Evaluation Questions and Answers

http://prezi.com/2qv-_hynrcwd/01-in-what-ways-does-your-media-product-use-develop-or-challenge-forms-and-conventions-of-real-media-products/


http://prezi.com/yrz85aqfi2hh/02-how-effective-is-the-combination-of-your-main-product-and-ancillary-texts/

http://prezi.com/u5d228wzcziz/03-what-have-you-learned-from-your-audience-feedback/

http://prezi.com/h5pjbznw-cws/04-how-did-you-use-media-technologies-in-the-construction-and-research-planning-and-evaluation-stages/

The following links are to my individual evaluation questions that I have answered on Prezi, mainly because it was easier to present for this purpose and is a lot more dynamic.

Radio Advertisement (Ancillary Task)

This is the finished radio advertisement for my Local Newspaper.

The creation of the task was more difficult because it was hard to find examples of a newspaper radio advertisement, national or local. I felt that the best way to approach the task would be persuasive language techniques, which are used constantly in the media to promote selling points to audience.

I created the advert in Audacity:

 

 

I recorded the script in 4 parts, so if need be I could just re-record a certain section if I wasn't happy rather than begin from scratch. The actual piecing together of the tracks was simple enough, it was choosing the right music that was the most time consuming part of the task. The music for the advert has to compliment the product, and in conjunction with my billboard advert which is based on my newspaper being a way to start the day, I needed something that in terms of tone was bright, aiming more towards easy listening.

 

http://www.audionautix.com/index.php - This was the website I used to obtain my soundtrack (royalty free).

 

I needed the music to be clear, but quiet enough so that it didn't drown out the speech. I feel that I achieved the right balance between the volume of both the music and the narration.

The key aspect is to keep it simple (http://culturca.narod.ru/radio.htm) because radio stations run a tight schedule to avoid "dead air", so there is only a short amount of time to keep it succinct and still get the message across.

I used a few different techniques because they all have different functions:

• Direct Address: "Brighten up your day?",  "you should really try...". This lets the audience know that they are being spoken to and makes it feel a little bit more friendly/personal.
• Alliteration : "budget busting 48p". This adds emphasis to the words and makes it sound catchier, so it sticks in the audience's mind.
• Assertion: "We cover what matters to you". The wording makes it sound like a fact when in reality it is actually an opinion. This is a subtle way of getting the audience to share the same opinion as the narrator.
• Repetition: "Day after day". Like alliteration, it adds emphasis and makes the audience think about what they have been reading, so the advert is in a position to change their mind.

Radio Advert Script (Ancillary Task)

One of my two ancillary tasks was the creation of a 30 second radio advertisement for my local newspaper. Whilst national newspapers occasionally use radio adverts, it was difficult to find any advertisements for my own or any other local newspaper.

Radio is obviously an excellent way of increasing awareness for a newspaper if working in conjunction with local radio stations.

This is the script for my advert:

Are you getting bored of reading the same thing day after day?

 Need something to brighten up your day?

If that’s the case, you should really try the Lakes Gazette.

Sports, news, events, everything you need for your local area

We’ve got it all for a budget busting 48p

I mean you really can’t get any better than that

So remember if you need the news that’s important to you

The Lakes Gazette, because we cover what matters to you.

Examples of other Local Newspapers

Alongside my own local newspaper, I did collect other papers from my county so I could look at them and see how they differed from one another. I was surprised that the papers that I looked at were a broadsheets compared to my local newspaper which veers a little more towards looking like a tabloid.

 

Examples of other Local Newspapers from JackBMediaa2

Billboard Advert (Ancillary Task)

This is the final version of the billboard advertisement that I created alongside my newspaper pages:

To get to this stage I went through several different ideas, but the main idea that stayed the same throughout was the idea of the background being black and white and the newspaper being left in colour to highlight that it was brand new and will be a "breath of fresh air" compared to other local newspapers.

These where the two images that I liked the most after taking several different shots after experimenting with different angles and lighting. The set up was made to look like an everyday kitchen worktop in the morning because I felt it fit more with my target audience.

Again the idea of the newspaper breathing life into its surroundings played out because this is such a common scene for many people/families that it becomes commonplace, the paper is meant to stand out.


I eventually chose the second photo of the two because the angle of the first felt odd, mainly because I felt the newspaper should be turned towards the audience. Doing this placed the masthead in the centre, which is advantageous as we as people are more drawn to look there.

 This was the photo straight after I used Photoshop to select the background and place the black and white filter over it. I also took the opportunity to make the title slightly more vibrant to make it more likely to hook people to look at it. This also highlights how useful the implementation of the red colour is for newspapers.

 

I then edited the size so it would look more obviously like a billboard.

 

 

This was the first idea I had for the text on the advert. The idea of "Need some colour" was to reference the newspaper being the object that metaphorically brings the colour back into the readers life. In hindsight the title itself was too vague and the placement of it felt right at the time but ultimately it was changed because it may have been a little bit awkward to read.

