Showing posts with label WINOL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WINOL. Show all posts
Monday, 12 March 2012
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.
WINOL Critical Reflection - 29/02/12
Headlines: There were some brilliant quotes in the headlines of this bulletin, including "catastrophic", "bubble will burst" and "so many I don't know where to start". The only criticism I have of the headlines was the line "Dancing on thin ice", which I thought was a bit cheesy for the headlines!
Sheep: I thought that it was very professional that Tom warned that some viewers might find the package upsetting. This package was good, with relevant shots. Hetty's piece to camera was very good and the interview with Graham Boyt was well framed and relevant. It was also good that Boyt only gave comment, not facts. The only criticism I have of this piece is that the voice over needed to be louder.
Budget Cuts: Louis' voice over and initial piece to camera were too quiet and I thought it would have been better if he had talked slower. However, it was good how he walked towards the camera during his piece to camera. The archive footage used in this piece was poor quality and perhaps should not have been used, although I can appreciate this might have been all there was to use. The interview with Brian Dash was well framed but had a couple of jumps in it.
Tap Water: I thought that Dan did well to find so many shots for this piece, and I particularly liked the closing shot of water going down the sink. Dan also made sure than his GV shots were all section 8 safe. I liked how Dan was seen walking and talking with Arshad Sharif before the interview. The interview was well framed and Dan got a good quote from Sharif.
University Courses: I thought that this was another good piece from Flick, and was pleased to see that she had a notebook in her hand and made use of it throughout her piece to camera. I thought that the graphic of the pie chart was confusing and somewhat unnecessary. The interview with Nick Rowe was well framed, although the cut away to him doing work during the interview was confusing.
Assault: I thought that this was a huge improvement from George's court piece in the previous bulletin. His piece to camera was brilliant and he made good use of his notebook when giving quotes. The reconstruction was very well done and meant that the piece was a good one for the bulletin, unlike his story in the previous bulletin which would have been better as a written piece only. I think that reconstructions are something that should be used on WINOL in the future because it was much more interesting to watch in comparison to only seeing a presenter doing a piece to camera.
Sport: Needless to say, sport was once again very strong and professional.
And finally: I thought that the 'and finally' piece in this bulletin was very strong, particularly as there was an interview with a celebrity. I thought that the interview with Robin Cousins could have been cut down a bit as there were points that were a bit boring to listen to. The footage courtesy of ITV were extremely professional to include.
Overall I think that this bulletin was a huge improvement on the previous bulletins.
WINOL Critical Reflection - 22/02/12
Headlines: The headlines on this bulletin were not particularly strong, and unlike previous weeks, there were no good quotes. The first headline shot of the word 'School' painted on a road was not a particularly good choice because the first shot of the headlines should be the strongest of the whole bulletin, and so it gives the viewer the impression that the bulletin was not going to be very interesting.
The script for the first story was extremely confusing. When giving feedback on this bulletin, Brian stated that in the future we need to ensure that there is only one thought per sentence in order to keep scripts simple for viewers to follow.
Schools: Throughout this package Louis used good GVs that were safe under section 8, which was very well done. There were a couple of criticisms of this package, one of which was that Louis gave too much exposition which was confusing to follow as a viewer. The other criticism was a grammatical error, that Louis said " the council are" instead of " the council is". I thought it was good that Louis remembered to have his interviewee's facing opposite directions from one another.
Tazer: Much like Flick's piece in the last bulletin, George did not have an easy task when reporting on this story. I thought that the link to George's piece was extremely well scripted. George did well to find relevant shots, and in particular to have the image of the tazer itself. He also looked professional by pretending to look at his notes during the piece. I felt that George did the piece perfectly, but that perhaps it would have been better if it had just been a written piece.
Hosepipe Ban: There were some very big technical problems in the first shot of this piece, in particular the colour balance and the clarity of the shot. It would also have looked better if she had been walking whilst giving her piece to camera. The second shot was much better. The interview was framed well with the perfect eye line. The only criticism of the interview would be that the interviewee should have been looking right to left. There was a good graphic piece in this package.
Eco-homes: Similarly to Louis' piece, there was a bit too much expo in this package. The interview with Cllr Ian Tait was quite well framed but needed to be tighter and his eye line needed to be a big higher. In this package Dan used the line "the future looks green", which was not appropriate for a news package - Dan should only give facts.
Parking: Graham's interview with Cllr Godfrey was very well framed, but was not particularly strong as most of what Godfrey said was fact. Although Graham did get a good quote from him of "it's a very simple system once it's set up" - but this was really all he needed to say. The interview with Cllr Kelsie Learney was good, and in particular Graham did well to start with himself and Learney walking along talking. The interview was well framed and he got a good quote from her of "thin end of the wedge." Graham's piece to camera was quite good and was well placed in a car park, although there was a beeping in the background; however this may be because the beeping was continuous, or there was not enough time to wait for it to stop.
Sport: Once again there is very little to say about the sport as it is continually produced to a very high standard.
And finally: Flick's piece about the Lego castle was perfect for an 'and finally' piece. The drop intro was professional and a good way to engage the audience. Flick's script was very strong as she answered the questions of who, what, where, why and when in her summary introduction. The interview with Duncan Titchmarsh was not particularly strong as he mainly stated facts about his job. His quote of "people think I'm a bit mad" was the only part of the interview that really needed to be included. Flick's second interviewee was also not very quotable, and looked at the camera during his interview, although this was not Flick's fault. I thought that the microphone made out of Lego was very funny and Flick's sign off of "brick by brick" was perfect for an 'and finally' piece.
WINOL Critical Reflection - 15/02/12
Headlines: Once again I thought that there were a couple of great quotes in the headlines, I particularly liked the comment that the new local beer will be the "best beer ever". I had trouble trying to decide if I liked the somewhat cheesy straplines during the headlines! I think that they were all very clever but am not convinced that they have a place on a bulletin that is trying to emulate a proper news programme. On the other hand, these humorous straplines might be something that will make it bulletin stand out and keep viewers coming back.
NHS Reform: Once again Louis produced an extremely professional package and managed to keep the story balanced by interviewing both Cllr Martin Tod and Cllr John Cooper. I also thought that Louis' piece to camera was very good and shows a huge improvement from the start of the last semester. My only criticism of this piece is that the interview with Cllr Tod could have been framed tighter, and the one with Cllr Cooper was too tight as the top of his head was missing - however this is not something that would be difficult to correct in the future.
Prayers: I thought that George did well to keep this piece balance by interviewing Cllrs James Maynard and George Beckett. George also remembered to have them facing opposite ways when he interviewed them, which was very professional. I thought that the cut away to George Beckett during his interview were confusing and perhaps different shots could have been found. The other shots in the package were clear and relevant.
Pub attack: Court reporting is difficult because there is only really an option to do a piece to camera because you are not allowed to film in a court. Flick did well with the story and while it is impressive that she was able to remember a script, I think that it would have been better if she had been holding a notebook so that it looked like she was getting the information from somewhere.
Housing: I think that it was good that there was a follow up from Graham on his piece from the previous week about the housing problems in Winchester. His interviews were both framed and relevant. My only criticism was that his voice over needed to be louder as it was quite difficult to hear him.
Valentines Day: Although the bulletin was aried after Valentines Day, it was only the day after so I think that the stories about it were still relevant. The interview in the gallery with Tim Craven was good but would have been better if it had been tighter framed so that you could see him clearly and you would also have been able to see the painting better.
The piece about the event held at the university on Valentine's Day was also relevant and the interview with the Mayor of Winchster, Cllr Barry Lipscomb, was good but would have been better if it had been a tighter shot.
Mosque: I thought that this was a good piece to include in the bulletin because there are rarely stories that are about religion. I thought it was good how Ullduz walked towards the camera during her piece to camera because it looked professional and was more interesting to watch than her standing still. I also thought it was good that she was wearing the appropriate attire for a mosque and, again, this was interesting to see.
Sport: Once again the sport was produced to a very high standard. The only things which might have been a problem was that in the interview with Stewart Donald, he was stood infront of an poster with a promotional advert on it and you could clearly see the details of the poster and it was on screen for quite a long time.
And finally: I thought that Eddie's piece about the brewery was very good and a huge improvement on his piece from the previous week. His comment of 'plans brewing' was funny and appropriate for an 'and finally' piece. I also liked how he gave his piece to camera from a barstool and made it look as though he had been reading a paper.
