A Level Media Studies – Evaluating my

CourseworkJessica Foster

FINAL PRODUCT -

COVER PAGE

CONTENTS PAGE

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

Task 1 – Audience Feedback

Audience FeedbackAs part of my audience feedback, I questioned my cousin, as she is a 10 year old girl, and therefore fits the criteria for my target audience of females aged 10-16. I chose to interview her in order to gain some valid feedback on anything done positively within my magazine, or any possible areas for improvement. I also used this person when carrying out my initial audience research in order to find out the wants and needs of my target audience. This connection is useful, as I can now discover whether I have met or exceeded her expectations.

What did you like about the magazine?“I thought it was really good because it looked like a real magazine. I normally buy magazines like Top of the Pops, and it reminded me a lot of magazines like that. I would definitely buy it if it was in the shops.” Do you feel there was anything missing or anything that could have been improved?“Some magazines have a free gift, so you maybe could have had one of them. Other than that, I don’t think so.” Did you feel everything in the magazine fit in well?“Yeah. That’s what made it look real I think. There wasn’t anything random looking, everything looked like it had been put together really well and thought about.” 

What did you think of the look of the magazine? Things such as colour, layout, pictures, etc. “I really really liked the look! It looked really real and really girly! The colours were all bright and summery and looked good together, the layout was fab because everything fit well together and didn’t look to busy or too plain, and I loved the pictures! They look like they were done in a photo shoot!” Is there anything else you would like to say about the magazine that you haven’t already mentioned?“I don’t think so, just that I really liked it, and I would definitely buy it! I loved how it looked like a real magazine you would see in a shop!”

 

   

Task 2 – Evaluation Questions

How does your media product represent particular social groups?I have used an incredibly large variety of factors in order to represent a particular target audience of females, aged 10-16. These factors include – Colour SchemeThe colour scheme I chose for my magazine is bright and bold colours, not only to reflect the teen, female audience, but also to reflect the season of issue, being summer. The colours I used continually throughout are mainly yellows, pinks, and purples.

Images / PhotographsFrom my analysis of various existing teen pop magazines, I concluded that the people in the featured images tend to be popular, current female music artists, as well as young, attractive male artists. Therefore, I chose to photograph young males and females, and give them the appearance of current music artists. When photographing them, I chose to remain simple, only photographing them with plain backgrounds and no distracting surroundings. I found this was a common feature of other photographs when conducting my analysis of other existing magazines. I used Photoshop to edit my images, by altering scales such as the curves, brightness and contrast, and hue and saturation. The images shown below are ones which feature in my magazine, and shows before and after being edited.

Language / DictionWhen constructing pieces of text to use in my magazines for features such as cover lines, or perhaps in an interview, at times I resorted to using mild uses of slang, as this is the kind of language that my target audience would use, such as ‘gig’ and ‘hey!’. ContentI wanted to ensure that the content of my magazine would be highly appealing to teen girls. I ensured this through my use and analysis of questionnaires and current existing magazines. For example, I have included pieces on celebrity gossip and music tours, both seen as highly appealing to teen girls, as well as celebrity stories, and features of young, current male artists.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? I feel my magazine would be highly appropriate to be published and distributed by a large institution such as Bauer or IPC, due to the fact that other existing magazines of this genre have a high share of the music magazine market. I do not feel my magazine and its genre is niche enough to be published and distributed independently. One factor that contributes towards this idea is the fact that the majority of people who buy magazines tend to be females, and that is who my magazine is aimed at. Also, pop music is obviously a very popular genre, and therefore is likely to appeal to a large audience.

Who would be the audience for your media product?I chose to aim my music magazine at girls aged 10-16. My cousin happens to fit this criteria, and so I decided to use her as a part of my audience feedback.  How did you attract/address your audience?

Once again, I ensured that the target audience is represented through many factors within my magazine, such as colour scheme, content, images/photographs, and the language I used. My audience research told me that the majority of people I asked were attracted to many of the features, and found them highly appealing and suitable to them. I wanted to make sure that I addressed my audience in a way that was clear, engaging and attractive to them.

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

I have used a variety of different technologies in the process of creating my final product. These consisting of both Quark Xpress and Photoshop cs. I felt it was necessary to create my layout using Quark Xpress, as I found it far simpler and more appropriate to operate for this in particular. Whereas I preferred using Photoshop cs for more technical, complex editing of images and fonts. For example, I chose to edit my front cover masthead using Photoshop cs, as I found there was a wider range of editing tools. I chose to bevel and emboss to create a 3 dimensional effect, as well as adding touches of light on rounded edges. I also used Photoshop to alter the colour balance, brightness and contrast, and curve levels of photographs, in order to make them look more professional.

PRELIMINARY MATERIAL

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

I have developed a great number of skills since producing my school magazine. I feel my preliminary material was very basic, and I feel my gain of a greater knowledge of technology has contributed towards my ability to create a more advanced appearance for my final piece. I feel that I have a greater knowledge and control over the technology I use, hence, resulting in a more professional looking final piece.