Recce Shots

Before we start to film we need a good idea of the locations that we will use. In order to establish this we took some recce shots. This enables us to determine how suitable the locations will be for filming in terms of lighting, surroundings etc.

First Draft of Magazine Advertisement

From our initial thought processes of how we are going to market the product, we decided that one way that we could do this would be to create a magazine advertisement. The idea above is our first basic initial idea for the music magazine advertisement, that we hope we can develop at a later stage, depending upon the audience feedback that we will receive after conducting another questionnaire, to determine how much the audience like the idea. This process will also be repeated for the initial CD Cover idea.

Uses and Gratification Theory- related to Music Video and Digipak


We need to suit out product to the theory:
· Does our product suit the audience’s need?
· What is the audience getting from the product?
· Link to the four reasons why the audience view media:
1. Social Interaction- gaining an insight into circumstances of others, finding a basis of conversations, enabling one to connect with family/friends…
2. Personal Identity- personal values, seeing role models, gaining an insight into ones self!
3. Entertainment- relaxing, escaping reality, filling time, becoming diverted
4. Information- seeking advice, learning, gaining knowledge, finding out about different things.

We need to make sure that the product suits as this theory. This is because following this theory implies that the audience are not passive and are in fact active in their role of watching and interpret the finished product. This means that they won’t just watch the video and look at the Digipak, they will all have their own opinions on what they see.

Representation

Through our research, we have worked out who are target audience is and how we will represent them. Our target audience between the ages of 16-25 and can be aimed at both genders, however we feel as though the video may suit females more than males due to the type of video and the artist. The reason why females might want to watch our music video would be to get a little bit freaked out, whereas males may watch it simply for fun and entertainment.

We would represent our target audience via the use of costumes that the actors wear. Representation would also be addressed by the way in which the actors move around the screen and what actions they do. They will also be represented by the props that are used and how these relate back to the target audience.

To apply to the audience; we would put the scary masks, creepy woods and the female runner. With the back ground being people who the video isn’t aimed at and wouldn’t appreciate the film.

The audience will make sense of the music video by listening to the lyrics and the tempo of the song. This will then give the audience an idea of where we came up with the idea for the film and why we chose to location and the style of camera shots.

Digipak Template

In order to create our digipak we will use a template that is very similar to this, in order to make sure that it is professional.

Basic Initial CD Cover Ideas

Basic Initial Magazine Advert Ideas

Chris Brown 'Superhuman' Music Video Analysis

This first shot is a classic to music videos. This is because it’s an establishing shot and helps set the scene for the rest of the video. It gives the viewers a feel for the setting of the video.
Although the next two shots don’t show any key techniques the shots are meant to work together by creating the image that the two people are facing each other and singing, although they are actually in two different shots.
The next part of the video is a low angle shot. This could link to the title “Superhuman”. It gives Chris Brown a powerful image and could imply that he is superhuman.
The fifth shot shows a clear change of mise-en-scene: lighting, setting and costume.
The next shot shows an over the shoulder camera shot to give the audience the same view as the character.
Again another low angle shot, this time of the other singer in the video. This could then go on to show that both singers could be seen as superhuman.
More special effects as there is a large explosion/ fire from a car crash
This is very different and shows a high camera angle. This implies that these people are vulnerable to the situation of the crash, and don’t know what to do. This scene comes near the end of the video and also makes the two singers seem more super the two shots contradict each other and therefore adds to the overall effect of both the song and the video.

Ne-Yo 'Beautiful Monster' Music Video Analysis

The very first shot shows a special effect with the artists hand movement. This implies that he has powers, which are shown further throughout the video. The second shot simply shows an extremely high angle shot while they are fighting with each other. This means that the people who are fighting are all vulnerable to getting hurt. By using this extreme shot it makes the audience feel closer to the action and so build up a closer relationship with the songs.
The third shot is again using special effects to represent special powers.
This shows a change in setting and a wider camera shot to show the new setting. From these shots the costume can also be clearly seen.
The next two shots show that this part of the music video has been edited to show that the woman is there one minute and is not there the next.
The seventh shot shows more special effects, however this time they are more obvious to the eye compared to the first shot; this could be showing that this person has more powers.
The last two shots are a change of setting; both with special effects of lighting techniques and fading. This video shows similar concepts to the first in the way that it mainly focuses on what the artist is doing. There is a wide range of camera shots and angles that are used, as well as differences in lighting.

Rihanna 'Disturbia' Music Video Analysis

The first shot is very dark and only shows certain parts of her face, while being a close up. This screenshot only has a little bit of colour and this is from the lipstick that Rihanna is wearing. At this point in the video the setting is not clear to the audience, in order to add to the overall effect of the video. The next noticeable transition is when there is a clear change in lighting as it changes to bright yellow lighting with a slightly wider camera angle. This shot is also represented by a change in costume, which is the first clear view of clothing within the video.
The following two shots have been edited using special effects. This means that computerised technology has been used. This again follows the first shot with the idea that there is a lot less lighting and another close up camera shot to continue the theme.
The fifth shot again shows special effects with the idea of a mirror image down the middle of the screen to add to the unusual nature of both the song and the video.
The seventh and eighth shots show a wider angle shot and is known as an establishing shot. This helps to show the audience more of the surrounds of the video and setting.
The next shot shows a different variety of lighting, with the effect of lights and mirrors to give vertical light effect.
The final shot shows a normal image, however the edges of the image are blurred to add a different effect to image. Throughout this video the focus of the shots are concentrated on the main person, in this case the artist of the video. There is a contrast between the shots in order to create an unusual theme, which may be seen to attract more viewers.

