Task 11- Evaluation plan-

http://www.slideshare.net/lyle18/prezi-43360723

Task 11- Evaluation draft-

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

The genre of my magazine is rock. The typical things rock magazines use are: A three colour scheme, a very busy front page, bold and detailed fonts, black clothing for artists etc. In my magazine, I used almost all the things that a rock magazine would include. For example, my model wore black clothes; I used bold fonts and much more. However, I decided to include some things in my magazine that made my magazine unique to other rock magazines. For example, I decided to use a colour scheme with four colours. I didn’t want to use a lot of colours as it would have made my magazine look really childish; however I decided to use four colours to make mine different from other magazines. I decided to use red, purple and white because these colours are often used within rock magazines. Bright colours are not usually used within rock magazines. Another thing I decided to do to make my magazine unique was using text wrap on my double page spread. When I was researching rock magazines, I didn’t see any magazines use text wrap. I decided to use text wrap to include a picture with the text. Rather than including one big picture which rock magazines often do, I decided to use two smaller pictures. I decided to also make my masthead on my front page different from others. The majority of mastheads on rock magazines are usually just written originally. However, I decided to have my masthead with a backwards ‘R’. By doing this, it makes my magazine unique and the audience will easily be able to notice that it is a ‘SCREAM’ magazine. Another thing I done differently was the content included on my contents page. Content that is normally used in rock magazines are interviews, competitions, concerts/ tours and many more. I decided to include this kind of content in my magazine; however I also decided to include a column for reviews. Many rock magazines usually just have regulars and features. However, I decided to include a review column for the customers so that they can enjoy more than just regulars and features. This satisfies the customer as they are getting more content included within the magazine.

I also decided to make my magazine cheaper than other rock magazines. I didn’t want to make my magazine extremely cheap. This is because when I researched rock magazines, they were usually around the price of £2.20- £3.00. I decided to make my magazine cheaper than others because my target audience (16-24year olds) wouldn’t like to pay a lot of money for a magazine. Another thing is the use of models that I used. I used models that were in the appropriate age range for my audience. The clothing and make-up that they wore related to many rock magazines. People in rock magazines usually wear black clothes, leather jackets, have coloured hair and often wear dark make-up. The model on my front page was wearing all black and she had coloured hair. This relates to the audience because it is very typical of what many rock artists would look like. She looked very rebellious and risk-taking which many rock artists would be shown as.

I also decided to use a certain use of language on my double page spread. I didn’t use much informal language, because when I done research on my case studies the use of language was quite formal. I didn’t make my double page spread 100% formal, I decided to use some informal language to make my magazine different from others. Even though I used a little bit of informal language, I used language that the audience would be able to relate to. I also decided to use appropriate fonts and font sizes throughout the front page, contents page and double page spread. I used only two different fonts as I didn’t want it to look really childish. I used two fonts that I felt fit the rock genre. For example, I used Chaparral Pro as one of my fonts. This font didn’t look too plain/boring. Many fonts used in rock magazines look very detailed and busy, and I decided to choose two fonts that looked quite detailed for my magazine.

These relate to my audience because 16-24 year olds want to get what they paid for. By my magazine including more than other magazines for a cheap price will make them feel satisfied as they will be benefitting by buying my magazine. This price also makes it reasonable for the lower class people who would buy my magazine.  All of the things I have mentioned relate to my audience in a variety of ways. For example, the use of language relates to my audience, and the use of models is relevant to the target audience and many more things.

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

My media product represents particular social groups in many ways. For example, my media product is based on rock; so one social group would be people who both like rock. The use of the model on my front page represents this social group. Rock magazines usually have the artist wearing all black and the artist may have a dyed hair colour. The artist doesn’t tend to look happy, the majority of the time they look quite sad, depressed or angry. My model has all of these things included. My model shows that she is angry as she is tearing a piece of paper with her old band members on it, showing she is annoyed. Her facial expressions also give off a negative atmosphere which makes the audience feel how she is feeling. The clothing used on my model also attracts my social group. Many people who like rock wear the same style of clothes. For example, they would wear dark coloured clothes such as: black, purple, red. My model wears all black and my other models have worn black and red too. This represents my particular social group because this is how people who are fans of rock would usually dress. The clothing of my model would attract my social group because they would want to wear the clothes that the model is wearing.

Another thing that attracts my social group is the use of locations. For example, in my additional photography I took photos in an ally way, a skate park and a brick wall. These locations didn’t look like a nice place to be, which is what rock magazines are usually like. As my models were in places that had graffiti, it attracts my social group as it would be somewhere that the audience would usually be. Another thing that represents my particular social group was the use of the models mood. All of the models that I used didn’t look happy. This was because in rock magazines people are usually quite upset/depressed/angry. All of my models had a story showing the negative side of their life and that everything isn’t perfect. This would attract my particular social group because; they like to read about how bad the artist’s life has been. My social group wouldn’t want to read about something really happy because that is not what’s included in rock magazines.

