The End of the Road?

April 2012

Well, here we are at the end of our journey.  How time flies when you're having fun.

My work based learning has been an absolute pleasure to undertake and has taught me some very valuable lessons and skills that I'm sure will be utilised in my future career.
These include (but are not limited to):

• Planning, delivering and evaluating events
• Communication 
• Research techniques
• Acting as ambassador for The BBC
• Editing
• Interviewing techniques
• Interpersonal and organisational skills
• Time management skills...........

• ..............and finally, working with children 

I have also recently undertaken training to operate the BBC Big Screen in Clayton Square, Liverpool and Exchange Square in Manchester.  This comprised a three day training course at Media City in Salford covering the following:

• Editorial compliance
• Health and safety
• Technical set up and operation

I am happy to say that I am still volunteering at BBC Radio Merseyside as Up For Arts Researcher and continue my employment as a duty manager at The Citadel Arts Centre.  I would love to further develop a career in broadcasting and this experience has opened up many possibilities which I intend to pursue fully.

I'm also thrilled to report that we have secured funding for Up For Arts until 2013. (Due in part I'm sure to my hard work and diligence compiling the end of year report!)

Finally, I would like to thank you for taking the time to join me on my journey of work-based learning.

It's been emotional.

                                                                       

The BBC Bus goes to Sankey

March 2012

Today we held a promotional event for Roger Phillips' forthcoming outside broadcast in Sankey.  As discussed in an earlier blog, we have already successfully held one of these events in Ainsdale last month.  The purpose of today was to raise awareness of the event to ensure that the forthcoming event was well attended.  The BBC Bus was taken to Sankey and parked in a central location for the day.

The primary objective was to engage with members of the public and to invite them along.
Many passing members of the public were curious about why the bus was there and ventured aboard to talk with us.  We also had promotional merchandise on board the bus which was generously distributed to members of the public.

We also visited (on foot) a number local churches, shops and community centres who were very interested and agreed to display promotional posters within their premises.

Overall I feel that today was very successful having generated a lot of interest and awareness.

I developed my interpersonal and communication skills by engaging with members of the public and local businesses.  It was  essential to be enthusiastic about the event and also to be able to accurately answer  specific questions regarding the event when asked.

Pictured below - The BBC Bus

Roger Phillips goes to Ainsdale

February 2012

Today saw the first of a series of Roger Phillips' outside broadcasts.  This is a recent initiative to attract new listeners from areas where our listener figures are low. Today's event was broadcast from Ainsale Methodist Church.

I was responsible for distributing BBC Radio Merseyside merchandise, photography and speaking with members of the public.  During the event, Roger's producer asked me if I would also assume responsibility for monitoring and distributing any email communications received from listeners in response to the show.

I had to manage my time effectively so that I could complete all tasks whilst regularly monitoring the BBC email account for incoming emails.  Also I had to answer questions from potential new listeners so I had to ensure that I was knowledgeable of the different programming slots and presenters.  Memory  and interpersonal were put to the test.  In addition my time managment was crucial in ensuring we had a quick turnaround following completion of the event (packing photography and merchandising material and assiting with technical duties).

Overall, I feel it was a very beneficial day as we sucessfully raised our profile and gained a few new listeners along the way.

I later received an email from both Roger Phillips and Mick Ord the Managing Editor, thanking me for my help and assistance during the day.

Valentine's Event at The Walker Art Gallery

February 2012

As Valentine's Day was just around the corner, Helen tasked me with sourcing a Valentine themed guest.  I was aware that The Walker Art Gallery were hosting a card making event and I duly ventured there with the BBC Radio Merseyside flash microphone.  I had arranged to meet with the event organiser to complete a brief interview and hoped to speak with a few members of the public also.

The event was well attended and I had to consider where would be most suitable for me to complete the interviews.  I have learned that ambient noise can be both positive and negative in terms of interviewing and recording.  Also it is sometimes difficult to gauge whether a room is too 'echoey' and also to be aware of people in the vicinity (people wheeling away trollies of crockery, crying children, etc.)  Therefore I opted to move slightly away from 'the hub' of the activities and into an adjacent gallery space where myself and the organiser completed a brief interview.
I then moved into the event space and asked a few parents and their children if it would be ok to ask them a few questions.  People were very keen to be interviewed, especially the children! 

It was of paramount importance that permission was sought from the children's parent or guardian before approachng a child and this was a primary consideration for me due to safeguarding issues.

