1. 6Factual
Production
What is factual production?
Media products can be fictional, factual or fiction
based on fact. Fact is true and fiction is not true.
This chapter will investigate factual products and the
conventions that are used in making and recognising
factual products. These include some television and
radio programmes, training videos, printed material
like newspapers and some magazines, textbooks and
some websites.
Sometimes factual information is changd into a
fictional narrative. For example, you can have a film
that is based on fact but is adapted to make it more
exciting, or a dramatised documentary radio or TV
programme, where the characters represent real
people but the story is made up.

2. 49.
THEPRODUCTIONPROCESSFACTUALPRODUCTION
49.
Types of factual products
The documentary is the most obvious form of factual television or radio
programme. The feature (a self-contained finished item broadcast as a
segment of a longer programme) is usually factual, though features
containing dramatised content are not. Television and radio news
bulletins are wholly factual, while current affairs programmes and news
magazine programmes can have fictional embellishments in the form of
personal opinion.
Newspapers that remain committed to reporting news and stories without
adding to or taking away from the content are factual, but the editorial of a
newspaper may be conjecture and elaboration that is only based on fact,
and so it is questionable. Magazine articles and written interviews that
report the interviewee verbatim (quoting the actual words said rather than
the journalist’s interpretation) are factual. Live reporting and reviewing of
sport could be considered factual. Consumer programmes, magazines
and websites are factual products that deal with the truth about finance,
holidays, jobs and many other issues.
This table shows some factual products and their equivalent fictional
products.
Here are some examples of factual products you may already know:
• News 6.00 p.m, Radio 4 • Money Box, Radio 4
• News 10.30 p.m, ITV • Crimewatch, BBC 1
• Natural World, BBC 2 • Panorama, BBC 1
• Dispatches, Channel 4 • Times newspaper
• Watchdog, BBC 1 • Guardian newspaper
Try this ...
Get a copy, or visit a website,
of a listings magazine (e.g.
Radio Times or TV Times)
and list the names of some
factual radio or television
programmes and the
channels they are broadcast
on. How can you tell that they
are factual from the titles?
Try this ...
List as many factual websites
as you can. Explain why you
think they are factual.
Try this ...
Obtain copies (or go to the
websites) of some serious
and popular newspapers
(formerly broadsheets and
tabloids) and some
magazines. Highlight which
stories are fact and which are
either features or fictitious.
Factual product Equivalent fictional
product
TV documentary Dramadoc
TV natural history documentary Docusoap
Radio or TV feature Dramatised radio or TV feature
Consumer radio & TV programmes Crime reconstruction programmes
Radio news bulletin Current affairs, news magazine
Television news bulletin (contain personal comment that
may not be true)
Serious newspaper article Popular newspaper feature
Investigative documentary Dramatic reconstruction
(based on fact)

3. 50. BTEC First in Media: A Practical Handbook
Look at Chapter 3, Media
Audiences and Products
for more information on
conventions.
Media product Convention used
Television news bulletin • Studio-based newsreader speaks directly to camera
• Newsreader uses pre-scripted dialogue
• Shot: medium close-up
• Language: formal (Standard English)
• Each story introduced by piece to camera
• Some stories have a videotape (VT) clip
• Each story has lip-sync
• Each video clip has voice-over (VO) from studio-based newsreader
Radio documentary • Spoken introduction to programme
• Use of narrator to link elements
• Formal language used by narrator
• Actual words spoken by contributors, using their dialects or slang
(called actuality)
• Contributors recorded on location
• Only contributors’ answers heard, the questions have been edited out
• Archive material used
• Spoken conclusion to programme
Newspaper article • Main headline for title
• Byline for name of writer
• Text set in columns
• Formal language used
• No related picture
• Not generally on front page (which tends to be used for breaking news)
Website • Uniform colour scheme, related to a company’s house style and
corporate image
• Often frame to page
• Generally roll-over navigation buttons
• More than one way of navigating the site
• Banner advertisement
• Blocks of colour
• Links to other sites
• Icons
Conventions of factual products
The ‘Try this’ activities on page 49 asked you to state why you thought a
product was factual. Do factual products have characteristics that make
them recognisable? Fictional products have characteristics or conventions
that make them recognisable as fictional products, just as all products have
conventions that allow us to classify them by genre (type) and not simply as
fiction or fact. The table below shows four common factual products and
some of the conventions by which they can each be recognised.

