Evaluation Queston 1

Evaluation Question 2

Evaluation Question 3

Evaluation question 3 from RyanFrankish7

Evaluation Question 4

Evaluation Question 5

Evaluation Question 6

During the production and evaluation of my music magazine I used many different methods of technology related to media to work at created a high standard final piece and to achieve a good grade.

Firstly, I used Adobe Elements 11 to actually create the magazine itself by using different features like layer masks, fading tools, colour picking tool, text boxes, working with different layers, applying different images and adding various shapes.

I used Blogger to record my progress throughout the construction of my music magazine as well as my preliminary task at the beginning of AS, this shows how my knowledge on the technology, terminology and information related to media studies has developed. Blogger also allows me to post who my initial TA is, then address that TA and allow them to track the construction of my magazine and comment their opinion of my work.

I used a camera to capture the images for my music magazine, this is something I am already used to but since the beginning of my media course my knowledge on shot types and which shot types to use in the appropriate areas has developed and therefor I have actually learned a lot about the photography side of media. A tripod is also an accessory for the camera, it enables the camera to be steadied for a clear shot and it easily accessible and allows one to perform a quick, easy photoshoot, I used this during the photoshoot underneath an urban bridge for my contents page and it captured the subject of the image and the graffiti very clearly which may not have been possible if I didn't use the tripod. Also associated with the camera is the memory cards and memory card readers, I simply used these to store the images I captured on the for magazine and then used the memory card reader to transfer them to the compute so I could then post them on my blog and develop then on Adobe Elements 11.

I used Flickr to post my images on and be given feedback of which was mostly positive about my images, I then read through comments and checked the feedback on all of my images and then did a selection and rejection so I could decide on which images to use in my magazine as well as using my own personal opinion.


I used gmail to sign in to most of the online apps and methods of technology for my media studies, I also used it to transfer some of my images to either post on my blog or to then add them to Adobe Elements 11 to edit as well as give and receive feedback about my images and other peoples images.

I used Microsoft PPT to create informative PowerPoints and to apply and show off my knowledge in a more creative way, I also used Microsoft Word to write up my DPS Article, it allowed me to check my spelling just in case of any typos or spelling mistake, as well as showing me how many words I had written so I met the expected amount for my article. Also to be able to get my PowerPoints on my blog I used Slideshare which allowed me to upload my PowerPoints to their website and then embed them and post them on my blog, once again to show my progress of my music magazine and the development of my knowledge of the technology related to media.






Powtoon, Slidely, Emaze and Prezi are all very similar online applications that allow you to make very unique and creative slideshows to present your work, I used these in my TA Research, the research of the different pages for my magazines ad I have most recently used them as part of my evaluation, they're very helpful applications they allow you to get creative and show off skill on the technology and it also shows people tracking my progress that my knowledge is developing and that I am using a range of different technologies to get my point across.

Thinglink was a very useful part of the TA Research as it allows you to accurately pick out aspects of products that attract your TA or represent different things about your TA, I found this extremely helpful and due to it being so easy to pick certain things out and add an explanation about them, the simplicity of it allowed me to up the quantity of my work on Thinglink and allowed to attain positive feedback.

In conclusion I think all of these technologies have helped me throughout my course but I think they also show my progress which is significant as I feel I have developed my knowledge on the technology related to media and the whole unit in general, my use of terminology has increased within my work on these different applications and I feel they have helped to present my creativity when allowing feedback to given on my work.

Evaluation Question 7

                      My College Magazine 

                        Front Cover

                                                    Preliminary Task 

Conventions

When looking at conventions of a music magazine I have adhered to it can be seen I have applied a colourful, large masthead at the top of the magazine, it is very bold and very clear to see. My front cover star is making eye contact with the camera which again is a convention of a music magazine. I have a price in the bottom left corner to show the cost of the magazine. I also have pugs in various places on this front cover, it shows that at the beginning of the course when I began the preliminary task my knowledge of the conventions of a music magazine were very basic and it can be clearly proven when looking at this college magazine front cover. 

