WEEK 1 (29th Jan)

This week we went over the most popular choices for the theme of the radio station. They varied from equal rights, to sports, to gaming and from there we were split off into groups to come up with a pitch for our preferred station. The group I was in was keen to do a station based on equal rights and self love so we spent an hour coming up with a station name, demographic, and show ideas. From there we pitched our ideas and voted for our preferred station.

The station idea that won was gaming, and as first I was skeptical but once the group had an in-depth discussion I warmed up to the idea and I’m looking forward to it.

We all had to pitch for the roles we wanted within the station as well and originally I pitched to be an assistant producer; however, as there weren’t many people who wanted to take on the role of a producer I agreed to do that instead. I am feeling a bit nervous about being the producer of the retro show; however, producing is what I want to and what I’m most interested in so it’s an ideal role for me. Hopefully I will do the show justice and do the best I can.

WEEK 2 (5th Feb)

This week the roles were moved around a little bit and I’ve been swapped to Assistant Producer of the Retro Show. I’m not fussed about this switch in the slightest as it is what I originally wanted to do and it means I still get to work on the Retro Show. This means I am now working with Natalie and Mark, and so far I think we make a good team.

On Monday we started coming up with the name of the show, some feature ideas, and some package ideas. We have yet to start building a clock because until we know exactly what features we’re going to do each week, we won’t be able to complete the clock.

Ready for next week I need to brainstorm some more feature and package ideas, as well as some topics Natalie could talk about on air. Next week we have to finalise features so we can build the clock, and also start planning  and creating packages.

WEEK 3 (12th Feb)

This week we were just in our little groups doing more planning for the shows. Myself, Mark, and Natalie made a to do list for the day, and then one for the end of the week.

We started by talking with the interactive team about how the feature Natalie Plays is going to work. We’ve decided that each week there will be a character, much like The Stig, who plays against Natalie, and then the winner decides the game for the week after. The Natalie Plays feature will play at the end of the radio show and then when the show ends there will be a Twitch live stream of Natalie playing for another 10/15 minutes.

We also looked more into what will go into the packages and what Natalie will talk about around the package for each topic. Mark has also compiled a list of potential guests for the shows so the next step there will be to contact them.

For next week I need to have my Pac Man package ready to be recorded, and then I can start planning future packages to ensure they’re ready well in advance. As a group we also need to build a show clock, finalise the competition terms and conditions, and ensure that we are on track for the pilot show.

WEEK 4 – (19th Feb)

On Monday we got a lot done and I’m feeling more confident about the pilot next week. Myself and Mark built a running order for how the show is going to run. We also had a meeting with the interactive team to discuss how Natalie Plays is going to work, and we began sourcing the consoles and games we will need for the coming weeks. We’ll only need to buy a couple of things as others, including myself, will be bringing in games.

We also assigned packages to Mark and I so we can start creating them advance. I also recorded the narrations for my Evolution of Pac Man package which I need to have finished in the next few days. I just need to find some Pac Man sound effects and music and then I can begin editing the package together.

On Tuesday we trialled Natalie Plays with Adam to see how it going to run. Dan brought in his Playstation 2 and we got Natalie and Adam to play GTA and Lego Star Wars just see the dynamic between them and to check Natalie is happy with how the feature is going to run.

In the next week before the pilot we need to buy the games we need for the feature and also need to try and get guests on the phone, either live or for a pre-rec. We also need to ensure packages are underway and are fully prepared for the pilot by writing a script that Natalie can use on the day.

WEEK 5 – (26th Feb)

This week was our pilot show and I wasn’t feeling too bad about it until a couple of hours before. We had to rework the schedule because the timings were off, which meant I then had to create another show clock. The packages and the music was ready for us to go on air, all that I had to do on the day was help Natalie with bullet points and scripting for talking points.

When we went on air the show didn’t go as well as we had hoped. As we didn’t have any beds for our show, Mark had to play beds off of Spotify and unfortunately Spotify kept on crashing and not allowing us to play anything off of it. Also, at one point Mark played the wrong package by accident so this made our timings change. It seemed that the main issue we had was technical, but we agreed as a group that we need to tighten our running order and timings so we’re on track.

For next week we’re going to rework the timings again on the running order and create another clock, also ensure the scripts are perfect so Natalie knows exactly what she’s talking about. I also need to add to my package and as a group we need to try and find a guest to either come in to the studio, or do a phone interview on the day.

WEEK 6 – (5th March)

This week was our first real show and I think it went really well. In the last week we managed to get a live interview with a gamer from New York, have all our packages completed and ready to air, and also ensure Natalie Plays was prepped.

