Update

We've been working hard recently to try and get as much practice making movies as possible, we have been set three practical tasks. One was a public announcment attempting to tackle the problem of underage drinking, the second were film trailers the class had to suede, and the third which has only recently been completed was a music video. I believe this was a good selection of projects, as they all correspond to a possible video we might make for our final project. E.g. The public announcement video is similar to a short film, and obviously the music video and film trailer correspond to the music video or film trailer we might choose to make as our final project.
When possible I will post the videos to the blog, however they have been saved on seperate laptops and are difficult to access, but I will upload them as soon as possible.
Briefs
Public Service Announcement - We were told we had to make a 3 - 10 minute long film, that's primary aim was to show the dangers of drinking alcohol underage. The film had to cover some of the following aspects of underage drinking:
-Peer Pressure -Violence -Long Term Health Problems -Binge Drinking -Truancy -ASBOs
We were told the film would be marked on it's strength of message and how well it engages the target audiences (13 year olds.)
After we were set this brief we were told to go off and do research to find some statistics about underage drinking, this was a pretty simple task and it looked good adding in facts throughout our movie.

Film trailer - We were taught bout 'sweding' trailers and how this concept of copying famous movies or trailers comes from the movie 'Be Kind, Rewind.' After the concept of sweding was explained fully and we had seen some examples we were told to make our own movie based on a film trailer of our choice, our group decided to swede the trailer for Human Traffic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fc0kPAPNahU.

Music Video - This was the most straight forward task, we were told to make a music video for songs that our teacher gave us.

Evaluation
Public Service Announcement - I believe we made a good movie, with good misenscene and some good edits, however we did have a lot of things that could have been improved such as lighting in some of the last shots, and some of the shots nearer to the end of the film were too long and needed to be cut down so it wasn't such a long cut, this was difficult however as there was a problem with filming equipment. I also believe we made filming difficult for ourselves due to the narrative we created, as we wanted one of the underage drinkers to be hit by a car whilst walking home. We filmed some good shots but the whole concept was difficult to edit and perfect, I believe it is for this reason that our final scene looked un-professional.

Movie Trailer - I believe we completed this task rather well considering the big crowds involved in making the actual trailer. We were able to get rid of the problem of using big crowds by using a canted shot which seemed to make the numbers we had look more vast. I also believe our trailer is very true to the original trailer, this was due to the vast amount of notes that were made on the original trailer. I do believe we were weak in some areas, such as the fact there were many shots in the original trailer we did not even attempt as they looked too complicated and difficult, this meant our trailer missed parts from the original. Also the fact imovie doesn't have a similar title screen as the one used in the original trailer meant our's looked cheaper and more unprofessional than the original, however this is understandable as ours was cheaper and less professional.

Music Video - The music video we created had some good points and some bad points. I believe the strongest part of the video was the editing, as we made the shots look sharper and made our shots more relevant to the song (I got you babe - Sonny and Cher) with softening effects. I believe our video could have been improved greatly as well however, as a number of problems arose we found we didn't have enough film to cover the length of the song, so we had to use some generic shots, and we even had to re-use a clip, this looked poor and some of the shots we took to fill time let the rest of the precise filming and editing down. Lip syncing was also a big problem, and there are a couple of times in the video when we are off, if we were to do a music video as our final task we would have to practice lip syncing somehow, or find a way to make the process easier to master.

Social Realism essay

Here is an essay set to develop our understanding of social realist texts, sorry to post it on here as it is not relevant to coursework but once my printer has been fixed i'll start printing homework off, rather than posting it on here

How do the full monty and brassed off demonstrate the characteristics of a social realist text?

A social realist text is a piece of text that presents the real problems faced by a society, mainly social realist texts presents problems such as unemployment, marital problems, lack of money, drug abuse, illness and in some cases death. Social realist texts often have an odd genre considering the subject matter, as they usually go for a comical spin and make the viewer laugh, this humour normally originates from the main characters, who despite their unfortunate positions usually have witty remarks or they see humour in their situations.

The theory of characters laughing and being humorous despite their troubles is evident throughout both ‘brassed off’ and ‘the full monty’ some examples of this from ‘brassed off’ is when two wives of miners who may be made redundant express the concern of their husbands ‘doing nothing all day,’ that’s when the camera zooms out to reveal a neighbour who has been listening to the whole conversation sitting in a sun lounger chair remarks how ‘you get used to it.’ ‘The full monty’ has many occasions similar to this, the whole storyline of the main characters, who are ordinary men, stripping as a new form of income.

There are many other factors shared by ‘brassed off’ and ‘the full monty’ that demonstrate the characteristics of a social realist text, such as the way the continuity of the narrative is upheld, both movies use television programmes that enable the audience to understand what was occurring at the time the film is set. This programme takes the form of a documentary called ‘Swinging Sheffield’ in ‘the full monty’ this documentary sets up the narrative for the audience as it is shown at the start of the movie, it details how Sheffield is a town on the rise and the steel industry in which was it’s main source of employment earned it the name ‘city of steel’ this documentary faded to reveal the ‘city of steel’ years on, the steelworks out of use and unemployment rife. This trick was used again in ‘brassed off’ when a news report on the pit closures, this is one of the first shreds of information the audience receive about the looming problem of unemployment, except for the ‘women against pit closure’ stalls outside the mines. The reason directors would include realistic programmes to enhance the narrative could be due to the fact the audience is more likely to lose sense of reality and get sucked into the storyline, thus increasing their sympathy for the characters and their hardships.

A third way both ‘brassed off’ and ‘the full monty’ demonstrate the characteristics of a social realist text is by setting the movie in a run down housing estate where the weather always seems to be slightly grey and miserable, the reason this is a common theme throughout social realist texts is because of the fact most social realist texts showcase British people’s economic struggle. The case of economic troubles is evident throughout both films; in ‘the full monty’ Gaz cannot afford the maintenance money for his son, this results in the threat of a court case to decide whether the mother should get full custody. In ‘brassed off’ Phil has economic troubles, which resulted in him seeing loan sharks, who he now owes twelve thousand pound, his trouble with money and dangerous men results in his wife leaving him and taking the kids with her. The fact both films are set in areas that look like they hold lower income families where the weather always seems to be add to a depressing mood is crucial to the development of social realism, as the audience see the poor living conditions and the bad weather and they feel for the characters, some of the audience may even relate to many of the character’s situations.

