British Pathe
As part of the presentation techniques I have been asked to take a look at the development of presentation styles from Pathe News to Newsround. Pathe News was originally formed during 1896 in Paris France created by Charles Pathe and his brothers whom were pioneers of the moving image. Pathe News invited the first cinema newsreel in 1908, this would pave the way for the way that we view the news today. Now instead of just reading the news people could go to the cinema and pay to watch a newsreel, this would be the first time people could watch the news as a series of moving images and though now days going to the cinema to pay for news would seem silly back in 1908 it was a revolutionary concept. By 1910 Pathe News had established an office in London and from then on all the way until the 1970's they would continue to produce cinema newsreels. They were now known as British Pathe.
When Pathe news first started it was very basic, there was no narration over the news footage. In fact the cinema newsreels featured no sound all the way up until 1928. They were issued biweekly and only ran for about four minutes each time. In the early days Pathe News was not to frequent as they were difficult to produce, back in those days cinema was not digital and everything had to be shot on film with the film reel being cut together to form coherent news story's. Pathe News mostly consisted of static camera shots however sometimes the coverage would include pans and even multiple angles. Which can be best demonstrated during coverage of Franz Reichelt's infamous fatal parachute jump.
What surprised me the most about this clip was how graphic the content was, in the clip we literally see a man die due to a failed parachute jump and back when this happened it was seen as perfectly acceptable to air. One of the biggest changes in news coverage from Pathe News to modern day news is what kind of content can be aired, regulations such as the BBFC did not yet exist and as such there was nobody controlling the content of news and cinema in general meaning that much more edgy and sometimes offensive clips could be shown. For example in todays day and age there would be know way that you would turn on the news and see a man hitting the floor after jumping off the Eiffel tower. As well as this other tragic events such as the suffragette Emily Dawson's death being caught on Pathe News during coverage of the 1913 Epsom Derby. Today such graphic content would not be shown on news broadcasts as today's audience's are more likely to be offended by graphic content such as this.
By the 1930's British Pathe would go on to produce newsreels covering news, entertainment, sport, culture and women’s issues through programmes including the Pathétone Weekly, the Pathé Pictorial, the Gazette and Eve’s Film Review. As well as this British Pathe also aired a number of TV programmes but ultimately the rise of the television meant the end for cinema newsreels and due to not being able to compete with TV British Pathe stopped producing newsreels in 1970. In a way Pathe News inspired todays modern range of news programmes such as Newsround, they did this by being the first people to visualise news and turn it into moving picture images making it a more enjoyable and informative viewing experience. Todays news programmes don't just cover world news they cover, sport, entertainment and culture too and this was a trend started by British Pathe during the 1930's so really they are the pioneers of the multi topical news shows we have today
So to summaries British Pathes style was very old fashioned and how you'd expect it to be being the first moving image newsreels. They had a very formal approach and zero narration until at least 1928. After the addition of narration and sound the presentation style was formal, serious and informative with the aim of providing the viewer with as much relevant information as possible as appose to actually entertaining them. Below is one of what is beleived to be the very first cinema newsreel films still remaining, it was not the first but many of the oldest cinema newsreels have been lost.
Newsround
Newsround is children's news programme from the BBC which started back in 1972. Up until 1989 it was known as John Cravens Newsround and was originally planned to be a 12 part mini series commissioned by the BBC's children's department, it was part of the BBC news family. Despite being pitched as a mini series Newsround still runs today and has drastically developed over the years and it is now known as CBBC Newsround airing on the BBC's children's channel known as CBBC, the channel was founded back in 2002 and since then the Newsround programme has aired on there.
After John Cravens departure Newsround, much like it is today, was presented by a number of presenters whom would rotate on a daily basis. The presentation style was informative yet light so that children from ages 6-12 could watch it, it was and still is a great way of getting kids interested in the world that we live in as children as young as that might not be able to get to grips with more formal and adult news programmes such as BBC news. Despite being originally pitched at the children aged 6-12 Newsround covered serious topics in order to inform and educate the youth, for example, Newsround was the first British television programme to break the news of the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger on 28 January 1986. This edition was presented by Roger Finn, who had only recently joined the programme. The programme was also first in Britain to report an assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II in Vatican City in 1981 and provided the first reports from the Windsor Castle fire of November 1992. The BBC clearly had faith in Newsround as a format allowing them to break such big story's.
As you can see from the clip above Newsround has had to change its style to stay modern in todays times, In the original Newsround it was very formal with one man and sometimes a co presenter covering other stories sat facing the camera as the occasional graphic was displayed in the background, the pace was quite slow and the show did not really feature many graphics or indents with the set being simplistic featuring a person facing the camera in front of a green screen in which pictures can be super imposed on to. These days CBBC's Newround is a faster show, notice that length of the 1982 show is almost 10 minutes where as the length of the modern day show is only 5 minutes. This is because kids these days are a lot less likely to pay attention to an informative programme for a longer period of time. As well as this the Newsround of today features a lot more graphics and indents between segments and detailed reports from correspondents on location. As far as the presenting goes it is a lot less formal and more cheery in order to appeal to the children of today, the show is colourful and eye catching and the young viewers will associate the colours green and purple with the show. As a former child I was once the target audience of Newsround and can say that the show successfully made me interested in the world around me and keeping up to date with the news.
Part B:
As part of the presentation techniques assignment I will need to study current TV presenters in order to learn about their styles and in turn develop my own style.
The first presenter I am using as inspiration is the BBC's Gary Lineker. I have been a big fan of lifestyle programme television presenter Gary Lineker for many years, he is best known for being the host of BBC's match of the day whilst also working as a football pundit for both the BBC and BT Sports. His presentation style is formal and informative, as well as this he is opinionated and is never shy to voice his opinion on subjects as well as debating and discussing matters with guests on his show. I always see Gary Lineker as someone who is very knowledgeable and appears as an expert in his field, as a presenter I would also like to be viewed in this way. I think it is very important that the presenter comes across as someone who knows what they are talking about because then the audience will trust their opinions and view them as someone that deserves their attention. Lineker uses verbal techniques such as tone of voice, pace of delivery and phrase structure to come across as genuine guy whom is intelligent and has a deep understanding of his subject as well as this he is well spoken and uses illustrative language to present himself in a high manor.
Visual techniques he uses include body language and physical gestures. Lineker gesticulates using his hands whilst talking which implies that he is passionate and enthusiastic about the subject he is talking about. As well as this he always looks smart and respectable dressing nicely for his show. This is something that I will be looking to replicated with in my presentation as carrying yourself in this manner is important to appearing as respectable presenter.
Gary Linekers background is in football, as an Ex professional footballer he played for England and world class teams such as Barcelona and Leicester City. His background allows him to have lots of knowledge about what he is reporting on meaning that he comes across as an expert. Obviously I do not have a large background in the subject I am reporting on and therefor will need to conduct lots of research.
His verbal techniques include using his accent and tone of voice to relate to the audience, his accent makes him seem like a real person as it is quite strong but also very friendly. Usually TV presenters have neutral accents in order to either appear to everyone make sure that they can be understood.
In my presentation I would like to adopts Bradley Walsh's style by being humours, hopefully this will engage the audience and keep them entertained.
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