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Television Production: Idea to Screen

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CAREER OPPORTUNITIES IN MEDIA WORLD

Mass communication and Journalism is institutionalized and source specific.It functions through well-organized professionals and has an ever increasinginterlace. Mass media has a global availability and it has converted the wholeworld in to a global village. A qualified journalism professional can take up ajob of educating, entertaining, informing, persuading, interpreting, andguiding. Working in print media offers the opportunities to be a newsreporter, news presenter, an editor, a feature writer, a photojournalist, etc.Electronic media offers great opportunities of being a news reporter, newseditor, newsreader, programme host, interviewer, cameraman, producer,director, etc.

Other titles of Mass Communication and Journalism professionals are scriptwriter, production assistant, technical director, floor manager, lightingdirector, scenic director, coordinator, creative director, advertiser, mediaplanner, media consultant, public relation officer, counselor, front officeexecutive, event manager and others.




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INTRODUCTION

The book will cover television production processes right from selecting topic tothe production of that programme. Students will learn developing programmebriefs researching the topic, Programme Resources, Style and format, structuringthe programme, Storyboard and Script Designing and Script Layout. The book willalso cover Rules of editing, editing sound; U-matic, Beta & VHS, Types of editing,cut to cut, A/B roll, Assembly and insert editing. The book also covers MediaResearch Methodology.




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INDEX

305 Television Production: Idea to ScreenUNIT 1. Selection of the programme topic: 6-20

1.1. Developing programme briefs1.2 Researching the topic1.3. Designing the Production Schedule1.4. Storyboard1.5. Script Designing1.6. Script Layout

2 Video Recording and Editing: 20-482.1 What is editing?2.2 Rules of editing2.3 Editing sound2.4 U-matic, Beta & VHS2.5 Types of editing2.6. The Single-camera Solution2.7 insert editing.2.8. FCP

3 Media Research Methodology: 48-963.1. Methods of Media Research3.3. Observation Method3.4. Case Studies3.5. Interviews3.6. Writing support materials of research3.7. Designing Evaluation Tools and Techniques3.8. Know your audience- questionnaire3.9. Program testing3.10. Survey3.11. Sampling and the.3.12. What Survey Results Will Provide3.13. Principles of marketing research3.14. Research Validity and Reliability3.15. Internet Technologies3.16. Pre-testing & post –testing3.17. Data3.18. Research report writing

Summery 97

Questions for practice 100

Suggested reading 101




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SYLLABUS


UNIT 1 Selection of the programme topic:

Developing programme briefs Objectives, Contents, Duration etc), Researchingthe topic, Programme Resources, Style and format, structuring the programme,Storyboard and Script Designing, Script Layout.

UNIT 2. Video Recording and Editing:

What is editing? Rules of editing, Editing sound; U-matic, Beta & VHS, Types ofediting, Cut to cut, A/B roll, Assembly and insert editing.

UNIT 3 Media Research Methodology:

Writing support materials, Designing Evaluation Tools and Techniques, Evaluationand field testing of programme, Preview and Analysis of programme.




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305 . TELEVISION PRODUCTION: IDEA TOSCREEN

OBJECTIVES

To learn Developing programme briefs To know about researching the topic, Programme Resources, Style and

format, structuring the programme, To learn about Storyboard and Script Designing, Script Layout To know the Rules of editing, Editing sound; U-matic, Beta & VHS, Types

of editing to learn Media Research Methodology

UNIT 1. SELECTION OF THE PROGRAMME TOPIC

1.1. Developing programme Briefs Objectives, Contents, Duration

The production of documentary is similar to the production of soft news videopackage. The crew for documentary production is small, similar to the crew sizefor the soft news video packages. The person whom a documentary is usuallyconceived and created is the producer. A documentary producer can be a part of alarger organization such as the news department of a television newscast or may besimply an independent producer or documentary freelancer. The produceroversees all facets of the video production.

The camera operator has the responsibilities of listing, purchasing the necessaryequipment and accessories. The camera operator may participate in the choice ofvideotapes also. His works include meeting early with the producer to reviewproduction and plan the needful. When the producer has completed the shot list,the camera operator begins pre production responsibilities by estimating andordering videotapes stock for the video or documentary production. He will also belisting audio recording needs because audio recording on location will beresponsibility of the videotape recorder operator.

Writing the Proposal




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The proposal is a document consisting essentially of the following items:

A treatment A proposed budget A video format or video script Proposed production schedule

The more thorough the proposal, the better the chances of the documentary beingapproved. Yet before undertaking the proposal another step is required i.e.research.

1.2 Researching a Topic

Research usually mean good library. Currently with high tech computer searchesfor topics, research is easier and faster than ever, but good research is time-consuming. One of the best ways to do quality research is to organize. If aproducer organizes the topic carefully from the beginning, the whole organizationof further research, the format or outline of the documentary, the pre-productionscript, and the order of videotaping the production will be created at the same time.Quality research can also reveal potential locations for videotaping, availableprerecorded videotape and film, the acquisition of still photographs, contactpersons, and potential interviewees, besides the content nature of the topicitself.

1.2.1. Scouting the Location Site

Scouting out a location for production of a programme or at least searching out theplace to interview the spokespeople should at least follow adequate research intothe subject of the film or the documentary. A producer may have to pay for thescouting trip beforehand and recoup the expense later in the proposed budget.

1.2.2. Writing the Treatment

The treatment portion of the proposal is a verbal description of the suggestedtopic or subject of the documentary. The content of the treatment should coverthe topic and why it should be the focus of the documentary. It should also containa proposed title, the proposed length, and the goals and objectives of thedocumentary. It is helpful to include the target audience and the reasons fortargeting them and suggested production values to reach the audience. Once theproducer has set goals and objectives for the documentary, a production statement




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can be written to accurately define in an emotional or rational few words therationale for the documentary.

1.2.3. Constructing a Budget

Most budgets are a matter of organizing essential expenses both from producingpersonnel and from the projected costs of the production and postproduction. Thebasis for much equipment and facility costs can be obtained from a rate card,which most production facilities and equipment suppliers make available to thepotential clients.

A story can be told in different ways depending upon the budget. Each variationwill yield the same story, but it will be designed differently. To use an analogy, ahouse can be built with $100,000 or $1,000,000. Both variations will be a house,but the designs will be different based on budget constraints. The builder with$100,000 can afford a modest house, while the builder with $1,000,00 can afford amansion with all the extras. Similarly, a documentary's budget defines how thestory is told in terms of variables such as locations, characters, special effects, etc.

Every Penny Must Go On Screen - Traveling to locations, unloading equipmenttrucks, rigging lights, laying dolly track, organizing crowd scenes, etc. is timeconsuming and expensive. Most importantly, this work does not appear on screenper se. In order to make a successful low budget documentary, you must putevery penny on the screen.

If a story can be told with 10 locations, why use 20? If it can be told with a cast of6, why use 12? Are elaborate lighting setups and camera moves adding to the storyor are they just burning up the budget and pulling down overall quality? You mustask these hard questions.

One reason filmmakers refuse to be economical in terms of equipment and storyvariables is that they fear a rough, low quality look. The truth is economy does notmean low quality. It means telling a story within one's means. This results inhigher production values because every penny is put on the screen.

When you try to a make bigger movie than the budget can support, you spreadresources too thin. As money runs out, you may take short cuts and foolishchances. This results in lower quality.

1.2.4. Writing the Pre -Production Script




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With research completed and format for the production finished, a pre productionscript is not difficult to write at this stage. It is to be kept in mind that a script atthis stage is only a pre production step and not a final production script. Yet withthe advantage of research and information leads from research, a script isadvantageous at this point. Major elements to be included in the pre productionscript are topic lead, proposed interviewees, bridges between segments,proposed video, proposed cut-away, internal summaries and final summary.

Story is King -Without name actors, a low budget movie must rely exclusively onthe quality of its story to attract audiences. The story must be intriguing and mustcontain unwavering conflict. The conflict, whether physical or dramatic, must beintense, elevated, and memorable. When done right, this is what creates the wordof mouth buzz that surrounds a movie.

1.3. Designing the Production Schedule

With the pre production work completed, the producer can now design aproduction schedule on the basis of available locations and available intervieweesand travel arrangements. Production schedule information should include thefollowing:

Dates of each individual videotape shoot Place for travel Transportation plans Crew accommodations Location sites Interviewee names and titles

Structuring a Programme

Once the shoot has been done for the programme and the producer has the shoottapes ready, the producer has the perform following duties to give a structure to theprogramme:

1. Reviewing tapes and recording editing work sheets- Even though locationlog sheets were kept during production, it is necessary for a producer topreview all tapes as a prelude to editing. This step allows the producer tostudy video and audio responses from location talent. This is the first step inthe editing process deciding what might be used in the programme and whatwill not be used. It is also the beginning of the final script of the programme.




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The editing work sheets are a listing of all video on the coded source tapeswith notations of in-cues and out-cue; length of segments, some videotaperecorder counter numbers or stopwatch time and some judgmental notationson the relative value of takes on the source tapes.

2. Writing the final script for the documentary- although the pre productionscript has served an important service, it gives way to the final script. It canstill serve as a frame of reference and a basic framework for the final script,but with the dynamics of location shoot and interviewing, many elementsfirst considered important give way to new elements of ten more importantor creative.

3. Coordinating editing cue sheets with the final production script- aftereach tape has been reviewed, work sheets completed, and the finalproduction script written, the producer can spend quality time apart from thetapes and video monitors and, with the final script.

4. Editing or supervising the editing session- with the majority of editingdecisions already made on the editing cue sheets and with the editing worksheets to aid in swift recovery of videotape segments from the source tapes,editing can begin.

5. Adding music and effects and mixing the audio channels- after the mastertape has been edited, and assuming the most synchronous audio bites arealso edited with the video, the second audio track is ready for voice-overtracks, location ambience tracks, music or sound effects. This means thataudio channel 1dialogue track and audio channel 2 music and effects willhave to be mixed down to one channel track.

6. Adding titling and credits-after the master tape is complete, and then titlesand credits can be matted on the video. Some producers may matte thecharacter generator copy in editing suite over the proper video images, asthey are being edited master through a studio control room switcher. Thiscan also be done while the two audio tracks are being mixed down.

7. Final script transcription for the programme-many documentariessponsoring organizations may wish to have a transcribed copy of the finaldocumentary for legal purposes in addition to a videotaped dub of themaster. If the organization or some interviewee were granted editing rightsin lieu of their participation in the documentary, then they would require acopy of the final audio text of the documentary from which to makecorrections or revisions to the text of the documentary.

1.4. . Storyboard and Script Designing




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Storyboards are graphic organizers such as a series of illustrations or imagesdisplayed in sequence for the purpose of previsualizing a motion graphic orinteractive media sequence




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The storyboarding process, in the form it is known today, was developed at theWalt Disney studio during the early 1930s, after several years of similar processesbeing in use at Disney and other animation studios. Storyboarding became popularin live-action film production during the early 1940s.

A storyboard is essentially a large comic of the film or some section of the filmproduced beforehand to help film directors, cinematographers and televisioncommercial advertising clients visualize the scenes and find potential problemsbefore they occur. Often storyboards include arrows or instructions that indicatemovement.

In creating a motion picture with any degree of fidelity to a script, a storyboardprovides a visual layout of events as they are to be seen through the camera lens. Inthe storyboarding process, most technical details involved in crafting a film can beefficiently described either in picture, or in additional text.

Some live-action directors, storyboard extensively before taking the pitch to theirfunders, stating that it helps them get the figure they are looking for since they canshow exactly where the money will be used. Other directors storyboard onlycertain scenes, or not at all. Animation directors are usually required to storyboardextensively, sometimes in place of doing a script.

Storyboards were adapted from the film industry to business, purportedly byHoward Hughes of Hughes Aircraft. Today they are used by industry for planningad campaigns, commercials, a proposal or other projects intended to convince orcompel to action.

A "quality storyboard" is a tool to help facilitate the introduction of a qualityimprovement process into an organization.

More recently the term "storyboard" has been used in the fields of webdevelopment, software development and instructional design to present anddescribe interactive events as well as motion on user interfaces, electronic pagesand presentation screens.

One advantage of using storyboards is that it allows in film and business the userto experiment with changes in the storyline to evoke stronger reaction or interest.




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Flashbacks, for instance, are often the result of sorting storyboards out ofchronological order to help build suspense and interest.

The process of visual thinking and planning allows a group of people to brainstormtogether, placing their ideas on storyboards and then arranging the storyboards onthe wall. This fosters more ideas and generates consensus inside the group.

A storyboard is an extremely valuable tool, if you have time to make one. If youdon’t make a storyboard, at the very least you need to create a shot list — a versionof the script that breaks down the story into a series of shots, and describes each insimple notation of scale and subject.

The shot list included here uses arrows down the right side to indicatenonconsecutive shots that can and should be filmed in continuous takes — that is,the director plans to cutaway briefly to a reaction and then return to the sameimage, so there’s no reason to stop the camera. The parenthesis indicates thecutaways that are bracketed by the continuous shots.

The function of the shot list during the shoot is that it allows the filmmaker toquickly place the particular shot being recorded into the larger narrative context ofthe production.

Since it is extremely inefficient to shoot a story in the order the shots appear in thefinal production — if a dialogue scene cuts back and forth between two people,you’d have to keep resetting the tripod and lighting over and over, repeating allyour tech labor after each little snippet — films are always shot out of sequence,organized in a way to get as many of the same kind of shot in a single setup aspossible. Do all the shots from one side of scene at once; do all the shots in thesame location at once, no matter if some come at the very beginning of the storyand some at the very end. This requires pre-planning: the goal being to arrange theshoot so that it requires the least amount of repetitive labor — a big make-upchange is more complicated than a camera set-up, so that would take priority, andso on.

The plan for exactly what gets shot in what order is called the shooting schedule.As you go through the shooting schedule, check off each shot as you complete asatisfactory take — then check it off on the shot list too. Just having a shootingschedule is not enough, because you quickly lose the sense of what’s reallysupposed to be happening in the shot when you look at all the notations out ofsequence.




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The shot list and shooting schedule examples here contain the minimal amount ofinformation you’d want such documents to contain. On the one hand, you want tokeep them compact, using as few sheets of paper as possible, so you can keep thepaperwork organized amidst any chaos on the set. On the other hand, more detailednotes can help you avoid potential problems more readily.

One thing that is recommended, is adding to the info shown in these examples, anote about continuity — how you get will need to get into or out of a shot inediting. Indicate where you may have a Match-On-Action planned by noting‘MOA’; make notes on where the screen direction of eye lines, exits/entrancesshould be at the beginning and end of shots. All of these things are very easy toforget if they’re not written down.

1.5. Script Designing

It usually depends on the type of the programme. The normal format for aprogramme shooting script is essentially a two-column affair, which breaksdown each sequence into its component shots. The left-hand side shows the typeof the shot long shots, close -up etc), a description of the subject matter plus anyinstructions regarding movement of the camcorder. The right-hand of the scriptcovers sound, i.e. narrative, dialogue and special sound effects.

Pre-planning and scripting will undoubtedly assist in making a gooddocumentary but don’t be too hidebound. If, during the shoot, you think ofsomething better, or an unexpected relevant event occurs, then use your commonsense and accommodate changes.

Pre-location planning- one element of video work, which is sometimesoverlooked with embarrassing results, is logistical planning. Dependent upon thetype and scale of the documentary the logistics can cover a multitude of thingslike:

Location- any required permissions should have been sought prior to or atthe research stage but where applicable, confirm with the appropriatepersons that a specific time is O.K. A reconnaissance exploring will alsohelp to establish the best camera positions and whether there are likely to beany lighting, sound or power problems, which will need to be overcome.Where necessary and possible, take some trial shots.




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Personnel- make sure that all concerned, be they crew or cast, are fullyconversant with where the shoot is to take place, their personal time ofarrival and how long it is likely to last. With a dramatized documentary, tryto avoid having the cast standing around for too long waiting for their scenesto be shot. It is a sure way to soon kill enthusiasm.

Sustenance- thought must also be given to refreshments and food, thecheapest option being to suggest that all personnel bring their food.Sometimes with a large-scale project catering responsibilities are alsoallocated.

Equipment-prepare a checklist of all the equipment likely to be needed,including, safe main power leads, and batteries for camcorders and otherequipments, microphones, tripod, lights, reflector and enclosed headphonesetc. don’t forget props.

1.6. Script Layout

Screenplay has to be formatted:

So it's easy to read. It may be OK to have a scruffy looking script if you are theonly one who will use it, but to allow your cast and crew to make sense of itapplying a few rules of formatting makes it easier to read.

There are two main types of fictional screenplay - the spec script and theshooting script. The spec script is what gets sent out to producers and actors, butwe can probably forget about that as we are going to pick up a camera ourselves,so we can write a shooting script.

Layout

Scripts are best typed on only one side of the paper in 12-point courier. Double spacing between lines allows you to read the script easier. Leave good borders around the script.

Keep to the above tips and you will have a well laid out script. This can help youtime your script, as now one page of screenplay will equal one minute of screentime.

Slug Lines- the scene heading/slug line. Consists of either INT. Interior – e.g. in aroom or EXT. Exterior e .g. on the street, the location e .g. CITY STREET.




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NEW YORK followed by either DAY or NIGHT Forget aboutmorning/afternoon/sunset etc. as it makes no difference when it is being filmed -no one is going to shoot you for filming in the afternoon and pretending it is themorning. Here are a few examples to give you a rough idea.

INT. MORTUARY - NIGHT

EXT. RACE TRACK - DAY

Scenes inside cars are Interiors despite the fact that the car is outside. You mayoccasionally see EXT/INT or INT/EXT on a script. This occurs when the camera isin one location and the action is happening in another. For example:

INT/EXT. HOTEL LOBBY/CITY STREET - DAY

The camera or a character is watching the action occurring outside)

EXT/INT. CAR/APARTMENT - NIGHT

The camera or character is sitting in a car watching something happening throughan apartment's window. Hey, maybe they’re on a stakeout or something!)

The Business: The scene direction/business. This tells the reader what is going on.Clear, concise. Always showing rather than telling. Don't say that:

DAVID is suffering inner torment because of his wife's kidnapping.

...show us!

DAVID runs his hands through his hair. Picks up a shot of bourbon, tastes it andwinces. He throws the glass across the room, hitting the mirror, whichSHATTERS. Write in the present tense. It gives events and action much moreimmediacy, like they are really happening, which is what you want.

