OVERALL LIST OF WORK AND INPUT. 

• Overall structure and planning across the station.
• Overall point of contact for all decision making.
• Overall Management of group, time management and task setting.
• External Management of situations. (Mostly resolving conflicts)
• Communal Google Drive curation and Management.
• Creative input across all three shows, digital content, Branding and Ads.
• All Admin and curation of production documents (Remit, Market research, Audience Profiles)
• Managed and overlooked all Admin done by Natalie.
• Advert production Assistant (Heart of gaming ad)
• PDF Conversion and curation (Dan, Nat and myself)
• Adams costume! (Hours of my time sewing a lock onto a hat and printing his t-shirt) LOL

 

Pre Production Week 1. (29/01)

This week was mostly about establishing our theme for the Pop Up station, roles and general set up of the weeks ahead. In order to do this we split into groups depending on what theme we wanted to pitch, The four final groups were: Sport, Feminism, Disco and Gaming. I worked on the pitch for Disco, the basis being a three hour weekly station focused on the peak of disco music and it’s culture. Each pitch given were interesting, and everybody was passionate about each subject, we then went through a long voting process to decide which subject will be chosen. This resulted in choosing Gaming as the final theme.

Once we had decided that, the group was eager to choose our roles. I knew that I wanted a more manager type role, as that is where my strengths lie, that being said I was also keen on having a go at branding. This being because I am away for one of the shows, so was conscious of taking a higher role because of this, but I was assured that me being away shouldn’t affect what role I wanted. So we all put ourselves forward for each role, and role by role voted and decided as a group who would be best for the roles, I was ultimately given the role of station manager. I am very pleased with this, I have always taken the more editor/Manager type role as it is where I feel confident, by taking control in a situation, overseeing groups of people, and ensuring we deliver the content we need.

I then went ahead and set up everything we were going to need for the next coming weeks, for communication and planning (Google Drive, Group chat etc), I also started to collate information for a remit, and schedule for the following weeks.

 

Production Week 2 (05/01)

This week started with a meeting, finalising and nailing down the station’s name and it’s brand. It did take a while to brainstorm name, we did finally agree on ‘Unlocked’. We then split into the groups and worked through ideas, and focused on establishing the sound of each of the shows, Those being the speech show (State of play), the music show (Press play) and the Magazine/Retro type show (Play Again). We decided to have them in that order. Lucy (Programme controller) and I spent our time divided between all the groups, helping with ideas and running orders for each week.

We did make some larger decisions such as a competition idea for ‘Insomnia’ a gaming event in Birmingham, as we are working with a budget the tickets are quite expensive, so we are working towards being given some tickets to give away each week. Most of the day was spent hashing out ideas, developing the music playlist, the branding, curating ad commissions and devising news packages.

The speech show also developed a theme for each week, which meant the OB team could work on trying to find locations and interveiwee’s. Those themes being: Violence in gaming, Women in gaming, Gaming culture and VR week.

Production Week 3 (12/02)

This Monday we heavily focused on the scheduling and Initial plans for the station, We went away last week grasping to the format and the actual work that has to be done, and this week is about taking the step forward for actually making and creating.

My main focus was to break into our separate groups, and start work, I wanted to make the point of that we all know what we are doing, we are all creative and we all have the capacity to put together three shows, so we don’t need everyone’s guidance to do it.

I spent allot of time with the digital team hashing out the Logo, and various problems with the website, the visual branding side of the shows are important because they are the point of contact and recognition for the station.

Samantha (Head of advertisment) has also began her commissioning and production on ads, we have set in place the amount and timing of ads for each show, and know that only 1 new ad needs to be produced a week, so we have a clear understanding of the work load. Sam went and physically asked for commissions from local shops along with email contact with brands. We have also started delegating the adverts out for other team members to produce, for a fair and easy was of making the ads.

All three shows now have a clear structure, content plan and clocks set for each hour, and we have started to add light and shade, and develop more personality to each show, Along with OB and News we have been able to work efficiently and quickly in this sense. I would say, we are most behind on the stations branding, ie. Stings, Idents, Trails. This because, Matt is working pretty much on his own to make these thing, and after discussing with Mathew, we can’t use gaming noises that are associated with specific games or consoles. This is proving difficult…so one of my main focuses as Station manager for next week is to focus on branding.