Another way both ‘the full monty’ and ‘brassed off’ demonstrate the characteristics of a social realist text is by having periods of extreme highs and lows throughout the movie, this is typical of most social realist texts as when the period of low comes the audience gets anticipant and almost anxious, as they believe there might be no fix for any of the characters. ‘Brassed off’ has a period of extreme low as soon as the miners realise that the pit has been closed, soon after this Danny’s lungs start failing worse than ever and he has to be rushed to hospital; all the boys lost hope in the band, the one thing that kept them together; the majority of Phil’s possessions get taken; Phil’s family leave him; Harry’s wife finally snaps and lets loose feelings that have been bubbling for a long time and; Andy and Gloria have troubles. ‘The full monty’ presents similar problems during it’s period of extreme low, as Gaz seems to be running out of time to get the money necessary to save all hope of seeing his son again; Dave’s wife is having huge doubts over their marriage; and the group formed within the movie seem to be splitting.

‘Brassed off’ and ‘the full monty’ do have their unique ways of demonstrating the characteristics of a social realist texts, such as in ‘brassed off’ when Andy and Gloria get together there seems to be some good come from a bad situation, however after finally making a move and them two showing their feeling for each other the miners discover that Gloria was sent to survey their mine and write a report about closure. Andy then cannot look at her and the rest of the men shun her from the group. This is a good way of demonstrating the characteristic of a social realist as when the two characters first meet there seems to be a connection, so the audience is going to be rooting for a relationship to form, when it does this would cause happiness in the audience and the characters life’s, however as is common in social realist texts this happiness cannot last long and the relationship deteriorates.

‘Brassed off’ also shows the characteristics of a social realist text by presenting serious illness to a lead character; Danny has ‘black lung disease,’ this fact is evident to the audience as we see him coughing when he is alone, this creates worry and spreads anxiety, as in most social realist texts this bad situation takes a turn for the worse when the mine closes and Danny is left hospitalized, this has a knock on effect to the other characters, and Phil is even led to attempt suicide, the fact the problems of one character is intertwined with another’s is another way of demonstrating the characteristics of a social realist text as in real society if a group of friends were going through hardships, one persons problems would be adopted by the others, this is a huge characteristic in social realist texts as it is evident in actual society.

‘The full monty’ also has it’s unique ways of demonstrating the characteristics of a social realist text, the fact some of the film is set in the old steelworks where a lot of the cast used to work is one, as it is a constant reminder to the audience of the hardships the characters are facing, the steelworks is a depressing scene, not only because of the fact the men lost their jobs from there but also because of the how grey and scummy it now appears, it seems to have lost all soul and life slowly after it was closed down.

A second unique way ‘the full monty’ demonstrates the characteristics of a social realist text is by showing how desperate the characters are to get money, the reason ‘the full monty’ can do this is because it is years after the closure of the industry, meaning the money they did have has gone. At some points Gaz and Dave are even seen stealing bits of steel from the old steelworks for ‘twenty quid a pop.’ This desperation is a common characteristic of social realist texts as some societies may be that low on cash they would be willing to steal, this means that theme is common in social realist texts.

In conclusion both ‘brassed off’ and ‘the full monty’ demonstrate the characteristics well, sometimes they mimic each other, such as the main characters all squeezing in one small car or presenting marital problems, sometimes however they present unique ideas and catalysts for showing the characteristics of a social realist text.

British Film Industry Homework

Our assignment was to research 10 - 15 British films and find their catergories, this was to see if we could see any difference, on screen, between the categories.

The Italian Job (1969) - Category A, this is clearly a category A movie as it is directed by Peter Collinson, who is British, it is written by Troy Kennedy-Martin, who is again British, the main cast are all British and the production company has a portfolio which features a majority of British movies.

Mean Machine (2001) - Category D, I believe this is a category D film, as it involves British actors and is set in Britain, however it is part-financed by an American company and is written by an American

Snatch (2000) - Category D, I believe this is a category D film as there is a majority of British staff working on set, such as the director and writer, Guy Ritchie. The cast is split evenly between British and American actors, however the fact it is financially backed by a big American company makes it Catergory D

Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - Category B, this would come under category B as the writer and director are both British but there is foreign input in the fact it is set in India and does not feature an all British cast

Bend It Like Beckham (2002) - Category C, this is a category C film as it was set in the UK and has a huge British cultural reference, of football and David Beckham, however there is a minimal amount of British influence, mainly found in the cast

Billy Elliot (2000) - Category A, this is a category A film as is has huge British cultural references and it has an all British team in production and cast.

Chicken Run (2000) - Category D, this would appear to be an all British film but it is backed financially by an American company and some voice actors are American

Quadrophenia (1979) - Category A, this is an all British movie and has no financial backing from foreign countries

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Category D, despite being written by a Brit and starring a majority of British actors this has a Mexican director and huge US financial backing, making it a category D film

Help! - Category A, this again has a full British cast and production team

History Boys - Category A, this again features an all British writer, director, cast, production team and production company

Trainspotting - Category A, this features an all British cast yet again

Clockwork Orange - Category D, this features a majority of British work, as the director, and the majority of the cast are British, however it is back by an American production company, meaning it is a category D film

British Film Industry

Started looking at some British movies, as they use a wide variety of techniques that we can hopefully learn and integrate them into our films. British films are divided into different categories depending on a variety of factors, such as who starred in the film, who wrote or directed the film, the detailed list of these catergories are:
Category A - Category A films are full British movies, they have a full British crew and are set in Britain
Category B - Category B films feature a majority of British work but have some foreign involvement
Category C - Category C films feature minor british involvement with a majority of foreign influence
Category D - Category D films feature American financers or are part financed from America but are set in Britain or involve British work
Category E - Category E films feature a minimal British financial input for an American movie

Brainstorming for underage drinking campaign

I've started putting some thought into the best method of stopping underage drinking, this is likely to be showing the effects of underage drinking, however this in not the case for every teenager as some effects will not scare or shock them, for instance threatening a 14 year old with liver problems when he gets older will not really phase him, as he will think 'that won't happen for years, and if it does i can get a transplant.' This pattern of thought is likely to be the same for all the health related risks of drinking. It is for this reason that I believe the most effective way to stop underage drinking is to show the social effects it will have on the teenager's lifes, such as truancy from school and poor grades, I can then show the knock on effect of this, such as unemployment when the teenager grows up. I also think it will be easy to show the social effects of underage drinking rather than the health risks, as it would be very difficult to film a sick teenager, or to get a teenager to act sick. This decision to show effects on the teenager's personal life gives me a broad outline of my movie, it'll probably be filmed in a variety of places, a home, to show the effect of underage drinking on the family, a school, to show the underage teenager slowly drifting away from school work and finally on the streets, to show the actual act of underage drinking.