Dialogue

Dialogue appears in a column down the center of the page indented from thebusiness. It’s in the form:




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NAMEDirectionHey, this is what your character says.

The name is straightforward right? It goes in Upper Case.

The direction isn't always given, in fact in a spec script you would provide hardlyany - telling an actor how to act is as bad as telling a director how to direct! Theonly occasion you might put some in would be if dialogue was directed specificallyat another character e.g. To Albert or if it has to be said in a particular styleWhispering.

And finally the dialogue itself. Try to keep it to a minimum, no long speecheshere. That way there is less for your actors to remember and less for them to muckup. Good actors will always make the best of what you have written for them andcan provide so much more with their intonation and body language, which yousimply cannot write. I'm sure I read somewhere that only 20% of communication isspeech.

Avoid exposition that's when you character explains something in detail - try andshow rather than tell. Keep it simple and remember 'Good dialogue is dialogue thatilluminates what the characters are not saying'.

Character Names

When a character first appears their name in the scene direction should be inCAPITALS. After that their name is in lower case.

Try to avoid giving minor characters names like THUG 4 as its pretty demeaningto have to play such a lowly character - 'Hey, I'm not even playing THUG 2'. Youneedn't go to extremes and give them a full name unless the character is named byanother character), just spice it up, so that when you offer the part to your friend,rather than being the fourth thug they could be a MEAN THUG or a TATTOEDTHUG.

Sound

You can put important sounds in CAPITALS, so that monsters SHRIEK and carsEXPLODE, but this is up to you. Some people like to, others don't. If you do putsounds in upper case try not to overdo it. You see the word OVER used in scripts.




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This means that there is an important sound OVER the normal soundtrack e.g.music.

Camera Directions

As this is a shooting script we can add camera and actor directions to the script - ina spec script you wouldn't do this - just like you wouldn't turn round to Coppolaand say 'Do a Close Up here'. But as this is our show we get to play director. Thereare several abbreviations to speed the writing and reading along.

C/U - Close-upMS - Medium ShotLS - Long ShotTwo-Shot - Shot of two characters in the same pictureV.O. - voiceoverO.S. - off screenP.O.V. - Point of view e.g. one of those wobbly cameras they use when someoneis breaking into an apartment in a horror movie.




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M.O.S. - without sound. Apparently comes from "Mit out sound" which someGerman director used to shout or something. Great for when your characters arestaking out some joint, watching the bad guys pull off some drug deal and theycan't hear what they are saying.

Camera Movements

CRAB - camera moves completely to the left/rightPAN - camera pivots left or rightTILT - camera pivots up or downBOOM - camera moves up or down.DOLLY - camera moves in/out from subjectZOOM - camera zooms in/out from subject not strictly a camera movementbecause its the lens that's moving not the camera)

Transitions

These are how you change from one scene to another. They always sit over to theright of your script and on the whole you will find yourself using:-

CUT TO: which is a straight change of picture from one scene to the next.




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There are some other transitions available but be careful, they have differentconnotations to the viewer.

DISSOLVE TO: The final shot of the previous scenes fades into the first shot ofthe next scene. This can be used to suggest the passing of time. And you will needa three-machine edit suite or a non-linear computer editing system to achieve this.

FADE IN: Usually used at the start of films, with FADE OUT used to end themovie. You can also use CUT TO BLACK and CUT FROM BLACK/CUT IN.You can use these transitions together to alter the mood and pace. For example:

NICK grins at ALBERT.NICK: ‘You're even uglier than I remember’.

Albert scratches his head, thinking, before pulling his fists back and hitting Nickfull on in the face.

CUT TO BLACK:

FADE IN:

INT. BEDROOM - DAY.

UNIT 2. VIDEO RECORDING AND EDITING

2.1. What is Editing?

Today's nonlinear computer editors are capable of just about any effect you candream up. Because of this, it's tempting to try to impress your audience with all theproduction razzle-dazzle you can manage.

But, whenever any production technique calls attention to itself, especially indramatic productions, you've diverted attention away from your central message.Video professionals - or maybe we should say true artisans of the craft - know thatproduction techniques are best when they are transparent; i.e., when they gounnoticed by the average viewer.




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However, in music videos, commercials, and program introductions, we are in anera of where production primarily editing techniques are being used as a kind of"eye candy" to mesmerize audiences.

To make your videos enjoyable for everyone, video editing is essential. Videos thatwere before just a collection of disconnected ideas will become meaningful, evenpowerful. You may even find that you enjoy video editing and, after you haverevamped your own video collection, opt to edit for others.

Video Editing is the process of re-arranging or modifying segments of video toform another piece of video. The goals of video editing are the same as in filmediting — the removal of unwanted footage, the isolation of desired footage, andthe arrangement of footage in time to synthesize a new piece of footage.

Video Editing: Basic Concepts

CaptureThe first concept is called capture. You have to move all of the footage out of thecamera and onto your computer's hard disk. There are three ways to do this:

1. You can capture all of the footage in a single file on your hard disk. A halfhour of video footage might consume 10 gigabytes of space.

2. You could bring it in as five or 10 smaller files, which together will total 10gigabytes but will be a little more manageable.

3. You can have a piece of software bring in the footage shot by shot. AdobePremiere can do this manually, but a program like DV Gate Motion whichcomes standard on many Sony computers can automatically scan the tape,find the beginning and end of every shot, and then bring them all in. Eachshot will be in a different file when it's done. If you have access to aprogram like this, it makes your life very easy.

AVI and MOV files

The capture process will create AVI on the PC) or MOV on the Mac) files onyour hard disk. These files contain your footage, frame by frame, in the maximumresolution that your camera can produce. So these files are huge. Typically, threeminutes of footage will consume about 1 gigabyte of space. You can never haveenough disk space when you do a lot of video editing

ShotsOnce you have all of your footage into your machine, you need a way to select the




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parts that you are going to use. For example, let's say that you want to include ascene in your birthday movie that shows the candles on the birthday cake being lit.You filmed this activity from three angles and have three minutes of raw footagetotal. But in the final movie you are going to have 15 seconds of the movie devotedto this scene, in the form of three shots:

A 3-second shot showing a match being lit A 5-second shot showing a close-up of one candle on the cake being lit A 7-second shot of the cake with all the candles lit being carried into the

room

Out of the big file of all the footage, you need a way to mark the beginning and endof these three little clips so that you can move them around as individual units andbond them together into the final scene.

You do this by looking at the raw footage and marking an IN and OUT point forthe little sections that you want to use. Then you drag these little clips onto thetimeline.

TimelineOnce you have your shots figured out, you need a place to arrange them in theproper order and hook them together. The place where you do that is called atimeline. You line the shots up in sequential order. Then you can play them as asequence.

With just three concepts -- capture, shots and timeline -- you can make amovie. It will not be fancy, but it will be 10 times better than watching rawfootage.

Running Adobe Premiere

Once you get past the Project Settings dialog, you come to the main workingscreen of Premiere, which looks something like this:




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The main working screen for Adobe Premiere

There are five different areas on the screen that are important.

The Project Area

The project area

The project area keeps track of all of the different AVI/MOV files containing theraw footage that you are using to create your movie. In this illustration, the projectarea has had five different files imported into one bin.




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The Monitor Area

The monitor area

The monitor area has two video windows. The left window, called the Sourcewindow, let's you look at different AVI files so that you can identify the IN andOUT points for the clips you want to use. The right window, called the Programwindow, lets you view your movie as it develops on the timeline. Both havestandard controls to play, stop, and repeat and so on.

The Timeline Area

The timeline area is where you assemble audio and video clips into your finalmovie. This timeline initially has room for two video tracks and three audio tracks,but it can handle dozens if you like.

The Transitions Area




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The transitions area

The transitions area lets you choose different transitions so you can drop them onthe timeline.

The Navigator Area

The navigator area

The navigator area lets you see your whole project at a glance, no matter how big itgets. It also lets you set the zoom level in the timeline area.

Guideline #1: Edits work best when they are motivated.

In making any cut or transition from one shot to another there is a risk of breakingaudience concentration and subtly pulling attention away from the story or subjectmatter.

When cuts or transitions are motivated by production content they are more apt togo unnoticed. For example, if someone glances to one side during a dramatic




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scene, we can use that as motivation to cut to whatever has caught the actor'sattention.

For example, when one person stops talking and another starts, that provides themotivation to make a cut from one person to the other. If we hear a door open, orsomeone calls out from off-camera, we generally expect to see a shot of whoever itis. If someone picks up a strange object to examine it, it's natural to cut to an insertshot of the object.

Guideline # 2: Whenever possible cut on subject movement.

If cuts are prompted by action, that action will divert attention from the cut,making the transition more fluid. Small jump cuts are also less noticeable becauseviewers are caught up in the action.

If a man is getting out of a chair, you can cut at the midpoint in the action. In thiscase some of the action will be included in both shots. In cutting, keep the 30-degree rule in mind.

Maintaining Consistency in Action and Detail

Editing for single-camera production requires great attention to detail. Directorswill generally give the editor more than one take of each scene. Not only shouldthe relative position of feet or hands, etc., in both shots match, but also the generalenergy level of voices and movements.

You will also need to make sure nothing has changed in the scene - hair, clothing,the placement of props, etc. and that the talent is doing the same thing in exactlythe same way in each shot.

Note that if we cut from the close-up of the woman talking to the four-shot on theright that the angle of her face changes along with the lighting.

These things represent clear continuity problems -- made all the more apparent inthis case because our eyes would be focused on the woman.

Part of the art of acting is in to maintain absolute consistency between takes.

This means that during each take talent must remember to synchronize moves andgestures with specific words in the dialogue. Otherwise, it will be difficult, if notimpossible, to cut directly between these takes during editing.




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It's the Continuity Director's job to see not only that the actor's clothes, jewelry,hair, make-up, etc., remain consistent between takes, but that props movableobjects on the set also remain consistent.

It's easy for an object on the set to be picked up at the end of one scene or take andthen be put down in a different place before the camera rolls on the next take.When the scenes are then edited together, the object will then seem to disappear, orinstantly jump from one place to another. Discounting the fact that you would notwant to cut between two shots that are very similar, do you see any problem incutting between the two shots above?

Okay, you may have caught the obvious disappearance of her earrings and adifference in color balance, but did you notice the change in the direction of thekey light and the position of the hair on her forehead?

Entering and Exiting the Frame

As an editor, you often must cut from one scene as someone exits the frame on theright and then cut to another scene as the person enters another shot from the left.

It's best to cut out of the first scene as the person's eyes pass the edge of theframe, and then cut to the second scene about six frames before the person's eyesenter the frame of the next scene.

The Timing is significant

It takes about a quarter of a second for viewers' eyes to switch from one sideof the frame to the other. During this time, whatever is taking place on the screenbecomes a bit scrambled and viewers need a bit of time to refocus on the newaction. Otherwise, the lost interval can create a kind of subtle jump in the action.

Like a good magician that can take your attention off something they don't wantyou to see, an editor can use distractions in the scene to cover the slightmismatches in action that inevitably arise in single-camera production.

An editor knows that when someone in a scene is talking, attention is generallyfocused on the person's mouth or eyes, and a viewer will tend to missinconsistencies in other parts of the scene.

Or, as we've seen, scenes can be added to divert attention. Remember the roleinsert shots and cutaways can play in covering jump cuts.




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Guideline # 3: Keep in Mind the Strengths and Limitations of the Medium.

Remember: Television is a close-up medium.

An editor must remember that a significant amount of picture detail is lost in videoimages, especially in the 525- and 625-line television systems. The only way toshow needed details is through close-ups.

Except for establishing shots designed to momentarily orient the audience tosubject placement, the director and the editor should emphasize medium shots andclose-ups.

There are some things to keep in mind in this regard:

Close-ups on individuals are appropriate for interviews and dramas, but not asappropriate for light comedy. In comedy the use of medium shots keeps the moodlight. You normally don't want to pull the audience into the actors' thoughts andemotions.

In contrast, in interviews and dramatic productions it's generally desirable to useclose-ups to zero-in on a subject's reactions and provide clues to the person'sgeneral character.

In dramatic productions a director often wants to communicate something of what'sgoing on within the mind of an actor. In each of these instances, the judicious andrevealing use of close-ups can be important.

Guideline # 4: Cut away from the scene the moment the visual statement ismade.

If you ask someone if he or she enjoyed a movie and they reply, "Well, it was kindof slow," that will probably be a movie you will avoid. "Slow moving" connotesboring. In today's fast-paced and highly competitive film and television fields that'sone thing you don't want to be if you want to stay in the business. The pace of aproduction rests largely with the editing, although the best editing in theworld won't save bad acting or a script that is boring to start with. So howlong should scenes be?

First, keep in mind that audience interest quickly wanes once the essential visualinformation is conveyed. Shots with new information stimulate viewer interest.




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New v/s Familiar Subject Matter

Shot length is in part dictated by the complexity and familiarity of the subjectmatter.

How long does it take for a viewer to see the key elements in a scene? Can they begrasped in a second take a look at some contemporary commercials, or does thesubject matter require time to study?

You wouldn't need a 15-second shot of the Statue of Liberty, because we've allseen it many times. A one- or two-second shot would be all you would need toremind viewers of the symbolism unless, of course you were pointing out specificareas of damage, restoration, or whatever).

On the other hand, we wouldn't appreciate a one or two second shot of a little greenMartian who just stepped out of a flying saucer on the White House Lawn. Thoseof us who haven't seen these space creatures would want plenty of scene) time tosee what one really looks like.

With this technique shots may be only a fraction of a second 10 -15 video frameslong. Obviously, this is not enough time even to begin to see all of the elements inthe scene. The idea in this case is simply to communicate general impression.Commercials often use this technique to communicate such things as excitement."

Next, cutting rate depends on the nature of the production content.

For example, tranquil pastoral scenes imply longer shots than scenes of rush hourin downtown New York. You can increase production tempo by making quickcuts during rapid action.

Varying Tempo through Editing

A constant fast pace will tire an audience; a constant slow pace will inducethem to look for something more engaging on another channel. If the contentof the production doesn't have natural swings in tempo, the editor, with possiblehelp from music, should edit segments together to create changes in pace. This isone of the reasons that editors like parallel stories in a dramatic production - paceand cutting back and forth between stories can vary content.

How you start a production is critical, especially in commercial television.




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If you start out slow and boring, your audience will probably immediately goelsewhere. Remember, it's during these opening seconds that viewers are mosttempted to "channel hop" and see what else is on.

Because the very beginning is so important, TV programs often show the mostdramatic highlights of the night's program right at the start. To hold an audiencethrough commercials, newscasts regularly "tease" upcoming stories just beforecommercial breaks.

So, try to start out with segments that are strong-segments that will "hook" youraudience. But, once you have their attention, you have to hold onto it. If the actionor content peaks too soon and the rest of the production go downhill, you may alsolose your audience.

It's often best to open with a strong audio or video statement and then fill inneeded information as you go along. In the process, try to gradually build interestuntil it peaks at the end. A strong ending will leave the audience with positivefeelings about the program or video segment.

To test their productions, directors sometimes use special preview sessions to tryout their productions on general audiences. A director will then watch anaudience's reaction throughout a production to see if and exactly where attentiondrifts.

Guideline # 5: Emphasize the B-Roll.

Howard Hawks, an eminent American film maker, said: "A great movie is madewith cutaways and inserts." We've previously noted that in video productionthese commonly go under the heading of "B-roll footage."

In a dramatic production the B-roll might consist of relevant details insert shotsand cutaway shots that add interest and information.

One valuable type of cutaway, especially in dramatic productions, is the reactionshot--a close-up showing how others are responding to what's going on. Sometimesthis is more telling than holding a shot of the person speaking.

For example would you rather see a shot of the reporter or the person beinginterviewed when the reporter springs the question: "Is it true that you were caughtembezzling a million dollars?"




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The do's and don'ts of interviewing can be found here.

By using strong supplementary footage the amount of information conveyed in agiven interval increases. More information in a shorter time results in an apparentincrease in production tempo.

The A-roll in interviews typically consists of a rather static looking "talking head."In this case the B-roll would consist of scenes that support, accentuate, or in someway visually elaborate on what's being said.

For example, in doing an interview with an inventor who has just perfected aperpetual-motion machine, we would expect to see his creation in as much detail aspossible, and maybe even the workshop where it was built.

Given the shortage of perpetual motion machines, this B-roll footage would bemore important to see than the A-roll talking head interview footage.

Guideline # 6: The final editing guideline is: If in doubt, leave it out.

If you don't think that a scene adds needed information, leave it out. By includingit, you will probably slow down story development, and maybe even blur the focusof the production and sidetrack the central message.

For example, a TV evangelist paid tens of thousands of dollars to buy networktime. He tried to make his message as engrossing, dramatic, and inspiring aspossible. But, during the message the director saw fit to cutaway to shots of cute,fidgety kids, couples holding hands, and other "interesting" things going on in theaudience.

So, instead of being caught up in the message, members of the TV audience werecommenting on, or at least thinking about, "that darling little girl on her father'sshoulders," or whatever. There may have been a time and place for this cutaway,but it was not in the middle of the evangelist's most dramatic and inspiringpassages.

So, unless an insert shot, cutaway, or segment adds something significant toyour central message, leave it out!

2.2. Five Rules for Editing News Pieces




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Although the rules centered on news pieces, many of the principles apply to othertypes of production. The rules are condensed and paraphrased below.

1. Select stories and content that will elicit an emotional reaction in viewers.

2. If the piece has complex subject matter, buck the rapid-fire trend andmake sure that neither the audio nor the video is paced too quickly.

3. Try to make the audio and video of equal complexity. However, if thevideo is naturally complex, keep the audio simple to allow the video to beprocessed.

4. Don't introduce important facts just before strong negative visualelements. By putting them afterwards the audience will have a betterchance of remembering them.

5. Edit the piece using a strong beginning, middle, and end structure. Keepthe elements as concrete as possible.

A dedicated editor is designed to do only one thing: Video Editing.

Dedicated editing equipment was the norm until desktop computer software startedto become available in the late 1980s. Software-based editors use desktop andlaptop computers as a base. Video editing is just one of the tasks they can perform;it all depends on the software you load.

Audio Editing

Audio Editing is the process of taking recorded sound and changing it directly onthe recording medium.

Audio editing was a new technology that developed in the middle part of the 20thcentury with the advent of magnetic tape recording. Originally, editing was doneon reel-to-reel tape machines and edits were made with straight razors and specialtape to connect pieces of tape that had been cut. Audio editors would listen torecorded tapes at low volumes, and then located specific sounds using a processcalled scrubbing, which is the slow rocking back and forth of the tape reels acrossthe playback heads of the tape deck.

