Next course: 12 November 2020 to 28 January 2021
[FULL] 10 x 1 Hour sessions, Thursdays 6.30pm - 7.30pm (Note: 3 week Xmas Break) - email office@filmoxford.org for reserve list
Fully booked
Cost: £138, £124 (early booking discount by 29th Oct.), £99 concessions.
Introduction to Broadcast Journalism – Online course is a ten-session, interactive beginners’ course for people who want to start learning and developing skills to think like a Broadcast Journalist. Runs one hour per week over 10 weeks for a maximum of eight learners.
In the world of 24-hour news a journalist needs to be able to script, film and edit compelling stories in the most efficient and dynamic way possible. Gone are the days of cameramen, satellite trucks and sound operators working as a team with a journalist to bring a story to our screens. Reporters are now often sent on location with little more than a laptop, their phone and the internet. This is personal digital production in the 21st century.
Why do this course?
- Being concise is a fundamental part of modern storytelling. This course will give you the skills to distill complex thoughts and ideas into compelling narratives
- You’ll understand easy techniques and rules to quickly capture footage and bring your story to life
- You’ll examine script writing for news and learn how to grab the viewer with news-specific dialogue
- We’ll look at how to edit quickly and efficiently so you can turn around a story in record time and still make it look great
- You’ll look at the extra film flourishes that you can bring to news to make your material stand out from the crowd
- You’ll get a sound basis in news production, a critical eye for basic TV techniques and you’ll be furnished with a wealth of transferable skills to make short-form video content for a range of online clients
Who is Introduction to Broadcast Journalism – Online course aimed at?
This online course is for anyone interested in the art of short-form storytelling. At the end of the course you’ll know how to identify a cracking story; you’ll be able to conduct interviews and then capture all the other key elements that you need to bring that story to life. You’ll recognise which tools you need to capture those elements and develop the skills to do so efficiently, cost effectively and to a tight deadline. Finally, you’ll learn how to knit all those elements together into bite-sized, watchable chunks that are both gripping and informative. Whether you’re hoping for a career in the news, or you just want to tell the story of characters on your allotment in a format people will enjoy and value, then Introduction to Broadcast Journalism – Online course is for you.
Your Tutor – Tim Bearder
Tim Bearder had a 12-year career with the BBC, where he was trained by the American director Michael Rosenblum in this new multi-skilled way of working. Personal Digital Production (PDP) transformed news coverage across the Nations and Regions with more journalists and cameras on the road than ever before. These innovative practices placed the BBC at the forefront of best practice in modern television journalism. Tim was a television journalist with BBC South Today, telling important stories of the day across a region from Milton Keynes to the Isle of Wight. He has since set up several successful independent production companies filming all over the world for blue chip companies like BT and Lloyds Bank to name but two.
Introduction to Broadcast Journalism – Online course outline
Session One – Introduction – Thursday 12th Nov. 6.30pm – 7.30pm
Introduction to the news. What makes a good story and how are you going to bring it to life on film? We’ll look at good and bad examples of storytelling on the small screen.
Session Two – Breaking apart a story – Thursday 19th Nov. 6.30pm – 7.30pm
We’ll look at different situations and the best approaches to unpicking what the story really is and how we are going to plan to bring it to life.
Session Three – Scripting and presenting – Thursday 26th Nov. 6.30pm – 7.30pm
Once we’ve identified the story how are we going to to write the script to pull it together? What do we need to capture on location, and what will we need to add on in the editing process? We’ll examine the light touch and how to add pathos when it is appropriate.
Session four – Shooting to edit & Kit – Thursday 3rd Dec. 6.30pm – 7.30pm
Under time pressure, what are the necessary elements of a story and how will you capture them and still put your subjects at ease? Building up sequences.
We’ll look at the kit you can get away with and the kit that will enhance your work. We’ll go through the basics of cameras and why we use certain tools. When – and crucially when not – to use certain pieces of kit.
Session five – Shooting interviews – Thursday 10th Dec. 6.30pm – 7.30pm
Setting up a subject. Lighting and audio. How to ask questions and where to position somebody for different effects.
Session six – Shooting your stories – Thursday 17th Dec. 6.30pm – 7.30pm
We’ll discuss stories that you want to shoot, as a group think about how we can bring them to life given what we’ve learnt and then film our content. (You can shoot on your own camera if you have one, or use your phone/ipad/Tablet).
3 Weeks Xmas Break
Session seven – editing for the news – Thursday 7th Jan. 6.30pm – 7.30pm
What to leave in and what to take out. Adding in script elements and natural sound. Using music and titles.
Session eight – Shooting your stories cont. – Thursday 14th Jan. 6.30pm – 7.30pm
We’ll look again at how you are getting on with your own stories and start to look at ways you can use the editing techniques from week seven to bring your stories to life.
Session nine – Editing your stories cont. – Thursday 21st Jan. 6.30pm – 7.30pm
We’ll finesse the stories you have produced and think of ways they can be improved in the edit (If you don’t have your own edit softwatre there are some free options for PC, Mac or mobile device).
Session ten – Where next? – Thursday 28th Jan. 6.30pm – 7.30pm
We’ll watch the stories feedback as a group. Think about rendering and uploading your footage and talk about routes onwards.
Early booking discount & concessions
Book early to get 10% reduction on the full price course fee. See the date at top right of this page (usually two weeks before the course start date, but may vary).
Students, NHS workers and people on some means-tested benefits are eligible to claim the concessionary rate. Evidence is required, such as student card, NHS staff card or benefit letter.
Means tested benefits: JSA, Income Support; Working Tax Credit (not child tax credit); Council Tax Benefit (not student/single person/reduction due to disability); Housing Benefit; Pension Credit (guarantee); Unwaged Dependent of these benefits & Universal Credit.
All Film Oxford Courses are subsidised by Oxfordshire Adult Learning