Audience Research - Questionnaire Results

Below is a summary of our questionnaire results. We handed the questionnaire out to 20 people in total. 10 were males and 10 were females.

Here there are only 6 graphs, but the questionnaire had 8 questions altogether. This is because question 1 was male or female and question 2 was the participants age.

Official Music Video for Rihanna 'Disturbia'

This is a link to the official music video 'Disturbia' by Rihanna.

This is the music video that we are basing our media music video on. We will also be producing a

- A website homepage

- A CD cover for the single

- A magazine advertisement

Mood Board - R + B Cd Covers

Audience Research- Amazon Market Searching

We did some more market research by going on Amazon.com and seeing which other artists and albums were brought alongside this album “Good Girl Gone Bad”. This helps to show which other artists our target audience are interested in.

Ne-Yo- Year Of The Gentleman: £3.99
Beyonce- I am… Sasha Fierce: Platinum Edition: £5.19
Chris Brown- Exclusive: the Forever Edition £3.99
Lady Gaga- The Fame Monster: £6.99
Katy Perry- One Of The Boys: £3.99
Alicia Keys- The Element of Freedom: £5.99
Pussycat Dolls- PCD: £3.99
Timberland- Shock Value: £3.99
Nelly Furtado- Loose: £4.93
Justin Timberlake- FutureSex/ Lovesounds Deluxe Edition: £3.99
Leona Lewis- Spirit: £3.99
Christina Aguilera- Keeps Getting Better: £3.43
Usher- Here I Stand: £4.93
Pixie Lott- Turn It Up: £4.99
Britney Spears- Circus: £3.47

From the list above it is clear to see that people who bought the album with the track “Disturbia” on, also bought albums that are from similar artists and people who are part of the same record label (Def Jam Recordings). Another similarity is that most of these artists are in and around the UK top 40 with one record or another, this shows how popular all of the above are. The price range for these CD’s do not seem to vary too much meaning they are all of the same value.

CD Covers Textual Analysis

Analysis of a Magazine Advert

Analysis of a Magazine Advert

Analysis of a Magazine Advert

Lyric Analysis "Disturbia"

Audience Research Questionnaire

Questionnaire

Gender: Male/Female

Age:

1.) Do you like music within the R and B music genre? If so which R and B artist is your favourite?


2.) Have you ever heard of the artist ‘Rihanna’? YES NO (please circle)

3) Have you ever watched one of Rihanna’ music videos YES NO (please circle)

4) If you have watched one of her videos did it appeal to you? YES NO (please circle)

5) What is the most common way that you gain access to music? (Please circle)

CDs

Free internet downloads

Paid internet downloads

Music sites on the internet

Other (if other please state)………………………………………………………..

6) Do you ever take in the true meaning of the lyrics of a song when you listen to it?

YES

NO

7) What type of music videos do you prefer? (Pleases circle)

Narrative (story to the song)
Performance (shows the band/artist within the video)
Mixed (a mixture of both of the above)
Abstract (totally nothing to do with the song)

8) If you buy CD’s where do you mostly purchase them from? (Please circle)

Online
Music Stores
Supermarkets
Other (Please state)

Thank you for completing the questionnaire.

Rihanna History and Background


Full name: Rihanna Fenty
Genres: R&B, pop, reggae, dance, hip-hop, urban.
Age: 22 (1988)
Origin: Barbados

“Her childhood was deeply affected by her father's addiction to crack cocaine and her parents' rocky marriage.”

Associated artists: Jay-Z, Ne-Yo, The Dream

Occupations: Singer, model, songwriter, executive producer, dancer, video director, philanthropist, cultural ambassador, author, actress

Influences and idols: Mariah Carey, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Beyonce Knowles, Bob Marley, Alicia Keys, Whitney Houston, Destiny’s Child, Celine Dion, Brandy and Gwen Stefani.

Discovered: Rihanna was discovered by a producer named Evan Rogers, he was known for working with Christina Aguilera, NSYNC and Jessica Simpson (among others). She was discovered in 2003 when Evan was visiting the island for Christmas.
Singles and Albums: 2006 she attracted the interest of Def Jam Records and signed a 6 album contract at the age of 16.

Her debut single was “Pon de Reply”. Her first album called “Music of the Sun”. Her first number 1 hit was S.O.S, which was released in early 2006.

By mid 2008, she had released 8 top ten hits (just over a 3 year period) including 3 number 1 singles:
1. S.O.S
2. Umbrella
3. Take a Bow

Marcia Exam Question 1B

“Media industries manipulate media audiences, it is the industries that are in control, not the audience”. Explain how your product could be consumed by your audience.

