1. 1. Media Evaluation
2. 2. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? When producing my media products I used a number of different media conventions in order to ensure my productions remained professional but also creative. I used these throughout starting from how the master head was placed on my regional magazine front cover and also how I chose to situate my images throughout the entire regional magazine. I followed specific codes and conventions when producing my contents page. I placed my images in a very similar way to the one of the regional magazines I researched. I originally decided to place my pictures in a way that do not follow the codes and conventions of a regional magazine however I found that my contents page didnt follow and my images looked like I placed them randomly so I then decided to go back to my research (which my focus group suggested) and follow the codes in conventions, which I found gave a much more professional overall result.
3. 3. My media product uses the codes and conventions because I chose to use similar colours throughout all my productions for example I use the same shade of blue throughout in order for it to look professional and link with all my other productions (also follows well/audience able to tell they are all apart ofLife in Kent). I also followed codes and conventions as I chose to put the website link on the billboard page this would support the uses and gratifications theory under the surveillance theory as having this extra piece of information enables the reader/viewer to access more information my using the extra information placed on the advertisement. The same technique is also used on my advertisement featured in my regional magazine this again supports the same uses and gratifications theory of surveillance as my seeing this simplistic advert the reader is able to gain extra information such as where the company is situated and their contact details which the allows them to be able to research further into the company.
4. 4. Another code and convention that I followed was the idea of the t he uses and gratifications theory of the effects theory I demonstrated this in my front cover for my regional magazine this is evident as the purpose of my sell lines was to intrigue the reader enough for them to want to find out more about the stories etc. therefore want to purchase the magazine so they were able to read different articles.
5. 5. My website also follows codes and conventions as I chose to include a digital archive which I found most websites of magazines include: However I challenged the codes and conventions as I chose to include a little paragraph underneath each of the digital magazines so the reader could see what that particular issues included this idea was produced by my focus group who suggested different aspects that they would like to see being included on the website.
6. 6. How effective is the combination of your main task and your ancillaries? I believe that the combination of my main task and my ancillaries are extremely effective because they all follow the same style and approach as my main production my regional magazine. The website ensures the regional magazine is professional and also highlights that my audience can also access any issue of Life in Kent online in an easy and accessible way. My focus group provided me with very positive feedback on both of my ancillary tasks. To help ensure all my productions followed the same style I chose to use similar colours throughout to ensure my productions looked professional.
7. 7. My focus group agreed that all my productions provide a very professional and sophisticated style and my main production is followed well with all of my ancillaries.They all follow a similar colour code:
8. 8. What have you learnt from your audience feedback? I found using audience feedback to construct and edit my media productions very useful, as it helped me to understand what my audience wanted and expected from the different productions. My focus group often provided me with constructive criticism and suggested possible changes I could make in order for my media production to relate to my specific target audience. I therefore added more texts and slightly changed the layout of my wed page in order for it to follow better and appear more professional my finished product was a lot more similar the professional websites I had researched. For example my focus group provided me with constructive criticisms on my website they said they loved my images and the way had them situated on the page however they said that in order for it to be a website more text was needed in order for it to appear professional as it was evident that the research I had done on different websites did include a lot more text them mine. Once I made the suggested changes I would show my focus group again in order to ensure their needs were met and they were satisfied with the end result. I found that using audience feedback from my focus group also made my overall productions appear much more professional and sophisticated.
9. 9. My focus group also suggested that I should follow the codes and conventions of a regional magazine when I was designing my contents page, as I originally chose to place my images in a different way which was going against the codes and conventions however they suggested in order to keep my magazine professional I should place them in a way which follows to codes and conventions. This is the way I originally placed my images. My final contents page (following codes and conventions)
10. 10. How did you use your media technologies in the construction of research, planning and evaluation stages? Throughout my research, planning and evaluation stages I found media technologies very useful when it came to constructing these individual stages. One media technology that came particularly helpful to me was the use of the websiteYouTube, it allowed me to access different tutorials throughout the production process including how to work the camera which I found most useful. Using the tutorials abled me to save time and become more efficient as I was able to teach myself how to work the camera instead of being dependent on my teacher for help. Another website that I also found extremely useful was Prezi as it allowed me to display my research (during the planning process) in a different way which I felt made my research section a lot more interesting and enjoyable for the reader as it was less text heavy in comparison to just using paragraphs to display my research.
11. 11. It is evident that another media technology that I have used in order to construct my evaluation stage would be slide share as it has allowed me to present my evaluation in a way that is not simply text heavy and I believe the use of images and this display makes it easier and more enjoyable for the reader to view.