Unit 39: speech package production

Task 1:
Have a listen to the speech packages above and match each one with a genre, from the list below.
You should also comment on the audience reach; Local, Regional, National, International.

The first speech package from BBC radio 5 follows the genre of Sports and Current Affairs as it discusses the international Olympics. Being on radio 5 signifies a sport related programme due to the initial purpose of being a radio channel targeted at men and sport. Taking this further i would say that the target audience for this speech package would primarily be males 20-50 interested in sports and secondly anybody else interested in sports. As a reach this would be national, with possible international links through the internet, thus meaning that the station can broadcast globally and reach new audiences by doing so.

The second speech package follows a Business genre, current affairs and news. The main purpose is how business can develop and also focuses in who is involved and how they have become successful. The ambiance of crowd noises and the interviewers are professional, connoting a business like environment thus backing up the genre. The package originates from the BBC therefore it communicates a national wave frequency and, same as the first speech package, it could be expanded internationally due to the new technologies of the internet.

The last speech package, similar to the first, originates on sport (more specifically football). It is a sports review on a football match, and therefore fits into the genre of sport. This speech package, like the other two, broadcasts nationally and again could further be pushed internationally due to new technology (using the internet).Lastly, its target audience would be male 13-50 who are interested specifically in football.

Task 2:
Have a look at the topics below and decide which genre, each issue would belong to and what the reach and target audience might be.

First of all i would say that the Olympics is placed among the 'sport' category, this is simply because the main intention of them is to produce competitions in which we see the worlds best sports players competing against each other. A secondary genre i would place this among would be 'lifestyle'. This is because many people pride themselves on following specific sports and even being involved in them personally. This would then bring me onto another genre of current affairs, due to its massive demand on TV and radio and also its conversational pull, which lures people into a debate on each sector of the events.

Alcohol price rises would immediately be placed in the consumer section as it is a big contender in consumer goods. Another category would be business due to its customer demand and popularity within the world. It is one of the most bought products and therefore would also fall into the lifestyle category because of the social element produced within it. Also it would be a current affair as it is now a concern in many places and always will be. 


The ASDA heading would be a consumer issue as ASDA is part of walmart, a global supermarket brand, and therefore would affect anybody who shops there. Selling consumer goods and aiming to achieve customer satisfaction, ASDA would also fall into the business section. It is a national industry and has shares which would mean that people need to be informed of all its actions through the business genre.   


                                                         
West Leeds council owning gyms would simply fall under regional news and current affairs. Although being specific to one area of the UK it may also relate to a national news depending on its effects to other places. It would also be placed among lifestyle as it is an important sector which effects the way people live their lives.Lastly i feel it would fall under the category of sport due to the topic being about gyms.  


The smoking ban falls under many sub categories due to its popularity and contraversal background. Beginning with consumer, obviously this would fall here due to the amount of people who smoke or have smoked globally. Lifestyle would also be an element as it plays part in peoples social and home life. Other sections include the news and current affairs, this would be because of the massive smoking debate which causes controversy among the world. Like the others, it would fall under business due to its major industry impact and its relevance to price rises.


Leeds United would fall into a few categories, one being sport as it is a popular sport which is high in demand in the UK and again in the world. Another would be current affairs as the sport seems to be forever growing and the club is part of this sport. we could see a business element be brought across here as the club has many financial demands to be met.

Task 3:

Decide on a topic for your speech package, you can choose one of the titles above if you wish.

• Name? Genre? Target-Audience?

The topic i have chosen for my speech package is Religion, particularly focusing on Christianity in the UK. I have decided to do this in the style of a debate as the matter at hand is a controversy among many people. The production will include interviews on local peoples opinions on religion and also will involve a professional interview from a member of Pudsey Parish Church. I will use this as one part of my 'for' the church side, and again will use a strong atheist to balance. 

The name of my production will be 'Religion; your opinion' and will fall under the category of current affairs and news, however will be presented in an entertaining style which will appeal to not only adults but also teenagers who have an opinion on the matter. The primary target audience i have given this package is 16-40 as i feel these are the people most in need of opinion on religion. It aims to give people an opinion and again will increase peoples knowledge on some facts involved in religion in the UK.

Task 4:
Choose an example of a professional speech package in your chosen genre and produce a detailed analysis.

Task 5:

Have a listen to the news speech package which is broadcast via 
and below and answer the following questions.

