'AS LIVE' PRODUCTION: Project Evaluation

Pre Production

From the beginning I knew I wanted to do a style show - but the exact subject matter of the show was still undecided. Through research with Melissa and feedback from Helen, we decided on a fashion chat show to show the non-mainstream side of fashion. To inform our idea and come up with a solid structure and ideas for the show's content, I looked through fashion magazines (such as Vogue and Elle magazine), channels on Youtube and existing fashion programmes on TV such as How To Look Good Naked. We ended up pitching a show with a 'Trends of the Week' section, a 'Not on the High Street' section, a 'Very Vintage' section and a 'Digging Through the Wardrobe of...' section. To strengthen the idea, we also thought of components such as the type of presenters, type of set, camera set up and technical elements of the show. All of this together meant that our pitch was strong enough to be commissioned.

Although our pitch contained ideas for the show's content, we wanted to ensure we had the strongest content we could. This meant hosting production meetings and splitting people into groups to research content - this would then be narrowed down to form our final four segments for the show. Hosting production meetings as producer helped to improve my confidence. As producer you need to be assertive and be able to manage the production meetings. In these meetings I gave out my ideas and gave out tasks (such as the research tasks) to the crew and listened to their feedback - I learnt the importance of delegating tasks.

Once all research had been done, I held another production meeting alongside my co producer Melissa to share the finalised content and sections with the different production teams so that they could begin to work on their specific areas of the production whilst we worked on the script. The final segments of the show were to be:
- 'Styles of the Season' which was developed from our 'Trends of the Week' idea but with more structure. Initially we had just pitched for the presenters to talk through the top trends of the week with a VT exploring where these trends could be found for the best price. This developed into 'Styles of the Season' where the presenters discuss 2 trends for each gender before showing a specific trend for each gender on and older and a younger model on the catwalk - followed by a VT where one presenter takes on the challenge of buying the other presenter an outfit.
- 'Fashion Fails' which was a new idea pitched during the research stage of the production meetings. This involved an audience section where contributors share their fashion fails and was accompanied by a VT exploring the topic of receiving the wrong item of clothing online.
- 'Old To New' which was loosely based on our 'Very Vintage' section. Initially we pitched to explore vintage / retro fashion, but it was suggested through the teams' research that we should look more into old fashion trends coming back into fashion. The studio section of this part features a discussion between the presenters about 'dad shoes' - a trend which has come back into fashion - before a VT explore further fashion trends coming back intro style through a fashion shoot format.
- 'DIY' which was developed from our 'Not On The High Street' segment - instead of going to independent stores we interviewed an independent seller who sells goods on Etsy and follow her make a top in the accompanying VT.
- 'Mystery Guest' - this was new segment which was thought of during a meeting with Del. The idea behind this segment was that the show needed to be more entertaining and exciting to match the target channel of E4.

Through the development of the segments it was important as producer to keep in contact with the rest of the production team so that any changes and updates were finalised by myself and Melissa. I learnt that as producer it is important to delegate responsibilities to others whilst ultimately remaining in control to ensure the vision of the programme remains in line with the brand of the programme (a fashion chat show exploring anti-mainstream fashion trends and topics) and remains appropriate for the target channel (E4).

The main job I had as producer during the pre production stage was developing the script. I did the first half of the script whilst Melissa did the second half. The first draft of the script was very rough as  we hadn't yet confirmed our presenters or contributors - once we had confirmed these we developed the script to tailor it towards them and make it more personal and therefore more relatable for the audience. The one thing I struggled with was developing the mission statement for the show - I already knew in my head what the show was about which made it difficult to think what the audience would need to know about the show.

As well as developing the script, I kept in constant communication with the other production teams to approve and finalise their content - e.g. I had to approve the VTs, promo materials, music to be used in the show, the graphics, the set design etc.

As producer I was also involved with the talent on the show - I sat in on the auditions for the presenters and approved the casting decisions for the models and other contributors - this was to ensure they fit the tone of our show. We wanted one of our presenters to be the fashion expert and the other to be a bubbly personality - through a couple of rounds of auditions, we managed to get these characteristics in our presenters.

Production

During the rehearsals and transmission it was my role to ensure they ran smoothly. I had to ensure all crew and talent were on set and ready and that rehearsals ran to time - rehearsals running to time (i.e. beginning and finishing on time) was very important as the transmission had to be exactly 30 minutes long so it was good to practice the show to these exact timings. We had several rehearsals which ran to exactly 30 minutes and the transmission itself ran to 30 minutes - this was due to our organisation as producers and the organisation of the production assistants who were in charge of the running order of the show.

As well as running the rehearsals, I had ensure the talent were kept happy. This meant greeting them at the beginning of the day and ensuring they had everything they needed - then at the end of the day making sure they left happy and on board with the project.

During the transmission of the show I needed to be on hand in the gallery for if any of the segments ran over. During the live show, all of the segments ran roughly to time, however, in the rehearsals the Steals of the Season segment often overran and I would have to make the decision to cut the time from the interview segments instead. To keep the show running on time, I checked the timings with the production assistants every time the show went to VT so that we could work out where to cut timings as soon as we knew there was an issue. This system worked well as this meant myself and Melissa kept on top of the timings so that the show did not over run.

As well as keeping an eye on the timings of the show, I needed to be on hand to the presenters over talk back if they needed any additional information. Myself and Melissa created background information packs on all talent involved in the show so that we knew all the facts about them and could prompt the presenters with information during the catwalk or interview segments if they needed it. We didn't end up needing to use these background information packs during transmission but it was good to be prepared. We also needed to be on hand for if any contributors on the show swore during live transmission - fortunately they didn't but we would have had to get the presenters to issue an apology on air if anyone had swore to avoid legal issues.

Post Production 

The post production element of this project was very limited as the show was edited live by the vision mixer. If an edit was required, as producer I would collaborate with editor to ensure vision has been fulfilled.

