AS Media Studies: March 2010

Wednesday, 10 March 2010

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

AS Media Studies - Evaluation - Question 7

Tuesday, 9 March 2010

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

Computer Software:

New technologies have been very important in the production of my magazine, and I used computer systems installed with professional-standard software, Adobe Photoshop and Quark Xpress, in particular to help me.

I found that in putting together the most visual aspects of my magazine, Photoshop was very helpful. It meant I could easily move individual parts of my magazine due to the "layer" tool which kept each part separate and independent. However, I had to ensure that I was on the correct layer before moving the relevant part of my page, else I would move the wrong thing, something I did not have to worry about on Quark, as on there all elements were both on the same layer AND independent of each other. Photoshop also helped me in editing my photos and image manipulation. On the program, I could enhance colours, improve sharpness of image and apply special colour filters.

Example of original photo

Example of photo cropped and edited on Photoshop

Quark Xpress helped me mostly in the production of my double page spread, as it gave me guidelines and print boundaries, preventing overcrowding and keeping my pages neat. I however felt that its capabilities were lacking and Photoshop far exceeded it in all its avenues. Quark was more difficult to use and I found it that the piece I produced on it was much less pleasing to me - it was unable to cope with detailed fonts, it could barely edit photos and, once many things were layered up, selecting individual elements of my page was made almost impossible.

Photography:

The actual taking of my photographs was equally aided by technology. In photographing my models, I used a digital SLR Nikon camera. With its range of lenses and settings, I was able to set a personal setting which worked best for me. However, being a complex tool, not all my images came out exactly how I wanted, some, like the one below, being too overexposed to consider using in my magazine due to my inability to properly control the flash mechanism.

However, on the plus, I was able to benefit from the modern lighting tools within the photography studio, using them to backlight or illuminate my models where appropriate.

The Internet:

The internet has been almost as important as the programs I used to piece my magazine together. I was able to use the internet for research of facts and figures, images and investigation, particularly during my research and development stage. It has also been invaluable in speaking to my audience, in my case through social networking site Facebook, which allowed me to post images and allowed my friends to comment and post critique. My blog itself, another internet creation, displays every detail of my project, and is versatile in its presentation, allowing me to embed videos, images and slideshows from hosting sites as well as directly input text. In this form, my project can be accessed from any computer with internet connection and can also be viewed by any internet user. My blogging helped me easily keep track of my project's progression, as it broke it down by date into small, easily understandable and memorable sections, allowing me to keep on task and understand what point in my project I had reached.

Evaluation - How did you attract/address your audience?

I feel that, overall, my magazine was quite successful. Having showed my magazine to a range of people aged 16-18, both from within my target audience and outside, I found that the comments received were very positive. It seemed that my use of colours, breaking away from the usual reds and blacks in favour of bolder colours, was indeed a good idea, breaking the norm and attracting my audience, who found them "exciting." Given that this colour scheme was opted for by my audience during my research stage, I feel I have been able to carry through my audience's wants from idea to creation . But whilst most enjoyed the bright colours, it was commented by one of my interviewees that my excessive use of blue in fact gave her the impression of depression, not the cool calmness I had been trying to portray.

It also seemed that I targeted my audience successfully, especially by including both male and female models on the cover and so not excluding either gender. It was also noted that by having included models of the audience's age, the reader feels more able to engage with the magazine. That I used the models, colour, and an unconventional layout of tilted text and mastheads was said to have helped enforce the idea that the magazine was intended for young people.

The articles I used in my magazine, both suggested by my contents page and the double page spread itself, were mainly popular, and my use of rhetoric on articles such as "Electric or Acoustic?" were noted to have interested the reader. Because my double page spread in particular was about young musicians, my audience was especially interested, as they felt they could "connect" with the band members and their truthful accounts of juggling teen life with musical ambitions - that the bands were up and coming and not mainstream was also appealing. Not all of the people I interviewed, however, found the language I used suitable for the magazine, one saying that they would expect slang and swearing, as this was how they considered teenagers would interact with each other. This reaction might mean that I had not been clear enough in presenting my magazine as a tool for education as well as entertainment; I had not included such language as suggested because this would have given my magazine a more rebellious, violent and possibly more down-market slant and made it less readable for some of my audience, whereas the magazine I had intended to create was more upmarket and open to as large an audience as possible considering my niche market, especially as I wanted to target a C - A demographic. I did, however, try to keep the language used informal, keeping it approachable, which in most cases appeared to be effective.

As an extra, I additionally asked if they felt the magazine would be useful to both them and the music industry itself as a tool of education and promotion, as this was one of my main intentions for my magazine. It was mainly agreed it would be, because it bolstered the attentions given to new, small bands and also included the audience in the success of the bands, as was the case with the Amplified competition, for example.

Most of my interviewees, both inside my genre and those less targeted by my genre, said they would buy my magazine, with reasons ranging from its low price, to my inclusion of more popular bands favoured by some interviewees. That I also included information on new bands in the area of my audience also influenced some to buy it. However, due to its particular genre, one interviewee admitted she would not buy the magazine, not able to connect with it because she did not know the bands I included.

It seems that my magazine on the whole was a success, and it is clear that by having done much audience research I was able to clearly express what my audience looked for in a magazine.

Evaluation - Who would be the audience for your media product?

My final target audience would be musical aspirers from the ages of 16-24, ranging demographically from C2-B or possibly A. They would generally be of indie/alternative style, and have musical interest in this same genre. As it is intended also to inspire and assist students hoping to go into the music industry, the age range of 16-24 suits the main ages of students, catching them from 16, where college choices first begin to become important in choosing a job in the future, to uni, where finding a career would now be high on the priority list. Bearing in mind this student age, the price of my magazine is impacted, making it only £2.00 to be affordable to those with a low expendable income.