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

The kind of media institution that might distribute my media product would be BAUER media group. I feel that BAUER may distribute my media product because they publish magazines which are the same genre as mine (rock). For example, BAUER support and help magazines such as Kerrang. This means they would be very supportive with distributing my media product (SCREAM). BAUER have been a company for a very long time (since 2008). BAUER media group have a lot of experience with distributing magazines, which is why they would be able to distribute my product; especially with the genre of my media product that I have produced. I feel BAUER would be helpful in many ways.

Furthermore, BAUER may distribute my media product because they use new technologies. BAUER use technologies such as: Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, YouTube and many more technologies. BAUER use these technologies to promote magazines. All of these technologies relate to my genre. They relate to my genre, because my magazine is aimed at 16-24 year olds. People within this age range use many technologies; allowing them to view magazines in many different ways. BAUER also distribute their magazines in shops on newsstands. Due to my research, people who buy rock magazines still go to the shop and buy magazines. BAUER also use technologies online such as subscriptions. BAUER have created a way for people to subscribe to a magazine, which many people would do with my media product. People would most likely subscribe, because 16-24 year olds would rather get magazines delivered to them and get it at a cheaper price; BAUER have experience with doing this. BAUER is a relevant institution for my genre because; they use technologies that are relevant to the age range for my magazine. They are also very experienced with rock magazines as they distribute Kerrang magazines which are very successful. BAUER would know how to distribute my magazine and promote in a way that the target audience would prefer e.g. through social network sites.

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

The audience for my media product would be aimed at 16-24 year olds. Many people who read rock magazines are around this age due to research I have previously done. When I done research on what gender read Kerrang magazines, 54.7% were men. My magazine will be mainly aimed at women. I am aiming it at women to make my product unique and different from other rock magazines. Due to my press media kit research, the ethnicity that read rock magazines the most was white people. My media product is going to be aimed at every race. It will be aimed at white people mainly as white people are the majority who reads these types of magazines. However, my media product will be aimed at every race. I have done this by simply not just using white people within the magazine; I have used people of other race within my magazine which makes my magazine aimed at more than just one ethnicity.

Furthermore, the social class of the audience that my media product will be aimed at is lower class/middle class. When I did my research, it showed that rock magazines were definitely not aimed at upper class people. I found out that the majority of people that bought rock magazines were lower class, and there was some middle class. Rock magazines have a certain price which is affordable for this audience. Customers of lower class do not have the best salary, which is why rock magazines are not very expensive which makes it affordable for them to buy the magazine. My magazine will be aimed at lower class/middle class too. It’s aimed at this class in particular because the price of my magazine is appropriate for this class. Rock magazines are aimed at this class because the content involved is enjoyed by people of a certain class. As I aimed my media product at the lower class, I involved specific adverts. For example, advertising free rock star clothes is appropriate to this audience mainly because it’s free. People on a lower salary wouldn’t want to buy a magazine and then have to pay more money for something advertised within the magazine. By making these things free, it then satisfies the customers. Most of the adverts that are in my flat plan for my magazine do not include things you have to pay for. The majority of the adverts do not have to buy products as it is not appropriate for my audience.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

I have attracted/addressed my audience in many ways; from colour schemes to the models used. One way I have attracted my audience is the model that I used on the front page of my magazine. The model is within the age range of the target audience (16-24 year olds). The model is 20 years old. This attracts the audience because the artist is within the age range of many artists in rock magazines. It also attracts them because people wouldn’t be interested in the magazine if the artist was really old or really young. The clothes that the model was wearing is also relevant to rock. The model was wearing all black, and a black leather jacket. Almost all rock artists wear black. You don’t usually see rock artists wearing very colourful things as it’s not very typical for rock. If my model was to wear a variety of coloured clothes, the audience would not be interested as the audience wouldn’t expect that from someone within a rock magazine. By using stereotypical clothes and colours, it attracts the audience more. Even on the contents and double page spread, every person has worn black clothes and some people have worn dark make-up. This gives them more of a rock look.