To ensure the programme was being put together as intended, I watched the director and vision mixer through rehearsals and fed things back to director if I thought anything needed to be changed. e.g. during a rehearsal of Bonnie's section, we realised a close up of the dress on the mannequin would work well to show the audience the detail of her design - we fed this back to the director and they included the shot in the live transmission. I will approve the final version of the show.

My final job as producer will be to ensure the talent get a copy of the production and thanking them again for their time on the production.

Strengths
- There was good liaison with the different teams to get the outcome we wanted - I provided feedback to the content they produced to ensure everything fitted with the tone of our show.
- The show ran to time and was exactly 30 minutes - this was due to good liaison with production assistants in gallery, during every VT I checked how the timings were with the production assistants to see if any content needed to be extended or cut.
- Visuals aided narrative of production - communication with directors through the rehearsals enabled this to happen. We were able to run through the show multiple times and feedback to the directors if I thought additional shots would aid the production of the show.
- The fashion fails segment went very well despite being the least rehearsed part of the show - as we didn't rehearse with our contributors for this section before hand, the live version was the one chance to get it right and it went very smoothly. In rehearsals when blocking out this section, the camera movements were a bit shaky but this was rectified for the live show.
- The set was more complex and looked more professional than initially pitched - the constant communication with the set design team allowed for them to construct a more complex set which helped to improve the quality of the show and transform it from a student production to a professional production.
- I think the script tuned out very well and helped to set the tone of our show as a friendly, conversational show that provides informative style advice. I learnt that not everything needed to be scripted - script the introduction, factual information, questions / direction for interviews and the round up for the programme. I think the script was strong, especially as I hadn't written a studio script before.

Weaknesses
- In some cases I wasn't assertive enough - I had concerns that our first drag queen would drop out due to school commitments and this is exactly what happened causing the stress of finding a new drag queen in a short amount of time. We did end up with the best drag act for our show but we could have secured them much sooner if we had extended our initial casting search for drag queens.
- The script was developing right up until the week of production which wasn't ideal - although my research showed that this is usual practice in the live TV industry to keep the script topical, it would have been easier for the crew if the script didn't change between each rehearsal. We had set ourselves deadlines for the script, however, we did push these back when we should have been stricter with ourselves.
- The trailer was weak compared to the other components - I should have communicated my concerns with the promo team earlier so that they could resolve the issues in the trailer (such as lack of atmospheric sound and sound effects)

What could I develop?
- In future I need to put my leadership and management skills into practice more and be more assertive. I feel that I lacked confidence in some of my ideas (such as finding a new drag queen) meaning that stressful situations were caused where they could have been avoided.
- In future I need to stick to pre production schedules. I pushed back some script deadlines to allow more time to write the script when I should have stuck more closely to them to allow everyone to become more familiar with the script before the rehearsals and transmission.
- In future I need to ensure my communication extends to all departments. I kept constant communication with the VT teams to ensure these matched the tone of the show but my communication with the promo team could have been better to ensure they implemented the feedback given.

Conclusion

Overall I think the production was a success. Our content developed significantly from our original pitch which worked for the best. Initially when Helen and Del suggested we focus our efforts on researching and developing the content I was hesitant as I thought sticking with our original ideas would allow people to get straight on with their production roles. However, focusing on developing the content before focusing on our individual roles was definitely the best idea as this allowed us to get together some strong content material and still allowed enough time for people to work with this material within their production roles to get the best result. The communication between myself and Melissa and the directors ensured that they directed the show with visuals which matched our content ideas.

I have learnt that being a producer is a bigger role than it first appears - as well as thinking of the idea for the show, you need to stick with it all the way from conception to completion and approve all developments along the way as well as developing the script. Other skills I developed as producer include: good time management and organisation to ensure crew and talent are on set for rehearsal and that rehearsals run to time, creative skills in terms of scripting, good communication skills with talent and crew etc.

'AS LIVE' PRODUCTION: Final rehearsals and Transmission

After yesterday's rehearsals we reminded everyone that call time was 9 (for both crew and cast) and rehearsals start at 9:30. Some crew were late getting in so myself and Melissa had to ensure everyone got set up quickly to ensure we could start rehearsals on time. I went around all the cameras to check that they were set up and ready with no technical issues and that all their batteries were on charge. I then checked to see if we had the contributors - we didn't have all of them so I found stand ins and ensured the sound team mic'ed them up.

We managed to start rehearsals on time. Myself and Melissa sat in the gallery to oversee the team and to be on hand for if timings needed to be amended.

Rehearsal 1

- The audience runners were briefed on when to hold up the applause signs. Applause for presenters in beginning, applause for Bonnie interview, applause for Sapphire's performance and interview, and then applause throughout the round up.
- The 2 shot at the beginning of the show was amended after this rehearsal to include both the presenters but also the Steal The Style logo to the right of frame which was previously cut off in shot.

Rehearsal 2

- We noticed in this rehearsal that the graphics for Styles of the Season only say the name of the store and the price. This is because the graphic is positioned next to the clothing item it is referring to - however, it would make it even clearer to have the item mentioned on the graphic as well. We fed this back to the graphics team and resolved this for the live show.
- We also amended the graphic for Bonnie from online seller to Fresh Air & Buttons - the name of her business.
- We fed back to the director and camera department that it would be good if there was a close up of Bonnie's dress on the mannequin as she talks about it to allow the audience to see the detail in the dress. This was amended for the next rehearsal and the live show.
- We also amended the wording of one of Adeline's questions in the DIY interview. The question was "What would you say to people who are hesitant to buy DIY?" - however, this doesn't actually make sense. It should be either "What would you say to people who are hesitant to buy handmade clothing?" or whether they are hesitant to make DIY clothing themselves. We changed it to whether people are hesitant to buy handmade clothing as this is what we intended with the question but we just got the wording wrong.

Rehearsal 3

- The presenters were cued slightly late after the title sequence - this was amended for the live show.
- The PMW did not match with any of the other cameras - but this is due to all the other cameras being EXCAMs and therefore having different settings. We looked at this after the rehearsal and the camera operators managed to get the image matching the others as best they could.

