TV and Radio Organizations

For the BC1001 'roles and processes' module we have been required to look at various organizations within the media. We have looked at a few within class but primarily have been asked to research them in our own time. The following blog will look at a selection of companies I have been looking at.

The BBC

The British Broadcasting Company, most commonly known as the BBC is a public service broadcaster established by the Royal Charter and is the largest Broadcasting Company in the world. It is funded by the licence fees of British home owne rs in the UK, and its mission is to enrich people’s lives with programmes and services, that inform, educate and entertain. Its main vision is to become one of the most creative organizations in the world. This is something the BBC has always aimed to do since it was founded in 1922, and it's since come a long way now providing 8 national TV channels as well as regional programming, 10 national radio stations, 40 local radio stations and ever expanding internet based medium.

The BBC also has international services (funded by the government) broadcasting to the world on radio, TV and online as well as a commercial arm 'BBC World Wide' which operates from a range of businesses by selling programmes and merchandise.

Managing the day to day operation of the corporation is the BBC's executive board, chaired by Director General Mark Thompson and governing the BBC is the 'BBC Trust', chaired by Sir Michael Lyons.

BBC Director General Mark Thompson

Chairman of BBC TRUST Sir Michael Lyons

It should also be noted that the BBC have strict guidelines in relation to health and safety, with guidance in certain aspects of health, safety, security and environmental management.

BBFC

The British Board of Film Classification is an independent, non-government related company that has specialized in classifying films since its establishment in 1912, as well as also classifying videos since the passing of the Video Recording Act in 1984. Whilst the BBFC's main job is to classify film's the statutory powers on film remain with the local councils who may overrule any of the board’s decisions. They can therefore pass films that the Board had rejected and vice versa or even altering categories for films exhibited under their own licensing jurisdiction.

After the 1984 Video Recording Act was passed by parliament it was stated that any video recordings that were for sale or renting purposes must be classified by the board. It was from then on that the BBFC would test suitability for viewing at home and therefore would classify films for certain ages (as shown below). It was from this point on that the BBFC would change their name from the British Board of Film Censors, to the British Board of Film Classification as they felt that classification played a far larger part in the boards work than censorship.

BBFC Certification System

U - Suitable for ages 4 and over
PG - Parental Guidance
12 - Suitable for ages 12 and over
12A - Anyone under the age of 12 needs to be accompanied by an adult
15 - Suitable for ages 15 and over
18 - Suitable for ages 18 and over
R18 - Restricted 18. Only to be shown in licensed cinemas and sold in licensed shops

BARB

The Broadcasters Audience Research Board (commonly known as BARB) is an organisation responsible for providing official measurement of television audiences throughout the UK. They commission specialist companies to provide the audience measurement services on its behalf (these include Ipsos MORI, RSMB etc.).

BARB is responsible for providing estimates for a number of people that watch Television throughout the UK. This includes the channels and programmes different people watch, as well as the type of people watching at any one time. The data collected is received second by second and is then reported on a minute by minute basis for channels received within the UK. This data is available for reporting nationally (specifically on News Broadcasts) for terrestrial, satellite and cable reception in both analogue and digital platforms.

This works by using estimates obtained from 5100 specially selected television owning households within the UK, with each person representing around 5000 of the UK population. With 25+ million TV owning households in the UK, these results definitely vary and cannot always be considered especially accurate. This is simply because not everyone can have the same taste in TV programmes and also have different lifestyles, as well as that it should also be noted that the service only covers people in private households.

RAJAR

RAJAR (or Radio Joint Audience Research) are the radio equivalent to the television measurement service BARB, operating audience measurement for the radio industry. They work for most radio broadcasters, including the BBC, UK licensed services and other commercial stations. The company is owned by RadioCentre (the CRCA), the trade body representing commercial radio stations in the UK as well as the BBC. This means that any decisions made by RAJAR need to be agreed with both parties before being approved.

Like BARB, RAJAR is primarily a research company and a lot of their time goes into finding out what audiences want and what they believe could make the stations they listened too better. To do this they interview approximately 13000 people (over the age of 15) plus around 5000 children within 50 weeks, as well as collecting a majority of surveys. Currently, there are about 340 radio stations measured by RAJAR, about 60 of them being BBC stations.

