Tuesday, 15 December 2009

Christmas Shpping package



Tv evaluation
Creating the Christmas package was an interesting activity. The first time we filmed it we forgot to turn on our microphone, so we had to go out and film it again. It worked out better, because by the time we filmed it again we all had more experience and a better knowledge of what was expected from us. By filming this piece I learnt how to speak to the camera in a proper manner and also to slow down. I had never realized how quickly I actually spoke, so after filming the package I now understand the speed in which I need to speak. We were able to include almost all of the techniques such as: voiceover, piece to camera, interviews and pictures. My main role in the Christmas package was to do the piece to camera; I also helped with the writing of the script for all sections of the package. I believe I was successful in delivering a brief and informative work. When all the filming was done, I also helped with the editing. All of the computer programs that we now use are new to me, so I was able to learn the basic techniques for editing a video piece. For our package we decided to take the angle of a news piece, since we asked businesses about the effects of the recession, as well as the general public, our work takes a more in-depth view of how people are reacting to the recession and how it is affecting the retail business. The filming of our package could have been a bit steadier; in some instances we could have used a tripod, which would have made the images more stable and therefore more professional.
There are many differences when writing for print, radio and television, the main point is trying to make radio and television more conversational. When writing for print, we have learnt to squeeze in the most important facts in the introduction, while using the least amount of words possible (creating a pyramid). On the other hand, when writing for radio you need to create clear sentences which will hold the interest of the listener and create a vivid image with your words. When writing for television, first of all you need a clear voice and also need to make the script as conversational as possible, you also need to remember to convert jargon to words commonly used, therefore a wider range of audience will understand and take an interest in the news story. This was the first time I had ever filmed a piece of work like this, and I am looking forward to see how I can improve and excel in television and print.

Vogue's Housewife


I have to say, this American Vogue cover is definitely my least favorite. I do love Rachel McAdams, as I think she is naturally beautiful, however the styling is just all over the place. The first thing that came to mind when I saw it was: over done southern housewife. Probably not the best look.
Maybe it is the combination of fuchsia lips with red flowery dress that does not work in any way. Normally Anna pulls of stylish and sophisticated covers, but something was off in the production of this one. Rachel is only 31 years-old, and in this picture they managed to age her quite a few years. What do you think of Anna's new take? I am definitely not loving it...

Thoughts?

Underwear becomes popular outerwear



Inspiration definitely comes from famous starlets such as Rihanna and Lady GaGa, and it seems that the ladies of Britain are responding. The retail giant Selfridges has reported a 70% increase in the sale of luxury corsets from the same period last year. This number clearly shows that it is in to use your intimates out in the open, these must be brave women considering the cold weather around the UK.

Selfridges head lingerie buyer, Helen Attwood, said: "The trend of underwear as outwear is more popular than ever, with costumers investing more in fashion that adds a touch of spice to everyday life."

The increase in all these numbers come after famous figures have worn eye-catching clothing, or lack of. After Rihanna wore a white bandage slip to the American Music Awards, Bordelle's Angela Cage Bandage Slip, which retails at £367, sales jumped 90%.

I don't know if i would be brave enough to face this weather with this new look, but would you try this new daring trend?


12 days of... Strike! BA's actions will affect 1 million passengers


British Airways have declared a 12 day strike starting on the 22nd of December to the 2nd of January, this is the first walkout they have had in 12 years. Unfortunately for the costumers who have already booked their tickets a refund or other arragements look complicated due to the holiday rush. The decision came after a 92.4% of BA members voted for the action because of escalated pay and working conditions.Len McCluskey, assistant general secretary of Leaders of Unite has said:

"The problem with intransigent management is that you can push people so far, but eventually workers will say that enough is enough. We would like passengers to be angry with the company. It is something of an irony that the people responsible for making BA the best airline in the world are now engaged in a dispute."

The airline responded with:

"British Airways is extremely disappointed that Unite is planning massive disruption for hundreds of thousands of our customers over the Christmas/New Year holiday period. A 12-day strike would be completely unjustified and a huge over-reaction to the modest changes we have announced for cabin crew which are intended to help us recover from record financial losses. Unite's cynical decision betrays a total lack of concern for our customers, our business and other employees within British Airways,"

BA's chief executive Willie Walsh believes the airline needs to drastically cut cost due to the current financial condition. These 13,500 employees will cost the company tens of millions of pounds. I wonder if this strike will be worth it, and the interesting thing would be to see if British Airways can survive this, if not the union workers will cause everyone in this company to lose their job, making their actions 'suicidal'. In my opinion this action is cynical, and it also lets the costumers down. The staff from BA earn twice as much as their rival Virgin Atlantic. This means it is the best paid job in Britain in this field, as their earn around £56,000 per year.

At this moment I am very pleased I am traveling with American Airlines, I need to get home NOW and I could definitely not handle a delay !

