Peer Feedback

Oliver Riches - "I like the title as it can appeal to both genders of the audience buying the magazine due to the pink and blue colours, also the title is bold and has a clear white outline which shows on the background well. Secondly, i like the images on the left side over and under lapping each other i think it looks great and is very effective as it shows the students in the school itself however you should also get some pictures of the school life as it doesn't show very much of what the school is like. You should also put some more information of what's inside the magazine as there is only a few on the magazine. "

Final Copy Of College/Sixth Form Magazine

I had not made many major changes to my front cover but was given criticism by Dima and Ollie to make the text a lot larger and to change the colours and font. The previous picture I used was also used by another student so I had to remove it start again with a different one. The colour scheme I went with in the masthead was blue and purple; I believed this would appeal to a male and female audience. There was a 'splat' that I placed near the masthead, the shadow makes it stand out from the background more and this I believe this is effective because it says that there will be a 'Free Revision CD Inside' which will capture the attention of students as it is relevant to studying and school. 

The issue number and the selling line are much smaller than the masthead as they are not as important, I included a range of pictures of the students outside of the school to fill in the gap on the left side of the magazine and to add more variety with the pictures I used. I had blurred out the background so the audience would pay more attention to the student rather than what is behind him; this makes sure the audience sees him first and could relate to him. The colours and fonts I used on the cover lines and main cover line helps it stand out from the background, I didn't want the colour scheme to be too simple as I thought it would have made my cover look bland. 

Flat Plans + Photo Ideas

In the rough plan of the cover I needed a mid-shot of a student and I took a range of shots using a camera and a phone, I followed this same plan throughout the production of my magazine cover. Here are my range of shots that I took for my magazine:

The preliminary stated that the shots had to be mid-shots, I took many mid-shots outside of the school, even though I took the pictures so the school would be present in the background I believed that the shot of the student wearing a typical sixth form/college uniform was enough for the audience to relate to the student and realise what the purpose of the magazine was.

Some of these shots had been used already but I used the shot where the students were looking down at the camera, this means that the audience will look up to the students like a role model.

Skills Audit

STRENGTHS:

• Photoshop
• Camera Work
• Understanding of Target Audience

WEAKNESSES:

• Editing
• Time Management

Social Grading Scale

Audience:

An individual or collective group of people who read or consume any media text e.g. radio listeners, television viewers, newspaper and magazine readers, web traffic on websites.

Media producers want to know the age, gender, race, location and by this method of categorising it is known as demographic, once they know this; they can begin to shape their text to appeal to a group with known reading/viewing/listening habits.

Why are audiences so important?

Without audiences the media would be pointless as the media organisations produce media texts to make profit. The mass media is becoming more competitive than ever to attract more and more audiences in different ways and stay profitable.

Types of audience:

Mass audience - often called ‘broadcast audience’. Those who consume mainstream or popular texts such as soaps or sitcoms. Media and communication that target a very large group.

Niche audience - much smaller but very influential. A niche audience is a small, select group of people with a unique interest in the media.

Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy Needs

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is often portrayed in the shape of a pyramid with the largest, most fundamental levels of needs at the bottom and the need for self-actualisation at the top.

This is very useful for research on audiences as the media institutions may use these tiers to relate to an audience and apply products to appeal to the needs of the people according to the hierarchy.

Deconstructions of Two College Magazines

The masthead is in large, bold letters and the yellow text stands out on the black background and draws the readers in and makes them read it first. The subject on the front page is a young man and he symbolises a student, he also holds textbooks in his hand and the audience can relate to him, the dark background keeps the attention of the audience on him. The pink splat on the page is eye catching and draws the attention of the reader in. Different colour cell lines also stand out from the black background. The subject has the light behind him and it highlights his body making him look more important. This is the same with the size of the text as the most important parts are larger than the others, such as the barcode and the issue number. This looks like a magazine for the student who cares about lifestyle and fashion.

The text is also large and bold, the girl is wearing a red shirt and the masthead is also bright red, it is a dominant colour and stands out well on the page. The girl is young and symbolises a student just like the man on the previous cover, it is a mid shot and the background behind her is blurry and this makes her stand out more and she is most of what the audience can see on the picture. The colour scheme is red, blue and black and it closely resembles what she is wearing, this makes the cover look more co ordinated. The cell lines include some interesting stories and that will draw the audience in and will make them want to read the articles.

Introduction to Media Studies Blog

I have chosen a simple background and colour scheme for my blog. I didn't want it to be too vibrant so I used a black and white colour scheme with a picture of film/photography setting, this links with the media course as film and photography obviously play big parts in the media.