Introduction:
I agree with this quote because the theory that we discussed shows us that the media producers will know the target market and will want to draw them in so they would produce a media produce which targets the audience that they are looking for and produces the right look and design for that market. Which the theory shows this, the ‘media industries manipulate media audiences’ the media industry knows that its manipulating the audience so that they can get them to buy the produce and they do this by getting information about the target market e.g. what colours and images they would want to see in the magazine, as soon as they know this they would start to produce the correct produced to suit the target market they want.

Information:
It’s important for ever producer to know theses theory’s so they can get the right target audience for their produced, media industries do manipulate audiences by knowing what they want to see in a produced for example when I produced my music magazine I found out that I would need a lot of information about the target audience to want them to buy and read the magazine, I did this mainly by producing a questionnaire and making the age range I wanted to fill out the questionnaire so I could find out what they would want to see in the music magazine and how they would want it to look as in the layout, images and colour, this is a way of manipulating the audience because if I found out what they wanted to see I could produce the magazine on what the results I found from the questionnaire which would give me a better understanding on how I could get them to buy my produced.

Entertainment:
I created my music magazine to entertain my target audience I did this using this theory by knowing what they want to see in the magazine. The audience I targeted I got this target to fill out the questionnaire so I knew what they wanted and could produce the magazine to suit to person that’s reading it, for example in my magazine for entertainment I added a starburst where the consumer could get their hands on free gig tickets, which would help persuade the reader to buy my produced.

Personal identity:
In my magazine personal identity has a wide range of different lifestyles that are shown clearly in the images in the magazine for example the range of clothes and different hobbies they might have which is show in the images and interviews. The ways that I have perceived different lifestyles are manly though the clothes which have a mixture of genre in the bands images, because they show that they all have different styles of clothing and hobbies such as the two boys in the pictures are sat on scooters which shows a hobby which they share, also another hobby for them was that one had a guitar and the other drum sticks which again shows different hobbies and the girl in the pictures has a microphone and that’s showing her hobby to the audience.

Integration and social interaction:
Through this I have learnt about how the media gives us a look into their lifestyle through the use of images and how they put them together e.g. clothes, position, what they are doing, this gives us an insight into their everyday lives which most of the consumers want to know more about and how they live. When looking at the images most magazines use clothes are one of the main attributes which the media uses to make someone seem more like the audience reader, this gives the reader a sense of connection with the person/persons in the image. In my magazine I tried to add this main attribute into my magazine, I did this by asking the people in my images to dress in different ways to help the reader get an understanding to how they are different, also the way they dressed was on purpose for my music magazine, because I did a rock magazine I wanted the viewer to get information straight away just by looking at what they are wearing, which was to suit my rock magazine, by doing this it helps the readers to know more about what styles they are using and how they come across wearing these type of clothing.

Emily's Section A Part B answer

“Media Industries manipulate media audiences. It is the industries that are in control, not the audience.” Explain how your product could be consumed by your audience.


This essay is based on the idea of uses and gratification theory, which was created by Blumler and Katz, followed from the fact that they felt the audience is free to choose what they watch and how the audience view what is being shown to them. This is seen to have an active audience, as the audience will choose what they want to believe and when, how and why they’ll use it. Compare this to the hypodermic syringe theory which has a passive audience. The uses and gratifications theory takes on board 4 types of gratification. These are, information, entertainment, personal identity and integration and social interaction. Information is what we want to find out about society and the world, this means satisfying the curiosity of the audience. Entertainment is where the media (in this case music magazine) create enjoyment, relaxation or can be used to fill up time. The third, personal identity is where the audience can seek a role model from who they are reading about. And finally integration and social interaction is where we can empathise and sympathise with the person/people we are reading about.

In order to fit my music magazine in with the uses and gratifications theory, I made my magazine fit the information needs of the audience. My magazine targets its audience by the use of interviews, reviews of songs and albums as well as my double page magazine spread which was “Two weeks in the life of…” The above informed my audience of what Hannah Louise does in her spare time and also tell the audience more about the new teen pop star. I chose to apply interviews to my work as this would satisfy the curiosity of my target audience; this is what I intended to happen as through my primary research (questionnaires) I found out that the majority of my audience would want to see an interview in the magazine in order for them to learn more about the artist. This is the same principal for my double page spread with “Two weeks in the life of…” with both of these I felt that it gave the audience enough information to understand more about the artist.

For entertainment purposes my magazine would supply my audience with a range of quizzes to keep them entertained as well as competitions to enter for the fans and other readers. I chose to add these to my magazine as from my research I found out that my target audience wanted to see these in the magazine, therefore I felt as though I had to add them as they were a key ingredient to the magazine and the audience. I chose to add the quizzes to my magazine as I believed that they could supply the audience with some form of relaxation or enjoyment which is the target of the gratification, entertainment and this is the aim of the gratification theory of entertainment.

To me this was the main basis of my music magazine as I felt that adding a personal identity side of my magazine it would appeal more to my target audience. By creating the type of magazine that I did; I came up with the idea that the person reading the magazine could compare their lifestyle and their choices with the lifestyle and choices made by the pop star. As well as the reader being able to relate to the singer via the choice and lifestyle comparisons that are similar. Thirdly, the magazine would give the audience some idea on the types of clothing worn by the singer and whether the clothing that they wear fits the same genre as the clothes that the audience wears.

