Blog 58 - Fitness blog youtube channel

Hi guys,

Just to let you know my second blog: www.fitnessforahobby.blogspot.co.uk has got itself a youtube channel.

If you are into fitness then you can watch my summer shredding series which is being updated regularly at the moment and follow my journey.

I have also done a little taster video so you can see the sort of things that I am producing and if it takes your fancy follow this link and it'll take you to the channel.

I hope you enjoy the videos and like what's being produced.

Thanks guys

Alex

Link to fitness for a hobby youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAhSx2vbgabFA4Eg99Ux6AA/videos

Blog 57! A week at AVTV!

Hi guys,

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of spending time with AVTV, the in-house TV station at Aston Villa F.C. A small team of just three, I got a first hand look at the day to day lives of being a sports journalist for a premier league club.

On my first day I was involved with the pre-match show talking about the upcoming game with Swansea and past matches etc.. I then went to Bodymoor Heath, the teams training ground for the pre-match press conferences. As many of you know I am a massive AVFC fan so this was an exciting prospect. But straight away I found the journalists and what was going on far more interesting than who was being interviewed. It's a bustling environment with journalists from all different platforms of media coming together with different question focuses and angles. This was interesting to see and highlighted to me how different journalists are from one another, showing me how important it is to have your own reporting style. One of the highlights of the conference was Tim Sherwood's chilled attitude towards the press and his ability to make jokes out of pretty much anything.

The Friday was much quieter with editing needing to be done before the big game on the Saturday. I helped out with this using final cut to edit together show reels of previous goals etc to be used in pre-match shows. This was valuable as I usually use Adobe Premiere so learning final cut adds another trick to my basket. I also love editing so was quite happy to sit and edit whilst drinking hot drinks.

Game day arrived and I was really excited to see what it was like to be a sports journalist during a match day. I arrived at the press area of the ground and was given a pass and made my way to the press lounge. All I will say is, if you want to be treated like royalty at a football match then be a member of the press. A roast dinner was on offer with any drink you could think of. At half time you could have a cup of soup to warm yourself up, nothing like being in a stand as a fan with a greasy pie and a diet coke.

I was involved in the pre-match build up giving facts and figures about previous meetings between the two sides and some information about acorns day live on air. I then witnessed a buzzing press box during the match with commentary coming from all angles. It was interesting to see the different styles of each commentator all as professional and successful.
After the match I went down to the tunnel for post match interviews and saw the fast paced rush to get interviews recorded and edited quickly to give the audience all the reaction as soon as possible.

Overall my time at AVTV was very enjoyable and I learnt a lot about sports journalism. It is definitely something which I would like to gain more experience with in the future as the fast paced nature of the profession is something which excites me.

Cheers

Alex :)

Blog 56! Trying something new in under 60! Snapshot audio!

Hi guys,


Just a quick one to tell you about something new I am trying out. As you know I always upload the highlights from my radio shows on Fly FM and any other audio stuff I do including DJ mixes and news interviews to my Mixcloud page: http://www.mixcloud.com/alexanderblakemore/ .

BIG NEWS - From now on I have an Audioboom account which I will be uploading a weekly: Snapshot audio (name TBC) which will be a piece of audio under 60 seconds taken from my show (either a link or a clip from a song) or something which has made me laugh in the week, a funny moment in the show, or a clip from an interview etc...

I am doing this to make it easier for you guys to listen even with your busy schedules and still get an idea of what I am all about and what I am trying to bring to my shows. Currently I have only uploaded one clip to the website but keep your eyes peeled for me.

Just thought i'd give you a heads up and let me know what you think @alexblakemore1.

If you want to check out the first 'Snapshot audio' here is the link? -https://audioboom.com/boos/2685720-snapshot-audio-1-nottingham-train-station-lacks-a-royal-visit-due-to-severe-weather


Cheers

Alex

Blog 55! Dino and Pete Exposed! - Gotta love McBusted!

Hi guys,

I've had one hell of a day, waking up at 5am to work with Capital FM East Midlands during their Dino and Pete Exposed event with none other than McBusted as their house band. 

I was working on a camera recording the live OB (Outside broadcast), the pictures were also being streamed live to the screens at the venue for the audience to watch. It was a completely different experience to anything I have done before. I have worked on a live OB before, presenting the pre- SU election results show on Fly FM but nothing on such a scale as this morning. 

