Final Product- The Invisible Children

http://islathompson97.wix.com/invisiblechildren

Branding options

Verbal and non-verbal codes defining target audience

Pick a charity website of your choice and explain how verbal and non-verbal codes are used to define the products target audience.

http://www.charitydreamgirls.co.uk/who-we-are/

Dream girls charity’s target audience focuses on women who are interested in giving money to charities who are smaller and less popular than others such as Cancer Research. Their main focus is to give recognition to those smaller charities and tell their stories.

Verbal Codes

Puffs are used in this website to make points stand out. One of the puffs says “Millions of people touched by our cause”. The language used in this puff has a motherly voice as it uses delicate words. It relates to ‘synthetic sisterhood’ as its language is caring and delicate, not authoritative and powerful like a male voice. The website also uses rhetorical questions and informal language, again giving it a ‘sisterly’ voice. 

On the homepage we have an option to see ‘their story’, with the caption “Our story through 8 years of support”. This again is a ‘sisterly’ voice, relating to women as it is invited you in to read their story as if they are your friend.

Non-verbal Codes

The pictures shown for their story of eight years of support invites the women in. It gives a more relaxed feel to the charity website. Women can pick what year they would like to read about. Whereas, if this was a male website this non-verbal language would be more demanding. We may not of had choice to view each year as we please.

Induction Task

Evaluation for my final product- The Invisible Children.

Evaluation

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms of real media products?

This year I have gained a much greater knowledge of the media. One of the first things I learnt was that successful media products can both use and subvert media conventions. Conventions are the features we typically expect to see in a certain forms of media product. In one sense conventions are very important as they help to make a product seem professional and recognisable. Conventions have also normally become a standard or expected feature as they serve some sort of purpose in developing tone and establishing the audience.   Conventions can also be problematic as they can cause lots of media products to look similar. This is something that worried me as I have always wanted to create an original and creative product as I think this will give my brand a unique identity. I also feel this will make my product stand out from similar ones being offered to the target audience.

Before I began creating my website I looked at other media products, such as, websites, charity posters and adverts.  I particularly decided to look at how Barnardo’s presented its campaigns across a range of Media platforms. I decided to focus alot of my research around Barnardo’s as this is a well-known children’s charity that is exploring similar issues to my brand: ‘The Invisible Children’. I also feel that my product is aimed at a similar target audience to Barnardo’s so I felt I could gather lots of tips and ideas from looking at how they shaped meaning. When looking at examples, I came across one particular Barnardo’s TV advert that went in a loop. I like this advert because it was surreal and gave an emotional sense to an audience. I felt this was memorable and powerful and therefore inspired me more than anything else I had seen.  At this point I decided that I could learn alot from looking at different media platforms rather than just confining myself to the conventions of websites.  I felt that I could build sound, images and video into my product and that would allow me to create something that is powerful and memorable rather than just something that is 100% conventional but lacks creativity.  

Once I had decided to subvert conventions and borrow ideas from different media platforms, I then decided that it could be useful to research different genres of website. Because of this I looked at a range of magazine and fashion websites. These are very different in tone and style charity websites but I feel these are great places to look to learn about engaging an audience. The Company magazine website really appealed to me as they presented all 5 stages of the uses and gratifications theory in a subtle way.  Although this type of research breaks conventions I felt it was important to think of my website as something that was being sold, as I am aiming to ‘sell’ my brand to the audience so they chose to come to me for help and advice rather than any other website or charity brand. This meant I started to think about the conventions of sales rather than just the conventions of charity websites.

After I had looked at a range of products from a range of companies, platforms and genres I decided that I would both use and subvert typical conventions in order to create something that is unique and engaging but also recognisable and easy to navigate. Despite trying to create a surreal film, I felt that there were key concepts that I had to include for my website to make any sort of sense; these conventions are: 

1.       Logos- Most websites and charities prominently brand their product.  This creates a strong and recognisable brand image and therefore builds trust in that company as people start to remember it. Most logos tend to be simple and upbeat in tone. I felt that I also wanted to create a positive feeling logo as a negative one might dissuade people from looking at my website. The Barnardo’s logo also inspired mine; their logo is three figures close together jumping in the air, holding each other’s hands. For my logo I used the same concept, however, my three figures are not touching. I did this to represent the fact that neglected, abused and exploited children may feel alone and lost but because there are three figures it shows that they are not entirely alone and we can help. I also did not use any other colour in my logo apart from a black outline of the figures to relate to the name of my website- The Invisible Children. By not using any colour it’s almost like the figures are invisible, this relates to the fact many people are not aware of how many children a year are abused in some way.  I was also keen to make my figures resemble the outline of ginger bread people. I feel that ginger bread people are a symbol that invokes childhood and innocence. This is something that creates juxtaposition with the content of my website and further highlights how heartbreaking it is that alot of children lack this innocent protected up bring. 

