Christmas Package Evaluation

I have learnt a lot about television whilst making our Christmas shopping package. Our first attempt was very rushed and as it was our first bit of filming, we didn’t really know what to say on camera or how to go about filming it. We therefore decided to film again, making sure we had enough time to achieve everything that we wanted to contain.

We included a lot more techniques in our package than we had previously done. We included a link, voiceovers, interviews and a piece to camera, which added to the sense of realism of the package. We also wrote a script before we went out filming, so we knew exactly what was to be filmed and said. This made things a lot easier and I felt that we were more prepared.

However, things weren’t that simple. It was difficult to find people to interview as many didn’t want to be on camera. Whilst we were filming we had to make sure it was quiet enough for the sound, as well as nothing going on in the background. We should have interviewed more people to give ourselves more choice on what to include when editing, and also made sure that whilst Holly was interviewing people, that they were both clear on camera, asking them to stand closer to each other. We should have also filmed better images for our voiceover, as I don’t think they truly represented what we wanted to show, however with a limited time scale and location, this was the best we were able to achieve.

I feel that I contributed a lot to the group whilst making our Christmas package. I gave ideas for the script as well as suggesting that we include different techniques in our package such as the voiceover and interviews. I also read out the link and helped with the filming, as well as trying to find people to interview.

I have learnt that filming and editing material for television isn’t as easy as it looks. You have to make sure that it appears “punchy” and interesting to grab the audience. You have to do this through your voice and body language as you are seen; the news isn’t written down on paper. I discovered that you have to learn the script, as when you are out and about filming you don’t have an autocue to help you. We were lucky in the fact that we were able to re-film if things went wrong, however we wouldn’t have been able to do so if it were live. You also have to be careful in who you approach to ask for interviews as many people run a mile as soon as they see a camera or simply don’t have the time.

Writing for TV is a lot different than writing for print. As it is read out you have to make sure that there is a lot of punctuation, to give the reader time to breathe and pause, which also makes it easier for the audience to listen too and take in. You also have to be careful about how you word things, as sometimes what you write might be quite difficult to say and so you would stumble over your words. You need to make sure that what you write is exciting and “punchy” to ensure that the viewers don’t get bored.