Evaluation

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

I have learnt a lot in the progression from my preliminary task to my main task. When I started my preliminary task, my ICT skills were very basic. But through the progression from this task to my final product, I have really built on my ICT skills, teaching myself how to use Microsoft publisher, Photoshop, blogger.com, scribd.com and surveymonkey.com. The draft pages and final products of my preliminary task were produced on Microsoft word. However, over time I learnt how to use Microsoft publisher with confidence and produced the draft pages and final products of my main task on Microsoft publisher. This shows a huge progression I have made between the making of these products.

Not only have my ICT skills developed, I have also developed a better understanding of media conventions and concepts. My preliminary task only focussed on the genre of school and education, however my main task focussed on music genres. This helped me to understand the differences between the conventions of different genres. I now understand media terminology a lot better, as I have been using it the majority of the time to plan, create and analyse my products. My understanding and confident use of the terms has grown from my preliminary task to my final product.

When you compare my preliminary task to my final product, you can clearly see how my skills have developed over time.

　
As a result of using Microsoft word to produce my preliminary task, when I uploaded it onto blogger.com, the cover lines, images and whole layout of the pages was moved around. For example, all the cover lines on the front cover have risen to the top of the page. This made my product look totally messed up and wrong. I did not have enough time to correct this error as the deadline had been reached. However, I corrected it when producing my final product by taking a screen-shot of my work, uploading the image onto paint, then embedding it to my blog. This is a major skill I learnt during the progression from the preliminary task to my main task.

Also, my final task work looks a lot more professional and of a higher standard. This is due to the longer amount of time given to complete this product, the higher level of skill learnt for my final product, and a generally better understanding of media.

Evaluation

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

From my research into similar media products, I found out a lot about the conventions of real media products.
The conventions I found to be common among other similar products and important for the front cover were:
-A clear, professional looking layout
-An image of the artist relating to the main cover line
-A colour scheme of three main colours, usually including black and white
-Clear and relevant cover lines
-Large, clear masthead at the top of the page

In my product, I made sure I used and developed these conventions of similar media products. My layout is clear and looks professional like many other real media products. I made sure it looked ordered and easy to read so people can instantly see the information and be drawn to the product. On the front cover there is an image of the artist which relates to the main cover line across the image. I chose the colour scheme after asking about it in my survey. The colour scheme of my front page was black, white and red. The cover lines on my front page were clear and relevant to the magazine genre. I also made sure my masthead was large, clear and in the centre of the page at the top. My front cover uses and develops the main conventions of real, similar media products.

The conventions I found to be common among other similar products and important for the contents page were:
-The same colour scheme as the front cover
-An image of the front cover of the magazine issue
-A few main images
-Clear, ordered layout (usually in columns)

In my product, I made sure I used and developed these conventions of similar media products. I continued the black, white and red colour scheme from my front cover onto my contents page. This shows consistency and continuity. I only used 5 images (3 of which were not main images) on my contents page. The two main images were quite small and simple as to not clutter the page and to keep the page ordered and neat. On my contents page, I used an image of the front cover of that magazine issue. This is an important magazine convention and is common within most genres. I have a clear, ordered layout on my contents page. There are columns down either side of the page and a row of images and text along the bottom. The layout is stylish, yet simple. My contents page uses and develops the main conventions of real, similar media products.

The conventions I found to be common among other similar products and important for the double page spread was:
-One or two main images, with smaller, supporting images
-A similar colour scheme to the front cover and contents page
-A mixture of font sizes and colours (for questions, answers, etc)
-A detailed article, centring around rock music
-A clear, bold masthead on the page

In my product, I made sure I used and developed these conventions of similar media products. I used two main images, along with one other smaller, supporting image at the bottom of the page. Both of the images have clear captions to describe what they are. This is common in most magazines, not just those of the rock music genre. The colour scheme of black, white and red (used on the front cover and contents page) was continued onto the double page spread. This, again, shows consistency and continuity. A mixture of font sizes and colours were used on my double page spread. The masthead and tagline were in larger font sizes as these need to be the items on the page that really stand out. The questions and answer text was of a similar size, however different colours were used to show which was the question and which was the answer. My double page spread includes a detail article, which is based on the topic of a rock music artist. I also chose to use a bold, clear masthead at the top of the page. This will attract the audiences attention. My double page spread uses and develops the main conventions of real, similar media products

Evaluation

How does your media product represent particular social groups?
My media product represents young people mainly, interested in the genre of rock music. The images in my magazine are mainly of younger people. The way I have represented people in my magazine should be appealing to the target audience. To do this, I made the models look quite indie and “rocky”. I did this by the costume, hair and makeup of the models. Black was the main colour used in the costume as it represents to the rock music genre well and is usually the colour most commonly associated with this. The hairstyles were made to look quite rough and messy. Along with the dark, heavy make up. This made the models in my magazine look very in touch with the rock music genre.