Tuesday, 8 December 2009

Farnham Local Radio News

Radio news by shane90

Remembrance Day Vox Pop

VOX POP by shane90

Remembrance Day Vox Pop

This was the first day we actually went out and spoke to people on the street. I found it quite discouraging after being turned down by three people but then I finally was able to ask someone about Remembrance Day. My teams question to the public was: “Do you find Remembrance Day still important, and it is in any way relevant to you?” I was surprised to find out how many people were actually affected by this event, and how they were all eager to speak their minds. Each member of our team asked a different person, we decided to do it individual since all four of us going up to one person would have been intimidating. We decided to ask a variety of people, ranging from young people to the elderly, as well as a foreigner. With this we were able to obtain a larger spectrum of answers and reflections on Remembrance Day. In this activity I was appointed to be the team leader, I believe we all did the same amount of work since we all individually asked a different person, however I think I also helped in the planning and in the creation of the main question. Unfortunately one of our members is no longer in the journalism course, this caused a bit of a problem as he was the one with the vox pop on his memory stick. We were able to get the work from him however when I received the email from him there was only two voices in the final file, but there should have been four. Because of this, the rest of the team and I had to ask more people about Remembrance Day to complete the vox pop.
The recording of the vox pop went very well; we encountered no problems with the equipment or while asking people the questions. The editing was quite simple and I found it easy, it could have been improved by removing background noises and the voice of the person asking the question, since it is sometimes heard. The production could have improved if we would of saved the vox pop in various locations, then we would not have had to ask more people.

Wednesday, 2 December 2009

Student Media Conference

On the 25th of November I was lucky enough to join all the Canvas editors to a trip to London to attend the annual Student Media Conference by The Guardian. It was a very early start to the day since we had to be at the train station at 7:50, but it was worth it! I had the chance to meet amazing working journalists and also get great tips of the trade, before arriving at The Guardian Headquarters in King's Cross, we had to choose the sessions we wanted to attend, I chose:




1) Five star reviewing:


Here we heard from Melissa Dane ( deputy editor, the Guardian), Miranda Sawyer ( radio riviewer and cultural commentator, the Observer), Krissi Murison ( editor, NME) and Paul Morley ( writer and broadcaster). They gave the audience of budding journalists a view into the world of reviewing, generally focused on music. I found it really interesting to see how each one had made it in the business, and all the great bands and musicians they had met. However, what I found the most interesting was Krissi, since she had worked for Nylon magazine in New York as their music director! Nylon, being one of my favorite magazines for fashion and inspiration I took the time to go up and talk to her after the session had ended!!




LUNCH


Simply amazing! I did not expect lunch to be as delicious as it was, very impressed. And best brownies ever, I gave in and had a naughty second. Had opportunity to speak to other journalism student, some quite.. confident, to put it in a nice way, since they were from very fancy uni's like Oxford and York, maybe just not my type.




2) 'to tweet or not to tweet'


This session was conducted by the sky news team, and their social media correspondent Ruth Barnett. I must say that I thought it was going to be much better, they did have a live twitter feed on the screen behind them which made it quite fun and interactive. But, maybe twitter is just not my thing since I did not find this session as interesting as the rest. The speakers were reading their information and tips from paper, they just did not seem as inspiring as the rest. Made me a bit scared of losing my future job ( if I get one ) to the power twitter gives to "citizen reporting"




3) Last and final session: 'Meet the interviewers'


This session by far my favorite! Three amazing journalists took the stage to vividly tell the audience about the do's and dont's of interviewing. I was quite shocked at the vast amount of people they had interviewed from Madonna to Woody Allen and Leonardo DiCaprio. The interviewers Simon Hattenstone ( feature writer the Guardian), Decca Aitkenhead( weekly interviewer for G2) and Ginny Dougary ( award winning journalist and special feature writer for the Times) shared their own personal experience with such passion I can assure you most viewers wanted to become just like them. It was great to watch such dedicated journalists talked about a field they seemed to love so much, I was truly inspired and it was fun. Things I learnt about this session was when to ask tough questions, how to ask them and also to always be as prepared as you can! Remember, they said, to always keep the interviewee entertained and make the interview as conversational as possible!! Few tips I am glad to share with all of you reading!!




I would like to mention as well the keynote speech from Nick Davies ( special correspondet from the Guardian) was hilarious! He was great giving useful tips and tools of making it into the business. He also said very important information about being a good journalists since "only 12% of national newspapers check their facts" and the single most important thing about a journalist, he said was being honest. Important things to note:


- have selective judgement


- always have an angle


- emphasize on the real world and the effect of people


- objectivity


- journalists can show emotion!




All in all it was a fantastic day out, I was quite tired by the end of it at 6 pm, but certainly look forward to attending next year!