1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms of conventions of real media productions?
In the website I conducted extensive research into real media products for example Channel 4 and BBC 1 and looking at what they offer to the users of the website, and by doing this I started following the same styles and layouts to make sure my website resembled them as well as possible. I browsed a range of websites and took note of what appealed to I decided that the way to reach audience would be to change what is already out there and what they do on my website I have include moving images (Photo Album) To make the website more appealing to the lower end of my target audience. By doing this I was appealing to one end of my target audience however I had to appeal to the other end and that is why I took the simplistic approach with regards to layout and make pages that explained and gave detail in-depth about the company and what it’s going to provide to the audience, my websites challenges other media productions through the use of the layout as on most websites the main page layout changes where you click to move to and on my website I have created a flow. By that I mean when you enter the website you arrive directly at the home page, then the headers stay put and the centre piece of the page changes compared to some website where new page new style. Furthermore I have incorporated the time of year (Christmas) when creating the website it was this time of year, and I have mixed this into the documentary theme.
The BBC 1 website that has a range of genre’s attached to is filed with a very informative text when looking at it and this is something that I didn’t want to do as it would over load my audience however I did like the layout of the website they took on and pages they had within it that is why I wanted to base my main website around the BBC website. However I wanted to develop what they have done and include an introduction video about the company on the website to cut the text and focus at my audience.
I had trouble at some stages when it came to the layout and design of the websites as the website creation program I was using did not allow me to include a few items such as the search facility within the website as the BBC one include however I came to the conclusion that if I placed the pages and text in an order it will be self-explanatory.
Scheduling page: After a great deal of research and recap of previous skills learned I became familiar with the codes of conventions used on magazine scheduling pages for television, the disunion I made was to focus the website launch around a story, I aimed the story around the genre around the website and to catch the eye of browsers I have used colours that are associated with that genre.
Newspaper ad: I made the decision on the newspaper to take a soft approach and not allow the text to over flow the page and to let the image do the talking and providing the information about what the websites about. In terms of developing and conventions I have used a long shot and the positions of the model are to illustrate that everyone at the level and are in the same position as everyone else. This is to meet the genre and develop the genre of documentary and show that the colourers in the image match the documentary of the category.
Overall I have attempted to create three products’ that fit together well. I have looked at existing media texts websites, Newspaper ads and scheduling pages. In the and using the fonts and colours attached to the documentary category.
By including what programs are going to be offered in the ancillary from the website, the flow of information has been connected, furthermore the style of what the website is about has been portrayed in the ancillary tasks.
I did use the information I gained from my main task research into my ancillary tasks however I carried out further research as these are sub tasks and I wanted to ensure that my products flow throughout and link to the genre and category of documentary, This is because I realized the importance of the ancillary tasks in complementing my main product. Therefore through the images and fonts I have used link between my main product and my ancillary products. It's important for them to link and complement each other from a marketing perspective as well as making sure all the products our successful in targeting the right audiences. On all three creations I have tried to follow a similar style by that I mean, the colours and fonts I have chosen I wanted to ensure it follows on all the tasks to contract each other. On my newspaper advert I have ensured that it follows the same design as the double page scheduling advert to contribute each other. By doing that it has ensured that the two print media forms work well as a package and the website has inspired both creations with regards to design and content. Overall I feel that my creations are all one package and not
singular items.
3) What have you learned from your audience feedback?
From the very start of my project it was important to collect audience feedback and research to help me create the best possible outcomes that I could create for my target audience. By asking other people’s opinions and I carried out video interviews that can be viewed on my blog this enabled me to identify what people were looking for when it comes to what websites should offer etc. From conducting my audience research at the beginning of the project I quickly realised how helpful and important it was to me and overall the t project as it allowed me to quickly identify what I should aim focus my task around and the age at what to do so. My opinion was key but it was the input of other people who made it clear to me, who my wanted my website targeting too. Opinions of others helped me greatly to develop my product(s).
I initially made my website on a program called serif and as I started creating it my audience was saying how the focus of what I wanted to portray could not be portrayed on this software as it did not allow me to do this. However if I did not consulate people on my website the outcome would have not as been successful.
Overall I have learnt that audience feedback is key to the how successful a task / project is as without it you are not opening up the ideas around you and therefore you are limiting your potential as a person, and that yes everyone may have great ideas but it is the people that are around us that brings things out of a person. Therefore I learnt that conventions may have be important but as time changes so to perceptions and through audience feedback it allowed me to release this and changed it appropriately.
4) How did you use your media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
In order to create the 3 tasks that were equal in standard it was important that I chose media technologies and software fitting for my needs. Each software and programme is suitable in its own way, I played to my strengths by working with what I knew and this proved not to be as successful as I hoped with my website and I learnt this through audience feedback. By I used my brain and found a program called wix that would help me offer what I wanted to my audience. Each software and hardware was used for its appropriate purpose.
From a lower school age I was taught to use Photoshop for simple things such as copy and pasting, I used this for simple edits like cutting, rotating images. Changing contrasts etc. alterations, due to previous with adapting / editing photos my experience it enabled me to complete these simple tasks quickly and efficiently and focus on more important things within my production. It was also important to me when converting images to enable me to upload pictures and screen shots of websites that I researched on to the blog. I also used it to create our storyboard images, and although they were simplistic I felt this way it would be clearer to read and therefore easier to follow, however I had issues uploading the videos to the website so I had upload these via you tube and copy links into the blog.
In addition I used movie maker to put the video I made together as it was done in several cuts to create the correct effect, the features on movie maker allowed me to cut and start clips when I wanted and allowed me to add transformations and edits into the shots. The program also allowed me to layer the film with music to create the mood of the clip. It was very simple for me to upload this and place on my website.
The use of all that software was primary for my main task the creation of the website however when it came to the subtasks I used was page plus. Here I was able to create my newspaper ad and my listing magazine the software enables you to quickly move, re-scale and rotate images and fonts which were important to me as it allows me to change my choices easily. It also allowed me to add text that was in keeping with the documentary theme and conventions that other programs may of not have had the text available to me.
In future I would change the way I submitted my information from blogger as I believe it limits me and creates unnecessary hassle. I would recommend the use of windows movie maker as it is clear to understand once you have learnt the basics and it produces a professional outcome. However in the media industry the programs that one has on offer to them is of better standards and therefore would automatically offer a better outcome.
