Video Skills Test

For this skills test, I was required to shoot a MCU video of my interviewee on a subject of my choice.
I shot a 30 second clip of a football fan debating whether Newcastle FC's stadium name change was a good thing for the club or not.

I inserted a title on a video editing application, in this instance Windows Movie Maker, and edited it where possible.

I also uploaded the clip to video sharing website Youtube.

Terry and Ferdinand Race Saga

http://storify.com/TMB04/ferdinand-and-terry-in-heated-race-debate

An example of the news process diamond, in action

I chose to analyse Lewis Hamilton's success in the Abu Dhabi Grand prix by using Paul Bradshaw's news process diamond as a framework for my findings.

The diamond is established through various different stages in the process that, ultimately, produces news in a digital format.

I will study BBC reporter Sarah Holt's analysis of the race to find good or bad examples of each respective stage, represented at the time the event took place.

Alert - "Stat/weather fans! Here's an interesting snippet. Track temperatures will drop by 8 degrees in the race which will impact on tyres." #bbcf1 courtesy of @sarahholtf1 on Twitter.

The stat she opts to use just prior to the race immediately attracts an audience as they are able to see a depth of knowledge and will therefore be more inclined to follow her tweets.

Draft: Lewis Hamilton wins Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button #bbcf1 again taken from Sarah's twitter page. This short summary provides the audience with the fine details, before then going on to construct her article.

Article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/9638444.stm - the article has stemmed from Sarah Holt's initial tweets, which have formed her research throughout the race to gain a knowledgeable account of proceedings, she can even include her stat about the weather to make her report stand out.
Context: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/sarahholt/ a context can be established behind Sarah's social graph and her credibility as a reporter by studying the quality of her blogs.

Analysis/Reflection: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula_one/15714124.stm this article was posted the day after the event took place and gave Sarah the opportunity to take a more personal account on the race, having interviewed Lewis. She takes the limelight away from the race and now makes it into a story, rather than solely a report.

Interactivity: Sarah's interactivity is solely through her use of the mentioned blog and her twitter page. She has managed to establish an interactive rapport with her audience, without the use of podcasts or forums.

Customisation: The customisation of Sarah's social network profile is substantial. Her social graph is credible as she has several followers, is following fellow credible journalists and also has an RSS feed integrated to her blog.

Data Skills Test

For my Data skills test, I chose to analyse data from the Guardian's Data store, which reported on how Premier League broadcasting revenues are distributed.

The story stemmed from the news that Liverpool FC have called for overseas broadcasting deals to be changed. The data outlines who, in the Premier League, receives what in financial terms.

My graph shows the difference between various factors in the TV revenue category, including equal shares between clubs, the facility fees received, merit and overseas payments, and the totals for each respective club, in pounds.

I obtained my data from the following web address: http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/oct/12/football-broadcasting-deal-liverpool

I also used a couple of other links to support my graph, and in doing so, offer a more in-depth account about what it means:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/8822989/Liverpool-TV-revenue-demands-how-European-leagues-compare.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/15269831.stm">http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/15269831.stm

Maps Skills Test

I chose four different stories from the Lancashire Evening Post and inserted the stories into the respective areas they took place, on a Google Map.

I wrote a brief summary for each article and attached links from both the LEP and external websites to the stories. I also obtained images from the internet that were relevant to the story and used them as icons for the story.


View Maps Skills Test in a larger map

Deepdale Photo Edit

Deepdale - the home of Preston North End FC

Deepdale - edited to 100x100 pixels

Deepdale - edited to 400x300 pixels

Deepdale - edited to 200x500 pixels

Mourinho 2?

Andre Villas Boas is set to complete a switch to Chelsea after in the next few days, which will complete a whirlwind 20 months for the Portuguese.

Before his first spell in charge at Academica he was a protege to Jose Mourinho, who is renowned worldwide as one of the best coaches in the sport. Villas Boas' role was to scout the opposition during Mourinho's tenures at Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan respectively. Mourinho often mentioned how in-depth his colleague's reports were as he trawled through pages of facts and figures.

At just 33, Villas Boas is of the same tender age as his players Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard. He decided from an early age that he wanted to be a coach and took several risks during his teenage years by travelling to Glasgow to earn his UEFA coaching badges before taking charge of the British Virgin Islands in two international matches in 2000. Both ended in defeat.

Having studied many of Mourinho's tactics and strategies, he then went on to coach Academica. Joining halfway through the season, the relatively inexperienced Portuguese managed to mastermind a stunning recovery which saw the Coimbra-based outfit move out of the relegation zone to mid-table and secure a Portuguese Cup semi-final appearance.

This attracted the attention of Porto who saw many similarities with him and Mourinho, but even the most optimistic could not have foreseen the amazing transformation of the club with Villas Boas at the helm.

Benfica had won the previous year's league title and appeared to be in a promising position to do so again, despite the departure of the influential Angel Di Maria. But having amassed an astonishing 84 points from just 30 games without tasting defeat, the title was reclaimed at the Estadio do Dragao. Porto also added the Portuguese Cup and Europa League titles with wins over Vitoria de Guimaraes and Braga respectively to complete a remarkable season for the 'rookie' manager.

More inevitable comparisons with Mourinho were made - he won a treble in his first full season as Porto manager - and links with Chelsea began to appear. Despite the perhaps anticipated arrival of Guus Hiddink, it appears that Abramovich has gone for someone who could bring a touch of 'je ne sais quoi' to the three-times champions, proven by the £13.3m compensation package paid by the Russian to bring him to the club.

Mourinho and Villas Boas will naturally be compared but their footballing philosophies are slightly different. The former prefers a clinical, counter-attacking brand of the game but focuses heavily on the importance of defending. The latter however, emphasises much more on the use of possession and using his wingers more prominently in a much more attack-minded style. Chelsea fans can expect to maintain the same 4-3-3 formation which they have used frequently since Mourinho's reign, as Villas Boas deployed Hulk and Cristian Rodriguez alongisde the much-coveted Falcao in his system last season. Porto's record this season of 73 scored and 16 conceded proves that his side were efficient at both ends of the field, which will be welcome news to Abramovich. Despite always being successful under his ownership, the side have never played the same brand of football that is perhaps more associated to Arsenal and Manchester United. He wishes to find a manager who shares his vision for the club. Villas Boas was recently quoted as saying how he admires the Barcelona philosophy and how he apologised for winning the Europa League final with a 'scrappy game', which can only bode well with the players and supporters at Stamford Bridge alike.

I personally feel he is the perfect choice for the west-Londoners as they seek to win back the Premier League title and the thus-far elusive Champions League crown. He's young, hungry for success and wants to play football how it should be played. He's a modest fella too...