With the development of microcomputer technology, and specifically theMacintosh, Sound Recordists were able to digitize their recordings and edit them




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as files on a computer's hard disk. The computer programs responsible for this taskare known as digital audio editors. The earliest program to become widely used inthis application was a wave editor called Sound Designer in the late 1980s andearly 1990s. Sound Designer was created by a company called Digidesign whoachieved early industry dominance. In recent years, however, that dominance hasbeen challenged by a number of companies attempting to grab a portion ofDigidesign's market share.

In recent years, with the growing popularity of GNU/Linux, a number of OpenSource software projects have sprung up in order to develop an open source audioediting program.

2.3. Sound Editor

A Sound Editor is a creative professional responsible for selecting and assemblingsound recordings in preparation for the final sound mixing or mastering of atelevision program or motion picture. Sound editing developed out of the need tofix the incomplete, undramatic, or technically inferior sound recordings of earlytalkies, and over the decades has become a respected filmmaking craft, with soundeditors implementing the aesthetic goals of motion picture sound design.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognizes the artisticcontribution of exceptional sound editing with the Academy Award for Best SoundEditing.

2.4. U-matic

Ideally, though, your motivations for cutting should be to advance the narrativestorytelling of your video. U-matic is the name of a videocassette format firstshown by Sony in prototype in October 1969, and introduced to the market inSeptember 1971. It was among the first video formats to contain the videotapeinside a cassette, as opposed to the various open-reel formats of the time.Interestingly, unlike most other cassette-based tape formats, the supply and take-upreels in the cassette worked in opposite directions during playback, fast-forwardand rewind: one reel would run clockwise while the other would run counter-clockwise. As part of its development, in March 1970, Sony, Matsushita ElectricIndustrial Co., Victor Co. of Japan JVC), and five non -Japanese companiesreached agreement on unified standards.

The videotape was 3/4 inches 1.9 cm wide , so the format is often known as'three-quarter-inch' or simply 'three-quarter'. U-matic was named after the




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shape of the tape path when it was threaded around the helical video head drum,which resembled the letter U. Betamax used this same type of "U-load" as well.

In the early 1980s, Sony introduced the semi backwards-compatible High-band orBVU Broadcast Video U-matic format, and the 'original' U -matic format becameknown as 'Low-band'. This High-band format had an improved colour recordingsystem and lower noise levels. BVU gained immense popularity in ENGElectronic News Gathering and location programme-making, spelling the end of

16mm film in everyday production. By the early 1990s, Sony's 1/2" Betacam SPformat had all but replaced BVU outside of corporate and 'budget' programmemaking. Sony made a final improvement to BVU by further improving therecording system and giving it the same 'SP' suffix as Betacam. First generationBVU-SP and Beta-SP recordings were hard to tell apart, but despite this thewriting was on the wall for the U-matic family.

U-matic would also see use for the storage of digital audio data as opposed toanalog video for the Sony PCM -1600 PCM adaptor, which used a special U-maticrecorder as a transport. The PCM-1600 was the first system used for masteringaudio compact discs in the early 1980s. The later PCM-1610 and 1630 unitsalso used U-matic cassettes as a storage medium. U-matic is no longer used as amainstream production format, yet it has such a lasting appeal as a cheap, wellspecified, and hard-wearing format that many television facilities the world-overstill have a U-matic recorder.

Magnetic tape is a non-volatile storage medium consisting of a magnetic coatingon a thin plastic strip. Nearly all recording tape is of this type, whether used forvideo, audio storage or general purpose digital data storage using a computer.

Magneto-optical and optical tape storage products have been developed usingmany of the same concepts as magnetic storage, but have achieved littlecommercial success.

The Betamax v/s VHS Format War

Sony's Betamax video standard was introduced in 1975 followed a year later byJVC's VHS. For around a decade the two standards battled for dominance, withVHS eventually emerging as the winner.

The victory was not due to any technical superiority Betamax is arguably a betterformat, but to several factors. Exactly how and why VHS won the war has beenthe subject of intense debate. The commonly-held belief is that the technically




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superior Betamax was beaten by VHS through slick marketing. In fact the truth ismore complex and there were a number of reasons for the outcome.

Sony's founder, Akio Morita, claimed that licensing problems between Sony andother companies slowed the growth of Betamax and allowed VHS to becomeestablished. However most commentators have played down this issue and citedother reasons as being more important.

It is certainly true that VHS machines were initially much simpler and cheaper tomanufacture, which would obviously be an attraction to companies deciding whichstandard to back. It has also been reported that Sony inadvertently gave itscompetitors a helping hand by revealing key aspects of Betamax technology whichwere then incorporated into VHS.

In any case, manufacturers divided themselves into two camps: On the Betamaxside was Sony, Toshiba, Sanyo, NEC, Aiwa, and Pioneer. On the VHS side wereJVC, Matsushita Panasonic), Hitachi, Mitsubishi, Sharp, and Akai.

For consumers, the most immediately obvious difference between the two formatswas the recording length. Standard Betamax tapes lasted 60 minutes — not longenough to record a movie. Conversely, the 3-hour VHS tapes were perfect forrecording television programmes and movies. Sony did adapt and offer varioussolutions for longer recording, but it was too late. The issue of recording time isoften cited as the most defining factor in the war.

One more issue is worthy of note—pornography. There is a claim that adultcontent was not available on Betamax possib ly because Sony would not allow itwhile it was becoming readily available on VHS. Whether or not this was really afactor is a contentious topic. Many sources have referred to it as fact while othershave made a campaign of debunking the "Myth of Betamax & porn". But it isunable to find any substantiated evidence that pornography sales significantlyinfluenced the outcome of the war.

At some point and for some reason the choice of rental movies on VHS becamebetter than Betamax. It is arguable how this situation came to be, but once ithappened, there was no turning back. Bitter Betamax owners cringed in their ever-decreasing corner of the video store while VHS owners gloated.

The war was over by the late 1980s, although supporters of Betamax have helpedkeep the format going in a small niche market. Betamax production in Americaended in 1993, and the last Betamax machine in the world was produced in Japanin 2002.




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Of course, both Betamax and VHS were eventually made obsolete by digitaltechnology.

Linear Editing

Linear Editing consists of three main categories:

1. In-Camera Editing: Video shots are structured in such a way that they are shotin order and of correct length. This process does not require any additionalequipment other than the Camcorder itself, but requires good shooting andorganizational skills at the time of the shoot.

2. Assemble Editing: Video shots are not structured in a specific order duringshooting but are rearranged and unneeded shots deleted at the time of transferringcopying . This process requires at the least, a Camcorder and VCR. The originalfootage remains intact, but the rearranged footage is transferred to a new tape.Each scene or cut is "assembled" on a blank tape either one-at-a-time or in asequence.

2.5. There are two types of Assemble Editing:

1. A Roll--Editing from a single source, with the option of adding an effect, suchas titles or transitioning from a frozen image the start of the next cut or scene.

2. A/B Roll--Editing from a minimum of two sources VCR's or Camcorders andrecording to a third VCR. This technique requires a Video Mixer and/ or EditController to provide smooth transitions between the sources. Also, the sourcesmust be electronically "Sync'd" together so that the record signals are stable. Theuse of a Time Base Corrector or Digital Frame Synchronizer is necessary for thesuccess of this technique.

A/B-roll editing is a term used in linear editing to describe the process ofcombining two or more sources of raw footage together with transition effects. Inthe realm of linear editing, it is scientifically impossible to add a true

A/B-roll transition effect between two images on the same tape. Why? Becausevideotape only allows you to play one portion of the footage at a time. To add adissolve between two shots requires that they be on two separate tapes source Aand source B) played simultaneously in two VCRs. Then and only then can a trueA/B-roll transition be performed. A "false" sort of A/B -roll, called the A/X-rolltransition, is possible with one tape; this involves the SEG freezing a single frame




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of video, then shuttling the tape to a different location and performing thetransition from the still to the new moving image. Looks pretty good, but it isn't atrue A/B-roll transition.

From the equipment standpoint, the A/B-roll editor requires at least two sourceVCRs or camcorders in VCR mode), an edit VCR to record the master, an editcontrol unit to control switching between footage, and a special effects generatorto create wipes, fades, dissolves or other desired transition effects.

To perform A/B-roll editing, the editor rolls source A in play mode) and the editVCR in record mode), which records the A -roll onto the master. When a changeis called for, the editor cues the transition effect and the B-roll video. This causesthe A-roll video to fade, dissolve, wipe or otherwise go away in the midst of somespecial effect and the B-roll to appear in its place. The point when the two videosources may appear superimposed is called the transition point. When thetransition is complete, the A-roll video stops, and the B-roll footage continues toroll until the end of the edit.

Different types of editing

Video editing is the process of manipulating and rearranging video shots to createa new work. Editing is usually considered to be one part of the postproduction process — other post-production tasks include titling, colour correction,sound mixing, etc. Many people use the term editing to describe all their post-production work, especially in non-professional situations. Whether or not youchoose to be picky about terminology is up to you, we are reasonably liberal withour terminology and we use the word editing to mean any of the following:

Rearranging, adding and/or removing sections of video clips and/or audioclips.

Applying colour correction, filters and other enhancements. Creating transitions between clips.

The Goals of EditingThere are many reasons to edit a video and your editing approach will depend onthe desired outcome. Before you begin you must clearly define your editing goals,which could include any of the following:

Remove unwanted footage




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This is the simplest and most common task in editing. Many videos can bedramatically improved by simply getting rid of the flawed or unwanted bits.

Choose the best footageIt is common to shoot far more footage than you actually need and choose only thebest material for the final edit. Often you will shoot several versions takes of ashot and choose the best one when editing.

Create a flowMost videos serve a purpose such as telling a story or providing information.Editing is a crucial step in making sure the video flows in a way which achievesthis goal.

Add effects, graphics, music, etcThis is often the "wow" part of editing. You can improve most videos and have alot of fun by adding extra elements.

Alter the style, pace or mood of the videoA good editor will be able to create subtle mood prompts in a video. Techniquessuch as mood music and visual effects can influence how the audience will react.

Give the video a particular "angle"Video can be tailored to support a particular viewpoint, impart a message or servean agenda.

Linear v/s Non Linear Editing

In the early days of electronic video production, linear tape -to-tape editing wasthe only way to edit video tapes. Then, in the 1990s, non-linear editing computersbecame available and opened a whole new world of editing power and flexibility.Non-linear editing was not welcomed by everyone and many editors resisted thenew wave. In addition, early digital video was plagued with performance issuesand uncertainty. However, the advantages of non-linear video eventually becameso overwhelming that they could not be ignored.

In the 21st Century non-linear editing is king and linear editing is widelyconsidered to be obsolete, or at least primitive. This is an understandable attitudeconsidering the advantages of non-linear editing, but we urge you not to be toojudgmental. Linear editing still has some advantages:




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1. It is simple and inexpensive. There are very few complications with formats,hardware conflicts, etc.

2. For some jobs linear editing is better. For example, if all you want to do isadd two sections of video together, it is a lot quicker and easier to edit tape-to-tape than to capture and edit on a hard drive.

3. Learning linear editing skills increases your knowledge base and versatility.

According to many professional editors, those who learn linear editing first tend tobecome better all-round editors. Although the "linear vs non-linear" argument isoften subjective and some editors will disagree with the statements above, there canbe little doubt that increasing your skill base is a good thing. There is nothing to begained by completely rejecting linear editing, and much to be gained by adding it toyour repertoire.

Setting Up a Non Linear Edit Suite

To edit video on a computer you will need: A source device to play the original tape or disk. Typically a VCR or

camera. A computer with at least these specs: 200 MHz processor / 64 MB RAM /

Fast hard drive with 1 GB or more free space. If you want decent results,you'll need much higher specs. Some editing software requires a high-performance computer to even work properly.

A video capture device. To capture video from an analogue source such asVHS or Video8 you need a device to convert the video into a digitalformat. This can be a standalone device which plugs into the computer or avideo capture card which becomes part of the computer. If you are using asource device which outputs a digital signal such as Firewire or USB) youdon't need a capture device, but you do need to make sure your computerhas the appropriate input available.

Connecting leads to plug the source device into the capture device orcomputer.

Software to control the capturing, editing and outputting. A video monitor or television. Camera and Computer-The most common system in non-professional

situations is to plug your video camera directly into your computer via aFirewire or USB connection. These are digital connections and allow you to"dump" footage straight from the camera to the hard drive. This is a




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convenient and inexpensive way to operate. Consult your camera manual fordetails.

If your camera doesn't have a digital output, but does have analogue AV outputs,you can use a capture device. Follow the next example, using your camera in placeof the VCR. If your camera doesn't have any video outputs at all, you will need touse a VCR as the source device.

Computer and VCRThe example below shows a VCR used as the source device, connected to acomputer with capture card. A video monitor or television is used to monitor thepictures. Audio can be monitored with the TV speakers, a separate sound system orheadphones.

1. If the VCR has two or more AV outputs, use one of them to plug into theAV input of the monitor. If you have only one AV output, use the RFaerial output instead, and use the A V output for the next step.

2. The second AV output of the VCR plugs into the AV input of the computer'scapture card. The AV output of the capture card plugs into the AV input ofthe VCR.

In this system, footage is played from the VCR to the computer, edited, and thenplayed back from the computer to the VCR for recording.

Computer and Two VCRsThis system is slightly more elaborate, and has advantages such as the ability torecord directly from one VCR to the other linear editing. Also, if the computerhas the appropriate hardware, you can use it to overlay graphics in real time as yourecord from one VCR to the other.




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The top VCR is the source device; the bottom VCR is the recorder.

1. The AV output of the record VCR plugs into the AV input of the monitor.2. The AV output of the source VCR plugs into the AV input of the computer's

capture card.3. The AV output of the capture card plugs into the AV input of the record

VCR.

The second AV or RF) output of the source VCR plugs into the second AV orRF) input of the record VCR. On the record VCR, select the appropriate input torecord from either the computer or the source VCR.

Professional film and TV productions often use two cameras to capture theirA and B footage sources. For many of us, though, a second camera and anotherskilled pair of hands to operate it can be hard to come by. The single-camerashooter can just as easily gather footage for A/B-roll editing if he prepares inadvance.

2.6. The Single-camera Solution

Just because most people use a single camcorder to shoot their video productionsdoesn't mean they can't enjoy the nifty effects and variety available from a multi-camera shoot. The trick for the single-camera videographer is to shoot twodifferent tapes of footage with the same camcorder. One tape the A -roll typicallycaptures the main subject and action. The other type the B -roll typically recordsperipheral "effects" shots like close-ups, reaction shots, and establishing shotsthat add drama, variety and context to the primary footage.

STEP 1 Think it Through

Preproduction planning is the first step toward a successful A/B-roll shoot.Think about a traditional wedding shoot. You would probably record some of thepre-ceremony activities, like the bride getting ready, the ushers rolling out the rice




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paper and the fidgety groom-to-be. Once the music starts, you would then catchthe action of the ceremony, including the vows and the ring exchange. From thereyou would record the couple leaving the church and probably round out the eventwith some reception footage. Once home, you would edit out the rough spots, hitrewind, and start passing the production out to family members for viewing.

To shoot the above scenario for an A/B-roll edit, you would need to approach theshoot a little differently. First, you would need at least two tapes: one exclusivelyfor A-roll and the other exclusively for B-roll. The A-roll would still capture thehigh points, but the B-roll would serve to add texture and perspective.

If, for example, in the middle of the ceremony, you wanted to dissolve to a shot ofthe bride's parents, it would be a special effect indeed to keep the camera on thealtar and also record the parents. A/B-roll shooting gives you the ability to "cheat"a shot like this. In this example, you would shoot the parents at some point beforeor after the ceremony, with a separate tape in the camcorder the B -roll. This alsoillustrates how single-camera A/B-roll shooting is very deliberate. Every shot isplanned and lined up.

Step 2 Write it out

For single camera A/B-roll shooting, a shooting plan is important to makesure you acquire all of the footage you might need. The plan can be anythingfrom a simple handwritten form to a detailed storyboard. To help expand yourcompositional horizons, borrow a trick from the book of great Hollywooddirectors and try to pre-visualize the entire shoot beforehand. Try to establish amental picture of what the finished production will look like before you start. Nowwrite it down. For many videographers, this will be in stark contrast to theirtypical "getting what you can, when you can" shooting style, but it will paysubstantial dividends in the quality of the finished production. Even though everyvideographer will "see" an event differently, certain shots are essential to ensureproper coverage of the proceedings and a script will make sure you don't miss anyin the confusion.

As you consider an event, try to break it into logical scenes. This will helpdetermine what you must shoot for A-roll and what you can fit in for B-roll. In thecase of a wedding, the ceremony would be the A-roll. A good way to begin manyvideos, for example, is with an "establishing shot," which is usually an extremelong shot that sets the scene for the viewer. This first shot quickly orients theviewer, gives context to the scene and allows a smooth "entrance" into the tape.




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If you determine that you would like to dissolve from your establishing shot of thechurch to the bride's entrance, the church shot must be on the B-roll tape. Includethis in the script, along with all the critical elements of the event. Now go back andbrainstorm other B-roll shots that relate to the main action and can transition wellin between. Remember, any two shots to include transition effects must be shot ondifferent tapes. This makes planning ahead essential. For single camera A/Bshooting, try to choose transition scenes that are easy to get and that you can shootbefore or after the main action at your leisure.

Step 3 Shoot the A-roll

Great B-roll won't do you much good if you miss critical parts of the A-roll action.The important A-roll scenes must take priority. When taping a wedding, forexample, pausing the tape during the ceremony would be disastrous as you wouldcreate breaks in the audio track. B-roll can be used to cover camera moves, butwill never replace footage that is critical to the production.

Breaking down a production or event into its component parts allows thesingle-camera shooter the opportunity to decide which parts of the event aremost important. Your primary footage makes up your A-roll, and you don't wantto leave any out. Practice good framing, good lighting, good angles and other solidcomposition rules with your A-roll. Save the experimentation for the B-roll, whereit's easier to cover up a miscue.

Step 4 Get Enough B-roll

One of the keys to remember when planning your shoot is that each segmentof tape you plan to use as part of an A/B-roll transition must be long enoughfor editing. Each shot must last at least 10 seconds to cover usable footage, plusthe pre-roll requirements of the editing system.