These rehearsals all went very well and were all recorded so that if we needed to edit any of the live show footage afterwards, we had 3 good takes to choose from.

The Live Show

The live show ran very smoothly with very little mistakes. Myself and Melissa were sat in the gallery on hand to amend timings and provide extra background information if the presenters required it. Whenever the show went to a VT, we checked with Jemma / Victoria how the timings were and whether anything needed to be cut / added. The show ran to time with only a couple of seconds needing to be added / taken away from segments. The intro and Styles of the Season over ran slightly by a few seconds but this evened out during the links between segments which under ran slightly.

The presenters did not require any more background information and did not swear during the broadcast - this meant that myself and Melissa did not need to communicate with them on talkback.

After the show, myself and Melissa thanked the contributors and ensured they had their expenses paid by the production manager / assistant producers. We will send all the contributors a copy of the show.

'AS LIVE' PRODUCTION: Liaising with VT teams

As producers, it was mine and Melissa's job to oversee the production of the VTs - although the VT teams had VT producers who worked closely with them throughout the process, we wanted to make sure that the VTs stayed in line with the show's content and delivered the outcome we desired.

I was in charge of the first half of the show so had the ultimate say over the content in this half, however, Melissa and I reviewed each other's half to make sure the content was consistent.

Teaser

Final teaser:

Previous versions of the teaser trailer teased all the segments of the show. However, after a meeting with Helen, myself and Melissa decided to only tease half of the show as this is the convention for programmes like ours. We also fed back that the clip for 'Old To New' needed to be changed as the previous clip used already had writing (describing where the clothing items were from) layered over the top - this made it confusing for the audience as there were two layers of text. We also noticed from the rehearsals that Adeline says "Coming up on tonight's show" in the studio but the teaser also began with "Coming up in tonight's show" - as we preferred this being said in the studio we fed back to the VT team that this line needed to be removed from the teaser.

VT 1 - Presenter Challenge

Rough cut:

This rough cut only featured the first half of the VT.

Feedback:
- Whilst we liked the sting style introduction to the VT we felt the colours didn't match with the style of the rest of the programme. The style fitted with our initial pitch but our idea had changed a lot since then. We fed back that the sting may work if the colours were the same as those used in the studio e.g. the rustic orange background, however, the VTs in the second half don't feature the sting as they don't work with their style of VT so to keep the VTs consistent over the entire programme, the VTs needed to be removed.
- The rough cut was quite slow paced, so we provided feedback to the VT team and suggested that the injected more energy into it. This could be done through speeding up some of the clips and making the cuts between shots quicker.
- The team had to re shoot further footage to get more of Alfie going in and out of shops - this was to add to the time pressure of the challenge. At first the VT didn't show much of a challenge - this is why we wanted to emphasise the element of time pressure by making it more fast paced.
- At the end of the the fine cut, Alfie pronounced Adeline's name wrong so we asked them if they could cut this piece out so that Alfie just says "I've got a few surprises..." - the audio was also out of sync for this so we asked if this could be resolved.

Final cut:

Feedback:

- I really liked how the VT turned out - the team made the VT much faster paced to add the element of time pressure. 

VT 2 - Online Fails

Rough cut:

Feedback:
- The voiceover at the beginning was quiet compared to the rest of the VT - we asked them if they could increase the volume to between -6 and -12 dB to match the volume of the rest of the of the VT.
- The footage of Josie needed to be flipped so that there is continuity through the VT and so that the eyelines of the characters match.
- The colour correction needed to be done
- The fade to black at the end needed to be removed (the same was true of all VTs) to make the mix to studio smoother.

Final cut:

Feedback:

- The lower thirds were added to display any information the viewer may need - e.g. name and occupation - this also keeps them consistent through the production as they are used to introduce people in both the studio and other VTs - it is important that the branding stays consistent across the entire production

- The colour correction has been done

- I like the way this VT turned out - it explores the topic of online shopping fails whilst adding gravity to the topic by interviewing a trading standards representative. The audience can use the information provided to find out what to do if they find themselves in a similar situation.

VT 3 - Old To New

Rough Cut:

Feedback:

- The font needed to be changed to match the eras - the fonts looked oddly placed 

- Colour grading needed to be done to match the footage to the eras they are displaying

- The details of the outfits still needed to be added so that the audience know where they can purchase these items

- The transitions between the eras needed to be more noticeable but still smooth - it wasn't noticeable that the era changed between the 60s and 70s

Final cut:

Feedback:
- I like how this VT turned out - the colour grading matches the eras
- The font style and placement also works a lot better

VT 4 - DIY

Rough Cut:

Feedback:

- We thought the rough cut was very good and polished already - we suggested that they featured more of the process of making the top

- We suggested to the VT team that there needed to be more footage of Bonnie making the top so that this was more central to the story

- We liked the story the VT takes - we liked the mixture between the her background / pathway into running her own business and her showing how the top is made

- We suggested that they add a voiceover to clarify the direction of the story.

- As this was a rough cut, there were still jumps in the cuts which hadn't been covered

- There was no lower third introducing Bonnie - other VTs have used lower thirds to introduce their guests so this needed to be consistent.

Final Cut:

Feedback:

- This VT looks very professional and has a clear story - it works well with Adeline voicing it over

- The jump cuts were covered well with footage which aided the narrative of the story

- The lower third has been added to introduce Bonnie and establish her occupation

Overall I am very happy with all the VTs. They fit the tone of our channel - there is a good mixture between light hearted challenges and informative information. The Old To New VT really embodies the anti-mainstream tone we were aiming for - fashion shoots are usually more clean cut but this VT has much more of a unique / original / alternative tone. 

'AS LIVE' PRODUCTION: Set Design / Lighting Rigging and Rehearsals

I got to the studios at 8:30 so that I was in time for the set and lighting to be rigged. This was to ensure that the set was put up in the right place to allow the talent room to move around the back and enter / exit the set.

