My time at Southampton Solent University helped me experience the ins and outs of television and video media when it comes to Sports Journalism. I hold many of the television media I have on my YouTube channel and my Vimeo channel, which can be accessed by all. The posts below are sorted from newest at the top to oldest at the bottom:
Eastleigh FC: Spitfire Stones at the Silverlake – March 5th 2019
Another small video filmed and edited myself for Eastleigh’s social media platforms. The club have asked that their community projects are broadcasted in video/picture form and I hope that this piece does that. I tried to mix together images of both the players and the kids to highlight the hashtag which went along with the piece #BetterTogether.
Eastleigh FC: The Strevens Era (Episode One – Familiar Faces) – February 19th 2019
The second episode of my Eastleigh FC Documentary. Although I was only planning on making the one episode for the purpose of my university FMP assignment, the feedback I received on the first one pushed me to make another. This episode was slightly longer than the first however I still felt it could capture the attention of the viewers for the duration. One minor point I was given was that some of the sections towards the end of the piece became a little drawn out where there was no music or narration. However overall the reception was just as good as the first. I will certainly try and continue this series by attempting to get out one a month.
Tankerton FC: New Year 2019 Land Update – February 6th 2019
This video was filmed and edited entirely by myself for the use of Tankerton FC. I filmed all of the shots using my iPhone 6S, which films in relatively good quality however without an external microphone it meant the wind did interfere quite a bit. However I overcame this using captions, something that is fairly common in modern day videos but it is the first time I have edited using this feature. Overall I feel it’s a good piece with a nice variety of shots.
Eastleigh FC: The Strevens Era (Episode One – Strevens Stays) – January 13th 2019
The video above was what I submitted for my Final Major TV Project. It was designed to be a fly-on-the-wall type documentary following the behind-the-scenes going on at National League side Eastleigh. I took inspiration from similar documentaries such as those on Amazon Prime following Manchester City and on Netflix following Sunderland. Although intentionally meant as simply a submission for my FMP deadline, the reaction I got from the Eastleigh backroom staff and supporters to the video was amazing and so I was asked to produce future episodes. My roles for this piece was to edit, create the thumbnail, interview and film the majority of the shots and plug the piece. It is the first solo video project I have done during this final year at university.
Max Stryjek | My Time at Eastleigh – Eastleigh FC – December 23rd 2018
This was a little piece I edited myself using my fellow media man’s interview with Max Stryjek. As he had just played his last game for us I edited the following video to go out on Eastleigh’s social media platforms, thanking him for his time at the club. I edited the video in a Soccer Am Q&A style simply because the interviewer’s voice was too quiet. This also allowed me to make some of Stryjek’s shorter answers longer but added bits of what he said for other questions to the ones I used. Overall I was really happy with this piece and it got a good reaction on social media.
This was the shortened version used for Twitter, which to date (Sunday 6th January) has 15 retweets, 159 likes and over 10k views. For a club of Eastleigh’s size those are good numbers and I am happy I created something to achieve that.
Solent Sport on the Surge | Solent University – 9798 Productions – November 30th 2018
This was our final piece for 9798 before Christmas where we start doing radio pieces rather than TV. We responded on last week’s feedback by trying to get a greater story and feel like we did that with one around the subject of the new sports building at Solent. However with this one we had an issue when it came to the actual filming. Because it was a limited time on the building site, most of our shots were rushed and fairly similar (a panoramic style shot). As a result in the edit we had to use a lot of archive material. Overall it’s still a nice piece, but it had potential to be better which is frustrating. My roles were to arrange the interviews and the access which I am proud of as it is quite an exclusive story. I was also one of the two who shot the shots inside the sports building.
Rejuvenated Redhawks | Solent Redhawks – 9798 Productions – November 23rd 2018
Another 9798 video we produced a week after our last video was wanted by ITV Meridian. Our lecturers said it was produced really well and was the same standard as our Strevens and Dennett piece; good framing, good audio levels, a nice story. The only downside was that the story itself was not as good as previous weeks in terms of being newsworthy, which I can understand. My roles were the same as last week, I did the interviews and around half of the included shots.
Ben Strevens and Ollie Dennett | Pushing Eastleigh for the Playoffs – 9798 Productions – November 16th 2018
Our 9798 piece on Eastleigh and Ben Strevens’ first game in charge away at Barrow. We spoke to Strevens and forward Ollie Dennett about the season so far and the game ahead. Our lectures said this piece was the “cleanest piece I have seen this starting here at Solent”. I am really proud of the piece, especially seeing as ITV expressed interest in getting it on their show and their website. We certainly set high standards with this piece and we are all very proud of it. In terms of my role I did the interviews and much of the training shots.
Ben Strevens Pre-Barrow Interview – Eastleigh FC – November 16th 2018
Much like the Dennett interview underneath this piece with Strevens was produced for our 9798 Production but I uploaded it to Eastleigh’s social medias as a preview to the Barrow game. Strevens is always good with me and interviews and it’s great to have him in permanent charge of the club I work for.
