Unit 39- Speech Package Production

Task 1:(P1, M1, D1)

Have a listen to the speech packages above and match each one with a genre, from the list below.
You should also comment on the audience reach; Local, Regional, National, International

The BBC Radio 5 Live Bejing Olympic podcast will fit into the “News & Current Affairs” genre. This is because the bulletins are all about stories to do with the Olympics and also have in depth reporting on different topics such as the Olympic Torch. In the Olympic Torch feature there are interviews with people who are involved in the matter. The audience reach would be regional as the BBC is a regional radio station.

The second podcast fit’s into the “Business” genre; this is because the main feature of this particular podcast is Michael Dell on the company that he created. Also the first words which the presenter says are “Welcome to Business Daily”.

The audience reach I think will be National as the Dell Company is a national company. There are also mentions of stocks and shares of Dell, and also there is a brief history about the company.

The third and final podcast is the 5 Live Football Daily and therefore fit into the “Sport” genre. There are reminders of sport coverage over the coming week and also sport results and reviews of the players’ performances. I think that the audience reach is local because of the local teams that are being commented on.

Task 2: (P1, M1, D1)

Have a look at the topics below and decide which genre each issue would belong to, and what the reach and target audience might be.

The Olympics 2012 will have an informative purpose because the audience will be listening to other peoples opinions on the event. Therefore because of these reasons the genre will be of a documentary which is appropriate because of the purposes.

Another issue which will have the same purpose and genre is raising the price of alcohol for people's safety. Due to the issue a typical convention which will be evident are facts and statistics as this will ensure that the primary purpose is met. However with a topic such as Leeds United football club the primary target audience will be male football fans, however in contrast to this the secondary target audience will be female football fans. The primary purpose may be to entertain, however the secondary purpose will be to inform because there will be information about the history, administration and what the future of the club is.

The primary target audience of a smoking ban topic related production would be smokers themselves, this is because the issue is effecting them directly and they will be more effected compared to other people. The genre of the piece will be like a documentary because there will be interviews included with facts and statistics.

People which may be interested in learning new information about the leading super market ASDA, will be the target audience for a documentary about the supermarket league will be the primary target audience.

Task 3- (P1, M1, D1)

Decide on a topic for your speech package.

I have chosen to produce a speech package about the “I Am… Tour” starring Beyonce Knowles. Therefore I will entitle my speech package The Beyonce “I Am… Tour” The speech package will be about the tour and what ticket buyers can expect to see. I will also add information about Beyonce’s musical past; this includes information on Destiny’s Child and what the other band members Kelly and Michelle have done since the band split. My speech package will have a music genre and will therefore be aimed at young people aged 12-18. I will aim to interview people about what their favourite Beyonce solo song is.

Task 5: (P1, M1, D1)

Have a listen to the news speech package and answer the following questions:

Who is interviewed and why?

In this news speech package two people are interviewed, both of the interviews are related to the specific story that is being discussed. The first interview is a person who lives in the area and he expresses his personal thoughts and opinions on the issue. However to contrast against this the second interview is with an expert. The reason why there are interviews with an expert and a non-expert is to show opinions from both the expert and public views to make the news coverage un-biased and to help balance the opinions on both views.

Are there any other contributors or correspondents?

The main voice which can be heard on the speech package is the main correspondent who reads the majority of the news topics. However there are also other correspondents which participate by reporting on smaller stories. Using several different correspondents give the speech package more variety rather than just one main voice constantly speaking for the entirety of the speech package. Also the other correspondents were from a different ethnic background which shows that the station supports different ethnicities and backgrounds and are therefore open to diversity.

Are the interviews as-live, or pre-recorded?

The interviews in this speech are pre-recorded; but because of the way the was played it sounds as if the interview is live because of the flow and continuity of when the news correspondent reads the story aloud which makes them feel more genuine and real.

Are the interviews recorded on location, via the telephone or in a studio?

The quality of the recording makes me think that the interviews were recorded via telephone simply because of the quality of the recordings as they seem to stand out from the rest of the speech package. If the interview had being recorded on location then the recording equipment would have being very professional and would therefore create a high quality interview. However the interviews are not particularly high quality which is why I think that they were pre-recorded via a telephone call, but this makes the speech package sound more genuine and makes the listener feel that they can trust the piece more.

