The student created a podcast on mental health within the music industry. They ensured it was professional with clear language. They researched musicians' experiences and mental health charities. Limitations included being unable to interview charities. The student aimed to represent subjects fairly and maintain privacy. Comparing their podcast to others, they found differences in resources but aimed to maintain objectivity, balance and accuracy. Time management was good with thorough planning and using time off to work.

1. Evaluation
Identify the characteristics and styles of your factual production that you
deployed.
I based my radio podcast on mental health within music and I made sure that my
podcast came across in the most professional way possible, I also made sure that
the language used throughout, was clear and understandable to my audience. I
also used instrumental music from a certain musician as part of the music bed,
when talking about them. To record my podcast, I used a hand-held recorder, I
then edited it in, Adobe Audition. I used Audition, because I thought it was the
best software for me to use and gives me good overall results. I made changes to
the sound levels when editing to make sure that my podcast sounded as
professional as possible. When it came to researching and planning my podcast, I
wanted to at first interview or at least talk with someone from the mental health
charity Mind, I emailed Mind York, I got a reply and that consisted of them saying
they couldn’t help with student projects. The style I used was very similar to a
radio show with two presenters, I spoke and lead the conversation the second
person answered my questions and gave their opinion.
Explain for decisions regarding contexts and characteristics.
I decided to create a podcast based on mental health within music, because I
wanted to showcase how musicians are expressing their mental health problems
throughout the music that they make, also because music has helped on a
personal level and I wanted to highlight that in some way. Also because mental
health is such a big issue within our society, it needs to be addressed more and
people need more help.
Comparing your work to an existing product.

2. After listening to this existing product, and comparing it to the product I have
created, I have found that there are some seminaries and differences in each
product. I have found that the presenters have used language that they use is
professional, clear and understandable, a difference that I have found is they
recorded this podcast live, whereas mine was pre-recorded. I am aware that the
BBC have recourses that I don’t have, for example a top of the range Radio
Studio, and a large financial budget, when it comes to creating radio shows. I
have taken this in to thought when comparing my podcast against pre-existing
products.
Advantages and Disadvantages
The advantages that I found while listening to my final product, was that it
sounded professional, and I also think, the fact that I used music when talking
about the musicians was an advantage, because it makes the listener more
interested when listening, and also allows them to focus on something else.
Another advantage that I find was, my editing skills, when it came to fading in
and out of songs. A disadvantage that I found was the general past of my
speaking at times. If I had the opportunity to create this product again, one of the
improvements that I would make, would be to talk slower at points during my
recording.
Conventions Of Podcasting
There are many conventions of podcasting, balance, bias, subjectivity to name a
few, when it came to create my podcast, I needed to make sure that my podcast
fitted in to these categories. I made sure that my podcast stayed bias when
talking about people in Amy Winehouse’s life, I did this by talking about the good
and bad, for example her father, I highlighted the bad side of their relationship
but also talked about the positive impact he has created for the community with
the Amy Winehouse Foundation, this also goes for the representation
convention, I made sure that the people I mentioned throughout, were not put in
any false light and represented in a bad way. I made sure the object of my
podcast was clear and made sure that it could be understood by my audience, at
the beginning of my podcast I said exactly what the program was going to be
about, I also used clear and understandable language throughout. In order to
maintain people’s privacy, I made sure that I only used interviews and facts that
is available within the public domain, I also made sure that the information that I
portrayed was in the publics interest. In order to maintain accuracy throughout
my podcast, I made sure that I researched thoroughly, before production started,
to ensure that all the information I have gathered is true and correct.

3. I have found another pre-existing product, this a podcast, called “The Dark Place
with Joel Kutz” This podcast was designed for people to be open about their
struggles with mental health, after listening to it, I have found that there are
some differences to it, when comparing it to my own, I found that they didn’t
really use a music bed throughout, I also found that a lot of the podcast was just
plain talking, no music or other materiel that would grab my attention.
Comparing this product to the “Life Hacks” podcast, I could see that this podcast
was made on a low budget, because at the beginning Joel says “I’m recording in
my basement”. Looking at my own product, the differences and I would class
these as positives, after viewing this podcast was I recorded my podcast in a
clear, quiet room, I used high performance editing software, I also used music
and other material in my podcast, to make sure my audience didn’t get bored
while listening, it I think adding music or a segment of an interview, gives my
podcast more substance.
Time Management
Looking back at each stage of this project, I think I handled my time well. I
managed my time well by, using my days off to come in to college to continue to
work on my project, planning thoroughly before hand, making sure I had all of
the correct questions and information before recording my podcast. I found that
managing my time was easy, because I was focused and dedicated to completing
the task at hand.