Media Events Research

Media Events

A media event is an occasion which can be either spontaneous (such as breaking news events) or planned (to ensure maximum exposure) that attracts the attention and interest of the mass media. This could be through local/national TV, radio, newspapers or online equivalents. It is normally something that has a specific audience and appeal though some events end up with nationwide attention.
Whatever the subject or nature of the ‘event’ is will define it’s importance and appeal to the media, and though planned events may not get as much attention as an unplanned breaking story, there are many components that can make a successful media event to raise awareness for a cause/subject.

Examples of planned media events can include:

• Book/album launch or signing
• Unveiling of a new product (e.g. Apple iPad/new cars/video game)
• Opening of a new building (or similar) by a ‘celebrity’

Apple always create a lot of stir and anticipation with their media events which are for the unveiling of new products. For example their recent presentation for the iPad 2. There is always a lot of build up and secrecy surrounding the events and are much discussed by those interested, this can also involve rumours being started about what the content of the media event will be.

On March 2nd 2011 in San Francisco (California), Apple unveiled the plan for the iPad 2, they have held many events of this type where they preview an update of a product or sometimes the unveiling of an entirely new product. In this instance there was also hype around the attendance of CEO Steve Jobs, this was a surprise to many who did not expect him to attend the event!

It’s intended audience are existing Apple customers, technology users (who may wish to convert to Apple), rival companies and all people who like to keep up to date with the latest technology.

The aim of the event is to showcase Apple’s work, as they are such a popular brand people are always expecting more and they always seem to make a big deal of showing us what they have been up to! The aim primarily is of course to sell, to convince people that they need to update their existing iPad or for those who don’t already own one to show them how much they would benefit from purchasing one.

It achieves it’s aims through visual presentations, it is a simple no fuss formula of presentation and simply delivers the points it wants to make as well as displaying the product itself.

What the event wants the audience to take away is the privilege that they are the first to know the latest technology developments and also the interest in buying the product!


Tips for a successful media event:

• Stick to your schedule (if you have news crews/photographers/reporters coming- they won‘t wait!)
• Host the event early in the week to avoid any publicity being washed out by the weekend
• Make sure any publicity is released a few days before
• Have in depth knowledge of your subject/cause and be prepared to answer questions
• Make sure you have enough resources and equipment, don’t want anyone to get left out!
• Check visuals and/or technology are working! (and double check them again!)
• Keep back ups of all digital or paper based information

Vanessa and Virginia

Before Christmas, myself, Mike and Ant were involved in some filming at the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution as part of the Illuminate Bath Festival. What we were filming was co-ordinated by Ant from a contact through the university, a play called Vanessa and Virginia.
We filmed the whole play which totaled being over 2 hours long, however this is the 'trailer' for it, as edited by Ant:


Vanessa and Virginia from Anthony Sahdev on Vimeo.

Creating a Drama

Well this is a big project that I havent really mentioned much of on here yet, and that is our short drama that we are going to be filming in a few weeks time.

The project started before Xmas with the help of Sean Geogehan we were put into 2 teams and I was allocated director of ours.
We set about work trying to find a script, but as we didnt have much work set over the holidays I ended up writing one. It was inspired by the book The Pact by Jodi Picoult in which a girl who where everything seems normal and happy is actually really struggling and the story revolves around how she has killed herself. I took this and thought, what if she had written a note and someone found it?

This is where the 1st draft of the script came from, a mother finding her daughters suicide note and the consequences of this. I wont give any of the story away as I will share the film with you when it is done! But needless to say the script has gone through several re-drafts and though it is very different from the original, most of the elements and deeper meanings of the original are still there.

We are at the stage now of finding locations and actors with filming scheduled for the last week of February!
Will update this as we make our progress :)

Organising a Media Event

Sorry for the lack of recent blogging but I will catch you up to speed on things as soon as I can!

In our 5001 sessions we have moved on from the Behind The Scenes project onto Organising a Media Event.
These are the guidelines for our event:

• Suitable for 1st Year Media BTEC students
• Approx 20 16-17 year olds
• Friday 8th April 9.30-14.00
• £200 budget
• We have at least two rooms/spaces

So what is a media event?
We came up with a few things to do with the meaning/requirements of a media event:

• an occassion/celebration/event that will attract media or publicity
• workshop
• having a personality/celeb
• make an announcement, advertise/PR

When we broke off into groups we then came up with some ideas for what we could include in our media event. Without being bias I liked our groups one the best as I think it covers most of the above points including what would be the most fun which is getting in a 'local celeb'.

Our idea was to construct a newsroom atmosphere and get the students to create a short news programme, this would allow people keen to write to write a script, the performers could be the presenters and those interested in the technology side could see how the cameras, sound and editing works. The great bit of it would be to try and get one of the presenters of BBC Points West/HTV local news to come down and co-present it with them. Not only would this make it more interesting for the kids but also would give a chance for the presenter to give a talk about how they got their job etc so it would also be informative/educational to them.

Voice Over Tips

The Voice

An Overview

Without some form of commentary (be it in form of narration of captions) it's hard for viewers to connect with the film. With documentaries it is better to use a voice over as it does not detract from the image on the screen, if people are trying to read captions they will miss what is being said/shown on the rest of the screen.

However, there needs to be space for sound from the film and time for people to absorb what may have been said interviews etc so don't put too much into the voice over. Keep it simple and fresh obeying these 3 rules: simple words, simple sentences, simple grammar.

A voice over should compliment the picture and fit with the images on screen.

When should I write/think about the V/O?

You should be thinking about the voice over the whole way through and if you can go to filming with a draft of the voice over to get all images needed.

It should have a lot of consideration during the edit, so here communication between with the editor is essential. This is essential for shaping sequences and allowing the correct amount of time so voice over doesn't to be rushed.

It is of course important to bear in mind the whole way through about how the voice will fit in the general soundscape and as mentioned before the pictures and original sounds 'need to breathe'

The most important think to consider when choosing a voice is to remember if the voice doesn't fit it will kill the film. The person doesn't necessarily have to have a rich, glossy sounding voice, it's all about the delivery and making the script come to life. It is important that the words on the paper get across the ideas on the screen.

A good voice will be one that sounds interested and like they know the subject matter of the film. The best voice overs are from people who act normally and don't feel self conscious.

The Script

Analyse what you have written to avoid repetitiveness, there is also not much need for lots of adjectives. Make sure you aren't stating the obvious of what is on screen, the audience will feel patronised! For the opening of a film/section make sure you open with a fact or something that will grab and hook your audience into watching the rest of the film.

The layout of the script is also something to bear in mind, of course each reader will have their own preferences but generally speaking make sure your sentences aren't too long and everything is spaced well. Big font is also useful to most. Some people can read better off coloured backgrounds but this is of course different for everyone.

The Recording

There are many techniques to recording a good voice over, they are these:

• Pop shield: not always essential but will prevent explosive and popping sounds coming through in the recording.
• Project the voice!
• Sit up, relax and imagine you are talking to one viewer (your "personal listener")
• Make it more like talking than reading
• Smile!

Risk Assessment

Just found this great video on the Channel 4 website about risk assessments!

Documentary Research

Whilst looking on what I find a very useful website slideshare, I came across this powerpoint on the "Codes and Conventions" of documentaries and thought I would share it here!

Codes And Conventions Of Documentary

View more presentations from Catford High School.