1. A portfolio of edited packages and live sequences for radio and television with evaluative log [Learning Outcomes 2,3,4,5]
2. Essay [Learning Outcomes 1,3,4]

An introduction to the codes, conventions, practices and skills used in the creation of radio and television programmes. You will be introduced to the main theoretical concepts that are used to explain the ways in which radio and television communicate with their audiences and, in parallel practical sessions, you will explore how they work in practice. You will find out, and be able to articulate, the communicative effects programme makers aim for when they make decisions about: choice of words and language, selection and sequence of content, voice presentation, visual performance, shot composition, microphone position, lighting, location, found and added background sound, edit points and styles and audio fades and mixes. In doing this you will learn how to use location and studio equipment safely and effectively and also gain insights into techniques for control the way you appear and sound on mic and on screen. You will also practice expressing the abstract language of media communication in organised essay form.

Theoretical concepts are introduced in a series of lecture sessions and paper exercises, based around deconstructing a range of examples from radio and television and reading some introductory texts on media communication. This strand runs in parallel with a series of related practical workshops that introduce you to radio and television skills and techniques, individually and in groups. You are also introduced to techniques for evaluating your learning, which will enable you to develop a structured learning log throughout the module. By relating practical programme making skills with the concepts that are used to understand how they communicate with audiences you will become familiar a terminology with which they can be discussed and debated and this you put into practice with an essay, in which you summaris what you have discovered.

Baker, P. 1995 Making it as a radio or TV presenter : an insider's guide Judy Piatkus
Crisell, A. 1994 Understanding radio London : Routledge
Fiske, J. 1990 Introduction to communication studies London : Routledge
Hilliard, R. L. 2000 Writing for television, radio and new media London : Wadsworth
Kaye, M. & Popperwell, A. 1992 Making radio: a guide to basic broadcasting production and techniques London : Broadside Books
Millerson, G. 1993 Effective TV production Oxford : Focal Press
Scannell, P. 1996 Radio, television and modern life : a phenomenological approach Oxford : Blackwell Publishers
Shingler, M. & Wieringa, C. 1998 On air : methods and meanings of radio London : Arnold
Thompson, R. 1993 Grammar of the Edit Oxford: Focal Press
Thompson, R. 1998 Grammar of the shot Oxford: Focal Press
Trewin, J. 2003 Presenting on TV and Radio: An Insider's Guide Oxford: Focal

Library resources
Portable camcorder kits
Portable minidisk kits
Radio studios
TV studio with teleprompt
Video editing workstations
Audio editing workstations