The set was rigged pretty quickly, allowing us time to get 5 rehearsals in.

Rehearsal 1

The first rehearsal did not go too well. 

- The teaser, VTs and music need to be louder out in the studio.

- No cheering for the models when they come out - this is something we hadn't thought of before so it was good to experiment with whether there should be applause here or not but we discovered that no applause was better.

- In last week's rehearsal we decided that Alfie would not walk back to the soft area before the VT but this still happened - this was discussed with the floor managers and was corrected for the rest of the rehearsals.

- The presenter challenge VT still fades to black - this was fed back to the VT editor for this VT and the production manager / assistant producer - the VT was re-rendered and the counts on the running order amended.

- Bonnie needs to enter under her VT instead of already being on the sofa.

Rehearsal 2

This rehearsal went better than the first rehearsal but still needs polishing. 

- The presenters look a bit washed out under the lighting. The lighting team were still rigging at this point and amended the lights to ensure the presenters were well lit but not washed out.

- Adeline says "Coming up in tonight's show" both in the studio and in the teaser trailer. This was fed back to the VT editor who removed this line from the teaser.

- The graphics for the clothing items in Styles of the Season cover the model slightly so look odd on screen - would be better positioned on the right hand side where there is empty space.

- VT 2 count is out - it faded to black before cutting back to the studio - this was amended.

- Kevin was cued slightly too late in Old To New - this was amended by the director and floor managers.

- The mannequin for Bonnie's section was not removed before the Drag interview - the floor managers were reminded which resolved this issue in future rehearsals.

Rehearsal 3

Like the second rehearsal, this rehearsal was an improvement on the previous one.

- Myself and Melissa discussed whether we should have Adeline saying Sonja's job or whether we should allow Sonja to say this herself - we decided to leave it with Adeline saying Sonja's job as she has learnt this from the script and may add unnecessary confusion to change it this late.

- The music after VT 1 could be faded out to make a cleaner transition from VT to studio.

- The floor managers crossed cameras to get the mannequin off set - to resolve this issue, the floor managers were told to go through the back of the set to remove the mannequin. 

- On camera 5 in the Drag interview, the gap in the set for entrances and exits can be seen - we discussed this with the set design team, however, there was not a lot they could do to resolve this issue. Therefore, the camera needed to change its angle slightly to ensure this gap was not seen.

Rehearsal 4

Again, this rehearsal was an improvement.

- During the fashion fails audience section, Alfie compared double denim to double floral - we liked this ad libbed comment and fed this back to Alfie as something to keep in mind for the live show.

- The dad trainers graphic obscures the shoes, this was fed back to graphics and amended so that the graphic now appears on the split screen line.

Rehearsal 5

The final rehearsal of the day went very well with almost no mistakes or amendments to make. 

Sometimes the Styles of the Season segment over ran, therefore, we decided to take time away from the drag interview first as this is the longest interview - and then if more time had to be removed it came from the DIY interview. We only cut time from the interviews after the Old To New section was complete as often the timings evened out at this point meaning that no time needed to be removed from the interview sections. Occasionally we ran under on the sections, so again we distributed this between the interview sections. Bonnie is a very natural talker and therefore adding more time to her segment was the best option. 

I sat in the gallery for the rehearsals as we needed to be on hand if the production manager needed to amend the timings for any section. It was also mine and Melissa's job to remind the presenters not to swear and if they did to get them to apologise as the responsibility would come back to us if the presenters were to swear in the live broadcast. We also had a background information pack incase the presenters needed any more information about any of the contributors / guests or if we wanted them to mention any of these facts. 

'AS LIVE' PRODUCTION: Final Running Order

The production manager and assistant producer have developed the running order following the rehearsals of the show to produce a final version of the running order. 

The running order above shows Jemma's notes during previous rehearsals. The durations for each section have been amended in line with how the durations worked in the rehearsals. The teaser has been reduced in length due to us halving the time in the script by only teasing half the segments, this gives us a little more time to use in the studio. The Styles of the Season segment is also shorter than the last running order, however this has run over before due to the models varying the answers they give in this section - we will watch this in rehearsals and see how many times this runs over - in other rehearsals we have cut time from the DIY and Drag Act interview which works but is not ideal. The link between Styles of the Season and Fashion Fails (which includes the outfit reveal on the mannequin) has been shortened to 45 seconds - this is due to us realising through the rehearsals that this section does not need as much time as we first anticipated. The length of Old to New has remained almost the same - this is a very straight forwards segment with just interaction between the presenters and therefore runs to time. The duration for the interviews has remained the same but these are often used to even out timings if other sections run over.

This is the final running order. We will use this running order for the rehearsals tomorrow and note down which segments run over / under time to ensure we are prepared with timings for transmission. 

'AS LIVE' PRODUCTION: Liaising with graphics

Our initial idea for graphics was something Del and Helen were keen for us to stick quite closely to. They liked the colour scheme we constructed and the font we chose along with it.

Myself and Melissa put together a document to send to Simon on graphics outlining the basic idea of what style we wanted to graphics to have. This document provided the colour scheme we liked and the style of font we used.

Simon then used this to come up with his initial ideas for the graphics and logo. He put together a powerpoint to show Melissa and I. We weren't keen on any of the suggestions put forward as they were so different to the ideas we had initially had. Although Simon took inspiration from the second colour palette we provided, we decided that the red / orange colour palette works better for the tone of our show. We want our graphics and logo to stand out yet keep that clean cut look which doesn't work with this new muted colour scheme. 

We fed this back to Simon who worked further on the colour scheme, logo and graphics. The next version we received of the logo was even further from what I had in mind. Simon suggested that this logo is similar to the type of logo used by magazines such as Vogue - giving our production a higher quality. I agreed that this font looks similar to the style used by Vogue, but wasn't sure whether this fitted with the tone of our programme. We wanted clean cut graphics / logo to fit with our contemporary, anti-mainstream tone - we don't want to resemble the same qualities as Vogue as this is a high end mainstream magazine.

