Candidates will evaluate their work electronically. This MUST contain an element of audience feedback and may be either integrated with the presentation of the research and planning material or may be presented separately. Where candidates have worked in a group, the evaluation may be presented individually or collectively but the teacher must allocate a mark according the contribution/level of understanding demonstrated by the individual candidate.
The questions that must be addressed in the evaluation are:
1.In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
After researching in to conventions of music magazines, I decided in order to make my magazine develop the style of music I would need to look in to the styles and backgrounds of recent magazines. I used conventions and forms of normal magazines such as the house styles, the fonts, similar layouts. By using these my magazine began to form and have its own house style, and by using similar bands and themes my magazine began to have a meaning of an indie styled magazine which I had planned for it to become. Although I took research in to mind and considered the ideas from other magazines I still had my own ideas that I wanted to take on board which I did, including things such as colour schemes, styles and grid systems.
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
I aimed my magazine at younger ages due to the fact that my magazine is about younger talent. I researched in to different genres of magazines such as classical and rock; comparing the different people they were aimed at. I realized language was an important factor to be taken on board therefore it may be seen that within my magazine the language is not always correct English and in some ways this may be seen as language of youth and not so much older people. Also the band members are of younger ages but not too young showing that the bands within the magazine are not aimed at children. Although people reading may not know about the bands and the music they sing and write but I think my magazine gives off an indie vibe therefore social groups know already where and who the magazine is aimed at therefore it is representing the people who are reading it and not just about the music.
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
After research in to many different music magazines and different institutions, I looked in to institutions such as Q, MTV, VH1 and VIVA. Different institutions have their own personal genre and the genre I chose for my magazine was an indie/pop genre. I related the genre of my magazine to the institution of MTV Hits, as a lot of my magazine pages were related to pop rather that indie, but the language within my magazine was very much indie styled and casual language, likewise to institutions such as MTV and a lot similar to Q. The reason I verged off of Q was because Q was also very much rock based and the genre or rock did not really occur in my music magazine at all. I think also the band and the models used would most likely to be seen on the MTV channel as they are a group of two young girls, in who's music and character would be enjoyed by the audience that MTV plan on aiming towards, which in my opinion is the same audience as my music magazine is targeted at, elder teens.
4.Who would be the audience for your media product?
My aim for my magazine was to attract older teens such as 18 years+. Reasons being that this age group are people that are most likely to buy magazines and also my magazine would be created to fit what/who these range of people wanted to read about. To help with my research on target audience I used primary research browsing through music magazines such as 'NME' and 'Q' to distinguish the difference in the audience they were intended to aim at. I found that some magazines had a more sophisticated layout which were more likely to be aimed at older ranges and therefore I took this on board when designing my magazine. I planned different techniques to use in attracting the target audience such as different fonts, layouts and colours.
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
After taking on board the ideas from my research I planned ahead and tested with different fonts, layouts and colours which would attract the target audience to want to read my magazine. I used websites such as www.101fonts.com to test some different fonts that would fit the needs of what I intended to use. I decided on the fonts of my headings and writing as they were quite plain and not too fancy to show that they were not aimed at an upper class or too young audience. I made sure i used the correct colours and settings to make sure my magazine did not look like it was aimed at a particular gender. I made sure I did not use colours that were too outstanding that let off a younger children's vibe. I also did the same for the layout of the magazine using similar house styles making it simple for the reader and not too jumbled. I have had positive feedback from the target audience of 18+ showing that I succeeded in attracting the audience I planned.
6.What have you learnt about technologies from the processof constructing this product?
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
I aimed my magazine at younger ages due to the fact that my magazine is about younger talent. I researched in to different genres of magazines such as classical and rock; comparing the different people they were aimed at. I realized language was an important factor to be taken on board therefore it may be seen that within my magazine the language is not always correct English and in some ways this may be seen as language of youth and not so much older people. Also the band members are of younger ages but not too young showing that the bands within the magazine are not aimed at children. Although people reading may not know about the bands and the music they sing and write but I think my magazine gives off an indie vibe therefore social groups know already where and who the magazine is aimed at therefore it is representing the people who are reading it and not just about the music.