I represented the rock music genre by using worlds such as “festivals, gigs, downloads and success”. This shows that the magazine is in line with the genre, successfully appealing to the audience. These words are very stereotypical of the rock music genre.

This image shows the model crouching down towards the camera, this gives the impression of a low angle shot. This gives the impression that the audience are looking up to the artist in the image making her look powerful and dominant. This represent the rock genre of music as it is quite powerful and strong.

Evaluation

Who would be the audience for your media product?From my survey, I found out a lot about my target audience. Most of the people that completed my survey were female (73%) and only 27% were male. This showed me that I would need to market my product towards the female audience slightly more.

In my survey I also asked the age of my target audience. 14 out the 15 responses to this question were from people who were ages been 15 and 19. Only one other person was over 30. This showed me that my target audience were mostly in their late teens, with the odd exception. When it came to producing my magazine, I took into account the age of my target audience.

Another question I asked about my target audience in my survey was how often they listened to rock music. Only one person said that they listened to it every day, and one other person said often. This is disappointing as this is the genre of magazine I am producing, however they may prefer different styles of rock like “emo” or indie music which wasn’t specified in the question. The most popular answer was rarely, with 5 out of 15 (one third) people opting for this. However, 27% listened to it occasionally. This shows that my target do not listen to specifically rock music often. I took this into consideration when producing my magazine as to not make it look too hardcore to keep the audience interested.

From the information I gathered in my survey, I found out a lot about my target audience. I discovered that my audience will be predominantly female, within the age rage of 15-19. I also found that my target audience were obviously interested in rock music, but not maybe other branches of rock, like “indie” or “emo” music. These are the key points I found out about my target audience of this product.

Evaluation

How did you attract/address your audience?
I attracted my audience in many different ways in my final product.
The layout of my magazine was the main way in which I did this. Some examples of this are:

I used a clear masthead on the front cover to instantly address the audience and inform them of that my product is called.

The image is the next main thing that attracts the audience to look at my product. I chose to use an image of the artist which relates to my main cover line and double page spread. This image is quite large on the front cover to instantly attract their attention. The image will appeal to them as it represents the rock music genre in a visually interesting way.

There is a lure along the top of my magazine front cover which should appeal to my target audience and make them want to buy the product. This lure is for free posters of rock music bands. This will appeal to the audience and make them want to buy the magazine.

100% of my target audience said that they would buy my final product. They all said both the layout and the use of images in my magazine was “very good”. This shows that my magazine was very successful in appealing to and attracting my target audience.

Evaluation

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
While creating my media product, I have used a range of technologies to do this. ICT skills and technologies have been on of the main thing used in this project. Microsoft word was used for the majority of my research work. This was useful for allowing my to present my work in a clear, appealing way.

Microsoft publisher was the programme is used in the production of my magazine. I chose to use this programme as it is the best tool for producing visual publications. It has all the right tools and techniques to produce excellent quality products, like mine, from scratch. It was quite easy to use and had all the emphasis on formatting that I needed to produce a successful product

Paint was another computer programme I used to help in the creation of my media product. It was useful when I print screened images and saved them as images into my files. I also used paint to place lines onto my magazine pages in the analysis stage.

I used photoshop to edit my images for my magazine. I felt this was the best programme as it had the widest range of editing tools which I could make the best use of. Also, it was easily accessible to me. I used this on the main images on my front cover, contents page and double page spread.

My work was stored on www.blogger.com under the URL (http://jasfordx.blogspot.com). This helped to keep all my work in an easily accessible place where it is safe from harm, damage and loss. While using this website, I learnt how to create, edit and delete blog posts, how to embed things onto a blog and also how to share my work with others (E.G. teachers for marking).

 www.surveymonkey.com is another website I used in to creation of my product. I used this website to create both of my surveys which were a vital part of my work. I chose to use this website as it was highly recommended as a reputable website to create clear, effective surveys easily and efficiently. From using this website, I learnt how to create surveys, distribute them and then collect in the responses.

Survey on Final Product

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