Another main focus this week as station manager was to control and heard ideas, to nail down production elements and schedules and to continue to create a good work environment. My job Ultimately is to make sure that the right people are doing the right jobs, and that we are making work and moving towards our goals each week. We also did have a group meeting with Mathew where we went through the shows and where we are with everything, he seemed very positive about all of this, and had some really good ideas and critiques. After this week I have cracked down on deadlines and trying to introduce a more managerial role, more assertive, and closer relationships with the people who need to be encouraged more.

I think my main concerns approaching the live shows are keeping momentum, and keeping a level head during high stress situations. With some members of the team starting to not cope well with the work load and tension rising, I think I have been able to create a working environment where the team know they can message me with an issue regarding a fellow member or problem and I will solve it efficiently. This is really important because we don’t want arguments or rude language used.

Production week 4 (19/02)

This morning we started with a group meeting in which I set some new rules and guideline including that if you are asked to do something to help or contribute then please do it. The group has a tendency to not want to contribute in other areas other than their job title. For example Sam has asked most people to make an advert, and people have said that they can’t. I have now made sure that everyone who has been asked, is helping. Lucy and I also went round group by group and had a meeting, to catch up on progress and develop on our ideas. I am pushing the producers to nail down a clock and running order, so that logs can start being created.

The music team is now entering music into myriad, which is proving to be a lengthy process, but they were well under way in this weeks session.

We also had Fay’s friend, A VR YouTuber in today to film some content for online, he also provided an interview and an advert voiceover for his channel. James and Dan worked really well to make the most of having the VR equipment. The digital team are also working towards their website, and have booked a green screen studio to film for more online branding and content. I have worked fairly closely with this team to ensure we are developing a strong brand that relates to our audience.

Lucy started devising and working on a competition for the station, And we managed to receive 4 pairs of Insomnia tickets to give away.

Overall today was a really successful production day, I really focused on developing ideas and making decisions. I have found that the team always like to have confirmation and discussion about most ideas, which is good for me as it allows me to have a creative opinion as well as just managing the work. The week ahead is going to be particularly busy in the lead up to the pilot and shows, everyone seems to be getting nervous now, but I believe we are on the right track.

My main concerns over this week was ensuring everyone was ready for the week ahead and the pilot, Most production teams had lost sight of the fact that these production weeks were to focus and develop ideas for ALL 4 WEEKS…and most people have dismissed that and put all there thoughts on the pilot/week 1. Which worries me slightly, as I don’t want panic mode to set in once we move past those weeks. That being said, I have always tried to inform, and look forward over all weeks.

Issues with the week leading to the pilot.

• Branding is still very much behind, regardless of my constant contact with matt. Lucy and I have both offered numerous times to help, we have even physically sat with him to ensure work is being done.
• The speech show producers seen nervous in the lead up, mostly to do with content and structure of the show…Could this be because both phoebe and Ellen didn’t take the speech radio module? but again both Lucy and I have kept the channels of communication open for them to stress any problems.
• Ads are still a concern, Some people haven’t even started them AGAIN despite mine and sam’s constant pushing for co-operation.
• I have had to become allot firmer in my role.

Production week 5 PILOT (26/02)

This week was out PILOT! This meaning it is an opportunity to rehearse and run through our first weeks show, see what we need to change and work on, and most importantly run the full shows with everything we have produced so far!

A few of us were in Uni very early, In order to prep the shows effectively in terms of logging and myriad set up. This mostly being for Andrea and Iona, as they still had to input Branding and Ads, Log and schedule for all three shows. I wasn’t super happy, as The branding wasn’t the final ones we were going to use, so it didn’t sound great And some people had neglected to finish and upload their adverts. Which is an inconvenience, as they have had weeks to do them. Dan and James also had to set up their studio for the online live stream (Twitch), It wasn’t actually going Live for today, but they wanted to practice the set up and have Adam and Nat play the game. Simon and Beth (The OB Team) made their way to the regent campus for their interview,  which won’t be the same for next week. The music team also hadn’t playlisted or logged any of the shows so that set back allot of the rehearsal time for the shows, along with the running order times!

