12 May Interactive Journalism Workbook
Week 1
Live show practice – we ran a little mock live show doing a press review and small discussion on the stories in the papers as a panellist on the TV show discussing the latest Brexit news with the presenters and a co-panellist
Week 2
Live show practice – We ran both a live TV and radio show that worked on a press review and a panel discussion. For the radio show I acted as the producer and I was working as studio director for the live TV show responsible for the live output.
Week 3
Voice training – In the radio booth, we practiced voice training and techniques by reading off local news bulletins that reflected different severities. Some were reporting on serious incidents that required a slower and more serious tone whereas others were light-hearted and allowed us to be freer and more expressive with our tone of voice.
Audiograms – We each used headliner to create an audiogram where we used pictures over an accompanying audio description. We added subtitles to the audiograms and could export them ready for YouTube, Twitter or Instagram. Audiograms are a great way to get short snappy bursts of information across whilst maintaining an engaging visual element.
Award – began searching through for suitable entries and outlets.
Week 4
Mobile Journalism – We went out in groups to get students to tell us what they would say to those in charge of the university regarding and changes they would like to see. We hoped to produce a live TV show using only captured mobile footage, but technical issues meant it could not go out. However, a package was prepared and edited as were scripts.
Week 5
Reflective writing – We learnt the important aspects that we should include in our upcoming reflective essays for our journalism projects. We learnt that is important to be self-critical in evaluating our work. To identify what went wrong as well as what went right and what lessons we have learnt throughout the process. Also, that is important to show all of our research and sources as well as interviews we have gathered along the way.
Week 6
We prepped for the women’s day panel discussion show by covering different topics related to the event. We also practiced different cameras filming at the same time from different angles to create more engaging experience for viewers.
Award – Decided to opt for the Youth Journalism Awards for my competition entry specifically with reviews of video games. One was originally to be a two-minute audio review and there were also going to be two 750 word written reviews.
Week 7
Award – Slight change to award submission. 4-5-minute video review using in game captured footage with voiceover to replace two-minute audio review and one article of 1000 words to replace two of 750.
Week 8
Assessed live show – For the live news day that was assessed I was chosen to work in the studio on the day. After the reporters had gone out to collect footage on a variety of stories. I edited one of the packages that would be going out for the show. During the show I was the VFX editor and sound editor. My role was to make sure all the content was in place ready to be broadcast. To make everything easier, I numbered the individual packages so that they were all in order and easy to set up as the show went on. Because we were short on personnel, I also controlled the sound output for the live show. I feel that I made a significant contribution to the live show as I took responsibility for 3 separate parts that contributed to the live show. Editing one of the packages, doing the VFX and the sound were all important aspects of live show. I feel the show was a big success as the packages were of good quality and the show went out without any technical hitches.
Podcast – We put together a podcast that talked about the latest news from football. We recorded it in one take and tried to make it light-hearted and entertaining by offering differing opinions on subjects like the England squad selection, the Chelsea manager’s future and Man Utd squad disharmony.
Week 10
Award – Began recording footage for video review and planning out script ready for voiceover. Also began researching for written review an decided to review Assassins Creed Odyssey as a major relatively new release into the game market.
Week 11
Showreels and Symposium – Studied different showreels and how they can convey information through catchy visuals and audio. We also started preparing for our Symposium, going through what to expect and what we would need to show off to the rest of the class.
To introduce the project and its format.
Key elements –
- John’s story
- Introduction to Splitz
- The program
- Conclusion, summing up benefits.
Week 12
Preparation for Symposium went through again what specifically would be going on Thursday. How to present and what to focus on. Remember to focus on what went wrong as well as what went right. To reflect on the project and to give advice.
Symposium – I started by introducing my project and explaining why I chose the written form. I also explained my motivation for choosing this project and explained my long-standing interest in rehabilitation matters. Then I moved on to the key elements of my story and broke each one down. I explained what the good parts of my project were. That I got good interviews and how informative the interviewees were to the story overall as well as strong research into my subject matter. The things I said that needed improving were knowing earlier what exactly I wanted the project to look like and maybe getting one additional interview that could explain some of the statistical research I had gathered.
End of year show – During the Monday class. I volunteered to be part of the technical team on the June 6th live news. I enjoy the technical aspect of live shows such as directing and VFX etc as it allows a degree of creativity within the limitations. I also like to make sure as much as possible is ready and easily accessible so that it’s ready to go out for broadcast.
