Evaluation

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

In my front cover, contents page and double page spread, I believe and think that all of my finished products contained the right amount and correct codes and conventions they need. I used different key features to make up the front cover; I used many different elements such as a strap line but within the strap line I used a tag line as this sits in the middle of it and the tag line I used was; “WIN AN IPAD MINI!! Go to page 18 for competition details” I felt that something like this should be used in a magazine as it is a magazine that is aimed at teenagers and an ‘iPad mini’ is popular at the moment and people/teenagers would like to get involved and therefore would buy the magazine and read on to find out more. In the contents page the main features that I used was the images. I used 4 different individual images; one was of the iTunes logo, the other was an image of an individual member in the band ‘Burnt Empire’, the third one is of the ‘new singer’ Becky and the last image was of the whole band ‘Burnt Empire’ with the second and fourth images I just numbered these with a number that has already been used in the index I produced as the images relate to the text within the index. On the last product I produced was a double page spread within my double page spread I would say that the main feature I used that is seen to be included in codes and conventions is ‘drop quotes’ I made it visible to the reader that it was a drop quote as I used different font and made it bold and I also made it a different colour compared to the other text on the double page spread. The text was in white however I made the drop quotes maroon as this would help to stand out to the reader and it shows which parts of the text is important.

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

My different media products show to be for a teenage age range as they all include images that are individuals around their age and therefore for anyone near their age will look up to them and will want to follow and see them as a role model. To help me make the individuals who were in the photos/images look indie/rock I made sure that their dress code was linked to being ‘laid back’, ‘outgoing’ and ‘loud’. I also have a colour scheme on each of my 3 separate media products (front cover, contents page and double page spread) I have three colours; white, black and maroon. I chose these colours as I thought that they relate to being ‘outgoing’ and ‘fun’ however to also help me make my decision on the colour I produced a questionnaire before I created my products and in the questionnaire I just asked simple questions and one of them was ‘what colours do you associate with the indie/rock genre?’ and the most popular answers I got back was; white, black and maroon. On my front cover I included a strap line and within the strap line I used a tag line as this sits in the middle of it and the tag line I used was; “WIN AN IPAD MINI!! Go to page 18 for competition details” I felt that something like this should be used in a magazine as it is a magazine that is aimed at teenagers and an ‘iPad mini’ is popular at the moment and people/teenagers would like to get involved and therefore would buy the magazine and read on to find out more. On my contents page I feel that my positioning statement helps to show that my target audience/social group target is ‘teenagers’ as I have them in three columns which is professional looking and can be seen as formal however the text (index) I had in the columns I didn’t put in line as this connotes ‘teenagers’ as they get up to no good and nothing is ever right for them. Furthermore, the last product I produced was a double page spread. I believe/think that the house style of my double page spread is able to represent who my target audience/social group target is as the image I had taken was of a band named ‘The Burnt Empire’ and he is wearing an outfit that can be seen as a ‘teenagers outfit’ as it is a t-shirt that is a bit tight. On my double page spread I kept the flow of my colour scheme going as the text I made white and maroon and the black is part of the image.

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

Through the process of my media products; Front cover, contents page and double page spread I learnt about different technologies such as; the use of photo shop and quark as these are the programs that’s I used to create my overall products. With quark when I first started off I didn’t know how to use it but at the end of it, I do as I spent almost every day using this programme; I succeeded in knowing how to use this programme and now that I can use it, it helps me to get the best grades I can as I now use it in other subjects too. The programme ‘photoshop’ I found easy to use as I have used this programme many times before so this was an advantage for me as it helped me produce an image that In used to go on to my front cover. I got one image I had taken of my iPad and I take a screenshot on my phone and being able to put the image onto the computer I put the two images together to help me produce a final image that I was looking to get at the end of it.

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

From my research I decided it would be best for my audience to be a teenage age range. I wanted it to be this as I believe that my media products have the different amount and look of elements about it to make it suitable for a teenager. In my front cover product that I produced I used an element in there that I thought would be very suitable for a teenager and it was; a competition for you to enter and the winning prize would be an iPad mini. I displayed and shown this by outing it into a strapline. I made the strapline a pastel colour (duck egg blue), I done this as I believe that from having a different element of colour compared to the background (the main image, it has different colours to it) so it helps to contrast it together, which then helps to stand out to the reader. On my contents page to help show who my target audience is I made sure that the images I took of people where of people who were ‘teenagers’ I done this as it helps to link to the reader which helps to give them a ‘connection’ as they will look at the contents page, see the individual in the image and will want to look up to them and see them as being a ‘role model’. The last product I produced was my double page spread. On my double page spread I included lots of text and I had taken a photo of an individual that is in the band that my magazine mostly talks about. I made sure that the individual I used in the image was a teenager, to help show this to the reader; the types of clothes he was wearing shown the age of the person as he was wearing a ‘T-shirt’ and with the structure of the t-shirt he was wearing it helped to show the muscles that the individual had and from doing this the reader (the teenager) that reads and sees the image will want to try live up to that as they would be seeing them as a role model. This will be beneficial as there will be more people looking up to them and wanting to be like them.

5.    How did you attract/address your audience?

To help me attract/address my audience I used different elements within my products such as; images, websites, colour scheme, page numbers, catchy words (words that would stand out to them) and the type of font that I used. At the beginning of the production of my front cover I made and finished it and when I was in the middle of doing my contents page and double page spread I went back and changed what I done as I thought it would be better to have the house layout of them both in a younger looking manor as the age range I would like to attract is teenagers-14+. I think that my different media products can do this as they have different elements of colours, images and I was featuring; posters, interviews and competitions. For my competition I put it on to my front cover as it will be the first place the reader looks. My competition is a chance for the reader to enter it in the chance of winning an iPad mini, I chose to make it an iPad mini to win as they are very expensive with intrigues the reader to go ahead and buy the magazine to find out more details while they are there. Also on my front cover I have put on different key words/catchy words that will help stand out to the reader and as well as ‘catchy words’ I have used a bold masthead that contains the colour ‘maroon’, I done this as I believe the colour maroon is seen to be indie/rock. On my contents page I have included the colours maroon, white and black again as it is my colour scheme and it also is seen to be indie/rock genre colours as they all signify; being outgoing and at times laid back. In my double page spread I used a young artist for my image as my target audience is targeted at the age range of 14+ so therefore with him being young anyone near his age will look up to him and will want to follow and see that specific individual  as a role model.

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

Through the process of my media products; Front cover, contents page and double page spread I learnt about different technologies such as; the use of photo shop and quark as these are the programs that’s I used to create my overall products. With quark when I first started off I didn’t know how to use it but at the end of it, I do as I spent almost every day using this programme; I succeeded in knowing how to use this programme and now that I can use it, it helps me to get the best grades I can as I now use it in other subjects too. The programme ‘photoshop’ I found easy to use as I have used this programme many times before so this was an advantage for me as it helped me produce an image that In used to go on to my front cover. I got one image I had taken of my iPad and I took a screenshot on my phone and being able to put the image onto the computer I put the two images together to help me produce a final image that I was looking to get at the end of it.

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

I feel that along the way of the production of my different media products I have learnt many different skills such as the use of the computer programmes that are available to use and that I did sue, such as; prezzi, quark, photoshop, DSLR camera and a recorder. From using these different elements it helped me to produce the final products I had created.