This bulletin was a huge improvement from the previous week.
WINOL Critical Reflection - 08/02/12
Due to my absence I was unable to keep up to date with my critical reflection of the WINOL news bulletin, so I will now be catching up and posting about each bulletin from the start of the semester.
The bulletin on 08/02/12 was produced to a high standard, especially given the fact that it was one of the first times that the second year and master students had made one without the help of the third year students.
Headlines: The headlines were of a high standard, and I particularly liked the two quotes from the interviewees of the "people's museum" and "it's just not good enough"; these were extremely strong quotes for the headlines. My only criticism would be that it would have been better if the names of the people being interviewed had appeared in the headlines because, unless you knew who they were before hand, it was quite confusing and for all the viewer knew they could just have been the opinions of people asked on the street.
The images of the giraffe were brilliant but I thought that the script of 'tall story' was a bit too cheesy for the headlines and would perhaps have been better used in the 'and finally' piece itself.
The sport headline was strong but I thought it might better if the image had been of a goal instead of one being saved as this would have been more interesting for the viewer and made more sense with the headline of a team winning.
Redknapp: The piece about Harry Redknapp being cleared of tax evasion was not particularly strong. I was confused as to who filmed the footage of Redknapp giving his statement, as I doubt a WINOL reporter would have been able to get so close to the actions - although if this was footage taken by a WINOl reporter then it is extremely impressive and I apologise. I felt that the footage of Redknapp's statement was too long and repetitive and the piece would have been stronger if it had been more concise. Eddie's piece to camera was well done, although the shot was poorly framed as the top of his head was missing; although I appreciate that this is difficult to get right especially when you have a limited amount of time.
Free tickets: The strongest part of Dan's piece was that he interviewed both a Conservative and Labour councillor which meant that his piece was balanced and unbiased. I like the natural sound at the start of the piece and felt that Dan did well to find shots for this piece, although he did repeat the image of the museum. However, I liked that he zoomed out on the still image to make it more interesting than if it had simply been a static shot.
Steve Brine: Lou's interview with Steve Brine was very well framed and he managed to get some great quotes. I thought that Louis did well to find different shots for this piece, although the shot of the London Eye was a bit too long. There was also a cut to some kind of monument during Brine's interview which was extremely confusing. I think that Louis did well to get the sound levels right as it was clearly quite a windy day. I thought it was great that Sarah gave a back-anno to winol.co.uk to see more of Louis' interviews with politicians.
Housing: I thought that the interview in this package was extremely well framed, and Graham's piece to camera was also very good. I think that the piece could have been stronger if Graham had been able to interview someone who was perhaps waiting on the housing list, although this may not have been particualrly easy to do. After Graham's piece you could hear Sarah starting to talk before you could see her and then heard her start over once she was on camera. I appreciate that this was one of the early WINOL attempts and so allowances should be made for this error, but it would not be good if this were to happen again the future as it is unproffesional.
Buses: The piece about buses was extremely relevant as many students at the university use the buses, and they are our biggest audience so it is important to find stories that are directly relevant to them. The interview with Gary Nicholls was a bit too centered and the strapline described him as 'communication support' which was extremely confusing as the viewer is not given any further information such as where he works or why he was relevant. The interview with Cllr Brian Collin was extremely well framed. I thought it was good how Katie did her piece to camera sitting on the bus because that was more interesting to watch than if she had been standing in the bus station or something similar to that.
Sport: I don't hav emuch to say about the sport as once again it was produced to a high standard!
And Finally: I thought that Flick's 'and finally' piece about the new giraffe at Marwell Zoo was extremely good and produced to a high standard. Her interview was relevant and she found an angle that was more interesting than simply asking about the new giraffe. She managed to get very good shots of the giraffe and it was a perfect story for an 'and finally' piece.
After the credits you can once again hear Sarah start to talk. This was not the end of the world but is something to look out for in the future. Overall I thought the bulliten was good given that it was so early in the semester.
The bulletin on 08/02/12 was produced to a high standard, especially given the fact that it was one of the first times that the second year and master students had made one without the help of the third year students.
Headlines: The headlines were of a high standard, and I particularly liked the two quotes from the interviewees of the "people's museum" and "it's just not good enough"; these were extremely strong quotes for the headlines. My only criticism would be that it would have been better if the names of the people being interviewed had appeared in the headlines because, unless you knew who they were before hand, it was quite confusing and for all the viewer knew they could just have been the opinions of people asked on the street.
The images of the giraffe were brilliant but I thought that the script of 'tall story' was a bit too cheesy for the headlines and would perhaps have been better used in the 'and finally' piece itself.
The sport headline was strong but I thought it might better if the image had been of a goal instead of one being saved as this would have been more interesting for the viewer and made more sense with the headline of a team winning.
Redknapp: The piece about Harry Redknapp being cleared of tax evasion was not particularly strong. I was confused as to who filmed the footage of Redknapp giving his statement, as I doubt a WINOL reporter would have been able to get so close to the actions - although if this was footage taken by a WINOl reporter then it is extremely impressive and I apologise. I felt that the footage of Redknapp's statement was too long and repetitive and the piece would have been stronger if it had been more concise. Eddie's piece to camera was well done, although the shot was poorly framed as the top of his head was missing; although I appreciate that this is difficult to get right especially when you have a limited amount of time.
Free tickets: The strongest part of Dan's piece was that he interviewed both a Conservative and Labour councillor which meant that his piece was balanced and unbiased. I like the natural sound at the start of the piece and felt that Dan did well to find shots for this piece, although he did repeat the image of the museum. However, I liked that he zoomed out on the still image to make it more interesting than if it had simply been a static shot.
Steve Brine: Lou's interview with Steve Brine was very well framed and he managed to get some great quotes. I thought that Louis did well to find different shots for this piece, although the shot of the London Eye was a bit too long. There was also a cut to some kind of monument during Brine's interview which was extremely confusing. I think that Louis did well to get the sound levels right as it was clearly quite a windy day. I thought it was great that Sarah gave a back-anno to winol.co.uk to see more of Louis' interviews with politicians.
Housing: I thought that the interview in this package was extremely well framed, and Graham's piece to camera was also very good. I think that the piece could have been stronger if Graham had been able to interview someone who was perhaps waiting on the housing list, although this may not have been particualrly easy to do. After Graham's piece you could hear Sarah starting to talk before you could see her and then heard her start over once she was on camera. I appreciate that this was one of the early WINOL attempts and so allowances should be made for this error, but it would not be good if this were to happen again the future as it is unproffesional.
Buses: The piece about buses was extremely relevant as many students at the university use the buses, and they are our biggest audience so it is important to find stories that are directly relevant to them. The interview with Gary Nicholls was a bit too centered and the strapline described him as 'communication support' which was extremely confusing as the viewer is not given any further information such as where he works or why he was relevant. The interview with Cllr Brian Collin was extremely well framed. I thought it was good how Katie did her piece to camera sitting on the bus because that was more interesting to watch than if she had been standing in the bus station or something similar to that.
Sport: I don't hav emuch to say about the sport as once again it was produced to a high standard!
And Finally: I thought that Flick's 'and finally' piece about the new giraffe at Marwell Zoo was extremely good and produced to a high standard. Her interview was relevant and she found an angle that was more interesting than simply asking about the new giraffe. She managed to get very good shots of the giraffe and it was a perfect story for an 'and finally' piece.
After the credits you can once again hear Sarah start to talk. This was not the end of the world but is something to look out for in the future. Overall I thought the bulliten was good given that it was so early in the semester.
Tuesday, 22 November 2011
WINOL Critical Reflection: 16/11/11
Headlines: The headline clips this week once again looked professional. In particular, I thought that the clip from the football match was interesting and of a very high quality. The only criticism this week was that, in the clip of Caret, it would have been better if a clip without subtitles was used in the headlines because it was confusing to watch.
Unemployment: As Becky explained in the debrief, she was not given much warning at all to write a script for this piece which resulted in an overuse of statistics, however given more time this would probably not have been the case. I thought it was good how Gareth asked if the unemployment statistics could be broken down locally, because that is really what the audience would be most interested in. It would have been better to start with this question rather than the general statistics, although again I understand this was probably due to lack of time. When watching this I was slightly confused as to whether Becky had memorised the script, or whether she was only looking at the autocue extremely subtly. If she had memorised it then that is very impressive, but I thought that it looked a bit unprofessional to not be looking either at the camera or Gareth. It also gave the impression that she was not getting the information from anywhere other than her own memory which, as a consequence, made me unsure on how accurate the information was.
