Evaluation

Evaluation

In what ways does my media product use, develop or challenge codes and conventions of a real magazine?

My media preliminary task followed all codes and conventions of a real magazine. I named my magazine ‘School.’ I named it this because it is short, snappy, easy to remember and relevant to the reader. It has a masthead which is a unique font and stands out from the rest of the front cover; this is one of the basic codes and conventions. It has a medium close up of a Weatherhead pupil in a sports uniform and a mise-en-scene is of the astro-turf featured in the school, which i thought is relevant and appropriate to use. It also has a positioning statement ‘Getting you ready for the week ahead.’ Which I thought was short, relevant and affective. This is also a crucial code and convention because it gives the reader an idea of what they are going to get. I also have a colour scheme. The colour scheme is blue, purple, red and yellow. These colours match the schools logo and are more feminine, who are the main consumers of this magazine. However my front cover did not include a bar code, as it was a free magazine. It also included the date it was issued and 4 cover lines, which are also codes and conventions.

Examples of codes and conducts of which i have followed on my front cover are:

Main image uses direct address

2.3 fonts

Masthead font is unique

4 or 5 cover lines

Date the magazine was issued.

Cover lines decorated with graphics.

Big central image (mid shot)

Did i follow the codes and conventions?

I believe that i followed all of the codes and conventions of a real magazine correctly and up to a high standard.

This is a picture of a real magazine which demonstrates some of the codes and conventions i mention in this evaluation.

Examples of codes and conventions which i have followed on my contents page are:

There are 3-7 picutres, each relating to an article.

Subheadings are in block coloured graphics to break up page.

Subheadings are in bold.

Different fonts for the heading, subheading and text.

Include an editors letter

Organized into sections.

This is a picture of a real magazine contents page. This demonstrates some of the codes & conventions followed on real contents pages.

This is the picture i used for my front cover of my magazine. I believe it captures a sence of adventure and happiness. I think this because of the mise-en-scene and the smile on the subjects face. This encourages people to read the magazine.

Camera

Throughout my premliminary task i used a camera for many diferent jobs.

For other tasks, such as getting my front cover, i used a standard 12mp digital camera.

For my 'You've been framed' task i used a 'Nikon D90'

Photoshop

Quark

How did I use media technologies in the construction of my media product?

In my preliminary task I used various technologies which I had never previously used. They were programmes such as, quark and photo-shop. I was given a tutorial and I found these easy to use once I had some practice. I struggled at changing the pictures size, on photoshop, without it looking disorientated and pixelated. However overall I seemed to find both of the programmes fairly easy. To take the pictures for the task ‘You've been framed’ I used a Kodak D90 camera which was easy to use because the signs on the camera to change function are internationally recognizable signs. When taking pictures for my contents page and front cover, I used a standard digital camera which I found incredibly easy as I use that type of camera on my free time. Ways I could have improved with the Kodak D90 would have been how and when to zoom in and out of shots appropriately and effectively. I also used a free website called ‘prezi’. This website is an interactional presentation creator which helps you create organized effective presentations. I found using that very easy.

Quark Logo.

To improve my final product i should have used the guides on quark more efficiently to make it more attractive.I aslo could have used more bold colours and fonts to catch the audiences attention even more.

Prezi is an online, free website which lets you create interactive presentations. This website has helped me enhance my overall presentation of my blog and gain more marks. This website is easy to use and very beneficial for media students.

The positive points of my front cover are my main image, the use of colour and fonts, my layout, the mise-en-scene, and the size of all my fonts. I believe this was how I kept to the codes and conventions correctly and achieved the standard of work that I have. However I could have improved my work by taking more advantage of space and using more block graphics. I don’t think I used enough cover lines on my front cover which left my front cover to look rather bare. It would have been a better idea to use block graphics because the cover lines seem to blend with the background a bit making the magazine less practical for users with restricted sight. The good points of my contents page are the use of pictures, the use of different fonts, and my headline of the page has the same font as the front cover. Once again, I feel followed the codes and conventions correctly. Aspects I believe I could have improved my contents page are, the colours don’t correspond with my front cover, I didn't follow the guide lines on quark, leaving my contents page to look untidy and less attractive and I didn't take advantage of all the space on the page. From this preliminary task I feel I have grasped the knowledge of how to make my music magazine achieve full potential.

Photo-shop Logo.

Technology

Nikon D90

Prezi

Prezi Logo.