In the speech package I have listened to there seems to be a high focus on individual interviews and opinions. Jess Vernes is the  main studio presenter who initializes the topic and introduces the interviews. Being a news speech package, the presented speaks in received pronunciation, she sounds clear and allows a direct link to each topic in the production. The first interviewee is a man named Leaf Hillman, he is the chairman of a tribe who is against the destruction of the dam near his home. He has a regional accent and produces a more realistic view from the package. John Devout is a witness of the destruction sharing his view on the proposed idea of the dam and allows another opinion of the topic in hand. Both of the individuals contribute to the story and are both introduced in a phone interview, again allowing a more realistic feel and presenting their distant locations away from the studio. This creates a change of perspective as we fee we are now in a different place than that of the studio. There are two correspondents, Terri Clemenson and Hipa Dawude, both based in the studio and both recalled throughout the story. Each of them are pre-recorded and placed in the feature for evidence and opinions. There is no ambiance during either of the recordings and therefore could perhaps loose interest from the topic. Both speakers have regional accents however, we find it difficult to understand Hipa Dawude's report, which makes the audience loose interest in the speech package as they loose any connection they previously had. To improve the appeal and interest of the speech package i feel more of the introductions and conventions needed to be clearer. Some interviews made a clear point however, sometimes lacked a certain perspective we hoped to hear. Finally more ambiance could have also been used to entertain the audience and intrigue them.

Task 6:
Think about your chosen topic and identify the interview materials you will require to produce your speech package:

As stated in task 3 i will be interviewing some local people on their opinions of religion, focusing particularly on Christianity. I will also be interviewing a regular member of Pudsey Parish church and a strong atheist, each of whom will identify a balance of opinions on 'church life'.

I will include a main narrator who will introduce the production and take us through the facts and opinions of the genre. I will also use two studio based interviews and then the other interviews will consist of ambiance to direct the listener to another location, thus keeping them involved with the show. 

The music i have selected for my package will both entertain and help structure its narrative as i have chosen relevant songs to each segment of the production. It will help identify the audience i aim for while acting as a satire for both sides of the argument. 

Finally, i would input a structured order which incorporates both sides of the arguments and gives them the same amount of time on air. This will make the production more professional and less biased on my own interpretation of the topic. 


Task 7:
Create a short report focusing on a variety of Radio Stations that broadcast speech packages and provide the relevant information for each station




The BBC radio is a public broadcasting service which produces information, entertainment and education for the nation. Through its various stations and websites, it manages to reach a wide range of people and therefore has become a very popular broadcasting service to listen to.


Radio 1 is possibly the most popular and well-known station from the BBC. aiming at a younger audience and being informal, it has become more appealing to the new generation and therefore is a huge success through the UK.


Radio 2 produces a formal style throughout, it aims to use music from older decades (such as the 70's, 80's and 90's) and therefore targets an older audience as opposed to radio1. Being aimed at an older audience the presenters used are generally more mature and use opinion based shows to lure in their target audience. 

Radio 3 is specifically designed for drama and speech in radio. It focuses on current affairs and produces radio dramas to entertain its audience, while using cultured and non-specific music to hook a wide rage of listeners. The station also provides its listeners with niche shows which would situate a small target audience.


Radio 4 is the 'radio for curious minds'. It presents politics, news and info, and classical music to interest a niche audience. It is a more cultured station and would possibly appeal more to people 40 and above. Most of its listeners are skilled workers with a certain type of intelligence. Through looking at the demographic chart i would say that the middle to upper class would be preferable to this station. 


Radio 5 is the main station for sport. Targeted at men, the station allows anyone interested in sport to be fully informed on events that are currently being hold, along with using music which would appeal most to men. Using late night chat shows and sport interviews, this station defiantly identifies its target audience well and lures the listener in. 


The BBC also offer a downloadable service which allows the consumers to listen to podcasts from their favorite shows, moments and stations. It gives a more flexible listening attitude and has proved to be popular throughout its creation. 


Other commercial radio stations, such as Capital FM and Radio Aire, appeal most from early teens to late 30's, producing popular and current music and avoiding any niche topics. As they are funded by commercials, there popularity would need to be well received, therefore making advertisers buy slots in the shows. The commercial based services also offer out some podcasts in which consumers can download and listen. These again have been popular and produce a popular way of listening to favored shows and events. Both of the stations, although aimed at different target audiences, still feature on a digital service due to the digital switchover recently occurring. However, due to the fact it is a public broadcasting service, the BBC can still be heard on analogue stations, which is more expandable to different locations in the UK.  

Task 8:
Write a treatment for your speech package, use the template below as a guide to your headings


To begin i will introduce a popular religion-related song called 'what if god was one of us' which will immediately introduce the genre i aim to present to the listeners while also allowing a happy, comical and friendly atmosphere to the production. I will then take the lyrics away and begin my narration to introduce a fact, an opinion and to simply introduce the package. 


Moving on, i will initialize my theme by introducing the question 'do you believe in god' in which i will then place the answers i have gained from the public. I will then introduce the fact on percentages of practicing Christians in the UK. 


This will then lead onto my first full interview with 'rolf' who is involved highly with his local church and will explain his 'coming' to god. 

Task 9:
Carry out the relevant research and document the techniques you have used (This material should be saved and will make up part of your speech package….

The primary qualitative research from my speech package would be my interview with the Vicor from Pudsey Parish church, again an interview with 'Rolf' would be seen as my primary qualitative research as he is also an expert on christianity. The people were useful as they allowed me to gain an argument for the church and therefore allowed me to be equally biased upon both points.

Secondary qualitative research has been used through interviews with students and the public. I also used some elements of a news feature which was based on religious groups. One 5 minute documentary which i found useful was also from a man speaking about the gospel. This gave me an insight into some information i could have used in my package.