The category of integration and social interaction, I found harder to gain ideas for, as the research I did didn’t go into as much depth as the other three (personal identity, entertainment and information.) However from this section the audience could learn about how the singer/pop star lives and acts in their everyday life and how they react to different situations. This includes the different environments they are in as well as how they deal with the environment. This included my double page spread as it showed the audience how the singer acts in the different environments; this includes when Hannah went abroad to Italy and how she acted to the change of setting. They could then link this back to the personal identity as these can be linked to different situations, including social interaction. The audience could also either sympathise or empathise with the singer, by reading into the situations she is put into.

Toms Section A part B answer

‘Media Industries manipulate media audiences. It is the industries that are in control, not the audiences’. Explain how your product could be consumed by your audience.

As a media producer it is important to understand the different theories within the media segment. The two main theories are the hypodermic syringe theory and the uses and gratifications theory. The theory that is most important to understand presently is the later of the two theories as this is a modern view of the media audience and enables media industries to effectively market their product. Within this theory there are four different types of gratification (why we use media) which are to gain information, for entertainment, integration and social interaction and for personal identity.

When constructing my media product, in this case a music magazine, I had to make sure that it was suited to the audience in order for them to want to consume it. In terms of the information that my magazine provided to the audience they were able to gain several pieces of information from it, such as my double page spread band interview, as well as reviews on a selection of the latest music. By including this in my magazine meant that it included things that my target audience would be looking for within a music magazine. I knew that this was one of the things that my target audience wanted to be included as I was able to find this out from the research that I carried out before hand in the form of my questionnaire.

Another aspect of the uses and gratifications theory is the purpose of entertainment. This is probably one of the most important factors to consider when constructing any media product. The reason for this is because if people are not entertained by it then there is no reason why they would want to consume it. For this reason I included things such as quizzes and competitions within my magazine in the hope that a feature like this would help to draw in more consumers. Again I found out in my research that this was one of the main features that the target audience look out for in the contents of a popular and successful music magazine. The typical conventions that I also included in my magazine such as considering house style, rule of thirds, layout etc all helped to contribute to the amount of entertainment felt by the audience. If the magazine had of been plain and boring then it would not appeal as much to the audience and therefore they would not find the overall product as entertaining.

By making the magazine to suit what I found out the target audience wanted it would enable the overall effectiveness of the magazine to help relate to someone’s personal identity. This was made possible through my product as it was constructed upon the basis of the target audiences views and opinions. By doing this it means that the magazine was related closer to the audience, which would enable them to compare themselves to several things, for example their lifestyle compared to the life style of a successful artist/ band etc. This means that they would be able to relate to the singer. This may be done by simply just taking ideas from them such as the type of clothing that they wear etc. All of these things are related to a person’s personal identity which is another integral part of the uses and gratifications theory. By using clothing ideas etc is a choice just like the theory suggests that the audience also have a choice as to what media they use and also when and how they use it. Therefore these two things are closely related in some ways.

All of the above factors help to attract an audience that want to consume a successful media product and prove that it is the media industries that are in control and not the audience, because the industries can include nearly everything that the target expects to see within a specific product. The last gratification type that the uses and gratifications theory suggests is important to consumers is the factor of social interaction and integration. This was achieved in my media product through the use of the new band interview included on the double page spread. By including something such as this means that the audience can get an insight into many things of their day to day life such as how the music stars live their life in different environments and in different situations. This means that certain members of the audience may be able to use this information in certain situations within their life experiences.

Marcia Exam practice question 1a

‘Digital technology turns media consumers into media producers’

The main experience which helped my creativity was that I was developing new skills every time I adapted my designs and when I was producing my coursework. The skills I was developing were things such as with the digital technology e.g. how to take the right picture for the coursework, we had to get the correct lighting, angle and positioning of the person or people and the clothes they wear for the pictures.

Another skill was to be able to use Microsoft word, publisher and PowerPoint to be able to change the images, create posters, and produce PowerPoint presentations and to create the whole magazine. These could be also used to create mind maps of what to do with the magazine and information collected. Another uses for technology would be Microsoft word to make a questionnaire to get people to fill it out, Microsoft word can also be used for making records/results from the questionnaires e.g. charts, lists, data records and static’s.

Another skill was with the camera and deciding on the angles, lighting and positioning of the people and knowing all the terminology and names of the different angles for the camera shots. With the results and records from the questionnaires I did helped me create my magazine because of the different selected questions to help with colour, name and what they would want to see in the magazine, with this help from the audience so I know what they are looking for in a music magazine and what they would prefer to see in it such as gig dates, interviews and reviews on different upcoming bands and their albums.

When creating my music magazine I needed to find out about the target audience that I was looking t to create my magazine, this involved drafting out a questionnaire for them to fill out and tell me what they would like to see in my music magazine also the price of it and information about up coming bands and albums. Also when creating my magazine I had a few problems with Microsoft word, this program wouldn’t let me put images or writing where I wanted it to go so I had to re-start the magazine in Microsoft publisher and this sorted out the problems I first had and would let me add new thing in my magazine with out moving them about the screen.

