A Word document detailing the processes undertaken during the development of my podcast and some of my views and opinions in reflecting back such as what I did well or what could have been done better.

1. FMP Evaluation
by David Lee (Finished Draft)
Introduction
Throughout development of this project, I have taken as much care as possible to ensure
that every aspect of production has been chronicled thoroughly and with an extensive
attention to detail. This has not always been successful and, at times, it seemed the work
threatened to become overwhelming. However, through all the trials and tribulations of the
past year, I feel have nonetheless created a product that will satisfy others as well as myself.
But just how well did I do in developing this project? This evaluation will attempt to unveil
all the views and opinions I have on every aspect including what I thought went well, what
could have been done better and what I feel I could have differently if I had more time.
• Effectiveness of research. What could have been better? Methods used,
missed opportunities?
To ensure my finished product would be of the best quality possible, I began development
by searching for products to nature identical to my own, such as podcasts studying birds as
well as a number of David Attenborough documentaries. Additionally, his work on said
documentaries and environmental causes were a major influence in shaping the final
direction of my project. To this end, while not necessarily an influence in of itself, I decided
to look at an episode of Life on Earth focusing on birds and their dominance over the air,
which effectively proved to be the final source of inspiration I needed to put together a
podcast focusing on birdsong as a whole.
While I am satisfied with the research I have undertaken to properly shape this project, one
of the things that I feel could have been done better would be to find a documentary that
focused on wildlife as a whole, if not necessarily birdsong, such as Yellowstone. Additionally,
to acquire further inspiration and provide a sense of variety in watching David
Attenborough documentaries, I feel I could have used the opportunity to watch two of the
documentaries he has provided for Netflix, namely the 8-part 2019 documentary series Our
Planet and, of course, his 2020 feature-length film, or as he likes to call it, “witness
statement, David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet.
• Final concept? Does your production still reflect your proposed project?

2. When development of my podcast began initially, I had expressed an interest in developing
a nature documentary about wildlife watching and why we are drawn to this fascinating
activity. As research and scriptwriting continued, however, I began to realise that this would
be too vague and unspecific a subject to explore so this was ultimately changed to focus on
birdsong instead. This change was brought about partially as a result of watching an episode
of Life on Earth titled Lords of the Air. However, the primary reason this change was
ultimately made was due to the fact that, as both a nature lover and a member of the St
Nick’s Fields Wildwatch group, I had not been looking for birds or insects, in any capacity for
over a year and so I wanted to create something that would explore my love of nature as
well as discuss a subject I care passionately about.
Despite changing the documentary’s subject considerably from its original form, I still feel
that the product I have created reflects my original intent which was to create a podcast
about nature that everyone could listen to freely.
• Planning, what went well…what did not? What impact did this have on your
final piece(s)
Before reaching its final form as a podcast, this project was originally intended as a visual
documentary and would most likely have focused on a similar subject with the added
possibility of interviews with the Wildwatch Group, the Recycling Group and so on, about St
Nick’s Fields and what it means to them personally. Unfortunately, however, as a result of
the first COVID lockdown last year, these plans had to be scrapped and my film retooled for
a different format.
Although this drastic change of plan could easily have threatened to disrupt the
development of this project, I nonetheless felt both compelled and determined to get my
new dream project made regardless of the circumstances. Thus, rather than book out a
camcorder, I would instead create an audio podcast thereby allowing me to save both time
and college resources.
In short, the change in format from film to audio has not heavily impacted upon what I
originally envisioned, save for the omission of interviews with various park rangers,
volunteers and even members of Wildwatch that I had originally hoped to include. The
inclusion of different viewpoints rather than just the one, namely my own, would have
benefited the final product exponentially.
• Production, what went well…what did not (macro + micro)?

