Preliminary Task - Evaluation

Looking forward towards your main task, what do you feel you have learnt about the production process that will help you as you approach the full product?

I feel that the development for the preliminary task went fairly well. I have found that time management was vital for the completion of the task. Towards the end of the project I felt a little pushed for time. If my planning had been more structured and I had set a time schedule I would have been able to produce a better media product. The one thing I feel that I would have wanted to change are the photos that I have used. If I had used my time management more wisely I would have planned my photos better. Composition of my models and the environment will be a big factor in my main task. I feel that if I had used better composition then the final preliminary product would have been stronger. My magazine was then based around school sport and so more shots of different sports would have given me a wider variety to chose from. Such as in my plans, where I have included different sports. The time management would have included lessons dedicated to finding out and taking the shots when the different sport activities were going on. When going into the main task the first factor to consider is a planned time schedule, to allow for a smooth and structured process. 

If the video above does not work, the link below should take you to the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl_Hn2gpy-k

Preliminary Task - Evaluation

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of 

constructing this product?

After two years of media studies in GCSE I feel that I have gained a good knowledge of Photoshop. However, I had only used Illustrator briefly and had not gained much knowledge about the program. At the start of the preliminary task InDesign was a completely new program for me to learn to use. As well as a basic knowledge of Photoshop, I only had a basic understanding of taking photos that would be to a good, professional standard. This is shown from the lack of studio based shots or experimentation with shutter and aperture speeds. I also lacked to knowledge to try and use depth of field, rule of thirds etc. to gain a more interesting, intriguing shot that would be more attractive to the audience. I do however, feel that my knowledge of InDesign, Illustrator and camera shots have improved quickly and I will be able to take my new skills into the main task. 

To further my own knowledge and help me in the use of Adobe InDesign I went to 'YouTube,' where I found a 2-part tutorial that went through and explained the basic of the program, InDesign. I found this extremely useful, as it taught me things such as wrapping text, adding columns etc. Skills that I used in my own preliminary task. Although the tutorials are on an apple mac, the program is still very similar and I was still able to learn where the buttons were. Below I have included the videos that I used:

  

I feel that at the end of this project I have gained a great deal of knowledge that I feel I will be able to use effectively in my main task.

Preliminary Task - Evaluation

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Below is a video where I have asked the audience to look at my final versions and to type about who they think the magazine is targeted at. I asked the audience three questions that would help decide who would be the most suitable audience for the media product. From the comments made by my peers, the audience that will be most interested in the magazine will be students in the school that are interested in sports and sports related news. Another audience would be the parents of the children, so that they can keep up to date with their child’s sport activities. It may also be the parents of children that are interested in coming to the school, who want some more information on the activities in the school.

If the video above doesn't work I have added the link below that will take you to the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnEUO2Pwkis 

Preliminary Task - Evaluation

How did you attract/address your audience? 

The audience was asked to comment on the final versions of the magazine. The audiences were asked to comment on what they found attractive and what attracted them to the magazine. A wordle has been created to show the good comments made by the audience. Words from the development, made by the audience about the draft versions, have also been included in the wordle.

Below are my final versions where what was used (e.g. Gaze theory) to attract and address the audience is explained. 

1. Gaze Theory

In order to attract the audience, I used a photo that would relate and reflect the target audience. The key image that has been used is of a male in his late teens, to reflect the target audience. The model is wearing a white PE polo shirt, which represents the genre of the magazine (Sport). The model is seen to be posing, which is so that he is seen more attractive. The means that gaze theory can be used. The women interested in sport will find the model eye catching and aspire to be with him or someone like him. While the male audience will see the model and want to look and be like him.

2. Font Style

The font style that has been used for the masthead attracts the audience through being eye catching and extravagant. The 'Sport' reflects the genre of the magazine, as the font style represents the fast and existing nature of sport. The font style used for the cover lines and the lures are consistent throughout the cover and contents page, this is because they both follow a house style. The colour’s that have been used contrast with each other that makes it stand out. I feel that this attracts the target audience that my magazine is trying to attract.

Preliminary Task - Evaluation

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

The institution that I believe would distribute my media product is Trinity school. The magazine is going to be about the sports department of the school. In order for the audience to be able to relate the magazine back to Trinity, I used the same layout of the Trinity logo and only altered the images to sports equipment; this is so that it still represents the sports department and sport genre of the magazine. The reason for the school distributing the magazine is to keep the audience in the school up to date with the sports news. As Trinity is a Church of England school, the church could also give away free magazines. I have decided to do this because the school will then be able to attract a wider audience.            

I used this link to gain ideas about the images I could include in my magazine:

http://www.afpe.org.uk/ 

The sports department in Trinity would distribute the magazine because of the images, text and house style that has been used. The model that has been used is a teenager, around the age of 17. This means that the magazine will be more attractive to 6th form, although other years will use it. The PE department would also be more inclined to distribute it because the model is in the stereotypical PE white shirt, with the school logo on the left.

      

Preliminary Task - Evaluation

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Below is the link that to the Prezi presentation. It shows how the final version represents its particular social group and target audience. 

http://prezi.com/cnvi8s9lfbxo/how-does-your-media-product-represent-particular-social-groups/  

Preliminary Task - Evaluation

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

Below is an annotated magazine cover page and contents page. The codes and conventions have been labeled and explained so that the reason for the codes and conventions is clear. Below this is the final version of the cover page and contents page, they have been annotated to show what codes and conventions were used, developed and challenged.