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Media Studies Evaluation

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Evaluation

1: In which ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

In my magazine I have tried to fit conventions while also trying to create a unique product. I have stuck to a conventional magazine as I thought it would appeal to more people.
I have used conventions in each of my final products (front page, contents and double page spread). For example the title for the front cover is on the left hand side and the bar code, price and issue number are positioned on the bottom right hand side. My double page also follows conventions as it has an introduction explaining what the article is about, one large image and one small image and the interview on the right hand side.
My analysis of existing products has helped me when creating a conventional product as I have looked at existing products for inspiration.

2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My media product represents the social group of teenagers and young adults who listen to “indie” music. I think I have achieved this through the images, layout and informal language I have used. I think I have met all of the aspects of an “indie” music magazine and have represented the particular social group well.
My media product also divides social groups through gender and age. For example the images I have used throughout the product are of the same age as my target audience. If I had used an older person on the front cover I may not have attracted the audience I was aiming for or represented their social group. I have aimed my product at both males and females as I wanted to attract a wider target audience. As I have used a young male on the front rather than a female I feel I was able to attract both genders.
In order to represent the social group “indies”, I looked at existing products and did research on the Internet of bands. I noticed that there was a very stereotypical view on “indies” and I have tried to represent this in my magazine through what the people were wearing in my images. Also from my research I looked at the hobbies and interests of my social group and tried to focus on this in my final product for example upcoming tours.

3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

I think that the following institutions are most likely to distribute my product:

Social networking sites such as facebook and bebo
Digital publishers
Music stores such as HMV
Newsagents/convenient stores
Gigs and festivals

I believe that music stores such as HMV are the most likely to distribute my product as it would target my particular target market better. Digital publishing is now becoming more popular with 17% of magazines now available online; therefore this would enable my product to be distributed on a larger scale if this method was used. I also believe newsagents would be a successful way to distribute my product as I believe my front page is eye catching and would attract my audience when they were purchasing something else.

4: Who would be the audience for your media product?

The target audience for my media product is teenagers and young adults both male and female aged from 16-24. I have chosen this age group as my target audience as they are more likely to buy music magazines and be interested in indie music. I have targeted the magazine to both genders as I wanted to target a wider audience.
To choose my target audience, I did research to find out if there was a gap in the market of music magazines. I found that there weren’t many magazines aimed particularly at the social group of “indies” so I decided to focus my magazine on this genre. I am also interested in indie music so I felt this would be give me more ideas for my product and allow me to relate with my target audience.

5: How did you attract/address your audience?

I feel I have attracted my audience in a variety of ways. For example on my front page I have used an image which fills the majority of the page to grab my audiences’ attention. I have used the image of Luke as he is 20 years of age and is in the age group I have targeted my magazine at. In each of the images I have used I took into consideration what the people were wearing as I wanted the audience to relate to the magazine for example people with the same style in clothes.
I have used conventions in order to attract my target audience. For example a conventional layout which I felt would attract my audience. The fonts I have used are also conventional and are bold to attract the audience’s attention.
I feel the colour scheme I have used also addresses’ my target audience as I have used neutral colours and fonts instead of using a distinctive colour such as pink.

6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Throughout the project I have come across lots of new software and technology which I haven’t previously used. I have also expanded my knowledge on other programmes I have used before such as fireworks. I have learnt about lots of new editing skills using the programmes fireworks and Photoshop using tools such as the magic wand tool and bevel emboss. Learning how to edit images has proved very useful in this project and it will also help me in the future.
As well as learning to edit images, using new programmes has given me knowledge on how to construct a magazine. Looking at existing products helped with this and I feel confident that in the future I would be able to create another magazine from the knowledge I have gained. In addition to using programmes when creating my products, I have also used a number of websites which I haven’t previously. For example blogger.com to upload my work. I feel blogger is a great website to use when uploading work and hope to use it again in the future.

7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Looking back on my progress from my preliminary product, I feel that my preliminary product has helped me in many ways when creating my final product. One major factor that my preliminary product helped me with was planning my time, for example when organising when to take my images to allow enough time to edit them. However I had difficulty with some of the images I had taken as they were hard to edit due to the background I used. I think if I had taken into account the background of the images I was taking I would have been able to create more unique shots throughout my final product.
Another major factor I discovered when creating my preliminary product was that fireworks is a much better programme to use than publisher for final products as it creates a much more professional finish.
Although my preliminary product helped with the planning of my time I have also had to learn new things which weren’t covered in the preliminary products. For example as the magazine was a school magazine I was only able to use 3 main colours to create a conventional magazine whereas my music magazine I was able to be a lot more creative and pacifically target my audience.
Overall I think I have improved significantly since my preliminary product and have created a much more professional and creative product with the knowledge and experience gained.