With my digital camera I had some other problems. All my images I wanted were outside which meant that some of my images were too bright or dark so when I got them onto a computer system I had to lighten and darken them, which didn’t take too long but I could of spent more time designing the magazine than sorting images out. The digital camera also gave me another problem which was that it ran out of batteries in the middle of taking the pictures, but I had brought spear batteries just in case this happened, with this happening I lost some time when I was taking pictures. However theses problems I had were easily fixed and didn’t take too much time off me making my music magazine.

Marcia School Magazine Evaluation

Purpose and audience.
What were you trying to communicate to your audience in the terms of image?By using the images I used I was trying to get across to the audience information about the different lessons and the different work that is produced. This give the magazine a positive ideology of the school, making it appear as successful school. What extent did you achieve it?I achieve this to an extent of getting the information about the different work people have produced across to the readers.

Research.
How did your research help you to achieve your final version of the preliminary exercise? On my front cover the research I did was helpful to my final piece I studied different magazines to get ideas from them and put the ideas I found and changed them to fit my magazine.On the contents page I used a simple layout and easy to follow like most magazines.What research do you think would have helped you achieve better results?I could have used more information from the questionnaire that I produced so that people could have a say what went into the magazine.

Planning.
How did your planning help you to achieve your final version of preliminary exercise?I used my draft to help me change and improve my magazine because I drafted the magazine out first and then found ways I could improve it by then re-drawing the magazine so that it looked better. Also on my contest page I planned it out as a list of pages but I thought about the design and decided to put the list into a table to make the layout of the magazine clearer to the audience.What planning do you think would have helped you achieve better results?
The plan I did I could have improved the layout out more and tried to set it out more exciting and more individual instead of boring and the same as other magazines.

Images.
What do you think about your images?The images I have used make my magazine more interesting and more eyes catching for the audience I am aiming the magazine at.How could they be improved?I could have improved the magazines images by being more precise with the image taking and being more efficient with the placing with the images on my magazine.What do you think of the costume/muse-en-scene in your images?I think that the costume of the images I have used makes the magazine more really and helps the audience know what they school works like and what people have produced.Were they suitable for the purpose and audience of your magazine?The images I have used are effective for the magazine because I used my questionnaire to see what students wanted to see in the magazine and took that information and added the pictures to what the students said they wanted to see.What problems did you encounter taking/obtaining/using them?The problems I had was the taking of the pictures because I had to go round the school asking teachers if I could and take the images and another problem was trying to get the good images for the magazine and making sure there good enough for the magazine cover.What would you do next time to eliminate/ease these problems?I could take more time in the taking of the images and making sure that the images are all well taken and not got too much movement in the shots.

Language and tone of address.
How effective is your use of language and tone of address?The language I have used could have been chattier for the magazine readers because the magazine is aimed at the students of the school.How could it be improved?
I could of improved it by making the magazine sound more like its been produced by a student instead of a formal magazine.

Fonts.
What do you think about your use of fonts?I have used the same font all the way though the magazine to make the magazine easier to read the only though font I have used is for the main title for the magazine because I wanted the title to stand out.How could they be improved?I could have used more interesting fonts instead of boring ones.

Other presentational devices.
How effectively have you used presentational devices in your product?I could have used more presentational devices in my work to make the magazine look and sound better to make the audience have more interest in the magazine.What will you use in your main exercise?To design a school magazine that is targeted at the students of the school.

Layout.
Did you add the rules of thirds?Yes, I used the rule of thirds because I found it easier to set out the magazine using this rule.How is your layout effective?The layout I have used helps the readers understand more and makes the magazine easier to read for the audience.How could it be improved?I could improve the layout by setting the magazine out more like other magazine to make it look of effective.

Front cover.
What is the most effective aspect of your front cover?The most effective aspect of the magazine cover is the images I have used the images show the work that students have produced and show the audience the good standard of work that the school produces.What is the least effective aspect of your front cover?The least effective aspect of my front cover is some of the information I have used to tell the audience about the school.What would you do next time to eliminate/ease these problems?I would tell the audience about the school but in more detail so they can understand more about the school.

Contents page.
What is the most effective aspect of your contents page?The most effective aspect of my contents page is the information I have given about what’s inside of the magazine and what information the audience can find out about.What is the least effective aspect of your contents page?The least effective part of the contents page is the schools website situated at the bottom of the page.What would you do next time to eliminate/ease these problems?To eliminate the problem I would add more information at the bottom of the page to make the contents page more interesting.

House style.
How effectively do your front cover and contents page work together?I have added the schools logo in the same page on both of the pages to bring them together a bit also I have used the same colours for both to bring them together more.How could they compliment each other more?They could by putting some images on the bottom of the contents page to bring them together more.

Market research.
What did your target audience think of your front cover?They said that they like the front cover but I could have improved the contents page because it’s too bland.According to your market research, how could your produce have been improved?They said that I could have added more colour into the contents page because it doesn’t have very much colour on the contents page.

You use technology in production.
How have you used technology to research plan and construct your product?
I have used the internet for the research to get information about different magazines; also I have used a camera to take the images for the magazine.What were the benefits of using technology?It’s much easier to find information about different magazines and it would have been difficult to get images with out the use of technology.What problems did you encounter and how would you ease each of these?The problem which I had was the image taking for the camera it wasn’t taking the photo very well at first so I had to change the camera.What is the most sophisticated aspect of your production?The most sophisticated part of the front cover production was the use of the camera and taking the photos which I needed for the magazine.How did you achieve it?I achieve it by being steady with the camera whist taking the pictures which I needed.