2.       Colours- From looking at charity websites I found that conventionally most stick to a black and white colour scheme. I think this is because monochrome denotes a serious factual tone. Although I want my website to appear serious and factual I also felt it was important to include some sort of colour so it is appealing for the audience to look at.  I took inspiration from the NSPCC website, the NSPCC use a simple colour scheme. The colours consist of green and white, they predominantly use black text. This allowed me to realise I could include an accent colour and still conform to conventions. I decided to use a pale blue colour to brand my website.  I think that this makes the website look more sophisticated relating to an older target audience; pale blue is also a gender neutral colour so it will appeal to both men and women. This is what I wanted from my website as my target audience is adults between the ages of 21-35. The colour scheme also used non- gender specific colours which I also wanted for my website as I wanted my website to appeal to men and women. Finally I feel that pale blue is a colour that can denote frailty and weakness as it is a ‘weak’ colour. This links back to the purpose of my website as I am trying support and give a voice to the weak in society.

3.       Images- I have used 10 images to make the website more appealing, they also visually demonstrate lots of points and are more engaging than just text. 

4.       Navigation bar- a navigation bar has been included to show how much content is on the webpage and also makes the product user friendly.

5.       Name of website- I have included the name of my website on the top of every webpage to create institution and branding.

6.       Forums- forums allow the audience to shape meaning, the idea of giving the audience a voice is what makes a website and the internet special. This is also an example of new media theory. . Using hyperlinks- I used two hyperlinks within my website, one of them guided the audience to the BBC’s charity- Children In Need, and the other led to Fostering People. I chose to include both these charities on my website as they relate to the charity I created. Both of these charities main focus is children.

7.       By saying that one of our recipients is Children In Need it made my charity look well recognised, as Children in Need is known worldwide as is known for helping children all over the world.

8.      I have also looked at a website called Fostering People , I want to include this as it shows that my charity also uses other local charities and shows that we don’t just help children on a short time scale, but we help them throughout their lives by finding them a foster family.

9.       . Leaving no blank spaces- by keeping my website full with no blank spaces it keeps people more interested and makes it look more professional. I included many features within my webpages so that the audience would stay engaged, for example; I used message boards. In my questionnaire I found that many people within my target audience preferred websites that included message boards. This relates to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Maslow created a pyramid of basic human needs and often many media products or conventions can fulfil these needs. By using message boards my audience has a sense of belonging as they can talk to other and share their opinions online.

10.   I also had a page within my website focusing on the stories of children my charity have helped. This page included pictures of the children and detailed text telling their story. Another theory proposed by Katz and Blummer- Uses and Gratifications theory. This theory suggested that people seek out specific media products to satisfy specific needs that they may have. By including people’s stories the audience can identify themselves with those people. They may identify themselves with these people because the same situation may have happened to them.

11.   . Putting my film on the first page- by putting my film on the first page to attracts my audience from the start. By watching the film first the audience can also get an overview of what my charity is about without having to read through the text. I also used a lot of text within my webpages, and my text tends to be factual and formal. I used factual text for two main reasons.

12.    Text- I also used a lot of text within my webpages, and my text tends to be factual and formal. I used factual text for two main reasons;

. I wanted my website to be sophisticated due to the age of my target audience.

. Using facts and statistics bring more of a shock factor when reading, by shocking the audience with facts and statistics about children who have suffered a form of abuse; it will encourage people to donate.
13. Video- I included a video as this is engaging for the audience as the mix of sound and images attracts them further. 

As my target audience is for both genders between the ages of 21-35, I decided to subvert some genders conventions as most websites are rather for males or females. I subverted conventions again by using the colour blue. Blue is stereotypically a gender specific colour towards males. However, I used the colour blue focusing on the morals of the charity and not the audience. This is because the colour blue connotes loyalty and trust. I have tried to keep it gender neutral by using a pale shade of blue.