Unions: I thought that Lou's piece this week was very good, however I still think that he needs to slow down on his voice overs so that it is a bit easier to follow what he is saying. The interview with Royston Smith was a bit wonky but was otherwise well framed. The interview with Mike Tuckett would have been better if Tuckett had known where to look because he looked a bit shifty and like a deer caught in the headlights. However Lou said this was because he was a very difficult interviewee. Other than that, Lou framed the shot perfectly. I thought that once again this week Lou's piece to camera was an improvement since his first attempts earlier this year - he just needs to check his collar is straight!
Paedophile: I thought that the link to this piece was well written and professional, highlighting the seriousness of what would be coming next. I liked how Flick zoomed in on the photo of the convicted man because it looked to be more than a still image; she had clearly taken on board the suggestions about using still images from her piece on Antarctica a few weeks ago. I felt that the piece would have been stronger if Flick had had a more serious tone to her voice, however I understand how difficult the piece was and that this was the first time she had to cover such a serious piece. Flick did incredibly well to avoid any accidental deffamation or accidently breaking the anonymity of the victim. By showing the picture of the guilty man and naming him, Flick ensured that she positively indentified him so that no one with the same name could claim that she defamed them. Victims of sexual assult have anonymity for life, and as the man had been a neighbour of the victim, Flick made sure that she did not give the man's address because this could have revealed the identity of the victim.
Parking: I thought that Lee did well finding shots that were not boring for this story when all he really had to work with was a car park - and he was not allowed to film any license plates without the owner's permission. I thought that the interview with Alan Rickman was well framed and the sound quality was good. In the debrief Lee explained how he had managed to grab George Beckett in the street to get the interview. I thought that this was extremely professional, and even though it was not framed well well, you could hear what Beckett was saying and could see him clearly which is the most important thing. Brian suggested that a way to make this piece stonger would have been to film the carpark for 10 or 15 minutes as cars come in and out and then speed up the footage when editing it.
Mobile App: The piece about the university introducing a mobile app was brilliant to include as the majority of viewers are students at the univeristy so it was directly relevant to them. Unfortunately the video and sound quality in this piece were not good at all, although this could have been due to technical problems.
Football: As usual, the football news this weeek was very strong. However, as Brian explained, the main point of the piece should have been about how the hatrick was the fastest ever scored by a substitute (at least that is what I gathered the fact was!) because this would have been a genuinely interesting fact even to people who do not take an interest in football. The interviews in this piece were well framed and to a high standard. The promo for Sports Week in the bulliten was extremely confusing, it would have been better to show clips from the packages in Sports Week instead of showing the presenter.
Radio: The shot at the start of this piece was really good, and a definite step up for Tom. It was brave of him to think outside the box and do a close up shot, and it paid off! It was confusing in the piece to have the interview with Aarran Summers as a voice over instead of an actual shot of him which would have been more interesting to watch. The interview with Joyce Carter was good and well framed. The interview with Maxine was brilliant, really well framed and interesting, and Tom made sure she was looking the opposite way to Carter.
Presenter: This was the first time I had seen Gareth presenting and I thought he did really well, especially as he ensured he had a different tone for the news than for when he is presenting the sports.
Unemployment: As Becky explained in the debrief, she was not given much warning at all to write a script for this piece which resulted in an overuse of statistics, however given more time this would probably not have been the case. I thought it was good how Gareth asked if the unemployment statistics could be broken down locally, because that is really what the audience would be most interested in. It would have been better to start with this question rather than the general statistics, although again I understand this was probably due to lack of time. When watching this I was slightly confused as to whether Becky had memorised the script, or whether she was only looking at the autocue extremely subtly. If she had memorised it then that is very impressive, but I thought that it looked a bit unprofessional to not be looking either at the camera or Gareth. It also gave the impression that she was not getting the information from anywhere other than her own memory which, as a consequence, made me unsure on how accurate the information was.
Unions: I thought that Lou's piece this week was very good, however I still think that he needs to slow down on his voice overs so that it is a bit easier to follow what he is saying. The interview with Royston Smith was a bit wonky but was otherwise well framed. The interview with Mike Tuckett would have been better if Tuckett had known where to look because he looked a bit shifty and like a deer caught in the headlights. However Lou said this was because he was a very difficult interviewee. Other than that, Lou framed the shot perfectly. I thought that once again this week Lou's piece to camera was an improvement since his first attempts earlier this year - he just needs to check his collar is straight!
Paedophile: I thought that the link to this piece was well written and professional, highlighting the seriousness of what would be coming next. I liked how Flick zoomed in on the photo of the convicted man because it looked to be more than a still image; she had clearly taken on board the suggestions about using still images from her piece on Antarctica a few weeks ago. I felt that the piece would have been stronger if Flick had had a more serious tone to her voice, however I understand how difficult the piece was and that this was the first time she had to cover such a serious piece. Flick did incredibly well to avoid any accidental deffamation or accidently breaking the anonymity of the victim. By showing the picture of the guilty man and naming him, Flick ensured that she positively indentified him so that no one with the same name could claim that she defamed them. Victims of sexual assult have anonymity for life, and as the man had been a neighbour of the victim, Flick made sure that she did not give the man's address because this could have revealed the identity of the victim.
Parking: I thought that Lee did well finding shots that were not boring for this story when all he really had to work with was a car park - and he was not allowed to film any license plates without the owner's permission. I thought that the interview with Alan Rickman was well framed and the sound quality was good. In the debrief Lee explained how he had managed to grab George Beckett in the street to get the interview. I thought that this was extremely professional, and even though it was not framed well well, you could hear what Beckett was saying and could see him clearly which is the most important thing. Brian suggested that a way to make this piece stonger would have been to film the carpark for 10 or 15 minutes as cars come in and out and then speed up the footage when editing it.
Mobile App: The piece about the university introducing a mobile app was brilliant to include as the majority of viewers are students at the univeristy so it was directly relevant to them. Unfortunately the video and sound quality in this piece were not good at all, although this could have been due to technical problems.
Football: As usual, the football news this weeek was very strong. However, as Brian explained, the main point of the piece should have been about how the hatrick was the fastest ever scored by a substitute (at least that is what I gathered the fact was!) because this would have been a genuinely interesting fact even to people who do not take an interest in football. The interviews in this piece were well framed and to a high standard. The promo for Sports Week in the bulliten was extremely confusing, it would have been better to show clips from the packages in Sports Week instead of showing the presenter.
Radio: The shot at the start of this piece was really good, and a definite step up for Tom. It was brave of him to think outside the box and do a close up shot, and it paid off! It was confusing in the piece to have the interview with Aarran Summers as a voice over instead of an actual shot of him which would have been more interesting to watch. The interview with Joyce Carter was good and well framed. The interview with Maxine was brilliant, really well framed and interesting, and Tom made sure she was looking the opposite way to Carter.
Presenter: This was the first time I had seen Gareth presenting and I thought he did really well, especially as he ensured he had a different tone for the news than for when he is presenting the sports.
Friday, 18 November 2011
WINOL Critical Reflection 09/11/11
Headlines: I thought that the headlines this week were really strong. There was a good soundbite, a punchy script, and I like the natural sound on the graduate and fencing pieces.
Student Protests: I thought that it was really good that Tom had actually gone to London to report on the protests. His piece to camera was once again good and was easy to understand. He also made sure he only gave the facts, not any comments. I thought that the piece could have been stronger if he had interviewed one of the protesters, or had some footage of the protests rather than a piece to camera for the whole package. The sound quality could also have been improved, but you were able to hear him so it was not too bad!
Chris Huhne: I thought that the interview with Chris Huhne was well framed, and had a good sound quality. He did not give any of the facts, only comment, which is exactly what Chris and Brian have been stressing is essential to get right. I also thought that the footage from the debate was good because Julie managed to get a good soundbite of Huhne, and a close up shot which looked professional.
