A2 Advanced Portfolio

Media Evaluation
Fusion Website – By Natasha John
For my A2 Media Coursework, my brief was to create a website for a new TV channel aimed at teenagers. The website I have created is called Fusion; I chose this for my website because it is original and catchy, it also has a direct reference to the ‘putting together of different things as ‘Fusion’ means small pieces stuck together to make one whole piece, exactly like my website as it’s a collage of Fashion, News and Music all in one place! It is also simplistic that will be easily remembered. I decided to make my website unisex to gain a wider audience frame, I did this by using a large range of colours, content and pictures that appeal to both male and female viewers, although when I was creating the website most of my pictures included girly colours such as pink and purple. I am aware that my website began to sway towards being aimed at a female audience. I am happy with this is many of the most successfull websites are aimed at just women! E.g. comsopolitan! As well as creating a website to promote the teen TV channel, I had two ancillary tasks which consisted of a double page spread and a newspaper advert, this is all to promote my channel “Fusion”.

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

Before starting the actual construction of my website, I researched a range of websites including 4 Music, BBC Switch and MTV that have a similar target audience. From this research I learnt what the typical conventions were. I also seen what was popular that could enhance the viewer rate on my website.
I decided to use the popular convention of a navigation bar within my website. Navigation buttons help the audience access the places they wish and easily making the overall usability of the site effortless. I knew the usability was very important after research into website designer Jakob Neilson. I decided to use the form of a top centred navigation, which is a typical convention of websites because they are a recurring feature among the websites I have studied. I felt this form of navigation helped shape the construction of the page. I also made the five navigation buttons brightly coloured, similar to other popular websites, so they are easily attainable to viewers. Navigation's are made up of hyperlinks, and without these hyperlinks my audience would not be able to move around the website freely. It is a convention of websites because any website with one or more pages needs to be linked together by hyperlinks so all the content can be accessed easily. Hyperlinks are evident throughout my website, through the process of linking up text and pictures to various pages.
Another convention within websites is eye catching images and videos, which are popular among the teenage age group. I created unique images throughout my website that provide visual examples of my programmes and news stories featured on the channel. Some of my images also advertised what was on the website and had direct links to the other pages. Images give viewers a graphic satisfaction and help to advertise certain aspects; this is why I used a lot of images throughout my ancillary texts which were a magazine double page spread and a newspaper advertisement. I have embedded three videos onto my website; both of the videos show the ‘Weeks Celebrity’ singing at local competitions, one on the music page and one on the gossip page. The person singing is me so therefore I didn’t need anybody else’s permission. I have also used a video of my brother dancing, again which I had permission to use. Dance is often used to entertain people and I thought it would be a positive extra to my Fusion Website. Many websites include video clips in order to advertise upcoming shows, broadcast news stories, or to display an interview. For example, the E Hollywood News channel (www.enews.com) includes videos of celebrities being interviewed, previews of up and coming programmes and exclusive music videos, for example Lady Gaga’s newest video for the song Judas. I decided to add a little blurb above the videos explaining what the video is about so my audience are more likely to watch it, this is also a convention often used on websites. Video clips add depth and extra attraction to the webpage, as well as gaining the attention and interest of the audience members.

When focusing on my ancillary texts, I followed some of the codes and conventions of newspaper advertisements and double-page spreads which I recognized from the research I collected. This is a selection of images and text to attract the audience, the use of information about the website/channel such as the web url and channel number on my newspaper advertisement, and the use of text within the double-page spread to inform the audience of specific programmes and other facts about the channel/website. I found these codes and conventions vital in terms of creating a realistic ancillary task as well as teen channel.

The sites that influenced my ideas the most were mostly E News and MTV, as they both had a bright colours, which I used on my own website. I used these colours, preferably the bright luminous looking, pinks, greens, blues, yellows and orange to create variety on my page and the edge I wanted for my website. I used the colours against a black background for extra stand out effect.

I carried on this theme throughout every page on my website. I chose to link all the pages by colour, because I wanted the whole website to be similar pieces put together to make one whole piece, this was done purposely to match the meaning of the word Fusion.

This was used also to maintain the audience attention.

