The red light comes on and you’re live on air to millions of listeners. That’s the experience we replicate on this immersive three-day course in broadcast production. For that added touch of reality, we install you in one of the state of the art studios at the BBC’s Pacific Quay Glasgow headquarters.
You also explore the newsgathering process, producing video and radio reports for the evening news. There will be nowhere to hide as you work in groups filming, scripting and editing to tight deadlines.
And, from fairy tales to Star Wars, what makes a great story? In a workshop on narrative, we will uncover the essence of compelling storytelling and how to apply it to your own research.
Whether in the humanities, the arts or sciences, communicating your research matters. In this workshop we explore how to formulate your messages in ways that are relevant, fresh and engaging for diverse non-specialist audiences. This is not a straight media training course. We aim to go deeper than that by critiquing the processes by which ideas pass from academia to the living room. We cast you as the journalists, programme-makers and exhibition designers, bringing you face to face with the practises and pitfalls of the mass media.
There is a strong emphasis on group work, requiring an open mind and a willingness to get stuck in. There is a significant distance-learning element to the course three weeks before you arrive. Think carefully before signing up to this workshop. You will be required to complete around five hours worth of pre-planning online. This will be in a group structure meaning that it will not be possible to opt out of the course once the pre-workshop tuition is underway.
Aims and Objectives:
• to give a first hand insight into how the media works
• to practise media techniques like interviewing, scriptwriting and editing
• to acquire a renewed, savvy attitude to the media and wider engagement
List of Learning Outcomes. By the end of this workshop, students should be able to:
1. To identify and engage with media techniques such as interviewing, scriptwriting and editing
2. To identify the various ways in which those in the research community engage with the public
The course leader is Gareth Mitchell of Imperial College London and BBC Radio.
Pre-course work
In the weeks leading up to the course, participants will be expected to collaborate online, preparing for the radio session at the BBC. With help from the course leader, tasks will involve programme planning, script writing and basic journalistic research. The involvement expected will amount to about five hours per delegate during the pre-course phase.
This workshop will run on Thursday 19th April and Friday 20th April from 9.30am – 5.30pm in St Leonard’s Hall, Pollock Halls, and on Saturday 21st April from approximately 10am – 1pm at the BBC Studios in Glasgow. For more information see here
