Joe Megson Media Studies Coursework Evaluation
This is my evaluation of my AS Level coursework to produce a magazine cover.
LIIAR Analysis of the cover:
Language – The medium-close up head-on view of the student is, in my opinion, effective at drawing attention to the cover. The large text is coloured red and green, bright colours which also attract attention and have connotations of positivity, as well as making the cover more aesthetically pleasing. For the masthead I have used funky lettering for the font, which furthers these effects. However, I have used a more clear, bold font for the coverlines so as to not over-do it, and make the main feature of the article stand out to the reader. The microphone, as well as the speech bubble surrounding the masthead, is meant to reference the main content of the magazine, the interview with media students. This could perhaps have been enhanced by having a photograph of more than one media student as the main image.
Institution – The magazine cover does not include the logo of a publisher. However, as it is named “Wyke Weekly”, it is published by the staff/students of Wyke, intended for sale to Wyke students. This is also implied by the image of a sudent on the cover.
Ideology – The bright, funky lettering on the magazine cover suggest a message that life at college is fun and enjoyable. This is also shown through the main image of a student smiling, looking relaxed and happy to have his photograph taken. (I originally used more than two colours for the coverlines, but this over-did the message and took attention away from the main image). The large image of the Wyke student, as well as the coverline telling the reader about the main article, give a message of relating to the audience, as the main article is an interview (or interviews) with students at Wyke.
Audience – The audience of the Wyke Weekly magazine is students who attend Wyke College
Representation – I think that the audience, Wyke students, are represented positively in my cover, through the positive image of a smiling first-year student as the main image and the strapline showing that students are contributing to the main article of the magazine. I also think this creates a positive representation of college life, as the students enjoy it. I believe it is important to create a positive representation of students and the college, as it encourages people to buy the magazine. The people represented in the magazine are also the magazine’s target audience, so it is especially important to create a positive representation or no one would want to read the magazine.
Overall, I am happy with my magazine cover and the draft of the contents page. The cover effectively conveys a positive representation and message about Wyke students and life at the college. The main image, text and masthead are effective at drawing in readers and attracting their attention while encouraging them to read it. The edited-in microphone and speech bubble relate to the main content of the magazine, and information about the main contents are clearly displayed and visible on the cover in bright, attractive colours that make it stand out.
However, there were some problems I encountered during the production of the cover. I originally intended to cut out the image of the student and place it onto a different background. However, this took a long time due to the imprecision of cutting it out and I had to use an eraser tool to get rid of parts of the original background. I eventually decided to just use the original image with the original background and edit it by placing an image of a microphone into it. In retrospect, this could have been avoided b using a Magic Eraser tool in photoshop, or using a USB mouse to make cutting out the image more precise.
I also did not allocate much time for planning the coursework, partly due to an absence at the start of the project. As a result, I spent time making some changes as I was creating it, which could have been planned beforehand otherwise. I can avoid this in the future by not being absent, and by thinking ahead at the start of projects.
In conclusion, I am pleased with the results of my coursework. The effects used are effective, and the cover is attractive and positive to readers. Future projects could be improved with more plan ning and more understanding of the image editing tools available.