Having a communication headset on, it was a massive learning experience to hear all the production that goes behind the show and it was a pleasure to be part of such an amazing team. The result of all our hard work was brilliant and the show looked and sounded amazing. 

McBusted are an amazing bunch of lads and they really know how to perform. The crowd were going wild, which created an amazing atmosphere. 

In terms of personal development it was great to get some more time using a video camera, as you may already know radio is my passion so audio is usually my thing. It's important however, to get some more camera experience as radio is moving towards a multi platform medium, with social media, video content and engaging features become a crucial element to any radio show. 

I am hoping to incorporate what I have learnt today and from my first year at university, in order to improve my radio shows on Fly FM, with more video content being produced and professional sounding quality broadcasts week in week out.

This morning was not only a huge learning experience for me, it was also massive fun and didn't even feel like work. It reminded me of the rewarding nature of the career path I am taking and I have even more drive because of the opportunity I had. 

I will leave you with some videos from today's Capital event as the images are coming from my camera and my colleagues. I hope you enjoy and of course party like animals to the tunes of McBusted.

Cya,

Alex 

My position for the event. McBusted rocking it during sound checks.

                                            McBusted - performing at Dino and Pete exposed.

Blog 54! Is that me on the TV?

Hi guys,

Being back in the swing of things at university got me thinking; maybe I've been harsh on television.

For anyone that follows my blogs or my twitter will know I am a complete radio geek and have always lacked the passion for TV. I'm going to do something about that. Since starting my course again I have had two news days both of which entailed the use of a video camera. One task was to create a visual sequence something which I have done before but a refresh was welcome. The other was to do a piece to camera. If you are unsure what a piece to camera is during a news package, basically it's when the reporter decides to stand in front of the camera and talk to the audience at the scene, such as a building site or outside the house of commons to put what they are saying into context. I put on a shirt and everything to do this piece to camera and tried to make it sound good. I recorded two separate shots to incorporate a turn in my piece but unfortunately I didn't leave enough time between the end of the first and the start of the second to edit it smoothly.

The gist of this blog is that I am beginning to enjoy TV and as much as it pains me to say it could see myself getting used to it. I have secured some shift working with the new local TV station in Nottingham, Notts TV during the weekends and I am hoping working with professionals will help me increase my knowledge and develop a passion for television as I do think it is a great medium.

I will leave you with my latest TV attempts, however excuse the poor editing during my piece to camera. As always criticism is highly recommended as long as it is constructive.

                                                               Visual sequence

                                                              Piece to camera.

If you are using a mobile phone or tablet here are the links to the youtube videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1cOg5aH32M&list=UUTjBS9qdZouZzmoSpshGbcQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOMlXmEehQw&index=2&list=UUTjBS9qdZouZzmoSpshGbcQ


Cheers guys,

Alex :)

Blog 53! Back on the airwaves! The love for radio continues!

Hi guys,

Just a quick heads up to let you know I am back on the airwaves at Fly FM, Nottingham Trent's student radio station. It's been a long three months without radio but I was back last week during freshers week with a few shows which you can find highlights of here: http://www.mixcloud.com/alexanderblakemore/fly-fm-show-freshers-2014-sunday-21st-september-8-10pm-show-in-full/.

Other exciting news, I am deputy head of news this year at the station and one of the main things in this role is organising Trent Talk, an award winning show that focuses on news. The first show was on Sunday and you can find the highlights here: http://www.mixcloud.com/FlyFMNews/trent-talk-12-1pm-28092014-freshers/ and http://www.mixcloud.com/FlyFMNews/trent-talk-1-2pm-28092014-trent-talk-debates-special/ .

Finally I have been working on creating sweepers and promo and this is the first ever sweeper I created to promote the first Trent Talk of the year: http://www.mixcloud.com/alexanderblakemore/trent-talk-promo-sweeper-september-2014/


I will give you an update on when my show is likely to be this year in a couple of weeks when the schedule is sorted but for now I hope you enjoy all the highlights in this blog and it's good to be back.

Cya

Alex :)

Blog 52! V Festival 2014 - Hylands Park!