Who was it that said 'don't work with children or animals'?  Following my experiences today I would be very much inclined to agree.  Ok, so there were no animals but my communication skills were certainly tested.  It is difficult enough getting an adult to answer my question with the actual question first (ie, 'what is your name?'....'my name is Nat.') but the children were a whole new ball game altogether.  I had to adapt my style very much and consider how they were likely to respond if I asked them to talk about something specific from the days event.  Thankfully (after a few minutes of trial and error) it worked a treat!

When it came to editing, my technical skills were challenged as I had not previously worked with more than three audio files - I had a total of ten from todays event.  With a few questions and a little perseverence, I completed the edit and managed to learn a few 'tricks' on the Radioman software that I will certainly retain for use at a later date.

I think that should I ever be required to interview children again, I have developed efficient communication methods to get the results I need, first time.  Also I am thrilled to have gained some new skills on the BBC's editing software and hopefully these will benefit me in editing future bulletins.

The interview and the edit were a roaring successs and even featured on Simon Hoban's drive time show the following week as part of his Valentine's day show.

Media Trust Sessions

January 2012

We regularly hold activities and events in the performance space at BBC Radio Merseyside.  These can be anything from photography lessons to Christmas card making.

As part of January's themed month which was 'volunteeer month' we asked a representative from The Media Trust to host two sessions teaching local voluntary arts and crafts groups how to prepare press releases, and maximise the potential of social networking.

I contacted local arts and crafts groups and invited them along to the event. Obviously it was necessary to promote the potential benefits of the course in order to gain people's interest.  This certainly developed my communication skills as the target audience was diverse, ranging from professional organisers to O.A.P.s running a local knitting club. This meant I had to alter my 'sales pitch' accordingly.

On the day of the first event, I was tasked with introducing the event and explaining health and safety issues.  Again, my communication and interpersonal skills were put to the test.  Also as the performance space at BBC Radio Merseyside is a public space, it was important to ensure that members of the public entering the building did not disturb the event.  It was necessary to advise members of the public entering the building that an event was in progress.  This seemed of no concern to one particular gentleman who had been visiting the BBC shop and attempted to disrupt the event.  It took all of my persuasive, interpersonal and communication skills to get him to leave the building, much to the admiration of my colleagues.

Here and Now at The Citadel

January 2012

At The Citadel this evening was 1970s psychedelic rock band Here and Now.  This event had proved to be very popular and was a sell-out event.  During my duty-management experiences at The Citadel I have learned that certain genres of music often attract a certain type of audience.  I have learned that is necessary to consider this when preparing to duty manage as it important to inform staff of any potential problems they might encounter and to put procedures in place to deal with these should they arise.

Throughout the evening I was present in the auditorium, overseeing the general running of the event and maintaing radiio contact with other staff.  There were two incidents where it was necesary to remove patrons from the building, however all staff were especially vigilant.  The safety of both staff and patrons is paramount at every event and some events such as this prove to be more of a challenge than others.

Whilst I found duty-managing this event to be quite a challenge, it taught me a number of lessons.
It helped to further develop my observation skills as it was imperative that I was vigilant at all times and able to respond to problems quickly and efficiently.  Also I developed my communication skills as it was important that I was able to communicate clearly to staff to advise them of any change to procedures or threats to general safety.

Up For Arts End of Year Report

December 2011

The Up For Arts project is funded by Voluntary Arts England and Liverpool Primary Care Trust.  As is the case for many organisations in this current climate, funding is regularly being withdrawn and therefore it is essential that we demonstrate the fantastic work that Up For Arts has achieved during 2011 in order to try to secure funding for another year.

Laraine Winning who heads the project at Voluntary Arts England had requested that we begin to compile all of our achievements during 2011 in the form of an end of year report highlighting our successes.

Fortunately my organisation skills were up to scratch and we consequently we had full details of all monthly events held during 2011, including feedback forms, photographs and case study examples.

In order to ensure that the report was detailed but punchy, I sought to discuss the more successful of our events (where we had received excellent feedback and had photographic evidence of the success of the event).  The compilation of the report was a particularly lengthy process and involved a lot of liaising with both Laraine and Helen.

Ensuring that you are organised is vital when compiling reports such as this.  It was necessary to be able to access all information 'at the drop of a hat' and to have full knowledge of the dates, locations and type of events held.  My time management skills were also put to the test as the report was required within a tight timescale (as is often the case for these things).

With collaboration from both Helen and Laraine, the report was duly finalised and forwarded to the relevant parties for their consideration.  Watch this space for news regarding whether funding has been successful...

