the reporter who discover the murder and who did it, but which way around they are is interchangeable. The damsel in distress is the best friend who is killed early on in the drama.
The show would include Todorov's theory equilibrium, disruption and resolution but it wouldn't be in the conventional order because the resolution is actually at the beginning as the woman is in prison for the crime, then comes what the audience thinks is the equilibrium that she is with the best friend however it is also the start of the disruption because it reveals the first part of what she has done wrong. Finally the resolution is when she tells the story of how she is found out to be a murderer and how she is eventually put into prison.
The plot of the radio drama is that there is a woman who starts off in prison and she goes on to be the narrator and tell the story of how she came to be in prison. It then switches to a flashback where the girl is with her boyfriends best friend, cheating on her boyfriend. But she becomes obsessed about if he confessed to her boyfriend about it all and ends up murdereing the best friend to keep the secret. Then news reporter and the boyfriend try to discover who the murderer is gradually uncover more information untill a point where it seems like it cant be solved. There is a flashforward in the the flashback, which skips fowards to where the couple are getting married and as the priest is saying does anybody object, people confess to been told about the girl cheating with his best friend and the boyfriend realises that it was her that killed him. It then goes back to the girl in prison, she says one line and the story ends.
We would use strong accents in the show as this makes it easier to distinguish between characters and makes the show more entertaining. The accent we would use for the girl would be a posh slightly strange accent to make her seem more mysterious and psychotic. For the reporter there would be a more common working class accent, which would connote that he is just a common everyday guy. The boyfriend would have a deep american accent, which would give him the typical conventions for a voice of that type of character in these dramas. Also the tone and pitch of each characters voices would vary depending to the scene, for example in the murder scene there would be loud, shouting voices, with a lot of urgency in them.
There would be a lot of different types of music beds playing throughout the drama. In the first scene of the flashback, there would be a slow, romantic music bed because it is a romantic scene. However the music would change quickly to a fast pace more shocking kind of music when she kills him. There would also be quite a lot of ambience noise, for example in he wedding scene, there would be birds singing and possibly music from a piano to signify the occasion. However in contrast, the opening and closing scenes when the girl is in a jail cell, there would be no ambience at all which is a signifier and it connotes how alone she is and how terrible she feels.
Task 8: Complete a production schedule that documents the processes of production and the time spent on specific tasks. Download the template from below and upload an image of the completed document onto your blog.
Our Radio Drama