39.1: Identifying opportunities for producing speech based packages for radio
Task 1
The first speech package out of three could reach to an international audience as it concerns the Olympic games in Beijing, therefore the genre of the program would be sports as it involves the Olympics’.
The second package revolves around business based news, it could be a regional audience reach as it explains how certain employees have been laid off from their jobs, yet on the other hand it could also be international, as the mention of the company Dell includes customers from around the world.
Finally the last speech package is purely sport related, as it goes on to inform listeners of the latest scores from the weekend and interviews with team managers, therefore it would reach out to a national audience as there are teams based all over the country.
Task 2
1) The Olympics- 2012;
International audience as it concerns countries from all over the world who participate in the competition, sport genre.
2) Alcohol Price Rise - Risen for safety;
National audience as the price rise would only apply to our country, as the government would have enforced it, consumer genre.
3)Asda - Where do they stand in the supermarket league tables?;
National audience as Asda is a national supermarket spanning across the whole nation, therefore it appeals to all that live in the country, especially those who are customers of Asda.
4) West Leeds Council owned gyms - Comparisons to national gym chains;
Local audience as it only concerns residents in Leeds, as it is these people who will be attending the gyms, lifestyle genre.
5) Smoking Ban - Have the pubs and clubs suffered? What else has the ban affected?;
National audience as the ban has affected pubs and clubs across the country, the genre’s could be lifestyle as the ban could have lessened the risk of cancer, it could also be consumer as the prices of cigarettes may have risen from the resulting ban and finally it could even be business as the profits of pubs and clubs may have dropped.
6)Leeds UTD - History, administration, what's been happening lately;
This could be seen as Local, National and International.
Local because of the fact that it concerns the people of Leeds as it could greatly effect the mood of the city. National as Leeds United is an English club whom of which plies its trade in the Coca Cola League 1 division, this could effect their rivals in the league as well. Finally International, as there are many Leeds United fans around the world, therefore they would be interested in the latest news about their beloved club.
Task 3
The topic for my speech package will be about the indie music culture. The genre will be national as it will only include the British indie culture as it is where the genre started off. The target audience will be music lovers of all ages, especially those which enjoy the indie genre. The speech package will include
interviews and personal opinions from the public, it will also feature facts and figures to prove points. The music used will obviously be indie based as it will then correspond with the speech package topic as well as engage with the audience.
Task 4
The voice chosen for the speech package is specifically utilised in an attempt to engage with the audience, with this in mind it would help prompt questions and opinions from the listeners which is what the productions aim is. The speakers tone is greatly balanced, with the tone being raised up and down to either emphasise on a point or to even prompt opinions from the listeners, which they can put forward via e-mail, text or phone, which will then be discussed in the next show. The rhythm of the speech package is consistent, with the presenters speech being clear and smoothly distributed. It is more than likely that the piece has been professionally recorded as the sound quality is to a high standard. The presenter uses standard English as there needs to be a theme of professionalism about the production as it is to a large audience, also it suggests that the presenter is extremely knowledgeable within his field, which assures the audience that all the information which is being distributed and argued is accurate.
Task 6
In my speech package I will interview the general public to get an unbiased view towards the indie culture, as well as this figureheads within the music/indie industry will be involved too. Vox pops will be heavily included to give snap shot opinions from questions which I will propose beforehand.
For my voice over I will record in the studio to get the best quality of sound possible, any one on one interviews I will produce will also be recorded in the studio as good quality of sound will be required, I deem the studio as a reliable recording source as it is also used for broadcasting PGFM live therefore it has to be have an excellent capability. However for my vox pops, they can be recorded on location as it will only be a quick snapshot of sound. My recordings won’t be as-live as I will have a structure to my speech package, clearly stating which topic or part of the package I am going into. I may include a telephone interview with a character from the music industry to add some professionalism to my speech package, if I don’t do it through the form of telephone, it will be a basic one on one interview. Finally, the music which will be played throughout my speech package will be typical of the genre as it will obviously be indie music, this will also get listeners in the mood as if they enjoy the indie genre, they will enjoy the speech package on a whole that way.
