The student learned several important lessons from their preliminary media task to the full product: 1) They improved their photography skills like using shallower depth of field and dressing models appropriately. 2) They incorporated consistent house colors and style throughout for continuity. 3) Intermediate software skills like gradients and drop shadows enhanced the professional look. 4) Structuring content and cover lines effectively drew attention to the main image. 5) Applying techniques like the rule of thirds improved visual impact.

1. AS Media Evaluation
By Matt Evans

3. TASK 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

5. Task 2: How does your media product represent
particular social groups?
I feel my media product represents the urban society very well. The clothing I used in my shot is stereotypically used to represent
youth and danger, as is the clothing worn by Drake, featured on the cover of VIBE. The 2nd VIBE front cover features Jay Z as he turns
away from the shot. This is similar to my shot and conveys a sense of ‘coolness’ and ‘swagger.’The colour scheme throughout all the
media products mainly features the power colours of white, black and red. Power colours are used to appeal to both male and female
fans. As you can see, all cover artists are of african american, or mixed race descent and all around the same age group. This is intended
to capture a wide audience, but predominantly of a similar age and ethnic group. The price range would be around £4 per issue to
appeal to the same market as the likes of VIBE and The Source magazine. The language and style used should also appeal to a younger
audience with an interest in urban culture.

7. Task 3: What kind of media institution might distribute
your media product and why?
Publishing is the process of production of literature or information - the activity of making information available for the public eye. In
some cases authors may be their own publishers, meaning: originators and developers of work also provide media to display the content.
Traditionally, the term ‘Publishing' refers to the distribution of printed works such as books and newspapers. With the advent of digital
information systems and the internet, publishing has expanded to include electronic resources, such as the electronic versions of books,
websites, blogs and video game publishers
The media institution that I believe would distribute and represent my product would be Harris Publications inc. Harris Publications is an
American consumer magazine publisher that is based in new york city. Its portfolio of products boasts over 75 titles, including Juicy, XXL,
King, Dog news and Guns & weapons for law enforcement.
I felt compelled to work with this publisher as it has extensive experience of selling magazines with a similar genre to mine. in particular,
King and XXL. These magazines share many of the same conventions and topics found within my magazine, such as music, fashion, film and
art and therefore would be easy to market using previous techniques that have proven successful for similar products under this
publication. The revenue from the magazine will be made by marketing my magazine in a similar way to VIBE and XXL. I intend to sell my
product using paid circulation in high street shops and music stores. The pay-per-issue price would be around £4 and the annual
subscription would be around £40 as to compete with other brands

9. Task 4: Who would be the audience for your media
product?
with his mother
This is m ike, he is 23 years old and lives
rtsmouth. His
and younger br other in a terraced house in Po
nal average but the
family income is below the natio
s like virgin plus and
househ old is not without such luxurie
e gym, boxing,
40’ TV’s. His hobbies entail Basketball, th
nts of alcohol
computer ga mes and drinking copious amou
anager for
over the weeke nds. He works as an account m
one day become
N ationwide where he hopes to
ess story. If he is
prosperous and become an overnight succ
then he is
not spending time building muscle in the gym
tion films or
lounging around , either watching fast paced ac
his favourite artists,
listeni ng to his favourite beats from
tle Beyonce.
such as Kanye west, Jay Z, and even a lit
The target audience for my magazine
ranges between 18-35 and is aimed at
both sexes, but predominantly men. It
would most typically be brought by
young men with an interest in american
urban culture, sport and music.

11. Task 5: How did you attract/address your audience?

12. Task 5: How did you attract/address your audience?
Here I have used different
colours to highlight key words,
such as the imperative; NEEDS. I
also used UPPER CASE and
underlining to enforce it’s
meaning, in order to attract the
attention of a reader

13. Task 5: How did you attract/address your audience?
Here I used a font that mimicked that of handwriting in order to
give an impression that the story covered would be personal. I
also used the words DREAM and REALITY as they contrast
each other, helping achieve the idea of the story including two
sides. The use of drop shadow further captured attention by
making the words look as if they are jumping from the page

