Evaluation 4: How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

My production was very much dependant on the technology which I used. All 3 tasks required different media programmes.

For my research at the start of the production I used the internet, especially for the radio adverts, for which I used www.rad.co.uk. Before I decided to do a radio advert, I had decided to do a newspaper website. To research newspaper websites I used www.theindependent.co.uk, www.theguardian.co.uk to research national websites and www.thisisbristol.co.uk (The Evening Post website) and www.themetro.co.uk. I also used the internet for my blog entries on www.blogger.com. I found this site very useful as not only was I able to keep track of my progress but I could also look at other people’s blogs for inspiration for my own.

I also used the internet to create the masthead for my newspaper using www.dafont.com and my logo of a ship. I found this very useful as it would not have looked professional if I had used a regular Microsoft word font.

For both my newspaper and my poster, I used Microsoft publisher. I found this very useful and quite simple to use as I was given a basic template from which to work. I did however find it difficult to change my page setup from A4 to A3, as I had to adjust everything and make things fit. This meant that I had to make my font size slightly bigger which I feel takes away from the quality of my newspaper. I used photoshop to edit my photographs. In order to follow the conventions of local newspapers, I had to limit the amount of editing I used as the photographs still had to look natural. For this reason I only adjusted the lighting to make them clearer, and also contrast to make them less bland. I also cropped my photos to make them fit properly on the page, within the text.

For the photographs on my poster I felt that I could be slightly more adventurous so I decided to change the contrast quite a lot to make them a lot more striking and bright.

For my radio advert I used a program called Garageband which was on the imacs. At first this was quite complicated, but once I got used to it I found it very eddective and I was able to try out a lot of different sounds to find the one which suited my product the most.

Evaluation 3: What have you learned from your audience feedback?

At the start of our production, we presented our basic ideas for our newspapers to eachother as a class. This was very helpful as a base from which I could create my production as it allowed me to understand what would work well and what would not. From this feedback I found that I needed to make changes to the layout of my front page. I also found that my original font for the masthead was too unconventional for a local newspaper, therefore I had to change this to make it more conventional.

The target audience whom I used as models were people between the ages of 16 and 26. They were both males and females. I used a range of people; some who regularly bought newspapers and some who rarely did.

The research which I found most beneficial concerning my target audience was The Metro as their target audience is similar so a lot of my newspaper uses inspiration from this.
I presented my product to my target audience and asked them to fill out a questionnaire, asking about any positive or negative points about the products and most importantly, whether of not they would be interested in purchasing it.

The main positive points which I received were that they found my product striking and more unique than most other newspapers. They also liked the young influence on my product which is a theme throughout my production in all of my tasks.

The main things which could have been improved according to the questionnaires were my text size on my newspaper, as it was slightly bigger than most newspapers. Also they felt that there should have been more images to break up the text.

QUESTIONNAIRE ON 'BRISTOL 24'

1. What do you think about the look of the front cover? Is this the kind of house style that would appeal to you?

2. Do you think that the articles are relevant and are they about subjects that you would be intersted in?

3. Does this newspaper come accross as conventional? If so which aspects make it conventional/which aspects challenge conventions?

4. Do you think that the images within the newspaper match with the stories? Are there too many images or not enough in your opinion?

5. Do the advertisements and supplements go with the style and tone of the newspaper? Would you be interested in any of them and why?

Evaluation 2: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

I chose to make all 3 of my tasks attractive to my target audience. For this reason I chose to set my radio advert in a busy office, conveying the busy life of my target audience. I did not want to make my advert too cheesy as I felt that it would not attract my target audience well enough, however I still wanted to keep the conventions of a normal newspaper radio advert do I used a cheesy voice for the male character. In the script of my radio advert I made my characters relatable to my target audience. For this reason I wanted to convey the fact that the entertainment magazine is free and that not everything in it will cost a lot of money. The reason I chose to do an entertainment magazine is because I felt that it would be the most suitable thing to attract my target audience.
The jingle at the end was chosen because I thought that it best suited the entertainment genre as it was upbeat but not cheesy.