Radio 1 is a national radio station which broadcasts nationally. Despite it being the prime radio station of all of the BBC’s many channels, the target audience could be considered from between 16 and 30+, which could be seen as surprising as you would think it would be attractable to all audiences. The types of music Radio 1 distribute are a selection of different genres, yet the most likely are indie, rock, pop and R’n’B, yet this could depend on the type of show as Zane Lowe usually tends to play rock/indie music.
Speech packages play a large part in the radio stations content, with many events like the famous ‘Live lounge’ and the ‘Zane Lowe Takeover’ going on in the studio, preparation for vox pops and interviews are vital. As well as this, there are the obvious news updates which Radio 1 specialise in, so all in all, speech packages are extremely important to the setup.
With Radio 1 being a BBC channel, which is available on analogue, podcasts are at the availability of all listeners so they can replay their favourite shows through the internet via download.
Task 8
My Speech Package Treatment: Indie Music Culture
Genre: Informative
Date: Friday 6th March
Duration:
Voice(s): Male, female, adults, students, vox pops, presenter, studio and on location. The volume and pitch of the voices is at a set level more or less, as all voices were recorded via the same microphone within the same studio. The rhythm is steady yet each voice follows on from the next as they do in my personal opinion part, but also the music bed in a way takes over the rhythm.
Actuality/Ambience: The ambience in my speech package is fairly neutral as the majority of it was recorded within a studio or an enclosed environment so I could get a better quality of sound.
Music: Indie music, as it is what the speech package is about, therefore everything will gel together that way, it will also be used as a music bed throughout the package above all.
Sound FX: There is no use of sound effects within my speech package as it is an informative piece and I believe that sound effects are for a more entertaining purpose.
Silence: There are no moments of silence as I have applied a music bed throughout my speech package, even when a song switches I’ve made the transition instant so there is no silence.
My speech package is mostly informational and it’s targeted audience is for music lovers of any age, especially those of the indie genre. With self image, the listener should not be offended considering the musical stereotypes, e.g. emo, goth, punk, indie cindy, as they are commonly known as the ‘official’ music stereotypes of today.
Considering gender, being male or female may mean you are attracted to a particular genre of speech packages, for example a male may prefer the sport genre, whereas a female may like a fashion genre more. It is with that point made that it can be proven that some people are drawn to texts that they feel they gender should be, like men with sport stations for example again. Yet it is the sexes themselves that decide who should be attracted to which texts as it helps them affirm to their gender specific needs.
I would think that both genders could be attracted to my indie speech package as both can be fans of the indie music genre itself. Yet with most indie bands been male dominated it would seem as if it would be more of a male appeal, but despite this there are popular fan bases for female led groups inside the indie industry, for example Ladyhawke, Les Corps Mince De Francoise and Little Boots. Some media producers may aim a specific text at a specific gender as it will help them grasp an audience easier, for example a fashion text would attract the female gender more than the male sex as it isn’t exactly the most manly of interests.
Age makes a difference when creating texts in radio as you can vary your target audience greatly, yet with the indie genre it is hard to decipher a specific age as it could appeal to all ages. A family audience would be considered as ‘acceptable for all ages’, with the appealing texts being friendly, comical and even educational in places.
Class may sometimes play a part in a persons choice of radio station, for example someone from the middle/educated classes may listen to Radio 4 as it is more the thinking persons station and entails information of a more professional standard, whereas a working class citizen may listen to Galaxy 105 as the chatter and music is based purely on entertainment and music. However I don’t believe the upper middle class would be a fan of indie music, I think from skilled working to middle class would be a more reliable target audience, especially how the indie lad persona was previously a working class dominated fan base. Despite this, indie music can be a clash of the classes at times, with the fan base having a wider range than usual.