Time management.
How effective was your time management?My time management wasn’t very good for the photo taking but was good for the production of my front cover and contents page.What aspects took longer than expected and should not be left to the last minute?The most time I took for the production for the magazine was getting the photos for the front cover.What will be your personal targets to help you make the best use of your time management in the main exercise?The target I will set is not to leave the taking of the pictures I need until last I need to get the images near the start of the production of a magazine.

Lessons to be learnt.
What is your biggest success?The success I had was with the front cover because of the good images I got for it with the use of technology.What was your biggest difficulty in producing your text?The most difficult thing producing the magazine was getting the information about what the students wanted in the magazine.Overall, what lessons have you learnt about producing print texts that you will ensure are priorities during your main exercise?I have learnt that I need to use my time well and not leave important information that I need to get and understand until last, I should have got the information at the start of the project.
How well prepared do you feel to start your main exercise?I feel prepared to start the main exercise because I have learnt different thing so that I can improve my work for the main project.

Research Brainstorm

Brainstorm ideas/mood boards: with using these, simple ideas can be built upon to create a strong good-structured idea. The mood boards would also bring all the ideas together as well as creating an ideology and working out popular camera angles and other popular features.

Analysis existing videos and trailers/ gain ideas about key features/annotate still clips/ look at typical conventions of music videos/ film trailers: when annotating still clips the things to analyse would be :-
Colour
Lighting
Costume
Editing techniques
Cuts
Camera angles
Sounds
Looking at all of the above will give us a clearer idea to what makes a good quality music video or trailer.

Market research/ questionnaire/ target audience/ favourite music genre or film:
What we need to find out from market research:
Interest of audience/consumer
What attracts them to watch it?
Why they are attracted to it?
Which genre the enjoy watching? (music or film)
Which type of music/film they prefer?
Audience gender and age

What would the outcome of an effective research plan be?

In order to have a clear understanding of what to include when producing the final products of our A2 media coursework, an effective research plan would need to be carried out prior to the actual making of any of the products. Things that an effective research plan would include are both primary and secondary research that gives both qualitative and quantitative data e.g. statistics and reviews etc. The plan would also include looking at existing products that are relevant to our chosen target market and genre. Research such as mood boards would also be effective in order to give a clear view of the initial key ideas. These are just a variety of things that would be included in an effective research plan.
The main type of primary research that would be carried out would be in the form of questionnaire. By conducting a questionnaire it would enable us to gain a real understanding of the target audience, in the sense of what they would like to see included within the finished products. By knowing key information such as this it means that the products can be produced to suit the chosen audience, therefore making the outcome more effective.

Emily's Section 1a Practise Answer

“Digital technology turns media consumers into media producers". In your own experience, how has your creativity developed through using digital technology to complete your coursework productions?

At the beginning of my AS media course i was seen very much as a media consumer. However as I have progressed through the media course I believe I have now turned into a media producer. I feel that two key factors in turning me into a media producer are digital technology and my creativity skills. From my own experience, i can use examples of my planning, designing and creating of both my school and music magazine.

One main improvement with my creativity and my use of digital technology was the software I chose to use to create my magazines. For my school magazine I chose to use Microsoft Word; this was because at this stage of the course i felt a lot less confident using any other software. However throughout making my school magazine and at the beginning of my music magazine I decided to try different types of software and therefore changed my software usage to Microsoft Publisher. I changed what software I used as I found that this had more tools that I could use and I felt that i could use them well enough to create a decent music magazine.

When taking photographs, although the digital technology aspect didn't change as I stuck with a digital camera as I thought it would be the most easy and convenient; as well as being the most up-to-date technology. On the other hand my creativity when taking pictures changed dramatically! With my music magazine I attempted to use a wider range of costumes, change the mise-en-scene as well as changing the range of camera angles and positions. I chose to widen my horizons as I wanted to show off what I could do with this piece of technology as well as how my creativity has developed.

The Internet was used when creating both my school and music magazine, although the variation in when and how I used it differed from each magazine. When completing my research I used the Internet for both of the magazines; with larger proportions of my music magazine research. However I did use the Internet to create the name for my school magazine (Cautioned). I chose to use the Internet as I knew it would increase the creativity of my ideas due to the range of websites that are available.

Another development in my creativity is the use of thought shower sessions and making my moodboards and mindmaps. The key advantage to these techniques is that it allows all my ideas to be put onto paper instead of being in my head. These creative methods also allow me to build up on my original ideas as I can link them all together.

A second type of software development was the software used to create the masthead of both my magazines. For my school magazine I simply used WordArt which is a function on Microsoft Word, however as my creativity developed so did my knowledge of different software's and what they could do. This led me to using Fireworks to make my masthead head stand out from the rest of the page. This is because I found more advanced tools to use in which I could use to change the font and colour as well as adding a wide range of special effects such as glitter, changing the colour of individual letters and adding multi-coloured boarders to the letters.