Image + Photography

For my front cover image of this college magazine I wanted to have a busy but bland background to bring out the colour of my front cover star (almost like a splash effect which I didn't know how to do at this point). I found an acceptable place that was also well lit so my cover stars face could be clearly seen on the image. I feel that to some degree it worked however I could've arranged a photoshoot and applied lighting so my cover star could stand out even more and applied make up to bring out his face. The shot type was a medium close-up.

Font Styles/Sizes

For my masthead I used a bold san-serif font as I feel they look more modern and original, they're also very easy to read. I also used a serif font on one of my pugs, I think it is very difficult to read, it doesn't stay in touch with the san-serif font theme on the front cover which is a lot clearer and more aesthetically pleasing. It also clashes with the background due to the font and that certain part of the background being bright.

Colour Scheme

I used a colour scheme made up of blue and yellow, I used these because they are near enough contrasting colours and they are also the colours used on the academies logo. I also created synergy with the yellow on the cover stars shirt working with the yellow of the masthead and some of the pugs. It was a poor idea to apply yellow to the pug in front of the window as it is bright as is the colour of the font meaning it is extremely hard to read. Next time I would apply a wider range of colours to challenge my colour scheme and also give the page some more life, it looks very bland.

Page Furniture

On this front cover the page furniture is minimal, I only used a few pugs due to my lack of knowledge of the key codes and conventions of a magazine at this point. The pugs are in very poor places and do not really engage the readers attention due to them being hard to ready and so evenly spread out they look smaller therefore they're harder to notice. I think the pug title "FREE!" was effective as it boldly stood out due to the black part of the background behind it and it also created synergy with the yellow on my cover stars shirt but to improve next time I would add more puffs and pugs, apply them closer together so they're more eye-catching.

Language and Register

For language and register I didn't have a wide range of terminology or vocabulary as well as tenors and mediums. I just used short, persuasive words to try and grab the attention of my TA to purchase the magazine, to improve I would add more exciting vocabulary to hook the TA's attention and possibly add things like rhetorical questions to create a personal relationship with the reader.

                               

          My Final Product: Music Magazine

Conventions

My music magazine design was mainly orientated in adhering to conventions of a music magazine, for example my masthead is large across the top and horizontally takes up around 1/5^th of the page, however I put half of my Masthead vertically to the left of the horizontal to make it unique and show my TA that this magazine is different to all of the competition. My cover star has his whole body in the shot and is also making eye contact with the camera which is adhering to the conventions of a music magazine. I have also included a lot of cover stories and aligned them to one side of the page, this is also commonly seen on a music magazine. I have banner at the top of the page giving reference to free gifts as a persuasion technique for my TA to purchase the product. I have included puffs that stand out promoting the magazines quality and they are different colour to everything else on the page so they stand out for the customer to see, this is also adhering to the conventions of a music magazine. I have also included the price so the customer knows what they’re paying for the product. The date of the magazine issue is also in the bottom right of the front cover which is another convention I have adhered to. I have also added links to social media giving my TA special access to extra news about my magazine which is adhering to the conventions of a music magazine. However my image challenges conventions in the way that it is an outdoor shot as normally a key convention is to have a studio shot for the front cover image, I did this to once again emphasise the difference between my magazine and the slim yet still present competition on the market. This shows my development as I am using a lot of conventions in my music magazine and making a lot of links regarding synergy, my knowledge grew extremely on the theory of conventions and how to make links to synergy throughout my media lessons and I then applied this to my work and received nothing but positive feedback due to this.

Images and photography

I arranged a photo shoot with my model after college, I took him to an urban bridge going over a river that was also half full of graffiti, I told him to wear casual looking clothes as that attracts the working class TA that I am trying to attain, I then instructed him to stand in front of the steel fence and on top of the cage as it looks very edgy and urban, a busy background with my star in the centre also makes him stand out and makes the audience ask the question of the reason for him being there. I told him to then pose in a very confrontational way as if about to start a fight, this gives a teaser of his personality that he had this kind of attitude to reach success. I used this image for my front cover as it is a very eye catching image and gives the reader so many connotations for the reader to think about.

I then told my model to sit against a wall between two pieces of graffiti which again makes the reader immediately ask the question if the graffiti has an implicit meaning, the image I took for my contents page was a low angle shot and he is looking away from the camera, these two features mixed together gives off a sense of arr

ogance and superiority as he is higher up than the reader and he isn’t looking at them, addressing them and creating a personal relationship with
them. He is wearing casual clothes which is also addressing my working class TA.