I did like the idea of using a different font for the 'the' so this is an aspect I wanted carried over to the next version of the logo. Simon created more examples for myself and Melissa to look at. These designs were closer to what I had in mind with the orange colour scheme and sans serif font.

My favourites of these designs were the bottom two - we fed this back to Simon and suggested merging the two designs together, incorporating the style of font used in the bottom left logo with the colours used in the bottom right logo. After further discussion, we finally arrived at a logo that everyone was happy with. The logo uses Avenir Next as the font (which was mine and Melissa's original font from the pitch). I like the use of the shadow behind the 'Steal' and the 'Style', I also like the 'the' being in a different colour (but of the same colour family) and not being in capitals. This logo is consistent over all our material.

As well as designing the logo, Simon was in charge or creating the graphics such as lower thirds and price graphics for the show and VTs.

Simon shared his initial designs with us showing different varieties of lower third graphics.

Myself and Melissa agreed that the bottom lower third was most similar to the type we wanted to go for, however, we thought it extended too long across the bottom and that the pink may be too feminine for our branding as a show for both genders.

Simon took this feedback on board and made this lower third shorter and less feminine by using the one orange colour across the whole graphic. Simon also updated the 'Steal The Style' section of the lower third with the logo once that had been confirmed.

The lower thirds were originally supposed to animate across the screen so that they unfolded, however, the equipment in the gallery couldn't cope with this movement and therefore this animation juddered across the screen. As this couldn't be fixed, we decided to have the graphic stationary and fade in and out as this would give a cleaner look.

As well as these elements, Simon created the stings for the show. The stings used the same font as the logo and lower thirds and animated over an orange background. This keeps the branding of the show consistent throughout.

Overall, I am happy with the graphics for the show. Simon took on board our feedback and I feel we worked well together to produce a logo and graphics that pleased everyone. I feel the graphics embody our clean cut, contemporary tone and are similar to those you may see on E4 which is our target channel.

'AS LIVE' PRODUCTION: Liaising with music / sound team

We needed music to accompany our titles, VTs, catwalk segments, the stings, drag act, drumroll, outro.

The promo team found music for the titles. This music was upbeat and will help set a good, high energy tone for the show. The same music will be used at the end of the show quietly during the round up section and then will be brought up during the credits - this helps to keep the tone consistent. The promo team attached the music to the titles VT so this will be operated by the VT operators - however, the music is not attached at the end of the programme so will need to be controlled by Aimee on sound.

The music for the VTs was found by the VT teams. I suggested a copyright free artist called "LAKEY INSPIRED" as the tone of his music is chill but also upbeat - it is also unlike music heard in mainstream TV shows which aids our branding as a show that displays non mainstream fashion. The Old To New VT and DIY VT used music from this artist.

Jemma and Victoria contacted an artist to create an original piece of music for the drag act's performance. The piece needed to be upbeat enough to allow the drag queen to do an energetic performance as well as needing to fit in with the tone of the show. The music was sent to our drag queen to who learnt the words to lip sync to the song.

Andrew was in charge of finding / creating the music for the stings and the catwalk section.

Initially he made some music from scratch. However, it was hard to get the music to match the tone of our show. The music needed to be upbeat yet also embody the unique tone of the show. We didn't want the music to be too 'poppy' but it still needed to be upbeat.

After receiving our feedback that the music didn't match with the style of the show and the other music used in the introduction and VTs, Andrew decided to go back to using the music myself and Melissa suggested in our pitch. This music is from Dyalla Swain and perfectly fits the tone of the show. Andrew went through the music and chose sections that fit the tone of the show and the timings of the required sections. The music for the stings was attached to the accompanying graphic to work as a VT. This will be controlled by the VT operators. The music for the catwalk sections was sent to Aimee on sound who will control the fading in and out of these music beds in the studio.

Here are the initial samples Andrew made and the final music pieces:

I am happy with the music we have ended up with for the show. It is disappointing that we are unable to use Andrew's original music but it is more important to ensure the music throughout the show is of the same consistent tone to ensure our show has a strong brand identity. Andrew found some good music in the end and found some good samples from these songs to use in the production - the tone of the music is spot on as it is unique, upbeat with a slight 'indie' vibe.

'AS LIVE PRODUCTION': Liaising with Promo team

Throughout the pre production process, Myself and the production team have kept in close contact with the promo team to ensure that the material being produced is what we had in mind and fits the tone of our show.

The Trailer

As a mock up, the promo team produced this trailer:

This mock up was to display their idea for the trailer to us. I really liked the concept of the trailer and could see it working with our presenters 'stealing the mannequin'.

Feedback:
- Needs to enter shop quicker
- Needs more diegetic & non diegetic sound during the shop section
- Needs to be more fast paced - higher energy
- Like the idea of zooming in on his face when he sees the mannequin
- The photoshoot section at the end was too long - needs to be cut down - more fast paced

The promo team then produced their first rough cut of the trailer with the presenters:

I really liked how the idea was coming together. This version was definitely more fast paced than the mock up and works better because of it.

Feedback:
- Needs music to help the pace
- Needs diegetic sound of the shop environment
- Could potentially include some non diegetic "swoosh" sound effects for when the camera zooms
- The footage is grainy - can this be resolved or re shot?
- Should there be some voice over at the end with the time and date of the production?

The promo team re shot some of the sections and put out another rough cut of the trailer:

Feedback:
- The colour is looking a lot better
- No grain which is good
- More fast paced
- Still no diegetic sound e.g. footsteps, door opening, shop environment sounds? Feels like there should be some sort of atmospheric sounds
- The logo at the end needs to be updated.

The promo team used the feedback to come up with the final version of the trailer:

Overall I am happy with the trailer, it captures the light hearted tone of the show and alludes to the title 'Steal' The Style. The trailer has definitely improved through the edits - with the noticeable difference being that it is much more fast paced and high energy. I also like how the outfit on the mannequin ends up being her outfit for the show - making everything link together. The non diegetic background music is good and again fits the tone of the show. I would have liked some diegetic sounds of the shop atmosphere and some sound effects for the camera zooms as it does feel a bit flat, however, I understand that the team did not film these elements when they were out on shoot so could not add these in during the edit.