4. 51.
THEPRODUCTIONPROCESSFACTUALPRODUCTION
One convention may be associated with more than one type of product
and may well identify another type of product when used in a different
combination. The table opposite shows general rules, but it is the
combination of conventions used that distinguishes one product from
another, whatever genre it belongs to.
In addition to the more obvious conventions listed opposite, the structure
of each type of product (the way it is put together) will also identify it as a
particular type of factual or fictional product. An example of this is a news
bulletin on a music radio station. It is introduced by a jingle, followed by a
new voice reading the headlines. This is followed by each news story read
out in greater detail. Many of the news stories will also have a voice-piece
(a pre-recorded item) delivered by a contributor, perhaps a reporter, with a
different voice and from a remote location. Between the stories there may
be a sting (musical phrase) to hold them together. At the end, the
newsreader may read the headlines again and then sign-off with a
standard phrase that includes the name of the radio station. This structure
of news programme differentiates them from other programme types.
The chart below compares the structure of a radio news bulletin and a
documentary TV programme.
Try this ...
Pick one of the factual
products you listed in the
activities on page 49, and list
other conventions that you
now recognise make it a
factual product. Now look at
another product. Identify the
most common convention
that makes a product factual.
Try this ...
Choose a factual and a
fictional media product and
write down the component
parts to show the two
structures.
Three-minute radio news
programme
News jingle
Headlines
Newscaster’s name
Story 1 Main national story with
voice-piece
Sting
Story 2 with voice-piece
Sting
Story 3 with voice-piece
Sting
Story 4 Short local story
Sting
Story 5
Sting
Story 6 Curious/amusing story
Sign-off
Jingle, including station name
Documentary TV
programme
Introduction and menu by narrator
First contributor
Link voice-piece by narrator
Second contributor
Link voice-piece by narrator
Sound effect
Third contributor
Link voice-piece by narrator
First contributor
Sound effect
Link voice-piece by narrator
Third contributor
Second contributor
Closing remarks by narrator

5. 52. BTEC First in Media: A Practical Handbook
Initiating and researching ideas for a
factual media product
Deciding which factual product to make
You can now start to develop your own ideas for a factual media product.
First, decide whether it’s going to be a television or radio programme, a
printed article in a newspaper or magazine, or a factually-based website.
Next decide whether it’s going to be news or a documentary. You must
consider the equipment you will need and the time it will take, which will
depend on the sector you are working in. You can draw a spidergram of
your ideas like this one:
Try this ...
With a partner, discuss the
type of factual media product
you want to make. Draw a
spidergram of the
possibilities and then decide
which medium you will use
and which basic type of
product you will make.
Youth
What are young
people
interested in?
Media
Television, iPods,
gameboys, music centres,
cinema, films on TV,
DVD hires
Fashion
Designer clothes, hoodies,
ways of carrying school
bags
Vandalism
Causing damage, harassing
people, knife culture
Music
Listening to and making
music, singing, playing an
instrument, going to
concerts
Sport
Running, gymnastics,
swimming,
off-road bikes
Peer pressure
Conforming, being different,
bullying