When including text in media products usually the text tends to have a male or female voice depending on the type of product.

 Mary Talbot proposed the theory synthetic sisterhood. This theory suggests that all female media products e.g. gossip magazine websites such as ‘Hello!’ have a ‘chatty’ voice behind them. When conducting my research I looked at many online female magazines and found that they all tended to use slang, text language and the common use of exclamation marks. Talbot also suggested that the writers of female magazines ate talking to you as if they were your older sister.

From the synthetic sisterhood theory, people have also said that media products can have a male voice. The male voice used within media products tends to be; factual, authoritative and straight to the point. Whereas, the female voice used in media products tends to be; caring and friendly.

I have challenged this convention as I have tended to use a male voice throughout my text even though my target audience is both genders. I chose to have a male voice in my website because I wanted my website to be serious rather than having a ‘chatty’ voice. It was important to me to keep the text formal because my charity is a serious problem within society that needs to be addressed properly as well as receiving the right awareness.

When researching media products I also found that there was a gap in the market for websites that have an audience of both male and female. For example, online charities that focused on breast cancer or anorexia tended to adapt their websites for women. Whereas, online charities that focused on high cholesterol or coronary heart disease tended to be focused on male target audiences. Although these charities were only focused on one gender the conditions they charities focused on could have been based on males or females. My charity is something that can also affect both genders, so by challenging conventions I adapted my website to accommodate both male and females.  

Parts of the advert gave me inspiration for my own video. I took the use of a surreal factor and applied it to my video, which you see at the beginning when the boy verbally and physically abuses the girl. This is also inspired from the Barnardo’s advert as this also happens throughout the video. This was a convention that I followed, as the role of the abuser was played by a male which can be seen as stereotypical. Propp’s character theory would suggest that the actors in my video are represented by roles similar to fairy tale characters. The male character in my video would be seen as the villain and the girl would be seen as the ‘damsel in distress’ also referred to as the princess. Although this can be criticised as stereotypical or conventional, I wanted to create a narrative character that my audience would recognise and respond to immediately.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

As my target audience is adults between the ages of 21-35, I didn’t include many stereotypical concepts within my website. However, some parts of my website, I would consider to be gender bias towards males or females. For example, the main colour in the colour scheme was blue and blue tends to be gender bias towards men.

When creating my website I didn’t want to make assumptions of what I should include when as I do not fully know what my target audience would want without doing research. To avoid making assumptions I created two questionnaires. One of the questionnaires I handed out to 10 people who fitted the criteria for my target audience, the questionnaire was made up of 10 questions. One question I asked was “Do you like websites that include real life stories of people who we have helped?” From this question I found that the majority of people who ticked yes were women. I took this piece of research on board, so when I wrote the stories I used caring language which from previous research others have proposed e.g. Mary Talbot, I know this is what women prefer when consuming media products.

By conducting different types of research I gave my audience a chance to tell me what they liked and dislike; it was also a chance for them to represent themselves without me making assumptions for them. The most helpful research I conducted was the focus group that I videoed; again this was a questionnaire I had created before I began my website. It was helpful because I got to ask the questions myself and hear feedback from my target audience in great detail. Although, I have made a lot of changes in my website within my website since my first stages of researching, I have tried not to stray too far away from what my audience wants. However, there was a problem with this focus group; all of the people I asked were women. When recruiting people to take part in this focus group I found that there were no men available at this time. This was a problem for me, but to overcome this I made sure when I handed out my second questionnaire I handed it to both men and women.

Throughout this course I have researched other websites with the same sort of target audience frequently, charity and non-charity. The main charity website I kept referring too was the NSPCC. The social group/ target audience for this website tended to sophisticated. I knew this because I would often ask older family members/ peers which charity they donated to and a majority answered the NSPCC; a majority of these people also tended to be middle class. I think that the audience tends to be sophisticated due to the simple colour scheme and factual text. This was exactly what I wanted from my website, so this was the main inspiration for me.

A non-charity website I looked a lot at throughout my research was The Independent online. The Independent is a newspaper, who again had the same criteria and target audience I was looking for. Although both of these websites had target audiences that ranged between 21-65 they did have an audience for both genders.

