TV YEAR TWO: assessment

Course Module: 

Convergent Journalism 2

I am looking for a 1minute news package, with cue, in and out words and duration all listed when you upload. 15 seconds more or less.

Deadline: 5pm Wednesday 15 December 2010.

The piece will be on any subject and suitable for a Kent-wide newspaper website that uses video for news stories. It can include a piece to camera if appropriate. It should have VO. There are no other restrictions on content and approach. 

You must shoot and edit the material yourself, though someone can help you shoot a piece to camera if you use one.

The assessment will be marked according to the following guidelines. Quality of journalism is the single most important factor.   

Pitch: 10 marks

You need to submit two pitches on paper to me in person before recording any material. The first will be a one par pitch. If that is approved, please give me a more detailed pitch of no more than half an A4 page. 

Journalism skills: 30 marks

For this assessment, the weighting is strongly towards how well you demonstrate your skills as a reporter. It takes into account the quality of your sources, the accuracy of your reporting, the angle you have chosen for your story, and its relevance to your audience. We will be looking at the quality of your scripting and whether you have shown can write to pictures. Your sequences must help tell the story.

Cue: 5 marks

Have you written a usable cue? Does your cue write into your story or does it give the whole story away before you have heard it? 

Technical competence: 20 marks

This assesses the quality of the material you have shot, and how well you work with FX, VO and pictures. 

Understanding of principles: 15 marks

Do you have a grasp of the principles of producing a television package? Have you chosen a story that works well for television? Does the choice of pictures and interviewee come out of the story you have actually found? Does the structure work? We will also be considering the pace and flow of the piece.

Presentation: 10 marks

Do you sound like a professional reporter? How well have you found your own broadcast voice?

Grammar and style: 10 marks

We are looking for crisply-written VO and soundbites that draw the viewer into the story. 

Total: 100 marks