EVALUATION

Evaluation: Preliminary Task

Doaa Elmnayneh

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

Before creating my magazine I analysed an existing college front cover and content page, to help notice the conventions in a college magazine, also to decide whether I will be going against or with these conventions. Through this analysis I have noticed many different techniques used. Some of these conventions I have perceived I included and some I did not for various reasons. It also helped me see what college students and teenagers like through the taglines on this front magazine cover. Over all, this helped me a lot to really have an idea of how a college magazine should look like, as I've never created one before.

As you can see for my front cover magazine I havent challenged the forms and conventions of a real media product., but developed it. This is because I wanted my magazine too look realistic and professional. I also did this because when I was analysing different existing products and researching on why each feature has been produced in such a way, I found out these conventions really have an effect on the audience and allow the magazine be successful. It also makes it look processional and qualified. Which was my aim when creating my college magazine. For the content page most of my media product did develop forms and conventions of real media products, however I did challenge some qualities. For example, the way of writing, layout, design and images was all conventions of an existing product. However one challenge was that I did not create a double page spread. I only created one page for the content. I decided to do this because I thought one page would be enough and I did not need another page. Also it will keep my magazine simple but still professional. I also I didn't want to create it to long as teenagers can get bored easily.

Here I analysed why I chose to place each feature in this particular way. I decided to place these features in this way because when I was analysing and looking at various different college magazine most of them laid it out in this way. Therefore most of my layout for the magazine is developed and not challenged. I did not challenge some because each key convention had its reason why it was in such a way, which made me want to keep it the same.

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

Masthead:For my masthead I have decided to develop the forms and conventions of real media products because when researching and analysing through different existing magazines. I found out that having the font of the masthead bold, caps lock and placed at the top will allow it to really standout and grab the audience attention. By doing this my target audience will also start remembering the name.

I also did the same for the contents page, as I wanted the font to be consistent and not too busy and wild on each page. The colours are little different but still similar and simple. I did this because I wanted the font cover page to stand out and look different to all the other. When researching about contents pages for magazines the title did not have to be in a specific place or way as its not as important as the main name (masthead). Centre image:My centre image is a teenage student with books around him reading. I chose to do this because most college/ high school magazines had a an image of a teenage student representing the magazine as the aim is to attract this target group. The image was placed in the centre and took over most of the magazine. This develops forms and conventions of real media products. As all magazines have a centre image that takes over most of the front cover.

For my content page it was not a conventions to have an image or not it was a choice whether I wanted to or not. Therefore I decided to add one, as it will make it look more lively, less boring and plain. I also realised most college content pages I had some sort of design or image to represents their school/college. For example when analysing Phoenix college I noticed that their content page included drawing of phoenix bird to represent the colleges name. Slogan:I placed the slogan at the top near the masthead, as they both link to each other. This develops the conventions of a real media product. This is because slogans normally have to be placed at the top to grab the audience attention. My slogan is Believe 2 achieve I came up with this because its short and snappy. This is a convention of slogans, to allow the target group to easily remember it and is catchy. I decided to go with the convention because I believe the effect it has on the audience is really operative. Logo:Where I placed the logo is at the bottom corner. This is a challenge because logos are normally supposed to be at the top corner, to allow the audience to instantly see it. However I did not to do this because when I tried placing it at the top it did not look good and it didnt stand out as much as when I moved it and placed it at the bottom. Therefore at the end I chose to leave it there.

Tagline:The tagline I placed on the front cover are around the centre image. The layout of this wasnt really developing or challenging the conventions, as they could be placed anywhere same goes for the content page. However they had to related to what the magazine is about. This is the same for the page numbers and titles on the content page. It would also be unrealistic to add pages and tagline about something complete different to what the design of the magazine is trying to get across.

3

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Brand eye

Core Proposition: Believe 2 achieve Brand Personality: Success, Exams, Revision, Achieve, Accomplishment, Luxury, Concentration, Happiness.Target Readers: the target audience for this magazine are college/ high school teenagers aged 14-18 years old, as the features that this magazine contain relate directly to this get group, also they are interested and would like to read about education and schools/colleges. Makes you feel: It allows the reader to feel educated, smart, dedicated Says about you: want success, student, educational, like dark simple colours, independent. This is because of the images, colours and design.What you perceive: this will allow the reader to understand how to deal with education, exams and stress. They will also build a relationship with the students that feeling the same way as them or are not successful due to the tips on this magazines. This will allow the reader to look up to them and be determined to become like them (role models).Benefits to you: The target group will be able to succeed in there exams and school/college. They will also understand how to deal with stress, social life and education at the same time. My magazine represents college/ high school teenagers aged 14-18 years old due to all the main features that I have added, such as masthead, centre image, taglines and slogan. All these are aimed straight at this specific age group making my magazine more obvious to who its amid at, when one reader is approaching it. The centre image on the front cover and the content page are of two different teenage models dressed in school uniform with school/college equipment around them. This instantly shows the reader this magazine is about education and schools. Also the age of the model represents this target group, as sometimes the age and the model represent what the magazine will contain. Due to the slogan it also represents this particular social group and magazine, because it has some informal text and teenagers are normal associated with fast texting and shortened words. This emphasis what they are interested in, and may grab their attention. The taglines and pages titles are the most feature that immediately allows the audience to know this magazine is represented at teenage students. This is because they are about GCSEs and A-Level exams, stress and social life. These things are the main problems this age group face, suggesting anyone going through this, then this is right magazine for them. Finally the theme and masthead are very simple dark groups and mainly teenagers again love simple dark colours and do not approach bright cheerful shades. Therefore this is another technique that I have included to represent my social group.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for my magazine are college/ high school teenagers aged 14-18 years old. This is because the features that the magazine will be contain is all about studies for this particular age group. For example I have included taglines about how control stress and college work, top tips for A-level exams, easy ways to create a sixth from application. These only refer to this age group as anyone older would already know how to create an application for sixth form or dont need it anymore as they have passed this experience in there lives. Also anyone younger would not really be worrying about exams or revision at this time.