Housing: The shots that Lou had for this package were relevant and surprisingly varied given the availability of shots that would have been relevant to the piece. I thought that his voice over would have been better if he had talked a bit slower because I found it difficult to follow what he was saying. The interview with George Beckett was well framed, although it seemed as though the camera was looking down on him a little bit - but this may be a misconception on my part! I thought that the interview was a huge improvement from Lou's first interview where he was talking to the woman in the care home, because he had a close up even though Beckett was sitting down. The cut aways were confusing in this piece because they were shots of Beckett, while Beckett was being interviewed. It would have been better if Lou had been able to find a cut away of someone or something else.
I do not think that the interview with Patrick Davies was particularly well framed because he was central, the top of his head was out of shot, and the camera was too far away from him.
I thought that Lou's piece to camera was much better this week, and can tell he had made an effort to make sure he was looking up throughout it!
Occupy Bournemouth and Bin Updates: I thought it was good that updates were given to the viewer on both the occupy Bournemouth and bin collection stories. The shots for both updates were relevant and well framed.
Primary Schools: I really like the opening shot of this package. Over the shoulder shots have not really been used on WINOL so far this year, so it was a refreshing change. The shots around the classroom were a bit unsteady. The interview with Rory Perry was well framed and the sound quality was excellent. Lee did well in making sure that the second person he interviewed was facing the opposite was to Perry. I also liked how the final show was of a pound sign on the smart board, which was relevant to the story.
Sport: The Olympic Torch story was a refreshing change to the usual football updates. It was a story that would probably be of interest to people who do not particularly like sports because it is a momentous event happening in the local area. I really like the graphics showing the route of the Torch, I thought it looked really professional. However, Mikey needed to be stood slightly more to the left of the screen so that the viewer could see the entire map. There was a noticeable sound problem at the start of the piece, but this was resolved quickly.
The fencing piece was good, and again a nice change from the football. I am not sure if I liked the fact that Mikey introduced the package himself after talking about the Olympic Torch. I think it would have been better for Cara to introduce the piece. I liked the natural sound in the fencing piece, and you could still hear Mikey well. The interview with Jon Rhodes was well framed in the sense that he was not completely central in the shot. However I think it would have been better if he had not been looking so straight on to the camera. Normally I would suggest a tighter shot, but in this case I liked that you could see the Olympic badge Rhodes was wearing.
The football footage was once again of a very high standard this week.
Graduation: Flick got some really good shots of the graduates for this piece. I really like the angle she found about the identical twins with identical degrees, which added something more to the piece rather than just a normal graduation story. I liked the shot of the procession, including the Major because it was directly related to what Flick was talking about in the voice over. Like Lee, Flick made sure the second person she interviewed was looking the opposite way to the first one.
Presenting: I thought that George did a really excellent job of presenting WINOL for the first time. He looked professional, had a good pace to his voice and his hands did not look awkward! Well done George!
Student Protests: I thought that it was really good that Tom had actually gone to London to report on the protests. His piece to camera was once again good and was easy to understand. He also made sure he only gave the facts, not any comments. I thought that the piece could have been stronger if he had interviewed one of the protesters, or had some footage of the protests rather than a piece to camera for the whole package. The sound quality could also have been improved, but you were able to hear him so it was not too bad!
Chris Huhne: I thought that the interview with Chris Huhne was well framed, and had a good sound quality. He did not give any of the facts, only comment, which is exactly what Chris and Brian have been stressing is essential to get right. I also thought that the footage from the debate was good because Julie managed to get a good soundbite of Huhne, and a close up shot which looked professional.
Housing: The shots that Lou had for this package were relevant and surprisingly varied given the availability of shots that would have been relevant to the piece. I thought that his voice over would have been better if he had talked a bit slower because I found it difficult to follow what he was saying. The interview with George Beckett was well framed, although it seemed as though the camera was looking down on him a little bit - but this may be a misconception on my part! I thought that the interview was a huge improvement from Lou's first interview where he was talking to the woman in the care home, because he had a close up even though Beckett was sitting down. The cut aways were confusing in this piece because they were shots of Beckett, while Beckett was being interviewed. It would have been better if Lou had been able to find a cut away of someone or something else.
I do not think that the interview with Patrick Davies was particularly well framed because he was central, the top of his head was out of shot, and the camera was too far away from him.
I thought that Lou's piece to camera was much better this week, and can tell he had made an effort to make sure he was looking up throughout it!
Occupy Bournemouth and Bin Updates: I thought it was good that updates were given to the viewer on both the occupy Bournemouth and bin collection stories. The shots for both updates were relevant and well framed.
Primary Schools: I really like the opening shot of this package. Over the shoulder shots have not really been used on WINOL so far this year, so it was a refreshing change. The shots around the classroom were a bit unsteady. The interview with Rory Perry was well framed and the sound quality was excellent. Lee did well in making sure that the second person he interviewed was facing the opposite was to Perry. I also liked how the final show was of a pound sign on the smart board, which was relevant to the story.
Sport: The Olympic Torch story was a refreshing change to the usual football updates. It was a story that would probably be of interest to people who do not particularly like sports because it is a momentous event happening in the local area. I really like the graphics showing the route of the Torch, I thought it looked really professional. However, Mikey needed to be stood slightly more to the left of the screen so that the viewer could see the entire map. There was a noticeable sound problem at the start of the piece, but this was resolved quickly.
The fencing piece was good, and again a nice change from the football. I am not sure if I liked the fact that Mikey introduced the package himself after talking about the Olympic Torch. I think it would have been better for Cara to introduce the piece. I liked the natural sound in the fencing piece, and you could still hear Mikey well. The interview with Jon Rhodes was well framed in the sense that he was not completely central in the shot. However I think it would have been better if he had not been looking so straight on to the camera. Normally I would suggest a tighter shot, but in this case I liked that you could see the Olympic badge Rhodes was wearing.
The football footage was once again of a very high standard this week.
Graduation: Flick got some really good shots of the graduates for this piece. I really like the angle she found about the identical twins with identical degrees, which added something more to the piece rather than just a normal graduation story. I liked the shot of the procession, including the Major because it was directly related to what Flick was talking about in the voice over. Like Lee, Flick made sure the second person she interviewed was looking the opposite way to the first one.
Presenting: I thought that George did a really excellent job of presenting WINOL for the first time. He looked professional, had a good pace to his voice and his hands did not look awkward! Well done George!
Friday, 11 November 2011
WINOL Critical Reflection - 02/11/11
Overall I think that the bulletin this week was the best so far in terms of quality and professionalism. Here are my thoughts about it in detail...
Headlines: I thought that the headlines this week were excellent. There were good soundbites, and interesting, top quality video clips. The only criticism would be that it might be better if the strap lines were a bit bigger to make them clearer and easier for the viewer to read, although this is not a major problem because it is possible to read them at the the size they were.
Brine interview: I thought the interview with Steve Brine was excellent. It was really well framed, you could hear him clearly, and the background was relevant but did not take any attention away from Brine. In addition to this, he gave some good sound bites, and the whole interview stuck to the rule that comment should be in the interviewee's voice and facts should be in the interviewers voice. I don't have anything to criticise about it at all.
Farage interview: I thought that the interview with Farage was not as good as the Brine interview. Although you could hear what he was saying, the sound was not top quality, it was a bit fuzzy.He seemed to be in quite a dark area, although I understand that this was possibly unavoidable. I think it would have looked better if Farage had been decentred in the shot, and if it was just a bit tighter so we could see more of his face.
Occupy Bournemouth: This piece was good because Ali made sure that the facts were in his voice, and all the comment was given by the people he was interviewing. Initially the shots in the piece were good and relevant, such as the tents, and people painting signs, although the 99% sign was quite confusing. However there were quite a few shots of a sign with very small writing, which was impossible for the viewer to read. I might have been better if Ali had found a clearer sign to film. The interview in the tent was well framed, and it was good that the two people Ali interviewed were facing different ways. Overall I thought he got some good sound bites and relevant interviews. I also thought it was good that WINOL went back to Ali for an update, so that the viewer knew that they had the most up to date information on the situation.
Bin Collection: I thought that the shots at the start of this piece were really good, they were clear and completely relevant. Like Ali, Lee also made sure that the facts were in his voice, and the comments came from people he was interviewing. I thought it was an improvement on Lee's last piece because he took on board the comments and using complicated figures, and this time the figures he gave were simplified. He made sure that the piece was balanced, which was professional. I thought his sign off was, again, professional, but could have been better if the shot was a bit tighter because the background was distracting.