The Opening Titles

Initially we were unsure whether we wanted graphics based titles or a specially shot title sequence. We decided to go for this specially shot sequence as the promo teams gave some really good ideas for this in production meetings.

Rough cut:

I really like the title sequence and thought they had a very polished rough cut straight away.

Feedback:
- Maybe remove the section with Alfie rolling on the floor - doesn't fit with the tone of the rest of the titles - will also make it faster paced
- The transition between the upbeat music and elevator music could be smoother
- Colour correction still needs to be finished
- Logo at the end needs updating
- Could cut down the length of time the presenters are walking towards the camera at the end

The promo team implemented our advice and produced the final version of the titles which will play at the beginning of the show.

Final show version:

The title sequence turned out very well and the promo team took on board all of our feedback. The team have left enough time at the end of the titles for Aimee to fade the music out in the studio, this will help the transition from titles to studio go as smoothly as possible.

The Poster

For the mock up, the promo team suggested a few different designs they could do for the real poster.

I personally wasn't keen on any of the designs as I found it hard to picture how these posters would work with our presenters in them. However, once the promo team showed us the first version of the actual poster, I was very impressed.

First Version:

The composition of the poster really works well, the only thing that needed to be changed on this poster was the logo - however, we hadn't yet finalised the logo.

Second Version:

We finalised the logo with the graphics team and created a white version to go on the poster. However, other departments began to use this white version of the logo as well when it was only intended for the poster. We then decided it would be best to keep the colour of the logo consistent over all products to prevent confusion - we fed this back to the promo team who changed the logo to the original orange version. We also fed back that it would look better if the logo was straight instead of slanted - the promo implemented this feedback.

Final Version:

I really like the final version of the poster. I like the contrast between the purple colour of the background and the orange of the logo which makes the title of the show stand out.

The Social Media Accounts / Website

As well as the other promotional material, the promo team made a website social media accounts for the show.

Rough website:

I really liked the design of the website - our brand is very clean cut and simplistic and the website matched that perfectly. The only thing myself and Melissa weren't sure on was the pink colour at the top of the website. Our show is targeted towards both males and females whereas the colour scheme of the website may suggest we're targeted at a purely female audience. The logo on this version of the website also was not the final version so this needed to be updated. I liked the idea of having the presenters on the home screen as they are central to our show and therefore should be present across all Steal The Style promotional content - I also liked the inclusion of the date and location of the show. It was important to remember that not everyone knows what Steal The Style is, so a brief summary helps any visitors to the website get an idea for what the show is about. The website has a page for the episodes of the show, a fashion guide page which features different articles about fashion, a gallery of pictures which also appear on the instagram page and a link to get tickets for the show.

The final website:

The website has now been updated with the suggested changes - the banner at the top is now red instead of pink which makes it more appealing to both genders. I think the website really works as a whole. It would be even better if there were more articles on the fashion guide section so that the website could be a place where the audience goes to get extra style advice.

The FaceBook Page:

The FaceBook page provides a platform for the promo team to inform the audience with updates about the show. The page includes details of when the show goes live, where tickets can be found and a link to the website. It would be good if there are a few posts put up in the run up to the show to get the audience excited for the live broadcast.

The Instagram Page:

I was very keen for us to have an Instagram page as this is the perfect platform to share extra fashion content. I like the material they have uploaded to the Instagram - I think it is a good mix between style advice and promotional content informing the audience of when the show is going live. Like the FaceBook page, it would be good to see an increase in posts in the run up to the show to get the audience excited.

The Twitter:

As with the FaceBook page, Twitter allows the audience to keep informed and updated with the show. Having a Twitter for the show wasn't one of my priorities but I think it is good that the promotional team took this step as it has allowed our show to have a multi platform presence.

Overall, I am happy with the promotional content for the show. I feel that the promo team listened to feedback and made changes where this was possible. I think the trailer could have been stronger with the addition of diegetic sounds and sound effects but I thought the concept of it was really strong. I think the title sequence works very well and sets a good, upbeat tone for the show. I really like the design of the poster with the framing of the presenters, the position of the writing and the contrasting colours. I feel the social media accounts could be utilised better to create more excitement for the show but I am happy with the consistent branding (logo and colour scheme) put across on all the social media sites and feel that this has helped to strengthen the brand identity of the show.

'AS LIVE' PRODUCTION: Final Production Meeting

All VTs complete - 4 main VTs - teaser needs to be updated with changes to font (from slanted to straight)

Promo done

Social media - run up to show - lots of advertising

Titles ready - all VTs on machine - 8 / 8:30 - back up of VTs on PC friendly drive incase of any technical difficulties

Older female model dropped out - new older female model found and sent call sheet

Ready to rehearse after the set is put up - hopefully around 11 or 12

Adeline and alfie in at 10, Bonnie in at 10, other contributors at 1

Lights constantly being adjusted through rehearsal - don't worry too much about visuals, just rehearse content

Runners have been sent runner packs by Jemma so know what is expected of them

All cameras to record as well as recording at vision desk

All cameras to turn beep warning off for battery levels - keep an eye on batteries and replace before they run out

Ollie controlling uca live for promo team - Instagram stories of transmission day

'AS LIVE' PRODUCTION: Script Version 5 FINAL

Although we had intended for our previous script to be our final script, there was some feedback from the presenters after the rehearsals. We have updated the script and their cue cards with the changes suggested by the presenters.



- The introduction consistently over ran in the rehearsals, therefore this needed to be cut down in order to stick within the time. The purpose of the presenters' introductions was to allow the audience to get a feel for who they are - Adeline as a fashion expert and Alfie as a bubbly person who needs help with fashion. We had originally intended for Adeline to ad lib a story about how she is always experimenting with fashion to come up with new ways of styling trends, however, this was too time consuming. It has now been changed to suggest her years or modelling have allowed her to gain an insight into the fashion industry.