I wanted to use my newspaper poster as a chance to be creative. For this reason I wanted to make my poster dynamic. I thought that if it had this style it would appeal to my target audience and would also suit the entertainment genre. The magazine was advertised as a supplement on the front cover of my newspaper so I felt that it would be suitable to base my ancillary tasks on this.
On the poster I used black and red theme which is the house style of my newspaper. I chose to do a bold black border in order to make the poster stand out.

The pictures on my poster were deliberately made to be blurry so that they would appeal to the dynamic, fast paced lives of my target audience.
I found it hard to make my advert and poster not cheesy but still conventional. I think that it would have been easier for me to make it cheesy as it would have seemed more like a recognisable newspaper advert. I am however glad that I challenged myself and feel that I have achieved the unique style that I wanted.

The font used on the poster is the same font used on my newspaper. I chose to do this because it is more effective for the reader to be able to recognise it as a ‘Bristol 24’ product. I chose to do the ‘Entertainment Magazine’ text in a different font to make it clear that it is a separate production whilst still being a part of my newspaper. I chose this font because I felt that it was edgy and striking which would appeal to my target audience.

I chose to add my newspaper’s website address in order to bring it up to date as technological convergence is very important in the media world and most newspapers have websites in order to give their product an extra platform to gain more readership.

Evaluation 1: In what ways does your media products use, dvevelop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Because of my previous production at AS level, I decided to try to be creative as I enjoyed changing and challenging conventions of current magazines. However, because this production was a newspaper I had to try to keep it as conventional as possible whilst also making it original.

Because my target audience was the younger generation of early 20 year olds/late teenagers aed between 16 and 26, I felt it was necessary for my newspaper to stand out to them as something which they would like to read. For this reason I chose to make my masthead in a rounded font which would appear more youthful than most other newspapers. This is similar, however to the Metro newspaper which I researched. This newspaper is free in most places and is aimed at readers who are on the go, which is similar to my target audience. I chose the logo of a ship because I wanted it to remain a local newspaper whilst still appealing to my target audience. The ship references the waterfront in the centre of Bristol. This is also a place which is familiar to young people as there are many bars and social areas on the waterfront.

My house style is black and red because I felt that these are dynamic, modern colours which aren’t too loud but challenge the conventions of most newspapers as most use colours such as blues, greens and whites which are more subtle. I chose to do the ‘24’ in red because it makes my newspaper appear more edgy and emphasises the fact that it is fast news, up to date everyday, which is what my target audience are looking for.

The main picture on my front cover uses the conventions of most local newspapers. It matches the main story on the front cover and is the largest image. From my research I found that most main pictures are of a scene if the article is about a place. The newspapers I researched were The Evening Post, The Metro and The Mercury. I chose not to use a picture of people because it may have given the reader the wrong impression of the story.

The layout of my front cover was chosen as I wanted readers to recognise its house style as a local newspaper through the conventions I used.

Newspaper Radio Advert Development - The Script

Two women in the office talking about what to do on the weekend.
Woman 1 – Urgh! I am SO bored! One more day and it’s finally the weekend!
Woman 2 – I know, I can’t wait! But we always do the same thing!
Woman 1 – Yeah, it’s always X Factor, town, X Factor, town. We need a change. Bristol is so boring now!
A man walks in and interrupts the women.
Man 1 – Did you just say Bristol is boring!?
Woman 2 – Um…yeah, why?
Man 1 – Well, I have a simple way to convert you!
Woman 1 – Oh go away Dave!
Woman 2 – What’s that then?
Man 1 – The Entertainment Magazine free every Thursday with Bristol 24! It’s the only thing you’ll need to spice up your weekends, you’ll never struggle to think of something to do ever again!
Woman 1 – But we don’t have any money! How is that going to help when all we want is a good cheap night out?!
Man 1 – Money isn’t an issue! From celebrity appearances at your favourite clubs to drum and bass gigs! It’s got everything you need!
So grab your issue of The Entertainment Magazine, free, only in Bristol 24!

Poster Final Draft

Poster Photographs