WINOL Critical Reflection - 07/03/12

Headlines: The headlines in this bulletin would not as strong as the previous week. There was a good quote of "there will be riots", but other than that there was little that was interesting enough to engage the viewer straight away. I thought that the script 'goals galore' was not particularly appropriate for news headlines, although this kind of script has been used frequently in the headlines this semester so perhaps it is a hit with viewers.

George Beckett: I thought that the story of George Beckett resigning was one that was relevant to the viewers, and particularly relevant as he has been interviewed so many times by WINOL. However, I did not think that any of the archive footage made sense in the context of what Flick was saying. For example when she was talking about Beckett, we could see a man's hand doing some paperwork, and whilst most people would use their common sense to assume that the man in the footage is Beckett, I feel that it would have been better if he had been clearly identified in the shot. Then when Flick was naming the other members who might take over the role, we again saw unidentified images of Beckett. This was confusing as the viewer would probably have expected to see footage of the people Flick was talking about. I think that the piece would have been better if the second archive footage of Beckett had been used in place of the first, with a strap line identifying him.

Strikes: This was an interesting story, and again was particularly relevant as the strikes were covered in great detail last year on WINOL. I thought that the use of archive footage worked well in this package. Louis was seen walking and talking with Steve Brine before the interview, which has become a frequent sight on WINOL and I feel looks really professional. The interviews with Brine and Ian Woodland were both relevant, well framed and ensured that Louis' piece was balanced. I thought that Louis' piece to camera this week was very strong.

Gay Marriage: I thought that this was a fairly strong piece, although the interview with the homosexual couple could have been framed tighter. I also though that George's piece to camera could have been tighter as well, although I appreciate that he was probably trying to make sure that the cross was in the shot. I think that George did quite well to give both sides of the argument, and thought it was good that he had asked someone else to do the voice over for the statement instead of doing it himself, which would have been less professional.

Air Traffic Control Course: This was a relevant story because it was about the University of Winchester, and the largest audience that WINOL has are students at the university here. This was quite a difficult story as there are not many shots that would have been relevant. I thought it was a good ideal to film at the airport, although there may be some problems with the fact that only Flybe planes were shown. There were some technical problems with the sound in the interview with Prof. Neil Marriott which should have been corrected or the interview left out entirely as it was impossible to hear most of what he had said.

Sport: It is no surprise that once again I have no criticisms of the sport!

And finally: The 'and finally' piece this week was not as strong as previous weeks, although this is understandable as it can't be easy to find a story as interesting as a giraffe being born every week! I thought that the piece was interesting and relevant to a younger audience. The interview with Mike Carroll was well framed, and although he was clearly excited and speaking informally, this is not too much of a problem with an 'and finally' piece. I thought the sign off of Hetty helping Carroll with the mixing was humorous and fit well with the piece.

Overall I think that the bulletin this week was not as strong as in previous weeks, but still very good work for university students.