Taking the conventions of a real media product and incorporating them into your own website is very important for a successful product. My media product uses challenges and develops the different forms of conventions in many ways. To begin with my product very clearly uses the text and information to interact with the particular target audience; this is done by informing the audience of the importance of sexual health, like most health websites do, very clearly. Text, images and videos are also used in order to fulfill the typical demands of conventions. The ways in which the information along with the images is lay out are very similar to most media products, which currently exist. Also the images I have used can allow the audience to relate to them as the characters used in most photos are young which is related back to my target audience, which consists of teenagers and young adults. The way in which these conventions are developed can create a very good effect to the audience. Changing the way images look is very useful because they then become aesthetically pleasing by enhancing the way the picture looked from its original form to a well-constructed image. This is created by using the software Photoshop. This can the draw in the audience and make them research further into the website. Making the images look pleasing also allow the audience to feel happy, confident and secure which are very key when researching about such an important subject. My product challenges the conventions, as it looks unique relating to the colours and background of the whole product. Looking at the colours chosen, they give the audience something different to look at whilst browsing rather than generic colours that are consistently used everywhere.
The representation of social groups is very important when it comes to create a media product such as a website. To begin with my product represents young people under the age of 21. This I shown through the way that the text is constructed, in other words it is not as formal as sites like the NHS etc… Secondly, the colours and images used are very nice meaning that when the audiences take a look at the images they can picture safe thoughts about the topic being researched. Also the colours used are young meaning that the audience can relate to the features used as these colours are widely used by the younger generation. Finally, light and vibrant colours are used as they stick out and attract the audience into researching with the website. This represents what is said to be the stereotypical view of how young people are perceived. In making my product look this way I feel that it will attract many people in the region of research (sexual health). The range of audience, which is under 21, is because due to further research into this subject I found that younger people were mostly inexperienced when it comes to knowledge about the theme of my media product. The style of the website also plays a role in the attraction of younger people as graphics and features used are very modern and contemporary which help engage the audience in order to make them more aware of the dangers of unprotected sex.
When it comes down to which institutions might distribute my product I would have to say that there are many that would consider it. However, being the creator and publisher of this certain product I would have to say that I would be the primary distributer. Media products are distributed through a wireless or cabled web server. Being distributed to internet providers such as AOL or Sky the site may be adjusted slightly, however after these steps I am responsible for the editing and therefor control the many contents of the site. When analyzing the difference in distribution of T.V or a website, it seems that websites are much more difficult to distribute. The reasons behind this are that programs can be advertised of various platforms which are then able to reach a wide scaled audience. In comparison, websites would be distributed through social networking sites such as Facebook or My space. This could be limited to the number of people the product could reach as some social networking sites are not used by every person. Another search engine is Google. This is a globally know company which searches most if not everything which is available on the internet. Google would be the best option for me to publicize my website alongside Facebook as these are commonly used by every person who is in the range for my target audience, being the younger generation between the ages of 16-21.
As stated in my brief and also using the results from my survey it shows that the target audience for my media product is ranged from u21’s to teens. This is because when researching I came across the problem that younger people are not as informed of the dangers as are people of an older generation. Also, observing other websites seem to show that there information have been aimed at younger people perhaps in the age of 25 or under. Comparing my target audience to a demographic scale it shows that they are people who are still in the learning environment, whether it is school or college or even university.
Attracting my target audience consisted of using images, colour schemes, graphic and special features. In laying out the page as a modern style and using modern fonts it has enabled me to draw the audience’s attentions but also to stay focus of the subject raised. The layout of the page begins to be conventional with the logo in the top left corner of the page. Also providing a navigation bar the audience is able to navigate their way around the website. However, the colours used are uniquely chosen to match the subject to a sexual transmitted disease chlamydia. In addition to this I used different shapes and symbols to represent the theme of the website and also I made sure that the symbols used are well known so that confusion is not caused.
When constructing my website I learned many things along the way. Firstly, when producing my preliminary website it helped me get used to the many feature of iweb and Photoshop in order for me to use the skills learnt to my advantage and create something very successful. The skills learnt are how to change pictures quickly in order to enhance the way it looks and contributes to the website. Also I learnt how to create an html snippet. This is done by going online and retrieving the codes needed to create a snippet. One major technique which is very useful is the skill to use colours which complement each other. When this is used properly it can produce something way beyond belief. I would say that the major problem I encountered when creating my media product is that the programs and software used would have to be learnt alone. This mean it would take more time to produce something than necessary, however once graphed, you are able to produce anything in your imagination.
In the end, when looking back at my preliminary site, I feel that I progressed widely when constructing my full product. My progress was shown through many features within my website. Firstly, I used a video which was filmed and edited by me. I had four actors taking part which enabled me to create a successful video. Also the wide range of hyperlinks used shows how I have learnt the different features of iweb. The development is shown also through how the page is lay out. For example in my school website I follow the conventions of a typical website. However, in my main website I have manipulated the site and experimented with the site which ended looking much better than I had anticipated. This meant I had a different attitude when developing my main website. I was able to think differently and use a range of techniques starting from using software to editing images and videos. Also I was able to learn how to use the main software of all and this is iweb, which is so important in the completion of my final product.
Comparing my preliminary to my main website it is very clear to see how they differ in ways such as layout and textual language. Firstly, my first website was aimed at the adults who were responsible for choosing which school their son/daughter will attend. As a result of this it meant that the website had to be much more formal in the way the text addressed the audience. Also the layout of the pages was different as these were the conventions of school webpages. However, my main website was aimed at a much younger audience which enabled me to experiment with the layout and colour scheme of the site. Attracting a younger audience means that the text used can be less formal as it would need to meet what seems to be the social norm of the demographic class of young people; i.e. Students. The skills developed in this assignment has enabled me to be more creative in future task I may be given.