Even though both of these websites have an audience for both genders, I do feel like there is a gap in the market for websites of that kind. I did look at websites that were gender specific to see what stereotypes I needed to avoid. For example, I tried to stay away from stereotypical images e.g. women who were represented as a ‘damsel in distress’ or men who represented the ‘hero’. All the images I used were of both males and females who had all overcome their abuse and have smiling pictures to show that they are in a happier place now. So, my images tended to subvert stereotypes.

Throughout my research I also found that my audience like to get involved with my website e.g. by creating their own online profiles. New Media theory suggests that audiences now like to ‘shape’ media. So I included a webpage that allows my audience to sign in and have their own online profile. This also allows my audience to represent themselves and allows them to get involved. I also included message boards so my audience could voice their opinions and comments; which again stopped me from making assumptions for my audience.

Throughout my media product I have made it clear that I have represented both genders. In every aspect I have included men and women, for example; in my film, the ‘their stories’ page and the ‘our youth team’ column.

The biggest way in which I have represented social groups is through my video. I decided to be conventional and stereotypical in the way I presented gender roles as I felt this would make my product more engaging with the audience as they will be automatically aware of these stereotypes.

I have supported traditional representations of women by having the girl in my film represented as a ’weak’ character. I decided to use a blonde haired actress as this links with stereotypes about blonde hair denoting innocence, youth and vulnerability. I asked my actress to wear natural looking makeup so she appeared sweet and ‘natural’. This should imply the character is honest and not able to hide who she is and how she feels. I also asked my actress to wear a t-shirt so she seems like an ‘everyday’ character. I wanted this character to be someone who the audience feels they can relate to, to make the point that anyone can suffer. Finally, I chose a 6’4 male character to play the abuser. Height is normally presented as being linked to power and intimidation; this matched what I wanted to do.

What kind of media institution might describe your media products and why?

My media product is a website so I am not really using an institution because it is on the internet, meaning it is available to anybody who can access the internet.  This means that my website is discreet which matches the sensitive nature of my website.

However, I have incorporated other institutions into my website, such as, YouTube; this is where my video can also be viewed. I have done this because YouTube is a place my target audience tends to go for information as it’s recognised, trustworthy and a worldwide institution. YouTube is also associated with a younger audience and is full of content which is modern and new. With my video being on YouTube it also makes the audience react the same way towards my website. Within my website, I have also used hyperlinks to other websites, this makes my website seem more official and legitimate.

From my research I found that a lot of media institutions associate with celebrities or use celebrity endorsements. Although this could create a larger target audience, I did not associate my website with celebrities for two main reasons;

. Having a larger target audience can eventually make your website appeal to no one as you have incorporated too many different features and conventions.

. My research showed that celebrity endorsements can attract a younger target audience, such as teenagers; as my target audience is between the ages of 21-35 I did not want this.

However, if I did use a star endorsement I would use someone of importance/ significance e.g. the Prime Minister. I would use the Prime Minister because he has great significance in our country. If my audience seen the leader of our countries government associating with my charity, it will show that my website I legitimate and shows a serious problem that needs to be addressed. I also feel that the Prime Minister would add a greater level of respectability to the topic than just a celebrity who may make the product seem frivolous.

Although I didn’t use celebrity endorsements I did make partnerships to shops that would sell pin badges to supporters of the charity. The shops I chose to stock the pin badges were; Dorothy Perkins, Topman, Waitrose and Tesco’s. These are shops I found my target audience tended to shop. If I did have money and contacts I would like my product to be widely advertised. By making my product a ‘brand’ I hope people would feel more able to discuss the topics I am exploring.

When creating my website I tried to include ways I could turn my brand into a widely recognised brand. To make it recognisable I uniformed every page with the name of my website, a colour scheme and a logo.

When choosing the font I consider a range of types, but from my plan I knew that I wanted it to be simple and formal. At first I considered using New Times Roman, but as my target audience are of a younger age I decided that this was too plain and recognised as ‘boring’. So the font I used was Noticia Text which was plain and formal but is also recognisable and distinctive.

For my logo, I used three figures that had no colour apart from a faint black outline; the three figures were separated equally apart. I spaced them equally apart to represent the children that my charity would help. It represents the fact that the abused, neglected or exploited children feel as if they are alone, however, the fact that they are spread equally apart, almost touching shows that there is help and support for them. I chose not to include colour in my logo as it relates to the name of my website The Invisible Children. However, it also relates to the children themselves, children who have suffered abuse may feel worthless.

