What s Good? [Teen Issues Show]

Transcription

1 What s Good? [Teen Issues Show] 1.

2 WHAT S GOOD? TEEN ISSUES SHOW What s Good? is a local, half-hour teen talk show produced in conjunction with PMC staff, fellows and Digital Media Arts Club (DMAC) students and a local public broadcasting partner television or radio. Conceived as a multi-platform, dynamic two-way conversation between public media and local youth voices about concerns, issues and interests, the show involves youth hosts, local experts and performers, and audiences recruited from area high schools. Interstitial packages include SMS-based audience polls, man-on-the-street interviews, reported segments related to show topics, and clips produced with DMAC students. Program Values: Youth voice and point of view are front and center. Youth voice must have an uncensored environment in which to flourish, if not in broadcast then online, to ensure open dialogue. Content should engage, educate and entertain. Seek opportunities to bring public media institutions and educators into the conversation with youth. Encourage active, not passive participation during show taping through questions from audience to guests, polling, dancing, etc. Project Team: Series Producer: responsible for overseeing production team, setting show content criteria, approving topics, scheduling guests, supervising edits and auditioning and selecting hosts in consultation with executive producer(s), Segment Producers: responsible for producing individual show segments and/or packages Graphic designer: responsible for both show graphics and graphics for promotional materials Set design: in consultation with series producer, responsible for conceptualizing set, and recommending contractors and artists to construct set 2.

3 Stylist/Wardrobe Coordinator: consultant responsible for setting looks for hosts, buying host attire, maintaining wardrobe and on-set styling Website/Technology Coordinator: responsible for posting, updating and overall maintenance of website, and supervising on-set SMS polling Recruiting High Schools High school teachers are looking for opportunities to give students real world experiences outside of the classroom. High schools that offer journalism or media production classes are increasingly more common today. They are ideal for recruiting students to contribute content or to participate in a program as audience members. Building a network that connects your station with schools, community and youth organizations is essential for a steady flow of content and participation. TIP: Start a digital media production program at a local high school, library or community organization where students can be trained to produce content. (See DMAC tab above). If this is not feasible: Partner with area high schools with journalism and/or media production classes and collaborate with teachers to supervise production of content for shows Offer afternoon or Saturday production trainings at host public broadcasting station Recruit students as audience members: it s best to identify four to six schools that can rotate supplying classes, so that the same students are not always expected to participate Working with Students and Teachers on Production: Teachers need to be thoroughly briefed in advance so that they can guide students in researching show topics and preparing questions. A member of production team should maintain close contact with the teacher and school administration to coordinate transportation arrangements. This will ensure that students will arrive at the studio in time for orientation, well before taping starts and. Provide schools with a sample permission field trip and appearance release for parents to sign. All appearance releases must be collected before students enter studio. Prep teachers about the show topic and have students research the topic and prepare questions in advance. Be prepared to provide roundtrip transportation for students. 3.

4 Provide snacks and lunch. Provide a secured area for students to assemble and store coats and personal items, and identify where lunch can be served. Brief students about what to expect during taping and their roles in the show. Keep students informed about every phase of the production during stop downs. Keep students engaged and enlivened by having a DJ play during stop downs. Shoot reaction shots when students first arrive (applause, attentiveness, laughter, etc.) Shoot cultural performances after lunch when energy levels are likely to drop. Recruiting Hosts Part of producing the show is recruiting young, relatable hosts who can interact well with students, guests, and entertainers. Identify high schools and community-based organizations with a strong performing arts or media arts program. Coordinate with principals, teachers or administrators to choose and publicize a date to hold on-site auditions. Target one or two area colleges or universities, place ads in campus newspapers and get permission to post flyers on campus advertising auditions. Develop an interview protocol and sample script for auditioners to read. Audition each candidate individually and tape each audition. During call-backs, team more than one candidate together to judge chemistry and ability to engage in banter. Conducting Issue Focus Groups Focus groups with high school students will help you to identify relevant topics for your show to address, as well as elements that will help you to customize the look and feel of the show to local communities and target audiences. Previously identified journalism classes and after-school media arts programs for are the ideal for getting feedback about format, show name, logo, topics, and to get leads on local artists to perform in show, etc. To get a broad cross section of opinions from youth throughout city, identify student events being held at recreation centers, libraries, and other venues. Schedule at least minutes for the focus group. Conducting focus groups 4.

5 all along the production stream will help you to adjust course and keep honing the format. Screen a 15-minute cut from first shows for feedback and retool before resuming production. Conduct live SMS poll during focus groups. Identify students interested in auditioning for host positions. In-Show SMS Polling Teachers will need to be informed to allow students to bring cell phones to the show since many schools do not allow students to have cell phones on school premises. Poll questions should follow a vox pop or interstitial to contextualize question. Audience can be shown poll results in real time in the studio as texts are sent. Booking Local Talent: Experts and Performers Pre-interview all guests and screen music and tapes of performers in advance. Collect names of potential guests and performers during focus groups. Attend local open mic events and in-school talent shows. Connect with local universities and civic organizations to see if they maintain lists of topic-area experts Promotion Produce a list of popular, well-attended events featuring target demographic and set up CoolSpot [see Overview and Working with Communities sections) with What s Good? branding, raffle give away. While there, use flip cams to capture vox pop interviews on relevant show topics. Feature raffle winners on website. Organize What s Good? student ambassadors at partner schools to give out raffle tickets in advance of events. Sign up students for What s Good? Facebook/Twitter/SMS alerts in promo tent. Broadcast promos on partner station(s) featuring hosts, popular local figures. including musicians/arts/politicians, and national figures. 5.

6 Distribute flyers and posters at partner schools. Schedule regular SMS alerts and tweets and encourage What's Good ambassadors to retweet Schedule daily posts on Facebook. Schedule hosts to make guest appearances at dance clubs and make announcements about show. Designing and Promoting the Web Site: This should not just be a site to promote the show; emphasize the blog and blog comment area. Collect as many Facebook and Twitter followers as possible and strategically ask questions leading up to the show date to drive discussion and encourage students to tune in. Poll browsers on show topics and enter to win a drawing for a prize related to that specific show; e.g.. What school sweatshirt was the host wearing on the college bound show? Include SMS alerts and quizzes for prizes to drive traffic to website. Post video-driven content, including interstitials from the show, a show trailer, student produced content, and most important, user generated content. You may not want to run this on your dedicated station site. WordPress sites are inexpensive, easy to set up, and have a less corporate feel. Require registration for all user-generated content and preview content before posting. Organize quarterly contests for best student video with prizes. Lessons Learned Scripts are needed at least five days earlier for hosts. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. The more in studio rehearsal time and table reads hosts do is critical to ease and comfort in front of the cameras. Director and control room staff should brief series producers on control room etiquette, roles and set up. Logistics coordination and preparation with teachers and schools, are essential time management consideration. So is student preparation for taping. Clear communication on time commitment with hosts is necessary, especially if they are in high school or college. Maintain a schedule of school breaks and student class schedules. 6.

7 Evaluation The station should work with partner schools and community organizations to track the following outcomes and metrics: Number of shows produced Number of schools and community partners involved Audience responses to show (see sample survey) Quality of discussion, dialogue, SMS interaction Student media incorporated into show Press and social media coverage of show Broadcast and online viewers New partnerships arising as a result of issues covered Local dialogue or action sparked as a result of issues covered Influence on station culture 7.

8 Sample Materials 8.