On the other hand, I feel more creativity went into the naming of my masthead for my school magazine as I choice to be more inventive as I made an anagram of the word "education" and came up with the word "cautioned". I chose this also the name of the dance group at the school is called caution and thought it linked in well with school.

Meanwhile, for my music magazine I simply chose to use words that link to the term "music". With this I then came up with a lot of words! After my questionnaire research I found that the most popular word was "lyric".

In conclusion I feel as throughout the AS media course my creativity and use of digital technology has improved dramatically! This can be seen in the development from my school magazine into my music magazine. Not only with the final piece of work, but also with my development of the software I chose to use as well as. I feel that the creativity side of my work has increased greatly with my variation of research techniques and camera angles used when taking pictures. Digital technology has also converted me from a media consumer to a media producer, by being able to use PCs, laptops, digital cameras, pen drives, email address and finally the software.

Toms A2 Exam (part 1a) Practice Answer

‘Digital technology turns media consumers into media producers’. In your own experience, how has your creativity developed through using digital technology to complete your coursework productions?

At the start of my AS media course there was not a lot about media products that I had any real understanding off. I obviously always saw real media products but only as a consumer. When undertaking the AS work this soon changed as I now have a good level of knowledge about a range of things such as typical conventions, software, production issues and much more.

The first production task that I had to carry out was to make a magazine front cover and contents page for use within a school magazine. As this was the preliminary task I found this quite difficult at first as I had not done this before. Not only this, there was much more to it than just making the products. For example I had to carry out my own initial research such as creating and conducting a questionnaire to give out to my target audience as well as learning all about typical conventions of a magazine, in order for me to produce an effective product. The research part of the production was very time consuming. However when completing the preliminary task I then had to put everything that I had learnt from it into real use as I had to start my proper media coursework which was again making a magazine, only this time it was a music magazine, that not only had to include both a front cover and contents page but also a double page spread. This therefore meant that some extra research had to be carried out into looking at existing products (double page spreads). However because the preliminary task had helped my knowledge and understanding to develop I found that my skills had improved as I knew exactly what I was looking for and therefore the process was quicker than during the initial task. This was also the case with most of the aspects which contributed to the production of my music magazine.

For example after completing the preliminary task, although it was of a good standard I knew that it could have been greatly improved. This was clearly the case as my music magazine was of a much higher standard, due to my better understanding of media products. By this I mean that I had obviously being doing media for a longer time and so had learnt more over this period. For example I understood more about typical conventions of a magazine such as house style, rule of thirds, layout etc which all helped to contribute to a better second attempt at making a magazine.

As well as knowing more about media products and the terminology etc I found it easier to make the music magazine as I was able to learn from mistakes that I made when carrying out the preliminary task. For example when producing my school magazine I began to create it using Microsoft Word. However after a few problems arising such as positioning of images and editing issues I soon discovered that it would be much better to use a different type of software to produce my magazine. Obviously this slowed the production of my magazine down, but it was a good learning curve as I did not make the same mistake again when making my music magazine as I knew to just use the same software that I had changed to, which was Microsoft Publisher. This was much more effective as it is a publishing programme and so it therefore has many more features than Microsoft Word did as it was better suited to what I was using it for. Some other examples of issues that I learnt from was to save all images as Jpegs as they have a smaller file size and also to have my work backed up elsewhere. Although these were all production issues it was good that I came across them as it enabled me to develop when making my music magazine.

In conclusion my creativity developed greatly from the production of my school magazine and the production of my music magazine. There were many factors that contributed to this as already explained; however I feel that the main reason was due to an increased understanding of real media products. By having a better understanding obviously development is going to be shown as by having this it enabled me to have more ideas, not only about the product itself but also how to carry out more effective research etc. By having a stronger base to start from enables a stronger product to be made. For example at the start of the preliminary task I had very little understanding of typical conventions of a magazine or the process involved in making one whereas at the start of the music magazine my understanding of these things was a lot better. This alone shows a level of development.

Toms School Magazine Evaluation

Evaluating My School Magazine

Purpose and Audience

When creating the school magazine cover there were many things that had to be thought about. One of the main things was audience and purpose. The purpose is particularly important as this is what draws the potential readers to the magazine. The main purpose of the magazine is to inform the reader. If the purpose of the cover is in correct then the viewer will not have a full idea of what the magazine is actually about. In order to achieve the right audience and purpose I had to use relevant images of pupils etc as these are then aimed at the right audience (the pupils) and fulfilled the purpose of the magazine at the same time. The use of starbursts and tasters also helped towards this. However it was important when using images on the cover that they were positive in order to give a positive and up beat approach to the school life. In my magazine cover I think that I managed to create the correct audience and purpose as if someone was to look at the cover they would know what the magazine was about as well as knowing who the magazine is aimed at.

Research

The research that I carried out before creating my magazine was very useful. The reason for this was because it was able to give me a base to start my magazine on. This meant that even though the first draft was not perfect changes were able to made according to what feedback I received from other pupils of the school. This was good as it enabled me to have a wider range of ideas. Also as part of my research I was able to look at existing magazines which also gave me an idea of how to layout the magazine as well as what techniques I could include and also where to lay things out in order to make it effective. I also created a questionnaire in order to help me carry out the research.