Another thing I done to attract my audience was the colour scheme I used throughout each product made. I used a red, purple and white colour scheme. These are colours that are often used in rock magazines, on clothes and many other things. My using these colours, it attracts the audience because it is relevant to the age of the audience for my magazine. These colours will be eye-catching and it will attract their attention, however these colours would not attract someone of a much older age. The colours that are used are also good for both genders. Positive colours such as pink and green and many more colours are not used in rock magazines that often. The use of red, white and purple are appropriate to the rock genre. If I done more than 3 colours for my colour scheme, it would of begun to look childish and it would not suit the age of my audience. Another important thing I did to attract my audience was the masthead name and font of the masthead. The use of the font for the masthead looks relevant and appropriate to my genre. It doesn’t look to simple/plain, it looks quite detailed which rock magazines usually do. I decided to call my magazine ‘SCREAM’ because it relates to rock. Many rock artists perform scream. I felt like the audience would be able to understand why this name was chosen.

Furthermore, the language I used in my journalistic piece would attract the audience because I used words that rock fans would understand. I used formal language for the majority of the time, but I did use some informal language. This would address the audience as they would feel engaged. I also used direct address to make the audience feel engaged and involved. Another way I attracted my audience was the use of price for my magazine. I made my magazine £1.99. I made it £1.99 because it was the use of psychological pricing. By making it £1.99, it makes it seem cheaper than it really is. By making it this price, it reflects the audience as my target audience would not pay a lot for a magazine, so £1.99 is the appropriate price.

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

The first technology I have learnt and developed my skills in is Photoshop. I used Photoshop rather than software such as Paint, because Photoshop is much more professional. At the start of my coursework, I didn’t know how to use Photoshop. I found it very difficult and I didn’t know the things that I could do with it. I only knew how to crop something. However, my skills have developed dramatically throughout the process of constructing my media product. I learnt how to adjust the brightness/contrast on pictures in Photoshop. If a picture was too light/dark, I knew how to adjust it to make it brighter/darker. I also learnt about resizing images. If I wanted to make an image smaller/bigger, I knew how to adjust the size. I also learnt how to flip letters in Photoshop. For example, the title of my magazine is ‘SCREAM’ however the R is flipped backwards. At the beginning of this coursework, I didn’t know how to do this. I also learnt about alignment for the text. I learnt that you must put rulers to a specific length to remind myself where the text couldn’t go past. This made things much easier to align the text, making it look professional. An important skill I learnt on Photoshop was how to fade, blend and crop photos. For example, the picture being ripped on the front page of my magazine used all of these skills. I had to blend the photo and fade it in to the piece of paper to make it look realistic. I also had to crop the photo to make it look like it was being ripped. I have learnt that using Photoshop is much better than using something like Paint. This is because Paint doesn’t have the tools that Photoshop has. For example, Paint doesn’t have tools such as adjusting brightness, being able to blend photos and many more. I have learnt that using Photoshop makes my product look professional. Overall, I found Photoshop easy to use, because I understood all of the main tools that I had to use e.g. cropping, alignment, blend/fade etc.

Another technology that I used to construct my media product was InDesign. InDesign was difficult to use at first. I found it very confusing and it was very different to Photoshop. InDesign allowed me to make my contents page and my double page spread. It was very useful for both of these. One thing that InDesign was very useful for was the alignment of text and the positioning of text. For example, on my double page spread, all of the text is aligned. InDesign has a tool which you can use to make all of your text aligned, making my double page spread look professional rather than out of place and messy. InDesign also allowed me to use text wrap for my double page spread. On my double page spread, I placed pictures with the text. If InDesign didn’t have text wrap, then the pictures would have looked out of place and it wouldn’t have fit in. However, InDesign had a text wrap tool, allowing me to place the picture in with the text and the text went around the picture. This made my double page spread look professional and it made the pictures appropriate for the double page spread. Another thing I learnt about InDesign is the use of columns. If I didn’t use columns in my contents page or double page spread then everything would have looked out of place. The use of columns allowed my text to be placed correctly. On all double page spread’s, columns are used. It makes the magazine look professional and it lets the reader know where to start reading from. I learnt how to use columns, and it allowed me to make my double page spread article. It also allowed me to make columns for my contents page for my regulars, features and reviews. Overall, I found using InDesign was a bit difficult. This was because there was so many tools to understand, however I found quite a lot of it easy to use. The more I used InDesign, the more I understood it.

Furthermore, I learnt about how to use the photography studio. I learnt how to use a professional flash kit; I learnt how to use a DSLR properly, how to use three point lighting, how to use coloured backdrops appropriately and much more. I used a DSLR because it is a high resolution camera (17mmp). By using a camera of such high resolution, it allowed my pictures to look professional and they would not be blurred. If my pictures would have been blurry, they would look unappealing and unprofessional. By learning the use of coloured backdrops, it allowed me to understand what colour backdrops were appropriate for my genre of magazine. Also, learning the use of a professional flash kit and three point lighting was extremely helpful. If I didn’t use either of these, the lighting for my photo would have looked really bad. By using three point lighting, the photo looked professional as the lighting was balanced. If the lighting was not balanced, it would have looked too bright/dull in some areas. Overall, I found using the photography quite easy. I sometimes found using the lighting difficult, however after using it more and more, it became easier.