Task 9 Researching, selecting & evaluating appropriate factual content
Primary Research: Check calls, contact book, first-hand accounts (eye witness,
survivor, expert testimony, emergency services, vox pops), interviews,
atmosphere and actuality.
Secondary Research: Internet, teletext, television, press releases, other radio stations, books, newspapers, magazines and archives.
Primary Research
For my research I have interviewed four people varying from different backgrounds and different genders:
Robert Dent, Male, Year 11.
Amy Penistone, Female, Lower Sixth.
Andrew Pierce, Male, Media Department.
Ella Park, Female, Year 10.
Question.1.
Are you a fan of indie music?
Yes - 2
No - 2
Question.2.
Do you prefer an informal or formal style of speech package?
Formal - 1
Informal - 3
Question.3.
Would you prefer to hear songs of an indie genre within the speech package, or just music extracted from garageband?
Indie Music - 4
Garageband - 0
Question.4.
If you were to be interviewed for use as a vox pop, would you rather be recorded on location or in a professional studio?
On Location - 3
Pro Studio - 1
Task 10
Time - From 6 seconds to 14.
The indie music industry is booming, and more and more bands are entering the mainstream, some, reluctantly.
So what’s the harm in this? After all, the bands will still make the great music they always did. But what fans might fear in this day and age is the personality change, they might get carried away with all their new found glory.
Time - From 19 seconds to 23
I’ll be taking a look into the evolving indie culture and finding out what the general public and the big players in the music industry think of the genre on a whole.
Time - 28 seconds to 44
So what is indie seen as today?
As with the term ‘indie’ being known best known as an abbreviation for the word independent, this used to help differentiate bands that were on a major record label and those which weren’t.
Yet in recent years the term ‘indie’ has been applied to bands with a more alternative rock sound but who are also on a major record label too. Consequently, bands like The Killers, Razorlight and Coldplay aren’t seen as true indie because of this.
I interviewed well known music producer, Howard Bradley, to get a clearer picture.
Time - 28 seconds to 44
Time - 75 seconds to 100
So with Howard's comments in mind, it seems indie just isn't what it used to be, for better or for worse. Yet there's still hope for the genuine indie faction, magazines like the NME are very much anti-mainstream and run a yearly competition 'NME Breakthrough' giving little known local bands the chance to win a supporting slot for a well known headlining band, so let's hold on to those local heroes of music that we all have.
END.
Task 11
Purpose
My original aim in compiling this speech package was to inform or even debate the goings on of the indie music genre today, as with more and more bands entering the mainstream, it is bound to effect the originality of the genre, so it is within that fact that it is a debatable speech package which entails many opinions to support this. I believed I achieved my purpose as I included many opinions from the general public to give a half balanced overview on the indie culture, as well as this I managed to include a more professional outlook on the genre by including an interview with a figure within the music industry.
Representation Issues
I gave an equal response towards the indie culture, including opinions even if they weren’t fully positive towards the genre as after all, one of my speech package aims was to debate the music genre. On the gender side, my opinions were compiled from both males and females, as I believe the indie culture is very much appealing to both genders considering the fan bases. yet on the other hand, the music side of indie is heavily male involved as some of the most well known bands are male dominated, for example the Arctic Monkeys, Kings Of Leon and Radiohead. My music choices helped add to the mood of the piece as it was all indie based music, which obviously matches the idea of the speech package, as it’s all about indie. I’d like to think my speech package was realistic compared to a professional speech package as it contained all the right features, public opinions, vox pops, interview with an important figurehead and of course a suitable music bed.
Technical Issues
There was a lack of technical issues during my production, which made for an overall quality product, there was a loss of data at times, but back-up recordings were always on hand to save the cause. The only major problem that I had was concerning the recording tool I used, an Edirol recorder which didn't pick up the best sound quality I was after, so I substituted it for the radio studio microphones as they are specifically designed to pick up the best voice recordings. Upon this swap, I noticed a greater quality of sound which helped enhance my recordings greatly.
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