For my DPS I took a landscape medium-long shot, I told my model to lean against a pillar underneath the bridge in front of the water where it is well lit so there is a reflection of the bridge on the water so I have a busy yet aesthetically pleasing background, I told him to look away from the camera again as he is looking towards the text when the final DPS was printed, on this he has a very deep look of reflection on his face, he looks as if he is recapping his decisions during his walk along the path to his success. I also faded one side of this image and increased the contrast with colour on Myles to make him stand out and be the focal points of the image despite the scenic backgrounds and distractions the background carries. In my personal opinion this shot in particular shows the progression I have made since the beginning of my journey from the first set of photos I took, a large amount of thought went into the planning of it and judging the feedback I received that thought paid off. My photography development is evident on my pages compared to the prelim, I learnt a lot of different angles and camera shots in my media lessons, I then applied them when taking my photos and some came out quite poor, however I used feedback people gave me in my selection and rejection to use the best ones and I think I made the right choice as my photos suit the magazine and are very effective. I also took more into consideration about background as it can be seen on the prelim image that I was not interested in a scenic or a background related to the genre of the magazine, however on the cover I have used a background that is very urban and has a mix of urban and suburban within, I think this is a very effective feature.

Font Style/Size

I used a variation of different fonts on my front cover, I used serif and san-serif fonts to have an aspect of contrast on my front cover, I also used some band’s trademark fonts when using them as my cover stories to show of the realism of my magazine, this was a well noticed feature and it also brings a lot of life to the front cover due to the variation. I also used a shadow effect on “The Stone Roses” text for aesthetic appreciation. I also used a variation of fonts so a lot of information would stand out to help persuade my TA to purchase the product. My cover stars article had the biggest font size apart from the masthead and was a different colour so it stood out heavily and indicated to the reader that Myles was the front cover star if my TA didn’t already know his name.  I think the fonts I used were ideal for this magazine as they’re all eye catching and each font engages the reader for various reasons. I had to think hard about my fonts as I needed them to suit the working class audience, I needed them to be easy to read and I needed to make them synonymous throughout the magazine and try to apply brand identity, I used the knowledge I had picked up in lessons on how to do this and I also did research by looking at other magazines to see the kind of fonts that are used and how they make links and suit the audience. When comparing my links to fonts my development is clear when comparing the top row (Final music magazine product) to the bottom row (Prelim task at the beginning of the course). I think in the prelim they had some of the same fonts to make links however they were boring and would not suit an audience nor would they attract one, however my final magazine fonts are more adventurous and attract more of an audience as they are very edgy and aesthetically pleasing.

Colour Scheme/Synergy

Some parts of my colour scheme were very continuous throughout my magazine, on the front cover the colour red on the word “MYLES” links with the red text along the top banner with the black background to create synergy, this red also appears on my contents page along the bottom with the shape referring to internet subscriptions and it appears on various shapes and the heading for my DPS which has the identical format to the word “MYLES” on my front cover. The less continuous links include the colour of my cover stars jumper and the colour of the masthead which create synergy and also the background of the image 3^rd image on my contents page at the bottom of the page with a female model (Indya) links to the heading “Contents” on my contents page as they have an intended similar pattern which work together really well. My colour scheme was dominated by stereotypical masculine colours meaning I have addressed more of a male TA rather than my initial TA of both genders so to improve I would add more stereotypical feminine colours to add a balance and attract a TA of both genders. In my prelim I made links with both fonts and I also had more of a contrast in colour however for my final music magazine product I made more use of linking colours and fonts due to the knowledge I gained in lessons.

In conclusion I think music magazine was designed extremely well in every aspect, my knowledge of editing, terminology, technology related to media and photography has developed massively and this statement becomes obvious when putting my preliminary task into comparison with my music magazine. The project was mainly orientated around using Adobe Elements 11 and I have learned so much about the use of it and picked up many skills in editing. I have also taken largely into consideration links to synergy during this project as well as the planning behind the photography for my photo shoots.

Final Front Cover

Final Contents Page

Final DPS