AS Media

Evaluation Questions

What have you learnt from completing this task?

From completing this task I have learnt how to use Photoshop. This was my first real task on Photoshop. By using Photoshop I learnt how to use the ‘scale’ tool so that I can keep my images at the same scale but still reduce the size of the image. As well as edit images on Photoshop with the ‘Lasso’ tool, I also learnt how to add text to the image, meaning that I could add titles; captions, headlines and also add my story titles.

As well as using Photoshop for the first time I also learnt how to use a Blog for the very first time. I set up my blog for the first time at the start of this task. I learnt how to make a new post on my blog.
Aside from learning new technology I also learnt new terminology related to media. For example I learnt the meanings for a number of words, such as; connotation, convention, header, footer and I also learnt the importance of semiotics in advertisements in order to show what the true meaning of an advertisement is.

How have you used technology?

I used a lot of new technology including some camera’s to take HD photos so that I could get the best image I possibly could with the resources I had. I also used Photoshop to edit the images I took; this was so that I could keep what I wanted in the image and took out background images as well as alter the colour, brightness and contrast of the image.

When I used PowerPoint for my Contents mock up i also used it to create a mood board. The reason I used PowerPoint to create my Mood board is because it is simple to use and effective. On my mood board I got images of the 3G-football pitch available at Wyke as well as some images of football, rugby pitch & rugby ball, iPhone and social media. This is to show what could go in my magazine, as it is what students are interested in. The reason I used Photoshop is because it is a program, which allows you to edit images as well as add stuff to the image to create a whole new image. To cut out things in the background of my original image I used the ‘lasso’ tool so that I could carefully cut around the things I wanted to keep in the image and get rid of the rest in the background which wasn’t needed. The reason for using HD cameras was to get the best picture I possibly could so that it was clear and also made sure the image was not blurry and legible to use. The images were saved to the SD card in the camera. I had to use a card reader to get the images from the SD card to get them onto the computer so that I could find the best image to use for my magazine.

What conventions have you used and why?

On the front cover of my magazine I used the main image of a student, this is so that it is easy for the reader to recognize that it is for a college magazine, due to the student also been on the college site. As well as this I also used story titles on the front cover of the magazine, yet again making it easier for the reader to know what is inside and something for them to expect to be in the magazine. For example a main title I used for the front cover is ‘Highest National Pass Rate 97.5%’. This easy to know that it is to do with education as it is related to courses and the percent of students that passed their courses. The main convention I used which stood out the most was the title of my magazine ‘The Student Life’ gives it straight away that the magazine is about what it’s like been a student.

What would you change if you were to do this task again?

Personally I would change the image I took, I would get the person top stand up and have a positive look whilst stood in-front of the Wyke college sign. This will give the reader an obvious sign that it is a college magazine. I would change the lay-out of my college magazine as I will have more skill use of Photoshop, due to this been my first time using it I was not able to do some of the advanced tools on Photoshop. I would also change the name of my magazine as I feel the title I gave it wasn’t very creative.

That is all I would change if I were to do the task again.

The red background shows romance and passion, suggesting that the reason for this is the hair gel he is using.

The women is standing very seductively and is looking at him to show that she finds him attractive due to this hair product.

You can ‘score’ with any women if you have this specific product. ' with the high precision styling you can score the perfect hit.'

The slogan in the advertising is 'Style. Attract. Play' relates to actually styling your hair to attract girls. Due to the camera being behind him, it is as if you are one of the 'lads' and he is turning to you giving the impression that ' Look at this I'm going to pull'

Denotation - in the image it says 'you can score the perfect hit' literally as the man is about to win the game if he pots the black ball.

Connotation - The connotation of the word 'score' as he as about to score with the black ball and with the girl he is intending to 'pull'.