Task 6: (P1, M1, D1)
Think about your chosen topic and identify the interview materials you will require to produce your speech package.

As my primary target audience for the speech package is teenagers I will choose to interview students which are in my class. I will interview both sexes so that I am not been bias and as a result of this I am providing a range of opinions and views. As the speech package is my own individual piece of work I would like to play an important part and therefore I will be the narrator of the speech package. I will pre-record the vox pops (people's opinions) in my schools radio studio. The reason I have chosen to do this is because the equipment is more professional and therefore will be produce a better level of quality. I will not include a telephone interview in my speech package. I think that as there is no relative reason for this is because I personally think that the interview would sound out of place and would not fit the genre appropriately.

Task 7: (P1, M1, D1)

Create a short report focusing on a variety of Radio Stations that broadcast speech packages and provide the relavant information for each station.

RADIO TWO

The radio station Radio Two is a national radio station, and therefore broadcasts to the country. Due to this fact, this is one of the factors which have made Radio Two the most listened to radio station in the UK. The station has a wide variety of shows that vary in genre which are played at different times of the day, therefore the target audience ranges from mid 20’s to late 50’s. As Radio Two is a BBC channel it is paid for by the tax payer, this is because it is a public service broadcaster. Radio Two speech packages are usually in a documentary format; however there are also a range of other programmes which vary in genre and formats.

RADIO SEVEN

Radio Seven is a national radio station and it is similar to Radio Two as it is available in various ways including podcasts over the Internet, mobile phones, analogue etc. The target audience varies from young children to older people approximately mid 40’s to 50’s. Due to Radio seven been a BBC channel it is very well known, therefore it is also a popular radio station.

Task 8: (P1, M1, D1)
Write a treatment for your speech package.

The genre of speech package will be music; and specifically Beyonce Knowles and Destiny’s Child. I think that as I have a large amount of information to include in my speech package that an appropriate duration would be approximately 6 minutes long. I will be the narrator of the speech package as there will be no need for other people to speak as the primary purpose is to inform and the secondary purpose is to entertain. The speech package will however still include other people’s opinions and thoughts about Beyonce’s music. People’s opinions will be recorded on a voice recorder in a radio studio and then inserted into the piece as several vox pops. I am going to ensure that the opinions will be genuine and I will not manipulate the individuals’ thoughts in any way. My music bed’s will be Beyonce’s well known songs such as ‘Listen’ ‘Crazy in Love’ and ‘Halo’.

I will adjust these music bed levels to ensure that the volume of my voice and the interviews will be at an appropriate level so that the voices are not drown out by the music, this will avoid the music dominating the piece because this is not my intention and it will take the focus of the information away. I ain for the rhythm for the speech to alter at appropriate times. The “I Am.. Tour” is promoting her I Am.. Sasha Fierce album. The I Am.. side of the album is the more emotional side of Beyonce, at points where I am discussing this side of her tour I will play songs such as “If I Were a Boy” and “Ave Maria” and also slow my voice speed down. On the other hand the Sasha Fierce side of the album is Beyonce’s more outspoken and diva side. At the points when discussing this side of the tour I will play hits such as “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” and “Freakum Dress”. Overall I would like the majority of the package to be upbeat and lively. I will not be using any specific accent apart from my own Leeds, West Yorkshire accent, however I will try to use a great level of standard English to give the speech package a more sophisticated edge.

I will be using a variety of music beds. This is because I want a variety of music to keep the listener interested, I will also be using some Destiny’s Child music when I am discussing Destiny’s Child.

I do not want any silence in my speech package as it would be inappropriate as there is no need to build any suspense, which is the main use of silence in radio. My speech package will have an informal mode of address, due to the target audience this will appeal to them more than a formal tone. The primary target audience is people aged 12-18. However older people may also like Beyonce, therefore my secondary target audience will be people aged 19-25. The main purpose of music is to bring people together no matter what age, sex or stereotype they are, because of this fact my speech package is appropriate for both males and females.