Examples of this:

My secondary quantitive information would be a variety of facts on religion in the UK. Another would be the number of christians and other religious people there are in the UK and how this would effect society. This was essential to be part of things i must include in my speech package as they allowed me to debate religion bringing relevant points across to do so.


A website I found extremely useful is:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_Christians_are_there_in_Britain




Task 10: Health and Safety 

Task 12: Produce a professional sounding speech package using the relevant technology.

Task 13: Evaluate the programme and the role that you played in producing the programme

The purpose of my production was to create an interesting and entertaining speech package, focusing on religion (specifically Christianity). I aimed to use news feeds and vox-pops to do so, and through this I think I have achieved what was proposed in the initial planning. Although I had some difficulty with the chosen subject, I found it very interesting learning people’s opinions on God and religion and would choose to study the matter further in future projects.

Audience:
Showing my production to my target audience was thought-provoking, I found the audience responded well to the news feeds and interviews however, lost some interest during the facts (perhaps I could have shortened the facts and sensibly spread them out through the speech package in relevant areas). Even though I feel the audience lost some interest, I do feel I had a strong positive reaction to the speech package and thought it was an overall success. My primary target audience was older teenagers 16-19- I wanted to be able to grab their attention and allow them to think about the controversial topic in more detail, also understand the relevant information from both sides of the argument. Using questionnaires and watching the audience reactions, I managed to collect the relevant information for me to gather a success rating of my production. I feel the audience responded well overall, there was no complain, however, I feel the ending lacked the same standards as the beginning. In a future production, I feel I need to be able to focus on all aspects and allow the script to gain full potential for all aspects.

Representation issues: 
My speech package aimed to give a non-biased opinion of religion and aimed to produce rhetorical questions for the audience to respond to themselves. I tried not to present one opinion more than the other, even though I found this hard due to the interviews showing 90% of the people I asked did not believe in God. I was not gender specific, and used a range of both girl and boy to answer the questions. I also used male and female news feeds in the production. However not intentional, I feel ethnic groups were not reached as well as I planned. Perhaps due to the people around me, and the short time gap for the interviews, the ethnicity of the production was not a wide range and did not present many people from a different ethnic race. The music added was specifically related to religion, using popular catchy songs such as ‘what if god was one of us’ to more reserved and not well-known songs such as ‘laughing with god’. I feel the music beds were a success and I profess to use this technique in a future production. The language used was precisely fixated on reaching out to the target audience. I feel I used the right language for my audience reach and felt there was no need to change this. Overall, representational issues were no problem, and, apart from the unintentional ethnic issue, were a success,

Technical issues:
The technical issues were a main player in the creation of my production, the voice levels needed to fit perfectly, the music beds needed to merge and transition well together, and the voices from my interviews needed to be clear enough to hear with the correct amount of ambience. Beginning with the sound levels, I feel these were good. The sound clips were run through audacity to achieve the same levels and then changed even more during the full creation of the production. The voices were the hardest part to connect together as some voices were louder and some not as clear, so I re-recorded a few and found they soon all fit together and fused well. The only major issue with the technical issues was the main interview, as I found the voice was too quiet and when I tried to make it louder I lost some of the ambience to go with it. However, this was resolved quickly and allowed me to experience a new problem which I now know how to fix.

Conventions/Narrative:
Typically my chosen genre of religion would be represented as quite boring and perhaps uninteresting to the age group I aimed it at. In a similar production we would see that the audience reach is generally either young children or the older generation.  Being highly controversial I found it a challenge to present. Although mine was done using professional standard equipment, I feel a company producing the same type of production would have the bigger advantage of people access, and therefore would be able to present the production in a more un-biased way. I feel if I had access to this I would have been able to place in some more opinions and therefore make the package more of a success. There was no specific narrative in my production as it was based upon facts and opinions, however, there were elements in the music bed and scripting which allowed mood changes and alternative feelings towards the subject.

Own performance… self evaluation:
From doing this production I feel that I achieved new skills, one of which is being able to add ambience in pressured situations, also allowing my production to merge together with no mistakes. I feel my strengths lied in the technical issues as I put my al in and learn new skills through doing so. My weakness however was the scripting of the production. I found it hard to put together a decent script which would allow me to engage my target audience. Being in a team on my own I found it easier to make decisions, however, think it is more of a successful way to work with a team who can help put the whole production together.

Future targets:
In future productions, I need to focus on how to end a production. The ending wasn’t bad, however I felt it wasn’t as engaging as the rest of the production and felt it lacked a certain spark which would leave the audience content.

1.       PROMOTING your production…

To promote my production I would need most likely use the technology of social networking. Using sites such as Facebook and Twitter, I would raise the questions asked in my speech package, I would then link these to the actual production, explaining what it is about and what I made it for.

2. DISTRIBUTING it…

My distribution impression would be to present the package on a local radio as this would then reach out to some people I could collect feedback from. I would also post it on the internet on popular radio sites as a vox-pop, then link this to the actual production.