I chose this age group at I have been through high school and now on my way through A-levels. Therefore I know how teenagers are what they feel through this journey. So for that reason I have decided to create this age range magazine to give students help. It would also be simple for me to produce a magazine that will appeal to this age group as I am a teenager and I know what they like and dislike. However I still did many different types of research to help create a magazine that will really have and effect on them.

Here I have created a small mood board about what brands teen boys like.

Here I have created a small mood board about brands teen age girls like.

How did you attract/ address your audience?

During my research I analysed many different college magazine to see what they all have in common to help me find out attracts my target audience. Through this research I found out a lot. For example, all the magazine had there central images of teenagers. This showed me that teenage audience like magazine that relate straight to them and have someone like them. They also all have the model holding some sort of school equipment. This represents what the magazine theme is about. Here it is studies and education. All these features that I found out about I included them in my magazine to help me attract my target group.

Masthead- I created 5 different mastheads after looking at existing ones and analysed them. After I included all 5 in my survey and asked my target audience which one they like best. Form this found out the best masthead that attracted them was Achievers this is why I chose it at the end. Centre image- I analysed a lot of centre images and bought existing magazines. I found that most of them have a teenage model representing the college/high school. So for that reason I decided to have a teenage model on my magazine, to allow the audience to see themselves in that way and it will be directly addressed to them through the same age.Taglines- To help me attract my target audience I had three different types of tagline I wanted to include. So in my survey I asked my target group what they wanted the magazine to include mainly and what allow them to approach it if this tagline was included. I found out most them wanted and some wanted all so therefore I included one tagline for each.Slogan- My slogan is BEILIEVE 2 ACHIEVE I chose to put the number (2) and not write (two) because when I asked in my survey what my target group wanted, formal writing or in formal or mix of both most wanted a mix of both, so for that reason I added a little bit of informal text. Also teenagers like to shorten sentence to allow them to remember it quicker. This will also attract audience that dont always like to be professional, little of funkiness will attract them.I attracted my target audience, first by researching and analysing many different existing college/high school magazines, and observing what they like and dislike and what is on this type of magazine. I then created a survey and asked my target group many different questions to help me produces a successful product that will appeal and attract them. When I then received my answers I analysed them, and included them in my magazine. For example, from my results I found out that my target group do not like bright colours therefore in my theme I went for dark and simple colours that they liked and chose. I did this for most of the features on the front cover and content page.

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

When first starting AS media I was introduced to blogger.com. In this program I will be placing all my work that I producing, this because my teacher will easily be able to see my progress and mark it for me, in case needing any improvements. This program is very easy to navigate. It took be very few days to understand it a learn how to use it.

However, during the process of constructing my product, I was introduced to variety of different technologies and programmes such as InDesign, YouTube, Photoshop, Movie maker, Email and Survey Monkey. Some of these technologies it was the first time I used them. Therefore I had to watch YouTube tutorials to become more familiar with it. I needed to use InDesign to produce and put together my front cover and content page. YouTube was the easiest programme that I used. This because I have used it many times before and I was used to it. I also did this with Photoshop even though I have used it before but wasnt very skilled at it, and there was some features that I did not know how to use, so for that reason I watched tutorials as well. I used Photoshop to manipulate the central image. For Survey Monkey I used it to create a survey for my target audience to take. This helped me a lot and saved me a lot time, as it easily helped me create the questions and then when receiving the answers turned them into graphs. This allowed me to analysis them easily and show the differences in answers. Survey Monkey was easy to use I did not need to watch any tutorials even though it was my first time using it. Email was used to send my survey when done creating it. I chose to send it through email and not go out or send it in any other way such as post, because most teenagers are on the internet therefore it would be much more likely that they would od it, and it saves me a lot of time. Another technology that I was introduced to and I never used before is movie maker this allowed me to but my survey analysis into a simple video. It wasnt very hard to use but was a little tricky. One other technique I used was to take professional photographers through a qualified camera. For example, what type of shot is used on a college/ high school magazine, also how to take skilled photographs using artificial lighting.

Overall, through the journey of this process I used various different technologies which really helped me save time and create a professional magazine. I did face many problems learning how to use each technology, but at they end it all got easier and I started to understand them. Technology was very important when creating this magazine as every bit of it was created through some sort of technology. Therefore with out technology I would no t have been able to creating my magazine.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Looking over my preliminary task I have learnt a lot during this process. I developed many new skills and I was introduced to a lot of new technology that now I am lot more familiar with. This is very effective as it will help me a lot in my futures tasks. I also learnt from the mistakes I done throughout the development of the preliminary task, I know that while creating my final task I could save time and not repeat the same mistakes again as I have been through it once. I will also save lot of time when creating my final magazine because I already know how to use the programmes I will need therefore I wont need to watch tutorials. I will also be able to improve and develop my work as now I know what I haven't done and will include it in my next task, to make it more professional and qualified.

I also learnt that research is very important to creating successful magazine cover and content. This is because at first I thought I could create a magazine easily and make it look sophisticated. However it is very hard because you need to know a lot details about what your target group like and much more. The more research I put in the better the outcome: therefore in my final task I will definitely be researching a lot and going into a lot of detail before staring my magazine.