EVALUATION!!

My Media Evaluation

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

My media product uses challenges and develops forms and conventions in many ways. My product uses the standard conventions of a drugs website such as having information on the risk of drug taking and how to help. It fulfills the conventions by having all these pages with the required information. I targeted the younger generations because after we tallied up the survey results it showed that 15-20 year olds were more interested in the website than any other age groups. The websites target audience also fits a convention by aiming at a younger generation just like other drug websites such as ‘Talk to Frank’ however is still accessible to an older audience.

My website also challenges conventions because I have used my own videos and images and gave the website a unique look unlike other websites. Standard websites have boring pictures on them that don’t attract the audience. I know this because I’ve researched the sites. However I used videos that I filmed and images that I drew to challenge the ‘standard’ website. Instead of taking pictures that are common on these other websites I chose to take pictures in my own style, using younger people, which I believed would help the site appeal more to my target audience. 

The website follows the layout of other drug websites having all the same pages, however I made it appeal to a younger audience by choosing a different colour scheme which made it more eye catching instead of dull colours like on this page at the bottom. I chose black as my main background colour and a bright green to outline everything.

Something I chose to change at the last minute was the language of the website. All the information had been written in a ‘street’ way referring to cannabis as dope etc. It now reads in a formal manner. 

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My media websites target audience is young people. It represents the younger generation in many ways. Firstly, the photos on the website represent young people because they are young people in the photos. This will appeal to people more because they can picture themselves in the photos. Not only the photos but the videos that I filmed as well are aimed at a younger generation by having people talk ‘slang’ in them so that the audience can understand where their coming from. The videos were filmed in locations that represent the drugged youth, such as the park and an ally. Also the design and colour scheme of the website help appeal to my target audience. I set it out so that it has a graffiti style to it. The website itself is black but it’s the bright green outlines that capture people attention because the green is a bold colour which helps the website to stand out. Also green is a colour I believe most young offenders like, due to the fact that most drug addicts start off by using cannabis and a highlight of cannabis is its colour. The overall design of the website makes it look ‘cool’ by giving it a rough look but smart.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

There are many kinds of media institutions that might distribute my product however I am the primary institution as the publisher. Websites are publish by having web servers distribute them through a wireless or cabled internet connection to an internet provider such as virgin or BT, I am in charge of editing so I can edit everything and control what goes on to the site.

However, distribution of a website is much more difficult than that of a film or a radio program. One reason is because films and radio programs can be advertised in a variety of ways to a wide target audience. When looking at other websites to see how they advertise their media product I found that a majority of the sites were linked to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. For this reason I added links to Facebook and Twitter on my own site, and a Google search bar which automatically makes the site searchable. This is how I chose to advertise my site.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience I am aiming my media product at is at the age of 25 and below. However my product will also be accessible to an older audience but maybe not look as appealing to them. When looking at my survey results and after conjuring up the results it showed that years below 25 are less knowledgeable about drugs and so I should aim my product at them. People older than 25 will still find the website useful as it has a lot of information on it, however the videos, images and some of the language will not appeal to these viewers as they have been specifically aimed at the younger generation.

How did you attract/address your audience?

I attracted my target audience in a variety of ways. Firstly the modern layout makes it easy to read and keeps the site looking fresh and clean. The fonts I have used also keep the site looking sharp and even though they are a little part of the site they have a big impact. Another thing that helps keep my site looking fresh is the colour scheme. Instead of having dull colours like other drug help sites I have looked at, I chose to have bold outlines and colours that catch the eye and bring a feel of youth culture with them. The look of the site can easily draw the audiences’ attention but still has a professional look to it. Also the wording of the website reflects the target audience and uses slang in some sections to appeal to the target audience. The videos I used will help to draw the attention of the viewers too by relating to the lifestyle youth lead. I also used stories from drug addicts to attract my target audience, as they were the same age as the target audience so the target audience would have something to relate to.

What have you learned about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Building my school website definitely helped me build my main website because it gave me the chance to get used to the tools I needed to use, so when it came down to the main website I knew what had to be done to get certain effects and so forth. However its not only iweb that I have gained skills in but Photoshop too. Before I started this project I had never used Photoshop because I haven’t needed to, but now I can say that I know the basics on how to use the program. Using Photoshop helped me greatly with the look of the website overall, helping me to give the right effects I wanted on the fonts and photos to make it appeal to my target audience. However, whilst I was using Photoshop I faced problems, problems like not being able to save and having layers overlap. Luckily my partner knew how to use the program so we overcome our problems quickly so that we could move on.

I believe now that I have developed a skill for photography, as I was the one who went out and took the photos and shot the videos. I chose where to do them and how to make them look. I believe the photos I gathered are great for my site.

I also now know how to use Final Cut Express; a program that lets you cut and edit videos. I know I can’t use it as well as I want to be able to but I have time to learn now and develop my skills.

The last thing I know I have gained skills in using is Blogger. I never even knew what it was before this project, but now I can upload my own work and use it to the fullest.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Well firstly, I have learnt a shortcut how to make a new page in iweb which helped a great deal because it cut the time it took to make the website. Also the fact that we had made the school website before this site meant that we knew the basics already so made it easier for us. Another thing was that now we knew the basics we had time to experiment with new designs and looks. The last thing that I would say it helped us with is the overall look of the website. Knowing from the experience, we knew what looked smart and tidy and knew what looked bad too.