A2 media studies evaluation

1. A2 Media Studies
Evaluation
CHARLIE BARKER

2. • In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
• How effective is the combination of your main product and
ancillary texts?
• What have you learned from your audience feedback?
• How did you use media technologies in the construction
and research, planning and evaluation stages?

3. Throughout the production of my work this year, I
have complied with, challenged, and adapted to
many pre-existing codes and conventions regarding
regional magazines and representation.
Conventions regarding colour, style and content
have been employed in order to make my designs
as realistic and appealing as possible. For example,
my masthead displayed on the front cover as
shown below, boasts a bold and snappy one word
title. ‘Coast’, is easy to say and easy to remember
much like many of the titles I had researched prior
to production. This drafting of a convention has
enabled me to start off with accurate stylistic
features. Furthermore, its positioning at the top of
the page is commanding and brand assertive and
aids in the standing out process when placed on a
display with its competitors
Exclusive offers and free
gifts are seemingly incredibly
important in the marketing
of many existing media texts.
The concept of something
being exclusive to the reader
or free of charge is naturally
appealing hence its inclusion
in my product. In addition to
this, I have made certain to
persist with my coastal
colour scheme.
Imagery is a key feature in the
attracting of customers. By having
the boat, a main item within the
photograph, located in open space,
the potential buyer is able to
appreciate the photography and
gather a sense for the style
employed for this magazine. It is
after all perhaps the most important
characteristic of successful pre-
existing magazines such as Kent Life.
More often than not, regional
magazines use landscapes or rural
shots for the front cover, this helps
to establish the region which is being
represented. This is clear in my
product.
A listing of locations covered by the magazine is present to
help people locate their own home town and
instantaneously acknowledge the magazines relevance to
them. This helps build a relationship with the potential
buyer as they may discover, appreciate and relate to the
articles and events covered inside the magazine. This
feature is situated at the top of the page as it is most likely
to catch the eye of browsers and draw them in for a
possible purchase. Barcodes, as discovered throughout
both years of production, are a
necessary component on a magazine
whether it be regional or on specific
theme. MY research and observations
of existing magazines provide
sufficient evidence to suggest that
the more discreet the barcode the
better as it offers no attractive values.
Not only is mine positioned in the
bottom corner, but it also contains
the price maintaining tidiness.
Uses and gratifications
theory has been referenced
to greatly in the production
process when using text to
draw in my target market.
By teasing the viewer with
small snaps of what’s inside
such as, ‘From Bars to
venues find out who’s
playing what near you!’, I
am encouraging the
customer to seek out more
information resulting in a
practical purchase of the
regional magazines I have
produced.
The font that I have selected for both
my masthead and subheadings above
the feature description has been
selected for the following reasons; It
maintains a sense of tradition and
formality whilst boasting a pastel colour
relevant to the ocean/coastal theme.
Furthermore, much like the many of the
existing regional magazines that I have
studied closely, Kent Life, TimeOut and
Cornwall life, it stands out clearly
without being garish or offensive in
style.

4. When looking at my contents and feature/advertisement pages as a collective, it is clear to see that I have both
complied and developed upon existing codes and conventions. This is clearly the case for features such as the general
layout and positioning of text. When looking at my contents page, it follows the common rule regarding the use of
columns for the listings in and orderly fashion whilst leaving enough room for a substantial amount of images. These
guidelines have been drafter heavily form the existing magazines that drew most of my structural inspiration from.
Cornwall Life and Devon life also make good use of photography's customer drawing capabilities and have inspired
me to dedicate approximately fifty percent of the pages area to pictures.
Secondly, one research discovered feature that stood out and appealed to me was the ‘One The Cover’ section. This
can be found in the majority of existing ‘Life’ regional magazines and quite simply explores the items that are briefly
mentioned on the front cover and brings light to the locations of in depth articles. The informative qualities of this
characteristic used in my work aid in sculpting my product into a successful and useful piece of text. Contrary to my
researched magazines, I have defied codes and conventions with regards to the page title.. I have used a font not
dissimilar in size to that found on the front cover as I believe it helps further establish the brand and helps continue
to advertise the product. My focus group also found that a continuation of title establishment worked well.
The compliance with existing formatting in my opinion assisted in
giving my media product a sense of realism and professionalism
which only adds to its accuracy when replicating an ordinary
regional magazine. With the added opinion of my focus group, I
decided to follow many conventions used by my model examples.
The marginalisation of the text enables the reader to identify which sections the want to reference and look at in greater detail, the
simplification of chapter finding help generate a more approachable and less strictly formal aura to the magazine. Much like the section titles in
Kent Life magazine, my headers are formatted in a bold black front that is significantly larger than the information below. This is employed to
help differentiate each section from the one beneath and above it.
The pale blue background not only helps the coastal colour scheme flow, but also forms a clean canvas for surface text to stand out upon. The
use of a coloured background greatly defies many existing concepts of design. However, when referencing my focus group and other research
sources, I found that by using a mild tone, I could promote the magazines theme without taking away from the simplicity and pleasantness of a
well formatted page. My demographic of young families and adults generally under fifty helped shape the stylisation and employment of a pastel
colour scheme and simplistic layout. Unnecessary formalities and limited styling would fail to shift the common regional magazine market and
therefore fail to defy the ongoing specification hence why a different approach has been taken.
Despite having the opportunity to produce a simple advertisement page, I chose to create a feature article for the private hire and contact
information for a series of local landmarks relevant to my represented region. Once again my blue colour scheme is continued to aid brand
establishment throughout. The positive feedback quotation encourages a preferred reading as it compliments the region in which the most likely
market members will come from. Furthermore, the use of elegant photography helps support the products that are being advertised below. An
essential tourist guide article was positively received by my focus group who suggested that formulating what is in essence a bragging page for
residents and business owners, would help establish a good public bond as it both informs locals of what they’re potentially missing out on, and
helps draw in tourists and locals alike into many businesses and attractions within the region I am representing with my product.