6. 53.
THEPRODUCTIONPROCESSFACTUALPRODUCTION
Developing the idea for your factual
product
Having decided what type of factual media product you are going to make,
your idea needs to be developed into a viable (practical) proposal. You can
use a SWOT analysis to work out the viability of an idea.
Strengths The strengths of any product should first include
the content – otherwise the product will be
destined to fail. Other strengths could be the
valuable purpose of the idea, whether it is raising
awareness about a topical issue, or educating,
informing or simply entertaining people.
Production strengths might include a relatively low
budget, content that is easy to acquire, etc.
Weaknesses The weaknesses of a product might be that it is
not feasible to make, the concept is not quite right
or perhaps the content is distasteful to certain
audiences. The logistics of a project must be
considered. Raising money may be difficult
(funding is essential to any project in the real
world) or it may not be easy to acquire the
content.
Opportunities The opportunities opened up by a product
might include such things as the chance to
communicate to the masses, raising awareness,
tackling important issues and educating people.
A product on sex education, for example, could
help reduce teenage pregnancies. Such
opportunities depend on the content of the
individual product, but they can be a great
asset.
Threats The main threats are the unknown problems that
might (and probably will) crop up in the
production and post-production stages. Their
impact can be greatly reduced if the potential
problems can be identified and assessed in the
planning stage and, hopefully, eliminated.
Try this ...
Working with a partner,
brainstorm your initial idea,
carrying out a SWOT analysis
to establish its viability to
become a product.
See page 39 to find out more
about SWOT analyses.

7. 54. BTEC First in Media: A Practical Handbook
Any of the following could be strengths, weaknesses, opportunities or
threats, depending on how much they each impede or support your idea for
a product.
• Personal interest
• Knowledge of subject
• Accessibility to contributors
• Availability of primary information
• Availability of secondary information
• Research skills
• Time management
• Contribute to CV/showreel
• Human resources
• Physical resources
• Knowledge of equipment
• Communication skills
Deciding on your audience
Early on in the production process you need to decide who the audience is
going to be for your product. You will need to use some of your knowledge
from Chapter 3, Media Audiences and Products, to decide this.
Research
You should research how, when and where your audience will access the
product and how they will find out about it. Use all the appropriate methods
to find the information and don’t forget to consider the legal and ethical
issues for the audience you identify.
To research the content of your product you will need to apply the primary
and secondary research techniques that are covered in Chapter 2, Research
for Media Production. Research will involve information searches and
interviewing people. You must also consider the relevant legal and ethical
issues relating to the type of content that you want to include.
Try this …
Produce a questionnaire and
conduct an audience
research survey to confirm
the nature of the audience for
your product and the means
of access (how, when and
where the product will be
delivered to them). You can
use the Audience
questionnaire on the
CD-Rom to set up your
questionnaire for your sector.
Try this ...
Look back at Chapter 2,
Research for Media
Production, and then gather
the data for your product.
Record all your findings,
remembering to reference
the information correctly so
that it can be used in your
proposal.
• Topicality, currency, relevance
• Access to locations
• Sensitivity of content
• Authorisation
• Copyright
• Budget and costs
• Disclosures/confidentiality
• Access to unconventional
sources
• Codes of practice
• Sources of information
• Timescale/availability
• Need to adhere to ethical
practices

8. 55.
THEPRODUCTIONPROCESSFACTUALPRODUCTION
Producing a factual product
Recognising media product conventions
It is important to remember that the correct conventions must be used in
factual products. The conventions that you use will depend on which media
sector you are working in and which genre (type) of product you are going
to make, so you will need to have researched your product thoroughly. If
you get the conventions wrong, the product won’t attract an audience, and
will not make money for the company that commissioned it.
Similarly, the structure of the product must follow the conventions of
structure for factual products of this genre. This includes the way in which
you deliver the narrative, the way you use narration to link the elements of
the product, your choice and type of interview and the formal way that you
address the audience. You can use your audience research findings to help
with this.
Presenting your proposal
Your proposal will need to be pitched (presented) to your commissioning
editor (this will be your tutor) to persuade them that it is viable.
Professionally, this is often done using a PowerPoint presentation, with
slides that contain the same main points of information that are in the paper
proposal.
Look at the examples of radio
and TV proposals on the
CD-Rom.
Look at …
Try this ...
Using your audience
research, product research
and product ideas, prepare
a paper proposal, following
the recommended format.
Look at Chapter 5,
Production Project for help
on preparing a proposal.