This is only a very small step of the planning process and there is still a lot for me to do, such as storyboards, more importantly however is finding actors and actresses that will be able to uphold the narrative of 14 year olds drinking.

Lost film but still working on

After two hours of careful filming and preparation our rape awareness tapes were used at the new six formers induction, meaning we lost all our film. We had to decide as a class whether we wanted to start the new project that will take up the majority of our time next term or if we wanted to re film and edit new material for the rape awareness, after putting the motion to a vote the class decided that starting the new project was the better idea.
The new project is similar to our old one, it's still based towards the public and it's a warning, instead of rape however we are warning 13 year olds about underage drinking and the risks connected with this evergrowing act. The film must be 3-10 minutes, but the whole class agreed that a narrative that is too long will lose the interest of the 13 year old target audience. The film should cover some of the following aspects of underage drinking:
- Peer Pressure
- Violence
- Long Term Health Problems
- Truancy
- Binge Drinking
- ASBOs
Our films will be entered into a competition based in Essex, and our films could end up being shown at an award ceremony.
Obviously to create a film such as this we have to have some facts and stats to include in our film that will shock or surprise our audience, so this was our first task, research, I found the following facts:

• Every day, 15 children under the age of 16 are admitted to A&E in hospitals because of alcohol abuse. Some have drunk more than a bottle of vodka in one session.
• 11-13 year-olds who drink regularly have more than 10 units of alcohol a week, compared to six in 2001.
• Children as young as 12 are now being diagnosed as alcoholics.
• Scientists warn that teenagers who drink heavily are risking permanent brain damage, in particular to their brain function.
• Alcohol has been shown to cause significant memory loss in youngsters and could extend to adulthood.
• NHS statistics show that one-fifth of secondary school pupils admit to regular drinking.

These stats are useful as they could be embeded into my film somehow, however for my own research I think other stats could be useful, as I need to know about how kids get drink and where they drink so I can make the film more realistic, I believe the following are useful in creating a mental image of the underage drinking society.

How they get it

10% of 12-15 yr-old drinkers say they buy their own alcohol.[1]
63% of 16-17 yr-olds have bought their own booze in pubs, nightclubs and bars.

What they drink

Beer and lager are the most popular drinks among under 18s, with spirits, wine and alcopops also popular.

Where they do it

54% of 11-12 year olds said they drank at home or at someone else's home. 33% of 15 yr-olds drank alcohol in a pub or bar and 26% of 14-yr-olds said they drank at parties with friends.[2]

How much they drink

The mean alcohol consumption over the past week of boys aged 11-13 has shot up from 3.6 units in 1992 to 8.6 units in 2006. Girls in same age group now drink a mean of 7.9 units in a week, up from 3.1 in 1992. For boys aged 15 that figure rises to 13.1 units a week, and 10.5 units a week for girls.[3]

Why worry?

A survey of underage binge drinkers aged between 14-17 asked the teenagers what problems their binge drinking had led to. Answers included unsafe sex, injury, drug taking, involvement in dangerous driving and problems with the police.[4]

How much of a problem is it?

A majority of head teachers surveyed in 2004 by the BBC Six-o'clock news believed that alcohol was a bigger problem than drug abuse in their schools.

Rape Awareness Filmed

On Thursdays lesson we filmed the public service announcement about rape, we tried a variation of risky shots that may of just been a waste of time and may ruin the narrative, although if they do work and they pay off I'll be really pleased because our filming has a lot of potential, if it can be edited into the product we were hoping for. We did plan other routes though so even if our complicated shots do not work we have a back up plan in place. I do think ours will turn out well though, we kept with our original ideas and we know how we want the end product to turn out this will help the editing as we won't need a lot of actual thought process during the edit, as we know what should go where.
One potential problem I foresee about our film is that there is too much build up without actually getting the point across that it's a rape awareness video, this can be solved when we add in the rape statistics however so I hope this balances the video out and the final product will be up to the standards of the rest of the class

Rape Awarness Research

On Tuesday's lesson we learnt that we would be producing another short film in thursday's lesson, this has to be a public service advertisment in which we heighten rape awarness. The first step was brainstorming ideas, it was hard to set the theme as we know filming would take place in the middle of the day, meaning that the typical advert of a woman walking home from the pub and being attacked when it was dark had to be thrown out of the video, we then decided that the scene could suit being indoors, someone in our group lives near the school and she said we could film at hers. So once location was sorted all we needed to do was a storyline, we decided to carry on with the idea that danger can come to your house so we decided to make the attacker be a workman or plumber or something along those lines.
After this plan was formed we had to start making it realisitic, the hardest part of our project was the multiple costumes necessary to fulfill a plan to slowly change what the attacker was wearing, to indicate that danger can come from anyone, so as soon as we had some free time the group went down to drama to see if they had any costumes we could borrow some, we were in luck and the drama teacher lent us three costumes that would be useful for our film.
The next step after this was to do research into other rape awareness adverts, here is what i found:
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHzwxfWTm6g
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmPBP-uP48s&feature=related
The final step in the research process is to get some statistics and facts that can be used in the advert to get the risk factor across to the audience, so i went searching online for some stats and here is what i come up with:

Home Office Study of Rape

Complete Sample of Cases	100% (n=483)
Crimed Cases	75%
Detected Cases	64%
Defendants Charged	31%
CPS Prosecuted	23%
Court Proceedings	21%
Conviction (All Offences)	13%
Conviction (Rape)	6%

• Over two-thirds of cases dropped out at the police stage and did not make it as far as the courts.
• One quarter of incidents initially recorded as rape were subsequently 'no-crimed' by the police.
• Cases where the complainant and suspect were acquaintances were most likely to be 'no-crimed'.
• Half of all the cases that were 'crimed' resulted in 'no further action' (NFA) by the police.
• Cases involving intimates were most likely to be NFA-ed or discontinued by the CPS.
• In the small minority of 'stranger rape' cases (only 12% of the full sample), where a suspect was identified the case was more likely to proceed to court than in those cases where the complainant and suspect were previously acquainted.