3. With the changes in format firmly set in place and the script structured to fit a podcast
template, the only thing I needed to do was to record what I had written. However, long
before I entered the production phase, I came to recognise that just the narration on its
own would not be enough to get my point across. To that end, I resolved to include as many
birdsong recordings as possible originating from two disparate sources: One from
professional wildlife watches and one from me. As Askham Bog is particularly reliable for
housing a diverse range of birds, from the robin to the chiff-chaff, this proved to be the ideal
location from where to capture the recordings I required.
Before deciding to settle with Askham Bog, I had originally considered carrying out my
recording session in West Bank Park. While this would have been ideal, to do so would have
carried one major setback: Due to its popularity with families and teenagers, it would have
been considerably difficult to find an ideal moment in which to record. Consequently, this
left me no choice but to scrap my original plan and find a more suitable recording location.
• Post-production, what went well…what did not (macro + micro)?
Having finally recorded the narration for my podcast and then re-recorded it to ensure
plenty of coverage, I was now free to completely focus my efforts on editing my nature
podcast down to a feasible length using the best editing software available. As Adobe
Premier Pro has regularly proven to be reliable during the editing stages of my previous
audio projects, this allowed me to cut out certain bits of material while simultaneously
creating a seamless transition between any glaring audio gaps that may have been left
behind as a result. Unfortunately, as I would only be at college for one week at that time, I
would not be able to continue editing until after the Easter Holidays. Rather than stop
production as a whole, I would instead refocus my efforts on getting the birdsong
recordings I required and resume work on post-production after the Easter break.
After college reopened following a two-week break along with time to think about additions
that could improve the podcast’s final edit, I began focusing my efforts on post-production
once again. Having recently heard news that peregrine falcons had been spotted around
York Minster, a sign that the mating season could be starting, this inspired me to
incorporate images of the birds I was discussing in my narrations into the final edit. These
were accompanied by a number of professional birdsong recordings that I came upon
through the Sussex Wildlife Trust website along with my own from Askham Bog, true to my
original intentions. With music and birdsong recordings fully integrated into the final editing
mix, I could finally review my edit, export it as a video and upload it onto YouTube. Or so I
thought. During the upload process, a copyright claim was applied to one of the tracks I’d
intended to use, forcing me to remove the video from my own channel and insert a
different opening and closing track. Although it is likely that this may change at any given
moment, the new alterations I have made seem to sit well with the online giant at present
and, as such, no issues have been raised as to whether certain tracks can or cannot be used.
As a result of the struggle I endured in attempting to upload the first video version of my
podcast onto YouTube, I was forced to find a different venue that would allow me to upload

4. the finished product in its original, unaltered form. In exploring and contemplating which
podcast platforms I could use as well as weighing out the pros and cons of doing so, it
immediately became clear that the most suitable website for this purpose would be Anchor,
especially given its links with Spotify. To accomplish this task, however, I would require an
account but, most important of all, a logo representative of my work. As robins are
mentioned prominently in the documentary, this would be used as the main driving force
for the creation of the logo’s finished visual look. Created through Photoshop and
inspired/derived from an image of a robin perched on a wall, it depicts that very same robin
in silhouette, later resulting in the name “The Silhouetted Robin.”
• How did you deal with TECHNICAL problems?
While I have done everything that I can to ensure the production of my podcast has run as
smoothly as humanly possible, it has not been without a few speedbumps along the way.
One such example of this taking place, minor though it was, happened during the initial
script recording session which I did not take notice of until I started editing. As I began
listening through the recordings with a fine toothcomb, I gradually became aware of a faint
but prominent burst of music in the background, despite the fact I had put up sound
mufflers beforehand to block out any external noise. It should not be noted that this has
nothing to do with the working capabilities of the voice recorder installed on my phone.
Because of this, however, a second recording session was required in order to rectify the
problem and, while this was by no means perfect, it nonetheless managed to resolve the
issue at hand as I had hoped, with my voice (despite my intense dislike of having to listen to
it) being the only sound to be heard. In turn, this allowed me to continue post-production
without any interruption whatsoever and integrate the new recordings into the editing mix.
Another example of a technical setback occurring, only considerably more prominent this
time, was after the conclusion of post-production. Having been blocked from uploading my
finished podcast onto YouTube (the saga of which is touched upon in full detail in the post-
production section), I was left with no choice but to mute the track I had chosen to end it
with, The Lighting of the Beacons, in the hope that the audio quality of my concluding
narration remained intact. However, upon listening to the altered conclusion, it immediately
became clear that the final results were more disastrous than I first thought and a drastic re-
edit was called for.
• How did you deal with MANAGEMENT problems?
As I was the only person working on the podcast across all stages of development, I would
not have to worry about or monitor the well-being and behaviour of the cast and crew.
However, my decision to manage this project solo has not entirely been devoid of setbacks.
One such example of this problem taking place occurred during the initial stages of
development. Having already completed my script at this point, then redrafted the

