Winol 10/10/2012

Well, that was the first WINOL of the semester, and overall it wasn't too bad. The majority of people worked hard and worked as part of the team, which is essential.

As news editor, these blog posts will mainly concern the news team, but might be useful for the whole WINOL group as a whole.

First a big congratulations to all involved in the first broadcast. I know that a lot of people were stressed heading into it, but personally it's something I love and thrive on. The atmosphere on Wednesday's is always great.

Individual Feedback

Tom
Good job this week. The package was a great first effort, you got relevant interviews that gave the story balance, and also included natural sound at the start of your package. You explained the story well,

Karina
You did well to produce a package for the first week, even if it wasn't used. You went out, got shots, got an interview, and even did a piece to camera. Overall it was a good effort for the first week, and you'll beenefit from it going into the next week.

George
A nice package this week. Good scripting and shots. The story is an interesting one. It had solid quotes and a nice touch of the hotel owner showing you around. The piece could have comfortably slotted into a local news programme. Some of the exterior hotel shots almost felt like images because of the very still movements, maybe more of a sequence with the shots could have changed that. But that is me being very picky.

Lou
One of your best packages. Your voice work has improved so much since you first started reporting, and you also structured and scripted this package really well.
Your interviews were well constructed, particularly the interview with Martin Tod where we saw him on Barton Farm, and he looks around as he refers to it. A good week from you.

Flick
As the presenter this week you did a good job of putting the script together, especially when the running order changed multiple times on Wednesday. Also you were very helpful to the second years, giving advice etc. A good, calm presence to have.

Shona
I saw you helping a few people on Wednesday which was great, unfortunately I was too busy to have a chat with you on Wednesday about news planning. Monday or more likely Tuesday would be the better day to talk about it.

Spence
A tough week in terms of making you're story idea work. But you made a great effort. The PTCs were good, and you thought up ways to break it up with other visuals. You'll need to look toward stories that have more of an angle to them, because it was difficult to target who could be interviewed for your story this week.

Jack
The story was a decent one, it was kind of interesting even though it seemed to be just sticks. You had a few stills in your package, which is fine if you are struggling for footage, or if the pictures add something which you otherwise couldn't have. But the pictures where ones you took, which is odd. Because you simple film a sequence with the video camera and it looks much better. The still shots are for the written article. Don't forget that the package is for tv, pictures shouldn't be taken for your package if you have a video camera with you too.

Amy
I'm a bit disappointed that you essentially gave up this week, as it would have been nice if you could produce something. You were concerned about turning around a story in such a short amount of time, but that is what news is all about. It's new. You can't always plan far ahead, so you'll need to learn to adapt. Hopefully in you'll grow in confidence in the next few weeks.

Ellen
A nice first story. I asked for rhinos and you gave me rhinos. Their was some conflicting ideas of whether the art piece or simply the real rhinos should be the focal point of your package, but I'd happy with the end decision. Generally animals are interesting, particularly to our target audience, but it's also good to see you didn't ignore the story which was the painted rhinos that aim to raise money for charity. You also helped out with making an oov for me. A good first week.

Tammy
You did well to get a nice package done. I think if you did the same package again in a few weeks, it would likely get into the bulletin and be a top package. However, the lack of shots made it very difficult to keep the story together and to explain to the viewers what it was all about. The interviews were ok, it was good that you spoke to the people directly affected. The story didn't have too much of an angle, was more of a piece of interest, and one that is people lead. Along with Ellen you helped put together an oov once you were done with your own package. And you were also happy to make an alternative oov for your homeless peice, which I was grateful for.

Christina
I think it's fair to say that you had a rollercoaster week. You were a bit concerned on Monday if things would work out. Turned out on Tuesday they didn't go too well, but you remained determined which I really liked. You got up early on Wednesday to go to Southampton and make a nice PTC package about cycling safety. If I had the time, it could have comfortably slotted into the bulletin without issue. You got shots of cyclists which was key, and it meant we could turn your story into an oov for the bulletin. You ended up with a good piece of work to show after a tough week. Hopefully the next week will go more smoothly for you.