UK Data on Rape and Sexual Assault

Finding	Source	Method
1 in 4 women have experienced rape or attempted rape	Painter, 1991	Survey of 1,007 women in 11 cities, Northern England
1 in 7 women have been coerced into sex, rising to 1 in 3 among divorced and separated women	Painter, 1991	Survey of 1,007 women in 11 cities, Northern England
The most common perpetrators of rape are husbands and partners	Painter, 1991	Survey of 1,007 women in 11 cities, Northern England
97% of callers to Rape Crisis Lines knew their assailant prior to the assault	Rape Crisis Federation of England and Wales	Analysis of RCF members' records, England and Wales
The majority of perpetrators are known to the victim	Kelly et. al, 2005
During 2001 it is estimated that 190,000 incidents of serious sexual assault and 47,000 female victims of rape/attempted rape	Walby & Allen, 2004	British Crime Survey 2002

Evaluation

As you can tell from my last post the task set for us last lesson was to create a short film in which a new student or visitor is to be given a tour of the school, after completing this the films were presented to the whole class.
I believe the task held huge learning possibilities, as there is no better learning technique than practice, making short movies like that will increase or skill with the camera and will improve our knowledge of shot type and when to use appropriate shots, the only way the last task was lacking in learning possibilities somewhat was in the sense of editing, but our next task enables us to do this fully.
Every group's video had it's good and bad points, in general the groups camera work was a bit shaky and every group's narratives needed development, as some groups did not seem to be showing off the school at all.
Film A's main problem was confusions in cuts, at one point we tried to get the same action from different angles, this meant stopping filming and starting it again in a different place, on one occasion the actors forgot where they were standing and someone jumped across the room in one cut. Film A's camera was often shaky also and the narrative was off at certain points. One of the good points of film A was the way they took their own view on the task and personalised the task by shooting it in a david attenbrough type documentry.
Film B also had it's good and bad points, one of the many good points was their establishing shot, film B probably featured the best establishing shot of all the group's film A failed to have any establishing shot, while film C did, but it isn't as clear as film B's. Film B also held the best actors, they kept our class laughing, however they occassionally talked too quietly and this lead to some confusion over what was actually going on. They did use a huge variation of shots, however in their hasty attempts some shots were not relevant, e.g. they used a canted shot while two subjects were walking along, this was not necessary and there was some confusion as to why they used this shot. Film B's biggest problem was talking behind the camera, as occassionally laughter could be heard, this ruined the film somewhat and made the narrative break down. Shaky camera shots and a confusing use of actors also plagued this group, at one point there was just one actor giving a tour and in other shots there was another actor walking along with the tour guide, this confusion in the narrative made it difficult to understand the whole film.

Film C again had it's advantages and disadvantages, some good shots in lessons made the film more believable, however some confusion over camera shots ocassionally ruined the film slightly. The main problem with film C was the misenscene in some shots, in one shot tables were wonky and looked scruffy, this would not look good to a viewer of the tour, as it would give the school a bad impression, another issue with film C is that they had to reuse actors, this resulted in one teacher for 3 or 4 lessons, this resulted again in some confusion. The best point of film C was the clips they done in a lesson enviroment, as it looked natural and believeable.
In conclusion everyones films had their own unique advantages and the same basic disadvantages, such as poor sound quality or shaky camera, these problems can be fixed easily with practise however and i'm sure the next tasks editing aspect will help raise the standard of work.

First film in sequence

Today we were again given a task that would develop our skill with film, we had to shoot a guided tour of the school, and due to the lack of editing we had to ensure it was filmed completely in sequence, this caused some confusion during film but overall I believe our group completed the task well.
We started with some brainstorming before putting our ideas on the storyboard. The whole group agreed that a usual tour of the school would be a bit dull and that we had to mix it up a bit, as we didn't want the same results of every other group in the class, to settle this issue we decided to do the tour in a david attenbrough style documentry, in which a new student to the school embarks on his nerve racking first day, on this day he goes from shadowed outcast to accepted 'herd member'
Due to the lack of editing we had to improvise and use cuts in filming to give it an edited style, this ended badly in one scene in which some confusion resulted in too many cuts and a slight ruin to the narrative, this taught us always to review what we just filmed, so we can perfect the filming before we return for the whole class to judge our video

New Year, New Project

On Tuesday's lesson (9th June '09) we were told that the main focus for our A2 course will be film and our task today was to start development on our shooting techniques, we started slow today, which was helpful, our task was to merely film the following shots:
- Close up, a zoomed shot on one subject
- Extreme close up, further zoomed shot, focussing on one aspect of said sucject (in our case a person's eye)
- Medium shot (A 'medium' amount of space between subject and camera, this may be 10 - 15 feet)
- Long shot ( The camera is a long way from the subject, say the width of a football pitch if not longer)
- Over the shoulder shot (The shot is filmed from over the shoulder of a subject, usually while talking to a subject whom is standing in front of them)
- 2 shot (A shot involving two subjects comfortably)
- Canted shot (The camera is slanted during the shot)
- Low shot (The camera is placed low to the ground and pointed up to look up to the subject)
- High shot (The camera is placed high up and looks down on the subject
- Panning shot (The cameraman stays still while pivoting slowly on the spot, this pans the landscape of the video)
- Tracking shot (The camera simply follows (or tracks) subjects)
Our filming of these shots probably could of gone better, due to the sun being inconvenient and causing or clapperboard to be unreadable for many shots, also a little mix of whether the camera was recording or not meant our tracking shot was ruined

Slide 14 - Conclusion

In conclusion I am happy with my media portfolio overall, I feel I have developed greatly with technology and am happy with the level of effort I put into my Blog, I feel that my main task loks professional and that there is not a lot I would change.
If i did do the project again I would spend more time on my middle page spread, as it does look acceptable but I believe i could of done it a lot better, and maybe I spent to much time and energy on the front page, meaning the double page spread was neglected somewhat

Slide 13 - What have i learnt between the completion of preliminary task to the full product?