Another convention of websites that I have noticed whilst researching is the influence of a logo. A logo creates an imprint in the audience’s mind of a certain company or in this case a programme. Therefore, to match typical conventions I decided my logo needed to be eye-catching, colourful and simple so it doesn’t over power the content and can be remembered easily. I found that complicated logos were often too confusing for someone to remember, besides being too complex for people to actually want to remember! To create my logo I used the artistic software Photoshop. Whilst developing the logo I decided to use the theme of a bright colour, similar to everything else featured in my website to create fluency within the website. I made this logo by copying a simple black font from 'www.dafont.com' into Photoshop. I used tools to split the text to produce a more edgier modern style, almost like a smashed mirror stuck together, again because I wanted to link to the meaning of the word ‘Fusion’. By researching Jakob Neilson I learned that texts and logos need to stand out if they are intended to catch attention. This is why I decided to fill the text with a bright pink and create a soft glow on the edges so the text would really stand out. Then I added a black background for extra attention grabbing quality.
A further convention of the product in question is gaming and competitions within websites. I wanted my website to be unique and different from others so I decided not to have a competitions or a win page, I felt I had enough content to offer. I did however have a small competition ‘Welsh Idol’ in which people could enter a singing competition, but this was a programme not just a feature on my website. I would have liked to have added a forum portion of my website, and also a search bar but due to time and software limitations, I was unable to include these features.
All my research I believe made my website gain depth and fluency; giving it a sense of originality by following the codes and conventions we as an audience are familiar with. By following typical conventions I believe my website isn’t too complicated to access and move around. I particularly enjoyed research into Jakob Nielsens’ Do’s and Don’ts on website design, such as what text to have on what background and how to make the site easily accessible on a search engine.

Question Two:
How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary tasks?

The main products that I have created are the “Fusion” website and the ancillary tasks being a newspaper advertisement and a double page spread. By developing these ancillary tasks I am strengthening the Fusion Company due to the fortification of advertisement. In order to do this I have included my logo on not only the website, but on both of the ancillary tasks. This is to make the logo memorable and recognizable for the audience and to again increase audience figures. I have based both of the ancillary tasks on black backgrounds, to link with my website. Due to research I have found companies also do this to create a fluent style for people to recognize the company. The text is in neon bright colours just like my website to stand out against the background, the ‘firework’ style of colours, I feel adds a positive feel which attracts audience, and makes them want to read/watch more. By having simple colours against a white background I would have been too similar to other advertisements, there for people wouldn’t be attracted as much. Having a black background makes my advert unique as I am yet to see a company use it.
To keep my ancillary tasks connected to my website, I have used the same pictures and celebrities as featured on my website within my double page spread and newspaper advertisement. I have also kept the two of the ancillary texts similar so it looks like the double page spread is an extension of my newspaper advertisement. All three pieces I believe compliment each other well through using the proper codes and conventions of texts. Again they are all pieces put together to make one big collage; linking with the meaning of the word ‘Fusion’. I have also made the channel and website accessible by adding the website link and/or the channel number to both ancillary pieces.
For my newspaper advertisement I worked on the idea of it looking like an invitation as advertisements need to be persuasive and in a way, odd, so the audience are inclined to find out what it’s all about. Although my ancillary tasks are similar in many ways, for example, the same colour scheme, they are slightly different however, for example the text in the double page spread is far more in depth and the persuasive language is more in sentences instead of phrases. The amount of text is different on each advertisement because the newspaper advertisement is meant to entice my audience, and the double page spread is used to display the needed information for the present audience, such as what they can expect from the site/channel and when the most popular programmes are on.
Overall I believe that the main product and ancillary tasks are effectively combined together throughout the use of colour schemes, logos and images. Therefore my programme and website Fusion will be fully advertised. Having a website, double page spread and newspaper add to advertise my channel is getting the word around quickly. So many people (almost everyone) use the Internet to search for topics of their choice, a lot of people use the Internet to look for up and coming channels, as well as read the newspaper and magazines. So if I have advertisements in each, the public are continuously being reminded of the brand. They cant forget 'Fusion' if its advertised almost everywhere, this is why the combination of 3 tasks is very effective both with my media project and actual big worldwide companies.

