Monday, 13 February 2017

Studio Production: Script Draft 2

As some changes have been made to the show, I have produced a new script draft that puts these changes into action.

SCRIPT DRAFT 2

 Below is the 2nd draft:



These are the changes I have made:

  • I have added in all of the new timings as the VT round, Trivia VT, and a new section of the show all have new timings.
  • I have added the new section of the show entitled 'What's Your Favourite Movie?' to the script.
  • I have written a new opening monologue for the presenter as the production team agreed the first version was not right for the show, and the jokes needed to be less rude.
  • I have added all of the new questions to the script, which now gives a better idea of timing.
  • I have added more cues for SFX, GFX, and music beds so other members of the production team can start working on making those elements and working out how they'd fit into the show.
  • I have added a column for the director to write all of her camera directions and cues for the vision mixer.
  • I have re-written a joke that appears in the closing link as the group agreed Ryan Gosling was in fact fitter than Ryan Reynolds.
This new draft of the script will now be uploaded onto our Google Drive so everyone can access and read it.

Studio Production: PM Meeting 2 & Changes to Show

We recently had our second production meeting to discuss progress. In this meeting we also discussed some changes I have made to the show based on everyone's initial feedback.

PRODUCTION MEETING 2

 I started off the meeting by sharing all of the new changes with everyone, which are:

  • Round 1-
    • Contestants now buzz in to answer the quickfire questions.
    • This allows for better competition and tension in the opening round.
    • Allows for more questions to be asked in a shorter space of time.
    • Keeps the levels of excitement up.
  • Round 2-
    • New Name: Audition Fails
    • Format to stay the same, however the 'Silent Movies' VT will consist of three movie titles to allow the VT to fill 00'30" to 01'00".
    • Name That Theme-
      • Copyright issues to be avoided as our versions of movie themes count as covers which are allowed on YouTube.
  • Trivia VT-
    • Now plays after Round 2 instead of Round 3.
    • Includes a competition element for the audience in the studio and at home. (e.g. host asks question before VT, or questions in VT)
    • Makes the VT more fun and entertaining for the audience to watch.
    • New length: 01'30"
  • Round 3-
    • New name: Pin The Award
    • Contestants now pin the awards onto names instead of faces. Names are often harder to remember than faces.
    • Both changes made for copyright reasons.
  • I Ain't Afraid of No Host-
    • Scrapped to allow for something possibly more entertaining and interesting.
    • No longer a VT, instead a live segment where the host goes into the audience to find out what their favourite movies are.
    • Length: 02'30"
  • Round 4-
    • Currently no changes
As well as this, all of the questions are going to be made harder to allow for a better competition.

Feedback on these changes was mostly positive and so they will now be put in place as the production continues to develop.

During this meeting the VT team also updated everyone on the development of the VTs. During Casting Call Steve will use obscure objects during his scene recreations. Instead of using an app, Steve will now be in fancy dress for the Face Swap VTs, which are now called On A Role. 

I have now decided that we will scrap Silent Movies and Name That Theme as the ideas for the first two VTs are better and will work better in the final show. I don't beleive Silent Movies, and Name That Theme would have been entertaining enough.

And finally the social media team are going to work on setting up a social media account on Facebook and Twitter for the show.

Below is the presentation I used during this meeting:

Saturday, 4 February 2017

Studio Production: Round Breakdown Draft 2

To keep track of each question and answer in the show I have been producing round breakdowns that every member of the team can access. These also include details on how each round works and how long it should take.

ROUND BREAKDOWN DRAFT 2

This second draft of the round breakdown includes brand new harder questions that I have written based on initial feedback from the group.

Below is a copy of the new round breakdown:

This will be shared with everyone via the Google Drive folder.

Studio Production: Running Order Draft 2

Now that the show has been development more, I have been able to put together a detailed running order that will allow everyone to understand how long each section of the show should be.

RUNNING ORDER DRAFT 2

 This new version of the running order has exact timings on it for every section of the show, including intros and outros to each round. It also includes a running total which is a useful piece of information for the P.A. And finally, each section is colour coded to make it easier to tell which section of the show each sequence belongs to.

Below is the new running order:



This will now be shared with everyone on the production to ensure we are all on the same page when it comes to timings of the show.

Friday, 3 February 2017

Studio Production: The Producers

To help prepare for my new role as producer, I carried out some research into the roles and responsibilities of some real TV producers.

THE PRODUCERS

 Phil Bigwood- Executive Producer, Match of the Day

 At BBC sport, executive producers are responsible for editorial and visual aspects of the programmes. They are also quality control and ensuring editorial standards are met. To get to a role like this, you'd usually have to work your way up the line first. On this particular production, the executive producer also carries out the work of the producer and director during the studio filming. A series editor will decide what content is shown on the programme.

