Preliminary Task: Evaluation Questions

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

My media product uses the conventions of real media products as it addresses the target audience by the way that the images that I have used are school related. During my research into school type magazines I found that it was common to have images of students studying and students in their uniform. For my magazine I used two of my friends who are sixth form students and placed them outdoors with folders in their hands. I did this mainly because I knew that the natural light outside would help and because I was not particularly experienced with lighting equipment.

I found that the title of a magazine was important so I used 'Wilmington News' because it is appropriate for the school and is simple. I admit I could have been more creative but I liked this title because the reader will know what the magazine is related to and I incorporated the letter 'n' at the end of Wilmington into the 'N' in news.

The school logo was also a significant part of the media product as most real media products include the magazine's logo on the cover. I placed it at the bottom of the front cover and on the contents page to give a consistent feature. Similarly, to a real media product I included the issue number and date at the top of magazine. I think that my media product would be a free magazine if i was real so I did not include a bar code because my research did not support having one. I used varied sized titles and colours to give the reader information about what is inside and the research that I did showed that did sized fonts gave a strong structure to the front cover. On my contents page I used a big title and for the contents list I used numbers and two different colours. The first colour was the state the page and the second was to illustrate extra information about the page. I used another image on the contents page with is supported my research but I also included a border which was reflected by my research but the design was altered.

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

I think that my media product represents girls aged 16-18 because the models that I have used in the images for my front cover and contents page are sixth form students. The clothes that the models are wearing are quite smart and represent the older students who wear business style clothing. My media product is aimed at girls because the school that the product is created for is a girls school. I do think that other social groups of different ages are represented in the school due to the titles and content that I have included in the text. The content shown on the front cover is 'Pamper Day' , 'Parent's evening', 'Sports Day' and 'Netball Tournament' which could appeal to the rest of the school. I think that the magazine could also be read by the parents of the students as it would give an insight into the events taking place at school. The layout of the magazine is quite mature and does not feature lots of images and bright colours so I think it would be read by the older students or parents.

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

I think that the school would produce the media product and then distribute it to the students/parents. The media product would probably be read more by the sixth form students, teachers and parents. It would be a free product which could be given to the students who pass it on to their parents at home. For this reason I think that the school as an institution itself would produce the magazines on paper and give them to the students for free every month. To be cost effective the school could print it in black and white to save ink and give them out to students like a newsletter.

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

The target audience for my media product would be the older students in sixth form and their parents. The audience would probably be about 16-18 because that is the age of students in the sixth form and their parents would probably read it as well. The audience would predominantly be female as it is a girls' school and the only males who are likes to read it would be their fathers or brothers.

5) How did you attract/address your audience?

I aimed to attract and address my audience by using two images with students who are the same age as the reader. They are both girls which obviously relates to female readers who are sixth formers themselves. I have used mainly black, white and blue colours to keep the consistency in the colour scheme and keep it quite simple. I did not over complicate the layout of the front cover and contents page because the mature reader would probably not be as in interested in multiple images and would rather read the content. I used big titles on the front cover about upcoming events to draw the attention of the audience into reading the product.

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

I have learnt how to capture multiple images using a Canon 500d SLR digital camera which I have never used before. To edit the images I used Photoshop and this helped me to create my media product by allowing me to alter the lighting and crop the size of the images. I used In Design to produce the text that I have included in the media product. Before deciding on a final magazine title I repeatedly typed out the words and tried different fonts and sizes until I found the appropriate one. I have learnt how to edit images and experiment with different fonts.

24/11/2010 - Contents Page Complete

This is the completed contents page for the school magazine. I am quite pleased with the final result as I feel that it is informative and interesting to the reader. I have kept the design quite simple with only an image to the right of the page and a border on the left. The colours that I have used compliment the image and the school logo well. After researching various contents pages it became apparent that they used thirds in order to position the page. I ensured that the text was on the left and the image on the right. Many contents pages listed the title and numbers of pages under the heading 'Features' so I also did this. I clearly labelled the page as 'Contents' and placed the school logo next to it. The date that the magazine has been published is in the top right corner with the school website at the bottom of the page. Each page is titled as to what it is with the page number next to it. Underneath some titles are a small amount of text about what the page contains. I have added a glow to the image on the right so that it stands out but does not distract the reader too much.



23/11/2010 Contents Page - Not finished

This is not finished but i've uploaded it to show progress.


































This is the plan for my contents page.

23/11/2010 - Front Cover Completed

This is the completed front cover of the school magazine. Overall, I am pleased with the outcome and the style of the page. After taking 3 sets of photographs I finally chose one that I felt was ideal for the front cover of the magazine. I edited the size of this image and made areas where text is either lighter or a bit blurred so that the text can clearly be seen. The colours used for the text work well together and compliment the image and the school logo. Interesting pages from the magazine are written clearly on the front cover to attract the readers attention. In the top right corner I have included the date that the magazine was published and the issue number.

03/11/2010 - Final Photographs

I have already taken two sets of photographs and each time I have decided what needs to be improved in order to achieve the perfect image for my school magazine. The images below were my final attempt to do this and as well as my research, they have helped me take the photograph that I wanted.

Please press play to watch and hear about the final photographs.

 

1/11/2010 - Second Photographs

I cannot use this image for my magazine front cover because there are several problems with it. The lighting is not correct and therefore it makes the photograph too saturated. The blonde hair reflects the most light so it is distracting to the viewer and does create a perfect image. After taking my first set of photographs I have ensured that my models are wearing black clothing so that they are the main focus. The background with trees is perhaps still too distracting. I have taken the photograph close up so if I wanted to edit the image to a particular size or area I will have difficulty because I have already decided the distance. I have also cut of the model on the lefts arm and both the models legs so I cannot edit the closeness of the image greatly now.

 I quite like this photograph as the models look genuine in their pose. However, the blonde hair reflecting too much light is a problem again and I have taken the photo too close up. By taking the image too close it does not allow me the choice to edit how much of the image I would like to use. I have also included a bench and a bin in the photo; this would be easily edited out.

In this photograph it is difficult to observe the model on the lefts face which I think is necessary to see. The blonde hair is too light and so is the white folder that the models are holding, hence making it a distraction to the picture. The photograph should have been taken at more of a distance so that it would allow me more area to edit but I cannot now because the layout of the image is already chosen. I think I would also change the background so that there is not a wall because that is also a distraction.