Pre-roll is the term used to describe the time it takes for the videotape in the sourcemachine to stabilize, which is commonly about five seconds. Add another five ormore seconds of video footage for the actual transition, and you can see how the10-second rule-of-thumb came about. It is a good practice to shoot at least 30seconds of every B-roll shot, just to be certain that you have enough usable videoto perform a smooth, visually pleasing transition.

Often, you must look beyond the main action of a scene to find the details thatmake for interesting A/B-roll transitions. In the case of a wedding, for example,you might show a wide shot of the church as ushers are seating guests, music is




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playing and candles are lit. A close-up of a candle as it takes flame would make aninteresting dissolve, and you can easily shoot it before anything else happens.Shots like these allow for creative A/B-roll editing without causing concerns aboutcontinuity. It would be pretty tough for a viewer to discern if the candle shown inthe extreme wide shot is the same candle in the extreme close-up.

Step 5 Repeat as Necessary

When planning your video, you may want to include transitions from oneangle of a shot to another angle of the same action. This is a simple feat withmultiple cameras recording the same scene from different perspectives. Althoughit may seem impossible with a single camera, in some instances there is a solution.A tricky way to copy the look of a multiple-camera shoot is to repeat the actionand shoot it twice or more) from different angles.

Used extensively in the production of feature films, repeat action shooting allowsfor many options in A/B-roll editing. In situations where multiple takes arepossible, the single-camcorder videographer can use this method. Even for awedding video, it is possible to ask the bride and groom to re-enact key momentsof the ceremony. Note that still photographers often do exactly this. This way youcan get a close-up, say, of the ring going on the bride's finger to edit into themaster shot as B-roll. Other projects lend themselves to repeatable action as well.Step-by-step instructional tapes, product demonstrations and music videosare all perfect candidates for repeat action coverage.

First record the entire scene as a wide shot. Then, repeat the scene several times,recording from a variety of angles to provide close-ups or more interesting detailsof the major characters and actions. You can use repeat action for the entire scene,or just with a section of the tape that's prime for a transition between angles.

Two tips help this "cheat" become more convincing: the talent's ability to closelymimic earlier action and the use of overlapping. When shooting the same actionin multiple takes, it is important for any on-camera subject to repeat thephysical action as closely as possible to the previous takes. If the guitarist inyour music video jumps into the air after a particularly challenging solo in the firsttake, the guitarist needs to repeat that jump in each successive take.

Overlapping is the technique of beginning each new shot by repeating theaction or dialogue that ended the previous shot. By providing a visual andaudio reference of what happened immediately before the new section, final




45

editing and lining up of transitions becomes much easier and more professionallooking.

The Basics

Don't overlook the basics of good shooting technique in your quest to get A/B-rollfootage. When you are planning your production, in addition to planning thetransitions, try to visualize the "look" of the transitions as well. We've allwitnessed an awkward cut in a program where, for whatever reason, things justdon't go together right. The same can happen with dissolves, wipes and fades.

Mismatched lighting can make for the most unpleasant transitions. A lowlight long shot of a wedding ceremony that dissolves into an over bright outdoorshot will appear jarring. Try to maintain a similar light level between A/B-rollshots, unless, of course, you purposely want a visual shock.

Camera movement can also throw off a transition. If the A-roll footage featuresa slow pan from left to right, you want the B-roll footage to feature a similarmovement in direction and speed. While zoom-in/zoom-out combinations canwork together, too much movement can confuse a viewer.

Finally, don't discount sound in your productions. The addition of soundsegues, musical transitions and voice-overs all help to elevate the professional feeland polish of an A/B-roll edited production, whether you are shooting with onecamcorder or five. Put at least as much time into developing the sound portion ofyour tape as you do the video.

Shooting for A/B-roll editing with a single camcorder takes a little more planningand a little more effort than using just your primary footage. However, if you wantto improve the quality of your videos, the extra effort is worth it.

2.7.. Insert Editing: New material is recorded over existing footage. Thistechnique can be used during the original shooting process or during a later editingprocess. Since the inserted footage is placed over the unwanted footage some ofthe original footage is erased.

Non-Linear Editing - Gaining in popularity quickly due to advances intechnology, pricing, and product availability, this method of video editing utilizesthe computer environment to aid in the editing process. This process is almostentirely digital and employs no mechanical functions except for the input of the




46

video sources and its final output to Tape or CD. Editing in this environment isessentially is a visual Cut-and-Paste method.

Some videos flow flawlessly through diverse scenes while others are almostpainful to watch in their attempt to create meaning with choppy, unorganized videoclips. The difference? It's all in the quality of your video editing.

1. Prepare to Edit your Video

Before editing can begin, you must capture the video. If you have an analogcamcorder the kind that records on Hi8 or VHS tapes you'll need a specialvideo card that can translate the data from the format you use to a digitalformat the computer can read.

2. Install Video Editing Software

Make sure that you have quality video editing software installed correctly.After you familiarize yourself with the software and its features, assemblethe scenes on your video into a timeline or storyboard.

3. Create the Point

The most important part of editing video is choosing your point-what youwant to deliver with your video. This will determine what your audiencefeels and experiences when watching the video. For example, if you arecreating a wedding video, decide if your focus will be on the beauty andsanctity of the day, or on the comical-highlighting mistakes and bloopers.After you have chosen the point of your video, select shots that reinforceyour point. Then name each shot so you can remember the content. Don'ttake on too much video at once.

4. Edit the Video

There are three types of video editing: combination, corrective, andduration editing. Combination editing rearranges scenes from the originalorder to reinforce your point. Corrective editing corrects errors you madewhile filming, such as straightening a crooked shot. Duration editingallows you to shorten video by eliminating everything but the highlights of ascene, or lengthen clips to add drama or suspense. If you don't know whereto start, try combination editing first to get your shots in the order you



: Television Production: Idea to Screen

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prefer, and then clean the scenes with corrective editing, and then add dramawith duration editing.

5. Adding Labels, Transitions, and Effects

Here comes the fun part embellishing. Adding music to your video makesyour message far more powerful. You can add titles, names of people orplaces to help tell the story. And you can add a menu to the beginning ofyour video to allow viewers to select a specific scene. Transitions betweenscenes can range from simple fades to complex animations. Also, consideroccasional special effects, such as making people fly through a scene to wowyour viewers but don't overdo it.

FCP

Final Cut Pro is a professional non-linear editing system created by Apple Inc.that allows both professional and home users to edit both video and film. The latestreleases are for Mac OS X only. From the early 2000s, Final Cut has developed alarge and ever expanding user base. Used on Apple Macintosh computers, FinalCut Pro was intended to be a resolution independent editing system but so farhas not fully achieved this aim with real-time performance restricted toresolution, frame-rate and codec uniformity with source material. Resolution,format and codec independent editing systems are available in competitiveproducts to Final Cut Pro namely Sony Vegas, Grass Valley Edius and AdobePremiere Pro.

Final Cut Pro has found acceptance among professionals and a number ofbroadcast facilities because of its cost effective efficiency as an off-line editor asmuch as a digital on-line editor. Final Cut Pro is also very popular withindependent and semi-professional film-makers. As such, it can be used to editmaterial ranging from FireWire-attached Mini DV video from a consumer digitalvideo camera or professional DV camera to High-Definition HD material in thevarious HD specifications and flavours including HDV. The software logs andcaptures video onto the computer's hard drive, where it can be edited andprocessed. The current version of Final Cut Pro 5.1 runs on both Intel andPowerPC processors.

UNIT 3 MEDIA RESEARCH METHODOLOGY




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Any research is a quest for knowledge. It may be study of natural phenomenonor the rational study of the relation between the concepts in which thesephenomena are expressed. The knowledge should be gathered, organized andsystematized, tested and validated with the help of observation. If the observationsare precise, the results will be more reliable.

The term research is thus a systematic way of collecting, classifying andanalyzing information, both quantitative and qualitative. Rusk said, ‘Researchis a point of view, an attitude of enquiry or a frame of mind’. Research is anattempt to elicit facts and analyze them once they have been collected to getsolutions for a variety of problems.

Research has to be a professional affair involving systematic, accurate and experthandling of the research information. Data has to be gathered through systematicplanning. It has to be done by having control on data collecting procedures. Thecollected data has to be subjected to rigorous analysis.

A Good Research has:

1. A focus on facts- facts becomes significant only when interpreted in thelight of accepted standards and assumptions, which are normative incharacter.

2. Insight and imagination of the researcher- these are needed to interpret,explain and draw inferences. Using insight and foresight can solve manypuzzles.

3. Approach to the study of man and society and provides solutions toproblems- the research should contribute to the widening of knowledge andto the solution of problems confronting human society.

As a result of advance in science, technology and other fields, research hasbecome imperative. The development and discrimination of knowledge is notpossible without research. Research contributes to new facts andgeneralizations. It keeps the professional researcher abreast with the latest indiscipline. It helps him to develop, interpret and reinterpret facts and concepts inthe light of changing situations. Research creates an urge for further strides inone’s discipline. It modifies all partial theories and helps dispel myths byexamining them scientifically. Without research there is no progress and nogrowth knowledge.

Media Research Methodology




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STEP 1: Select Your Topic1. Choose an area of interest to start your topic selection2. Use the Best of the Library to drill down into subject areas for more

specific ideas3. Search for publications related to your topic4. Search every page of the entire Question library for relevant books and

articles5. Narrow down your topic to refine search results6. Organize your results by media or publication date; focus your research by

using "Search within Results".7. You can also refer to Question’s Best of the Library for ideas

STEP 2: Gather Information

1. Formulate a research questions to guide your researc h. Scan books to see ifthey are relevant

2. Use Table of Contents, index and Find function to quickly locate usefulinformation

3. Highlight interesting passages as you encounter them4. Highlight in up to 7 different colors. All highlights are saved, with links

back to sources5. Make notes to capture thoughts, questions, and ideas as you read6. Place notes directly into the text with "Add a Note" function7. Refine your research question and do further information gathering

STEP 3: Write Your Paper

1. Write down your working thesis or research question2. Review and reflect on work done3. All your work, including bookmarks, notes, and highlights, is saved in

your Workspace, where it is easily organized and printed.4. Construct your argument, with main points organized in an outline5. Write a rough draft, expanding outline to fulfill paper length

requirements6. Use your Bookshelf to quickly return to books later for additional

material.

STEP 4: Finalize Your Paper




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1. Revise rough draft to ensure strong, logical argument2. Document referenced works by creating a bibliography3. Let Question create a bibliography from your sources, in your choice of

citation style Revise paper for spelling, punctuation and grammar errors4. Print out final revision of your paper and bibliography

Methods of Research

All methods of research can be classified as quantitative and qualitative.

Quantitative methods: many studies concentrate on numbers. In such studies,observations are expressed in numerical terms. Quantitative research is basicallyexplanatory in nature and mostly involves experiments. Such studies attempt to useprecise statistical models to achieve comprehensive understanding ofcommunication behavior and phenomena. The best examples are surveys andopinion polls. Such methods often try to interpret the present behavior or predictfuture behavior in various communication situations. In such studies statisticalmethods and numerical data are used as a means to an end. Quantitative methodshelp in providing precise explanation about processes and help measurecommunication behavior.

Qualitative methods: here the emphasis is not on numerical data. Rather thesemethods depend on description and interpretation of meanings of communicationmessages by way of subjective treatment. Instead of going for large number ofexamples, qualitative research concentrates on individual examples. Qualitativeresearch does not try to find patterns. It makes intensive inquiries about singleevents, individuals and social or communication units.

3.1. METHODS OF MEDIA RESEARCH

A lot of methods for research are used in media or communication research. Theseinclude Census, Survey, Observation, Case Studies, interviews, etc.

3.1.1. Census Method: this method involves studying the entire population oruniverse of study and is a quantitative method. No single element of the universe isleft uncovered in this method. Thus the result is always good. Also there is lessdanger of biases or prejudices being introduced. The main drawbacks of the censusmethod are, it is highly expensive and also involves large manpower and a lot of




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efforts. For these reasons, the census method is rarely used for media research. Onegood example of census method is the population census of different countries.

3.1.2. Survey: survey means looking at things in its entirety. The term surveycomes from two words ‘sure and vor’ which mean to see a particular thing from ahigh place. But this term is used differently in different sciences. Incommunication research, it means looking at something proce ss, behavior, etc) inits entirety. In quantitative communication research, a survey is an empirical studythat uses questionnaires or interviews to discover descriptive characteristics ofcommunication phenomena.

The people mostly think that surveys are means of studying large number ofpeople. However, relatively smaller groups-like the employees of an office can besurveyed. Surveys can be used for all kinds of communication studies. There aretwo basic forms of surveys-questionnaire surveys and interview based surveys.

Questionnaire surveys involve the following steps: -

Sampling subjects respondents -one can rarely study the entire populationor the universe. A representative sample is thus selected. Many methods areused for this purpose. Whatever the method is, the researcher should justifythe size and method of sampling.

Selecting and framing questions-developing or framing question is often adifficult task. It requires extensive reading on the subject, composing arough draft, putting them into a proper format. Questions can be direct orindirect, specific or general. Also there could be questions or statements towhich reactions are sought. Again questions can be closed or open ended.The research is free to adopt one type of questions or a variety of questiontypes. The second opinion would obviously result in a broad variety ofresponse modes.

Formatting-the basic format of questionnaires includes a brief statementabout the study at the beginning, request for participation, assurance ofconfidentiality if required. Then come the questions regarding socio -economic-demographic information about gender, age, academics, income,etc). Next come the questions on the topic. Usually questions of sameresponse modes like yes or no questions ar e grouped together. Someresearchers put questions on the same issue together. Researchers usually try




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to have less number of questions. However, some studies require longquestionnaires of 30 to 40 questions. Putting large number of questions in aproper format becomes a big problem.

Determining validity and reliability-after framing questions andformatting them, researchers must test the validity relevance) and reliabilityconsistency of the questions. For this, researchers often put checkquestions in the questionnaire. This involves putting the same questions indifferent ways at different places. Many methods of testing validity andreliability are available. These include test scales, polarity rotation, etc.

Administering the questionnaire-questionnaires can be delivered by mail,through fax or personally. However, it is always good to get thequestionnaire filled up personally.

Analyzing and interpreting results-mostly researchers use statisticalmeans for analyzing data collected through the questionnaire. They try toshow averages or spread of data. Whatever means used, this form ofresearch tries to reveal to the problems posed in the study.

3.3. Observation Method: observation means seeing things with a purpose. Inresearch terms observation is perception with a purpose. Observation is the processof acquiring knowledge through the use of the sense organs.Observation involves three components: -

a. Sensation or experiencing through the sense organsb. Attention or the ability to concentrate on the subject matterc. Perception or the ability to recognize facts and putting them in proper

perspective

The observation methods usually look into an occurrence, event or phenomena as itis taking place. It is basically a qualitative method. The two basic types ofobservation are participatory and non-participatory.

Participatory observation- this is also called naturalistic studies as the studies areconducted in natural environment or settings. These are non-experimental studiesor inquires that are conducted as the subjects people are engaged in the naturalcourse of their lives. Participatory observation is the most important form offieldwork. Here researchers study groups by becoming a part of the group.Researchers try to establish close relationships with the group members and




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observe and record their behavior. Such studies produce both qualitative andquantitative data. Researchers try to use non-intrusive methods to gatherinformation regardless of the fact that whether it is qualitative or quantitative.Researchers try to get close and personal with the group members. They do not askquestions as in case of surveys. They join the group and ‘observe’.

Non-participatory-sometimes researchers don’t try to become part of the groupthey are studying. They observe the group’s behavior from the outside and not as apart of the group. Here the chances of getting personal details of behavior are less.In case of participative observation, the interpretations become more subjective.But in case of outside observation, which involves no close relationship betweenthe group and the researchers, the interpretations are more or less objective. In fullparticipative observation, the researcher’s sympathy and concern are reflected inthe interpretations. In case of non-participatory observation the researcher observesfrom a distance. This kind of observation is detached and does not provide anyfirsthand experience.

The accuracy of observation depends on the precise and clear formulation of theproblem, studying items and issues individually objectivity of inquiry andapplication of the five Ws and one H formula what, where, who, when, why andhow. The reliability of the observation depends on the techniques and tools used,the situation, setting or environment being observed and of course the quality ofthe observer. It also depends on the quality of sampling. A lot of cross checking isrequired to make sure that relevant and valid information is being collected. Alongwith objectivity, the observer should have relevant experiences, knowledge,maturity, un-biasness, and alertness. Observation should be noted downimmediately and should be properly categorized.

3.4. Case Studies- these are intensive inquiries about single events, individuals,social units, or institutions. Case studies throw light on individual events orprocesses. The results are not generalized able in the statistical sense. Case studieshelp the research know precisely the factors and causes of a particularphenomenon. It is a kind of qualitative analysis. Whether an individual, aninstitution, or a social unit or an entire community is studies, the subject isconsidered as a whole or a unit. The case study method covers every aspect of theunit very intensively.

In the case study method, information is collected through personal interviews,interview with people close to the subject or unit being studied, documentspersonal and official as in case of individuals and institutions respectively.




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Unlike most other methods where only general aspects are covered, the case studymethod covers emotional and psychological aspects too. The case study methodinvolves subjective treatment unlike in other methods where the emphasis is onnumbers.

While case studies generate adequate and comprehensive information, which helpsolve many problems, this method has some disadvantages also. These include afalse sense of confidence. Researchers often become over confident as they coverall the aspects. However, case studies are used as a highly effective method ofresearch both in the social sciences and communication fields.

3.5. Interviews- like in the participative observation method, collection ofinformation in the interview method is done personally by the researcher. Manypeople use questionnaire to collect information. But this is an impersonal methodas questionnaires are often distributed through mail. Also many people ignore thequestionnaire and do not respond. But interviews are not generally ignored. Alsothe researchers can observe and record such information about the manner,behavior and non-verbal actions of the respondents. These things are usually lost ifquestionnaires are being sent through mail. The interview method involves thefollowing steps.

The first and foremost thing for an interview is to select questions. The key here isrelevance. Sometimes interviewers use specially prepared formats as in case ofquestionnaires. These are called questionnaire schedules. Here, the questions areselected, framed and organized in a particular format. These are called structuredinterviews. In some other cases, the interviewer does not have a set of pre-framedquestions. This method is called unstructured interviewing. Unstructuredinterviews offer a lot of flexibility. Here the respondents are free to give theirreactions on the topic and related issues. This method also allows extendedexplorations and follows ups. Researchers use a variety of strategies to organizetheir questions. Some put the demographic questions at the end, unlike in case ofquestionnaires. For initial questioning two strategies are used- funnel questioningand inverted funnel questioning. Funnel questioning starts with a general andopen-ended question followed by narrow or specific questions. Inverted funnelquestioning begins with a very specific question, which is then followed by generalquestions.