We managed to do 3 run throughs before the show and they got better each time so I was feeling confident on the day. On the day of the show we got in for 8am and from there we did a run through and also ensured everything was scheduled into Myriad and ready to go. During the show I was in charge of keeping track of time and letting Nat and Mark know if we were over or under and what they should do. We were listening to the other shows and they all sounded really good I was pleased with how everything went during the day.

At the end of the day, myself and Mark made a to do list for the week ahead and assigned tasks to each person. Next week our topics are Pokemon, films being made into games, and Nat will be playing Fifa Street.

WEEK 7 – (12th March)

In preparation for this week I had to create a package and find an interviewee for our film-based games segment. During the week I wrote the script for the package, and then Mark voiced it ready for me to edit. I edited it the other day  and used clips from popular films that have been made into video games, and used the soundtracks as beds.

Last Tuesday I also managed to find a guest to talk about whether or not film-based games were worth while, and why they aren’t as popular anymore. I found a games journalist, called Ben Bertoli, on Twitter and he was up for doing the interview.

On the day we got in at 8am and did run throughs until 10am and during that I was keeping track of times, updating the running order, and building the show clock. The run through went well so we were feeling confident for the live show.

When it came to doing the live show I think it went really well and was an improvement from last week. This week we managed to secure a live guest, Adam from the Pokemon Society, and he came in and spoke for a bit about Pokemon.

During the feedback session I was pleased with what feedback we got and I feel that the improvements given were fair and will be relatively simple to do. It was also great to hear that Fiona liked the show, and really liked Nat as a presenter. It’s good to hear that mine, Marks, and Nats hard work for this show is paying off.

For next week we’re talking about FIFA, and also easy going games such as Nintendogs, Animal Crossing and Cooking Mama. As of yet we haven’t thought of an angle to go into the easy going games topic but throughout the week I will be creating a package on it. In the next week we also have to start thinking about our final show as it’s going to be completely different to what our show is now as it’s going to be a completely vision Mario Party. We need to discuss with the social media and interactive team how the show is going to work and it’s going to take a lot of preparation which is why we are starting to think about it now.

WEEK 8 – (19th March) 

Leading up to the show this week I had to create a package focusing on Nintendogs, and other easy going simulation games such as Animal Crossing and Cooking Mama. Myself, Mark & Nat also came up with a simulation game based feature where Mark found genuine Amazon reviews of DS games and will read them out, and then Natalie and a caller will buzz in to answer. Other things we have during the show include an interview with 2 people from the Colchester Under 23’s football team to see how FIFA has impacted their football careers, and Best of the Worst. This weeks Best of the Worst is from ARGcast (Another Retro Gaming Podcast) and we actually got both presenters to do it, so we’re having one play out on the show and one will be going online during the week.

Our show went really well on the day and I was pleased with the feedback we received. Next week our show is going to be totally visual and will be streamed on Facebook. For this we have to do lots of preparation to ensure everything goes smoothly on the day. Over the next week I will be trying to find a guest for our show, whilst also doing the show clock and timings on the running order.

WEEK 9 (26th March)

This week our show is going to be completely visual meaning we’ve had lots of preparation to do.

In the week leading up to the final show it was my job to find a guest for the week, as this week we only had one package and Mark was making it. I found someone called Alex from Ninty Arcade, and he was a collector of Nintendo games with access to one of the worlds rarest Nintendo games, Sky Skipper. We arranged to do a Skype interview with Alex on Thursday evening; however, he cancelled very last minute that night so we quickly had to find another guest.

Luckily, Natalie had got a response from Brett Martin, the world record breaker for having the most video game memorabilia and he was up for doing an interview that night, so myself and Natalie quickly compiled a list of questions on the Google drive so she could do the interview.

On the day of the final show, I made the show clock in the morning, and also added in the timings and in & out words of packages and interviews onto the running order. During the show I will be doing the social media again, and apart from that everything else has been set up already by the digital team and we’re ready to go.

The actual show went so well and all the preparation, mainly from James and Dan, really paid off. The livestream looked so good and worked really well, yet Nat still didn’t take away from the fact we were on the radio. During the show I posted the tweets and Facebook posts that I had written and scheduled, and also kept track of timings. Aside from that I didn’t do anything else for the live show as everything I do is in the pre-production stages.

Overall, I think the pop up station went really well, and I’m glad that myself, Mark, and Natalie got on so well and worked well as a team. Despite it being very stressful, I did enjoy the pop up station experience and I’m glad that the final project allowed us to all work as a team.