1. A pitch for a radio feature, presented as part of a research portfolio. [Learning Outcomes 3, 5, 6, 8]
2. An independently created radio feature or series of short features (typically totalling 25 - 30 minutes), produced individually or in pairs. [Learning Outcomes 1-3 & 5-9]
3. An individual written critical evaluation of the finished programme. [Learning Outcomes 1, 4, 6, 7, 9]

This substantial project provides the opportunity for you to draw together all the practical experience and critical understanding you have acquired, of radio in general and of creative, 'built' radio features in particular. You negotiate with your supervisor at the start of the module the nature of the project and whether you will work individually or in pairs. Building on your preliminary exploration of form and practice in the Production 1 module in your previous semester you research and develop a brief for a full length radio feature or series of shorter features (typically totalling 25 - 30 minutes) and present that at the end of semester 1 in the form of a pitch to the rest of your peers and a 'commissioning panel' for discussion and feedback. After final refinements you take your project into production and post-production in semester 2. The culmination of the project is an extensive critical evaluation of your finished feature, which places it in the wider historical and contemporary context of creative feature making on radio.

Introductory lecture-workshop sessions discuss the theoretical context, establish, the parameters and revise and extend the basic techniques you bring to this project. Early in the module you negotiate the most appropriate terms for your project (working roles, outline treatment, length and scope of production). This is followed throughout the module with regular supervision and skills top-up if needed. Towards the end of the first semester there is a public feedback session in which you pitch your idea - as if in a professional situation - in the form of a summary of your proposal, illustrated with audio to communicate the style and pace you plan for the piece and an outline budget. The feedback informs your final brief for the feature(s), which you take into production and post-production, managing your own time and working independently. A further feedback session at the conclusion of your production informs the process of written evaluation, in which you bring your understanding of the theory and practice of radio feature making to bear on a detailed discussion of how effectively your feature communicates with its intended audience.

Portable minidisk kits
A range of microphones
Radio studios
Audio editing workstations
Audio playback equipment
Library resources

Beaman, J. 2000 Interviewing for Radio London: Routledge
Boyd. A. 2001 Broadcast journalism: techniques of radio and television news Oxford: Focal
Emm, A. 2001 Researching for Television & Radio London: Routledge
MacLoughlin, S. 1998 Writing for Radio Oxford: How To Books
McLeish, R. 1999 Radio production: a manual for broadcasters (4th edn) Oxford: Focal
Nisbett, A. 2003 The Sound Studio: audio techniques for radio, television, film & recording Boston, Mass: Focal
O?Donnell, L. et al 2003 Modern Radio Production: production, programming and performance Belmont, Ca:Wadsworth
Scannell, P. 1996 Radio, television and modern life : a phenomenological approach Oxford: Blackwell
Shingler, M. & Wieringa, C. 1998 On Air: methods & meanings of radio London: Arnold
Wilby, P. & Conroy, A. 1994 The Radio Handbook London: Routledge