3.6. WRITING SUPPORT MATERIALS OF RESEARCH




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Media research materials include a whole range of discussions about thedevelopment of media, their achievements and effects during the past fifty years. Itincludes the methods used in collecting and analyzing information in regard tonewspapers, magazines, radio, T.V. cinema or other modern and traditional mediaof communication. It also concerns with an expanded discussion of the scientificmethod of research.

Various writing support materials of Media research are: Questionnaire Case study Interviews Surveys Observations

Questionnaire- preparation of a questionnaire involves the following steps-

1. Sampling subjects

2. Selecting and framing questions- Developing or framing question is oftena difficult task. It requires extensive reading on the subject, composing arough draft, putting them into proper format. Questions can be direct orindirect, specific or general. Again questions can be close or open ended.The researcher is free to adopt one type of questions or a variety of questiontypes.

3. Formatting- the basic format of questionnaires includes a brief statementabout the study at the beginning and assurance of confidentiality ifrequired. Some researchers put questions on the same issue together.Researchers usually try to have less number of questions. However somestudies require long questionnaires of 30 to 40 questions.

4. Determining validity and reliability- after framing question and formattingthem, researchers must test the validity and reliability of the questions. Forthis, researchers often put check questions in the questionnaire. Thisinvolves putting the same question in different ways at different places.




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5. Administering the questionnaire-questionnaire can be delivered by mail,through fax or personally. However, it is always good to get thequestionnaire filled up personally.

6. Analyzing and interpreting results-mostly researcher use statistical meansfor analyzing data collected through the questionnaire. They try to showaverage or spread of data. Whatever means used this form of research triesto reveal answers to the problems posed in the study.

3.7. Designing Evaluation Tools and Techniques

As with any other empirical reasearch, the first step of the research process is thecollection of data. Since the late 1990s, more and more newspapers issue onlineeditions, which are frequently archived. In addition, a number of databases fornewspaper data exist. Collection of news data has thus become much less laborintensive. However, not all tools for data collection are equally suited the harvestof data. And the wealth of data that can be collected naturally also requires newtools for data organization.

Market Research

Evaluation and field testing of programmes

This mainly deals with “Know Your Audience” and, is divided into three parts:1. Samples and populations2. Selecting a sample3. Sampling households and people

Sampling is the key to survey research. No matter how well a study is done inother ways, if the sample has not been properly found, the results cannot beregarded as correct. It applies mainly to surveys, but is also important for planningother types of research.

1. Populations

The first concept you need to understand is the difference between a populationand a sample.




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To make a sample, you first need a population. In non-technical language,population means "the number of people living in an area." This meaning ofpopulation is also used in survey research, but this is only one of many possibledefinitions of population. The word universe is sometimes used in survey research,and means exactly the same in this context as population.

The unit of population is whatever you are counting: there can be a population ofpeople, a population of households, a population of events, institutions,transactions, and so forth. Anything you can count can be a population unit. But ifyou can't get information from it, and you can't measure it in some way, it's not aunit of population that is suitable for survey research. For a survey, various limitsgeographical and otherwise) can be placed on a population.

Even though some populations can't be questioned directly, they're stillpopulations. For example, schools can't fill in questionnaires, but somebody can doso on behalf of each school.

Often, the population you end up surveying is not the population you reallywanted, because some part of the population cannot be surveyed. For example, ifyou want to survey opinions among the whole population of an area, and chooseto do the survey by telephoning people at home, the population you actuallysurvey will be people with a telephone in their home. If the people with notelephone have different opinions, you will not discover this.

As long as the surveyed population is a high proportion of the wanted population,the results obtained should also be true for the larger population. For example, if90% of homes have a telephone, the 10% without a phone would have to be verydifferent, for the survey's results not to be true for the whole population.

2. Sampling frames

A sampling frame can be one of two things: either a list of all members of apopulation, or a method of selecting any member of the population. The termgeneral population refers to everybody in a particular geographical area. Commonsampling frames for the general population are electoral rolls, street directories,telephone directories, and customer lists from utilities which are used by almost allhouseholds: water, electricity, sewerage, and so on.

It is best to use the list that is most accurate, most complete, and most up to date.This differs from country to country. In some countries, the best lists are of




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households, in other countries, they are of people. For most surveys, a list ofhouseholds especially if it is in street order) is more useful than a list of people.Another commonly used sampling frame which is not recommended forsampling people) is a map.

3. Samples

A sample is a part of the population from which it was drawn. Survey research isbased on sampling, which involves getting information from only some membersof the population.

If information is obtained from the whole population, it's not a sample, but acensus. Some surveys, based on very small populations such as all members ofan organization in fact are censuses and not sample surveys. When you do acensus, the techniques given in this book still apply, but there is no samplingerror - as long as the whole group participates in the census. Samples can bedrawn in several different ways, such as probability samples, quota samples,purposive samples, and volunteer samples.

Choosing the sampling unit

Now you need to choose your sampling unit: what will you sample? It seemsobvious at first: your sample will be people, because only people can beinterviewed. In fact, it’s not that simple, especially with door to door surveys.Most door to door surveys begin by sampling dwellings. A dwelling is theplace where the household lives: households are people, dwellings are homes.Dwellings are easier to find than people: they don’t move around. Even if youmake your initial sample from a list of people, such as an electoral roll, you’llfind that some people have moved since the list was compiled. It’s much easier tosample dwellings, and then, as a second stage, interview the people who live inthose selected dwellings.

Sometimes it’s more appropriate to sample households than people. Forexample, one can organize an Indian survey about media usage. Part of this surveyasked about the types of media equipment that were available in households. Ineach household, the interviewers asked for the person who knew most abouttechnology. This person was then asked questions such as "How many radios inthis household can receive FM programs?" The average numbers reported in thesurvey were then applied to the whole population of Indian households. We were




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able to make statements such as "there are between 29 and 31 million FM radios inIndia."

When the sampling unit is people, some parts of the population are usuallyexcluded. Usually, children below some minimum age are excluded - because theydon’t do the activity the survey deals with e.g. reading newspapers, and alsobecause interviews with children must be done differently. Normal questionnairesare usually too difficult for them. Depending on the subject of the survey, theminimum age is usually between 10 and 18 - most commonly, 15. Children under10 seldom listen to radio, or read newspapers, so there’s no problem excludingthem if this is the subject of your survey. But children as young as 2 watches TV,so any TV survey that does not involve young viewers will be incomplete. The bestsolution is usually to survey only people aged 10 or over, acknowledges the lack ofdata from younger viewers, and to do a separate study among children aged under10, using observation instead of questionnaires.

Door-to-door surveys usually exclude people who don’t live in privatehouseholds: visitors in hotels, troops in barracks, homeless people, and so on.These people are usually only a few percent of the population, so excluding themmakes very little difference to the survey results. For any proposed door-to-doorsurvey, you should try to find out how many people you will not be able to reach,and whether these people are likely to give different answers from the others.

In the 1980s, an Australian government department did a telephone survey withteenagers, and found a surprisingly low rate of unemployment - because it mainlyreached teenagers who were living with their parents, in households rich enough tohave telephones. At the time, only 10% of households had no telephones - butthese were the poorest households.

3.8. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

Principles of questionnaires

Here we explain how to construct a questionnaire, mainly for use in surveys.Other types of audience research don’t use questionnaires much.

A questionnaire is a strange type of communication. It’s like a play, in whichone actor the interviewer is following rules and reading from the script, whilethe other actor the respondent can reply however he or she likes - but onlycertain types of reply will be recorded. This is an unnatural social situation, and in




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countries with no tradition of this kind of conversation, respondents may need tohave the principles explained to them. Though it is easy to write a questionnaire,you need a lot of skill and experience to write a good questionnaire: one in whichevery question is clear, can be answered accurately, and has usable results.

Planning the Questionnaire

1. Working out what you need to knowIt seems to be a natural human tendency to jump into action: to start writing aquestionnaire the moment you decide to do a survey. However betterquestionnaires result from planning the structure before you start writingany questions. If you simply start writing questions, you are likely to find out,too late, that some important questions were omitted, and other questions werenot asked in a useful way.

Some of your internal questions might be: What sorts of people tune in to our station? How long do they tune in for?

2. Question wordingOf all parts of survey research, it is the wording of questions that is least a scienceand most an art. Here are some principles for question wording, divided into twosections: What to Do, and What Not To Do.

3. What to doKeep questions short and simple.It is suggested to have a 25-word limit for a survey question. In a spoken survey,this limit should any multiple-choice answers that form part of the question.

4. Always encourage multiple answers for questions beginning"Why"People do things for many reasons. If you ask "Why did you watch that TVprogram?" one respondent might give any or all of these answers: My husband wanted to watch it, so I watched it with him.

I always watch it

I thought I could learn something from it

It’s an excellent program I like it




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I didn’t like the program on the other channel

Any open-ended question that asks for reasons will probably produce almostas many reasons as there are respondents. Most people have several reasons fordoing whatever they do. So any person could probably answer a questionbeginning "Why" with ten completely different answers, all of them true.

If a respondent is asked to give only one answer to a "Why" question, it will be theanswer he or she thought of first. With such questions, the interviewer must try toget all the reasons that apply. After a respondent gives each reason, the interviewershould ask "Do you have any more reasons?" and allow the respondent a little timeto think of more reasons.

5. Beware of the implied "always""Should police carry guns?" This question is ambiguous: does it mean "Should allpolice always carry guns?" or "Should some police sometimes carry guns?" — orsomething in between? Make it specific, so that everybody can answer the samequestion, not what they guess it might be asking.

6. Beware of implied regularity"Do you ever listen to FM radio?" is not the same as "Have you ever listened toFM radio?" The first implies a regularity that may not exist for many people. Thesecond version is more specific. Other suitable versions include "When did you lastlisten to FM radio?" Which may not produce a very accurate answer, if it was notrecently, and "Have you listened to FM radio in the last week?" Ask about thelast week, and some people will answer for the last two weeks.

7. Habits are not always the same as behaviour"Do you listen to FM radio every day?" may be answered ‘Yes’ by the sameperson who answers No to "Did you listen to FM radio yesterday?" Most peoplehave a mental picture of their habits, which may differ quite sharply from theiractual behaviour. They see themselves as often doing things that in practice theyrarely do.

8. Ask precise questionsAvoid vague terms, and those that have different meaning to different people.Don’t ask "Are you a listener to FM radio?", or you’ll get answers like "Well Ilisten now and then, but I’m not really a FM radio listener." Other common wordsto be wary of are "local" and "community": if these are used in a question, the




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exact geographical scope should be made clear. So spell out exactly what youmean.

To get highly accurate answers to questions about behaviour, you need tospecify as much detail as respondents can stand. For example, even a simplequestion on the number of radios in a household can produce answers that dependvery much on exact wording. For example, compare these four sets of wording:1 "How many radios are there in your household?"2 "How many radios are owned by people in your household?"3 "How many working radios are there in your household, including car radios?"

9. when asking about radio, define "listening" explicitlyBe careful with any questions about listening to radio. Compared with most othertypes of behaviour, listening is less of an on/off activity. Partial listening is verycommon. Thus the exact meaning of "listening" needs to be defined within thequestion.

10. Always try to include points of comparisonTo find out about your own programme, you also need to ask about otherprogrammes. To measure a response to a program, that program must becompared with others. "So 59% like the program? Is that hig h or low?"Therefore, try to build up a context for the main question; without comparisons,survey results have little meaning.

What to do: Summary

The main principle of writing questionnaires is to try and see an organizationalproblem from a respondent’s point of view - to make a link between the world ofthe audience member, and the world of the media publisher. If there seems to beany conflict here, remember that it’s the audience who will be answering thequestions, so the audience’s view of the world should predominate in aquestionnaire.

What not to do in Questionnaires

1 Avoid questions beginning "Why don’t"These are even more difficult than questions beginning "Why". Here it is importantto distinguish between an internal question what the o rganization wants to knowand a survey question what each respondent is asked.




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Your internal question may be "Why don’t more people listen to our marvelousprograms?" If this is converted directly into a questionnaire question such as"Why don’t you listen to more programs on Radio?" many respondents won’tknow how to answer. Some will make the first excuse that comes into their head.Some will say "I’m too busy".

You could even distinguish between strong and weak reasons, instead of justticking one box when a respondent said that reason applied. And in case you forgotto list some important reasons, the question could conclude with the open-endedsection: "Are there any other reasons I haven’t mentioned? If so, what are they?"

2 Avoid industry jargon

Don’t assume that respondents share your knowledge of your industry. Forexample, many terms are not well understood. These include "live" as in livebroadcast, "call sign", "regional", and "network". In countries where the 24 -hourclock e.g. showing 1pm as 1300 is not widely used, many people think 1700hours is 7pm.

3 Never ask two questions in one.

Combining two questions to save space or time will cause more problems than itsolves. Whenever a question contains the words "and" or "or", examine it carefullyto make sure it really is one question and not two. Sometimes it can be difficult torealize that what you see as one question can be interpreted by respondents as twoquestions. You’ll know that this has happened when you expect one answer, butget two.

4 Never use double negatives

For example, questions beginning "Don’t you think X should not ..." Manypeople will answer Yes when they should have said No, and vice versa. Doublenegatives are particularly bad when you are asking a group of questions using thesame scale - e.g. agree/neutral/disagree.

5 Don’t expect memory feats

Memory feats include asking people exactly what they did a week ago. Sometimesyou have no alternative - but don’t expect accurate answers. For many, memory




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has a telescoping effect, by which two months seems like one, a year ago seemslike six months, and so on.

6 Avoid questions beginning If

If you ask hypothetical questions - such as "What station would you listen to at 9a.m. if your favorite RJ was no longer on FM radio?" — you will get hypotheticalreplies, such as "It would depend who replaced him." Similarly, if you have a newprogram in mind, and describe it in a survey, and get a favourable response, don’tbe too surprised if it turns out to be unpopular.

7 Avoid tongue-twisters

If interviewers will have to read the questions aloud, the questionnaire writershould also each question aloud quickly before finalizing the wording.

8 Avoid Ambiguity

Sometimes it’s hard to realize that a question you intend to have one meaning canbe understood to have quite a different meaning. For example, an ABC survey afew years ago, at a time when industrial action had caused occasional newsblackouts, asked "Which channel’s news do you have most confidence in?" Later,we realized that "confidence" is ambiguous — we’d taken it to mean credibility,but some respondents assumed it referred to regularity.

In fact, "confidence" almost comes under the heading of Vague Term, To BeAvoided. A better wording would have been "If you saw differing reports of thesame event, in news bulletins on channels 2, 7, 9, and 10, which channel wouldyou believe most?"

9 Avoid leading questions

Leading questions are those that make it clear by their wording that one answer ispreferred. An example appeared in an advertisement in major Australiannewspapers, opposing the UN convention on eliminating discrimination againstwomen. One question in this pseudo-questionnaire was "Do you want Soviet-stylelaws on women’s rights imposed on Australia?" Who would dare answer Yes to aquestion including words like "Soviet-style" and "imposed"? Try to avoid suchstatements.




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10 Avoid easy escapes

By an "easy escape" it means an alternative answer seemingly so obvious thatmany respondents will accept it without thinking. This applies mainly to multiplechoice questions. If you ask a difficult question, which requires some thought, andoffer an alternative that seems to cover all the others, many people will choose thatone.

Try not to offer people a choice of answers which includes "it depends," or wordsto that effect. This is such an easy choice that many respondents will choose thatanswer, without considering the other possibilities.11 Avoid ranking

Sometimes a questionnaire will include a question like this:"Please indicate how much you like these programs by writing 1 beside theprogram you like most, 2 beside the program you like next most, and so on, downto 8.

Respondents hate this type of question. They keep changing their minds, theycan’t decide, and they become very frustrated. In spoken questionnaires, they askthe interviewer for help. In written questionnaires, answers to this type of questionare often unreadable, because of all the crossings-out.

3.9. PROGRAM TESTING

A common purpose for audience research is to find out how to improve a radio orTV programs, by interviewing people who listen to or watch the station. Stationswith small audiences usually have less money than stations with large audiences,so cannot afford surveys with such large samples. However, the smaller theaudience a station has, the more expensive it is to survey.

Format of Questionnaires

Questionnaires that are intended to be read aloud should be laid out quitedifferently from questionnaires which respondents will fill in themselves. Withspoken questionnaires, the interviewers are trained in using the questionnaire foreach survey, and will repeat it many times, interviewing a variety of differentpeople. When interviewers are used, a spoken questionnaire can omit a lot of




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detail. Interviewers don’t need to be shown how to indicate answers, how tofollow arrows to skip destinations, and so on.

But a written questionnaire is read and filled in by the respondent. Each respondentwill see only one questionnaire for a particular survey, so everything has to beexplained in detail - but not so much detail that the respondent gets bored withreading it all.

The method of answering each question needs to be spelled out. Does thequestion need one answer only, or all answers that apply, or some limited numberof answers? Is the question answered by ticking a box, circling a code, or writingin a full answer? A written questionnaire needs to explain all this clearly. It mustlook easy, attractive, interesting, error-free, and professional - otherwise theresponse rate and completion quality will suffer.

A spoken questionnaire should make allowance for the difficulty that interviewershave in recording answers while they are standing up, perhaps outdoors in wind orrain or poor light, resting the questionnaire on a clipboard. If you don’t leaveenough space between codes, some interviewers may circle the wrong code bymistake.

Therefore spoken questionnaires shouldn’t try to cram too much onto each page.You may spend a little more on paper with this type of layout, but repeating asingle interview may cost more than hundreds of sheets of paper.

Qualitative Analysis: a process that is often the precursor to quantitative,statistical work; a process to make the tacit underpinnings of an issue explicit; aprocess you can use to deepen your understanding of complex social and humanfactors that cannot be understood with numbers; a process that helps you figure outwhat to count and what to measure.

Qualitative Research is a process we can use to deepen our understanding ofcomplex social and human factors in ways that cannot be understood withnumbers. Qualitative research has many faces, each with its own theoretical andepistemological orientation, each exploring different issues, and positing differentkinds of questions.