Alzheimer's Month

December 2011

December was 'Alzheimer's Month' for the Up For Arts Team.  We had discussed the possibiltities of an event and initially we were unsure how to proceed with this.  One of our contacts at St Helens Council told us of a weekly karaoke event which is held at a local care home in Newtown-le-Willows.  Helen and I duly attended and met with the group and the carers.  It was very interesting to see how they used music to assist with memory and the positive response this prompted in the patients.  Consequently we took this as our theme and decided to host similar events ourselves as part of the themed month.

Helen and I were successful in securing 4 venues in Liverpool, St Helens, Southport and Birkenhead which we managed to negotiate for free.  I contacted local care homes in the respective areas and invited people to attend - the response from people was fantastic!

I attended the event at The Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool as the Up For Arts representative. My dutes involved managing the event, setting up the room, meeting and greeting and taking photographs.  It was also imperative that I was on hand to answer any queries.

This event definitely helped to develop my communication and presentation skills.  I was tasked with introducing the event and thanking the relevant parties (Alzheimer's Society, CHATS, etc) for their input and attendence.  One thing I had not accounted for was that the karaoke host had not been briefed on the format of the days event.  I therefore had to get my 'creative head' on as I felt that the event would have been a bit daunting for the attendees if we had run it in the 'traditional' karaoke format. 

I felt it would be prudent to have a 'sing-along' type event, rather than one person being responsible for singing the songs.  I spoke with the host and advised him of this and I also compiled a list of songs by taking requests from different tables and asking the host to play these.  People soon began to join in and before I knew it, everybody was singing along and there was a really fantastic atmosphere.
I made sure that I also spoke with many of the carers and attendees so that we could get feedback on what we had done well and what we could make better next time.  The response was overwhelming - people said that they hadn't enjoyed themselves as much in years and all of the carers stated what a pleasurable day they had enjoyed.  Indeed we received many requests for us to hold a similar event again in the future, which we hope to do.

I found that the skills gained from my duty management experience at The Citadel benefited me greatly during this event.  In particular, I felt that I was able to identify potential problems and re-prioritise at short notice when required.  There were many responsibilities that I had on this day and I feel that due to my organisational and event management skills in particular, the event was an success.

Photograph of the function room in The Adelphi Hotel during the set-up of the event:

Challenge Nickie - Children In Need

November 2011

In addition to my Up For Arts role, I am also keen to assist with other BBC Radio Merseyside events. I was asked by a colleague if I would be willing to join Nickie Mackay during 'Nickie's  Challenge' - a Saturday Morning feature where Nickie visits three different locations after receiving clues from the listeners ringing in to the show.  This challenge was slightly different than the usual format as it was a Children In Need special.

Basically between 11.00 - 19.00 we would visit a number of pre-determined locations all of which were hosting events to raise money for Children In Need. One of the events we attended during the day was a 'tattoo-athon' which took place at Sacred Fortune tattoo parlour in Mossley Hill where people were paying donations to have a permanent pudsey tattoo.  Other events included children's badge making at a local school and a sponsored 12 hour 'Zumbathon' at a leisure centre.  From all of the locations, we completed a live on air broadcast with the Saturday morning presenter Andy Ball.

The BBC Radio Car is utilised for this purpose as it allows for live broadcasts to be made. In the rear of the car all of the relevant broadcasting equipment is contained. The set up is quite straightforward with an initial call being made to the studio to ensure there was a connection, then once the connection had been established it was case of listening through headphones and communicating with the studio presenter via a microphone.

By assisting with this event I further developed my communication, time-management and technical skills  It was necesary to adhere to strict timescales as we had to arrive at each location with sufficient time for the equipment to be set up.  Also it was often necessary to liase with various people prior to and during the events.

A thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding day and a very interesting insight into 'taking the radio on the road.'

Pictured below, Nickie Mackay and the Radio Car:

Dodgy at The Citadel

November 2011

As discussed at the start of my blog, I also duty manage events held at The Citadel Arts Centre, St. Helens.  This evening there was a performance by 90's Brit-pop band Dodgy. 

The types of events that I duty manage can be varied, including poetry readings and psychic evenings, however they are predominantly music events.  My responsibilities when duty managing include:

• Liasing with artist/performer and their management
• Ensuring door and onstage times are adhered to
• Allocation of roles and responsibilties to my colleagues
• Overseeing the preparation of venue, including soundcheck and lighting

Ticket sales for this event had been building steadily in the weeks prior to the event and a large attendence was expected.  There were also two support bands and where this is the case, it is imperative that the soundchecks are effectivey managed as there is often an issue with the soundchecks over-running.  This can impact hugely on the smooth running of the event in terms of actual onstage times and managing customers expectations.