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
After research in to many different music magazines and different institutions, I looked in to institutions such as Q, MTV, VH1 and VIVA. Different institutions have their own personal genre and the genre I chose for my magazine was an indie/pop genre. I related the genre of my magazine to the institution of MTV Hits, as a lot of my magazine pages were related to pop rather that indie, but the language within my magazine was very much indie styled and casual language, likewise to institutions such as MTV and a lot similar to Q. The reason I verged off of Q was because Q was also very much rock based and the genre or rock did not really occur in my music magazine at all. I think also the band and the models used would most likely to be seen on the MTV channel as they are a group of two young girls, in who's music and character would be enjoyed by the audience that MTV plan on aiming towards, which in my opinion is the same audience as my music magazine is targeted at, elder teens.
4.Who would be the audience for your media product?
My aim for my magazine was to attract older teens such as 18 years+. Reasons being that this age group are people that are most likely to buy magazines and also my magazine would be created to fit what/who these range of people wanted to read about. To help with my research on target audience I used primary research browsing through music magazines such as 'NME' and 'Q' to distinguish the difference in the audience they were intended to aim at. I found that some magazines had a more sophisticated layout which were more likely to be aimed at older ranges and therefore I took this on board when designing my magazine. I planned different techniques to use in attracting the target audience such as different fonts, layouts and colours.
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
After taking on board the ideas from my research I planned ahead and tested with different fonts, layouts and colours which would attract the target audience to want to read my magazine. I used websites such as www.101fonts.com to test some different fonts that would fit the needs of what I intended to use. I decided on the fonts of my headings and writing as they were quite plain and not too fancy to show that they were not aimed at an upper class or too young audience. I made sure i used the correct colours and settings to make sure my magazine did not look like it was aimed at a particular gender. I made sure I did not use colours that were too outstanding that let off a younger children's vibe. I also did the same for the layout of the magazine using similar house styles making it simple for the reader and not too jumbled. I have had positive feedback from the target audience of 18+ showing that I succeeded in attracting the audience I planned.
6.What have you learnt about technologies from the processof constructing this product?
During the construction of my magazine I have developed my skills in many ways, using different types of software and websites. My construction started by using a programme called 'Photoshop', not only on my preliminary exercise but also throughout the stage of editing my pictures from how they were when i shot them, to how they look now. I tested out many ways of what the pictures could look like, but finally decided on the appearance of the lighting and the brightness of the pictures. After finishing on Photoshop I took on a programme named 'InDesign'. I worked on InDesign throughout the rest of my construction developing my grid systems and then going on to working towards my final product. Throughout my construction I also used websites such as http://www.101fonts.com/ and http://www.(backgroundswebsite).com/ to test out some fonts and backgrounds that could possibly go towards my final piece. I kept the background to the pictures that I took but in the end decided on some fonts for my magazine. Overall I developed many different techniques in a wide range of different programmes which led me to my final construction.
7.Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
As my preliminary exercise was one of my very first attempts on software such as 'Photoshop' and 'InDesign' I only had basic knowledge on the programmes. The preliminary task helped as it taught me the basic knowledge to start me off and from this I grew to be able to teach myself different settings and techniques in order to be able to improve my skills. Not only have I learnt about the programs I used but also after doing my own research I have learnt about the different techniques used in not only music magazines but also home magazines and others such as 'OK' and 'Closer'.
Comparing the two (my preliminary task and my final product) shows the progression I made within the time I had between the two. Not only have I learnt skills on programmes such as 'Photoshop' and 'Indesign' but also widened by knowledge using different websites to create texts and backgrounds. On indesign I learnt how to use special effects and adjust different things such as contrasts to make my final product look more professional in relation to my preliminary task.
7.Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
As my preliminary exercise was one of my very first attempts on software such as 'Photoshop' and 'InDesign' I only had basic knowledge on the programmes. The preliminary task helped as it taught me the basic knowledge to start me off and from this I grew to be able to teach myself different settings and techniques in order to be able to improve my skills. Not only have I learnt about the programs I used but also after doing my own research I have learnt about the different techniques used in not only music magazines but also home magazines and others such as 'OK' and 'Closer'.
Comparing the two (my preliminary task and my final product) shows the progression I made within the time I had between the two. Not only have I learnt skills on programmes such as 'Photoshop' and 'Indesign' but also widened by knowledge using different websites to create texts and backgrounds. On indesign I learnt how to use special effects and adjust different things such as contrasts to make my final product look more professional in relation to my preliminary task.
