How did the conventions of real media texts inspire you to use new media technology to create the style of product you achieved?

Across AS and A2, I used my research and planning to analyse real media texts and establish current conventions. Within the two years I have made a music magazine, music video and ancillary products. From the comparison of established brands I was able to grasps key concepts and elements that were constant across these products of a similar genre, and this provided me with a base for my own work.

For the production of my AS Music magazine I learnt from my analysis integral features of magazines. Such as large recognisable mastheads, cover photos covering most the page and a key heading for the main feature. In the production of my magazine I used an SLR camera to achieve the high definition and clarity of my mid-shot cover photo, this allowed me to stretch it to A4 size and still maintain the professional look. I could then manipulate all elements of my magazine through Photoshop  importing in my photos and tweaking elements such as exposure and saturation to compensate for the limited availability of lighting equipment during my shoot. I could also use the cloning tool to correct minor imperfections of my model and achieve the air brushed look that is a huge convention of most media texts.The type of music magazine I chose to make, was of a rock genre. To reflect this throughout my magazine I tried to emulate the style of current rock magazines such as Kerrang and Rolling Stone. I noticed that the conventions these magazines followed, was the use of bold colours, textured fonts, rough paint effects and busy elements. To achieve a similar appearance within my own magazine I relied on the use of new media technologies to create my vision. With the website DaFont.com I could download a font that would be distinct from other magazines, reflect the rock style and be recognisable as a logo for my brand. This website provided me with the textured weathered look I desired. With photoshop I also had access to various paint tools, playing around with the various options I found a brush that gave me thick rough strokes I could use as a background for my magazine contents and it provided me with the messy and rugged rock finish.

Within the production of our A2 music video, it would have been impossible to achieve without the aid of media technologies such as Final Cut Pro. Through research and planning we recognised the conventions of similar products such as the use of lip syching throughout, a narrative storyline and focus on star image. Our video was based on a pop/country song by a young female solo artist, we therefore compared the possibilities for our video against ones from similar artists such as Ellie Goulding and Kate Nash. The star image was very integral to these videos as it created great focus on the artist's beauty and branding. To achieve a quality look to our own video we relied on the use of an HD camcorder, to provide the clarity and most professional look we wanted. We were inspired by videos such as Kelly Clarksons 'Since you've been gone.' to create a fast cutting montage sequence within our video. We emphasised this further with the use of re-timing during our editing process. With the aid of Final cut pro we were able to use the 'Re-time' element to slow down the pace of some of our clips and add emphasis to the narrative storyline. Within current pop videos the use of a narrative is very prevalent to their style, and so by implementing this throughout, it reflected the genre and meaning of our song. Final Cut pro also proved invaluable when adding zoom and movement to shots in the post production period. One convention of nearly all videos is the element of movement seen throughout videos, especially important to keep interest during the use of star image close ups. It also allowed us to add transitions and effects to clips that made cuts more seamless and kept the video flowing.

To go alongside our video I we also created ancillary products, a poster and Digipak. Within real media texts I noticed that an artist will attempt to achieve continuity across all their products, so their appearance, brand and style is recognisable to the public. This inspired me to use the teddy bear within our video on my Digipak, as a means of creating links between the related elements. I was able to use Photoshop to import this photo and adjust the colouring so it would fit in with the colour scheme of red, black and white I had chosen for my ancillary products. Photoshop provided me with tools such as filters to change the saturation of my images and the magnetic lasso to keep the colour of a red rose in the same image. It also became clear that on most album covers of female pop artists, it will feature a close up of the artists face. I relied again on the use of an SLR camera to achieve a clear and flattering photo of our star, and also Photoshop to adjust lighting and mask minor imperfections with the cloning tool. One aspect of CD's is also that they are produced by a record company that is acknowledged on the back panel of a Digipak. This inspired us to use Photoshop to invent out own imaginary company logo that could be displayed on own Digipaks.

To conclude, the analysis of real media texts inspired me to create my own products by providing guidelines that focused my creation and formed a basis for the elements of my own work. Software such as Final Cut pro and Photoshop, allowed me to imitate the professional nature of current work, with the complex possibilities of manipulation and detailed adjustment. If I had relied on creating my magazine, for example, with only the use of pen and paper, I would have been restricted by time and the inability to quickly undo my mistakes. Real media texts are formed form multiple constituent elements that can be brought together with the aid of media technology and reflect the  style of a product by translating and repeating key logos and themes.