9. 56. BTEC First in Media: A Practical Handbook
If the pitch is successful, a contract is prepared by the commissioning
agency, the budget for the product is agreed and the two parties sign the
contract.
Carrying out pre-production
Once your proposal has been accepted it is necessary to plan the timescale,
costs and other production issues in detail to ensure that the budget and
deadlines are not exceeded. The detailed planning in the pre-production
stage is, often referred to as a treatment. There is a copy of a treatment on
the CD-ROM. It has ten headings which, when completed, will provide most
of the documentation needed to make your product. For pre-production,
there has to be enough documentation to allow another production team to
make the product if you are unable to. In a professional situation, one team
may do the research and planning and produce the documentation for
another production team to make the product. In a large production
company, such as the BBC, one person may only work on a small part of
the production.
The sort of pre-production documentation that you need will depend on the
media sector you are working in:
Television Radio Print Website Computer
game
Storyboards Directions Layout Navigation Plan
Scripts Scripts Interviews Text Text
Crew list Production team Staff list Production team Production team
Recce list Recce list Contact book
Contact book Contact book Schedules
Equipment Equipment Photo-shoot
Schedules Schedules
Set plans Recording log
Shot log Recorded audio
Shot footage
Try this ...
Prepare a PowerPoint
presentation of six slides,
similar to the one on the
CD-Rom, that covers the
main points of your proposal
and then pitch it to your tutor.

10. Television Radio Print Website Computer game
Footage Audio Copy Text Animations
Music Music tracks Photographs Photographs Images
Dialogue Speech Animations Graphics
Animations Sound effects Graphics Text
Sounds
Images
57.
THEPRODUCTIONPROCESSFACTUALPRODUCTION
Carrying out production
At the production stage you acquire (gather) the content for your product,
according to the media sector you are working in. The table below shows
what content you will need.
Carrying out post-production
Post-production is the editing part of the production stage, where all the
acquired content is fitted together to make the final product. It is important
that all the content gathering is complete before you start editing, which
means that you must have planned what your product will look like in
advance. Going back later for more content will cause delays in editing, and
sometimes it is not possible to get exactly what you wanted. For example,
in an exterior television or film shoot the weather may not be the same, or
one of the contributors may be wearing different clothes or have a different
hairstyle to when you first filmed them, making your new shots unusable.
In radio you may find that you are in a different ambient environment, where
the background noise is not the same as the last time you recorded the
contributor’s voice. Continuity errors like this are not acceptable for
professional media products.

11. 58. BTEC First in Media: A Practical Handbook
The table below shows what happens, and the order in which it happens, in
the post-production stage of each sector
Summary
In this chapter you have covered what you need to
know to achieve three of the four Learning Outcomes
relating to Unit 13 of your course. You should now:
•understand conventions of factual media
production
•be able to develop and research an idea for a
factual media product
•be able to produce a factual media product
following appropriate conventions.
When you have finished your factual product you will
need to review it to achieve the final Learning
Outcome. To find out how to do this, turn to Chapter
19, Reviewing your own work.
Television Radio Print Interactive media
Editing 1. Choose shots 1. Choose clips 1. Place titles 1. Choose content
process 2. Decide order of 2. Make edit list 2. Columnise 2. Import images
shots
3. Edit images 3. Edit speech 3. Sub-edit 3. Import text
4. Add post-sound 4. Add music 4. Add text 4. Edit
5. Mix music 5. Add sounds 5. Add pictures 5. Beta test
6. Add titles and 6. Mix levels 6. Proofread
credits
Content into Copy to format Bounce to format Print Upload to server
final format