14. Task 5: How did you attract/address your audience?
A list urban artists help capture the
interest of the fans

15. Task 5: How did you attract/address your audience?
monly a ssociated
of sports, com e further
The use s generat
urban cu lture help
with interest

16. Task 5: How did you attract/address your audience?

18. Task 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the
process of constructing this product
esign (1.3 &
nw as Adobe InD
ruct my desig ate a product
I used to const wou ld help me cre th 1.3 and
hnology that industry and nted with bo
The main tec this is w hat is used in le. I experime of tools with a more
is as ssib
1.5) I used th realistic as po d a better range
ro fessional and ffere e to become
that looked p u nd that 1.5 o kp ro allowed m ly a basic
om home. I fo ng a macboo gave me on
1.5 versions fr I. Working from home usi the class time
GU er, as
user friendly e tools on off
nc ed with all th understandin
g.
more experie

19. Task 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the
process of constructing this product
esign (1.3 &
nw as Adobe InD
ruct my desig ate a product
I used to const wou ld help me cre th 1.3 and
hnology that industry and nted with bo
The main tec this is w hat is used in le. I experime of tools with a more
is as ssib
1.5) I used th realistic as po d a better range
ro fessional and ffere e to become
that looked p u nd that 1.5 o kp ro allowed m ly a basic
om home. I fo ng a macboo gave me on
1.5 versions fr I. Working from home usi the class time
GU er, as
user friendly e tools on off
nc ed with all th understandin
g.
more experie
y
to upload m
dec ided to use d
as the site I me to embe
Blo gger. This w ea s it allowed
familiar with valuation. I used this sit ve ease.
Ialso became ction and e s with relati
resea rch, constru tures, video’s and slide
pic

20. Task 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the
process of constructing this product
esign (1.3 &
nw as Adobe InD
ruct my desig ate a product
I used to const wou ld help me cre th 1.3 and
hnology that industry and nted with bo
The main tec this is w hat is used in le. I experime of tools with a more
is as ssib
1.5) I used th realistic as po d a better range
ro fessional and ffere e to become
that looked p u nd that 1.5 o kp ro allowed m ly a basic
om home. I fo ng a macboo gave me on
1.5 versions fr I. Working from home usi the class time
GU er, as
user friendly e tools on off
nc ed with all th understandin
g.
more experie
y
to upload m
dec ided to use d
as the site I me to embe
Blo gger. This w ea s it allowed
familiar with valuation. I used this sit ve ease.
Ialso became ction and e s with relati
resea rch, constru tures, video’s and slide
pic
I used a Nikon SLR for tak
ing my images for my prod
image quality seemed far su uct. I chose to use this as th
perior to the conventiona e
preliminary task. This allow l Digital camera's used in th
ed me to capture shots wi e
th a professional finish, aid
making my product look as ing with
realistic as possible.

22. Task 7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you
have learnt in the progression from it, to the full product?
I have learnt a great deal from progressing from the
preliminary task to the final product. For example:

23. Task 7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you
have learnt in the progression from it, to the full product?
I have learnt a great deal from progressing from the
preliminary task to the final product. For example:
✦ I learned about depth of field and shot types. In my preliminary task I took a medium/long shot of a student
with a large depth of field. I felt this detracted from the cover image, whereas, for my final design I used a mid
shot of my model in a posed position against a brick wall. This makes the depth shallow and places the main
emphasis on the image. I was also able to dress my model in a style that strongly represents my genre.

24. Task 7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you
have learnt in the progression from it, to the full product?
I have learnt a great deal from progressing from the
preliminary task to the final product. For example:
✦ I learned about depth of field and shot types. In my preliminary task I took a medium/long shot of a student
with a large depth of field. I felt this detracted from the cover image, whereas, for my final design I used a mid
shot of my model in a posed position against a brick wall. This makes the depth shallow and places the main
emphasis on the image. I was also able to dress my model in a style that strongly represents my genre.
✦ I learned to use house colours that represent the theme of the product and made it consistent throughout to
promote continuity.