PACT

The Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television (PACT) is a trade association that specialises in promoting and representing the commercial interests of a number of independent features. These include independent television, feature film, animation as well as new media production companies. To make sure it ensures peoples interests and aspirations the organisation is fronted by a council, all of whom are elected by members of PACT.

Pact actively lobbies government and regulators on rights and other business issues and devises and executes policy initiatives across TV, film, interactive media, children's and animation programming.

Ofcom

Ofcom stands for the Office of Communications, an independent organisation that regulates the UK's broadcasting, telecommunications and wireless communication sectors. Their main aim is to set and enforce fair rules for companies within these industries to follow.

A brief outlook at their main legal duties (as set by the Communications Act 2003) are to ensure the following:-

- The UK has a wide range of electronic communication services (in particularly high speed information services like Broadband);
- A wide selection of high quality Television and Radio programmes are provided, appealing to a range of tastes and interests;
- People who watch television and listen to the radio are protected from harmful and offensive material;
- People are protected from being treated poorly and having their privacy invaded by TV and radio programmes, &
- To make sure that the radio spectrum is used fairly and in the most effective way.

Ofcom is funded by fees from the industry and a government funded grant and whilst they may answer from the government they seem keen to stress that they are not actually part of it.

Their Broadcasting responsibilities are to licence all UK commercial television and radio services. These include all current TV channels and radio stations, digital radio services such as Freeview, Sky and Virgin Media as well as all digital radio stations, internet TV services like HomeChoice, Public Teletext and finally, community radio. All of these must follow a Broadcasting Code which sets out rules that television and radio broadcasters must follow. This is all too help set standards that will protect people under the age of 18 from unsuitable material whilst at the same time allowing broadcasters to have an appropriate amount of creative freedom.

ASA

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) are the regulators of advertisements, sales promotions and any form of direct marketing throughout the UK. They make sure standards remain high by applying advertising codes. Their aim from this it to make sure that they can stop misleading, harmful and offensive advertising as well as making sure sales promotions are run fairly.

To do this they require the public’s assistance and investigate people’s complaints about offensive or misleading material. They also monitor ad’s themselves to help spot any problems as well as researching into many areas. These include research into people’s attitudes towards various advertisements as well as compliance with the advertising standards codes within specific areas of media.

The Advertising Standards Codes are separated into separate codes for TV, Radio and all other types of advertisement. This also applies to Teletext ad’s, interactive ad’s and even Television scheduling ad’s although there are some ad’s that the ASA doesn’t look into (for example, TV and radio sponsorship etc). There are specific rules for certain products and marketing techniques. These specific rules are used for alcoholic drinks, health and beauty, children, motoring, environmental claims, gambling, direct marketing and prize promotions.

Sound, Microphones and Vox pops

To get us prepared with the various projects we have to do over the coming weeks, we have been learning about sound and how to record it. This has included a basic look into what sound actually is, a rather in depth look into the different types of microphones, as well as showing (and reminding) us how to record and use the basic functions of the sound program 'ProTools'. Within this blog I will include my basic knowledge of what sound is from the notes I wrote in lesson backed up by some minor research from the Internet in which i have used to give me a better understanding. I will also review my first few attempts at collecting and recording Vox Pops as well as using the equipment and 'ProTools'.

What is Sound?!

Sound is a change in pressure levels which in turn becomes vibrations. These vibrations travel through solids, liquids and gasses and at the right frequency's can be heard by humans. Sound travels through these matters as two types of wave, longitude and transverse. Longitude waves are waves that go parallel to their direction of travel where as transverse travel in oscillations (or ripples). A wave can basically be translated as a disturbance or variation in frequency.

Sound is measured in decibels (dB) and Hertz (Hz). Decibels are otherwise known as SPL (Sound Pressure Levels) or basically explained as amplitude/volume. Hertz is otherwise known as CPS (Cycles Per Second) or instead is basically Frequency/Pitch.

Random Facts: -
- The speed of sound is approximately 343 m/s (767.3 mph).
- Humans hearing is limited to frequencies between about 20 Hz and 20,000 Hz (20 kHz).

We also discussed Young's Modulus which is basically what happens to waves during compression and rarefaction. We looked at 'Bass roll off' and 'High frequency cut', the first in which cancels out the lower sounds and the latter in which cancels out higher sounds. We discussed 'In phase' and 'Out of phase', the first being where two frequency's work in tangent with one another and the latter being where two frequency's cancel one another out. Lastly we looked at the 'Doppler effect', the sound of a moving object to a stationary object.

