For this assignment we were asked to write a formatted news script for the TV show 'Games Corner' which will be broadcast on SLTV. For the script we needed to research relevant gaming news for the week which will beread out on the news section of the games corner. Our script had to meet the needs of Sheffield Live!'s ethos by being relevant to the community. And it also had to meet Vicky's needs by having interesting news that was entertaining for the audience.
Our target audience are males and females of no particular age who are into and enjoy gaming. They are also from around the Sheffield area. Sheffield Live! targets a large variety of incomes, so it is not necessarily just for people of the ABC1 demographics, which is why we included information about Minecraft, which is available for free trail download as well as information about local business' like Sumo Digital.
Vicky was impressed with the detail we went into as well as the well balanced dialogue between the presenters. She also said that everything was relevant and the right amount of dialogue was given.
However she felt the script needed to be made more fun as it was too formal like a BBC News show. So we will need to make it more informal by adding reigonal dialect, slang and making it more conversational. We also need to remove the gaming technology and replace it with indie games and events instead.
We need to now make the script more informal by changing the dialogue to something more upbeat and we also need to add information about indie gaming, local gaming and events. We have looked into a local gaming company and their current developments that we will write about for the script. This is important because the target audience will be expecting a fun and entertaining segment of news which will be delivered by people from the local area, which is also why we should include a local gaming company, so that they become more well known in the area. It also helps to localise the show so that the audience can relate to it. It is also important to use local news as it will fit in with the ethos of the station as it is relevant to the community and involves local people.
Our Script is laid out like a real script that we looked at. It is in courier 12 which is the standard font and the format is that of a news script, this is because it is a universal font which is easy to read. A difference with our script is the colloquial, informal language that we use in the script as real news scripts are much more formal and written in standard English, but as we are appealing to a local audience, our script does not need to be formal. The layout is in the conventional style, with the speakers names and their dialogue centred and the directions for the screen on the right. It is in a peer to peer mode of address as it is much more friendly and means Vicky and Jordan can have a natural feeling conversation with each other.
The script has quite a few layout conventions that include information about SFX and GFX which are at the top left hand side of the first page. In the content is transition information which is on the top right of the page between the dialogue so the reader knows when the visuals will appear.
The script was originally written in a teacher to pupil mode of address and is formal, which is like a proper news script. This is good if it was a proper news segment but as it is meant to be entertaining we need to make it peer to peer so it is more fun for the audience to watch.
We missed off some shooting script conventions in our script. These include camera directions, angles, transitions, locations and time of day. We will make sure to include these in our next version.
Does it meet Legal and Ethical requirements?
Our script abides by OFCOM rules as it contains no inappropriate material for children, unfair bias, copyright infringement or liable. So it is appropriate for pre watershed broadcast.
Our script has to be appropriate for children as it will be broadcast pre watershed. OFCOM has guidelines to protect children including rules that oppose material that might seriously impair the physical mental or moral development of children. When showing a game over an 18 rating we must not show or refer to any inappropriate material.
Our script is appropriate for pre watershed as it is appropriate content for a daytime audience. OFCOM says the watershed is to protect children from harmful material. They say unsuitable material is everything from sexual content to violence, graphic or distressing imagery and swearing. Our programme 'The Games Corner' will be suitable for pre watershed as it contains none of this unsuitable content.
With bias, opinions are allowed in our script as we will be promoting and advertising the game to give the local public information on the games. However to avoid too much bias being an issue we tried to have a good balance of positives and negatives throughout the script, backing up a goodn point with an improvement. Also as the remit of the show is broadcast by Sheffield Live! TV, bias is allowed as we are not funded by the companies that make the games we review and include.
We must gain permission from owners of music, graphics and gameplay if we are to use them in the show legally. This is needed to avoid copyright infringement. If we sourced music from a liscence free site like Creative Commons we would not need to get a liscence and avoid the possibility of infringement. We could also make our own as well.
We will make sure the information we broadcast is not untrue or libel so we will take it from reliable sources like IGN and BBC. We need to reference all the sources we use so if an issue is raised we can trace it back to the original publisher to avoid any problems.