3.10. SURVEY




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A public survey is a list of questions aimed at extracting specific data from aparticular group of people. Surveys may be conducted by phone, mail, via theinternet, and sometimes face-to-face on busy street corners or in malls. The censusis the most widely-known form of public survey. Some form of census isperformed with varying degrees of accuracy in almost every nation, with theresults used to determine governmental budgets and taxation. Law enforcementand other public services such as public schools depend upon accurate censusinformation.

Whenever using a survey in a story, journalists need to obtain basicmethodological information on the data. They are:

1. Who commissioned the survey?2. Who conducted the survey?3. The purpose of the survey4. The universe the survey covers5. Sampling method and procedures6. Non-response rate7. Sample size number of cases8. Weighting procedures9. Data collection method10. When data collected11. Results12. Characteristics of interviewers and coders and their training13. Copy of questionnaire14. Results for sub-samples vs. whole sample15. Precision of findings and sampling error when applicable16. Standard, scientific use of technical terms

The following information about surveys should be disclosed:

Who conducted the survey? Sample Design Sample Size Mode of Data Collection When Collected/Dates Question Wording Sample Population Response Rate




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As many of these essential facts as possible should be included in news reportsusing surveys. Typically all of this information can be covered in two-to-threesentences. When it is not possible to include all of the information, journalistsshould be prepared to provide it upon request.

Conducting a survey is often a useful way of finding something out, especiallywhen `human factors' are under investigation. Although surveys often investigatesubjective issues, a well-designed survey should produce quantitative, rather thanqualitative, results. That is, the results should be expressed numerically, and becapable of rigorous analysis.

The most important issue to keep in mind when planning a survey is that you aretrying to find something out. If you don't know in advance what the survey'sobjectives are, then you should question whether you really need the survey. Theobjectives of a survey can usually be phrased in the form of questions. On thewhole questions that start with `Why...?' tend to be harder to answer than those thatstart with `Which...?' or `What...?'. They usually have to be translated into a seriesof `What?' and `How?' questions to be capable of rigorous interpretation.

To ask questions of a large number of people, many experimenters make use ofquestionnaires. In most cases, only a small number of people surveyed willrespond, and the more complex the questionnaire the fewer responses there will be.The design of questionnaires is an issue about which complete books have beenwritten.

Here are a few general guidelines. If you are personally able to supervise the filling-in of each questionnaire,

your survey group is probably inadequate. It is unlikely that `family andfriends of the experimenter' will be a representative sample of anything.

If you are expecting people to reply by post, you will need to enclose a self-addressed envelope. Otherwise the recipient will almost certainly throw thequestionnaire straight in the bin.

If you can collect adequate results anonymously, then you should. In thiscase you should make it clear to potential respondents that anonymity willbe assured. Even if you don't explicitly asks for a person's name, thestatement of confidentiality will reassure people.

If you can get meaningful results even if some questions are not answered,make this clear. A busy person is more likely to answer part of thequestionnaire than all of it.




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You must ask the respondent for enough personal information to checkthat your sample group is adequately composed. If you are asking aperson to reply on behalf of an organization, then you need to ask thesequestions about the organization. Alternatively, you can mark or number theforms in some way that you can tell who has responded. However, doing saymay deter potential responders.It is very easy to ask questions that are self-biasing. A trivial example is aquestion like `do you object to filling in questionnaires?' If everyone replies`no' you can't claim that this generalizes: there could be any number ofpotential `yes' replies in people's waste paper baskets. While it is unlikelythat anyone would make such an obvious mistake, more subtle examplesexist to trap the unwary. For example, if you ask a group of people howmuch time they spend playing computer games at work, you will probablyobtain a larger average than really exists. Why? Because people that havetime to play computer games at work are more likely to find time to fill inyour questionnaire.

People will not find time to fill in your questionnaire if they think it is awaste of time. People are more likely to think this if the questionnaire ispoorly presented or ungrammatical. If your grammar and spelling are weak,get the questionnaire checked by someone else before you send it off.

If you ask questions that have a bearing on a company's financial position,even trivial ones, you should not trust the replies. A person who is preparedto answers the questions is unlikely to have accurate information to answerthem with. The people who are really in a position to answer such questionswill not want to, as they will feel that this information could compromise thecompany's trading position. What's more, if there is even one question of thistype, it will probably result in the whole questionnaire being discarded.

3.11. Sampling and the population

In almost all cases we would like to be able to generalize the results of a survey,that is, to estimate how the results might apply outside the survey group. We callthis larger group the population. It isn't necessarily the same as the population of acountry or the world; it simply means the group of people to whom the surveyresults should be extendable. Beginners often forget that results of a small surveydo not automatically extend to the population. There are two main reasons why thisis so.

First, there is sampling variation. Second, in practice the second group surveyedwill not be identical in all respects to the first. The group may consist of people of




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different ages, with different proportions of men and women, with differentoccupations, and so on. The result will be more accurate if the composition of thesample group is the same in all important respects to the composition of thepopulation. If the sample group is very different to the population, we say it is non-representative. Non-representative sampling is one of the most frequent causesof error in surveys. If you carry out a survey by selecting people whom it'sconvenient to question, then you have to accept that the results of the survey willonly apply to the population of which this group is representative.

Certainty and Confidence

So how many people does one need to survey to be certain that the survey resultswill apply to the whole population? The answer is that for certainty, we mustsurvey the entire population. It's as simple as that. Of course in practice we usuallycan't do this, because there isn't enough time or money for such an undertaking.

Because we can't have certainty we have to settle for confidence. The morepeople we survey, the more confident we become that the results apply to thepopulation. A typical target is that of 95% confidence. Expressed simply, thismeans that we survey enough people that we can be 95% sure that theoutcome applies to the population as well as the survey group.

You can estimate the confidence level after carrying out the survey, but you mustdecide in advance what level of confidence will be acceptable. If your survey doesnot give this level of confidence you can use the results to plan a new, largersurvey.

Estimating confidence levels from a given set of data is a standard statisticalprocedure. Estimating the size of the survey that will be needed to give therequired confidence level is much more difficult, and requires consideration of thestatistical power of your survey. Statistical power is a measure of how sensitivethe survey result is to variations in the population.

Because it is difficult to estimate in advance how many people you need to survey,in many large projects there will be a pilot study, which purpose is to find outenough about the population to plan the survey properly.

Confidence levels are nearly always improved by increasing the size of thesurvey, but often a change in the survey design can give an improvedconfidence with much less expense.




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Bias

A survey is biased if its outcome has been influenced by factors other than the onebeing studied. Bias is occasionally overt: the experimenter is not open-mindedabout the results, and interprets them wrongly. But more often bias comes frompoor survey design. A typical problem is that of comparing two groups of peoplethat are not really alike. For example, if there are more men than women in onegroup, and more women than men in another, the responses of the groups to anyquestion will be influenced by the differences between men and women. In manycases these gender differences overwhelm the real subject of the study. Similarproblems apply when groups have different age profiles.

The solution to the problem of bias is that of randomization. This means pickingsurvey subjects from the population group at random. Bear in mind that if you sendout questionnaires and you use all the replies, this is not a random sample ofanything. This is because people who take the trouble to respond to thequestionnaire are probably not representative of the group you sent them to.

Presentation of Results

When presenting the results of a survey, you should try to include the minimumamount of data that communicates the overall findings effectively. If you are usingquestionnaires it is not usually helpful to include copies of every response. Asummary of the responses is probably enough.

It is quite important that a person reading the outcome of your survey candistinguish easily between factual or numerical results, and the experimenter'sinterpretation of the results. It is perfectly acceptable to conjecture about thereasons for a particular finding, but it is almost never helpful to mix facts andconjecture in a survey report. Bear in mind that the reader is also capable ofinterpreting your results, perhaps in a different way to you; to do this it needs to beeasy to separate the objective results from your subjective interpretation.

The `traditional' model for an experimental report has a section titled `results'and one titled `discussion'. The first of these is for plain, factual results and thesecond for interpretation and conjecture. This is still a sound way to report on theresults of a survey. If you use statistical analysis of your results, you don't need toinclude calculations, but you do need to include an explanation of the reason foradopting a particular statistical approach.




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Here are some general guidelines that summarize it all:

Decide what the objectives of the study are. Ensure that you can phrase theseobjectives as questions or measurements. If you can't, don't start.

Decide what to ask in your survey, or what to measure, that will give youanswers to the questions you have selected. If the questions prove to beunanswerable, don't start.

Ensure that you know what population you are studying. Pick a samplegroup that is representative of the population. If you cannot do this, at leasttry to estimate the effect that this lack of representatives will have on yourfinal results.

If you can, pick a sample group large enough to give a result with a desiredlevel of confidence or accuracy. If you can't do this, estimate the confidenceor accuracy after the survey. If these are lower than you anticipated, makesure you can explain why.

When presenting your results, be careful to distinguish between the factualor numerical results, and your interpretations of the results.

"The quality of a survey is best judged not by its size, scope, or prominence,but by how much attention is given to preventing, measuring, and dealingwith the many important problems that can arise."Public opinion survey

How to produce a quality survey:

1. Have specific goals2. Consider alternatives3. Select samples that well represent the population to be studied4. Use designs that balance costs with errors5. Take great care in matching question wording to the concepts being

measured and the population studied6. Pretest questionnaires and procedures7. Train interviewers carefully on interviewing techniques and the subject

matter of survey8. Check quality at each stage9. Maximize cooperation or response rates within the limits of ethical treatment

of human subjects10.Use appropriate statistical analytic and reporting techniques




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11.Develop and fulfill pledges of confidentiality given to respondents12.Disclose all method of the survey to allow for evaluation and replication13.Have specific goals for the survey.

The objectives of a high quality survey or poll should be specific, clear-cut andunambiguous. Such surveys are carried out solely to develop statistical informationabout the subject, not to produce predetermined results, nor as a ruse formarketing, fund-raising, changing voters' minds, or similar activities.

In its initial conceptualization, the ideal survey takes seriously the importantquestion of whether or not the information needed would best be acquired byconducting a survey or poll. A survey generally originates when an individualor institution is confronted with a need for information for which existingdata appear to be insufficient. At this point, it is important to consider if therequired information can even be collected by a survey or whether a survey wouldactually be the best way to acquire the information needed. If a survey is indeedappropriate, then careful attention must be given as to who is to be sampled andwhat is to be learned about those sampled.

Select samples that well represent the population to be studied.

A replicable or repeatable plan is developed to randomly choose a sample capableof meeting the survey's goals. Sampling should be designed to guard againstunplanned selectiveness. A survey's intent is not to describe the particularindividuals who, by chance, are part of the sample, but rather to obtain a compositeprofile of the population. In a bona fide survey, the sample is not selectedhaphazardly or only from persons who volunteer to participate. It is scientificallychosen so that each person in the population will have a measurable chance ofselection. This way, the results can be reliably projected from the sample to thelarger population with known levels of certainty/precision.

Critical elements in a survey are:To ensure that the right population is indeed being sampled to address thequestions of interest; and b to locate or "cover" all members of the populationbeing studied so they have a chance to be sampled. The quality of the list of suchmembers the "sampling frame" whether it is up -to-date and complete is probablythe dominant feature for ensuring adequate coverage of the desired population tobe surveyed. Where a particular sample frame is suspected to provide incompleteor inadequate coverage of the population of interest, multiple frames should beused.




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Virtually all surveys taken seriously by social scientists, policy makers, and theinformed media use some form of random or probability sampling, the methodsof which are well grounded in statistical theory and the theory of probability.Surveying a carefully constructed sample of a population can make reliable andefficient estimates of needed statistics, provided that a large proportion of thesample members give the requested information. The latter requires that carefuland explicit estimates of potential non-response bias and sample representatives bedeveloped.

Use designs that balance costs with errors.

For example, allocating a survey budget to support a very large sample size, butwith insufficient attention to follow-up of non respondents to produce a goodresponse rate generally yields results that are less accurate than surveying a smallersample with a higher response rate. Similarly, allocating most of one's funds toprovide a large sample size but with little or no resources devoted to interviewertraining would not be prudent. Although sampling errors can be readily estimatedusing probability sampling methods, they do not reflect the total error of a surveystatistic or estimate, which is a function of many different features of a givensurvey. Survey professionals practicing at their best carefully seek to balance thesevarious types of error in the design and conduct of a particular survey, in order tominimize the total error given the budget or resources available.

Take great care in matching question wording to the concepts being measuredand the population studied.

Based on the goals of a survey, questions for respondents are designed andarranged in a logical format and order to create a survey questionnaire. The idealsurvey or poll recognizes that planning the questionnaire is one of the most criticalstages in the survey development process, and gives careful attention to all phasesof questionnaire development and design, including: definition of topics, conceptsand content; question wording and order; and questionnaire length andformat. One must first ensure that the questionnaire domains and elementsestablished for the survey or poll fully and adequately cover the topics of interest.Ideally, multiple rather than single indicators or questions should be included forall key constructs.

Beyond their specific content, however, the manner in which questions are asked,as well as the specific response categories provided, can greatly affect the results




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of a survey. Concepts should be clearly defined and questions unambiguouslyphrased. Question wording should be carefully examined for special sensitivityor bias. Techniques should be developed to minimize the discomfort orapprehension of both respondents and interviewers when dealing with sensitivesubject matter. Ways should be devised to keep respondent mistakes and biasese.g., memory of past events to a minimum, and to measure those that cannot beeliminated. To accomplish these objectives, well- established cognitive researchmethods e.g., paraphrasing and "think aloud" interviews and similar methodse.g., behavioral coding of interviewe r-respondent interactions should beemployed with persons similar to those to be surveyed to assess and improve allkey questions along these various dimensions.

Pretest questionnaires and procedures to identify problems prior to thesurvey.

High quality surveys and polls always provide adequate budget and time for pre-testing questionnaire(s and field procedures. A pretest of the questionnaire andfield procedures is the only way of finding out if everything "works”especially if a survey employs new techniques or a new set of questions.Because it is rarely possible to foresee all the potential misunderstandings orbiasing effects of different questions or procedures, it is vital for a well-designedsurvey operation to include provision for a pretest. All questions should be pre-tested to ensure that respondents understand questions, can be properlyadministered by interviewers, and do not adversely affect survey cooperation. Incircumstances where one is uncertain about the best design or any criticalcomponent of such a design, split sample experiments, which systematicallycompare the effects of two or more alternatives, should be included either prior toor as part of the pre-testing process to select the most appropriate or effectivedesigns or co mponents.

Train interviewers carefully on interviewing techniques and the subjectmatter of the survey.

Insisting on high standards in the recruiting and training of interviewers is alsocrucial to conducting a quality survey or poll. For high quality data to becollected, interviewers in telephone or in person surveys must be carefullytrained to do their work properly through face-to-face "classroom" ortelephone training, self-study, or some combination of these. Good interviewertechniques should be stressed, such as how to make initial contacts, how to dealwith reluctant respondents, how to conduct interviews in a professional manner,




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and how to avoid influencing or biasing responses. Training should also involvepractice interviews to familiarize the interviewers with the variety ofsituations they are likely to encounter. Time should be spent going over surveyconcepts, definitions, and procedures, including a question-by- question approachto be sure that interviewers can deal with any misunderstandings that may arise.

Construct quality checks for each stage of the survey

Excellent surveys and polls are those that collect information carefully, and checkand verify each step of the research process. To assure that the proper executionof a survey corresponds to its design, every facet of a survey must be looked atduring implementation. Checks must be made at every step to ensure that thesample is selected according to specifications; that the interviewers do their workproperly; that the information from questionnaires is edited and coded accurately;that computer data entry is done correctly; and that the computer programs used fordata analysis work properly.

Sloppy execution in the field, in particular, can seriously undermine results.Controlling the quality of fieldwork is done by observing/monitoring,verifying and/or redoing a small sample of the interviews. At least somequestionnaire-by-questionnaire checking including interviewer "edits" and areview of frequencies to monitor questionnaire performance while in the field arealso essential to detect omissions e.g., skip errors or other obvious mistakes in thedata before it is too late to fix them.

Maximize cooperation or response rates within the limits of ethical treatmentof human subjects.

Non-response occurs when members of the sample cannot or will not participate ina survey. Careful sample management and control to ensure that a largeproportion of sample members provide the information requested is essentialto good survey practice. A low cooperation or response rate does more damage inrendering a survey's results questionable than a small sample, because there may beno valid way scientifically of inferring the characteristics of the populationrepresented by the non-respondents. Proper sample management and controlentails such things as adding sample in correctly formulated replicates, tracking thedisposition of all cases, monitoring the sample while in the field for potentialproblems, and "metering" or rationing resources to ensure the collection of datafrom harder-to-reach respondents.




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Interviewers must also be carefully equipped through training with effectiveresponses to deal with concerns that reluctant respondents might express. Specificprocedures designed explicitly to stimulate survey cooperation or participationshould also be considered, such as where possible) sending advance letters tosample households or individuals to inform them of the pending survey, offeringmonetary i.e., cash or non -monetary some other valued reward incentives toencourage participation, and sending reminders or making follow-up calls to thosewho do not respond initially. Failure to follow up non-respondents and refusals, inparticular, can severely undermine an otherwise well-designed survey.

To deal with this possibility:

a)Visits or calls to sample households are scheduled with careful attention to suchconsiderations as the best time of day to call or visit; b allowance is made forrepeated attempts e.g., callba cks at different times and days to thoroughly workthe selected sample in not-at home and related situations; and c) special effortsi.e., reworking refusals with an experienced interviewer) are made to persuadepersons who are inclined not to participate to respond. In mail surveys, it is usuallynecessary to send reminders and conduct several follow- up mailings, and at timesto contact at least a sub-sample of the remaining non-respondents by telephone orpersonal visit. Where possible, specific efforts to directly observe or measure thecharacteristics of non-respondents should also included in the overall surveydesign.

Use statistical analytic and reporting techniques appropriate to the datacollected.

Excellence in the practice of survey and public opinion research requires that dataanalysis and interpretation be competent and clear, and that findings orresults be presented fully, understandably, and fairly. The informationcollected should be critically examined in a search for meaning processed, refined,and thoroughly analyzed. Routine reliability studies should be conducted for allkey measurements.

Special codes should be provided for missing items, indicating why the data arenot included. And, ideally, the "filling in" or imputation of these missing data itemsbased on rigorous and well validated statistical methods should be undertaken toreduce any biases arising from their absence. Statistical tables should be clearlylabeled, including identification of questionnaire source, and the un -weighted




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number of cases forming the base for each cross-tabulation. Sampling errorsshould be included for all statistics presented, rather than only the statisticsthemselves.

