Research for Media Production

Kathy Chater

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2001
• eBook ISBN:
  9781136054891
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Film & Video

Outlines the main skills, techniques and practices for the job of the researcher. An easy to follow guide to production research, it will help the new researcher to understand the possibilities to be considered when undertaking research and the kind of questions that need to be asked at each stage of the production process. Every project, whether it's a programme for television or radio or an article for publication is different and there is no one, correct answer to each situation.

Based on the author's wealth of experience as a researcher on many and varied kinds of broadcast and non-broadcast programmes, this quick reference will guide the reader through the problems they are likely to encounter and help to resolve them. It also includes many tips to help the reader gain a better understanding of the real world of production.

Research for Media Production is a rework and expanded edition of Production Research also written by Kathy Chater.

Starting the research

Once an idea or a proposal is accepted and the ways of realizing it are decided, the research goes ahead. If you did not originate the idea, but are the researcher on a production, you need to confirm what research will need to be done with the producer or editor. What is the aspect that is to be given most prominence and how will that be done? Who are the individuals or the kinds of people who will need to be contacted? Are there any potential problems?

The researcher must be able to assimilate very quickly the aims and nature of the programme being worked on, anticipate and assess the implications and discuss them tactfully with the other people involved in the production team.

It is easy to go away from a discussion with a very clear concept of the programme, only to find out after a considerable amount of work has been done that the producer saw it differently all along. Initially, you must ensure that everyone involved has the same view of how the story is to be developed. This may be done either in a production meeting with the rest of the team or one-to-one, but the process of clarification is the same in each case and depends on listening to what the other person is saying and ensuring that you are explaining yourself clearly. Summarize and feed back what you have understood: ‘So you think we need to . . .?’, ‘So you feel this is a story about . . .?’ and ‘I see this as . . . is this right?’ Some producers like everything to be very clear-cut from the beginning, but others may feel cornered and resent having to commit themselves early on. Some have firm ideas about how the story should be done, whereas others are open to suggestions.

Other aspects will have to be clarified with other members of the production team. There may be time already booked for doing any graphics or rostrum camera work, the recording days may already have been decided and you must know about them. This may affect which parts of your research you do first. Although ordinarily information and contributors would be sought first, if time to transfer archive film has been booked early on, efforts will need to be concentrated here initially. Whether this is done in writing or, as is much more common, verbally, you must summarize what has been agreed and note any constraints of time or money.

All these variables mean that researchers must be able to think quickly on their feet. No matter what has been planned, events can change either in response to technical problems or to a development in the programme treatment.

Keeping records

Research generates paper and before you start you need to organize a system to deal with it. A ring-binder or folder for each project will help. You might divide it into:

contacts list

typed up notes

copies of material from newspapers, books, periodicals, leaflets, flyers, etc.

correspondence

paperwork connected with archive material and props

shooting schedules, bookings for editing sessions, etc.

For your own notes, it is best to use a hard-bound book because single sheets of paper are easy to lose. Record the date of telephone conversations – it is sometimes important to know when they took place – and always get the names of the people to whom you talk. Print out copies of e-mails and faxes in case of computer problems.

Each source of information must be carefully recorded, especially if it is from a publication, which may have copyright implications or require acknowledgement. Note the title of the work, the author/s, the date and the publisher. If it is from a book, add the place of publication. Noting the page numbers will mean that you can go back to check if necessary. Documents, pictures, photographs or films from specialist libraries or archives will usually have a reference number, which should also be noted.

If information comes from interviews, there may be restrictions on its use – perhaps you have been told things off-the-record, or anonymity has been requested. If you have taped the interview, it should be clearly marked with the name of the interviewee and the date of the interview (see also pp. 56–7).

When you have finished a research project, go through the folder and note the names and numbers of useful contacts and sources. Put all the other papers together into a folder or file and store it somewhere in case of inquiries, which can come a surprisingly long time after transmission.

Methods of research

There are three stages of research. The first and cheapest is to speed read everything you can, either press cuttings or books, as background to the subject and perhaps get copies of programmes that have already been made about the same or a similar subject. You may find useful information and contacts in the programme files of previous productions made by your company.

From this, you decide which areas have not been covered or are worth following up in more detail. This can mean further, less superficial, reading, but at some point you will have to start talking to people, which involves more effort and expense, to narrow down which ones are likely to produce what you want.

This may be as far as the production research goes, especially if the programme has to be made and transmitted very quickly (e.g. news bulletins) or if the budget is small.

If you have more time, you should go out and experience the aspects that seem most promising – this can vary from simply meeting potential contributors and looking at locations to trying out activities. Which ones you decide to experience – religious cult meetings, training sessions or skydiving – and how far you go will depend on your own abilities and your sense of self-preservation.

Depending on the production, you may also want to commission a survey or questionnaire to find out what people do or think about a particular issue.

Stages of research

1 Read

2 Talk

3 Experience

Methods of research

Read (printed matter or material from electronic retrieval)

Watch/listen (audio and visual recordings)

Talk (telephone or face-to-face)

Experience (visits or try activities yourself)

Commission surveys or questionnaires.

Speed-reading

Because the most efficient way of acquiring background information on a subject or situation is usually to read what has already been researched and written about it, you need to develop a technique that helps you to work through print fast, taking in the salient points.

When we read, we don't go from word to word along the lines. Our eyes fix on groups of words and also flicker up and down to the previous and next lines. We also tend to get bogged down on small groups of words. This slows us down and we don't necessarily get an overview of the whole text. It seems that the faster we read, the more we understand.

If you haven't already learned to speed read, you need to find the way that suits you best. There are various methods (the internet has several useful sites) but the following tips should help:

Use something, like your hand, a card or a pen to guide your eyes down the page at a steady pace and to prevent re-reading.

Most celebrity profiles in newspapers or magazines recycle the same basic facts, adding only one or two new pieces of information or insights so when using press cuttings to find out about a person, run your eye down the centre of the columns and when you see something that surprises or interests you, highlight it.

If you are copying a lot of information from the internet, format it in two or three columns in 10pt type, so your eyes have less far to travel (this also reduces the amount of paper you use and have to file).

Stories consist of exposition, development and resolution. If you're trying to read a novel at speed, either to interview the author or to make briefing notes, you can generally get the outline ...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Half title
• research for media production
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
• INTRODUCTION
• WORKING IN THE MEDIA
• MAKING PRODUCTIONS
• THE RESEARCH PROCESS
• ILLUSTRATIVE MATERIAL
• FINDING LOCATIONS
• RECORDING
• EDITING
• WRITING
• APPENDIX A: COPYRIGHT
• APPENDIX B: THE LAW AND ETHICS
• FURTHER READING AND USEFUL ADDRESSES