Question Three:
What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

In terms of feedback, I have realised my strengths and weaknesses from a small group of friends, male and female, all teenagers from my school; which is basically my target audience. Obviously I would have preferred a larger group to get a varied response, but due to time, I was limited in my efforts. My audience feedback has revealed to me what efforts I could have made to improve my website for the audience through the good points and bad points pointed out by them within my production work.
In terms of my websites, my strengths were varied, many people commented on the variety of bright colours against the black background used on my website and they were generally impressed that I was able to embed a video onto my website. They were also impressed by the bright pictures and texts and believed it kept the website fresh and interesting. They thought the logo was original and looked professional, they believed the meaning behind the logo was very effective, and helped to link everything together. I was very happy with this as it was one of my main aimes! The fact that the actual logo was small pieces put together was found very effective. The boys and girls were both interested by the bright colours so it proves that my website appeals to both sexes. Within my double page spread, they said that the text was short but got to the point and had enough information to entice them as an audience member. They liked the rhetorical slogan ‘Can you feel the fusion?’ as it drew people to find out what it was about. The also said that the bright colours were very eye catching and is what originally attracted them to my production pieces. They also said the editing and positioning of the pictures was interesting as it did not let the text overpower the page, which goes against the regular conventions of a double page spread.
One weaknesses of the website was that the website’s homepage may be slightly overpowering as there is a lot of bright colours to take in, one teenager commented that it may have been more effective if slightly more text was included, not just Photoshop images. Another comment was that I could have added an extra video about something different rather than two of the same content; it would have added depth and a bigger interest. All teenagers taking part said they would visit my website again, as they found it fun, colourful and interesting, and 8/10 teenagers believed that my website was user friendly and easy to access.

Question Four:
How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research planning and evaluation stages?In terms of my research and planning, the main resource I used was the internet so I could research other websites with similar themes to my own, recommendations from other website theorists such as Jakob Nielsen and finally to recognize the codes and conventions of website design and print.
In order to organise and broadcast my research and planning, I used the online blog site www.blogger.com. This is a site that I am already familiar with due to my AS level coursework also being presented through the website. This site helped me compose posts complete with images so that my ideas and updates could be recorded efficiently. The clear, organised presentation of my blog allowed me to remain focused and helped me improve my time-keeping abilities. I was also able to review my work during my construction of the website and also refer back to the work when constructing my newspaper advertisement and double page spread. Looking back at work on the blog helped me to recognize the mistakes I had made and how to overcome them. It also helped me to see what I needed to improve or change in order to gain a better grade. Having friends on the blog was useful as I could see what I was missing and update it as soon as possible.

The main construction of my website was dependant on technology, I constructed my website using the software Kompozer, which I downloaded on to my computer for free so I could complete work both at school or at home. The software allowed me to develop the website through the use of cells and tables, images, embed videos and scroll boxes, but without being complicated, the software was simple and clear, making it easy for me to see what I was producing. I have developed my analytical skills with codes and I also learnt how to use hyperlinks in order to link my pages together. I also linked up some pictures on my page to different pages; I developed this idea from E news website. This allowed me the opportunity to design a website in line with what I thought would appeal to a teenage audience without ignoring the codes and conventions of website design. I feel that my technological skills have developed vastly since using blogger. I feel that, even though I did find Kompozer difficult to use in the first place such as learning how to link up all my pages, I feel that as time went on, I was able to create each webpage quicker. Being able to develop my skills in this way has made me believe that I have produced an impressive, most importantly usable teen based website.
In order to manipulate images and construct my ancillary texts, I used Photoshop Elements. Photoshop allowed me to use layers to create my magazine double page spread and my newspaper advertisement. This helped me to place images and text onto the page and by merging layers I was able to create a single image out of several. This was helpful for my double page spread where I had to design in a large amount a space. The use of filters in Photoshop also allowed me to manipulate images in order to reinforce their meaning within the website. I was also able to add attention grabbing shapes which were not totally visible, like starts behind the text. Through Photoshop I could alter and re size images for my website in Photoshop. This allowed me to design images to be exactly as I wanted them before placing them onto my webpages. I feel that my skills again have been developed through my development within Photoshop Elements as I was unaware how to work this software before the construction of my website.
Another website I had to come to terms with was http://www.yousendit.co.uk I had to create an account and send my work to my school’s account as it was the simplest and quickest way of transferring a zipped file through the internet. I experienced difficultly whilst doing this as my website file was too large, I had to separate the work into two zipped files before sending.

Overall, I have thoroughly enjoyed constructing and producing my coursework because I have enjoyed watching my ideas develop and grow as the course has gone on. I have used a vast range of software this year which I was completely unfamiliar with and I have therefore developed my analytical skills beyond what I ever could have imagined to gain. I am naturally a creative person so having the opportunity to produce a website for people to enjoy was extremely satisfactory. I am very proud of my work, and I never thought my work would turn out looking so professional. If I had more time on this project, I may have developed or changed some aspects of my website slightly, I would have added a lot more pages with more content. I would of also made my content more complex and more interesting, I thought my content was slightly too simple. I would also have liked to add more content to my ancillary tasks. In conclusion, I believe the skills I have learnt will benefit me in the future and the time and work I have put into my production pieces have developed my knowledge and confidence with technology greatly.