- Instead of writing out the ad libbed sections in full, we have abbreviated them as the presenters fed back that they do not need these bits scripted.

- The script has also been updated with details of our new older female model Sonja. Unfortunately our previous older female model was no longer available for the shoot date, therefore Sonja has taken her place.

- I have also added IN and OUT words for the VTs. This is so that the presenters can link between the studio and VTs without repeating any information helping the show to flow better.

- The rest of the script has remained the same. The only changes made to this version of the script was from the feedback from the presenters and the addition of the IN and OUT words from the VTs.

'AS LIVE' PRODUCTION: Cue Cards

As we do not have an auto cue for the presenters, we made cue cards for the sections where there is a lot of information to remember. The presenters had just been working off the scripts but for the last rehearsal we gave them the cue cards to see how they coped using these.

The rehearsals went well but the presenters had some changes for the cue cards. This involved removing some bits of information that they didn't feel were needed and adding cue cards with information they felt they couldn't remember off by heart. For example, Alfie wanted some of the Old To New section on cue cards as he felt this was too much to learn off the script - we will make this for him so that he can use this for the information he requires.

The slide show below shows the corrections the presenters wanted made to the cue cards:




We made these changes and printed off new cue cards which the presenters will use for the live show.  The majority of the cue cards are for the Styles of the Season section and the interview sections. This is due to there being a lot of information to remember for the Styles of the Season section and there being a lot of questions to remember for the interviews. We also wanted to ensure the presenters didn't run out of questions for the interviews so we also included some safety questions that they could use if these sections were running under time.

These are the updated cue cards for Adeline:



These are the updated cue cards for Alfie:



We printed out these cue cards and stuck them on the cards we got printed professionally. The design for the cue cards was our logo on a peach coloured background. We wanted to ensure the cue cards matched with the other graphics used in the show, therefore we picked the background colour from the same colour group as the logo to maintain the orange tone. The design of the cue cards is very simple which gives it a clean, professional look whilst ensuring that they do not distract the audience from the show too much.

'AS LIVE' PRODUCTION: Background Information Packs and Final Contributors

As producers, myself and Melissa need to be on hand on transmission day with any extra information the presenters may need about the guests on the show. For the interview sections, we have given the presenters plenty of questions to ask the guests (as well as some safety questions incase they run out of the scripted questions) however, in the interview situation the guest may respond to a question with an unexpected answer. For this reason, we put together background information packs on every contributor so that we know every possible detail that may come up in the show. Therefore, if the presenters quickly require additional information we can communicate this through talk back into their in ear monitors.



This background information pack includes details of all our final contributors: presenters, models, DIY / independent seller, drag queen and our audience contributors.

'AS LIVE' PRODUCTION: Rehearsals with the presenters and contributors

Today we had rehearsals with the presenters and the contributors - except for our older female model, the audience fashion fails contributors and Bonnie the online seller.

My priority for this day of rehearsals was to get a few full run throughs of the show as we have not managed this in previous rehearsals - we had rehearsed each individual section but we were yet to rehearse the show as a whole all the way through.

We started out by taping the set on the floor with the exact dimensions of the set. We gave Alfie and Adeline the updated script (version 4) and some cue cards for the information / dialogue heavy sections. After the day of rehearsals myself and Melissa checked with the presenters whether there was anything they wanted changing in the script in terms of the language used and whether they wanted any additional information on the cue cards. The script and cue cards will be updated with the changes Alfie and Adeline suggested.

We managed to get 3 full rehearsals of the show in.

Rehearsal 1

- Harry and Kevin's mics not working - there were issues with the microphones all day. Paul and Aimee worked on this to ensure this won't be an issue for the live broadcast.
- Too long was spent on the presenter challenge round up - needs to be more concise whilst still informing the audience about how much was spent / where things were from.
- The fashion fails transition and segment was very rough as this has been the least rehearsed section of the show.
- We had to cut time from the interviews as both Styles of the Season and Fashion Fails ran over time.
- VTs fade to black which makes mixing back to the studio look very rough. These VTs will be re edited to remove the fades.
- Models need to be cued earlier - this requires good communication between the directors and floor managers.
- Graphic for Bonnie's bag needed to be on screen when presenters referred to it.
- The transition between DIY and Drag needs to be looked at.
- The round up section was very rough - the models needed to be ready to go on the catwalk.

Rehearsal 2

- Teaser trailer can be cut to give more studio time. Myself and Melissa had already cut the teaser in the script but the new teaser was not yet ready.
- During the Styles of the Season section we had scripted for the presenter left on the sofa to react to the trend on the catwalk. However, Del suggested that the focus should just be the model on the catwalk and the presenter stood next to the catwalk - we don't need to see the presenter on the sofa. This will be cut from the script which will make the section flow better and also save some time as this section usually over runs.
- Need to make sure models are wearing all the items they're supposed to be wearing.
- The transition to the fashion fails audience section was again very rough. We need to consider either not using handheld and making sure there are cameras set up to face the audience or having another camera at the back of the audience so that we can see Alfie walking towards them whilst the handheld is set up. At the moment there is no shot to cover the handheld whilst it sets up which makes for a very messy transition.
- Bonnie (stand in for bonnie) sitting on sofa before her VT which introduces her - would be better to bring her in under VT.

Rehearsal 3

- +45 seconds on intro - Myself and Melissa will look at the script to see where dialogue can be adjusted to fit with the running order.
- The younger female model's clip mic wire could be seen through mesh top, need to find a better way of disguising the wire.
- Models to enter catwalk from one direction and exit in the other direction. Makes for a cleaner look.
- Graphics for the trends on the catwalk need to be left on screen for longer - allow audience time to read them.
- The counts for some of the VTs were incorrect as a few of them cut to black before presenters cued in back in the studio. These will be looked at by the production manager.
- For the dad trainers catwalk section - Kevin to stay on the catwalk and exit under the VT rather than exiting before VT.
- Bonnie to stay seated at the end of her segment - exit through the back during the drag performance.
- Floor managers need to ensure the mannequin for Bonnie's section is moved after the interview otherwise still on set from Drag interview.