Sport: I thought the sport handover was good again this week. However, David said that Dael 'had the pleasure of being at the game.' This was purely comment and so was unnecessary. The sport, as usual, was of a very high standard and the commentary was professional. As Brian stated in the debrief 'less is more', and I would agree that the football piece in particular was much too long. I also agree with the comments from the first years, that there needs to be some mention of what story is coming up after the sport so that viewers who are not interested in sport do not lose interest. Perhaps there could be a "coming up next" rolling along the bottom of the screen while the sport is on.
Lasers: I really liked the start of Tom's piece about laser technology, the close up of the 'danger' sign then the zoom out to reveal the lab. I thought this was good because the danger sign would grab the attention of the viewer who would want to find out what the dangerous thing is. Tom did well to keep the facts in voice throughout the piece without adding comment. I think that Tom took on board comments about his pieces to camera needing to be shorter, which he did successfully this week. The interview with Rob Eason was relevant and you could hear him clearly, but I felt that he needed to be looking more face on at the camera.
WINOL Life: I like the addition of the clips from WINOL Life as the 'and finally' piece this week.
Headlines: I thought that the headlines this week were excellent. There were good soundbites, and interesting, top quality video clips. The only criticism would be that it might be better if the strap lines were a bit bigger to make them clearer and easier for the viewer to read, although this is not a major problem because it is possible to read them at the the size they were.
Brine interview: I thought the interview with Steve Brine was excellent. It was really well framed, you could hear him clearly, and the background was relevant but did not take any attention away from Brine. In addition to this, he gave some good sound bites, and the whole interview stuck to the rule that comment should be in the interviewee's voice and facts should be in the interviewers voice. I don't have anything to criticise about it at all.
Farage interview: I thought that the interview with Farage was not as good as the Brine interview. Although you could hear what he was saying, the sound was not top quality, it was a bit fuzzy.He seemed to be in quite a dark area, although I understand that this was possibly unavoidable. I think it would have looked better if Farage had been decentred in the shot, and if it was just a bit tighter so we could see more of his face.
Occupy Bournemouth: This piece was good because Ali made sure that the facts were in his voice, and all the comment was given by the people he was interviewing. Initially the shots in the piece were good and relevant, such as the tents, and people painting signs, although the 99% sign was quite confusing. However there were quite a few shots of a sign with very small writing, which was impossible for the viewer to read. I might have been better if Ali had found a clearer sign to film. The interview in the tent was well framed, and it was good that the two people Ali interviewed were facing different ways. Overall I thought he got some good sound bites and relevant interviews. I also thought it was good that WINOL went back to Ali for an update, so that the viewer knew that they had the most up to date information on the situation.
Bin Collection: I thought that the shots at the start of this piece were really good, they were clear and completely relevant. Like Ali, Lee also made sure that the facts were in his voice, and the comments came from people he was interviewing. I thought it was an improvement on Lee's last piece because he took on board the comments and using complicated figures, and this time the figures he gave were simplified. He made sure that the piece was balanced, which was professional. I thought his sign off was, again, professional, but could have been better if the shot was a bit tighter because the background was distracting.
Sport: I thought the sport handover was good again this week. However, David said that Dael 'had the pleasure of being at the game.' This was purely comment and so was unnecessary. The sport, as usual, was of a very high standard and the commentary was professional. As Brian stated in the debrief 'less is more', and I would agree that the football piece in particular was much too long. I also agree with the comments from the first years, that there needs to be some mention of what story is coming up after the sport so that viewers who are not interested in sport do not lose interest. Perhaps there could be a "coming up next" rolling along the bottom of the screen while the sport is on.
Lasers: I really liked the start of Tom's piece about laser technology, the close up of the 'danger' sign then the zoom out to reveal the lab. I thought this was good because the danger sign would grab the attention of the viewer who would want to find out what the dangerous thing is. Tom did well to keep the facts in voice throughout the piece without adding comment. I think that Tom took on board comments about his pieces to camera needing to be shorter, which he did successfully this week. The interview with Rob Eason was relevant and you could hear him clearly, but I felt that he needed to be looking more face on at the camera.
WINOL Life: I like the addition of the clips from WINOL Life as the 'and finally' piece this week.
Monday, 31 October 2011
WINOL Critical Reflection - 26/10/11
This week I helped with the production of WINOL by operating the auto-cue. It was really interesting to see how the bulletin is put together, although it was every bit as stressful as I had imagined it would be! Here are my thoughts on this week's bulletin:
Headlines: Once again I thought the headlines this week were done really well. I thought the best part about the headlines this week was that there was a good quote about the government spending that would have engaged the audience and made them want to find out what the government are spending money on. I thought the zoom out of the rugby posts were also good because it made it more interesting to watch than if it had just been an image of the pitch.
University Applications: I thought it was good that the bulletin started with the story about the drop in university applications because the majority of WINOL viewers are students at the university, so it was important that the main story was one which was going to be of interest to them. I thought the use of graphics in this piece was good, although it might have been better if there had been numbers on the graph about the number of applicants because that would have put it into perspective. Lou did well presenting this piece, although he was still looking down a bit it was a huge improvement from his first piece to camera.
Unemployment: I thought Lee's piece on unemployment was good and the graphics made it look more professional. However, the continual list of figures became confusing after a while so perhaps they could have been rounded or not as many used. The interview with Cllr Brain Dash was relevant and well framed, and you could hear him clearly. I liked Lee's use of the notebook when he was reading out the statement because it kept his hands doing something and also looked professional.
Pubs & Clubs: There were relevant shots in this piece with pubs and clubs around Winchester that would be recognisable to local audiences.
Sport: The story about the rugby pitch restoration was a good story but the footage could have been improved. The shots of the empty rugby pitch before showing a match seemed unnecessary. There was also a technical error when the interview started which meant that the strap line flashed up for only a second, making it impossible to read, and therefore it was confusing to watch the interview not knowing who was talking. It was also confusing when there was a voice over reading the statement. The voice was clearly not Henry's, but we were not told who it actually was. The interview with Tim Fell was well framed and relevant and you could clearly hear him. It might have been a bit better if it was more of a close up though. Despite the criticism, I thought that Henry's pieces to camera were extremely good and he looked really smart and authoritative.
I thought that the ice hockey shots were better this week because they were a lot shorter so were easy to follow. I also like the natural sound as well as Amy's voice over.
Once again the football reporting this week was excellent with clear commentary and shots of the goals from both the stands and behind the goals.
Zombosium: The interview with Marcus Leary was framed well and the sound was good, but he was only explaining that students will be studying Zombies, which had already been established. It would have been better to have his opinions about it instead of a repetition of the facts. Tom's use of fair dealing meant that he could show clips from Dawn of the Dead. He was able to use the clips because he made sure that there was a voice over at all times and only showed a few seconds. I thought that Tom's piece to camera was very good again.
Games Review: I thought that this extra feature was a great way to finish up the bulletin. It was short enough so that the viewers did not lose interest, and also showed clips of the games to keep audience attention. I thought that Ewan and Graham were excellent at presenting this piece because they seemed genuinely enthusiastic about the games.
Presenter: I thought that Justina did a really good job at presenting and looked the part. I thought she did particularly well given that English is not her first language.
Headlines: Once again I thought the headlines this week were done really well. I thought the best part about the headlines this week was that there was a good quote about the government spending that would have engaged the audience and made them want to find out what the government are spending money on. I thought the zoom out of the rugby posts were also good because it made it more interesting to watch than if it had just been an image of the pitch.
University Applications: I thought it was good that the bulletin started with the story about the drop in university applications because the majority of WINOL viewers are students at the university, so it was important that the main story was one which was going to be of interest to them. I thought the use of graphics in this piece was good, although it might have been better if there had been numbers on the graph about the number of applicants because that would have put it into perspective. Lou did well presenting this piece, although he was still looking down a bit it was a huge improvement from his first piece to camera.
Unemployment: I thought Lee's piece on unemployment was good and the graphics made it look more professional. However, the continual list of figures became confusing after a while so perhaps they could have been rounded or not as many used. The interview with Cllr Brain Dash was relevant and well framed, and you could hear him clearly. I liked Lee's use of the notebook when he was reading out the statement because it kept his hands doing something and also looked professional.