Another technology I learnt how to use was blogger. Blogger was very useful for many purposes, for example, organisation. Blogger allowed me to organise my work in the correct. If I didn’t use blogger, my work may not have been in task order and it would look messy and confusing. Blogger was also useful for interactive purposes. For example, I was able to get audience feedback on my work from peers. This allowed me to understand what other people thought about my work, and it allowed me to comment on their work too. This was useful as it let me know what others thought, allowing me to improve my work in certain areas. Blogger also allowed me to review teacher feedback quickly and peer evaluate work. Overall, I found using Blogger easy. I found it easy because there wasn’t much to understand.

Another technology I have used in my coursework was PowerPoint. PowerPoint was helpful because it allowed me to show my information in a quick and easy way. It helped me present my work for my magazine proposal. It helped because I didn’t put too much information on one page. If I had done this, the audience would have been bored when I presented my work. It allowed me to present my work in a quick and efficient way. I then uploaded my work to YouTube. By using YouTube, it was another use of technology. I found using YouTube very easy as uploading my YouTube video was very simple. Also, choosing the thumbnail was simple too. Overall, I felt using YouTube and PowerPoint easy as it was easy to present/upload my work.

Another technology I used was Timetoast. Timetoast was useful because it helped with organisation. It reminded me of when tasks had to complete by. It also reminded me of what order to complete my tasks. Overall, I found Timetoast very easy to use, because it was easy to show my development of what tasks I had completed. It was also easy to set the time and dates for my tasks.

7. 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 majority of things from the progression of my preliminary task to my final product.

Here is a comparison from my preliminary task and my real product:

_{Preliminary task-}

Real product:

In my preliminary task, the locations didn’t fit my genre at all. In my preliminary task, my magazine was aimed at teenagers. The two photos I took for my locations were in a college, but they were very random. For example, my front page was a photo taken near a lift. It didn’t relate to my audience in any way at all. Also, on my contents page, I just took a photo of four people at a wall in the college. The location was irrelevant to the content and to the audience/genre. Both locations were irrelevant and random. The shot that I used on my front page didn’t look very good. I used a mid-shot, however the shot looks random. On the front page, there is too much space above the model. I should have used the zoom on the camera to make the shot look correct.  I also decided to use a mid-shot on my contents page too. I should have used a variety of shots, not mid-shots for both. However, my real product is completely different to my college magazine. The locations I used were relevant to my genre. For example, I used a variety of locations on my contents page. One of my shots was in a skate park with graffiti. This is relevant to my genre because in rock magazines, photos are not taken in nice looking places. The use of the graffiti shows the audience the negative aspect of her life. It shows the audience that she is not in the right place and that things are not going too well for her. If I took this photo in a happier environment, it would not give the same effect. I decided to use an Ariel shot for this picture. By using this type of shot, it makes the model look inferior to people. It makes her look smaller than others and that people are dominating her. The use of this shot shows the audience that there is a negative atmosphere as she is depressed. This is relevant to my genre as artists in rock magazines usually have depressing stories.

I also used another location which had graffiti which was in an ally way. I used a close-up shot for this to show the audience her facial expressions. By using a close-up, it shows the audience that she is fierce and angry. However, it shows that she is not giving up. As it looks like she is looking down on us, it shows her power and that she is improving her life. This is relevant to my genre because, people in rock magazines often have stories that have ruined them; however they are changing their life around. I also used a long shot for the location with the brick wall. I used a long shot to show everything that is going on. It shows that he is upset as he is looking down. By using a long shot, we also get to see his foot against the wall. This shows that he is beginning to give up on his career. The use of a mid-shot on the front page is relevant to rock. Due to my research, many rock magazines have mid-shots of the artist on the front page. This shows the model’s facial expressions, body language and the clothing of the model. I have learnt that the use of shots and locations for my magazine are really important. I definitely feel like I have progressed in terms of photography. This is because in the prelim task, I didn’t choose relevant locations or shots for my magazine. However, in my real media product, I understand how to take appropriate shots and what locations to use so that it is relevant to my genre and so that the audience can relate to it. In my real media product, I used a variety of locations that were relevant to my genre.