In Phase/ Out of Phase

The Doppler Effect

Microphones

A microphone is a transducer that converts sound energy into an electrical signal.

There are two main types of microphone: -

Dynamic (Moving Coil) - A versatile Microphone, ideal for general use. They are relatively sturdy and resilient to rough handling. They are also better suited to handling high volume levels, such as from certain musical instruments or amplifiers.

Condenser (Capacitor) - Condensers also tend to be more sensitive and responsive than dynamics, making them well-suited to capturing subtle nuances in a sound. They are not ideal for high-volume work, as their sensitivity makes them prone to distort. A common power source for Condenser microphones is known as Phantom Power (commonly labeled as +48v).

Our further induction into microphones involved learning about the 'Proximity Effect', an effect that occurs when an increase in low frequency occurs the closer you get to the mic. Furthermore, this effect is combated by the 'Bass Roll off'. We also learned about the different types of condenser, ones with a large diaphragm and one with a small. The large diaphragm allows for better sustained sound whereas the smaller is better for transient sound. Dynamic microphones however soften transient sound.

Lastly we learned about Polar Response Patterns, a series of patterns that show the direction which sound can be received from a microphone.

Omni Directional

Uni Directional (Cardioid)

Hyper Cardioid

Shotgun

Bi-Directional (Figure of Eight)

Vox Pops

Being on a BTEC media course before the degree I did already have a little experience collecting Vox pops. Albeit when i did have to collect them it was only from a small selection of people (most of which I already knew) and whereas I was originally rather confident beginning this project, I soon found collecting the vox pops rather troubling.

Before we started we had to learn how to use the recording equipment, which included a FOSTEX FR Field Recorder and a Sony Mini Disk Player. Once again, I had learned the basics of these within the BTEC course and within time I started to pick it up rather well. There was some hiccups trying to get the equipment to work but we eventually got going and settled into the role's of sound men. My personal preference for recording would have to be the FOSTEX, as it not only records with a better quality but also looks a lot more professional. With three of us being in for this session, one of us had to remain with the FOSTEX (which had to remain plugged to a power supply in class, due to a lack of batteries) whilst the rest of us would go in search of people throughout the college.

FOSTEX FR Field Recorder

Before this however, we had to come up with a decent question to ask people on the chosen subject of 'Weston's Grand Pier'. I came up with a few idea's but decided to settle on a question regarding the piers development and what people's opinions were on its future. I thought this question would allow more response from people, as it seems more of an important subject considering the piers current state. The other two guys in class were also using questions that focused more on the pier before its demise, which further convinced me to research peoples opinions on a new piers development.

Once we had our questions ready and our recording equipment set up, a few of us went in search of people to get some vox pops (as well as bringing some back to class for use of the FOSTEX). This is where everything rather abruptly came to a halt for me as I soon realised it wasn't as easy as I'd originally thought it would be. This wasn't particularly an issue with confidence because whilst I may have struggled in the past, over the last few years my confidence has become a lot better. I have no real fear of speaking up or standing in front of people, although when it came to stopping passers by I couldn't really get it together and do it. I feel the main reason for this was because these were college students and teachers, people that I knew from experience wouldn't really have the time for a question (let alone being brought back to class). In short, whilst i had the confidence I feel i perhaps worried a little too much about people's response and therefore didn't really try. I did manage to get around 8 Vox pops, but this was mainly from approaching teachers, friends and other people that I knew.

The next time we experienced vox pops I was more determined to keep focused and approach people. Albeit this isn't really my forte and admittedly I'm not very good at it, but I was still set on giving it a good try and with this time being outside of college and actually with the public I felt it was a lot easier to approach people. The only slight problem I had with this was having to work in partners (due to only two recorders between four of us) as it limited our time, didn't give us a more thorough experience and ultimately didn't work out for me in the end. It also felt more intimidating going up to the people in pairs, and it seemed like my partners insecurities were holding me back and vice versa. Nevertheless we still went at it and my partner got through his vox pops first reasonably quickly and with good confidence. When it came to my turn, I was confident but wasn't half as quick and seemed to be approaching the wrong people. They all seemed to be turning me down for various reasons and I soon lost my enthusiasm for it. I did manage to get a good few voices in the end, but unfortunately the recorders battery ran out and had to finish early. As it turns out the battery for the microphone also ran out earlier on and therefore meant I hadn't picked up any sound for my last few people (which as it happens probably gave the best answers). Just one of the many problems that can be encountered I guess.