Pubs & Clubs: There were relevant shots in this piece with pubs and clubs around Winchester that would be recognisable to local audiences.
Sport: The story about the rugby pitch restoration was a good story but the footage could have been improved. The shots of the empty rugby pitch before showing a match seemed unnecessary. There was also a technical error when the interview started which meant that the strap line flashed up for only a second, making it impossible to read, and therefore it was confusing to watch the interview not knowing who was talking. It was also confusing when there was a voice over reading the statement. The voice was clearly not Henry's, but we were not told who it actually was. The interview with Tim Fell was well framed and relevant and you could clearly hear him. It might have been a bit better if it was more of a close up though. Despite the criticism, I thought that Henry's pieces to camera were extremely good and he looked really smart and authoritative.
I thought that the ice hockey shots were better this week because they were a lot shorter so were easy to follow. I also like the natural sound as well as Amy's voice over.
Once again the football reporting this week was excellent with clear commentary and shots of the goals from both the stands and behind the goals.
Zombosium: The interview with Marcus Leary was framed well and the sound was good, but he was only explaining that students will be studying Zombies, which had already been established. It would have been better to have his opinions about it instead of a repetition of the facts. Tom's use of fair dealing meant that he could show clips from Dawn of the Dead. He was able to use the clips because he made sure that there was a voice over at all times and only showed a few seconds. I thought that Tom's piece to camera was very good again.
Games Review: I thought that this extra feature was a great way to finish up the bulletin. It was short enough so that the viewers did not lose interest, and also showed clips of the games to keep audience attention. I thought that Ewan and Graham were excellent at presenting this piece because they seemed genuinely enthusiastic about the games.
Presenter: I thought that Justina did a really good job at presenting and looked the part. I thought she did particularly well given that English is not her first language.
WINOL Critical Reflection - 19/10/11
I was not involved in the production of WINOL this week so will once again be critiquing it purely as a viewer.
Headlines: I thought that it was really good that even though the picture of the man in handcuffs was a still image, because there was a zoom in it seemed to be more interesting, as though it was footage. I thought the zoom out on Princess Anne unveiling the plaque looked very professional and allowed you to see her clearly as well as then being able to see the main event of the unveiling. I also thought it was good that you could then hear the natural sound of applause and flashing cameras.
Police Exclusive: I thought it was brilliant that WINOL had an exclusive story, especially one which would be of great interest to Hampshire residents, not only students at the university. The graphics used while Julie was giving the story looked extremely professional, and were easy for the viewer to read. I really like the way that the offences stayed listed on the screen because it allowed the viewer to see the whole picture by the end of the story, when otherwise they may have forgotten some of the information. I also thought it was good that Julie very clearly presented the response of the Hampshire Police Force, because it meant that the story was balanced.
Energy Bills: I thought that the start of this package looked really professional in the way that it was unclear what we are looking at until the camera zooms out to reveal a gas hob. This was also good because it gets the viewers attention as they want to know what they are actually looking at. The interview with Jenny Meadows was completely relevant and was well framed. All the cut aways were also completely relevant to the story. Throughout the package Tom's voice over was extremely clear and well scripted. I thought this was a really professional piece.
Princess Anne: This package was quite good, although the quality of sound throughout could have been improved. Ali got some very good shots of Princess Anne which looked professional. In his voice over, Ali mentions Councillor Raymond, although there are no strap lines in this piece so it is not clear to the viewer as to whether the woman giving the speech before the unveiling is Councillor Raymond or not. Also, it could have been more of a close up of the woman to look more professional.
Strikes: I thought it was good that the story about the strikes in Southampton from last week were followed up this week. Although the same footage was used, this acted as more of a reminder of last week's story instead of a repetition.
Housing: Most of the shots about the piece on housing were relevant to the story, however the image of people's feet as they crossed the road were clearly those of school children. This was a bit confusing because the story was not directly involving school children other than the fact that they presumably live in houses. The interview with Cllr Ian Tait was relevant and well framed.
Speed Limit: The shots about the speed limit story were all well framed, in focus and relevant to the story. The only problem was that there was a jump in the footage from those shots to Amy in the studio.
Sport: I thought that Dale's commentary of the football was really good and sounded professional. I also thought it was good that there were shots from behind the goal as well as of the whole pitch because it added variation to the package. The interview with Sam Wilson was good but needed to be de-centered.
I thought the interview with Henry Olonga was good however the problems with the audio meant that you could not really hear what he was saying or why he was being interviewed.
The footage of the ice hockey was good again this week, especially because with such a fast moving game it would have been easy to miss the shots of the goals. I also thought that the footage of the two fights between the players was good because it added variation to watching goal after goal. However, similarly to last week I felt that this piece went on too long and became confusing to follow.
Rhinos: I thought that Flick's piece about the Rhinos was really good, especially the fact that she was actually able to film them rather than just using still images or not showing them at all. When she was stroking the Rhino she did look slightly terrified, although I would not say this was a criticism because I would not have wanted to do it!
Presenting: I thought that Amy did a really good job of presenting this week, and also noticed that her hair was off her face throughout the bulliten which looked professional.
Headlines: I thought that it was really good that even though the picture of the man in handcuffs was a still image, because there was a zoom in it seemed to be more interesting, as though it was footage. I thought the zoom out on Princess Anne unveiling the plaque looked very professional and allowed you to see her clearly as well as then being able to see the main event of the unveiling. I also thought it was good that you could then hear the natural sound of applause and flashing cameras.
Police Exclusive: I thought it was brilliant that WINOL had an exclusive story, especially one which would be of great interest to Hampshire residents, not only students at the university. The graphics used while Julie was giving the story looked extremely professional, and were easy for the viewer to read. I really like the way that the offences stayed listed on the screen because it allowed the viewer to see the whole picture by the end of the story, when otherwise they may have forgotten some of the information. I also thought it was good that Julie very clearly presented the response of the Hampshire Police Force, because it meant that the story was balanced.
Energy Bills: I thought that the start of this package looked really professional in the way that it was unclear what we are looking at until the camera zooms out to reveal a gas hob. This was also good because it gets the viewers attention as they want to know what they are actually looking at. The interview with Jenny Meadows was completely relevant and was well framed. All the cut aways were also completely relevant to the story. Throughout the package Tom's voice over was extremely clear and well scripted. I thought this was a really professional piece.
Princess Anne: This package was quite good, although the quality of sound throughout could have been improved. Ali got some very good shots of Princess Anne which looked professional. In his voice over, Ali mentions Councillor Raymond, although there are no strap lines in this piece so it is not clear to the viewer as to whether the woman giving the speech before the unveiling is Councillor Raymond or not. Also, it could have been more of a close up of the woman to look more professional.
Strikes: I thought it was good that the story about the strikes in Southampton from last week were followed up this week. Although the same footage was used, this acted as more of a reminder of last week's story instead of a repetition.
Housing: Most of the shots about the piece on housing were relevant to the story, however the image of people's feet as they crossed the road were clearly those of school children. This was a bit confusing because the story was not directly involving school children other than the fact that they presumably live in houses. The interview with Cllr Ian Tait was relevant and well framed.
Speed Limit: The shots about the speed limit story were all well framed, in focus and relevant to the story. The only problem was that there was a jump in the footage from those shots to Amy in the studio.
Sport: I thought that Dale's commentary of the football was really good and sounded professional. I also thought it was good that there were shots from behind the goal as well as of the whole pitch because it added variation to the package. The interview with Sam Wilson was good but needed to be de-centered.
I thought the interview with Henry Olonga was good however the problems with the audio meant that you could not really hear what he was saying or why he was being interviewed.
The footage of the ice hockey was good again this week, especially because with such a fast moving game it would have been easy to miss the shots of the goals. I also thought that the footage of the two fights between the players was good because it added variation to watching goal after goal. However, similarly to last week I felt that this piece went on too long and became confusing to follow.
Rhinos: I thought that Flick's piece about the Rhinos was really good, especially the fact that she was actually able to film them rather than just using still images or not showing them at all. When she was stroking the Rhino she did look slightly terrified, although I would not say this was a criticism because I would not have wanted to do it!
Presenting: I thought that Amy did a really good job of presenting this week, and also noticed that her hair was off her face throughout the bulliten which looked professional.