 

 

The next thought was to add more to the title, which I have now stuck with. "Start your day with some colour" made it more obvious to the audience that the Lakes Gazette is what you will need to start your day. Anymore words would have made it less appealing to read, as billboards are usually glanced in passing as we are driving or walking, so there needs to be enough that people get the message yet don't feel it is a chore to read. I also experimented with the idea of bleeding the colour into the text, so as it goes further across it gets brighter. This was primarily because it echoed how the sunrises in the morning, which ties in with the setting and "starting the day".

 

This was the second incarnation of the previous image. I tried to copy the text and place over the top of the original so that moving it left or right would give it a 3D effect. However it looked more clunky than I anticipated so I removed it. Originally I had been aiming at making the text red like the masthead, but I thought this might detract attention away from the paper. Instead I used the same font as the masthead to show the relation between the message and the paper.



This was the penultimate incarnation of the final product. I capitalised the start of each word to make it looked a little more balanced and brightened the colour of the text to make it more clear against the whites in the background. The only difference between this and the final product is I used the Poster Edges effect on the background of the final product because I felt it looked more interesting and added some texture to the image.

Alternatively, I played with the idea of this retro comic book/pop culture style effect. However since the comic book idea may have been more geared towards younger readers, it may risk alienating older readers, but I felt it was an interesting experiment.

Finished Pages

These are the finished versions of my newspaper pages, the first, main page and the second page.
http://s1345.photobucket.com/user/JackBMediaa2/media/Page1FINALDONEANDDUSTED_zps4bb5f271.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0#/user/JackBMediaa2/media/Page1FINALDONEANDDUSTED_zps4bb5f271.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0&_suid=13662815536350507434925563248

http://s1345.photobucket.com/user/JackBMediaa2/media/Page2Cropped_zpsb041e308.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1#/user/JackBMediaa2/media/Page2Cropped_zpsb041e308.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1&_suid=136628681695702238588117997795

I have also included annotated versions of the pages for more insight into how I created the pages:

Annotated Newspaper Pages from JackBMediaa2

I have uploaded the stories from my newspaper onto SlideShare in an effort to make it easier to read:

Newspaper Stories (A2 Media Local Newspaper Task) from JackBMediaa2

The first page has undergone more changes than the 2^nd, mainly because it relies much more on aesthetics and it needed to be balanced correctly.

Originally the masthead had not been stretched across the width of the page, as I had planned to insert a masthead there, but I decided against it because I felt that making the masthead larger and more pronounced was of greater importance.

 

On top of this I also made the text thicker and added another line of text “Follow us on @LakesGazette on Twitter” to contribute to the idea of keeping the paper up to date with today’s more technological climate.

The bottom advert has been reduced slightly compared to this earlier version to make room for the story section and give me more room to increase the size of the title. The banner on the side of the page which talks about contact information for the paper has also been altered to give it a red background. This was because there wasn’t enough colour on the page and it makes it look emptier. Usually this information would be on the inside, but I felt that putting it on the front page lets the audience know straight away that they can get involved with their local paper. Finally I also increased the size of the title on top of the main image to get rid of the amount of white space.

I didn’t make that many adjustments to the second page, apart from the last minute addition of the side banner. This was mainly because I was having the same problem that I had with the first page, it looked empty. I went back to find news stories and information that was relevant to the time so it would correspond with the date of the newspaper. I found that this made the page more aesthetically pleasing than it was previously.

 The main image on the second page was probably the most difficult task next to writing the stories because of the effect I was trying to achieve to make it fit the story. I used Photoshop to add a smashed glass effect to the window to try and make it more realistic.



 I have uploaded the stories from my newspaper onto SlideShare in an effort to make it easier to read.



Adverts & Tabs

For the features on my front page, I created two tabs to place underneath the masthead to inform the reader of what would be inside the paper.

Because my paper has been based around a Christmas theme, I created a tab referring to a Christmas-ssy activity inside. The image of the Christmas boxes was taken by me, and I used Photoshop to edit out the background and keep the boxes themselves.

 

I found creating these tabs probably the most difficult task concerning the front page because I needed to make them fit with the scheme and be aesthetically pleasing at the same time.

The second tab isn’t Christmas related, but is more aimed at showing the audience that there is more than just news based on current affairs, etc. The picture I took was of my other classmates who are also creating their media project. I thought it would create an interesting link between our work and also how different outlets can work in conjunction with each other (in this case TV and Newspaper).



The first stage in creating the tab

The feature that I placed at the bottom of the page was again Christmas related, but this time it was an advert for a local establishment. These are an important factor of local papers as it brings money to the paper as they are paid of advertising space and it brings income to the establishment.

 

The images used on the ad were taken again by me and edited in Photoshop to remove the background. The only minor alteration I made outside of this was the image of the bells, which was originally red, but it was too much on an already red template.



Masthead

 

 

To create my newspaper pages, I will be using Adobe Illustrator. This is particularly useful because I can use the tabloid template to try and scale the features on my page appropriately. 

 

 



 

This is the design I am planning to use for my newspaper masthead. I made it red, not because it signifies any political leanings, but purely because it is bold enough to capture the attention of the audience. The font is more traditional because I am aiming my paper to have a more sophisticated look compared to the more rounded text often found on tabloids.

I have left some space available next to the main headline in case I want to insert a puff, but this will depend on any changes I may make to my masthead.