25. Task 7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you
have learnt in the progression from it, to the full product?
I have learnt a great deal from progressing from the
preliminary task to the final product. For example:
✦ I learned about depth of field and shot types. In my preliminary task I took a medium/long shot of a student
with a large depth of field. I felt this detracted from the cover image, whereas, for my final design I used a mid
shot of my model in a posed position against a brick wall. This makes the depth shallow and places the main
emphasis on the image. I was also able to dress my model in a style that strongly represents my genre.
✦ I learned to use house colours that represent the theme of the product and made it consistent throughout to
promote continuity.
✦ I Learned how to use tools and effects such as the feather gradient and drop shadows on a more intermediate
level. This allowed me to enhance my product, giving it a more professional and eye catching finish.

26. Task 7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you
have learnt in the progression from it, to the full product?
I have learnt a great deal from progressing from the
preliminary task to the final product. For example:
✦ I learned about depth of field and shot types. In my preliminary task I took a medium/long shot of a student
with a large depth of field. I felt this detracted from the cover image, whereas, for my final design I used a mid
shot of my model in a posed position against a brick wall. This makes the depth shallow and places the main
emphasis on the image. I was also able to dress my model in a style that strongly represents my genre.
✦ I learned to use house colours that represent the theme of the product and made it consistent throughout to
promote continuity.
✦ I Learned how to use tools and effects such as the feather gradient and drop shadows on a more intermediate
level. This allowed me to enhance my product, giving it a more professional and eye catching finish.
✦I structured my contents page in a more comprehendible manner and created a house style that readers could
instantly associate with my product.

27. Task 7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you
have learnt in the progression from it, to the full product?
I have learnt a great deal from progressing from the
preliminary task to the final product. For example:
✦ I learned about depth of field and shot types. In my preliminary task I took a medium/long shot of a student
with a large depth of field. I felt this detracted from the cover image, whereas, for my final design I used a mid
shot of my model in a posed position against a brick wall. This makes the depth shallow and places the main
emphasis on the image. I was also able to dress my model in a style that strongly represents my genre.
✦ I learned to use house colours that represent the theme of the product and made it consistent throughout to
promote continuity.
✦ I Learned how to use tools and effects such as the feather gradient and drop shadows on a more intermediate
level. This allowed me to enhance my product, giving it a more professional and eye catching finish.
✦I structured my contents page in a more comprehendible manner and created a house style that readers could
instantly associate with my product.
✦ I structured my cover-lines around my image in my final product, in a way that almost highlights the main
image. I did this using the gradient effect that created a small, but noticeable glow around my image, and by
resizing and structuring my words to wrap around the image.

28. Task 7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you
have learnt in the progression from it, to the full product?
I have learnt a great deal from progressing from the
preliminary task to the final product. For example:
✦ I learned about depth of field and shot types. In my preliminary task I took a medium/long shot of a student
with a large depth of field. I felt this detracted from the cover image, whereas, for my final design I used a mid
shot of my model in a posed position against a brick wall. This makes the depth shallow and places the main
emphasis on the image. I was also able to dress my model in a style that strongly represents my genre.
✦ I learned to use house colours that represent the theme of the product and made it consistent throughout to
promote continuity.
✦ I Learned how to use tools and effects such as the feather gradient and drop shadows on a more intermediate
level. This allowed me to enhance my product, giving it a more professional and eye catching finish.
✦I structured my contents page in a more comprehendible manner and created a house style that readers could
instantly associate with my product.
✦ I structured my cover-lines around my image in my final product, in a way that almost highlights the main
image. I did this using the gradient effect that created a small, but noticeable glow around my image, and by
resizing and structuring my words to wrap around the image.
✦ I also felt more aware of the rule of thirds, structuring my cover, and sky lines appropriately in order to
achieve maximum effect when viewed on horizontal and vertical shelves.

29. Task 7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you
have learnt in the progression from it, to the full product?
Here are some examples from my preliminary task and my
final product. It is clear that there is a HUGE difference in
quality due to extensive research and planning.

30. Task 7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you
have learnt in the progression from it, to the full product?
Here are some examples from my preliminary task and my
final product. It is clear that there is a HUGE difference in
quality due to extensive research and planning.