How To Perfect My Producing
Now that I have finally completed all three producing jobs at ATVN I feel that I can set goals for myself to work towards for the remainder of the semester.
It is easy to go through each Monday only focused on what we always do, what I have learned is the right way to do things and trying to perfect these methods.
Starting after Spring Break, I think it is important that I begin focusing on bettering my abilities as a producer by reaching for my goals and trying to achieve them. At this point in the semester, I have 3 main goals for myself going forward.
1. Communicate, communicate, communicate.
From the beginning this has been one of my focuses each Monday, but I believe I can still improve. Whether I am Lead Producer, Video Teammate or Web/Graphics Teammate, it is important to be communicating with not only the other producers, but also the MJ's, web writers and the assignment desk. In order to efficiently produce our live newscast or maintain the website, open and constant communication is key. It is impossible to be a producer without clearly communicating every objective, change and problem to other members of your team. I know that one of the main focuses of this goal should be to keep track of and stay on top of our reporters and their stories. Because of this, I am really going to try to focus on communicating better in the newsroom with all members of the ATVN team in order to eliminate mistakes and problems.
2. Clearly articulate what we expect.
I believe one of the biggest weaknesses Team Monday has is remembering to tell MJ's, writers and reporters what we want from them and what we envision for their story or package. In order to get the quality of work and quantity of b-roll and interviews that we expect. As producers we must be clear. Before an MJ or reporter leaves the studio, the producers should give them a list of things we expect from them: amount of interviews, who to interview, specific b-roll AND pictures for a web story. I think that if Team Monday learns how to clearly articulate what we are expecting from our team members, the quality of our shows and web stories will drastically increase.
3. Consider and reconsider the order of stories in the rundown. It is SO important!
One of my weaknesses as a lead producer is the ordering of my stories in the rundown. I have learned throughout the semester how important it is to sit down and really consider why the stories are in the order that I have placed them in. It is crucial that the newscast has an order that makes sense and flows. I hope that during the rest of the semester I can use what I have learned so far this semester to better my abilities in filling in the rundown. I don't want to sit through a rundown meeting and know that my rundown is not correctly ordered! I should be focusing on the order before that meeting and making sure I understand why I placed each story in its place. It all should flow in a way that makes sense and doesn't make drastic jumps or changes in tone or story type!