1. 2. - Banner - On my main task my heading and my tag line for the contents page are under one banner, this is to save space and make the whole contents page look more professional and more organized
3. Note - The contents page for my main task features a small note, it holds no great importance, it merely advertises the editors note, however this small piece of writing changes the whole contents page, it makes it less formal and changes it from just being a list of information
4. Background - As i stated before when I completed my preliminary task I had no idea how to change the background, so when i completed my main task I applied a background, meaning it doesn't look dull and plain white
5. Style of writing - As you can see the difference between the way the page numbers are listed differs greatly, in my main task, it looks cleaner, crisper, and more organized, my preliminary task is rushed and looks dull and boring
6. Headings - Like many professional magazines I chose to have headings, so the articles can be organized under different headings, this makes the magazine look more professional and gives a chance to use puns and other such literary devices in the headings
7. Pictures - As you can see, in my preliminary task I used as many photos as possible, this resulted in the contents page looking unprofessional, so when it came to my main task I decided to leave the contents page free from photos.
House Style - The main lesson I learnt from my preliminary task is the necessity of a consistent house style, my preliminary task had nothing consistent, even the logos I used changed from the front page to the contents page, along with the font and colour of the writing, this has been changed in my main task and I am proud of the fact I was able to have a consistent house style for my main task

Check out my preliminary task here

Slide 12 - What have i learnt between the completion of preliminary task to the full product?

I have used the same technique for comparing my main task and preliminary task as I did when i compared my magazine to the professional magazine.
1. Headings - The heading in my preliminary task is unclear and does not stand out, the fact it goes down the page could confuse readers and they could mix up the main headline with the tag line, which is 'The low down on your sixth form,' this ambiguity has disappeared in my main task, and it is clear Riddim is my main heading and it is clear underneath that is a tag line.
2. Main picture - In my main task there is one clear photo, which takes up the most room and dominates the page, in my preliminary task I filled space with photos and it looks unorganized and messy, I learnt my lesson from this and decided that one photo will be enough, as it will link to the main story
3. Attracting an audience - In my main task there are clear headings, with explanation and a clear point, all my headings would attract an audience, my headings differ from subject also, so different types of story will be broadcasted to my target audience, in my preliminary task all the sub headings are the same, all to do with tests and formal news, I should have included a sub heading that detailed the games and things that will help the students relax, as it would have broken the routine of formal news.
4. Background - When I completed my preliminary task I had no clue how to add a background, and resulted in using the 'gradient' tool, as this was the only thing I clicked and changed my background, this resulted in a two tone background, I think it does suit my preliminary task well, but would make my magazine look unprofessional and am glad I found the 'fill' tool that changes the whole background
5. Main headline - The main difference between my main task and my preliminary task is the organization, the lack of organization in my preliminary task stems from the fact i don't have a main headline to draw the whole piece together, this issue has been addressed in my main task, as the main headline is prominant and does it's job by pulling everything together
6. Lack of organization - I've mentioned it a few times before but the main issue i have with my preliminary task is the lack of organization and the fact the photos being as spread out all over the page make it look messy.

Check out the post about my preliminary task here

Slide 11 - What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

In this slide I have shown my development with photoshop.
Here I have compared my main task contents page with the contents page from my preliminary task, this is to show the development of document construction, you can see the difference between the first contents page and the second, since the preliminary task i learnt how to add a background effectively, I also learnt how to edit photos and how to move on thing in front of another (in the case of my contents page the picture of my editor is slightly overlapping the banner, before this project I had no idea that the layers bar on the right controlled what order things came up in.
On the right of the slide are some of the photos I have edited, the headphones were edited early on, and I didn't really know how to change colour, so i slightly changed brightness and contrast, whereas the photo at the bottom is near the end and in it I have changed the colour of the subjects whole hoody.
Before I started this project I had some knowledge of photoshop, as i have it installed on my computer, but i never really used it, occassionaly i played around with it, but i never done anything fully serious on it, so this project really helped develop my skill with photoshop.

Check out my posts progressing my photo editing here, here and here

Slide 10 - What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

In this slide I will talk of how my technological skill has developed in the area of blogging and on the site blogspot.com.
The two images on the left have been taken from early posts on my blog, on the right are two posts from a later date. When I first created my account i had no idea what a blog was, the only clue as to what it was came from the 'vlogs' i am subscribed to on youtube, so when my teacher told us we will 'blog our progress' a feeling of confusion came over me, you can witness that for yourself from the early posts, with minimal effort and very little description I started my blog, as time progressed I started to get to grips with blogspot, soon i learnt how to add hyperlinks and add photos, both shown in this evaluation, as the slides are uploaded as photos and at the bottom of each evaluation post I'm posting links to older entries in my blog that link to that slide or evaluation question.
So in conclusion, I believe I have learnt a lot about blogging and how to add features to your blogs, such as photos, videos and hyperlinks.

I have no research posts about the technology involved with this portfolio, however here is a link to a post which features the most photos, and this is the post I first learnt how i can upload photos, so the linked post is the turning point in my understanding of blogspot.com

Slide 09 - How does your magazine attract your audience?

This slide details how the other pages in my magazine aid the front page in reaching the target audience.
The main and most frequent device I use to reach my target audience is slang and informal styles of writing, the reason I believe this is the most important way of reaching target audiences as it is simple to add in and readers appreciate the style of writing and get used to it, when I am an audience of music magazines and slang is used it makes me smile or laugh and increases the chance that I buy the magazine again next week.
Another hugely important technique to reach my audience is giving the audience a chance to interact with the magazine, I have done this by featuring a link to a website, where the readers can watch a video about the main article i have featured, I have also asked for the readers comments on the artist featured, the fact the magazine is asking for their opinion will please the target audience, as it makes them feel that they have an influence in the magazine they read.
A third way the target audience is attracted is by featuring events that are sponsored by the magazine, in my magazine's case, an award ceremony and a live festival, many other magazines do this (ranging from NME to Kerrang) the reason this is important to the readers is that they know when they buy my magazine they will find out about these events, they wouldn't find information about these events in other magazine, as it would be like the other magazines advertising my magazine.
A technique that was shown on the front page has found it's way to the other pages also, this technique is having special features and articles that will appeal to them, the example I have shown here in the slide is music from older era's, this will appeal to the older members of my target audience and surprisngly to the younger members too, as the majority of teenagers now can access older music, thanks to the likes of youtube the younger generation can have every hit from the 70's at their finger tips, so a feature that goes back to the 'oldskool' will appeal to the teenagers of the audience, as they do listen to and appreciate the earlier music that helped form the bands they know and love today.