Hi everyone,

I've had a busy few weeks visiting London twice and with the football season kicking off, I've spent a lot of my time in front of a TV. Sorry about the delay but I have finally got round to giving you my verdict on this years V Festival.

As you may know I went to the Weston Park V Fest last year but this year I decided to venture to the bigger and televised festival in Hylands Park.

Aside from the roadworks along the motorway the journey down was alright and the tunes in the car got me in the festival spirit. As with last year we arrived at the festival on Friday morning in order to get a tent pitch far away from the loos. After the early morning panic of trying to empty my bowels it was nice to get the tents up and chill out. Once again we had a great bunch of people together so the Friday was very eventful and we had a real laugh. I think I even began to enjoy the camping malarky, although sleeping without a pillow and soaking wet from torrential Friday evening rain isn't my preference of sleeping arrangements. Enough about the camping let's get onto the important matter; the music.

This year's line up had a bit of everything to suit a lots of music tastes:

I have to say overall the line up was better than last years and I saw some acts who I would pay a lot of money to see again.

Let's start with a couple of 'oh dear god what am I doing with my life' moments. NEVER EVER go and see All Saints. I was the youngest person in the tent by about 25 years and a mixture of poor technician work and terrible dancing made it one of the most painful experiences i've ever had to stand through. Let's just say thank god they were only on for a short burst before Kieza came onto the stage to get things going again. Another disappointing performance (queue hate mail) was Bastille, a band I usually love but when live didn't pull it out the bag in my opinion. Agreed their songs are brilliant and on CD I can listen to them all day long. I still can't quite put my finger on why but the lead singer, Dan Smith, seemed vocally weak and it killed the songs somewhat. I still enjoyed singing along to their hits but found it disappointing to see one of my favourite bands and not be overwhelmed with how amazing they were.


Enough negativity let's talk about the WOW factor. Let's start with the one and only Justin Timberlake. Not much can be said about his performance other than 'Man that dude is cool', every man out there would love to be as cool as him, me included, jealous is an understatement. Another stand out for me was Ed Sheeran. I am seeing him again in October in Nottingham and I am all the more excited now, that guy can sing, play the guitar and get a crowd going all by himself with ease. Aside from knowing every word, an hour seemed like 10 minutes and I would have paid 100 quid alone to see him, making it a real bargain.

This year I had the chance to see a few smaller acts compared to last year when I spent most of my time  on the main stage. It was great to see the likes of Kieza and Jess Glynne who are up and coming rapidly and I have to say are fantastic live. If I see tour dates for them, I would consider investing and seeing them again.

Back to the big boys I am going to talk about two more artists. Firstly if you ever manage to find a ticket to see Rizzle Kicks I would grab it like it is the last crumb in a world without food. Having seen them before, I still felt like a child at christmas when they came onto the stage. Full of energy, sarcasm and amazing songs it was the best 45 minutes of my whole festival and I couldn't stop smiling. My highlight of the festival. I urge you to see these guys! By the way, whoever murder the dinosaur has some serious explaining to do!

Finally another one of the big boys! The Killers! WOW WOW WOW WOW!!!! I'm not even exaggerating with my WOW's they were insane! A set full of classic tunes off all of their albums they got the whole place rocking and it was a pleasure to watch them. The lead singer Brandon Flowers has one of the best voices I've heard in a long time and it reached across the whole field with ease. They played songs you just can't help but sing along with and I haven't stopped listening to them since. To finish the whole festival with 'Mr Brightside' (my favourite song of all time) was one of the best moments of my year so far!! I haven't jumped, screamed lyrics at the top of my voice and danced so much in my life! Anybody that knows me would agree whenever that song comes on at pre-drinks, clubs etc I go crazy. Well think that and times it by 1million and you are just about there.

Nothing else to say other than V rocked it once again and if I have the money next year (being a student and all) I will definitely be back there. Weston Park or Hylands Park it doesn't matter in my eyes, the acts would have been incredible anywhere and for the money it was a bargain!!

I'll leave you know with my latest DJ set that if focused on my time at this years V Festival! Give it a listen to get a taste of what I'm talking about: http://www.mixcloud.com/alexanderblakemore/v-festival-2014-in-the-mix/

P.s. Eat little and hardly ever whilst at the festival to avoid the most vile 2 minutes in a portaloo. (We take toilets for granted!)

Cya,

Alex :D