Having the first student show on Siren was a little daunting, but considering the circumstances I think that in the end we all came together quickly and efficiently to create a decent radio show.
https://soundcloud.com/molly-carter-262855756/i-on-media-2nd-november
Before the Show
As a producer I feel that the pre-production work could of been a lot less hassle than it was. I was given the position as producer as our previous producer didn’t want or know what to do with the role, so I had a little over a week to sort the show and have everybody ready to go live on air. This was a challenge, but I feel we pulled through. To begin with I think we definitely needed to start planning earlier than we did, it felt more like a last minute push due to all of the stress we were under, but by planning earlier we could have made the whole experience more enjoyable for ourselves. I realise now that I could of been firmer with people when asking for things to be done, an example of this is with Jakes trail which I pursued him for a week for before it was finished, to a bad quality. I could of prodded him further for this work which may have made him create it quicker, this is also similar to the Emma Heaps audio. Which after no email response for days I never caught up on, and if I had of caught up on her, I would of most likely gotten the audio that I needed from her in full advance of the show, instead of an hour before.
There were some group issues and some members had to leave the group. This was a decision made by the rest of the group as these team members didn’t show up or participate in any of the work that the rest of the group did, and this didn’t seem fair that they should still be in the show. Unfortunately we had to get rid of the two members and they left on good grounds. I think I could of taken a more professional stance and turned to them privately and spoken to them about whether or not they can commit to this show, but it was all very last minute at the time. I personally could of booked an edit suite and worked with them with their content, I could of also been reminded them more about the sessions they needed to attend so that they would forget, and be more open to their answers if they couldn’t attend. I think again the majority of the urgency for the meetings and content was because we didn’t have a lot of time until the show, which again could of been resolved if I had begun planning earlier. Looking back now I realise that we would of been able to still do the show with both of the members in the team, whether it would of been as good we will never know, but I see now that the work would have been done eventually. I think I was just a bit panicked as we didn’t have the majority of the show together at the time, and saw this as the best idea for the team, although now I see it may not have been the smartest thing to do. I have learnt that I’m not necessarily going to get on with everyone and that everyone is not going to have the same work ethic as me(, and I can’t change that, I just have to try and adapt.
The Show
Overall I think that the show went really well, our BA did fantastically on the desk, the OB went through well (although it ended a little shaky), the content producer did great on air and our two presenters had brilliant chemistry. I feel we got enough practice in the studio prior to the show and this shows in the final product. I do agree that at times the levels needed work at times but overall I feel the show was successful.
I feel the main lessons other groups should follow in the coming weeks are that they need to practice at least twice before going on air, and to ensure one of the practices is in the studio. In addition I would also say that the sooner you get your content on the Siren system the better you will feel, I thought it was very satisfying when practising in Siren and seeing all of the carts filled, this also helped our BA a lot because she could remember where the Carts were. I would also say to make sure you check the levels when going on air, as we lost time and didn’t have a chance to check our second presenters level, this meant that when we went live on air we realised his microphone wasn’t working. As soon as we were able to we had a flurry of people run in to fix the faulty wire, I understand why some would say that I should have got more involved with fixing the wire than I did, but I felt it was a “too many cooks spoil the broth” moment, and thought I would be more useful ensuring the presenters knew what was happening and making sure they felt ok.
During the show everyone was very calm, I believe this was because we all knew what we were doing because of the practices we had. I was very impressed with how calm our presenter Chloe was, as she was very nervous about presenting in the days coming up to the show. I almost had a proud mother moment.
My role
I think I did fairly well as a producer in the group, I constantly made sure that everyone was comfortable and happy in any decision made because if they didn’t like the show, I felt it would show in the final product. Looking back now I think I can learn from some of the difficulties and help other groups that I am in by passing on some of the knowledge I now know. I realise now I could of been more organised especially at the beginning of the planning stage, but I feel I improved when the pressure was on in the days leading up to the show, I could have sent documents and cues to the executive producer earlier instead of him having to chase them up.
Audio
Here is the jingle that we created for the show
Documents
Amber Gill Interview Dean Lockwood Cue Emma Heaps Cue Horror games and Ending Cue Horror games package Illustrated Menu Cue I-ON MEDIA Proposal Neil Jackson Cue Neil Jackson Questions Running order Siren Music Reporting form _2_ York Maze