Evaluation

In our live TV quiz assignment there was a lot of areas of which we had to cover in a rather shot space of time.

During the course of the assignment there were a number of responsibilities which had to be carried out and dealt with. These were making a solid script along with questions and VT inserts, producing a fully finished set and seating, finding the talent, producing opening graphics, music and titles. Out of all of those tasks listed I was involved in all with the exception of the opening graphics and making the whole script.

Overall I feel my contribution was rather effective. My effectiveness was shown in the early stages of pre-production when our groups were brainstorming ideas for the round I came up with a lot of ideas and my creativity was praised by Jon Saward, also when thinking of questions to wrap the round up I contributed well. Furthermore I had to gather two VT inserts in the form of mp3 for our movie themed audio clips. In addition to this I was also useful in building the set and raised seating for the audience, often working when others were not. I helped to find the talent by suggesting we use someone from performing arts for the host, and that we split into groups and approach other media groups to see if they wanted to take part as panellists. I feel I could have spent more time on doing the VT inserts – e.g. making them sound better by editing them differently.

I learnt mainly practical skills in this project. For example use of multi-camera techniques – e.g. the correct terms for camera movement around the studio (e.g. crabbing, pan, tilt, etc.), also how to use the vision mixer and sound desk. I also learnt how to use the space in the studio effectively; by arranging it at an angle so we could use a greater variety of shots. This also made me more aware of health and safety issues – e.g. ease of access in case of fire. I already had most of the skills I needed for my work on the music and VT inserts. I struggled with the skills needed in making scripts – for example I struggled to estimate the duration of questions.

Overall the technical quality of our video was probably average. The quality of the images was mostly good, apart from a few camera wobbles. Some of the VT images were not high enough resolution. Sound quality was affected by the host shouting - causing the volume meter to peak. Some of the guests were too quiet too. Lighting was good, although some felt the blue on the set should have been darker. I can’t comment on the editing as I have not seen the final edited version yet.

I think that overall we produced a good example of the quiz show genre. Our research into shows like ‘QI’ and ‘Egg Heads’ helped us to understand the genre and to create similar opening titles. I think that if our target is the same sort of people who watch programmes like Mock the Week, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, etc (young adults and older who like quizzes based on popular culture, etc) then the programme would appeal to them.

The studio audience commented that they enjoyed the quiz, but that at times the pace was a bit slow. In future I would brief the host and talent to cut down on the talk between questions to increase the pace.

The things that went well included; the use of a wide range of camera angles and shots, the group’s teamwork and co-operation throughout the project, having a knowledgeable director (Peter) to guide us rather than being thrown in at the deep end, the vision mixing (especially in the second half of the show when they were quick to react to the directors commands), and both floor managers were well organised (e.g. quick and efficient to give instructions.)

Areas that did not go so well, and would need to be improved in future: Sound levels - the host kept shouting, if we had taken levels before the show but only asked the talent to speak in normal voice, if we had known he would shout we could have turned his mic down when needed. However, some of the guests were too quiet once the show started. They were loud enough in the sound check,but went quiet when the show started. We should have auditioned the guests before to make sure they were not going to be camera shy. Also the sound ‘crackled’ at times when the audience cheered so the audience mics should have been lower. It seems our sound check was not thorough enough to pick up these things. Also the air conditioning was also being picked up on the mics but we could not control this.

The VTs kept being cut short due to incorrect duration times on the script and gaps between each insert was too short. In future we could make the gaps a bit longer and try to measure the expected duration times more accurately. Also when audio tracks were being played it switched to the show’s logo when it should have stayed on the studio. This only happened in the first half, so the director should have been told whether it was an audio or video clip. The vision mixer should also know not to switch over. There was also a big gap between the host’s cue line and the VT starting. The person on the DVD player should keep closer track of the script in future.

As I said above there was too much talking between the talent and the host that was not relevant to the quiz which affected the pace of the show. The host did not make eye contact with the camera, and was often confused by the cue cards (covering up his face and/or his mic.) The talent and the host were often distracted by seeing themselves on the monitors, and were trying too hard to be funny (this led to them talking over each other,) and kept spinning on their chairs making it harder for the cameras to focus on them. In future we should have a rehearsal with the actual contestants and host (using different questions) so that we could advise them about staying focussed, about what sort of comments are expected for the show’s genre, and to get to them used to a studio environment. It would also have been useful to be able to communicate with the host so we could advise him to stay on course.

Finally, it would have helped if we had known our roles earlier, as this would have given us the chance to practise and prepare for them more thoroughly.

Overall I think our TV quiz went very well considering it was our first attempt. I have acquired a lot of new skills and understanding which will hopefully be useful if future projects.