The Citadel has a strict curfew of 23.00 hours (much to a lot of artists disapproval!) If any event exceeds this curfew, the artist is liable to pay additional room hire  and all associated staff  and technical costs.  I ensure that I make this clear to all artists in a polite way prior to the event to avoid any confusion.

Duty managing demands a high level of interpersonal skills as it is necessary to deal with staff, artists and audience members alike. It also important to have the ability to re-prioritise at short notice as unforeseen circumstances often occur and must be dealt with quickly and efficiently to ensure that there is no disruption to the event.
 
Fortunately tonight's event was a success and all advertised on-stage times were adhered to.

My First Bulletin

November 2011

It was time to complete my first bulletin.  I  sourced a lady from a local choir that were seeking new members.  Setting up the studio equipment ready for the interview was surprisingly unproblematic, however the difficulties came when completing the actual interview.  All of this was new to me and whilst I knew what information I was seeking, it was difficult for me to obtain this first time round.  In order to guide the inerviewee it was necessary at times to interject and ask the interviewee direct questions.  In order for the bulletin to make sense it was vital that the interviewee responded to any questions by answering the question with the question.  For example, When do you rehearse? We rehearse on a Tuesday evening.  Otherwise the bulletin would not make flow or make sense.  It took a few attempts before the inteerview started to go well and it was soon completed.  It is important to very clear with interviewees about exactly what it is you require.  Also you need to take control and guide the interview whilst making the interviewee feel at ease. (Easier said than done!)

Editing the audio also took some practice and in total my first bulletin took me over two hours to complete. 
I encountered problems with ensuring that the music and the audio were at the correct levels.  Although it sounds quite straightforward it is intially very difficult.  Additionally,  the process of editing the audio was time consuming, however I feel that this is mostly down to my own interviewing techniques.

I have learned a lot from my first attempt at interviewing/editing.  It is imperative to be very clear and concise regarding the information that you require.  If you allow the interview to go off on a tangent, this makes the editing very problematic and ultimately serves to make the whole process much more difficult.  This is something that I must improve on in future interviews and I will now focus upon upon developing my communication skills.

I think that with more experience, I will begin to develop my own interviewing style that I am comfortable with and this will in turn assist me when editing as well.

I have been tasked with completing interviews on a weekly basis so there is sufficient opportunity for me to gain further experience and hopefully improve on my first outing.  It is not within the scope of this blog to update you on my progress for each subsequent interview, however I will post any further details that are of particular note.

Please find below exterior and interior photographs of Studio 2 at BBC Radio Merseyside:

Editing

October 2011

As I have mentioned in a previous post,  Helen had briefly discussed that she wanted me to assume responsibility for editing the Up For Arts audio on a weekly basis.  She explained that every Sunday during Maureen Walsh's morning show, an Up For Arts bulletin is featured.  The bulletin consists of a pre-recorded interview with a local arts and craft group who are usually promoting their group or seeking new members. 

Helen explained that the bulletin shoud last no longer than two and a half minutes and should be be edited so that only the interviewee's voice can be heard and should sound as though it is one flowing dialogue. Also, there is Up For Arts music that is played alongside the dialogue and a set outro which advises listeners of the relevant contact details should they require further information.  As well as editing the audio, it would also be  my responsibility to source the proposed interviewees and complete the interview with them.  Therefore it was necessary for me to have an understanding of how to use the studio equipment as well as the audio editing software.

Helen took me into one of the 3 studios and showed me how to set up the software and the systems so that they were ready for recording.   She also explained important issues such as ensuring that the interviewee was the the correct distance from the microphone and to ensure that the correct recording levels were set. The process of setting up the studio for the interview was relatively straightforward, however I intitially found the process of editing the audio to be very challenging.  I had never used the BBC's editing software and had only a basic understanding of other audio editing software.  It was necessary for me to have few practices, and the whole process was a bit daunting at first.  However as I became more familiar with the software I began to feel more at ease.

I understand that the process of creating a short bulletin such as this is not as straightforward as it may sound when hearing the completed bulletin on air.   There are a lot of different elements that go into the finished bulletin.and also a variety of problems that can occur.   I commence completing my own interviews next week and whilst I anticipate that I will encounter new problems, I am looking forward to the challenge of completing my first bulletin.