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Wednesday, 12 May 2010

Evaluation: How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Research and planning

The technology that helped me whilst I was research and planning my products was the internet. I used the internet to find existing local newspaper sites in order to find the common conventions within them so I could include them in my own products. I also use the internet to find images of existing newspaper front covers so I could again find the common conventions within them. I also used the internet to research the news values of local newspapers as well as to create a questionnaire that could be used to analyse the wants of my audience.
I would be using the software Adobe InDesgin to create my newspaper and so before beginning the construction process I made a mock up of what I wanted my newspaper to look like, giving myself a blueprint design to follow. I also created mock ups for both my poster and website however I would be using Adobe Photoshop to create these so I used this program to create the mock up for them.

Construction

The use of technology was important in the construction process of my products. All 3 pieces were created using software designed to create different forms of media. I used Adobe InDesign which is a software application that can create a number of different media products to create my newspaper. This was a software I had never used before so it I had to learn how use it, again using the internet to find online tutorials to guide me.
For the construction of my website and my poster I used Adobe Photoshop, a graphic editing software. I had already used this program previously during the course of my education so it was already familiar to me and therefore I didn’t need to search for any tutorials.

Evaluation

Even during my evaluation process I used media technology. To make sure I didn’t make any spelling mistakes or grammar errors whilst writing my evaluation I wrote it up first on Microsoft Word and then cut and pasted it into my blog. Also I used the website Blogger.com to present my coursework and all components of my production online so that it can be viewed easily by anyone.

Evaluation: What have you learned from your audience feedback?

After creating my products I showed them to friends and also other people I knew that were also doing media for some feedback. Most people had a positive response to my products, in particular my poster however, I asked them to be honest and give me any critical feedback and a few common points were made. The first point was that my website felt flat compared to the real ones. I agreed with this but I put it done to the software that was used to create it as well as the size of the website I made is much smaller in comparison to real websites. Another common comment was the fact that the dates on my websites and newspaper don’t match up which they would have usually. This was a mistake on my part as I had put the wrong date on my website when I created it. People also said that he picture of the members of the news team that created the newspaper, as well as the list of the top 10 chart positions are too large and take up too much space than they would normally. The picture couldn’t be made smaller without losing a large amount of quality however the chart could have been made smaller and would have given me more space to add other things on the page. As a result I was given feedback that the inside page seems less authentic then the rest of the paper.
I was also given some positive feedback however as many of the people who looked at them felt that my poster was very good and looked like a real poster. They also felt that the story on my newspaper and website sounded very similar to real stories in the way it was written. Also I was told that even though my website looked flat the layout of it was very realistic.

Evaluation: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

I feel that the combination of my main product and ancillary texts is effective as they are all individual and unique pieces, however they all have common features that connect them together. An example of these common features is the masthead of my newspaper which is present in all 3 of the products I’ve created. This shows a relationship between them creates a form of synergy between them. Another common feature is the colours red and black used throughout my products. These were first used for my newspapers masthead but I included them in my website and poster to again show the relationship between them. The pieces also have features that advertise each other in them for example the newspaper has the address of the website on it, the website has a picture of the newspaper on it and the poster was created to advertise both the website and the newspaper and so included advertisement for both.

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

My website

Similarly to my newspaper, I tried to conform to most, if not all of the conventions of newspaper websites. As I have done with both the newspaper and the poster, I included the same masthead into the website creating an association with each other so readers will know the 3 pieces are related to the same newspaper. Instead of having the masthead in the centre of the page like it is on newspapers, I placed it to the left-hand side in a similar fashion to how it is done in other local newspaper websites. I also included a list of navigation links running underneath the masthead as well as a menu of links down the left hand side of the page. These are common conventions found in most websites to help visitors to travel around the site with greater ease. I didn’t include a large advertisement underneath the masthead like many local newspaper websites have because there wouldn’t have been enough space to include everything else I needed and the advert isn’t an integral convention that needs to be followed. I did however include an advert in the top right-hand corner of the web page as there is always an advert in this place on all other local newspaper sites. To make the advert more realistic I used a different advertisement on the linked page as the advert regularly changes as the reader navigates around the site. I included a drop down menu underneath the masthead as most websites give its visitors an option of finding the story they want either through the use of drop down menu or search bar. In the centre of the page I put a small section of the story that I used on my newspaper and attached a link underneath it. This is reminiscent of a newspaper where part of the story is on the front cover and the rest is found on a different page inside. By clicking the link underneath it the reader will be navigated to another page of the site where the rest of the story will be. This is a common convention among newspapers site and so it was important that I included it. Next to my story put a small image of my newspaper. This is regularly found in local newspaper sites as a way for the visitor to read the newspaper online. This is an integral example and new media strengthening old and it was again important that I included this as it is a common and key convention I needed to follow. Above the image of my newspaper there is a login in point for members of the site. I found this was on most local newspaper site and so I included it to make my site look more authentic.
I also created a second page of my website which would be the location the link underneath my story would take the reader. The two pages are very similar as many of the fixtures of the site would not change while the reader moves around the site for example the masthead and navigation links are all exactly the same. This is common in most website as these things are permanent fixtures of the site and so I wanted to make mine the same. The main change that occurs is that the image of my newspaper and the login point for members is gone and are replaced by the rest of the story from the front page. As the reason the visitor would click the link is to read more of the story, the story takes main focus on this page.

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

My Poster

When creating my poster, I found that there weren’t many posters around that advertised newspapers. This meant that I didn’t have any conventions to follow and so it gave me almost complete freedom to create my poster how I wished however, I still wanted it to look authentic so I tried to include a few aspects of my newspaper in it to show a relationship between the two. I did this by including the masthead from my newspaper on to my poster showing that the poster is related to the paper. I also included the web address of the newspaper so that the poster advertise not just the published newspaper but also the online aspect of the newspaper.

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

My Newspaper

The newspaper I created tries to conform to many of the conventions usually found within existing newspapers. The masthead is found at the top of the front page, and consists of white text on a red background. This is done by many national and local newspapers to make it stand out and catch the attention of potential readers. The main headline is in large black lettering and in full capitals letter which is done to relay the importance of the story as well as to again catch the attention of readers. My newspaper also contains 3 pictures, two of which are connected to the main headline and take up a large amount of space. These pictures are there to help the reader connect with the story, making it more personal and therefore relatable. Only a small part of the main story is shown on my front page, similarly to existing newspapers. They do this so that the reader, once invested in the story will open the paper to find the story and in doing so, read the majority of the newspaper. All stories also have by-lines to identify to the reader who wrote the story. My main story is no exception and I have added a by-line to the beginning of my story and my newspaper also has adverts, similarly to existing newspapers. The support/secondary story of my newspaper is on the right, another example of the conventions I have followed, such as including the address for the newspapers website.
The inside page of this newspaper continues to follow the conventions of newspapers such as containing a contents page. Not every newspaper has this but many do. The main story from the front page continues on this page. The inside page also has a picture and list of members of the news team that help create the newspaper. Similarly to the contents page not every newspaper does this, mainly just a few local papers but as mine is meant to be local too I thought it would be a suitable convention to include. I didn’t follow all conventions of newspapers however, and I tried to challenge conventions to make my newspaper unique by including a list of the top 10 artist in the UK music charts at the time. I wanted to include something original in my production so this is what I did as no other newspaper does this.