Check out my research post on my target audience here

Slide 08 - How does your magazine attract your audience?

The first way that I have attempted to catch the audiences eye and make my magazine stand out on the shelf is pretty basic, I have clear bold headings, at the top and bottom of my front page, this will draw a readers eye if it's their first purchase, and if they buy weekly it makes the magazine easily recognizable to them.
The second way I attempt to reach out to my target audience is by giving them chances to 'win big' in our competitions, this is one of the most basic ways to attract an audience, at it makes them feel like they can receive something from the magazine, which differs from them just putting in for the magazine, so their loyalty being rewarded will also make them happy.
A third way that my target audience could be drawn to my magazine is the idea that they are receiving 'exclusivity' when they buy the magazine, the fact that my front page features an 'exclusive interview' will appeal to the reader, as they know if they do buy this magazine then they will be getting stories they can't find anywhere else and they know they may be the only ones out of their friends to read it.
Another way I have attempted to reach out to my target audience is by having a low price, at £1.00 it will probably be the cheapest music magazine they can get their hands on, this will result in some disadvantages for my target audience though, as it means I would have to sell them as products to advertisers, the cheaper the magazine price the more adverts that will feature. The fact also I have a website related to my magazine unlocks a whole new platform for advertisers to broadcast their products
Finally I have features that will please the target audience, the main one of these is a 'gig guide.' I have already covered the advantages of including a gig guide, the fact it could create revenue for the magazine, as the bands playing will want to get featured in a magazine that features the same genre of music that they play, it's also useful for the audience, as they want to know the locations and dates of the big gigs around the UK.

Check out my research post about my target audience here

Slide 07 - What is your magazines target audience?

In this slide I have outlined my target audience, here I will explain why I have chosen who i have chosen, and the reasons behind having such a niche market to aim for.
The reason I decided to construct my magazine in such a way to attract mainly males is because I believe they are the majority of the people that listen to the genre of music featured in my magazine, so there isn't much sense in trying to attract females if they simply aren't interested in the music genre, also if i was to aim for females then i would have to add so many features to attract them, as they already have allegiance to 'female lifestyle' magazines, and to try to rival them with a music magazine would be a huge task.
The factors affecting my decision to aim for 15 - 30 year olds are also very clear, as this are the age groups that fully endorse dance and trance music, it is very rare to find those who are older than 30 going to clubs and raves and enjoying the music that is featured in my magazine.
The reason I would aim for those who are working or middle class is because if I'm aiming for those social groups they will understand slang better than the higher classes, and slang is featured throughout my magazine.

Check out my research post on my target audience here

Slide 06 - What Kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

In this slide I have pointed out the two main publishing companies in the UK, Bauer and IPC, underneath their headings are the music magazines they already publish. From this one can easily gather the advantages and disadvantages each company hold, if my magazine was published by IPC it would be in direct conflict with NME for a target audience, as I have stated throughout this portfolio that my target audience is very similar to NME's, this could mean IPC would turn my music magazine away, as they would not two magazines rivaling each other, from my perspective there would be advantages from being published by IPC, such as the fact mine would be their second music magazine, meaning they would be able to focus on it and put in more money promoting it, as they don't hace other music magazines to promote (excluding NME of course)
Bauer also holds advantages and disadvantages, the fact they already publish three magazines could be useful but could hinder my magazine, as if they were to publish my magazine they wouldn't be able to spend much time on it, as they have dedications to the other magazines they publish, however the fact they publish three magazines already shows they would be experienced and would understand what I am trying to achieve with my magazine. The fact also that none of the magazines they publish feature the same genre of music as mine, and do not really aim for the same audience strengthens they're appeal, it is for these reasons i believe Bauer would be the media institution that would publish my magazine

For more information on Bauer or IPC:
check out my research post on them here
or look at their websites
http://www.ipcmedia.com/
http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/

Slide 05 - In what ways does my media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

This slide is my middle page spread being compared to NME's middle page spread
1. Main Subject - My magazines layout is very similar to NME's and this fact is outlined by the main picture, in both magazines one side is dominated by a picture while the other side devotes itself to text. The main picture is crucial to any double page spread, it should draw attention when someone is flicking through the pages and it should make the reader smile, laugh or make them feel like they can relate to the subject, all of these factors are the reasons i used the convention of having a main photo taking up the majority of space on my double page spread
2. Heading - As with all the headings i have used the differ from the typical headings used in magazines, i have used a banner style, this is to ensure of a consistent house style, which was missing in my preliminary task, also i believe the banner style looks more appealing.
3. Smaller picture - Both double page spreads have a smaller subject, again the nature of this differs but the principle stays the same, as with the contents page i have included a small picture of a head shot of the person who wrote the article and the picture in NME is a smaller action shot of the band featured, what the photo is of is not relevant however, as all that matters is that i have used another convention, the reason i featured this photo is because it will make the reader feel connected to the staff of the magazine, and in turn they will feel connected to the magazine
4. Main text - Not a lot to compare here, except for the fonts, both mine and NME's fonts are very informal and look almost kid like, the reason behind this is that my target audience is very similar to NME's, meaning things like font and writing style is bound to be similar
5. Info box - This is a convention that would have been benefitical to use, and reflecting on the point i regret leaving it out, this little box (circled in the slide) is useful as it takes up small amounts of space and yet fills in the reader on the band, this is important for the reader and would aid there understanding of the article
6. Link to website - Both of the magazines feature a link to a website, mine offers readers a video of the interview and gives them the chance them to discuss the article, this interactivity will attract an audience and it will enhance the reading experience for the reader.
7. Quotes - These are used in every magazine article that features an interview, this is because it will often be a fiery or funny quote that will make the whole interview appealing, this is the exact reason i have featured one.

