Evaluation

·        How have you used media conventions in your preliminary task?

I have undertaken an extensive amount of research for my school magazine and discovered some of the obvious as well as the less known techniques used to make a successful magazine. One technique was the use of big and bold font for the masthead which makes the magazine instantly noticeable and recognisable.  Another really important aspect used for the front cover especially, is the medium close-up portrait image, as this makes the whole magazine attractive to the eye.

Furthermore, counter images and content is used especially in the contents page to direct the readers and make it easy for them to pick out the articles that they’re interested about. Counter images and content topics are also used to give readers a taste of what the whole article will be about.

I have used my research of these techniques as a guide and applied them to my preliminary task throughout. 

·        How have you used media language in your product?

Whilst thinking about the wording of my content ideas, I did my best to use short sentences and engaging language to interest my audience. Throughout my magazine, I have used numerous instances of direct address in my text, for example: “be a part of us” or “…your questions”; this technique will make the readers feel as though they have contributed in the making of the magazine without knowing about it, so therefore, it will make them want to turn the pages.

I have also used repetitive school themed language, by consistently using words such as “student”

 

·        How have you addressed your audience?

Firstly; when I was taking pictures for the front cover of my magazine, I wanted the picture to be a representation of most students in the academy. I took a school-aged girl, dressed in a smart shirt, holding books and did the photo shoot. It is very practical, yet sophisticated enough to represent all of the great students that the magazine is aimed for. Content was another very important aspect to the magazine, if it was not relevant to the audience, then nobody would be interested in reading it, so I decided to choose topics which our students had interest in, could participate in and get involved. Finally; I created a questionnaire and presented my outcome in a graph to show how many students participated in the ‘main title’ research-this way I knew which out of my other choices was most appealing to my audience.

 

·        What skills have you developed during the preliminary task?

Whilst working on the preliminary task, I have come across some new techniques and challenges. One of the biggest hurdles I had to get through was learning how to use Photoshop in order to be able to manipulate a photo to a desired effect. The start was very frustrating and difficult, however this is one of the skills I have now learnt and I can use this for my future tasks/projects.