So overall it was a stressful  morning as most of the group hadn’t taken the steps to ensure that everything that needed to be done for the start of pilot were done!

Speech Show (State of play)

The show went live at 12 and was on time, but was immediately obvious that they were having issues! Tony was having problems presenting and driving the desk at the same time So, Lucy and I made the decision to bring in callum to drive the show so that the presenters could focus on talking. The show then proceeded to be a struggle, with the majority of the script being bullet points, the presenters just sounded like they were filling time between ads,song and packages. Although the actual show didn’t go great, the news and OB team did a great job, and set a good pace for the weeks to come.

Pheobe and Ellen need to work towards scripting and making the show more action packed, Lucy also made a good point of maybe taking more of an active role in the studio, so that Lucy doesn’t have to act as the producer.

Main observations and notes for show-

• More Presenter Scripting-Improv isn’t enough
• More Presenter Research-Relying on your producers isn’t enough TASK SET FOR TONY AND FAY TO HAVE RESEARCH IN THE DRIVE BY SUNDAY NIGHT LATEST FOR CHECKING.
• More Producer input in the studio-Technically my role does not require me to be in the studio, yet for confidence I felt it necessary after the opening.
• Cleaner and more concise structure! It didn’t have a flow.
• Overall More research, More Prep.

Music Show (Press Play)

This is by far the show that ran the smoothest, callum and Ellie are a really good team and worked together to have a really smooth running show, Not to say that everything was perfect! The playlist mostly consisted of GTA and FIFA which needs to change for the weeks to come as there are allot of great tracks that could make the show more interesting! It also began to sound like a music show with slight gaming interest but We need to find a common ground that makes it more true to gaming!

Main observations and notes for show-

• How can we make this show more game orientated?
• How can we elevate the content?
• Callum is a skilled presenter, but how can we amp up the energy and make the show more interesting?
• Re structure the features.

Retro Show (Play Again) 

The show started of smoothly but I think nerves got the best of both mark and Nat and they both were making silly mistakes in terms of scripting and driving (playing the wrong package). The show is very packed with features and comps, which is great but they kept over running and fluffing bits up so it just sounded a bit messy. It was also our first try of Natalie plays and it seemed straight away we knew it wasn’t working, so that needs to be re thought for next week.

Main observations and notes for show-

• Nat’s personality shines through-But her nerves get the better of her. She needs to work on how to wander away from the script and not rely on it.
• More run through time-Mark needs to work on driving such A packed show.
• Is it too packed?? Can we cut content and make the stuff we keep more detailed?
• Abi-Timings and running orders need to be revised.

General Notes 

The feedback was very constructive meaning that everyone knew what they needed to do in the next week in order to make the shows better! We changed Adams character to a gaming coach to give more of an informative stance for the retro show.

We brainstormed to make the music work for each show, suggesting that the talk show incorporates more soundtrack peices to take the pressure of them. The retro show has been decided that all the music has to be pre 2000’s, to make the music more intentional.

We have a very busy week ahead of ourselves so I have made it very clear how important it is to comunicate with each other, if someone asks you to do something, do it! and don’t be afraid to ask for help! we have also set strict deadlines for all content, to ensure we don’t have a panic like this week!

Week 1 (05/03) 

Today was our first live show! Majority of the class arrived at uni for 8am, and this week was allot more relaxed in terms of logging and scheduling as it is the same as last week for the most part, The only bits that needed to go into myriad was any updated content (ie. Branding, Ads, packages). Matt worked hard this week to source a voice for our station sound, and the branding sound allot better along with the beds. Again most ads had been changed and updated from last week bar 1 or 2 where people hadn’t done what was asked of them. After last week the show that had the furthest to come was the Speech show, and I know that team have been working non stop to improve the show.

I did have to address some hostility in the group though, as people’s stress seemed to get the better of them during the week, resulting in arguments, Mostly surrounding the way we talk to people and work load. I resolved this very quickly when it was happening but I wanted to reiterate this morning about the importance of language and respect.

Also another side note that the sunday night before I spent the whole day sewing a yellow lock and printing ‘Coach’ onto the back of a pollo top for Adams ‘Gaming Guru’s’ costume.

Today we are also officially going live on Twitch, so the digital team spent the morning setting up, and preparing their call to action for social media!