Check out my research post on the professionals here

Slide 04 - In what ways does my media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

In this slide I have compared my contents page to the contents page featured in NME.
1. Short introduction - Both my contents page and NME's content page feature a short introduction, this is to connect with the reader somewhat, as if there was just information on this page then it would seem very rigid and formal. The nature of the introduction does differ, as NME's features the start of an article whereas mine showcases the editors note, in this sense my contents page is both using and developing the conventions of the real media product
2. Headings - Both contents pages have headings under which the articles, a long with page numbers are listed, the reason i decided to use this very widely used convention was because it brings the contents page together and gives it organization.
3. Gig Guides - Gig guides are used in any good music magazine, it's a simple way to attract your audience and it gets you revenue as those performing at the gigs give you money to feature their gigs, these are the reasons i conformed to this handy convention
4. Heading - Again another convention that i have used and yet changed is the heading at the contents page, my heading features a short message underneath it, this is again a way for me to attract my target audience, as it is another place i can put slang and language that will relate to my target audience
5. Picture - Both my contents page and NME's feature a picture, but the nature of the photos differ, mine is used as a headshot to show the audience who the editor is, this is a convention for many music magazines, the one featured in NME here however is linked to an article and shows a band playing, the appeal of this is great as it again attracts the reader to a main story that the magazine wants to get viewed the most.

Check out my research post on the professionals here

Slide 03 - In what ways does my media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

There are some differences between my magazine and the professional, heres how my media product challenges and occassionally develops the form and conventions of a real media product:
1. Logo - My media product features a consistent logo, this is not matched by NME, the advantages of having a logo is that when people see it or anything that looks like my logo they will instantly think of my magazine, also it helps them recognise the magazine if a style change came along, i believe my media product is developing the forms and conventions of a real media product here
2. Additional pictures - NME features more than one main picture, the reason i decided not to do this is because i believe it would waste space and if one is not careful too many pictures can look messy and soon they will look out of place, my magazine is challenging conventions here.
3. Tagline - My media product features a tagline, that talks directly to the reader, this will make my magazine more appealing to them
4. Competition featured on front page - admittingly having a competition in the magazine isn't exactly new and one would argue my magazine is conforming to conventions here, however i decided to feature the competition on the front page, this is challenging and developing conventions, as the competition is a main seeling point of any magazine and should be advertised accordingly
5. Sub headings - along with all my main headings are sub headings briefly describing the article, this is not a feature or NME, some may argue against sub headings, as too many words on the front page may provoke readers and send them to another magazine, however i believe it will only attract readers, as more information into what you're buying is always an advantage.
6. Background - I decided to cut my picture out and to feature my own background on the front page, this is to keep a consistent style throughout and in future issues, if i have the same background for every issue then that is another thing readers will notice when the magazine is on the shelf, NME shows the whole picture, this also has it's advantages, however i believe having a consistent style is very important
7. Title Bar - My magazine and NME both have a main article and promote it evenly, however, the way it's promoted differs, as mine is in a bar, while NME's is just across the page, I believe having it in a bar looks more professional and tidies up the front page somewhat, it also draws attention to the main article.

Check out my research post on the professionals here

Slide 02 - In what ways does my media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Here is how my media product uses forms and conventions of real media products:
1. Heading - Both my media product and the professional media product have a clear title, both are easy to remember. I believe mine also has a font that would jump out at a potential buyer when browsing the shelves, as it is a bit informal and kids would prefer that over the block, formal looking heading featured on other magazines
2. Headlines - My media product and the professional product feature headlines for articles that the reader can find within the magazine, the reason this is important is so readers will find an article that will interest them. I believe that my headlines will attract readers well, as a bright colour is featured, this will make the readers notice the magazine in shops, as with the heading the font with my headlines are formal again, this will also attract my target audience well
3. Main subject - Both magazine covers feature one main photograph, this looks more professional i believe as a lot of pictures on the front page can look messy and unorganized, one main photo looks professional and sells the main story of that week
4. Main story heading - This is a feature of any decent music magazine, the amount of money they spend out on getting big interviews they have to get a return, and the main way of advertising the big interviews? Slapping them all over your front page, both my front cover and NME dedicate the majority of the front page to this main article, the heading takes up a lot of this space

Check out my research post on the professionals here

Slide 01 - Introduction

Here is my media product. It was created using adobe photoshop and every photo was taken by me. It took around three months to complete the whole product, from the initial preliminary task (which we completed to improve our skills both on blogger and with photoshop,) to the research and finally this evaluation.

Evaluation, initial set up

Following this post will be the slides from my presentation, i have only included pictures, shapes and small amounts of text, this is due to the fact the explanation of the slide will be presented in my blog, under the slide.
When comparing things, for example my own media product to the professionals and my main task to my preliminary task i have used a numbered system, this will work by me listing the numbers in my blog and explain what i'm trying to outline by putting the number there.

Research into Bauer and IPC

This research post is a bit overdue, but i thought i should upload it before my evaluation presentation, so i know i can refer to it in my presentation.

About Bauer

Bauer is the largest privately owned publisher in Europe, publishing in Germany, France, Spain, Portugal and the UK. They also publish in the US and Mexico

The Bauer Publishing Group was founded in Hamburg 1875 by Johann Bauer. Under the management of four generations of the Bauer family, The Bauer Publishing Group has grown from its beginnings as a printing house into a worldwide publishing empire comprising 282 magazines in 15 countries with 6,600 employees worldwide and annual turnover of £1.79 billion

Bauer entered the U.K. scene with Bella magazine in 1987. Introducing a new format that mixes previously unseen real life editorial and exciting service features, Bella made a significant impact on the women's market. The company gained attention again in 1990 with the launch of Take a Break magazine. Touching the lives of millions of women with its unique blend of upfront real life and competitions, the title quickly became market leader. Despite strong competition, Take a Break has maintained its no.1 status, currently selling over 1 million copies a week.

At the beginning of 2008, Bauer expanded its portfolio further by acquiring Emap’s Radio and Consumer Magazine divisions and changed the name of these new UK businesses to Bauer Media. With this recent addition of the former Emap Consumer Media titles, Bauer is now the largest consumer magazine publishing company in the UK, playing a primary role in the Women’s Weeklies, Women’s Interest, Women’s Lifestyle, TV Listings, Puzzles, Men’s Lifestyle, Music & Film and Specialist magazine markets.