Overall I think the rehearsals were successful. My job (along with Melissa) was to be on hand to cut time / add time to sections if others ran over / under. We managed to keep on time overall but time had to be cut from the interview sections as the intro and Styles of the Season sections over ran. Myself and Melissa will look at the script and see what can be amended to keep these sections to time - following this rehearsal we have already decided to remove the presenter left on the sofa's reaction shot whilst the other presenter is stood by the catwalk describing the trend which will save time. We also need to ensure the directors and camera operators work out how to shoot the fashion fails audience section more smoothly - they need to find a shot to cover the handheld camera whilst it sets up ready for the audience interviews.

It was really helpful to get the models in for this rehearsal as we were able to see how much they would talk back to the presenters on the catwalk and whether we would have to amend the script to cater for how much detail they would respond to the questions with. It was also a good opportunity to check they were happy with the information we wrote about them in the script - we did have to do one change which was changing the wording slightly for Kevin's (our older male model) occupation. As producer I have learnt that it is very important to keep the talent happy so that they stay on board with the project - so checking the script with them was a good opportunity to ensure they were happy and looked after.

'AS LIVE' PRODUCTION: Script Version 4

Following the rehearsal with the presenters and the feedback session with Helen, we have developed the 4th version of the script which will hopefully be the final version.




- I have changed the introduction to the show to clarify to the audience what the purpose of the show is. Myself and Melissa thought our mission statement was clear as we know ourselves what the show is about but Helen pointed out that "the show that helps you take current fashion trends and style them in different and original ways" can be interpreted very ambiguously. Therefore, the script has now been changed to say "the show that helps you take current fashion trends and style them in ways to help you stand out from the crowd" before adding the example of the typical social media and reality star trends. This helps to clarify to the audience that were hoping to show them ways of styling trends that are different to the mainstream.

- I have added more to the presenters' introductions to themselves. Helen fed back that the audience doesn't know anything about who Alfie and Adeline are - there needed to be more information for the audience to clarify who they are and what they're doing in relation to the show. As we wanted one presenter to be our fashion expert and one to be our bubbly presenter, we needed to make this clear through their dialogue so that the audience can understand this.

- Helen suggested that the teaser trailer needs to be more specific and only tease half the sections of the show. The audience doesn't need to know absolutely everything that's coming up in the show. I changed the script to tease the first two sections and made these more specific so the audience know exactly what's coming.

- Steals of the Season also got changed to Styles of the Season as 'Steals' suggests that the item is a bargain when this isn't necessarily the case with our trends - they're affordable but not an absolute bargain.

- The intro to this section was also changed to make it clearer to the audience what the purpose of this section is. We also wanted to clarify that the models used are everyday people (not catwalk models) to help the audience visualise how these trends may work on them.

- I had written that the plaid trend could be styled with pastel colours, however, pastel colours is our trend for the catwalk and therefore is mentioned later in the script. As this makes the section a little repetitive, I removed it from this section of the script so it is only mentioned on the catwalk.

- Helen suggested we add reasons for why to watch these trends. Therefore, for trench coats we added in that these coats are ideal for coping with the changing seasons (which is when our show is broadcast - the transition between Spring / Summer).

- When introducing the catwalk trend the transition we used previously was a bit weak - "So apart from these, there's one fashion trend which we've been particularly loving". This has now been changed to "But, if I were to pick just one trend to watch this Spring".

- The link between the women's and men's trends was quite weak so this was changed from "Well now we've seen the women's steals of the season, let's go onto the mens!" to "Now, guys we haven’t forgotten about you! There’s no mesh involved with the mens trends, don’t worry!". This adds to the light hearted tone of the programme and is a much better link between the sections.

- Helen suggested that the Steals of the Season (now Styles of the Season) section was too list like and needed to be more conversational. I have updated the script to include more ad libbed sections and more conversational bits rather than merely listing the items for each trend.

- The fashion fails segment previously only included a small introduction from the presenters before moving into the audience. This needed to be changed as it felt very scripted and staged. We have added in a section for Alfie to ad lib a story about a fashion fail. This will help the audience relate to the presenters and help the section flow better as this allows a good link to move into the audience and hear about their fashion fails.

- Now that we have confirmed both our fashion fails contributors and received their pictures, I was able to add this into the script. This section does involve a lot of ad libbing as Alfie's response relies on what the audience members say.

- The rest of the script was written by Melissa but I still looked over it to ensure the tone matched my half.

- The Old To New section has remained the same as we felt this was a strong point of the script - the dialogue is very conversational and natural which is exactly the tone we want to achieve with this show.

- The introduction to the DIY section has remained very similar except Adeline's scarf story has been amended to be ad libbed rather than scripted - this was changed to clarify to Adeline that she does not have to stick to the script and can talk about the scarf story in a way that feels natural to her.

- The interview questions for Bonnie have been changed to focus on online shopping and buying from independent sellers vs. shopping in the high street and buying from big high street chains. This section before felt like it didn't have a lot of purpose and didn't add any more information that wasn't already covered in the accompanying VT. It has now been changed to focus more of the business side of the subject which isn't mentioned at all in the VT. We have then included some questions about Bonnie's specific designs to make the interview more personal to her.

- We have also had to change the Drag Act interview section as unfortunately our previous drag act was no longer available for the show. The questions have now been updated to focus more specifically on our new drag queen and where they find their style inspirations. This interview really adds to our brand as a chat show focusing on anti-mainstream trends as the drag queen's fashion is unlike anything seen on the high street.

- The round up has remained the same as this has worked really well in rehearsals.

We will use this script in rehearsals to see how this updated version works. Hopefully this version won't need altering and will be our final version for the show. However, we will ask the presenters how they feel about the script once we have rehearsed with it and see if they recommend any changes that would suit them better.