WINOL Critical Reflection - 12/10/11
This week I was not directly involved in the production of WINOL, however I watched it when it was aired and thought that it was a huge improvement from the dummy edition, although there were still things which could be improved. Each week I will be posting a critical reflection about WINOL. I will critique each section of the bulletin explain which parts I thought were good and which could be improved.
Headlines: I think that the headlines, particularly the footage of the protest worked well because you were still able to hear the natural sound as well as being able to hear Cara saying the headlines. I also thought that the strap lines were much better as they were bigger and bolder than previously which made them easier to read, without distracting the viewer from the footage. I also thought the footage of the goal was great to use in the headlines because if it had just been footage of match it would have been unlikely to get the viewers attention.
Strikes: I thought that the scripting for the introduction about the Southampton strikes story was very good because it didn't over complicate it at all. I liked how the package started with the natural sound of car horns, air horns, etc because it allowed the viewer to become almost involved in the heightened atmosphere. The interview with Mike Turner was well framed and you could hear him clearly despite the noise in the background. My only criticism would be that the strap line said he was from 'Unison', although there was nothing which explained what Unison was so that caused some confusion.
I thought it was a good idea to interview the man who had been blowing the conch, because when watching the footage he seemed like the most interesting man because it is unusual to be blowing a conch in the centre of Southampton. However, his strap line only said that his name was 'Jeremy' and that he was a social worker. It was explained in the debrief that the man did not want to give his last name, and Brian then stated that if this is the case then you cannot use his interview. Just having 'Jeremy' in the strap line looked unprofessional and could have also caused confusion to the viewer who may have been wondering if he had been shown before, or was important enough to be known only by his first name.
The interview with Cllr Jeremy Moulton was well framed and the quality of sound was good, and my only criticism would be that perhaps there needed to be more of an explanation of what his job is and why he was relevant to interview about the strikes.
Lecturer strikes: I thought the footage of students walking around at the start of this piece with Tom's voice over was good because it was something to keep the viewer interested as he talked. I liked his piece to camera, and he had definitely taken on board what Chris had told us about keeping our hands moving, which looked professional. However, I also thought that he could have cut down his piece to camera a bit. He could also have been walking in his pieces to camera to make them a bit more interesting for the viewer.
The interview with Eric Silverman was good because he was a relevant person to talk to about the effects the strike would have. It was good that the shot was de-centered, although it could have been a close up instead of a mid shot to make it look a bit more professional. The cut aways through the interview which showed Silverman talking to someone were confusing because it was not clear who he was talking to, and whether or not the sound was him talking in the interview or was now him talking to someone else. It would have been better to have cutaways of something else, although it is understandable there were not a lot of other shots that would have made sense with the story that Tom had not used already.
Budget Cut: I thought the footage of the high street at the start of this piece were very good, as was Lou's voice over. The interview with Michelle Price was relevant but the camera was looking down on her when it should always be at eye level. Also, it would have looked better if it was a head and shoulder shot rather than seeing her sitting in a chair. The cut aways of inside the care home were slightly confused and almost conflicted with the point of the story. Price was talking about how little money the home already receives, but we were being shown a room with a flat screen TV with no one watching, and three flat screen computers with no one using them. This almost gave the impression of luxury goods in the care home that are not even being used, which conflicts with Price's complaint that they do not receive enough funding.
The interview with George Beckett was good in the sense that it was a relevant person to interview, and he had a brilliant voice for video. However the framing was not consistent with the rule of thirds, it needed to be de-centered.
Lou's piece to camera was good because he was de-centred and you could clearly hear him. However, he kept looking down which made him look a bit shifty and unprofessional. Also, the cut away to the bed was confusing and perhaps unnecessary.
Sport: The footage of the football was really good because you were able to see the goals, which is the most important part. The natural sound was brilliant, and you were still able to hear the voice over at the same time. The only criticism would be the pole that was in shot, however this may have been unavoidable.
The ice hockey footage was also very good, and the replay of the goal looked really professional. However, the footage went on for quite a long time and the commentary became confusing.
I thought that the handover from sport back to news was too a bit jokey and was unprofessional for a news programme.
Antarctica: I thought that the voice over the pictures of Antarctica was really good because it was simple and allowed the viewer to absorb the images without being confused by the reporter's voice.
The interview with Kevin Saw was completely relevant and well framed, although the strap line could have appeared quicker because we see him before we know who he is. Like in Tom's piece, the cut aways in this package which showed the same person were extremely confusing, especially as he was in the same place in the cut aways as he was during the interview. It would have been better to film some of the equipment or just general views around the lab.
The second interview in the package with Dr Ed Waugh was well framed because he was looking the opposite way to Saw in the first interview.
Presenter: I thought that Cara did an amazing job as presenter this week. She had a clear voice and a good pace throughout the whole bulletin. The only thing that could be improved would be if she pinned her fringe back because it was covering her eye for majority of the bulletin.
Headlines: I think that the headlines, particularly the footage of the protest worked well because you were still able to hear the natural sound as well as being able to hear Cara saying the headlines. I also thought that the strap lines were much better as they were bigger and bolder than previously which made them easier to read, without distracting the viewer from the footage. I also thought the footage of the goal was great to use in the headlines because if it had just been footage of match it would have been unlikely to get the viewers attention.
Strikes: I thought that the scripting for the introduction about the Southampton strikes story was very good because it didn't over complicate it at all. I liked how the package started with the natural sound of car horns, air horns, etc because it allowed the viewer to become almost involved in the heightened atmosphere. The interview with Mike Turner was well framed and you could hear him clearly despite the noise in the background. My only criticism would be that the strap line said he was from 'Unison', although there was nothing which explained what Unison was so that caused some confusion.
I thought it was a good idea to interview the man who had been blowing the conch, because when watching the footage he seemed like the most interesting man because it is unusual to be blowing a conch in the centre of Southampton. However, his strap line only said that his name was 'Jeremy' and that he was a social worker. It was explained in the debrief that the man did not want to give his last name, and Brian then stated that if this is the case then you cannot use his interview. Just having 'Jeremy' in the strap line looked unprofessional and could have also caused confusion to the viewer who may have been wondering if he had been shown before, or was important enough to be known only by his first name.
The interview with Cllr Jeremy Moulton was well framed and the quality of sound was good, and my only criticism would be that perhaps there needed to be more of an explanation of what his job is and why he was relevant to interview about the strikes.
Lecturer strikes: I thought the footage of students walking around at the start of this piece with Tom's voice over was good because it was something to keep the viewer interested as he talked. I liked his piece to camera, and he had definitely taken on board what Chris had told us about keeping our hands moving, which looked professional. However, I also thought that he could have cut down his piece to camera a bit. He could also have been walking in his pieces to camera to make them a bit more interesting for the viewer.
The interview with Eric Silverman was good because he was a relevant person to talk to about the effects the strike would have. It was good that the shot was de-centered, although it could have been a close up instead of a mid shot to make it look a bit more professional. The cut aways through the interview which showed Silverman talking to someone were confusing because it was not clear who he was talking to, and whether or not the sound was him talking in the interview or was now him talking to someone else. It would have been better to have cutaways of something else, although it is understandable there were not a lot of other shots that would have made sense with the story that Tom had not used already.
Budget Cut: I thought the footage of the high street at the start of this piece were very good, as was Lou's voice over. The interview with Michelle Price was relevant but the camera was looking down on her when it should always be at eye level. Also, it would have looked better if it was a head and shoulder shot rather than seeing her sitting in a chair. The cut aways of inside the care home were slightly confused and almost conflicted with the point of the story. Price was talking about how little money the home already receives, but we were being shown a room with a flat screen TV with no one watching, and three flat screen computers with no one using them. This almost gave the impression of luxury goods in the care home that are not even being used, which conflicts with Price's complaint that they do not receive enough funding.
The interview with George Beckett was good in the sense that it was a relevant person to interview, and he had a brilliant voice for video. However the framing was not consistent with the rule of thirds, it needed to be de-centered.
Lou's piece to camera was good because he was de-centred and you could clearly hear him. However, he kept looking down which made him look a bit shifty and unprofessional. Also, the cut away to the bed was confusing and perhaps unnecessary.
Sport: The footage of the football was really good because you were able to see the goals, which is the most important part. The natural sound was brilliant, and you were still able to hear the voice over at the same time. The only criticism would be the pole that was in shot, however this may have been unavoidable.
The ice hockey footage was also very good, and the replay of the goal looked really professional. However, the footage went on for quite a long time and the commentary became confusing.