Findings and interpretations should be presented honestly and objectively,with full reporting of all relevant findings, including any that may seemcontradictory or unfavorable. Sampling and non-sampling errors includingcoverage, measurement and reporting errors, response variance, interviewer andrespondent bias, non-response, imputation error and errors in processing the datashould explicitly be taken into account in the analysis of survey data andinterpretation of survey results, in a comprehensive effort to assess error from eachperspective. Conclusions should be carefully distinguished from the factualfindings, and great care should be taken to be sure that the conclusions and thefindings presented are consistent.

Carefully develop and fulfill pledges of confidentiality given to respondents.

Establish clear intentions and meticulous procedures to assure the privacy ofrespondents and the confidentiality of the information they provide. Unless therespondent explicitly requests otherwise, or waives confidentiality for specifieduses, one should hold as privileged and confidential the identity of individualrespondents and all information that might identify a respondent with his or herresponses.

Exemplary survey research practice requires that one literally do "whatever ispossible" to protect the privacy of research participants and to keep collectedinformation they provide confidential or anonymous. One must establish clearintentions to protect the confidentiality of information collected fromrespondents, strive to ensure that these intentions realistically reflect one'sability to do so, and clearly state pledges of confidentiality and their realisticlimitations to respondents. That is, one must ensure that the means are adequateto protect confidentiality to the extent pledged or intended, that procedures forprocessing and use of data conform to the pledges made, and that appropriate careis taken in dealing with directly identifying information i.e., using such steps asdestroying this type of information or removing it from the file when it is no longerneeded for inquiry.

Interviewers and other research staff must be carefully trained and indoctrinated touphold and maintain the confidentiality of respondents' identities and theinformation they provide and take/sign an explicit oath or pledge of confidentiality




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to do so before beginning work. In the verification of information, one must protectthe identity of respondents from outside disclosure.

One should also assure that appropriate techniques are applied to control forpotential statistical disclosure of respondent data. Individual respondents shouldnever be identified or identifiable in reporting survey findings: all survey resultsshould be presented in completely anonymous summaries, such as statistical tablesand charts, and statistical tabulations presented by broad enough categories so thatindividual respondents cannot be singled out.

Disclose all methods of the survey to permit evaluation and replication.

Excellence in survey practice requires that survey methods be fully disclosed andreported in sufficient detail to permit replication by another researcher and that alldata subject to appropriate safeguards to maintain privacy and confidentiality befully documented and made available for independent examination. Goodprofessional practice imposes an obligation upon all survey and public opinionresearchers to include, in any report of research results, or to make available whenthat report is released, certain minimal essential information about how theresearch was conducted to ensure that consumers of survey results have anadequate basis for judging the reliability and validity of the results reported.

3.11.1.Readership Survey

Most surveys waste time and space asking questions that shouldn't be asked in thefirst place because you shouldn't need your readers to tell you how to do your job.

Here are some of the questions that show up in many surveys questions thatshould never be asked:

How would you rate the frequency of the publication? They probably don'teven know the frequency of your publication. As the editor, you have tojudge frequency. You know which vehicles you have at your disposal; youknow how much news is rolling through the organization; you know howmany initiatives the company has going right now that you need tocommunicate.

How would you rate the format and design of the publication? You are thecommunication professional. Pick an appealing design that allows you tocommunicate your messages. Make sure it's readable and clean, and don't letyour designers bully you by doing "anti-reader design tricks"--like shading




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text to the point that people can't read it, or running words in a circle "foreffect."

How would you rate the photos in the publication? Don't bother askingquestions about photography unless you're prepared to bring in aprofessional photographer to make things better.

How much of the publication do you read? They are not paying attention tohow much of the publication they read! Asking that question is a waste ofyour time--and theirs.

What types of articles do you like to read? This question is asking fortrouble. What are you going to do when they tell you they want more photocontests and recipes, and less of that "strategic stuff"? This question onlyworks if you give them a list of strategic, business focused topics to choosefrom.

How easy is the writing to understand? If you're writing clear, concisestories, then you shouldn't need to ask this question. And if you're not doingthat ... well, then, deep in your black little heart, you already know that, don'tyou? You are a writer. You don't need a security guard to tell you?

Conducting Readership Surveys

Surveying readers is one of the most vital activities of any magazine publisher.Results of a well-conducted survey can tell you what editorial subjects will interestyour readers and help convince advertisers that your magazine or newspaper is theright choice for them.

Elements of an Effective Survey1. A sample size large enough to be representative of all readers and allow forcross-tabulations of data2. An easy-to-understand questionnaire, calling for multiple-choice responses3. Survey timing planned to take advantage of the best response rates for yourindustry

3.12. What Survey Results Will Provide

1. An indication of readership interest, based on the percentage of replies received2. General trends of your readership. For example, do your readers prefer financialarticles to industry news? Do picture stories score better than straight text?3. Answers to marketing questions, such as demographic data4. Competitor analyses - how are you doing in comparison?




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5. Who is reading your magazine? Classifying readers can help you to directefforts to the right audience.

National Readership Survey Key Findings

Press adds 34 million readers in the last 2 years.

Press continues to grow, adding 21 million readers between 2002 and 2005.

Over the last 3 years the number of readers of dailies and magazines put togetheramong those aged 15 years and above has grown from 179 mn to 200 mn - agrowth of 4% every year.

There is still significant scope for growth, as 314 million people who can read andunderstand any language do not read any publication.

There are nearly as many as rural readers as urban readers

Of the 200 mn readers, as many as 98 mn are from rural India and 101 mn fromurban India.

Newspapers add substantially to the reader base

The reader base for dailies/ newspapers increased from 155 mn in 2002 to 176 mnthis year - an increase of nearly 14% over three years.

However the growth in reaches of dailies is less than the literacy growth of 21% inthe same period.

The highest read Hindi Daily in India now surpasses a readership of 21 mn.

A list of top 10 dailies and magazines is enclosed. As many as 7 of the top 10dailies have consistently improved their rankings in the last three years.

Dainik Jagran has taken the top slot even though the previous year's No.1 DainikBhaskar has also grown handsomely. This is because the number of literates in UP,Bihar and Jharkhand strong Dainik Jagran marke ts has grown explosively - whileDainik Bhaskar has not been as fortunate in its strong markets.

Decline of audience for magazines




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Magazines overall show a decline in the reader base, both in urban and rural India.The reach of magazines has declines from 86 mn in 2002 to 69 mn in 2005.Magazines have lost 19% of their reach since 2002.

The time spent on press medium has increased over the years

An urban adult now spends on press and TV an average of 17 hours a week; onpress 4.9 hours and TV 11.8 hours. The time spent on radio is 10 hours a week.The time spent by the average rural adult on press and TV together is 14 hours aweek and that on radio is 9 hours a week

Press increases its share of urban media day

Today the average urban adult spends 42 minutes per day reading dailies andmagazines and 1 hour 42 minutes watching TV. The average reading time used tobe 32 minutes and the average viewing time 1 hour 40 minutes 3 years ago.

Contrary to expectations, press has increased its share of the day at the expense ofTV - it accounts for 30% of the time spent, up from 24% three years ago.

The growth in C&S penetration is more than twice the growth in TV owninghomes

Television now reaches 108 mn Indian homes, which means it crosses the 50%mark of all homes for the first time and reflects a growth of 32% since 2002.

Homes with access to C&S jumped from 40 mn in 2002 to 61 in 2005. The growthof 53% is far higher than the growth of the TV market.

C&S subscription has now penetrated 56% of all TV homes

Colour TV outstrips even the rapid pace of cable and satellite growth>

Homes with colour TV have doubled 29 mn to 58 mn in 2005. The increment of43% is in line with the growth in C&S. While in 2002 a little over half the C&Shomes had colour TV, today more than two-thirds 70% do. This obviously makesthe viewing pleasure of satellite channels more attractive than ever before.

TV and Cable & Satellite dominate in the Southern States




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Tamilnadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh dominate the markets with TV reach of77%, 68% and 74% respectively. These States also have high penetration of Cable& Satellite i.e. 55%, 44% and 55% respectively.

Internet now exceeds 10 mn

The number of individuals aged 12 years and above who accessed the Internet inthe last 3 months increased to 11 mn in 2005. While 8 mn of these are in urbanIndia, nearly 3 mn Internet users reside in rural India.

The home is the new access point for Internet

As reach of Internet increases, office is no longer the main place of access. Asmany as 34% of users now surf from home and 32% go to a cyber cafe. Only 16%of Internet users access it from the work place.

Radio is still stagnant

Radio reaches 23.1% of the adult population - marginally more in rural 23.5%

Share of FM increases in a stagnant urban market

Among the 183 mn adults who listened to radio in last 3 months, 43% or 96.8 mn,now tune on to any FM station - an increase of more than 100% over 2002.

FM has larger audience base than Vividh Bharati 15.7% compared to 11.3% inUrban India.

Mobile phones: a new medium emerges

Among the fast growing tribe of mobile phone owners, 13.9% access value addedfeatures like downloads, accessing news and Cricket scores, SMS etc. The figure ishigher at 24.7% in 35 metros.

3.13. PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING RESEARCH

Meeting changing conditions requires marketers have sufficient market knowledgein order to make the right adjustments to their marketing strategy. For marketersgaining knowledge is accomplished through marketing research.




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Research, as a general concept, is the process of gathering information tolearn about something that is not fully known. Nearly everyone engages insome form of research. From the highly trained geologist investigating newlydiscovered earthquake faults, to the author of best selling spy novels gaininginsight into new surveillance techniques, to the model train hobbyist spendinghours hunting down the manufacturer of an old electric engine, each is driven bythe quest for information.

For marketers, research is not only used for the purpose of learning, it is also acritical component needed to make good decisions. Market research does this bygiving marketers a picture of what is occurring or likely to occur) and, when donewell, offers alternative choices that can be made. For instance, good research maysuggest multiple options for introducing new products or entering new markets. Inmost cases marketing decisions prove less risky though they are never risk free)when the marketer can select from more than one option. Consequently, all areasof marketing and all marketing decisions should be supported with some level ofresearch.

While research is key to marketing decision making, it does not always needto be elaborate to be effective. Sometimes small efforts, such as doing a quicksearch on the Internet, will provide the needed information. However, for mostmarketers there are times when more elaborate research work is needed andunderstanding the right way to conduct research, whether performing the workthemselves or hiring someone else to handle it, can increase the effectiveness ofthese projects.

Marketing research is a process that investigates both organizations andpeople. Of course, organizations are made up of people so when it comes down toit, marketing research is a branch of the social sciences. Social science studiespeople and their relationships and includes such areas as economics, sociology andpsychology. To gain understanding into their fields, researchers in the socialsciences use scientific methods that have been tested and refined over hundreds ofyears. Many of these methods require the institution of tight controls on researchprojects. For instance, many companies survey i.e., ask questions a smallpercentage of their customers called a sample) to see how satisfied they are withthe company’s efforts. For the information obtained from a small group ofcustomers to be useful when evaluating how all customers feel, certain controlsmust be in place including controls on who should be included in the sample.




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Thus, doing research right means the necessary controls are in place to insureit is done correctly and increase the chance the results are relevant. Relyingon results of research conducted incorrectly to make decisions could proveproblematic if not disastrous. So a big decision for marketers, when it comes todoing research, is to determine the balance between the need for obtaining relevantinformation and the costs involved in carrying out the research.

3.14. Research Validity and Reliability

Not all research requires undertaking an elaborate study. But even marketersconducting small, informal research should know that any type of researchperformed poorly would not yield relevant results. In fact, all research, no matterhow well controlled, and carries the potential to be wrong. There are many reasonswhy research may not yield good results; however, most errors can be traced toproblems with how data is gathered. In particular, many research mistakes occurdue to problems associated with research validity and research reliability.

Research Validity

This problem with data gathering represents several concepts that to the non-researcher may be quite complex. But basically validity boils down to whether theresearch is really measuring what it claims to be measuring. For instance, if amarketer is purchasing a research report from a company claiming to measure howpeople prefer the marketer’s products to competitors’ products, the marketershould understand how the data was gathered to help determine if the researchreally captures the information the way the research company says it does. Whileresearch validity is measured in several ways, those evaluating research resultsshould keep asking this simple question: Is the research measuring what it issupposed to measure? If the marketer has doubts about the answer to this questionthen it is possible the results should also be questioned.

Research Reliability

This problem relates to whether research results can be applied to a wider groupthan those who took part in a study. In other words, would similar results beobtained if another group containing different respondents or a different set of datapoints were used? For example, if 40 salespeople out of 2,000-person corporatesales force participate in a research study focusing on company policy, is theinformation obtained from these 40 people sufficient to conclude how the entire




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sales forces feels about company policies? What if the same study was done againwith 40 different salespeople, would the responses be similar?

Reliability is chiefly concerned with making sure the method of data gatheringleads to consistent results. For some types of research this can be measured byhaving different researchers follow the same methods to see if results can beduplicated. If results are similar then it is likely the method of data gathering isreliable. Assuring research can be replicated and can produce similar results is animportant element of the scientific research method.

Risk in Marketing Research

The discussion above regarding doing research right shows that good marketingresearch, especially when it involves formal research projects, requires strictcontrols in order to produce relevant information. Being relevant means theprobability is high that the research results reflect what is happening now or mighthappen in the future. But following the right procedures to produce a relevantstudy does not insure the results of research will be 100% correct, as there isalways the potential that results are wrong.

Because of the risks associated with research, marketers are cautioned not to usethe results of marketing research as the only input in making marketing decisions.Rather, smart marketing decisions require considering many factors, includingmanagement’s own judgment of what is best. But being cautious with howresearch is used should not diminish the need to conduct research. While makingdecisions without research input may work sometimes, long-term success is notlikely to happen without regular efforts to collect information.

Additionally, risk in research extends to research produced by others. As wediscuss in the Planning for Marketing Research Tutorial, the research process oftenincludes using information initially gathered by other sources, such as marketresearch firms. However, in many instances the methods for collecting thisinformation is not being fully disclosed, thus questions exist regarding researchvalidity and reliability. Marketers using research collected by third-party sourcesshould do so with a reasonable level of skepticism. In fact, it is wise for marketersto always make an effort to locate multiple information sources that address thesame issue e.g., two or more sales forecasts repo rts. A good rule-of-thumb for all




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marketers is never to rely on one source for making definitive statements about amarket.

Trends in Marketing Research

In recent years the evolution of marketing research has been dramatic withmarketers getting access to a wide variety of tools and techniques to improve theirhunt for information.

In its role as the foundation of marketing, marketing research is arguablymarketing’s most important task. Today marketers not only view research as a keyingredient in making marketing decisions they also consider information to be acritical factor in gaining advantage over competitors. Because organizationsrecognize the power information has in helping create and maintain products thatoffer value, there is an insatiable appetite to gain even more insight into customersand markets. Marketers in nearly all industries are expected to direct moreresources to gathering and analyzing information especially in highly competitivemarkets. Many of the trends discussed below are directly related to marketers’quest to acquire large amounts of customer, competitive and market information.

3.15. Internet Technologies

To address the need for more information, marketing companies are developingnew methods for collecting data. This has led to the introduction of several newtechnologies to assist in the information gathering process. Many of thesedevelopments are Internet-based technologies that include:

Enhanced Tracking - The Internet offers an unparalleled ability to trackand monitor customers. Each time a visitor accesses a website they providemarketers with extensive information including how they arrived at the websitee.g., via a search engine) and what they did when on the website e.g., whatproducts were investigated. In many ways the vast data available throughInternet tracking has yet to be used by the majority of marketers. However, astracking software becomes more sophisticated the use of tracking data will be aroutinely used research tool.

Improved Communication – Not only is the Internet enabling marketers tomonitor customers’ website activity, it also offers significant improvement incustomer-to-company communication which is vital for marketing research.For instance, the ability to encourage customers to offer feedback on thecompany’s products and service is easy using website popup notices and email




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reminders. Also, as we discuss in the Planning for Market Research Tutorial,the use of the Internet for conducting online focus group research is expanding.

Research Tools – A large number of Internet services have added optionsfor conducting research. These include the ubiquitous search engines, tools forconducting online surveys, and access to large databases containing previousresearch studies i.e., secondary research.

Other Technologies

In addition to the Internet, marketing research has benefited from othertechnological improvements including:

Virtual Reality and Simulations - Marketers can use computer developedvirtual worlds to simulate real world customer activity such as store shopping.While this type of research is mostly performed in a controlled laboratorysetting, there are emerging virtual worlds on the Internet where marketers cantest concepts and communicate with customers.

Global Positioning Systems – GPS enables marketers to track inventory andeven track mobile sales and service personnel. Soon GPS will be a commonfeature of customers’ communication devices, such as cell phones, offeringmarketers the potential to locate and track customers.

Data Analysis Software – As we will see in the Planning for MarketResearch Tutorial, research includes gathering information and it also involvesanalyzing what is collected. A number of software and statistical programshave been refined to give marketers greater insight into what the data reallymeans.

Affordable Research

For many years formal research projects were considered something that only thelargest marketers could afford due to the expense of carrying out relevantresearch. However, the technologies discussed above make it affordable forcompanies of all sizes to engage in research that were financially prohibitive justfew years ago. For instance, surveying customers is quick and easy using one ofthe many online survey services, which charge low fees to create, distribute andanalyze results.

Merging of Data Sources




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The wide range of technologies used to gather data has led to the creation of datacenters where information is stored. Today many of these data centers are sharinginformation with other centers in a manner that offers the marketer a fuller pictureof their customers. In the past the information gathered at these points was oftenstored separately so if a customer contacted the company through one contact pointthey may not be recognized if they also contacted the company through a differentpoint.

Companies now see the value in knowing what customers do across all contactpoints and work to integrate customer information. Additionally, some marketersare going outside their own data collection and seek information on their customersfrom other sources, such as information provided by credit card companies. Thisinformation is then merged with the company-owned information to get a fullerpicture of customer activity.

Privacy Concerns

The continual demand for customer information, along with advances intechnology and the merging of information sources, has lead marketingorganizations to gather information in ways that raise concerns among privacyadvocates. Many customers are unaware of the amount and nature of the datamarketers collect. As new information gathering techniques and technologiesemerge customer response to issues of privacy may determine whether thesemethods are feasible or forbidden.

