A2 Media Evaluation

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

My media aim is to develop forms and conventions concerning related products. From my
analysis I have picked out some of the conventions from my poster and film magazine front
cover

• Both my poster and magazine follow certain conventions for example my poster was based
upon all the research that I have used form looking at other romantic comedy posters. I have
included the dame colour scheme and fonts that would be seen in romantic comedy posters.
On posters the main character/characters are found on the left however on romantic comedy
posters I have found through my research that the characters are in the middle or in the
primary optical area. However on my poster I decided to break the convention by having the
main character on the right.
• The stance and expression on the two characters on my movie poster had to stand out in
order to catch the audiences attention as I picked this up form looking at numerous movies
posters. In order to do this I asked for the characters to generally smiled at each other in
order to create that natural look. The position that they are both in are conventional for a
romantic comedy as a male and female are normally seen embracing each other. Also the
position that they are in shows that the female character is reliant on the dominant male.
• My magazine front cover tries to follow the conventions of other film magazine. I have made
the main picture be in front of the magazine title to show what the main article would be
about and of its importance. I chose to make the colour scheme represent the mood of my
film genre and to attract a certain target audience which I found through research.
 Real Media
My final product
product
Characters are
seen embracing
on the right hand
side

Main
character is
seen in the
middle
embracing
Colour with
scheme is another
pink and
purple to
connote
love and
passion
Blue connotes
calm and
tranquillity
 Continuation

• I have used certain headlines in order to attract what would be featured in my magazine and have
positioned them in line so that if follows the rule of thirds. I also made sure that the headlines
were simple but interesting. The pictures connecting the sub headlines had to be eye catching but
didn’t interfere with the main picture.
• The main logo of my magazine does not challenge the conventions of real media products as I have
made it simple but soft to reflect the information being provided. I have based it at the top of the
front cover starting from the left hand side of the page as this is the first place a person looks.
• I have tried to follow certain conventions when producing my movie trailer. Movie trailers have to
be much more varied then a movie poster as it gives more information on what the film is going to
be about.
• I started my trailer of with institutions which I learnt from looking at my research. I realised that
romantic comedies follow a certain rule which starts of with a clear set up, a confrontation and a
resolution. I tried to incorporate this into my trailer by starting of with the main character falling
out of bed and tripping outside to show her clumsy personality. I then made sure that main
character was shown being with the two sub main characters to show that there is a dilemma. For
the confrontation I made the main character had an argument with one of them who at the end
will become the resolution. I decided to end the trailer with a twist by making her walk into a café
to make the audience question themselves on which main sub character is the main going to meet.
 How effective is the combination of your main products and
your ancillary texts?
I believe that the combination of my main product and ancillary text is very effective as I believe
it fits as a package
• My poster and front cover film magazine both incorporate the same font used for the film
title to help show a link. I have also made sure that the main character of the film is the only
one seen on the magazine to show that the main article is about them where as on my film
poster I added the 2nd sub main character.
• On the film magazine the main character is wearing a different outfit form the one on the
film poster which is conventional as a magazine wouldn’t have the starr wearing the same
costume as they would have been on the film. But having the character creates a link to the
product
• The continuity of the package is shown through the use of the same costume in the poster
and trailer. The same kind of posture and body language helps the audience identify that the
poster goes with the trailer and allows them to identify the different elements within the
package
This is a main technique that all the major film companies and distributors would use.
Magazine front
Poster design
cover design
What have you learned from your audience feedback?
 How did you use new media technologies in the constructions
and research, planning and evaluation stages?
I used new technologies consistently throughout my coursework.
• An example of new media technology that I used during my coursework was using a website
called Blogger to record my planning and research. By using Blogger I have shown that I can
record the progress of coursework electronically.
To view my blog: http://fletch7079.blogspot.com/
• To help me research into the genre that I wanted I used secondary research by using the
internet and went onto site such as wikipedia and (IMDB) Internet movie database. I also
created hyperlinks which I pasted onto my blog so that trailers could be viewed on the you
tube website.
• For my planning I used a computer which was easier to use then hand writing it.
• I used an 8 mega pixel camera to try and get the highest quality of pictures and found this
more appropriate then using a camera phone.
• To create my poster and magazine front cover I used publisher and macromedia fireworks. I
decided to use publisher as this was the most suitable programme I had available to me. In
order to edit the pictures that I had taken I used fireworks which allowed me to lace and
mask around the area that I wanted to select. Mask was also used to alter the colours in
order to fit in with the background colour on my poster and magazine.
 Blogger logo

IMDB logo

Wikipedia
logo
Hyperlink
pasted on my
blog
Macromedia Fireworks Microsoft Publisher

Selecting the By going into

Live marquee insert I can
box allows you import pictures
to change Edge from file.
settings and the
amount of Enables me
feather for your to add in text
The Magic bitmap Using
boxes.
Wand tool selection. publisher
allows you to allows me to
select areas of easily move
pixels that area objects
similar in around the
colour. page.

The paint
box allows
you to add
colour.
 Continuation

• In order to film my trailer I used a HD Panasonic video recorder and a Sony.

• To edit my trailer I used an apple Mac computer in order to produce the highest quality film
trailer. Here I was able to add in fades to soften the transition form one shot to another and
was able to trim certain parts of my film without hassle. It also allowed me to add in credits.
• I used the website youtube to upload my trailer to show more use of the new media
technologies.
• I am creating this evaluation on Microsoft powerpoint as I feel that this is a suitable
programme to use for slide shows.

Screen shots
showing trailer
exported into
a tiny movie
format
This screen shot shows a
certain part of my film being
trimmed. This can be done by
adjusting the yellow side lines
to the point where you want to
cut the film or by command+R
on the keyboard.
Once you have
finished cropping you
This is where the film press done
exported from the
camera is placed in
order to edit the film.

This shows the playback

of the particular part of the
film that has been edited.

This screen shot shows all of

the trailer which has been
edited.