What magazines they publish

They publish hundreds of mags, covering all categories, from boating to lifestyle, the only magazines that are relevant to me are Kerrang, Mojo and Q as they are the only music magazine, with Bauer already publishing three music magazines one may think that this is a bad sign, as they may believe three music mags are enough, however, my magazine differs from all three of these mags and target a different audience from each of these, this plays to my advantage.

About IPC

IPC Media is a leading UK consumer magazine publisher. Almost two in every three UK women and over 44% of UK men read an IPC magazine. That's over 26 million UK adults.

IPC's diverse print and digital portfolio offers something for everyone. Their 80 magazines include What's on TV, Pick Me Up, Woman, Now, Marie Claire, In Style, Woman & Home, Ideal Home, Nuts, Wallpaper*, Country Life, The Field, Rugby World, Practical Boat Owner and Look, our latest high street fashion and celebrity weekly. Their digital properties include NME.com, the third largest commercial music website in the UK and housetohome.co.uk, the UK's first homes portal. IPC's brands are very simply at the heart of the UK's cultural life

IPC is owned by Time Inc., the publishing division of Time Warner Inc. the magazine is split into five different publishing gruops, these are: IPC Connect, IPC Inspire, IPC Ignite, IPC Southbank and IPC TX. Alongside these is Marketforce, the UK's leading magazine distribution business.
IPC employs over 2,200 people

Magazines published

IPC offer similar products to Bauer, ranging from women's mags to specialists mags that would draw a niche market, such as 'SuperYacht world' they do publish some music magazines, most notably 'NME' which is a huge seller and would draw the same target audience as my music magazine, this would mean IPC probably wouldn't look to publish my mag, as they wouldn't want two magazines opposing each other under the same company.

Article construction

Finallt got around to the huge task of wrtiting an article for my double page spread, this was made easier by the extensive amount of planning i put in, I knew i needed an interview for my double page spread, which cut the process of thought which went along the lines of whether it should be a news page, a review, a special feature, such as looking at the development of the dance genre. The fact I already knew I needed an interview shorten the process of constructing my article.



I know within the interview i need to use slang and improper use of grammar, or at least not full grammar, as if i try to perfect it too much it will have a rigid feel to the interview, this will make readers cautious about buying future copies, as they will think my magazine is a serious one, aimed at an older audience

Below is a print screen of my article, it will enlarge to a readable size if you click it.

Main Task finished

More editing

Here i have cut out the photo of my headphones and lightened them, the reason behind this is that these will be my logo, so i cannot have a background for them, the reason i have lightened them slightly is the have to go on a black background, with it being the original colour it was difficult to see on my banner, slightly adjusting the brightness fixed this issue

Front cover photos edited

Here is the main photo that will feature on my front cover, i have decided to cut my subject for the front cover so headlines can fit well around him, if the whole image is used the headlines will overlap the background of the image, this would not look very professional. I have again changed the colour of the top because the darker just looks better and more stylish.

Editing photos

Started the process of editing my photos today, and as you can see from the last post there is a lot to be done, note the set is not professional, i appreciate the fact that a kitchen is not the best place fora photoshoot of a big DJ, but i have plans for those photos and i know i need to cut him out so the background does not matter, the reasoning behind cutting him out is simple, just the person on the whit background looks a lot sleaker and more proffessional than the whole photo being up, from my research the majority of photos that feature a single subject are often photoshopped so the subject is cut out and the background is no longer needed.

As you can also see i have changed the colour of my subjects top, the reasoning behind this is I believe the darker colour looks less grubby, the lighter colour makes him seem less serious and, for me, shows a cheaper feel towards his clothes.

Photos taken

Main task photo's

Started planning for the photos i will eventually use in my main task. I have outlined the photo's i need, these are:
-A set of photo's for the main article, an exclusive interview with an up and coming DJ, for this I will use my brother, I think he would be an adequate subject as he isn't too young, (at 21) so he is the right age to be a young DJ, I believe he has the right 'look' as he wears new clothes from places such as 'topman' and 'river island' this is significant as those are the places that my target audience would shop for their clothes. The props i need for these set of photos are a set of DJ style headphones, a vinyl CD and a cover for him to pose with and possibly some accessories such as sunglasses or a hat to make him look more stylish
-A set of photos of equipment that relates to music, such as headphones or speakers that I could feature alongside an article that feature a 'review of latest gear' or I could possibly transform into a logo
-Two or free mug shots that could be used as 'article by' or 'a word from our editor' I have already asked a couple of my friends who agreed to feature, one who agreed to come in a smart shirt so he can pose as my editor and the other who will simply wear a t-shirt to be the interviewer for my main article, I believe the variation in clothing style is necessary as editors would have to wear more formal clothes as they may have to attend meetings, whereas the interviewer talks in an informal style in the interview, therefore it would be appropriate for his clothing to mathc this.

Target audience plan

After purchasing many music magazines, mainly mixmag over the last couple of weeks, as it is of similar genre to what i hope my magazine will end up becoming, I believe i can start planning how my product can appeal to this audience.
My target audience will be young adults, ranging from 15 - 30, the majority of my readers would probably be males. I understand that this is a very small target audience and it's a very niche market. This obviously would have it's disadvantages as sales and such would not be as high as other magazines that have a wider target audience. Having a smaller target audience does come with some huge advantages, such as being able to research said audience and be able to attract them easier, as if i had targeted a wider audience i would of found it difficult to include everyone when creating my product.
It would appear that freebies are the best thing to draw in a target audience that has a smimilar agenda to mine, mixmag, NME and Kerrang all featured either a free poster or a free CD in the issues (as you can see from the images above), this is definatly something i feel i should explore when making my magazine.
Other ways I could attract a target audience is to feature articles that would appeal to every member of my target audience, such as an article about 'current trends' and fashions that are associated with the genre i am featuring, this would appeal to fans of the music, as they would like to know what the latest trends from the scene is.
I could also include some other features that would appeal to the audience, such as gig guides and competitons to win tickets and such. I could also feature 'exclusive' intervies and exclusive reviews of the latest albums or the latest equipment, this 'exclusive' feature will catch the audiences' eye when they are browsing the racks of shops.