Education is not a significant factor when listening to my speech package. Therefore I don’t think that what class a person comes from will matter. I believe that my speech package will be appropriate for people in either lower, middle or upper class, as a result of this I can expect to have a variety of listeners.

I think that my speech package could be played on a modern radio station which has the same primary and secondary target audiences as mine. For example I believe that the “I Am.. Tour Speech Package” could be played on Galaxy 105 or 96.3 Radio Aire, because people of this age group listen to these stations and the two radio stations also play Beyonce’s music. Another radio station which I could play my speech package on is my school’s RSL radio station, PGFM.

As Beyonce is an internationally well known and well recognisable artists I believe that the audience of my speech package will be generally varied as everybody knows who she is.

Task 9: (P1, M1, D1)

Carry out relevant research and document the techniques you have used.

Primary Research 

Qualitative Research

As part of the interview section of the speech package I wanted to speak to people from my primary target audience about Beyonce. I decided to ask every individual the same question: “What is your favourite Beyonce track and why?” Below are the responses which I received when I asked this question to a group of sixth formers.

QUESTION: What is your favourite Beyonce track and why?

ANSWERS:

Nessa: My favourite song has got to be Listen because it never fails to give me goosebumps and I never get tired of listening to it.

Neve: Freakum Dress because I enjoy the upbeat tempo and it is just one of Beyonce’s best songs

Lewis: If I Were A Boy is beautiful and full of raw emotion.

Amie: Déjà vu is an amazing song because the lyrics are meaningful.

Claire: Ring The Alarm has a sick beat

Eddie: I love Check On It because it makes me want to dance whenever I hear it

Conclusion of my findings:

Although I interviewed more people about Beyonce, I have chosen to only include these answers in my final piece. This is because some of the other answers were not as specific as I would have liked. An example of this is “Me, Myself and I because it’s just really good.” Another reason is that some people preferred the same song as each other.

Quantitative Research

I asked 25 people in sixth form, 10 people in Year 11, and 15 people aged 12-18 questions about Beyonce, Destiny’s Child and speech package preferences in the form of a questionnaire. Once I had collected and evaluated the findings I decided to present my information with bar charts. You can see these charts below:

Secondary Research

Below is all the research that I did and was necessary for my speech package. The reason I did both primary and secondary research was so that I could incorporate facts in my speech package.

• How many shows does Beyonce perform?

85.

42 in Europe 33 in North America 8 in Austrailia and 2 in Asia.

• Who is supporting Beyonce?

Zarif and Shontelle

Who are Destiny’s Child?

Beyonce Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams.

Sold over 50 million records worldwide.

Formed in Texas.

What did Kelly Rowland do after Destiny’s Child?

Only successful single was with Nelly entitled Dilema and won a Grammy for Best Rap/Sung collaboration.

What did Michelle Williams do after Destiny’s Child?

Released a gospel album entitled ‘Heart to Yours’ sold 17,000 copies in the first week and reached number 57 in the chart.

This research which I have conducted will enable me to help correctly inform the audience of my speech package as I have used several sites to ensure that my findings were accurate and precise.

QUESTIONNAIRE:

These results from my questionnaire show me what the listeners of my speech package would like to listen to. As a result of my questionnaire I can now produce a speech package which is appropriate for the target audience.

Websites I got the information from are:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am%E2%80%A6_Tour

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am%E2%80%A6_Sasha_Fierce

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shontelle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zarif

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destiny's_Child

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly_Rowland

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_Williams_(singer) 

Conclusion:
Once this information is combined together I can use the most appropriate bits and make a successful speech package to achieve my main purpose to inform and also my secondary purpose to entertain.

Overall my research enabled me to have:
* My personal experiences (as I had already seen the tour before I made this speech package)
* Appropriate music tracks
* Facts and statistics
* Iconic music tracks

Task 10: (P1, M1, D1)

Complete the appropriate health and safety paperwork.

As I do not need to visit any specific locations to make my speech package there are no safety risks as I will be staying on school property and using the professional equipment. Therefore there is no need to provide paperwork.

Task 11: (P1, M1, D1)

Create a short running order for your speech package.

