H/W Question

What were the good and bad things about the software and hardware used at AS in terms of skills development?

The hardware we used in AS were the Apple Macs, which I found hard to use at first. I didn't really know what anything was due to the fact that I used Windows PC's most of the time. I also found the keyboards hard to use, due to the fact that they are very small and precise. I found myself making a lot of typing errors which became an annoyance, as I had to keep going back to make corrections.

I also used a video camera to capture our music video. I liked using this video recorder because it was easy to use. It also provided good practice for A2.

Photoshop was one of the many pieces of software that I used throughout the year. As the year progressed, my understanding of all the different tools increased and I was able to work more efficiently when using the application. I also used iMovie to edit the video we filmed at the end of the year, which was very easy to use.

Over the time that I was studying AS Media Studies, I became more and more familiar with both the software and hardware that we used.

Evaluation

Overall, I think that I have completed the preliminary task for the media course fairly well. I think the colour and font testing and the magazine layouts are completed to a good standard as they are detailed and well presented. I think i could improve the magazine research, questionnaire analysis, the magazine front cover and contents. The magazine research could be improved by finding more examples of magazines and maybe adding a little bit more detail to the analytical side of the work. There definitely needs to be more analysis added to the questionnaire post as the text looks very thin and small. Finally, more content should be added to the front cover and to the contents page. The contents page is very boring as it contains virtually no colour or images. 

Magazine Front Cover

Magazine Layouts

I decided to use this layout because it is very simple and is a common layout for a magazine cover. The title and the main story are at the centre of the page and are the main attractions of the cover. There are four different extra headlines that are also included in the magazine, so there is something else to read apart from the main headline. The title will be big and bold which will catch the eye of anyone walking past the magazine in a shop. For the real magazine i will use brighter and better colours. 

This is my second magazine layout design. it is very different from the first layout, as the title and main story are in completely different places. The tile is now positioned in the top left corner of the page, and is inside an explosive shape. Even though it is not in the middle of the page, it will still be eye catching because of the shape around it. The main story is now on the right side of the page and is smaller than it was in the first design. This is because this is a more spaced out design. I have also added two exclusive articles which will make people want to buy my magazine, as you wont be able to get these articles anywhere else. 

Results Of Questionnaire

For my questionnaire I surveyed 8 different 15-16 year olds to find out what they would most like to see in a magazine. I asked a random amount of males and females to complete the questionnaire so my results were not biased. The results I collected will be analysed and put into tables, so I know what kind of magazine would be the most popular.

This bar chart shows the maximum amount of money people would pay for the magazine. The bar char shows that most people would be willing to pay a maximum of £2 for the magazine. Because of this result, I will set the price of the magazine to £2.

This bar chart shows the amount of text and pictures people would prefer on the front cover. The bar chart clearly shows that people would prefer more pictures on the front cover than text. Because of this, I will most likely have a big picture on the front with a bit of text over the picture, which will notify people of what is in the magazine.

This bar chart will help me determine what the primary colour of the magazine will be. The chart shows that black would be the most popular primary colour of the magazine. It also shows that red or blue would’nt be a bad choice either. Due to the close results, I will choose between red, blue or black for the primary colour of the magazine.

This bar chart will determine if I include freebies in the magazine or not. The chart shows that 4 people would like freebies included with the magazine and 3 people that would not. 1 person said that they are not bothered either way. Due to the results, I think I will include freebies with the magazine. Some people said that they would’nt mind what freebies were included, when vouchers, sunglasses and a sponge football were mentioned.

This bar chart will be used to determine how often a new issue of the magazine will be available to buy. Monthly is a clear winner here, which means that a new issue of the magazine will be available monthly

This bar chart shows what kind of articles people would rather be included in the magazine. Interviews are clearly the most popular articles to be included in the magazine. Even though interviews is a clear winner, I will probably include info/stats with interviews so there is more than one type of article I the magazine.