5. conclusion a few weeks later, I came to realise not long after that I had jumped so far ahead
of schedule that I had forgotten to cover the context research aspect. Fortunately, having
already determined who and what my key sources of inspiration were, I had a suitable
starting point with which to properly undertake this aspect of production, along with the
help of my tutor. While this problem was not evident initially, it was nonetheless one that I
felt I was able to deal with straight away in as professional a manner as possible.
While I had hoped that this would be the last of my problems, this was ultimately not the
case. Two or three months later, as I was on the verge of wrapping up post-production, I
once again discovered that yet another important aspect of production was missing. And
this time, it was planning and production or documenting thereof. Due to having completed
my podcast and uploaded it both to YouTube and Anchor, I found difficult at first to cast my
mind back to where I would have been at the time of writing certain sections. By the time I
had finished writing up the presentation, however, I had managed to find a writing style
that would allow me to act as though I were still in the developing stages. Part of the
problem had already been resolved prior to this as I had been asked to pick out and had
already chosen only the most important aspects which applied to what I was making.
• How did you deal with EMOTIONAL problems?
While I have strived to solve a problem independently in the past, which I always felt was
expected of me by my tutors, this has often left me feeling emotionally overwhelmed by the
seemingly immense workload that has been set. However, in the midst of the COVID
lockdown, I feel I have improved considerably with this, particularly weighing the problems I
might face on a certain task and how to appropriately respond. A key example of an
emotional problem being resolved during this product’s development was putting together
an organised timetable that would allow me to adapt to online learning once again,
following my concerns that I would not be able to work to a weekly schedule from home
along with the college’s enforced closure brought about by a third lockdown. Working to a
rotating week-on/week-off schedule, I took the opportunity to complete as much college
work as possible from the confines of home while simultaneously making room for activities
beneficial for my mental health, such as walking, yoga and reading.
Conclusion:
Do you think you met the brief?
In conclusion, I feel that I have succeeded considerably in fulfilling the brief for this project
as set by the college. While there are certain aspects of the production that could have been
exponentially done better, the number of strengths far outweighs the number of
weaknesses. One such strength which has resulted from this project in spite of an extremely
time-sensitive schedule brought about by the COVID pandemic was writing the script from

6. home which, in turn, allowed me to stay in contact with a friend from St Nick’s Fields and
update them regularly on my work throughout development, something that would not
have been possible had the college year ran uninterrupted. In recognition of their
contribution to the script and feeling that a special thanks credit would not be enough to
honour them, I decided to offer them a creative consultant credit in my finished video
which, to my surprise, they accepted when contacted about it.
However, one weakness which I feel could have easily been improved upon is the lack of
original music as composed by me on GarageBand. Had additional time been a luxury I could
afford, along with the benefit of hindsight, I would have been more than happy to return to
my initial edit on Adobe Premier Pro following my initial YouTube setback and create a piece
of music that I feel would have been appropriately linked to the subjects discussed, rather
than using royalty-free music for this purpose, and served as a more appropriate opening.
By doing this, my revised edit would have housed not only a diverse range of birdsong
recordings but an eclectic combination of professionally-written music as well as my own
original piece, similar to my John Williams podcast.
Overall, despite this project languishing in development hell for up to three or four months,
having to sacrifice certain elements and radically restructure the recording format (as fully
documented in the Production section on Page 2), I feel that I have nonetheless created a
product which reflects my passion for nature and will hopefully inspire others to seek out
their own.