Task 12: (P1, M1, D1)

The finished piece: 'The Beyonce "I Am..." Experience'.

Task 13: (P1, M1, D1)

Evaluation of my speech package

The primary purpose of my speech package was to inform, however the secondary purpose was to entertain. I feel that I achieved my purpose well as I incorporated facts about both Beyonce and Destiny’s Child; I also entertained my audience by adding a variety of music beds to my piece. Another additional reason why I feel that I achieve both of my original aims is that I played my speech package on my school’s radio station PGFM, I did this because me and my fellow presenter Niamh decided to host a show about feminism and pressure on women in the media industry and we both thought that my speech package was appropriate because Beyonce is known for her strong persona and is viewed as a role model for women, however I then asked the listeners to email me with their opinions and to also give me some criticisms too so that I would know how I would improve.

Overall I had a positive range of feedback. The majority of the emails stated that they found the speech package informative but in an informal, chatty way and due to this type of mode of address they stayed interested and did not become bored. Overall both my primary target audience, females aged 12-18, and my secondary target audience, males and females aged  18+, enjoyed the speech package and enjoyed it thoroughly. I feel that they understood my preferred reading, which was to inform them about Beyonce, Destiny’s Child and mainly Beyonce’s I Am.. Tour.

I gave entirely positive messages about Beyonce, Destiny’s Child and Beyonce’s tour. However if I were to recreate my speech package again then I would probably add some negative feedback about my personal experience at the I Am.. Tour. This would stop me being accused of being bias and unfair. My speech package included both male and female voices, I did this so that I would not be bias and also so that my speech package appealed to males as well as females. I did not include any different ethnic groups in my speech package; I would definitely include people of a different ethnicity. The only reason why I did not include them is because there are only White British people in my media class.

My chosen music tracks fit the mood of the piece very well. This is because I have used various Destiny’s Child songs when I have being discussing the bands career. Also to create a different mood to my piece I have chosen to use different Beyonce tracks which both have a slow and fast pace. I used quite simple language in my speech package as I thought this would be easier for my audience to listen to. I compared my speech package against another student’s to see how I could improve it. I chose a particular student’s because she had the main topic as Lady Gaga. Therefore I thought that similar conventions could be witnessed in both of the pieces.

I feel that I did well in regards to technical issues even though editing is not my strongest point. However in some points of the speech package the volume of the music seemed to drown out my voice. But on a positive note I had recorded my voice using the professional equipment in the radio station, therefore the recordings were of a high quality and this improved the situation. The reason why I have used a variety of music beds is to incorporate a range of variety for my speech package to help keep them interested throughout the entirety of the production. I have not used sound effects in my speech package because I did not think that it would be appropriate as sound effects are used more in radio dramas and did not suit the tine and purpose of my speech package.

The genre of my speech package was musical entertainment. Therefore the factors which would be typical for this genre would be a variety of music to express the different ways in which the artist uses his/her voice, a high quality of editing to ensure that an individuals voice is not drown out or cut off completely, and finally that the speech package achieved the specified objectives and aims. I feel that professional teams, which were making a speech package, which was similar to mine, would have several advantages above me. Examples of these advantages include that they would have more time to complete the task and therefore the end piece would be of a higher quality compared to mine. I also think that another strength they have is that they will have better editing software that means they could edit music and voice levels much more efficiently then I have.

My speech package did not include any theories such as Propp or Todorov, as they did not apply to the topic of the speech package. However it would be argued that I did use the Propp theory as the Sasha Fierce side of Beyonce could be viewed as the villain as she is more outrageous and aggressive, in contrast to this the I Am side of Beyonce could be portrayed as the damsel in distress character as she appears to be more sensitive, personal and vulnerable in comparison to Sasha Fierce.

I feel that I have improved on my editing skills as I made this speech package independently and therefore I did not have a lot of assistance from teachers or other students in this area. I think that the strengths of my performance are that I was confident in my idea and was passionate about the topic, which therefore meant I spent a lot of time making it exactly how I wanted it to sound like. However I think my weakness had to learn how to convert voice recordings of videos into the right format to put into the specific software I needed.