Final Major Project, Problem Solving

1. FINAL MAJOR PROJECT,
PROBLEM SOLVING.
BY KIERAN BRADLEY

2. MIND MAP

3. EQUIPMENT
• When it comes to equipment for my final major project, I have found that I may
experience a number of different issues, for example I may not have the correct
software on my computer, needed for editing my audio.
• How would you solve this?
• To solve this, I would check beforehand, to make sure that the computer I want to
use had the correct software on it, and if it didn’t, I would use a computer that
did.

4. EQUIPMENT
• I will also creating some practical experiments, using a handheld recorder, I’m
doing this to explore what would be the best way for me to go, when recording
my interviews, I will be using different types of recorders to explore this. I will also
be looking at different locations that I could use to conduct my interviews. I will
have to bare in mind that I need a room that’s echo free, as this helps with audio
quality. I will also be going through an audio check, this allows me understand
the equipment. I have also used the voice recorder and Adobe Audition, several
times in the past.

5. EQUIPMENT.
Another problem that I could encounter, while doing my production is, some equipment may be
forgotten on the day of production, for example, the laptop that has the software on it to to
ensure we can play all the songs and jingles, may be forgotten, to fix this will have to use itunes,
to play my songs, jingles and interview. I could of also encountered a problem with equipment if
I had any water spills, to avoid this I’d keep all water away from the equipment. To also stop this
from happening, I will do a plan beforehand all of the possible situations that my equipment
could get in where it could possibly get damaged.

6. LOCATION
• When it comes to the location, of where I will record my interviews, I may come in
to some issues, with regards to getting to the place, or just generally not being
able to find the correct place for recording, as I have found in the past, when
doing this there has to be certain requirements, for example the room has to
echo free and quiet.
• How would you solve this?
• To solve this, I would book out the studio, as a back up option, just in case I can’t
get a quiet room, I would also ask my interviewees if they have a room available
for me to interview in.

7. EMAILING POTENTIAL CONTACTS
• When it comes to emailing about arranging interviews for my documentary, I have found it difficult to
get a positive response back from them, I have emailed several different people, including North
Yorkshire Police, York Hospital, Alcohol Anonymous and a number of different small alcohol services
in York. Due to the sensitively of the subject I’m covering, it has been hard to get people to talk about
it.
• How would you solve this?
• I would solve this by composing more emails, I would also look at other services that I would possibly
contact.

8. RELEASE FORM FOR MEDIA PRODUCTION
When it comes to creating any sort of media production, you need to complete a
Release Form, this is a document that consents to people being involved in my
production. The problems that I could have with this are, I could plan to interview
someone, put them down on my release form, and then they could become
unavailable for interview, or not want to be, for any reason.
How would you solve this?
I would solve this, by making sure I have back up’s and people that are spare if this
was to happen. I would also make sure that I ask them early in advance, so then I
would if they did not want to participate.

9. CONTINGENCY PLAN
• While researching and planning for the production of my product, I have looked at all of the possible things that could go wrong:
• My computer doesn’t work- Find a computer that works.
• My computer doesn’t have the software needed to do my production- Find a computer that has the software needed.
• I’m having bad time management- use frees, weekends and after college to catch up on work.
• I can’t get any interviews or people to use on my production- Create an account on reddit and source responses on there, that you could
use instead.
• Saving work- I will back up all of my PowerPoints in more than one location, to ensure I don’t lose any work.
• Maintaining a healthy voice, for recording– I will ensure that I will look after my voice, if I see any signs that show me, it’s becoming
unhealthy, I will do this by taking the correct medication.
• I’m always looking at how I can stop these problems from occurring, for example, If I have bad time management I will use my free day’s
to ensure I get caught up with work, I have been doing that recently, to stay ahead, also I will be looking at other practical aspects, such
as using different types of equipment to see what one would best suit my project,

10. PRACTICAL PROBLEMS
There are a number of practical problems, that I could come face to face with, this could
be booking equipment to stop this from being a problem, I will make sure that I book
any equipment that I need, in advance. I will also make sure that I have back up
equipment, just in case it breaks and gaining contributors for my production. So far I
have found it somewhat difficult to get people, to speak to regarding the subject that I
want to cover. I have to also think about what sounds I’m going to use within my
production and how I’m going to source them, I have had trouble in the past with other
projects with incorporating sounds, as I’ve always wanted the sounds to be of a high
quality and good standard. I am yet to find a website that I can get this sort of sound
from. I have come across a problem where I had had to change my idea, slightly.

11. PRACTICAL PROBLEMS- PAST EXPERIENCE.
• Having produced a number of shows, for Two Rivers Radio, over several months, I
have experienced a number problems. One problem being, when I did my first
live show, I was stuck with what to say, and practically froze! I have also had times
where I have struggled with show ideas. Another problem was the equipment I
had to use, during my first live show, it wasn’t the most high tech, and as I was
presenting, I found it hard to navigate some controls, as they were out of sink. As
time has gone on, and I have done more live shows, I have found it easier.

12. PRACTICAL PROBLEMS
• Looking at other practical problems, I may have, may be that my interviewee isn’t
available on the date I need them to be, to help this I will talk to them closer to
the date, to make sure they are available. Another issue could be sourcing music
and sound, for my show, although I haven’t had trouble with this in the past, it is
time consuming and could affect my time management, if I do not plan it
correctly. I have planned to do my interview pre-recorded and then edit it after, I
have done it this way, because it gives me the chance to make the recording run
smoothly and sound clean, when people are listening. One problem that I could
run in to, then pre-recording is that I will only have one take at getting a good
recording. As time will not be on my side to do it again.