An important part of this role is writing and preparing scripts and directing presenters and cameras when in the studio. Phil talks about how important it is to give a calm impression over talkback. As with all live television things can go wrong, but as the executive producer it's your responsibility to hold it together no matter what.

Alison Howe- Series Producer, Later with Jools Holland

 Alison begins by talking about how in a production team everyone plays their part in getting a programme on air, and as series producer, it's her job to coordinate all of that. Her role also involves finding artists to perform on the show, so she spends a lot of time listening to music and going to live events. The series producer works alongside the executive producer.

On the day of the show she spends most of her time liaising with artists, working with Jools, and dealing with any challenges that arise. She then spends the rest of the week working with the editors to put together the extended programmes, and working with the executive producers to prepare the rest of the series. Finally, she speaks of how it can be refreshing both personally and for the audience if you try new things on your tv show.

Jon Cahn- Producer director, Gogglebox

 A key part of being a producer on a reality tv show is knowing when you should and shouldn't step in. You want the best reactions, but you don't want it to feel staged. Jon says that "sometimes backing off and letting the actuality breathe gives you stronger results". As a producer director he would spend most of his time working with a gallery operator (because they shoot multicam), an assistant, soundman, researcher, and a runner.

His role involves a lot of preparation to ensure he can get the best out of his contributors. He will watch all of the tv programmes the contributors will watch to make notes on key points he'd like to get their reactions to.

What can I learn from this?

 From this I have learnt these key aspects of being a producer:

- Being organised and prepared for anything
- Being able to easily and calmly communicate with every member of the team, including the contributors, to get what you need from them.
- Staying calm during stressful situations, especially when on live talkback.
- Thinking about how the decisions you make affect everyone else and the programme.
- Being able to easily coordinate everyone and everything.
- Knowing when to, and when not to, get involved.
- Knowing which jobs you should be doing, and which jobs you should be allowing others to do.

I beleive that if I can demonstrate all of these key skills whilst working as the producer on this unit, the show will be a success.

Sources-

Wednesday, 1 February 2017

Studio Production: Saturday Night Takeaway (ITV)

As part of my research I watched a studio based entertainment programme.

SATURDAY NIGHT TAKEAWAY

Saturday Night Takeaway is an entertainment variety show broadcast live on Saturday nights on ITV1. The show is usually broadcast from Studio 1 at The London Studios, but this will change from 2018 onwards when the studios are closed.

The main point I would like to make about Saturday Night Takeaway is their inclusion of the audience in the show. The show is all about the audience both in the studio, and at home. They surprise people, give away money and holidays, and one lucky member of the studio audience gets to play 'Win the Ads'. Win the Ads is an original format that allows an audience member to win the contents of an ad break from the previous weeks television.

Without the audience involvement the show wouldn't be anywhere near as good. The best part of it is how some members of the audience don't even know they're going to be part of the show, and this makes it all the more exciting. The reactions of the surprised audience members makes those segments even better. Add this with Ant and Decs presenting personalities and you have a very entertaining tv show.

I will take this information and try to incorporate it into my show. I would like there to be some sort of audience involvement as I feel it will make the show more entertaining and more relatable. People would want to be in the audience just because they know they can get involved in the show.

Studio Production: This Morning (ITV)

As part of my research I watched a studio based factual programme.

THIS MORNING

This Morning is a daytime magazine programme broadcast live weekdays on ITV1 at 10:30am. The covers a range of factual based content from news, showbiz, style, beauty, home and garden, food, and health.

The show uses a mixture of live studio links and interviews, VTs, and satellite link ups to tell the stories it aims to tell. As the show is broadcast live from a tv studio it has the same type of crew any other studio show would have (including a director, vision mixer, floor manager, camera ops, runners etc). The set itself is made to look like a living room, with large windows built into the studio that allow the audience to see the London south bank outside. All of this adds to the homely feel the show is supposed to have.

When watching the show they make no attempt to cover up the fact that they are broadcasting live from a tv studio. In fact Studio 8 at The London Studios (where the show is filmed) has the show logo painted on the outside in big text so everyone can see it. They also tend to use a wide shot of the studio showing cameras and crew at work when they go in and out of ad breaks. The presenters also often refer to 'the voice in their ear' live on the show, again demonstrating how they don't hide the fact that it is a live tv show.




I like this idea of not hiding the fact that it is a live show being broadcast from a tv studio, something I will think about incorporating into my own show. I find that you can learn a lot about how they make television shows just by watching This Morning.
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