Ollie Dennett previews Barrow (A) – Eastleigh FC – November 15th 2018
The first time I’ve interviewed an Eastleigh player away from a match day. Ollie was really good with our questions and helped us get another line for our 9798 production. I edited this short video for the Eastleigh twitter to go up as a preview to the Barrow game on Thursday evening.
Geena Gomez – Taking Team Solent Kestrels by storm – 9798 Productions – November 9th 2018
Another newsday piece for 9798 Productions. I really enjoyed filming this piece as it was a new experience for me filming basketball. There are some many opportunities to film shots that can match easily to music or a script – such as a basketball falling into a hoop. The only issue with this clip was the mic we used when interviewing as it picked up a lot of background noise that we did not need. This story also performed very well on social media, getting retweets from America as well as the UK.
Josh Sankoh and Steve Barnes – The Life of an Amateur Boxer – 9798 Productions – October 26th 2018
My involvement for this production for 9798 was far less compared to previous weeks as I was away with Eastleigh in Halifax when it was being edited on the newsday. However I did shot most of the shots used in the package, alongside interviewing Steve Barnes. Our lecturers labelled this piece “ready to air”.
Preparing for BUCS – Team Solent Ladies – October 16th 2018
Another Solent Ladies training package but this time with a twist. Instead of producing shots to pictures we simply let the natural audio take precedence, like a lot of professional football clubs do on their youtube accounts. I really liked how this turned out and definitely prefer these types of training videos to ones with non-copyright music over the top. Once again alongside co-shooting and editing the video I edited the thumbnail.
What next for Eastleigh FC? – 9798 Productions – October 12th 2018
Our second package as 9798 Productions came at Eastleigh FC, where I used my links with the club to get some behind the scenes reaction to the departure of their manager at the start of that week. Our lecturers praised the access we got within this package, and liked the interviews used and how parts of the script matched the images. However they felt the start was a bit muddled – switching too frequently between the manager’s office and shots of the ground. They also noted the framing for Tom Coffey’s interview should have him looking the other way (towards the middle of the magazine technique). My main roles for this video was general editing, gaining access to interviews and shots and of course voiceover. This video performed very well on social media which helped boost 9798 Productions up the league table of other third year production accounts.
Is Women’s sport on the rise in Universities? – 9798 Productions – October 5th 2018
This was the first video we made as third year sports journalism students, and as part of a new production group called 9798 Productions. We used the same footage as seen in the video below, this time making it more newsworthy and topical as it was part of our Solent Journalism newsy. Once again I liked the variety of the shots used, how they line up to the audio and the archive footage really adds to it. However the voiceover could have been edited better (a few poor cuts towards the end), and our lecturers told us it is very rare to start a news package with archive material. My main roles for this was filming the shots, arranging the interviews and writing the script.
Back to Business – Team Solent Ladies BUCS Preview – October 2nd 2018
This was our first video produced for Solent Ladies as third year students and our first time using the new Canon XC15’s. I really enjoyed being able to use these cameras as you can get low down, high resolution shots (similar to what you can get with a phone), whilst also being able to use it’s 10x optical zoom. I really like this training package as I like how the shots fit the music and change frequently. I feel the interview also works well in the middle to add a bit on context to the piece. Alongside co-shooting and editing the video I created the thumbnail.
#VarsityIsComing – Solent Ladies Varsity Preview – May 8th 2018
Following interviewing Solent Ladies manager Rafa Citron and some of the players I edited this video as a preview to their Varsity game against Bournemouth on the 9th of May. I really enjoyed experimenting with different effects and editing to music. The fact that the video was a fairly long one too meant I could change up the effects and music, highlighting how I now have some variety in my videos. The only negative point however is the fact that one of the microphones failed to pick up a lot of the audio for both of the girls sat on the left of the shot, which meant their interviews did not come out as sharp as their teammates’ did.
Solent Ladies – Ending on a High – February 13th 2018
During the second term of second year we were required to make news packages in a similar fashion to first term, however this time it had to include a music segment. I have really enjoyed editing to music and when given the appropriate shots feel I can produce effective pieces. The above package is the best work I have produced so far this term in my opinion. As part of a group project I was the producer and so became responsible for the finished piece. The above video features an edit that was largely composed by myself, alongside my own voiceover and a lot of my own shots used. Often I find I can become the lead figure in group projects due to my need/want to get things perfect. In terms of improvements some of the shots needed focusing (my lecturer pointed out the Rafa interview was slightly out of focus), and the voiceover at times became too quick. Overall however I am very pleased with the edit, particularly the music segment.
Reaction – Solent Ladies Head Coach Rafa Citron post Winchester – November 26th 2017
Another defeat and interview with Rafa Citron. We had to rush this interview but I felt I still came out with some insightful questions.
