Evaluation Draft
Susan's Media Blog
In the evaluation the following questions must be answered:
• In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
From the technical aspect of my Xpress magazine cover develops and challenges forms and conventions of real media products. The camera angle used is a long shot, so I can include the playground’s appearance and connotations of it. The lighting in the picture was not edited on Photoshop, because I wanted the picture to look as natural as possible, which is why I took the picture in the playground, to use the natural light of the sun instead of lights. The advantage of taking the picture outside is that the sun is in my model, Nik’s, face which accompanies the picture with more clarity. The composition of the front cover is simple but meaningful, with Nik jumping and playing basketball, with the picture showing the basketball net and the playground, matching the magazine’s performing arts theme. The model I used, Nik, is a male with 17 years of age, was told by me to wear black and white specifically, to stand out from the red background. Also, I wanted the magazine model to look classy and sophisticated, with a student who dresses smartly.
The amount of text I have used is not as much as I had planned, mainly because I only wanted to use a few kickers and explanatory lines, to stress the meaning and connotation of my main image, of Nik playing basketball, jumping, reaching and working hard to achieve his ambitions and goals.
I have used an inclusive language device, by saying “Feel free to Xpress yourself”. Also, I have included all people who do not even attend a Performing Arts school, as I say “Are you scared of performing talent?” which can encourage and almost advise those who are not talented in performing arts. However, on the other hand, it could be perceived as an exclusive magazine because its core buyers and target audience are students who are members of a performing arts school or group, which can exclude others. The register is quite formal although I have included a very colloquial manner, to relate to the students and their worries, concerns and ambitions.
For my contents page, I have decided to choose a more different theme, by not using a primary image and just using black and white stripes, with a distorted effect to it, making it look more interesting for the reader to look at, almost like a crossword puzzle to entertain the reader whilst they look for a page. This does play with the codes and conventions slightly; however I have used page numbers and page names, just not an image, to be a more different option to other magazines. I have not included anything else apart from the page numbers and page names on my contents page, because I feel that students would not want to read anything else about the magazine publishers or editors and would rather just figure out what numbers the pages are on.
• How does your media product represent particular social groups?
My media product represents students from the Sixth Form, who enjoy and take pleasure from playing sport, playing music, acting and drawing. This could also relate to the teachers however it is mainly aimed at social groups and ages of 16 and above. The model on my front cover is a male. I chose to take an image of a male because this school is an all girls school, but the sixth form is mixed, I wanted to show the gender equality within the school and show that the school accepts boys just as much as girls.
My contents page is a monochrome, striped page with the page numbers and page names written in a zig zag style. This can represent the spontaneous and creative side of the school and students, showing the confidence that they have within performing their talents. Also, it shows how black and white are significant colours, that can look as effective as brighter colours.
• What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
My magazine would be distributed in school, mainly because it is inclusive to all students in the school. However, there is a bar code on my magazine, which indicates that the magazine would be sold at least 50p each, raising money for a charity or for a school fund, paying towards more school equipment and facilities for the students.
• Who would be the audience for your media product?
The audience would be students at the performing arts school, mainly because the language device used and the images are inclusive to the students. For example, on my front cover I have used kickers and explanatory lines such as “Are you scared of performing talent?” aiming at all students, young to older. The mode of address on my front cover is suitable for students because it is not too informal but not too formal, which is perfect for students to read. My magazine’s core audience would be girls and boys, referring back to the decision I made about using a male model instead of a female one, to promote gender equality within the younger generation.
• How did you attract/address your audience?
My contents page attracts students because monochrome is in fashion at the moment with young people and it has proven to be a much more effective use of colour rather than bright colours. I have not used a boring and neat order for listing the page numbers because I wanted the contents page to be like a crossword puzzle almost. Also, I wanted my contents page to look effortlessly good, without using any images and techniques that would look like masses of detail has been inputted. I wanted a simple but spontaneous looking contents page that would be attractive to the eye.
My front cover attracts both girls and boys for many reasons. Firstly, girls would like to see boys on front covers, especially because this is a all girls school with a mixed sixth form, to show that the sixth form has as much talent as the lower school. Also, boys would see the basketball being played on the front cover and immediately assume that the magazine would be their type. I have used bright colours on the front cover, in contrast to the contents page, because the colours should stand out just like talent should, which can be seen as an intertextual reference. I have used different types of fonts on the front cover, from a serif font to a sans serif to a decorative, to show the variety and for it look as creative as possible. I have chosen to take the picture in the courtyard rather than in the sports studio, mainly because I wanted the outdoor courtyard to match the colours I would be using, such as red and white and blue, rather than an indoor setting.
• What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I have learnt a variety of techniques whilst constructing this product, using creative imagery to actually invent a product that you would see as a perfect way to address the students of the school. Using programmes such as Adobe Photoshop has helped me edit and change my primary image into an image that binds well with the text and looks good overall. The technique that I found most useful and effective was the Gaussian Blur tool and the Overlay colour too. This is because it gave my image more clarity and definition whilst not making it look as different as it originally was. The technique I found most difficult to use was the Magnetic Lasso, mainly because my image was a medium shot and it was difficult to edit the sections that I wanted, however it shows that the knowledge I have now of Adobe Photoshop will be helpful for the future.