5. When researching existing billboard advertisements, I found that
it was extremely rare for a regional magazine to have its own
board. As a result of this insufficient research, I opted to look at
national magazine billboards instead in order to gain a better
understanding of the effectiveness of combining both a product
with such advertisement methods. From studying TimeOut
magazines London billboards, it was brought to my attention that
brand establishment was once again key. Although an entirely
new set of fonts have been employed for this task, the title of my
magazine is large, bold, and cover roughly 25% of the page. The
sophisticated style allows for the use of minimal text in turn
helping me to correspond with the conventions of existing
examples.
When considering my target market, both me and my focus
group agreed on the addition of social media icons in the bottom
right corner. High levels of young people have accounts on at
least one of the three social media sites I have featured hence
the reference to their preferred reading. Not only does this make
the product more accessible to a broader variety of potential
customers, but it also shows a modern approach that is shared
amongst the majority of regional and national magazines on sale
today. The icons alone act as pull factors and contact points and
pair up well with those situated within the magazine.
In addition to the media icons, the web addresses for the
magazines Facebook, twitter and official website pages are
located in the bottom left corner for ease of access and
clarification purposes. Many of the billboards I had looked at,
including product based companies such as Landrover, had listed
the addresses for these pages. Conclusively speaking it seemed
to be the normal convention to include access points. The
positioning of this element, much like the barcode on the front
cover is incredibly important. The item has no attractive value
and therefore could not obstruct the attractive imagery and title.
However, being a billboard and knowing that they are situated
alongside fast moving traffic an areas of the high population, it
had to be large and clear enough to catch the attention of
passers by.
For this particular ancillary task, I opted to defy many of the
existing examples conventions in order to help the product
match the style of my magazine and help drive a consistent style.
In my opinion, by having an additional picture of the region I am
representing, I believe that I have helped establish a healthy
relationship between producers and customer as it enlightens
the latter of the two as to what their region has to offer, which
from my research is essentially the whole point of a regional
magazine.
With regards to colour, the clear fading sky and
heavily textured ocean compliment one
another along with the striking blues found
throughout every page of my regional magazine
to create a strong and consistent scheme. The
photography in both my ancillary task and main
product rely heavily on the natural elements
without encroaching on urbanisation. This in my
opinion complies with my overall theme of an
unspoilt coastal environment. Clarity of reading
is certified by the use of a darker shade of blue
on top of the paler section of the sky, a
convenient yet entirely coincidental structure.
Although the text beneath the masthead is
apparently small in size, when considering the
actual scale of a billboard, it too will be
accessible to fast moving eyes.
When observing my second ancillary task, a fully functional webpage for the
regional magazine, one can see the use of a formal structure. This particular
layout is heavily influenced by the tidy and clear website for Kent Life magazine.
The pressionalisal and realistic hyperlinked pages allow the user to view a small
gallery of pictures theoretically taken by existing readers and editors alike, an
archive of existing edition which can be purchased or subscribed to online, and
finally a page for contact information.
The photograph slideshow featured on the home page of the website shows
pictures relevant to the most recent edition of the magazine. This helps establish a
strong relationship and up to date connection between my ancillary task and main
product. The majority of images are actually of the region being represented thus
forth strengthening the realistic ties often found in current media texts. Once
again a blue and white colour scheme prevails. This consistency groups the
separate products together to help generate brand identity and style recognition.
In a similar fashion to my contents page, the design of my website follows a
simple few rules. Simplicity and ease of reading, this is key to addressing the
target market and avoiding off-putting complexity, easy navigability and clear
section headings, these help the user to find what they are looking for
instantaneously.