Respondent Cooperation at Issue

The growing concern with privacy is leading many customers to limit theirparticipation in a company’s research activities. This includes customers choosingnot to respond to company requests to take part in research studies that may comevia telephone or email solicitation. Customers are also becoming more aware ofhow their Internet activities are tracked and are responding by using techniques torestrict marketers tracking efforts. For example, marketers can place small datafiles called cookies on customers’ computer and then use this to track useractivity. Many customers are learning to disable the cookies and, in doing so; limitthe marketer’s ability to track customer activity.

Research as a Promotional Tool

While most people do not equate marketing research with promotion, the fact ismany companies are discovering research can also function as a major promotional




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tool. The practice of distributing company-produced research reports to potentialcustomers and the news media has been used for a number of years in scientificand technology industries. In recent years the practice has expanded into manyother fields, particularly among firms involved in consulting, healthcare andfinancial industries. Such reports often provide readers with information related toproduct features and benefits, comparisons with competitor’s offerings and targetmarket perceptions. These reports are produced using high quality graphs andcharts backed up by carefully created narratives that proudly emphasize thecompany’s strengths.

Unfortunately, many research reports produced for promotional reasons are notscientific and thus may not carry much value. While many companies claim theresearch supports their products, many of these claims may in fact be more fluffthan substance since they are not grounded in good research methods.

3.16. PRE-TESTING & POST –TESTING

Pre-Testing

Pre-testing is such research attempts to predict the performance of specificadvertisements/TV programmes in terms of liking, motivation, etc. of audiencemembers. Different types of copy, length of copy types of visuals, various appealsand the various types of approaches will work differently for different products anddifferent target audiences. So producers want to finalize the best possible optionsthat are likely to produces better results than others.

Pre-testing is a kind of insurance against bad mistakes. It finds out theappropriateness of the programme/advertisement and their individual componentslike headline, visuals, body copy and layout, etc. Such test is mainly confined tothe communication of the advertising messages. Major methods of pre-testinginclude:

Consumer jury-here a representative cross section of the target audience isselected as jury members to judge the advertisement being tested. Thesepersons are most likely to be exposed to the final ads. The response of such ajury is totally different from those of advertising personnel who, on onehand, over estimate their knowledge of prospective buyers, while on theother hand, are too concerned with technical aspects like copy, visuals,layout, filming, etc.




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Story board tests-such test are used for TV advertisement. Before ads areshot, story -boards series of important shots drawn in the com ic stripfashion is created. These storyboards are transferred on to filmstrips and theaudio part is recorded. The selected audience is shown the synchronizedversion of the filmstrips and audiotape in the slide and sound format. Thisway television ad can be evaluated even before they are prepared.Storyboard testing is a cost of saving evaluation method, but it is fardistanced from the actual experience of watching TV ads. So it is not themost effective method of evaluation.

Laboratory tests- when we watch a particular advertisement, we react andrespond in many ways like raising of eyebrows, dilation of pupil, other eyemovements, facial expressions and body movements. Special labsconditions are created to measure such bodily responses. These conditionsprovide the researchers a highly controlled environment to conduct the test.Such tests can measure attention, comprehension, and retention of the admessage. A wide variety of instruments and devices are used for thispurpose.

Attitude tests-attitudes are viewpoints or opinions that are characterized bya predisposition or state of readiness to act or react in a particular way tocertain stimulus. Here ads are the stimuli. And through a clever mix ofinformation and images, advertising tries to create a favorable disposition orattitudinal change towards the product among the target audience. Attitudetesting tries to measure the degree and extent of these attitudinal changes ascreated by advertisements. Here direct questioning is not use. Rather attitudescales are used. The attitude scale measures the position of an individual’sattitudes along a continuum varying form wholly favorable at one end towholly unfavorable at the other.

Here, respondents are given a number of relevant statements and theirattitudinal positions on the scale for these statements are obtained. Fromthese scores, the favor ability of respondents towards the product ismeasured. However, providing respondents with statements and asking themto rank these statements on the attitude scale puts the respondents in the roleof experts. This leads to a lot of biased and subjective judgment.

Post –Testing

One often faces the problem of ‘artificiality’ while conducting pre-testing. Thisproblem is easily overcome during post-testing. Post tests attempts to measure the‘actual effect of real advertisements in real situations’. This is a more practical




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approach to measure the effectiveness of advertisements. Also, post-testingmeasures total advertising effectiveness, while pre-testing only measures theeffectiveness of specific aspects of advertisements. Different types of tests areconducted as part of post-testing advertisements. These include:

Recognition tests- whatever the papoose of an advertisement, its first task isto be seen, read, or heard. Every advertisement uses some means or other toget attention and hold it. Here comes the first big hurdle- recognition. This issimply a matter of identifying an advertisement that one has seen before.Recognition is a necessary condition for effective advertising. If anadvertisement cannot pass this hurdle, it will probably not be effective.Recognition tests are usually used for print ads.

Recall tests- the recall test is a kind of a memory test that attempts tomeasure the impression or penetration made by an advertisement on thereader’s or viewer’s mind. It evaluates the memory of an advertisement bycontacting audiences’ members and asking them what they remember aboutit. As a test of memory, recall is more demanding and difficult thatrecognition. Various recall tests differ in the subject matter they deal withand the aid-to-memory they provide. Some deal with the print ads whileothers deal with broadcast ads. Some recall tests use aids to help audiencemembers to remember while others do not use any such aids.

Persuasion tests- recognition and recall tests ask the questions-do youremember, and what you remember. Persuasion tests ask- were youinfluenced? Persuasion tests are concerned with ‘attitude shift’ on part ofthe audiences after they have seen the ad. Such tests evaluate theeffectiveness of an advertisement by measuring whether the ad affects thecustomer’s intentions to buy a brand. During persuasion tests, consumers areinvited to a specific place usually to preview a television programme. This ispretence as the real motive is to show them the ‘to be tested advertisements’in an almost ‘real’ situation and evaluate their effects. This is done tominimize the artificiality of the situation that occurs in recognition and recalltests.

Purchase behavior tests- here researchers test the actual brand-choice in anin-store, real world setting, to a certain if advertising exposure has resultedin any changes in purchase behavior. Instead of asking questions torespondents about recall, recognition or persuasion, such studies try to findout their actual behavior, i.e. it they are buying the brand after being exposedto the ads. The problem with this method is that proper sampling cannot bedone. Also purchase behavior is influences by many factors and advertising




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is just one of these factors. Isolating the effects of advertising from all otherinfluences in quantitative terms is very difficult.

3.17. DATA

Data is a large class of practically important statements is measurements orobservations of a variable.

The word data means "something given". Such usage is the origin of data as aconcept in computer science: data are numbers, words, images, etc., accepted asthey stand. Experimental data are data generated within the context of a scientificinvestigation.

Demographic data analysis includes the sets of methods that allow us to measurethe dimensions and dynamics of populations. These methods have primarily beendeveloped to study human populations, but are extended to a variety of areas whereresearchers want to know how populations of social actors can change across timethrough processes of birth, death, and migration. In the context of humanbiological populations demographic analysis uses administrative records todevelop an independent estimate of the population. Demographic analysisestimates are often considered a reliable standard for judging the accuracy of thecensus information gathered at any time. In the labor force demographic analysis isused to estimate sizes and flows of populations of workers; in population ecologythe focus is on the birth, death and movement of firms and institutional forms.

Data is obtained from a census of the population and from registries-recordsof events like birth, deaths, migrations, marriages, divorces, diseases, andemployment. To do this, there needs to be an understanding of how they arecalculated and the questions they answers which is included in these four concepts:population change, standardization of population numbers, the demographicbookkeeping equation, and population composition.

Tools of Data Collection

Although deciding on data collection tools and methods and actually collectingdata are actually two different steps in the evaluation cycle, they are inextricablylinked and we thus combine them as part of the tutorial.

Data are a collection of information, evidence, or facts from which you candraw conclusions.




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Data can be quantitative - numeric information - or it can be qualitative -involving stories, observations, etc.

Data are important because they offer evidence for the outcomes yourprogram is producing and allow you to confidently make the case for yourprograms.

The data that you want to collect will be driven from the questions you wantanswered.

There are a variety of different types of data collection methods. Some of themore common types are:

ActivityLogs/SkillSheets

Written documentation ofparticipant's attendance,achievement or acquisition ofskills

Good for what andhow many questions

Documentreview

Review of written documents suchas performance ratings, programlogs, tally sheets, and otherexisting indicators

Good for what andhow many questions

Focus groupsModerated discussions on aparticular topic or issue

Good for what, how,and why questions

InterviewsData collection through oralconversations

Good for what andwhy questions

ObservationWatching people engaged inactivities and recording whatoccurs

Good for how, what,and how manyquestions

QuestionnairesWritten responses to clearlydefined questions

Good for what andhow many questions.

You can also use alternative documentation approaches including having programparticipants keep written, audio, or video journals of both their experiences andtheir thoughts, feelings, etc.

Any of the above methods can also be implemented through pre/post tests inwhich people are tested both before the program has been implemented and




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after the program has been implemented, and changes in attitudes, skills,behaviors, etc. are measured.

If possible, you should use more than one method to collect data as itenhances credibility of the data.

There are many existing data collection tools available but sometimes it isnecessary to create your own data collection tool. To do this you shouldimplement the following steps:

a) Finalize your evaluation questions.b Decide what information you already have and what information you will

need to collect.c) Based on the type of data you need, choose an appropriate data collection

method.d Develop tools to collect the data.

While it is impossible to collect data without any bias e.g., the questions you areinterested in answering lead you to want to collect certain data), it is possible tominimize bias. You can do this by gathering as many perspectives as possible,using a variety of methods, checking your interpretations with the programstakeholders, and ensuring that data collectors aren't biasing responses by askingleading questions the respondent to answer in a particular way.

Once you have chosen your data collection methods you are ready to collect thedata.

The following are some guidelines for collecting data:

1. No matter what type of data collection tools you decide to use, you shouldtest them with a small sample of volunteers before you implement datacollection. This will allow you to determine whether the tools are easy tounderstand, whether the questions are clear, relevant, and unbiased, if thedata collection could be completed in a reasonable amount of time, andwhether there are any improvements that could be made to the datacollection tool.

2. Establish a firm schedule for data collection.3. Ensure the data collectors have both the training and the tools they need for

collecting data.




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4. Make sure data is carefully stored and that confidentiality is maintained.This does not mean that you cannot report the data, but rather that you donot associate any of the data with a particular person.

3.18. RESEARCH REPORT WRITING

Layout of the report

A good physical layout is important, as it will help your report: make a good initial impression, encourage the readers, and give them an idea of how the material has been organized so the reader can

make a quick determination of what he will read first.

Particular attention should be paid to make sure there is: An attractive layout for the title page and a clear table of contents. Consistency in margins and spacing. Consistency in headings and subheadings, e.g.: font size 16 or 18 bold, for

headings of chapters; size 14 bold for headings of major sections; size 12bold, for headings of sub-sections, etc.

Good quality printing and photocopying. Correct drafts carefully with spellcheck as well as critical reading for clarity by other team-members, yourfacilitator and, if possible, outsiders.

Numbering of figures and tables, provision of clear titles for tables, and clearheadings for columns and rows, etc.

Accuracy and consistency in quotations and references.

When writing a research report, you must remember that the main purpose ofthis academic assignment is to communicate the results of research, field work, orany other activity.

Successfully written research report presents the concrete evidence of theresearch conducted. In report writing, you also must consider clarity,organization, and content. This is difficult at times but fortunately, research reportstructure is similar to that of research articles, technical reports, formal reports, labreports. Research reports have a fairly consistent structure that can and should beused to organize the information clearly.




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Be careful when relying on external sources of information in report writing– ensure that you are using specialized journals, governmental publicationsnot to end up producing unexpected results.

Do not use standardized sections; you can omit some sections and add othersthat are unique to the subject matter discussed in the report. Do not forget tocheck for the specific requirements and guidelines, as you may end upproducing quality, but out of topic assignment.

Following steps may be taken for Report Writing:-

1. Make an outline for your report on a flipchart, after reviewing yourobjectives, your sources of information and the outcomes of your dataanalysis. Number proposed sections and subsections. Stick the outline to thewall in a visible place. Leave sufficient space between the lines for additionsmore subsections, for example) and for c hanges.

2. Start writing, beginning with the chapter on findings. Decide with yourfacilitator whether you will interpret the data presenting it by variable, byobjective or by study population. If you are unsure in the beginning whichmethod of organizing the presentation will work best, record your findingsand interpretations by study population. In the second draft you can decidehow to reorganize and shorten the presentation. Divide writing tasks amongsub-groups of one or two persons.

3. Discuss your findings in relation to each other, to the objectives and to otherliterature, and write the chapter Discussion. Then list themajor conclusions in relation to possible recommendations.

4. Develop at the same time the introductory chapters background andstatement of the problem, including new literature, objectives andmethodology, adapting what you prepared for the proposal.

5. Finally, develop the summary following the outline given earlier in thismodule. Take at least half a day for this, working systematically.

6. Keep track of progress in writing and typing, making notes on the flipchartthat has the outline of your report.

7. Go over the first draft with the group as a whole checking it for gaps,overlaps, etc. before the second draft is prepared. Have a facilitator fromanother group read the whole draft report before it is finalized.

SUMMARY




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The production of documentary is similar to the production of soft news videopackage. The crew for documentary production is small, similar to the crew sizefor the soft news video packages. The person whom a documentary is usuallyconceived and created is the producer. A documentary producer can be a part of alarger organization such as the news department of a television newscast or may besimply an independent producer or documentary freelancer. The produceroversees all facets of the video production.

With research completed and format for the production finished, a pre productionscript is not difficult to write at this stage. It is to be kept in mind that a script atthis stage is only a pre production step and not a final production script. Yet withthe advantage of research and information leads from research, a script isadvantageous at this point. Major elements to be included in the pre productionscript are topic lead, proposed interviewees, bridges between segments,proposed video, proposed cut-away, internal summaries and final summary.

Final Cut Pro is a professional non-linear editing system created by Apple Inc.that allows both professional and home users to edit both video and film. The latestreleases are for Mac OS X only. From the early 2000s, Final Cut has developed alarge and ever expanding user base. Used on Apple Macintosh computers, FinalCut Pro was intended to be a resolution independent editing system but so farhas not fully achieved this aim with real-time performance restricted toresolution, frame-rate and codec uniformity with source material. Resolution,format and codec independent editing systems are available in competitiveproducts to Final Cut Pro namely Sony Vegas, Grass Valley Edius and AdobePremiere Pro.

Good Research has:1. A focus on facts- facts becomes significant only when interpreted in the

light of accepted standards and assumptions, which are normative incharacter.

2. Insight and imagination of the researcher- these are needed to interpretexplain and draw inferences. Using insight and foresight can solve manypuzzles.

3. Approach to the study of man and society and provides solutions toproblems- the research should contribute to the widening of knowledge andto the solution of problems confronting human society.




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A sample is a part of the population from which it was drawn. Survey research isbased on sampling, which involves getting information from only some membersof the population. If information is obtained from the whole population, it's not asample, but a census. Some surveys, based on very small populations such as allmembers of an organization in fact are c ensuses and not sample surveys. Whenyou do a census, the techniques given in this book still apply, but there is nosampling error - as long as the whole group participates in the census. Samplescan be drawn in several different ways, such as probability samples, quotasamples, purposive samples, and volunteer samples.

A questionnaire is a strange type of communication. It’s like a play, in whichone actor the interviewer is following rules and reading from the script, whilethe other actor the respondent can reply however he or she likes - but onlycertain types of reply will be recorded. This is an unnatural social situation, and incountries with no tradition of this kind of conversation, respondents may need tohave the principles explained to them. Though it is easy to write a questionnaire,you need a lot of skill and experience to write a good questionnaire: one in whichevery question is clear, can be answered accurately, and has usable results.

A public survey is a list of questions aimed at extracting specific data from aparticular group of people. Surveys may be conducted by phone, mail, via theinternet, and sometimes face-to-face on busy street corners or in malls. The censusis the most widely-known form of public survey. Some form of census isperformed with varying degrees of accuracy in almost every nation, with theresults used to determine governmental budgets and taxation. Law enforcementand other public services such as public schools depend upon accurate censusinformation.

While research is key to marketing decision making, it does not always needto be elaborate to be effective. Sometimes small efforts, such as doing a quicksearch on the Internet, will provide the needed information. However, for mostmarketers there are times when more elaborate research work is needed andunderstanding the right way to conduct research, whether performing the workthemselves or hiring someone else to handle it, can increase the effectiveness ofthese projects.

Pre-testing is such research attempts to predict the performance of specificadvertisements/TV programmes in terms of liking, motivation, etc. of audiencemembers. Different types of copy, length of copy types of visuals, various appealsand the various types of approaches will work differently for different products and




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different target audiences. So producers want to finalize the best possible optionsthat are likely to produces better results than others.

One often faces the problem of ‘artificiality’ while conducting pre-testing. Thisproblem is easily overcome during post-testing. Post tests attempts to measure the‘actual effect of real advertisements in real situations’. This is a more practicalapproach to measure the effectiveness of advertisements. Also, post-testingmeasures total advertising effectiveness, while pre-testing only measures theeffectiveness of specific aspects of advertisements. Different types of tests areconducted as part of post-testing advertisements.

Data is a large class of practically important statements is measurements orobservations of a variable. The word data means "something given". Suchusage is the origin of data as a concept in computer science: data are numbers,words, images, etc., accepted as they stand. Experimental data are data generatedwithin the context of a scientific investigation.

When writing a research report, you must remember that the main purpose ofthis academic assignment is to communicate the results of research, field work, orany other activity. Successfully written research report presents the concreteevidence of the research conducted. In report writing, you also must considerclarity, organization, and content. This is difficult at times but fortunately, researchreport structure is similar to that of research articles, technical reports, formalreports, lab reports. Research reports have a fairly consistent structure that can andshould be used to organize the information clearly.

QUESTIONS FOR PRACTICE

1. What is the importance of research for producing a TV programme?2. Write a note on script designing?3. What do you understand by script layout?4. What is meant by editing in TV programme?5. Explain the concepts of beta and VHS.6. What are the main points to be kept in mind while editing sound?7. What is Umatic?8. Write a note on assembly editing.9. What are the objectives of developing programme briefs?10.What are the conventions of storyboarding? Explain the concept in detail.11.What are the various types of editing? Explain.12.Discuss the designing of evaluation techniques for TV production.




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13.How a TV programme evaluated and field is tested?

SUGGESTED READING

1. Introduction to Communication Research by John. C. Reinard2. Mass Media Research by Roger D. Wimmer and Joseph R. Dominick



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