A Ring a ding ding!

Today's lesson was full of many different things. I got to do my very first phone interview. The lady I interviewed is a freelance producer/director who was very nice to speak to, and provided a lot of good information for my interview.

There was also a guest speaker today named Nick White. Nick is a freelance Producer/Director who has been in and out of the broadcasting industry several times. He started off in the BBC in 1993, after hearing about a researcher position from a friend who worked in the BBC library. After bluffing his way through most of the interview, he had successfully managed to obtain the job and worked six weeks to a disappointing finale as the project did not air in the end. Nick has worked on various programs and documentaries like 'Heat Wave'. I found him to be a very interesting character who loved to talk and had a lot to say.

One Poetic Package!

Today my editing skills were put to the challenge as I was given three hours to complete a radio package. Below is the completed edit which took me the full three hours as the computer decided to crash on me several times.

Stay tuned for some more tonight!

Thought!

Let tomorrow worry about today's problems!

A blond moment can go a long way!

Friday October 17th

With Joelle gone today, Mike took over the class and showed us various ways to surf the web. The class mainly focused on a browser called Fire Fox which seemed pretty easy to use as you could customize all your settings to suit your needs. Each of us got the opportunity to set up an IGoogle account which allows us to link other pages to the account, which then brings new information feeds whenever something is updated. I have chosen to put a horoscope, facebook and You Tube on my site as these are the sites I tend to visit the most. With the last 5 minutes of the class we were shown how to set up our own blog account. As I have used blogger before I found it very easy to get familiar with the program, however there are new features that I am still trying to wrap my head around. http://www.blogger.com

Once lunch had ended, hysterics hit as Fiona, Cerian and I got the giggles. The main part of the lecture included discussions on very dry subjects which were chosen the week before leading to some very funny comments. We compared the BBC to ITV, learned about copy writes, audience researchers the Internet and much more. The greatest part of the lesson for me was a goofy blond moment mistaking Gordan Brown for Gordan Ramsay which didn't help the giggly situation. All in all it was a very great day!

Cojacking the Interviews!

Thursday October 16th

Today seemed to fly by as most of it was spent listening to the CoJack interviews put on by each of our class mates. The whole class started by listening to everyone's un edited version causing some embarrassment and funny bloopers. If I have learned anything from the interview, its that I tend to talk fast. Mike barely made it to the board to take notes on the interview as my recording yapped away at a quick pace. I enjoyed hearing the different interviews as they all seemed to focus on the different sides of the group. For example, Hannah's group who worked on a 1+1 basis, seemed to focus on the re branding of Cojack, where Shaun's group focused on a personal side.

Closer to the end of the day, I had the chance to put CoJacks music to the edited interview.I tried to leave the music play throughout the whole interview however found the sound was overall to busy for what I wanted to achieve. I slowly brought in a faced paced song at the end of the interview and ended on some sharp beats to really finalize things which I felt worked to an advantage.

Stay tuned to hear the latest interview with Rob from Cojack!

Andy Netley come one down!

Friday October 10th 2008th

To be or not to be, that is the question..... Or maybe the real question to ask is, would good old William Shakespeare really mind if I ripped him off a little? After all, its a great line and the mans been diciest for a very long time now. I have started this blog with a very famous line, as today's lesson focused on Plagiarism. I have now been taught to reference properly and even over reference if in doubt, if for some reason I don't Minerva could catch me out, and that could be tragic!

The second part of my day was great. Andy Netley who is an Emmy nominated editor came into class to speak about the ups and downs of the editing industry. Andy started out with the intentions of becoming a director. He managed to get his first job assisting with an edit on a drama program with two weeks of unpaid work and from that realized that editing was the right career path for him. Andy has been cutting different documentaries whilst being an editor, however focuses on the Natural history programs.
When all is said and done with an edit, Andy feels the best part is the music and images.
I have enjoyed Andy's visit as I feel its useful to know how different people started off and look forward to more surprise guests in the future.

Week 2 Let the edits begin!!

Thursday October 9th 2008

Today s lecture started off with a nice walk down past the lake. To a great surprise we had been invited to a very interesting performance put on by about 10 different individuals. The performers chose a small old building which had good resonance to enhance the tones they made with jugs and various other objects. The sound produced was very hypnotizing and unlike anything I have ever heard before. By changing the sounds in their voices they were able to create louder tones, as well as tones that harmonized.

After heading back to class each of us had an opportunity to edit the vox pops we had previously recorded. The question my group came up with was 'Why do you think newspapers print bad news over good'. The responses we got were really good, and really helped form a general opinion when it came to editing.

The second half of the day was spent on a great opportunity interviewing an up and coming band called Cojack. My group had a one on one interview with the very talented drummer named Rob. Fiona and I broke the ice by simply taking him for a small walk down by the lake where we find the ambiance noise minimal. I feel this gave us enough time to make him more comfortable and confident when it finally came down to the actual recording .Interviewing him was extremely easy as he had a lot to say, and was willing to elaborate on each question. There was rarely a pause as we had structured our questions before hand in class and went with the flow of the interview.

Day two

Friday October 3rd 2008

The second day of University began with a rushed awakening. After hitting my alarm clock one two many times. I managed to cram a slice of toast in my mouth and drive like there was no tomorrow to what would turn out to be a very good day. With the sun shining I arrived with plenty of time to get to my lecture which by my surprise is taught by a fellow Canadian. Though the class didn't catch my attention like the Thursdays lectures, the information that was taught was useful as I know my writing skills need improvement.

After the lecture was over our broadcast bubble headed towards the SU for some lunch as we had almost an hour and a half to get to our next lesson. To a great surprise free sandwiches and drinks were being served to everyone and anyone willing to line up. Though I opted for a chocolate cookie, I didn’t feel right taking the food as it was served by church leaders and helpers. I felt like I should of given them a donation for their hard work, or perhaps they had an underlining agenda to get my sole. Though that could be the sugar in the cookie talking.

Once getting myself settled in the last lecture of the day I immediately loved it. Susan has worked for the BBC over a period of years and seems to know the ins and outs. I was able to chat to her about my ambitions of presenting, which directions I should go and actions I should take to get me where I want to be when I finish University. The class took part in a small interview session. I got to know a lot about my classmates and their backgrounds through this activity. It seemed as time flew, as no sooner did we sit the lesson was over. I must say, the 4 o’clock end time is pretty great!

The First Day!

Thursday October 2nd 2008

Today was an exciting day for me. Its been five years but I am finally back in a learning atmosphere! The subject I am taking is Broadcast Media, which I am hoping will help me obtain my future goals within the media industry. I believe that out of all my friends back home in Canada, I have the coolest campus and University. Not many of my friends can say they have lectures in a gate house or castle. The grounds are laid out across baths beautiful country side, where everything is very picturesque. Earlier I heard a rumour that Prince Charles had proposed to Princess Diana in the gardens, Though I am not a hundred percent sold on the tale.
There is about 8 people in my class, a good mixture of males and females. Everyone is really nice and genuinely easy to get on with. I have now met my first lecturer Mike Johston, from what I know, he use to be in a punk band and has worked for various broadcasting companies like the BBC. I really enjoy his technique of teaching as its very interactive.
I have now signed up for a few extra classes put on by the SU. I have chosen hip hop as well as cheerleading as I find both activities are great ways to relieve stress and meet new people. A few of the girls from my course have signed up for both activities, and seem excited to participate in the up coming lessons. I hope it all goes well!