All in all, I don't think collecting vox pops is exactly one of my better personal attributes and given the chance I would much rather just hold the microphone while the presenter did the job of finding and talking to people. However I would like another chance eventually to try and combat this problem and I hope I can try and do better for a future project.

Websites used for research: -
http://www.mediacollege.com/audio/microphones/dynamic.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound

Soundscape

In my first semester of the Broadcast Media Fda I am required to complete three modules. These are BC1001 'Roles & Processes', BC1002 'Intro to sound', and BC1003 'Group Audio Project'.

After a brief explanation into what these modules require I wasn't too shocked at the amount of work that was expected of me. However upon reading the handbooks in more detail I found I had a lot more to accomplish in a little amount of time, and having since experienced trying to collect various amounts of data from people (i.e. Vox Pops etc.) I now know it's not going to be as easy as I'd originally thought.

After our first day of the course which was primarily based on informing us of what's to come, we were more thoroughly informed on our first projects. To begin with we were introduced to the idea of soundscapes and what were required to do for our own soundscapes. From this I learnt that a soundscape is basically a combination of different sounds that when collected together create the sound of a particular environment. For our project we would be required to find, record and edit our own soundscapes.

After learning about soundscapes I did some research on them, in particularly the works and readings of the composer R. Murray Schafer who has played quite a key role in the research and studies of Soundscapes.

The man himself, R. Murray Schafer.

According to Schafer there are three main elements of soundscapes, as quoted below;

'Keynote Sounds: This is a musical term that identifies the key of a piece, not always audible… the key might stray from the original, but it will return. The keynote sounds may not always be heard consciously, but they “outline the character of the people living there”(schafer). They are created by nature (geography and climate): wind, water, forests, plains, birds, insects, animals. In many urban areas, traffic has become the keynote sound.

Sound Signals: These are foreground sounds, which are listened to consciously. Ex: warning devices, bells, whistles, horns, sirens, etc.

Soundmark: This is derived from the term landmark. A soundmark is a sound which is unique to an area. “Once a Soundmark has been identified, it deserves to be protected, for soundmarks make the acoustic life of a community unique”(schafer)'

Wikipedia search for Soundscape. [Online] available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soundscape [Accessed 07.10.08]

Albeit, this was only basic research to further expand my knowledge on what soundscape was and as always Wikipedia isn't the best online source for research. It did however list a good amount of reference's, most of which were book titles and given the chance in the future I will try and look at one or two of these. It also provided me with a variety of links to other websites and soundscape samples which gave me a better idea of what I would be required to do later when creating my own. One website provided by greenmuseum.org and entitled 'voice of the planet' listed a selection of Soundscape artists, with further information regarding the artists themselves and more insight into soundscapes (although unfortunately wouldn't allow me to play any audio files). Another website I looked at focused on the 'World Soundscape Project', an educational research group established by (once again) R. Murray Schafer that together aimed to draw attention to the increase in noise pollution. Most interestingly though was from the website Speakerson.net which gives access to a soundscape based around London's Battersea Park and mixes it with minimal flash graphics.

The WSP group in the churchyard, Dollar (Scotland), 1975. Left to right: R. M. Schafer, Jean Reed, Bruce Davis (standing), Peter Huse, Howard Broomfield.

Whilst still at an early stage in the project I have been thinking of some ideas for my own soundscape. One idea of mine was to do an 'autumn' scene where I could collect together the various sounds you would hear on a typical dreary day (i.e. Rain, Wind, Rustling leaves etc.). I already have some doubts about this idea, as I believe it wouldn't allow for much development and feel i would run out of sound ideas quickly into the project. I also feel that this would cause some trouble when using the equipment, and recording the various weather sounds wouldn't be too plausible. My second idea is a 'Work' scene which as you would have it came to me when working at WH Smiths this past weekend. As I was tidying around the store I started to notice all the various sounds that can be heard within a shop and it got me thinking how it would work well as a soundscape. The variety of sounds that I could record (e.g. Customers, Tills, Children etc.) wouldn't have to come from the one place and I could also do some audible research whilst working there every weekend (and I know now that with Christmas coming, the sounds will be especially vibrant).