The ‘UNI SHOW’.

Floor Manager (Myself) and PA (Sophie Ely)

Managing the floor…..

When I first became floor manager for the Uni Show Production I was apprehensive to how successful I could complete the role. I had a bit of experience but not enough to lead a whole show. It has been a tough couple of weeks but I have enjoyed every minute of it! I think I was a pretty good floor manager, I organised the floor and tried to keep things running smoothly. I interpreted everything the director needed to say to our presenter or guests.  I think as the show got running I became more confident in my abilities and in leading the studio team.  The last production I did in the television studio I was gallery sound which meant I saw the production from the gallery side of things. Now I have both experiences of putting on a television show from inside the gallery and inside the studio.

Being floor manager made me realise how important time management is. During out filming day I have to say a lot of time was wasted due to being unorganised. I tried my best to control what I could on the day however much of it was out of my control and was due to not putting enough preparation in beforehand. I found it difficult some times to connect with the presenter, It was hard to relay what needed to be done or what was coming up. I am disappointed in myself for that because I felt I could have been better but I spoke to our presenter Janet and tried to work out the best way I could communicate with her in a way she would understand.  We worked on this during practice sessions and managed to smooth some of the creases out towards the recording day.

All my camera men worked well together and gave us excellent camera shots. Any problems that occurred in the studio it was my job to correct them. Both Tik (camera 3) and Nick (Camera 1) had previous camera experience which made me feel confident in their abilities to capture the show.

One issue that I think we all had, was with wires. On filming day there was a ridiculous amount of wires which made it hard to for me in particular to move around the studio. I don’t think the BBC have to worry about wires, It makes me think how different managing a floor on a set for say loose woman would be. I would definitely like to have more experience in the role of floor management, I can imagine the environment for recording a live show and broadcasting to an audience would change how people feel in their roles.

I think one thing in particular I have learnt from being floor manager among everything else, is the ability to listen to a number of  different at things. Also to be able to control a number of things going at once. For example I had to listen to both the director and PA in my headset and also be aware of the studio. The presenter and guests and camera men,

It was a tough job but I think I performed it very well, There is always things you could have done better or changed but I think its important to take that onboard and learn from it.  Dont dwell on it but focus on learning to take on crisisim also as its constructive. I was always on time, punctional, very reliable in booking out equipment in setting up. I had set up talk back and had the studio ready by the time the presenters or camera men were on the studio. This is how it is supposed to be, saves time and helps to get the production going using time efficiently.

Could I handle working in the television industry …..

From working in our coventry university television studio, I have learnt a lot from this experience building on from last year’s production.

– More depth into what it takes to put on and run a successful television show.

– Skills in a number of various roles such as camera operation, floor management, sound both studio and gallery.

– Knowledge into formats both television and radio as existing broadcast elements, which will give us a platform to extend our knowledge in the future.

When watching formats on the television now, I find myself analysing the shows and now having that inside knowledge if you like to apply it in working together to build television into its future. I think that If I would like a future career in broadcast that I need to be plugged into existing formats both radio and television and be constantly analysing the developments of this media platform.

The Gang 🙂

And here is the final outcome

http://vimeo.com/groups/262mcformatsprod/videos/32985189

Watching it back myself, I think we have done ourselves proud. There is clearly a few things that could be improved however the final edit is something I am very proud of. Although I have been missed out the credits , which I’m not to happy about 😦 but other than that hats off to Team One.

I could see the UNI show working as a format show as it is a cross between eggheads and university challenge. I think it would be appealing to students and think of that as an audience. Imagine how many students worldwide would watch it. I think it would be an interesting, take on a university quiz.

I could see it on maybe ITV 2 or channel four. The reason I don’t think it would suit BBC because I think it would push boundaries. If it was on ITV 2 I think it would be well suited, with programs such as celebrity juice which push the boundaries. I think that this format could be very easily adapted to each university all across the world. It is a simple format but I think it could have the potential to be great.

You could also have spin offs from “THE UNI SHOW”. These are just a few examples : The Nurses Show in which features nurses from all practices e.g a+e, midwifery, theatre. Or “The Builders Show”. It gives people the chance to see everyday people in a different perhaps more humours light. They are not celebrities or heroes but they are normal people with interesting lives.

Titles : I think they worked really well, We had not particular designed any credits but a few members had experimented with the graphics and it was Gov’s design we decided to go with.

Designed by Edina Toth.

In conclusion : I think there is definitely a future for our format and I would love to see it take to the television screens. Keep watching cause it may just be on your telly’s in the near future. I think I have learnt a lot from this studying broadcast and I think I may have unestimate the key element of organisation. You are only as weak as your weakest member. To have everything organised and running to a tight time schedule is key in television, everything and everyone must do their job or it begins to fall apart. However this has not put me off and I am very excited for the future of broadcast. I would love to gain more experience in working in the television environment but we shall wait and see.

Its all in the voice…

Radio presenters have a tough job when it comes to presenting a really good show. I have a lot of respect when I listern to radio presenters on the radio now. Having presented for this radio module and also doing a show on friday evenings myself through RadioPlus. Its very underestimated. When I first started doing radio, I thought “how hard can it be” its just talking. How wrong I was!!

Because radio is all about the voice…I dont think anyone can be on radio. I think that it takes skill to have a good presenting voice. This can be achieved by practice. It takes real characters to make radio exciting.

For example Im listerning to BBC Radio 4 -Mark Watson’s Live Address to the nation. The show is basically Mark Watson talking about a themed discussion with a panel in the studio that help him to discuss the topic. This week is based around tolerance, the fact that mark is a comedian so I think that really helps the show because it makes it funny. You can hear audience reactions in the show, which I think helps to create a live atmosphere and that you dont need visualise to tell you whats happening.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b017mv2v

It includes a lot of comedy, which I think is portrayed very well in this show. Mark present it very well, he does push boundaries in some ways. Some of the things he says could be risky but it works because his audience knows his style.

I think what makes a radio show successful is that the audio helps the listern to visualise it, you dont need to be in the studio and infront of the presenter to know what is going on.

Although radio 4 is completely different to say merica or heart as they are feature mostly music, and radio 4 is aimed at 40 years plus. So both radio stations are very different, which is why I have chosen to compare them against each other. As they have different styles of radio.

I am listerning to a radio play on BBC Radio 4 called Afternoon Play. Im very intrigued to how much can be done with just audio. Its like when you read a book and your mind begins to imagine the characters and the places. It lets your imagination run free. The similar concept is applied to radio plays.

Radio is not just a place for radio shows,  Listerning to this is opening my eyes to what else is avalible. Plays, live music, advertisments.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b017mv20

Im probably going off point here, but basically my point is that radio is not just music. I think people should open their ears to radio. There is so much more to be done with this broadcast format.