Evaluation Of My Media Text
1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
I feel that in various ways my media text is similar to that of real media texts. For example, my choice of layout and sinister colour scheme provides connotations and associations with a rock/metal genre based audience. By using the colour green we get the interpretation that this magazine is not completely gloomy and threatening as some may feel towards that genre of music but that it is also for those attracted by lighter forms of the rock genre. This therefore challenges the conventions of real media texts due to the fact that many rock and metal based magazines are aimed towards a niche sector of that genre and often use darker, more gothic colour schemes. I would say that this magazine is predominantly aimed at males, we can see the connotation of that through the images used throughout the piece of media text and the fact that they are all of the male gender and convey no apparent portrayals of women in any way. Although it seems that this magazine is centred on appealing to the male gender, it is a defined music genre magazine and therefore means that it is also suitable and acceptable for the dissection and scrutiny of female readers.
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
The dark colour scheme in contrast with the bright green on my front cover reflects audience and genre of the magazine. The colour scheme and images portray connotations of youth but specifically of older teenagers to young adult demographic range, they do this through the lack of dazzling childish primary colours alongside more matured style photos. By using the lure of an exclusive interview and free C.D on my front cover I believe this may show that the audience is of an age where exclusivity and freebies are still appealing and that my audience are still at an age that even though they may wish to be looked upon as maturing and responsible, they still value their opportunity for childishness appreciation. The title of my magazine 'Moshcore' includes the use of specific vocabulary directly related to the genre of music (i.e. mosh pit) therefore creating the idea of exclusivity. The fierceness of the photograph on my front cover has connotations of the rock/metal music movement mentality and the boldness of the title complements this.
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I think that the type of institution that my media text would fit into is something along the lines of Bauer Media (a large German publishing company). I believe this would be a suitable institution because the way in which the magazine has been created is somewhat similar to real media texts they currently distribute. The strength of this company would make it a good choice as its worldwide circulation of magazine titles amounts to 38 million magazines a week. This magazine may well fit this institution because I think that there is a gap in the market, which could be filled with a magazine such as mine, which is laid out in a similar way to many existing music magazines yet has an aim to cater for a wider audience within the niche rock/metal genre market.
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
The audience I would be aiming for with my music magazine would be around about 15 -24 year old music fans. I wanted to aim for a unisex audience as I felt it would give a wider and superior opportunity for attraction.
5. How did you attract/ address your audience?
Using a single black and white image as my front cover feature I felt was a simple yet efficient way of drawing in the attention of potential readers. I tried to attract and address my audience through my bold colouring and statement mastheads in order that it would catch the eye of a browsing possible customer whilst on the shelf/stand.
I tried to use continuity of colour scheme right through my magazine with the colours red, black, green and yellow, I felt that keeping to a smaller quantity of colours and using a negligible amount of endorsement throughout my main task would appeal to the audience by attempting to charm them into a sense of sophistication and refinement rather than a juvenile boxy and undeveloped attempt.
The structure and design of my magazine was neat and orderly with the use of bold fonts on main headlines so they also stood out and were very apparent to the audience, which is important as that is often an important component when choosing a magazine.
I tried to appeal with lures such as freebies and exclusivity and I feel this would market well as these two offerings were both near the top of the page on the front cover just below the masthead and also in line with the head of the person in the photo, which is more often than not the first thing that will catch the eye of a purchaser.
Another appealing aspect that may well influence a purchase was the written text, which was comprehendible as it was proportionally distanced around the pages throughout. I thought that it would be more attractive to use a sans serif font for the whole product except the numbering on the contents page as serif fonts are frequently used for reserved and official text and also because I was continuous with this it would appear more commonsensical for the reader.
Whilst creating my project I never lost sight of the importance of the consumer and I also took into consideration the gratification theory and had to ask myself whilst I produced my project how it would be involved in the consumer's life and how my media piece would be interpreted.
Whilst creating my project I never lost sight of the importance of the consumer and I also took into consideration the gratification theory and had to ask myself whilst I produced my project how it would be involved in the consumer's life and how my media piece would be interpreted.
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Through the creation of my music magazine I have used a minimal quantity of different computer programmes; these include Publisher, Adobe Photoshop, Paint, Internet Explorer and BlogSpot. The utility of paint, publisher and the internet were already common to me so I was not really learning anything new there. Adobe was a new addition to our computer system and was difficult to use at first, however by creating my magazine it has improved my knowledge and ability to use the programme as I have spent long periods of time using the programme and exploring the different tools it offers, also by working alongside other media students using the same programme I have been able to generally expand my knowledge and I am now at ease with this new programme. Before my music magazine I had little experience with the editing of any photos at all which meant I was attempting something completely new. To document all my work and comprehend the amount already complete and that which needed to be completed, I created a blog account and uploaded it all onto www.blogger.com, from this I have learnt the importance of progress, as it has enabled me to clearly map out and document any changes I have made to my project and made the improvement easy to see.
7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I have found that editing has been a tough challenge throughout both parts of my tasks although in the creation of my main full product, I found that the editing reached a much greater demand both in terms of quality and the quantity at which it had to be done. This I feel is a positive thing as it has given me the knowledge and helped me learn that every single detail matters and trying to skip through the minor details quickly is not a good option as in the end I’d just be degrading my own capability and losing precious marks.
I have learnt about the complexity of creating a specific music magazine as my main product and realised the simplicity and lack of attention to detail in much of my preliminary task. I have learnt from my preliminary task that the visual appeal of my front cover was primarily the most important factor in the creation of my main product as it has to attract and draw in the audience, so the aspects of main cover lines, Images, Company name, and USP were absolutely crucial. I have developed my knowledge throughout the process of creation by studying examples of real media texts, research of genres & styles on the internet and exploring the use of design in terms of layout, images colour schemes, audience & institutions etc.
My technical ability over the time of production of my media text has increased due to the practice and alterations of my preliminary task and the early drafts of my main product, which therefore gave me the ability to create the final main product, and spot errors that I may not have noticed before and I learnt how and why to correct them. After completing our preliminary task, we received the new software Adobe Premier, which meant not only did we have to improve in our editing and creative skills to a higher level than that of our preliminary task but we also had to quickly adjust and learn about the functioning of this programme.