When you compare my front page from my prelim task to my real product, you can see there is a big difference. For example, on my front page of my prelim task, a lower left third is not used. A lower left third on magazines are the most eye-catching part. The lower left third makes you want to pick up the magazine. Sometimes there will be a free item such as a CD in the lower left third, encouraging you to buy the magazine. I didn’t include this on my front page for my prelim task. However, on my front page for my real product, I did include the lower left third. I decided to use the word ‘WIN’ to attract the audience, making them want to know what they could win. This would then encourage them to buy the magazine to know how they could win tickets to see ‘ELEKTRIX’. I have learnt how to catch the customer’s attention and make them want to buy my magazine. Another thing that I didn’t include on my college magazine was denotations and connotations. There was nothing that symbolised anything. However, on the front page of my real product, I included both connotations and denotations. For example, the denotation is the picture of the band that she is holding, and the connotation is anger and annoyance as she is ripping the picture of the band in half. The connotation is hate. I have learnt how to include hidden messages on my front page. I used a skyline on my college magazine and my real product. However, I now know how to make my skyline look more appealing. In my college magazine, my skyline is really long. However, I learnt that by making it short, it makes it more eye-catching and appealing. I then included this onto my front page for my real product.

Another thing I used on my front page for my real media product was anchorage. I didn’t include anchorage on my college magazine. Anchorage is a piece of text that backs up the image even more. For example, the model on the front page looks angry, and then the use of the words “VICKY FIGHTS BACK” backs the image up. It makes the audience want to buy the magazine as they want to know how Vicky fights back. On my double page spread, I decided to use mode of address. By using mode of address, it makes the audience feel more engaged and it makes the audience feel like they’re involved. I decided to use this throughout the whole of my double page spread. By doing this, it makes the audience want to carry on reading as they feel involved. Another thing that I have improved is my alignment. I have improved this on my front page, contents page and my double page spread. As you can see on my college magazine, the text on the front page and contents page are all out of place. None of them are aligned correctly. It looks messy. I learned how to align text. Now, on my front page, contents page and double page spread for my real product, all the text is aligned. The magazine now looks more professional because of this.

Furthermore, I feel like I have improved on the use of colours and fonts. On my college magazine, a variety of different fonts were used. This made my magazine look childish and a bit random. However, on my real product, my magazine looks more relevant to the target audience because only two fonts are used. These fonts are relevant to my genre as they don’t look too childish. Also, only two fonts are used, which makes the magazine look more grown up and professional. Another thing that I have improved on is the use of colours for the fonts. On my college magazine, I used four colours. There was nothing wrong with using four colours; however the choice of colours didn’t fit the magazine. The colours were all completely different from each other and it looked random. The colours didn’t fit the target audience either. The colours looked very childish. However, on my real product, I used a three colour scheme. These three colours were relevant to the magazine and the genre. Bright colours are not usually used in rock magazines. It’s usually dark colours. I used red, purple and white as it fit each background properly and it didn’t look childish. These three colours all fit the rock genre. Another thing that I feel like I have improved on is my positioning of text. On my college magazine, my text was randomly placed on the page. However, I have learnt where to place my text. For example, using the lower left third, putting cover lines and teasers in the correct place etc.

Something I improved a lot was the contents page. The contents page for my college magazine was done on A4. This made my contents look really plain and boring. There was not enough included on the contents page. However, my contents page for my real product is completely different. I done my contents page on A3 and I included much more contents and many more photos with a variety of locations.

I feel like my images definitely address the audience much more now than they did in the college magazine. In the college magazine, the locations and use of models were a bit random. It didn’t look professional or correct. My magazine for my real product now looks more professional and relevant. This is because I done my research of rock magazines. I researched my genre and I looked at press media kits and I looked at many rock magazines. This gave me a much clearer understanding for what the audience like to see. Due to my research of rock magazines, I saw the age, gender and ethnicity of artists used. Rock magazines usually had white people aged between 16-24 year olds. By using models relevant to my genre, it made my magazine look better and more appropriate to the genre. I feel like the locations I used for my contents page were also a big improvement. On my college magazine, it was not relevant to the content. However, on my real media product, the locations were relevant to the content included in the magazine.

Overall, I feel like my skills have developed dramatically. I feel like I now have a better understanding of what the audience want to see in rock magazines. For example, the type of people, the content (competitions, cover stories) and much more. I have now learnt a variety of skills in Photoshop and InDesign, allowing my magazine to look more professional. By learning skills such as alignment, text wrap, how to crop, blend, fade and much more, it makes my magazine look more professional. When you compare my college magazine to my real product, you can see that my skills have developed in many areas. Even little things such as use of fonts and colours make a big impact. I feel like I have learnt a huge amount from my prelim task to my real product.

Task 10- Audience feedback