Evaluation Of Final Products

Final Products

Below are my three final products; Front page, contents page and double page spread. I am pleased with how professional the final products are and I think I have met my target audience's preferences well.

Final Contents Page

This is the contents page I will be submitting as my final product. I have made the changes suggested by my target audience and I am very pleased with the results. I think the page looks professional and is aesthetically pleasing.

Audience Feedback- Contents Page

After I had completed my contents page I asked my target audience for their feedback. Nearly all of the comments I have received were positive and the only two suggestions to improve were:

"Maybe you could make the outline of the pictures slightly thinner"

"You could change the size of the numbers on the images to make them stand out less"

I will now work on these suggestions for my final product.

Possible Final Contents Page- Feedback Welcome

This is the contents page I plan to use as my final product. I am pleased with the results and I will now ask my target audience for their feedback and suggestions on how to improve further.

Contents Page Development- Editing

I have developed the colour and size of images on my contents page for example cropping the image of Gareth. I think this works better as it fits in better with the other images on the page and looks more effective. I have also experimented with changing the colour of the images to black and white, as I thought this may look different, however I am not pleased with the results as I feel it looks quite dull.
To improve further I will look at resizing the images and editing the image of Danielle slightly.

Contents Page-Development Layout

I have developed the layout of my contents page to create this page. I have also experimented with fonts and colours. I think this has given the page a more professional look, however I am still unhappy with the images as they need further editing.

Possible Contents Page

This a possible contents page I may use as my final product. However a lot of work is still needed with the fonts and colour scheme and although I am happy with the images used I think they need further editing to make it look more professional.

Final Double Page

This is the double page I will use as my final product. I have decided not to change the colour of the title "Discovery" as I think it looks effective and is easy to read. I am pleased with the results of my double page and think I have created a professional eye-catching product.

Final Double Page- Improved

This is the double page I will be using for my final product. I am pleased with the results and think it has a professional look which will attract my target audience. I may still change the colour of the title "discovery" as I'm not sure that it is that easy to read. I will collect further feedback from my target audience to find out their opinions on the orange title and the overall product and may make further changes.

Feedback From Target Audience

I have collected feedback from my target audience to find out their opinions on my double page spread and whether or not they would be attracted to read the article. As well as finding out their opinions, many of my target audience also made suggestions in which I can improve. Some of the most useful comments include:

"The double page is very eye-catching and the images work well, however maybe you could change the colour of the glow on the second page to a lighter colour"

"You could change the letter of who is being interviewed to make it stand out more"

"The introduction box works well but perhaps you could change the outline to being yellow as it looks a bit much with the orange title as well"

"You could make the lettering of who is being interviewed slightly larger"

I received many comments about changing the letter to a different colour or a bigger font so I will work on this and the other suggestions I have received.

Possible Final Double Page- Feedback Welcome

This is the double page I aim to use for my final product. I am pleased with the results, however I think a few more changes may need to be made to improve further. I will ask my target audience for their feedback and on my product and then make the changes suggested.

Double Page Development- Layout

I have experimented with the layout in this double page spread and I much more pleased with the results than my previous double page spreads I have created. I think this layout looks more interesting and unique and will be more likely to attract my target audience. I have also used two images over the double page which I think works well.
I will now make a few alterations such as changing the shape of the introduction box to a more distorted shape and possibly the colour scheme.

Double Page Development-Colour

I have experimented with colour on this double page spread. I think that the orange and yellow colour scheme works well however I think that the yellow box on the right hand side of the page needs changing as it stands out too much and I don't want it to be the first thing that my target audience is attracted to. I have also added a title which informs the reader what the article is about. I am pleased with the font and colour of the title, however I think it needs to be made a little bit smaller.

Possible Double Page Spread

This is a possible double page spread which I may use for my final product. However I still need to develop fonts and colours in order to improve further. Also I think that the layout is quite plain and not very original so I may experiment with different layouts to make it more eye-catching to my target audience.

Final Front Page

This is the front page I will be using as my final product. I have left the title of "Luke Jackson" as orange as when I tried other colours they looked too bright or were hard to read. I asked 30 members of my target audience whether they could read the title and all of them said they could so I am happy to leave it as orange. I am pleased with the results of the front page and I think it is eye-catching enough to attract my target audience.