Evaluation of coursework

Evaluation of coursework 1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

As my audience is stereotypically less educated than most, I have decided to stay close to conventions, ensuring my audience can easily guess the genre and topic of my product. In my contents page for example, the fonts match the genre of the product however, remain easy to read, the page is clearly laid out, to make reading and finding page numbers as simple as possible. Looking back on the magazine analysis I done, I have succeeded in retaining convention in my product. On my front cover for example, I made sure my model was a midrange close up and used direct gaze. I included a splash to link the image to the main article. Also, in the first magazine I looked at, I noticed the unique typography of “contents” which I also wanted to include in my design, however it is still at the top of the page in bold, sticking to convention. Including drop caps in my double page spread also helped my product follow magazine convention. I feel sticking to convention would be the best idea for my target audience.

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Looking at my questionnaire responses, it became apparent that a higher percentage of my audience was male. In the questions about colour schemes, the majority that voted for darker colours (blacks, blues etc) were male, and seeing as these were more likely to buy my product, I thought it was logical to make my magazine appeal to them as much as possible in hopes to increase sale potential. When creating my masthead, I wanted something that could be recognised with the culture of rap. I wanted to include a roughed, almost damaged feature to the design as I thought it would relate more to the audience. I came up with . I felt like this design was clear to read, yet still had the rough feature I was hoping to include. ‘District’ had the highest votes in the questionnaire and I felt it represented the whole of the rap industry better than the other ideas.

3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

A media institution is a company or organisation accountable for a media text, whether that’s through marketing, production, distribution, or regulation.

There are two companies which I would like to distribute my product; Time Inc UK and Bauer. Both are big companies which are popular and well known. This means they would distribute my magazine to a wider audience, and hopefully sell more copies. Both are experienced and will offer better opportunities and will have good connections with artists, allowing me to include relevant artists in my magazine, appealing more to my audience.

Creating a free website is part of my plan to allow people to purchase copies in advance as well as older issues, however, I do not have plans to make an app however, I have considered creating one but that is something I will have to add at a later date.

Time Inc UK are based in the UK and therefore my magazine may appeal to them as its local . They publish many other magazines, however themes including lifestyle and luxury magazines and papers. Because I am including music along with fashion, there is a chance they will be intrigued by the combination and support the idea as the two are both very

4. How did you attract/address your audience? (Include evidence of audience feedback)

I used relevant artists already in the scene alongside upcoming artists to look out for. I have listened to my

feedback from hotdesking and through my questionnaire: I am including darker colours, yet adding a few splashes to attract attention and bring it to life. Every time there is a relevant album dropped, I will include reviews of them inside. I’m also using lots of pictures with only some text.

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

Technology has been a huge help to my work. Technologies such as Piktochart have given me the opportunity to present my work in a creative and appealing way. Time management has also improved due to the accessibility of my work and being able to carry out research and plan in my own home. This means I can work outside of the classroom and then send myself the work to continue progress in college. I can also send work to my friends to get their opinions on whether certain colours or designs work together or not. Apps such as YouTube have helped improve my understanding of programs such as InDesign and Photoshop through videos and explanations, making me more confident to apply things such as colour, cropping and other various effects into my own work.

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

I feel that I have learnt a lot since the preliminary task. I had basic knowledge of the software such as InDesign and Photoshop, however since watching YouTube videos, giving a break down all of the tools, I feel a lot more confident in my own ability. Also a problem was my time management and I think this was partly due to lack of understanding of the software in the beginning as well as other things such as work, and different assignments in my other subjects. This has improved over the many weeks along with my technical skills and understanding of the media industry. Learning about codes and conventions meant that I

could include them in my final design effectively. Looking back at my preliminary task, I have learnt to not overcrowd my designs as well as effectively creating and using space in the images, keeping the main focus in the image the first thing you see on the page.