Evaluation

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

My media product incorporates many aspects of real magazine covers. For example, on the front page, the mast head is layered so that it goes behind the picture boost. This enables the picture boost to be the centre of attention on the front page and causes it to be more eye catching. Another thing I have used on the front cover is a wob. This is when white lettering is used on a coloured background. I personally used this to give the magazine a simplistic feeling which appeals to many people and to also make the splash and the headlines stand out more. Other things I have included in my media product that are used in real media products is the technique of bleeding a photo. This was used on the contents page of my product which is similar to most professional magazines as it draws the reader’s eyes to the picture and encourages them to read more about the related story. Also on the contents page I have incorporated the technique of using a drop cap. This overall makes the magazine look more professional and this is enhanced by the fact that the said letter is in a serif font.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The target audience for my magazine is students who attend Worcester Sixth Form College causing my audience to be mixed gender aged 16-18. This means that my audience will fall under a range of psychographic groups such as ‘Aspirers’, ‘Achievers’ and ‘Radicals’. This means that my audience will basically be young people who want to achieve well in life but may think of themselves as an individual.

How did you attract/address your audience?

To attract my audience, my main technique was to use a student as my picture boost to show that my readers will be able to relate to the magazine’s contents. The model was in a thoughtful position in the picture boost to promote intelligence but also style as the pose is a popular pose of my target audience. Another way I attempted to attract my audience was to use a simple colour scheme that they could relate to so I decided to use the colour scheme of Worcester Sixth Form College; blues, greys and whites. These colours connote simplicity but also cater for a wide audience as they are basic colours/shades. Other ways I tried to attract my audience was through the use of callouts and headlines that would interest students. I used words that connote style and sleek yet also connote the idea of saving money which all people look to do. I also tried to use language that connotes importance and urgency like ‘top’ and ‘latest’. This causes a buyer to warm to the magazine as they are tempted by the idea that my magazine has the newest and best trends. Finally, I made sure that the picture boost included a range of bright colours to connote happiness and individuality. I also made sure that the background of the picture boost was outside with the sun shining to connote again, happiness but also diversity.

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

Through the process of constructing this product, I have learnt how to use certain programs to a higher level such as ‘Adobe Photoshop’ and ‘InDesign’. In Photoshop I enhanced my knowledge of layers and also learnt how to use the stamp tool to its full capacity. I also learnt how to free transform images so I could manipulate them to the shape and size I wanted them to be. With InDesign I learnt how to differentiate between text boxes and image boxes and how to fill boxes with automated text to see how it would look. All of these things were incredibly useful when making my product as it gave it a professional feel to it. Other aspects of technology I have used throughout this project is a digital SLR camera. This enabled me to take perfect quality photos throughout the project and because of the high megapixel content, enabled me to manipulate the photos almost infinitely, which I consider to be one of the main advantages of using a digital SLR. Finally, I used the internet to carry out such things as research to improve my product and to post updates and my finished piece on the online blogging website ‘Blogger’. I found being able to post on Blogger a real benefit during the post production process as I could keep track of what I was doing through looking at my research notes. I also found posting constantly a bit tiresome but it was definitely necessary as it kept me on track and helped me throughout the whole process.