The OB Team also headed to Croydon, to ‘The heart of gaming’ recycled Arcade.

Speech Show (State of play)

Overall this show was MILES better than the previous week, as station manager I felt it necessary to take a step back on all shows and listen from another room, this way I could take noted and control the rest of the group. Last week I couldn’t not be in the studio, but this week I was happy to sit and listen. Of course it wasn’t perfect, but in comparison it had a strong structure, strong research, more audience interaction, More contributors. It was a strong platform to measure where the show can go, Fay and Tony worked really well together on air, and their language and scripting was much more present. It didn’t feel as if they were just filling this week, it was a planned show.

Notes taken during the show to change and work on: More production around certain elements, Add more of a bed?, Establish the reason behind the theme, find the light and shade in the subject matter, work the song choices in more (sell it), don’t just comment on the subject give your personal opinion, Establish different opinions as a team, Establish Audience, Is there too much content?, do we need to drop items and explore the original pieces more in depth?

• Again more confidence in the studio from phoebe, Lucy had to step in and make choices.
• Fay and Tony- Now need to work together, to make the show more personal and interesting.
• Why are we talking about the subject? what is the hook?

Retro Show (Play Again) 

We changed this order from last week, so todays show was Hour 2. Overall again the show was executed much more smoothly. Nat’s personality really shone through, they did really well to present the vibe of the show from the beginning, apposed to last week where the structure wasn’t clear, and some silly mistakes were made. The packages were cleaned up and made more relevant, the beds worked really nicely. It didn’t sound too crammed with items or features, it ran clean. Again, I didn’t have to go to the studio to sort anything and I enjoyed listening. Adam featuring as the Gaming Guru really worked well and created a funny relationship between two presenters.

Notes taken during the show to change and work on: Levels during packages, work to carry the ‘Retro’ branding carried through, sell in music choices more, more interviews (more contributors).

Music Show (Press Play)

Todays music show was a success again, last week this was probably the show that ran the smoothest not to say that it didn’t need any improvements. Callum is a very experiences and comfortable presenter, which is great but the show does need to be elevated in terms of establishing whether this is a music show on a gaming station, or a gaming music show? They made a small logging mistake and missed the news at the top of the hour, but recovered very well. The feature (Grand theft audio) was dragged out to long and became quite repetitive, so we need to work on fixing that schedule for next week.

Notes taken during the show to change and work on: Find the HOOK, can we get more callers? can’t run two comps at once, can we do more? speed run? Too much FIFA and GTA.

General Notes

News worked really well, well scripted and well read! Can we carry more digital content throughout all three shows? social media needs to work closer with the timing and content of the shows. Work on a call database.

NEW RULES: ALL CONTENT (ADS, BRANDING, PACKAGES) AND LOGS MUST BE DONE BY THE FIRDAY BEFORE THE SHOWS!

Week 2 (12/03)

The prep this week has been very full on, with the speech show struggling with the work load and time management, I had a meeting with Mathew and Lucy to discuss this and try to work out a solution. I do recognise that the speech show is technically the hardest show to plan, and there is so much prep and research to be done, They have the largest production team out of everyone. The OB and News team are attached along with Lucy and I, BUT we are not the producers, Lucy is constantly offering help and guidance. They don’t always want to accept it. This meeting was useful with Mathew because we agreed that as it was only a weekend before the show, we would see how it went and go from there.

I wasn’t actually able to attend this week of shows as I was away with my family, due to it being the anniversary of my mother passing. I did however try to listen to as much of the shows as I could live, and then of course listened back to them once home.

I then launched straight back into Continuing to support my teams and ensuring that our third week goes even better!!

Week 3 (19/03)

This week has felt like everyone has finally settled into the shows, got into the groove of what works best and how to manage the week. Although that being said, coming in the TieLine is not working!! so we have have been trying to work that out this morning! Along with that, we are still having tech issues to do with the News clip play out, which is again out of our control.

We also have a complicated week technically as we have a panel discussion on state of play, so that has required allot of setup for our digital and talk team! (we also had a guest pull out last night, but managed to replace in the morning!!!) This week in terms of prep has been very impressive from our talk team, I feel that they have really stepped up and got into a rhythm.

 

Week 4 (26/03)