In the evaluation the following questions must be answered:
• In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
From the technical aspect of my Xpress magazine cover develops and challenges forms and conventions of real media products. The camera angle used is a long shot, so I can include the playground’s appearance and connotations of it. The lighting in the picture was not edited on Photoshop, because I wanted the picture to look as natural as possible, which is why I took the picture in the playground, to use the natural light of the sun instead of lights. The advantage of taking the picture outside is that the sun is in my model, Nik’s, face which accompanies the picture with more clarity. The composition of the front cover is simple but meaningful, with Nik jumping and playing basketball, with the picture showing the basketball net and the playground, matching the magazine’s performing arts theme. The model I used, Nik, is a male with 17 years of age, was told by me to wear black and white specifically, to stand out from the red background. Also, I wanted the magazine model to look classy and sophisticated, with a student who dresses smartly.
The amount of text I have used is not as much as I had planned, mainly because I only wanted to use a few kickers and explanatory lines, to stress the meaning and connotation of my main image, of Nik playing basketball, jumping, reaching and working hard to achieve his ambitions and goals.
I have used an inclusive language device, by saying “Feel free to Xpress yourself”. Also, I have included all people who do not even attend a Performing Arts school, as I say “Are you scared of performing talent?” which can encourage and almost advise those who are not talented in performing arts. However, on the other hand, it could be perceived as an exclusive magazine because its core buyers and target audience are students who are members of a performing arts school or group, which can exclude others. The register is quite formal although I have included a very colloquial manner, to relate to the students and their worries, concerns and ambitions.
For my contents page, I have decided to choose a more different theme, by not using a primary image and just using black and white stripes, with a distorted effect to it, making it look more interesting for the reader to look at, almost like a crossword puzzle to entertain the reader whilst they look for a page. This does play with the codes and conventions slightly; however I have used page numbers and page names, just not an image, to be a more different option to other magazines. I have not included anything else apart from the page numbers and page names on my contents page, because I feel that students would not want to read anything else about the magazine publishers or editors and would rather just figure out what numbers the pages are on.
• How does your media product represent particular social groups?
My media product represents students from the Sixth Form, who enjoy and take pleasure from playing sport, playing music, acting and drawing. This could also relate to the teachers however it is mainly aimed at social groups and ages of 16 and above. The model on my front cover is a male. I chose to take an image of a male because this school is an all girls school, but the sixth form is mixed, I wanted to show the gender equality within the school and show that the school accepts boys just as much as girls.
My contents page is a monochrome, striped page with the page numbers and page names written in a zig zag style. This can represent the spontaneous and creative side of the school and students, showing the confidence that they have within performing their talents. Also, it shows how black and white are significant colours, that can look as effective as brighter colours.
• What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
My magazine would be distributed in school, mainly because it is inclusive to all students in the school. However, there is a bar code on my magazine, which indicates that the magazine would be sold at least 50p each, raising money for a charity or for a school fund, paying towards more school equipment and facilities for the students.
• Who would be the audience for your media product?
The audience would be students at the performing arts school, mainly because the language device used and the images are inclusive to the students. For example, on my front cover I have used kickers and explanatory lines such as “Are you scared of performing talent?” aiming at all students, young to older. The mode of address on my front cover is suitable for students because it is not too informal but not too formal, which is perfect for students to read. My magazine’s core audience would be girls and boys, referring back to the decision I made about using a male model instead of a female one, to promote gender equality within the younger generation.
• How did you attract/address your audience?
My contents page attracts students because monochrome is in fashion at the moment with young people and it has proven to be a much more effective use of colour rather than bright colours. I have not used a boring and neat order for listing the page numbers because I wanted the contents page to be like a crossword puzzle almost. Also, I wanted my contents page to look effortlessly good, without using any images and techniques that would look like masses of detail has been inputted. I wanted a simple but spontaneous looking contents page that would be attractive to the eye.
My front cover attracts both girls and boys for many reasons. Firstly, girls would like to see boys on front covers, especially because this is a all girls school with a mixed sixth form, to show that the sixth form has as much talent as the lower school. Also, boys would see the basketball being played on the front cover and immediately assume that the magazine would be their type. I have used bright colours on the front cover, in contrast to the contents page, because the colours should stand out just like talent should, which can be seen as an intertextual reference. I have used different types of fonts on the front cover, from a serif font to a sans serif to a decorative, to show the variety and for it look as creative as possible. I have chosen to take the picture in the courtyard rather than in the sports studio, mainly because I wanted the outdoor courtyard to match the colours I would be using, such as red and white and blue, rather than an indoor setting.
• What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I have learnt a variety of techniques whilst constructing this product, using creative imagery to actually invent a product that you would see as a perfect way to address the students of the school. Using programmes such as Adobe Photoshop has helped me edit and change my primary image into an image that binds well with the text and looks good overall. The technique that I found most useful and effective was the Gaussian Blur tool and the Overlay colour too. This is because it gave my image more clarity and definition whilst not making it look as different as it originally was. The technique I found most difficult to use was the Magnetic Lasso, mainly because my image was a medium shot and it was difficult to edit the sections that I wanted, however it shows that the knowledge I have now of Adobe Photoshop will be helpful for the future.
• Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I felt like I have progressed within the past few months, because I never knew how to work with Adobe Photoshop, but now I know how to work most of the tools whilst taking images with more focus and attention, to make the image look as clear and understandable as possible, with all the sings and semiotics that will embellish the product, making it look as attractive to the core reader as possible.
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