Reaction – Solent Ladies Head Coach Rafa Citron post Uni of Brighton – November 22nd 2017
The latest Rafa interview featured a combination of the standard questions (“your thoughts on the game”) and the challenging ones (“is that your best team?”). Of course due to the game being a convincing victory it was easier to make the interview of a more conversational manner, which I enjoyed.
Reaction – Solent Ladies Head Coach Rafa Citron post Uni of South Wales – November 15th 2017
This interview was different from a majority of the interviews I had previously conducted with Rafa as I steered away from the safer questions. This was mainly due to the frustrations of yet another defeat, and the want for answers of a more precise nature. The answers I got were very similar to previous weeks (suggesting Rafa himself is media trained), however I felt he could tell the frustrations were there.
Reaction – Solent Ladies Head Coach Rafa Citron post New Milton Town FC – November 12th 2017
Another post match Rafa interview that was in a similar mould to that before. You can tell my interviewing skills are growing progressively strong week by week through both my own self-confidence and a great bond with the coach himself.
Reaction – Solent Ladies Head Coach Rafa Citron post Southampton FC – November 8th 2017
Another interview with the Solent Ladies Head Coach Rafa Citron following a game. This time I felt my questioning was much more refined and picked out key topics that arose from the game. I can already see my confidence with interviews increasing with every one I do alongside my enjoyment in doing them.
Reaction – Solent Ladies Head Coach Rafa Citron post UofG – November 1st 2017
Another ‘off the cuff’ interview with Rafa Citron following a Solent Ladies game. I felt my questions were far better this time compared to the last video as they focused on certain aspects of the game and came in a more professional manner (less personal opinion). The more I do this, the better I will become.
Changes to Solent’s Mens BUCS Team for 2017/18 Season – Assessed Newsday – October 31st 2017
Password for Video: newsday
This was the piece I edited and worked on with 3 other guys for our first ever assessed newsday at Southampton Solent University. My role during this piece was to arrange the Liam Dell part of the interview, record the cutaway phone shots and of course provide the voice-over. Personally my voice-over skills need improving, I exaggerate the wrong words and speak far too quickly. Naturally this will something that time on this course will help improve. In terms of the edit I feel its clean, professional and tells a good newsworthy story. I also wrote an article on the video which can be accessed by clicking here.
Meet Rafa Citron – Solent Ladies Head Coach – Practise Newsday – October 23rd 2017
This was the first feature I had edited myself at Southampton Solent that I was truly proud of, mainly due to the work that went into it all. That work started from the beginning of the previous week, whereby I messaged people via text and email trying to gather interviews. I managed to sort out and organise all of the interviews featured in this clip. I then, whilst the filming was taking place, was in charge of the training shots which I shot on my iPhone 6s. Some of the shots have too much glare due to the camera lens being dirty which is annoying, but something I can easily fix for next time. As for the edit as a whole I felt it looked clean and got a good, interesting story across. In terms of improvements I would resist the urge to use the same training clip twice as I did at one stage here, and I would also attempt to improve the lighting on some of the outside interview shots. Overall though I am proud of this work and look forward to producing similar pieces in the future. This video was posted by myself on the Solent Ladies official YouTube, alongside a personally made Canva thumbnail.
Reaction – Solent Ladies Head Coach Rafa Citron post Chesham – October 22nd 2017
This was the first time I had interviewed a sporting figure on camera for an official YouTube account. As part of the Solent Ladies media team I was required to conduct the post game interview with the Head Coach Rafa Citron. I used the ‘off the cuff’ interview technique, whereby I referred to my own knowledge and the comments from Rafa in order to gauge the questions. I felt the questions I selected in this instance were good ones that provoked answers with many good quotes to use in a write up. In the future I may prepare some questions as the game is coming to a close; picking out specific styles of the play and particular moments. The interview is part of the media work I produced for the Solent Ladies YouTube channel.
Solent Ladies BUCS Season Preview – October 16th 2017
Password for Video: SolentMedia
At the start of the second year of my time at Southampton Solent we produced a feature on Team Solent Ladies, and how they were preparing for the upcoming BUCS season. This video was completely edited by myself. As part of a group of three my role was both to organise the interviews (due to my links with the team) and also produce some of the shots used as a backdrop during the feature. Personally I feel this was not the greatest piece of work that could have been produced as the audio levels were quite low, and the lighting on the interviewees needed to be increased. These are just two things we will look to improve next time.
5 Minute TV Sports Bulletin Assessment – May 25th 2017
This 5 minute sports bulletin formed part of my assessment during the second term of the first year at Southampton Solent University. I worked as part of a group of 5 to produce a bulletin which included an Upsot, an underlay and vox pop. My main role was to produce the rugby segment during the bulletin which I narrated and edited together. I also created the script and oversaw the whole final editing process.
AdamHWhyte 