Planning

The planning stage helped me to achieve my final version of the magazine in several ways. One way that it helped me was that it enabled me to gain a better understanding of magazine covers. Also by planning before actually making the cover enabled me to easily make changes as well as enabling me to plan out several different ideas. This meant that I could then choose the one that I thought was best, although I also had to think about the results from my feedback in order to cerate a magazine cover that the majority of the audience would like.

Images

The images that I have used for my magazine cover are both appropriate and of a good quality. They instantly give the reader a good impression of the school as the images that I have used are positive ones in order to draw potential readers towards the magazine. Also the images that I used were suitable for both the audience and purpose as they were pictures of pupils in different lessons within the school. When obtaining the pictures for use within my cover I did not really encounter any problems as the pictures were from the schools own website and so although the pictures are from a secondary source I did not need any permission to use them.

Language and Tone of Address

The language that I have used on my magazine cover is quite effective as it is formal as well as being easy to understand. This means that people wont mind reading it as they will not have to really concentrate and so will be able to relax whilst enjoying the magazine.

Also the tone of address is quite casual/ chatty style as the magazine is aimed at school pupils and so if it was not put across in this tone then pupils may not be encouraged to read the magazine as they will want it in a tone that makes them enjoy the magazine more.

Fonts

There were several things that I had to think about when choosing which font would be best to use. As well as choosing which font to use I also had to consider what size the font was going to be. I needed to choose a font that looked casual but bold in order to catch the attention of the reader, but as well as matching the tone of address. I also had to consider what colours I was going to use in order to make the font tie in with the rest of the magazine but not blend in too much to the background as this would make it harder to read.

Other Presentational Devices

I have used presentational devices quite effectively in my product. I have included several starbursts on my magazine cover, as these help to catch the attention of my audience. Also the images that I have used have been used efficiently as it gives the audience a clear view on life within the school. On top of this, I have included bold text on my front cover in order to also help attract the attention of the audience. Furthermore, within my front cover I have tried to incorporate bright colours to make the magazine look more interesting so that more people will want to read it.

Layout

Throughout making my front cover I considered the rule of thirds. In the hot spot areas I placed my main story and image to show this is the main reason for the magazine. I used the principle of the eye line sight, by placing my magazines name in the primary optical area. I placed a starburst in the bottom left dead zone in order to draw attention to the area as information is often missed by the reader when in this place because of the natural reading direction (top left to bottom right).

Front Cover

The most effective aspect of my front cover is my main image. This is because, it is the biggest feature that is incorporated within my design, and therefore, attention is drawn to this instantly by my target audience. The least effective aspect of my magazine are located in the ‘dead zones’ and are the school logo, this isn’t important as only Eaton bank pupils will be reading the magazine and will therefore not need to know which school it belongs to. If I were to reproduce a new magazine in order to eliminate this problem I would use the dead zones more effectively in order to make use of the space that is available.

Contents Page

The most effective aspects of my contents page is, the layout of my design, as it uses shapes as a format to place the writing, in order to make the contents page look more interesting and to make the continuity of the magazine carry on from the front cover to the contents page. The least effective aspect of my contents page is the contact information as it shows no originality and pupils within the school would not need to know this


information as they have it in their planner. Next time I will not include this information on my contents page or if I did would make it look more exciting.

House Style

The house style of my magazine works effectively as my front cover and contents page work well together. The main reason for this is because the background on both pages is exactly the same which alone shows continuity. Also I have used the same fonts on each of the pages to also add to this effect. The images that I have used are also similar in order to continue the house style. I don’t think that the design of my house style could compliment each other much more as I have used the same things on each page.

Market Research

Before even considering to make my magazine I first had to do some market research in order to get the best result possible. I decided to do this by making a questionnaire to ask potential readers of my magazine. My chosen target market thought that the front cover of my magazine was to a suitable standard and thought that it worked effectively. However some people gave me improvements for my work which included things such as, a more unisex colour scheme, main story title should be shorter and more catchy and the school logo should not have a white background as it looks as though it has been stuck on separately. These suggestions would help me to improve my design when making a future magazine cover and contents page.

Using technology in production

I have used technology to help me research, plan and construct my final design. I researched current school magazine front covers on the internet in order to plan a suitable and appropriate design. When making the final construction of my magazine front cover and contents page I used technology to edit my design to make it the best it could possibly be. The benefits of using technology were that it is quicker and more convenient than doing it by hand. I didn’t encounter many problems; however a problem I did encounter was that there weren’t very many examples of school magazines on the internet this made it harder for me to complete thorough research.

Time management

I used my time wisely as I didn’t spend any extra time that wasn’t needed. However, I didn’t rush my design as it took time to get it how me and my intended target audience want it. The most time consuming aspect was analysing my results from the market research. My personal targets if I were to complete a further magazine would be to spend less time on drafting my magazine by hand as this can be done on the computer and my final design was changed a lot from my initial thoughts.

Lessons to be learnt

My biggest success in my opinion was, the overall presentation of my contents page. The biggest difficulty was that it was more time consuming than first thought. I have learnt to create shorter more catchy titles for stories within my magazine, and to ensure every aspect of my magazine is relevant to the purpose of my magazine. I feel that I am prepared for my main exercise as I have discovered what areas I need to work on and which areas take more time than first thought.