13. THE PLAN
• Go down to London on 26th March to interview my contact.
• Edit and cut down my recording, using Adobe Audition complete with a music
bed.
• Interview one of my peers, at college, talking about facts surrounding drink
awareness.
• Create my script for my 1 hour long show
• Go to Two Rivers Radio, do my show.

14. PROBLEM SOLVING
• I have decided to do a pre-record, of my radio show, in the studio at college, I want to do this because
it will give the chance to see roughly how it will go when I come to do the actual live show. I will face
less problems, doing a pre-record, to what I might face when I do my live one, the problems I may face
when doing my live show, I might have technical issues, with my mic, and other pieces of equipment, I
might freeze and forget what to say, as that has happened, when doing shows in the past. My audio
pieces might not work, when I come to play them. I have a lot more safety when doing a pre-record,
than I do when doing a live show.

15. EXPERIMENTS
• I have done several different radio shows, based on a number of different topics,
before I produced my most recent one. The one that I have just finished is the
first show I’ve done in a professional setting with equipment and everything
needed. I have had a lot of different encounters while doing my shows, for
example the first live show that I did, I froze and couldn’t say anything, I didn’t
know what to do, but after that one, they got easier and I knew what to do, and
eventually it just flowed. When doing all of my experiments, I have used the same
software to edit, that software being, Adobe Audtion.

16. HOW TO MAKE A RADIO SHOW?
The best way to plan and schedule a radio show, is to look at all aspects, this
includes timings, music and type of mood, the way that you will address your
audience, you also have to look at the types of software that you will use, I have
been using Adobe Audition, when editing my audio, I have also seen that Two
Rivers use a type of software called “PlayIt” when playing music on air. After
using PlayIt several times, I think it’s a good reliable piece of software. The prons
and cons of it are, that you can’t get it on any Apple device, so therefore it has
been hard for me to download it. Pros are that it’s easy and simple to use, you
just drag and drop the music in and it plays straight away, it also stops when the
song is over and is very reliable in that sense. You also have to look at if you want
any guest on your show, for example, on mine I conducted an interview with a
recovering alcoholic, for this to happen I had to have them sign a release form,
and create questions for them to answer, I also had to get on a train down to
London to interview them, a lot goes on behind the scenes in order to produce a
radio show.

17. PRE- RECORDED VS LIVE RECORDED SHOWS.
• Having done both live shows and pre-recorded shows, I have seen that they are
both very different and have pros and cons for both types. The pros for pre-
recorded are, you have a safety net throughout your recording, because you
know that you can put it in to Adobe Audition and edit all the bad bits out. You
also have the comfort doing your show this way. The cons of doing a pre-
recorded show, is that it takes away the true purpose of radio, for example I pre-
recorded my shows using a hand held mic, and didn’t use any radio equipment.
The pros of doing a live recorded show, is that it gives you a hands on experience
with the equipment and it brings the true purpose of radio to life. Looking back
at past experience I found that when I did my first live show I was so scared, I
froze and didn’t know what to say.

18. EDITORIAL GUIDELINES- LANGUAGE
Language used within BBC Radio, is clean and professional throughout. When doing my own shows for Two Rivers Radio, chose to take some tips from
how the presenters conduct themselves when speaking. I have also seen after listening to a number of different radio stations that, they all have a
different mode of delivery. For example BBC Radio 4 have a very professional and older style mode of delivery, comparing that to Radio 1 or Capital FM
where they have a very more laid back mode of delivery, and language style.
• Strong language is most likely to cause offence when it is used gratuitously and without editorial purpose, and when it includes:
• sexual swearwords
• terms of racist or ethnic abuse
• terms of sexual and sexist abuse or abuse referring to sexuality
• pejorative terms relating to illness or disabilities
• casual or derogatory use of holy names or religious words and especially in combination with other strong language.
• Also, the BBC have to uphold a bias attitude when reporting or speaking, on both TV and Radio.

19. EDITORIAL GUIDELINES- LANGUAGE
Context and tone are key to determining whether strong language will be acceptable or deemed unjustifiably offensive. We should consider the following:
What language was used, who used it, to whom it was directed and why it was said
How it was said. Was the tone angry or aggressive, or charming and funny? The same terms can be considered more or less offensive depending on the
tone of the delivery and the character or personality who uses the terms
Where the content is to be found in the television and radio schedules or online
The quality of challenging material, which includes strong language, is a significant factor in determining its acceptability or unacceptability to audiences.
Strong language can be acceptable when authentic or used for clear purpose or effect within a programme, but audiences dislike careless use which has no
editorial purpose.
The BBC also follows the rules of the Watershed, this is where certain language can not be aired on the radio or TV until 9PM.

20. EQUIPMENT
Equipment that I have tested out:
Handheld recorder
Adobe Audition (Software)
PlayIt (Software)
After doing several shows for Two Rivers Radio, it has given me the time to see what worked and what
didn’t quite, I found ways of making certain aspects work for me, for example, to stop me getting
nervous and stressing, I would write a detailed script of what I was planning on saying. I didn’t have
many problems while doing my shows at Two Rivers, although that being said, I have encountered
quite a few, when doing this project, my first one was I couldn’t find anyone to interview, in regards to
my project. Another slight problem that I faced a day before my live show was, being told that the
radio station was having a break from broadcasting, but I managed to broadcast my show successful.

21. AUDIO RECORDER AUDIT FORM
I have completed an audio recorder audit form, I have
done this to show that I can use the equipment correctly.
This was good for me to do because this gives me the
chance to understand the equipment.