Harry
You had many stories rise and fall leading up to this bulletin, but you continued to be enthusiastic and determined to get something done for the bulletin. When that didn't work out, you were still very helpful, putting together the playout compilation for the end of the bulletin, and also helped edit together the 3 oovs. Very helpful, and hope you get more luck for the next bulletin.

Sophie
A very good first package, especially considering you weren't too confident heading into this week. You was the first to get your package done, and also got a link done before Tuesday was done. You did really well tog et a range of different shots and make your package visually interesting. It came very close to getting into the bulletin, however it still went in as an oov. A very solid first week, I was happy with what you produced. I'm sure you've learnt a lot from the week.

Faith
Your effort towards making it the best package you could impressed me. You were determined to try and make it more interesting than a house story can be. Your story was close to being in the bulletin, but instead became an oov. However, it was a back-up which I was really grateful of, it was ready to step into the bulletin if a different story didn't work out for whatever reason. A very good first week, and you'll continue to improve in the next few weeks. And I'm sure you've seen the importance of filming sequences with the people you interview.

Emma
You told me you'd get me a liquid nitrogen face, but it seemed to fall flat on its face, which is a bit disappointing. You need to keep more communication with me on the Tuesdays and Wednesday. Don't remember seeing you around on Tuesday, but when I texted to see where you were, you was only in the SU, so don't know why you didn't pop in to see me. Also, it's more beneficial if you edit in the newsroom, otherwise it means people can't help you out, and also I have to be away from everybody else to check how you're doing. I had no idea you was there until someone else came and told me. Hopefully next week will be a better week for you. 

Sam
I know you're not part of the news team, but you did put together the top story for this week's bulletin. It was really well put together, and was a great example of telling a good story in a package.

Some notes for next week

Something that I think all reporters noticed this week was how important it is to film as many shots as you can. Otherwise you get to editing, and don't have enough footage to fill your package. So when you film for your next story, make sure you film as much as you can.

Make sure you have more than one story. You should be juggling ideas, having back ups in case your stories fall through.

We experimented with a 'playout'/compilation for the end of the bulletin, showcasing the stories that didn't quite make the bulletin but would be featured on the website. This will likely need to be edited by a reporter each Wednesday if we continue with it, which seems likely. So if you have finished your package for the week, or have little to do, you may be asked to put it together.

In terms of lunch on a Wednesday, at most lunch means popping to the SU shop and heading back, spending no more than 5 minutes. But usually we eat from the vending machine, or food we've brought from home. Because Wednesday is such a busy day, we tend not to have much time to eat and usually have food on the go(if at all). We need everybody's help, and sometimes need to make alterations to things you've made, or need to alter your script, or your link, or headline, or anything that requires your help. If your not around for an hour, or even half hour, it can make things very difficult.

The importance of headlines were raised this week. Sam is currently being assigned to help with headlines, but you should still think hard about a headline for your story if it is used. Remember, the headlines are laying out our stall, and trying to intice our audience to watch the whole bulletin.

It was great to see a number of reporters submitting their written articles by the 3 o'clock deadline on Wednesday. The website should be fully up and running for next weeks bulletin, so I hope to see the same again. We want the news stories to be written, sub-edited and up on the website in time to coincide with the bulletin. One thing to remember, is to take pictures, so that you can use one in your written stories.

I expect all news reporters to be in the newsroom throughout Wednesday, whether you have a story or not.  There are still ways to contribute to help us get the bulletin out, and we still have last minute stories come about on Wednesday that you might be asked to cover. On-the-day stories are always great to have.

It would be useful for both WINOL and yourself if you set up a Youtube account and upload your packages to your youtube account(this will make it easy to showcase all your work, and will also help us place it on the website if it's not featured in the bulletin).

I will have some more specific points to raise in Monday's news meeting.

Until then, have a good weekend, and keep looking for stories.

Dan

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