Over the course of the past few months, I aimed to be diligent when it came to planning and creating my FMP product. The idea I selected to create was a visual podcast based on a variety of sports, which had themes of guests, their stories, and mini games. I resulted in naming the podcast ‘The Pink Pitch Pod’ as I decided to maintain a feminine design to align with my persona and characteristics, as well as projecting my interest and passion for sports. I selected this idea out of my original three drafts because I believed I would be able to portray my presenting skills in the best possible way, as well as this being an idea I had planned before hand to link with my social media. When viewing the final product, I am content with the contents of the video and my presenting skills. However, I would certainly aim to improve the editing, the organisation of the episode beforehand and some parts of the set. I believe that my completed product is successful when it comes to the goal stated in my proposal, contrastingly there are minor defects that have let down my product too.

 

To begin with, I had to delve deep into the information and history behind podcasts and their audiences. Starting off with weighing up different methods of primary and secondary research I could use, I later discovered that most of my audience research was primary, and the general information regarding podcasts was secondary. This segment of research enabled me to be enhance my preparation when it came to conducting the search for details, information, and opinions.

 

Next, I selected two similar products and studied them carefully, (The Overlap with Gary Neville & Chloe vs The World) discovering that each podcast had elements I could foresee in my episodes. Combining the two examples, I created an episode with an engaging set, which covers serious topics, unfolds details regarding the experiences of the guest and uplifts with fun games to entertain listeners/viewers. I believe that the combination of these two products has enhanced the quality of my product due to the portrayal of a variety of presenting skills, alongside meeting my target audience’s wants and needs. Moreover, I explored the editing techniques of both ‘The Overlap’ and ‘Chloe vs The World’. Taking inspiration from both podcasts, I included a variety of shots and angles, and created a sting which gels with my aesthetic. The focus on the sting was vital for my final product because it is the immediate clip a viewer will see, meaning this could determine whether they continue watching the video or not.

 

I discovered many historical statistics about the growth of podcasts and how they were created. This helped me to ensure that my product remained unique as it informed me that there are a large variety of podcasts across the world, so it was vital to stick to a specific audience.

 

Planning the content to be included within my episodes was a crucial part of research. In particular, the different games I included, the questions I would aim to ask my guest and the topics of conversation I strived to cover. This aided my episodes to success because it requires these aspects to hold control of the episode and ensure I gained as much information from my guest as possible.

 

The success of the product can be quite controversial due to the overall edit. Positive aspects I can gather from the overall period of production is the completion of the research. I believe the research provided me with every material necessary for the detail planning of my episodes. For example, uncovering my audience and what they prefer to see within a podcast allowed me to carefully select my guest based on their career and their characteristics. Another thing I believe went well in my FMP was the success of the filming itself. This is narrowed down to me and the guest having a good connection, so our personalities clashed well which created a comforting and humorous atmosphere. Additionally, selecting the most difficult form of production was a strength for me due to the confidence and belief I had in myself that I could make it work.

 

On the contrary, a drawback of the final product is the editing. This was based on issues with Adobe Premiere Pro, which would not playback the whole audio, meaning I couldn’t crop out any parts of the podcast which may be unfitting or unsuited. Moreover, this subtracted my ability to add graphics, specifically indication of the score/points when playing the games. Additionally, the sting music I selected for did not process when downloading the final upload. Instead, it has generated a ‘muffle’ sound, which is something I would look to improve and figure out in the future.

 

The peer feedback I received provided me with three positives regarding the research, the set, and the presenting skills. The drawback of my product noted by my peer was regarding my audio when playing the video back in Premiere Pro, which was not providing me with the complete audio, however, once I exported the project the problem was immediately resolved.

 

This project has linked with my progression plans because I wanted to create a podcast before the FMP. This means that by using my time and effort throughout the project to create a podcast, it has taught me the ins and outs of what I need to know about the research, the contents, the editing, and problems I could face. Putting together a podcast is now something I can use in my portfolio to showcase my presenting and production skills, which will help me when applying for jobs, university, or an apprenticeship. However, by creating this podcast it has displayed to me that there are many difficulties such as timings, getting guests on, and editing such large files can cause software/app issues.

 

When it comes to industry, podcasts are something that are in high demand at the moment as a journalistic form of production. For example, journalists may retrieve guests and encourage them to tell stories or spill gossip in some cases. This means that many companies who may be considering a candidate will be more likely to hire if they have experiences with podcasts.

 

I aimed to maintain a schedule throughout the course of the FMP. This helped me to keep track of everything I was doing and what needs to be done. Another skill which was major throughout the production of my podcast was time management, this is because when I filmed a draft episode it took much longer than expected, which meant I held people back for longer than I stated, however this aided me to minimize content within the episodes. A final skill which was vital throughout production was communication, this was necessary because I had to communicate with my guest for over an hour as well as the control panel team.

 

In the future, I would strive to provide myself with more time for editing, although time was minimised due to the multiple takes of the episode itself. I believe I also would spend more time researching my guest in order to bounce back conversation with them. This would improve my podcast because it would allow me to have more time to create a product that includes the highest quality, with amazing graphics and audio, as well as having a more sport related conversation. This will impact the audience’s perception because they will be able to take in the visuals and audio more effectively as well as gather more information in regard to the sport related to the guest amongst their experiences.

 

Heading into year 2, I will definitely maintain my presenting skills, although there is always room for improvement. This is because of the success of personality clash between me and my guest I believe is based on my ability to make her feel comfortable. This led to me retrieving lots of information in regard to Georgia’s experience as a sports journalist. Therefore, it will entertain and educate the audience. Contrastingly, I will aim to provide myself with a larger amount of time for planning, researching, and editing when it comes to podcasts. This is due to the length of the episodes requiring them to be packed with entertainment and information, as well as lots of graphics post filming. This will improve audience experience which will benefit the engagement of my channel and videos individually.