I thought that the handover from sport back to news was too a bit jokey and was unprofessional for a news programme.
Antarctica: I thought that the voice over the pictures of Antarctica was really good because it was simple and allowed the viewer to absorb the images without being confused by the reporter's voice.
The interview with Kevin Saw was completely relevant and well framed, although the strap line could have appeared quicker because we see him before we know who he is. Like in Tom's piece, the cut aways in this package which showed the same person were extremely confusing, especially as he was in the same place in the cut aways as he was during the interview. It would have been better to film some of the equipment or just general views around the lab.
The second interview in the package with Dr Ed Waugh was well framed because he was looking the opposite way to Saw in the first interview.
Presenter: I thought that Cara did an amazing job as presenter this week. She had a clear voice and a good pace throughout the whole bulletin. The only thing that could be improved would be if she pinned her fringe back because it was covering her eye for majority of the bulletin.
Thursday, 6 October 2011
WINOL Dummy Edition Feedback
The first WINOL of the academic year was, I think, pretty successful. The only things which could be improved upon were largely things which will come with experience, for example remembering to check the white balance or making a package more interesting by zooming in or walking, etc.
The only thing about the package that I thought looked particularly unprofessional was in the package about train tickets, in the shot of the train station the camera jolted a lot and I feel that this should have either been re-shot or taken out of the peice completely.
When Chris was going through the de-brief of the dummy edition he made the point that it is always important to give different angles of a story. For example, in the piece about cigarette vending machines, the other angles could have been to ask health professionals what they think about it, or what smokers think about it - although the interview with the pub manager was relevant, there could have been more sides to the story.
I thought Louis' interview in the car park was good because the car park was completely relevant to the story, although I thought that the interview went on too long and I quickly lost interest.
Chris also explained how important it is to do something with your hands while on screen, something which Cara did really well and I think that is something that will come naturally with time for the second year students.
Overall I thought the dummy edition went really well especially because it was the first time that the second year student had produced packages or presented.
The only thing about the package that I thought looked particularly unprofessional was in the package about train tickets, in the shot of the train station the camera jolted a lot and I feel that this should have either been re-shot or taken out of the peice completely.
When Chris was going through the de-brief of the dummy edition he made the point that it is always important to give different angles of a story. For example, in the piece about cigarette vending machines, the other angles could have been to ask health professionals what they think about it, or what smokers think about it - although the interview with the pub manager was relevant, there could have been more sides to the story.
I thought Louis' interview in the car park was good because the car park was completely relevant to the story, although I thought that the interview went on too long and I quickly lost interest.
Chris also explained how important it is to do something with your hands while on screen, something which Cara did really well and I think that is something that will come naturally with time for the second year students.
Overall I thought the dummy edition went really well especially because it was the first time that the second year student had produced packages or presented.
Thursday, 4 November 2010
WINOL feedback
I thought that this bulletin had improved much in the same way as the last one had, although I think that this time there were also some areas which could be worked on.
Things which worked well:
Things which worked well:
- I thought it was better when you could see Joe Lipscombe's notes in his report because even though he didn't use them, it was reassuring to the audience to see that he had actually researched the story.
- The "high profile" interview was also an interesting feature.
- At the start of Stuart Appleby's report it sounded as if some of the start of it was missing. although this may not be the case.
- In the section after the advert there was quite upbeat music playing. I thought that the music was a bit too loud because it was not easy to hear what the presenter was saying, also it was perhaps unnecessary.
- The red and green graphic used for the football results was quite distracting from the text and did not look at all professional.
- With the story about parking, the clip at the start seemed to jump a bit which looked unprofessional.
- The girl who was interviewing Chesney Hawkes looked away from the camera at the start of the interview and it looked as if she was distracted by something. I understand that maybe someone was saying something to her but I think that it ,again, looked unprofessional.
Saturday, 23 October 2010
WINOL Bulletin Feedback - 20/10/10
I have to say I was really impressed with the huge improvement in this bulletin compared to the previous one.
Things which have improved:
Things which worked well:
Things which have improved:
- The audio improved dramatically in this bulletin and the commentary could be clearly heard at all time.
- The studio shots - at times when only one presenter was talking the other was clearly out of shot.
- I think it worked well that the football results were on screen while someone read them out. This was a huge improvement on them appearing briefly at the bottom of the screen as it gave the audience a chance to process the information.
Things which worked well:
- I thought the news agenda for this bulletin was very appropriate for the audience and they were stories which could potentially affect viewers.
- I think it worked well that you could see Andrew Giddings notebook in his segment because it made it clear that he was giving information that had come direct from the court.
- I think that the studio interview worked well as there was nothing going on in the background to distract the viewer from what was being discussed, which is sometimes the case when interviews are in public places.
- I thought it worked well that even though was one the stories was about university fees across the entire country, they related it back specifically to the University of Winchester to make it relevant to the viewer.
- I was a bit confused about the shot of a bench during the piece about the Bishop. It did not appear to be relevant to the story.
- I thought that the play out was quite odd and perhaps was not needed. While I understand that it could be seen as a relevant piece because the weather is getting colder, I think that it was not really appropriate for a news bulletin, and looked more like an advert than a feature.
- I think that it perhaps would have been better if all the reporters' notebooks had been visible if they were using them for reference because when you can't see the notes it appears that the reporter is just fidgeting!
Thursday, 14 October 2010
WINOL Bulletin feedback - 14/10/10
Today we watched a WINOL bulletin and were asked to write a small post on the blog giving feedback of our opinions of the positive and negative aspects of the bulletin. I will start by highlighting some of the things which I thought worked well as part of the bulletin and will then go on to comments on aspects which I feel could be improved.
Things which worked well:
Things which worked well:
- Before the news bulletin started in full, the main stories were briefly explained in a sentence or two. I think that this worked well because it prepared the audience for what is coming up. It also allows someone who perhaps doesn't have time to watch the whole thing to still be able to briefly hear the news. Also this is useful if someone perhaps can hear what the main stories are before they watch in case they find that they are not going to be interested in any of it and so will not waste their time watching!
- Another thing which I thought worked well were the visuals that went with some of the stories. For example a nightclub was shown when there was a story about identification issues. This worked well because it was directly relevant to the topic that was being discussed, and so kept the attention of the audience without making them think about something else.
- I thought it was useful to have a voice over reading the quote at the same time that it was shown on screen. This was a good idea because perhaps there might have been some members of the audience who could not see the quote clearly, or were not able to read it very well, or maybe they might simply have the news on in the background whilst doing something else and would not have been able to look at the quote. So having the help of someone read it to them would have been useful.
- I also thought it was a good idea to have the motion background behind another quote during the bulletin as this looked very professional.
- When there was commentary about different sporting events I thought the visuals were well chosen as they often showed the moments which were being discussed as well as general footage from the events. Again this was a good idea because it allows the audience to have something to look at whilst still holding their focus on what the news story is.
- I thought that the presenters were excellent and added to the professional feel of the bulletin.
- One of the things that I though could be changed was the clip of people playing pool when the commentary was about tuition fees. Whilst it is understandable that it was a student who had been playing pool who was then interviewed I do not feel that the images of pool were particularly relevant and it would perhaps have been better to see a student at the ATM.
- The story about the tuition fees contained a lot of numbers about the current fee prices and the proposed new ones. I think that it might have been helpful to the viewer if the numbers appeared clearly on screen whilst the commentary explained what they showed as I found it quite hard to watch a visual whilst trying to follow the numbers given!
- Another thing which could be improved is the length of time that the names of who was talking appeared on the screen as often they only appeared briefly and it was not possible to have time to read and register who people were. Similarly, when the final score of the football came up on screen it could have been up for longer to give the audience time to register it.
- Whilst I thought it was good to have footage of sport events playing whilst the commentary about the game was heard I found that the clip of the girls playing netball was too loud and actually blocked out what was being said about the match, so perhaps in future the background noise on the clips could be muted as it was not important to hear people cheering.
- I understand that the story about the Queen was important although I think more of a point could have been made about how close she was to Winchester. Also, the clip of her talking was muffled and it was not easy to understand what she was saying.
- Whilst I thought the presenters were very professional, there were times when Tom Otrebski's arm was visible in shots when the sport was being reported. I think if he had been completely out of the shot it would have made it look more professional.
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