6. Audience feedback has proven to be incredibly useful throughout the production process. Despite making the majority of stylistic and content based decisions
based on my own knowledge, I did take great note on my focus groups views regarding individual aspects such as the colour scheme, font choices and even what
to cover on my feature page. In order to access the views of my carefully selected focus group, I created a social media chat room which enabled my volunteers to
complete various surveys, questionnaires and voting polls. When constructing my focus group I ensured that it included people that met the codes of my target
demographic, as their views would be most important in shaping the magazine and making sure that it appealed to their taste. As well as commenting on my own
ideas and styles, I asked the group a series of questions regarding existing media texts. This allowed me to gauge what features they liked to see in regional
magazines early on in the research and production stage, form this I could begin to sculpt a target. When analysing the attitudes my volunteers had, I could begin
to gather and idea of what needs to be incorporated in order to make my product as successful as pre-existing competitors. In addition to the relevant age
characteristics, my focus group consisted entirely of people that actively read local and regional magazines, therefore making them experts on their own interests
and desires, this proved extremely useful when referencing their views throughout the production process.
As oppose to asking my focus group how they felt about my final pages, I asked them to view my work throughout the production in person in order to make the
necessary changes at the time. This saved time in the long wrong and enabled my helpers to focus solely on each stage of the production task and scrutinise them
in more detail. An example of a feature hindering my products success that was sought out by the focus group was the amount of text columns features on the
contents page. When analysing my work they realised that the typical convention of most magazine types was to have three columns of text, whereas I had only
two irregular block of text. This small change helped contribute to making my product more successful and realistic. The professionalism and accuracy was one of
the main points I wanted to follow closely from the very start of production therefore proving the significant usefulness of my focus group and to other assisting
helpers.
One area in which the feedback from my selected audience was valued most highly was the photography element of my product. More often than not, it is the
pictures and use of imagery that attract in the potential market, seeing as my focus group were active readers, I believe that their opinion on what sort of images
should be used was incredibly valuable. The general consensus from a survey put forward to my group was that rural was best and the use of busy modern city
environments should be avoided as they detract greatly from the values of regional pride. The constructive information was then followed closely when it came to
taking all of the pictures for my magazine and also for the billboard photograph. The reflection of the focus group input can be seen in my product in the form of
rural imagery. Furthermore, the first few drafts of my varying pages lacked a consistent striking colour scheme issue at hand was not that I hadn’t any ideas, but
that I required the assistance of my focus group when choosing which of the many ideas I had generated to pursue. In the end a voting poll concluded that blue
was the most appropriate colour to be used thought the magazine. In ado this, those selected to observe my work first hand influenced my use of varying shades
and to essentially make up the brand establishment. This is further evidence s towards the great importance of focus groups and audience creating a media
product such as a regional magazine. This highlighted to me the areas requiring consideration regarding UGT. From these suggestions and I created a set criteria
for g creative tasks. O the implied colours, using relevant attractive imagery, and pursuing stylistic approaches that met the needs of the target audience and those
used by successful existing products of a similar.
AUDIENCE FEEDBACK

7. Facebook proved an incredibly useful technological
tool throughout the production of my magazine. Not
only did it enable me to communicate clearly with my
focus group whenever necessary, but it also allowed
me to observe existing Facebook pages for my model
magazines. The allowed me to gain an understanding
of the modern technology being employed to help
advertise and promote regional magazines. The focus
group itself was based within a chat room created on
Facebook that allowed me to produce electronic
questionnaires and surveys for my audience to fill out.
YouTube gave me the opportunity to seek out
tutorials for almost every possible action on
Photoshop. This accessibility allowed me to develop
my technical skills on the software used for
production which made for an overall better final
product. Furthermore, tutorials on photography and
the Cannon EOS 550 D displayed many ways in which I
could improve my photography skills and get the shots
that most intensely met my chosen conventions. An
example of this being practically used would be
landscape picture employed to be the face of my
regional magazines billboard, both the angle and
exposure levels were determined by my new found
knowledge.
Adobe Photoshop provided me with the necessary software to
create a magazine that was visually stimulating for the target
market. The various editing tools helped me develop a product
that shares many qualities and characteristics with
professionally made magazines. Photoshop was also used to
produce the primary drafts and mock ups for each of my three
magazines pages. From these roughly created outlines, my
focus group could help me gauge what styles worked best.
From there onwards all changes were simple and manageable.
Weebly was also used as a primary site
for my ancillary production task. The
simple settings enable me to create my
own unique webpage with varying
features in an incredibly simple format.
With the use of several YouTube
tutorials, I successfully created my own
regional magazine in a sophisticate
style that shares qualities with existing
sites for my studied example i.e. Kent
Life.
Slideshare, although not a
technical piece of editing
software, enabled me to
compile and post both my pre-
production research, mockups
and plans, and my evaluation.
By converting the Micro-soft
powerpoint slideshows into a
Blogger compatable format,
the site has made presenting
my work and incredibly easy
task. As well as being an
invaluable asset to my
presentation, Slideshare also
gave me a simple format in
which to present my research
to the focus group I had
already constructed. The
slideshow is easily navigable
and allows those analysing my
work to simply click back onto
certain areas and point out
improvements that need to be
made.
MEDIA
TECHNOLOGIES