I chose the colour blue as my main colour because the shade of blue I chose connotes trust and loyalty. This is important to the website because I wanted to show the audience that we care for the children and that we are a trustworthy charity. My research also showed that many non-specific charities use mainly primary colours in their colour schemes.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

When thinking about my target audience I mostly turned to my research to seek out the gap in the market. I found that there are two main gaps in the market;

. Websites of any genre for both genders over 60 years old.

. Websites that had a target audience of 21-45 years old.

I chose to create a website with a target audience of people 21-45 years old. I chose this gap rather than the people over 60 because I felt like I understand and relate more to a younger audience. I also chose a wider target audience so I could include a wider range of conventions and features that relate to both genders.

To try and learn about my target audience I undertook my own formal/ informal market research. With the idea of who I wanted my target audience to be I used informal research by asking people of the right criteria what they liked to see in a website. My formal research consisted of questionnaires that I handed out to people. I have tried to use a range of research at different points in my product to ensure I am constantly gaining feedback and new ideas from my target audience.

At first before I knew about what gaps there where in the market I was going to make a website for teenage girls on eating disorders. However, after my research I found that this genre of website was extremely common so I chose to go for something more original. I thought this was easier as I could look at a wider range of different websites and get inspiration from each one.

Each convention I used I tried to make it sophisticated for example, my logo. I made my logo simple and sophisticated by keeping it simple which I believe indicates my audience. By keeping the figures simple it is easy to remember making it identifiable with my website. However, to attract it to my more sophisticated target audience I gave a meaning behind my logo.

When doing my research I found that audiences can be defined by many things e.g. their age, gender, social class, level of income or level of education. I also found that audiences have different personality type’s e.g. ‘arty’ creative types. Cross-Cultural Consumer Characterisation Model suggests that there are 4 main consumers within media; ‘Mainstreamers’, ‘Aspirers’, ‘Reformers’ and ‘Succeeders’. All of these personalities consume media differently. For example, Mainstreamers prefer to consume what the majority of society consumes. For my media product I found that my target audience tends to be ‘Mainstreamers’; I have tried to show this by using simplistic conventions. I have avoided using creative ‘out-going’ features which the ‘reformers’ tend to be attracted too.

I have tended to use a lot of text within my webpage which is mostly formal language. So my audience may need a higher level of education to stay engaged whilst reading the text. However, my film tends to be surreal with an ‘arty’ beginning and it is silent and in black and white; so my audience may also have to be creative to be interested in this. I wanted this from my audience as there are very few websites that include this type of criteria from an audience.

How did you attract/engage your audience?

To attract my audience I put my film on the top of my homepage, this is the first thing that my audience can see. The mix of sound and images is engaging and will encourage my audience to view more of the website. The mix of sound and images is also effective because it can appeal to lot of people in lots of ways. My video may be more informative to other people within my audience as they may find it more attention grabbing than reading just text; this may appeal to the younger people within my target audience. The use of music in my film is also engaging and appealing to the target audience as it is modern and current. As my video is also on YouTube it gives my audience more opportunities for my target audience to find it; this is because YouTube is a popular institution among my target audience. It also makes my charity look more legitimate as YouTube is also a trusted institution. The type of film I used was a mix of surreal/ testimonial, the benefit of using a surreal video is that it’s easy to grab the audience’s attention and because its testimonial too another benefit is that it shows what the charity is about quickly. I feel this mix up is the most engaging as it is unusual and will stand out as surreal films are memorable. It is also emotionally engaging as we will hear someone’s story.

New media theory suggests that audiences are now in charge of media and are controlling it for themselves e.g. by using online features that allow them to voice their opinions. They can now voice their opinions on social networking sites such as Facebook were they can ‘like’, ‘comment’ or share content. So within the header of my webpages I have included social media buttons were my target audience can have a link to their favourite social media sites.

To appeal to my audience I tried to make the name of my website stand out, by calling it ‘The Invisible Children’ I believe it intrigues my audience and encourages them to read about my website to find why it has been named that. By having a meaning behind it, it can make the name of my website stand out as it will become something my target audience thinks about and recognises.

Uses and Gratifications theory suggests that audiences consume media for 5 main reasons, the reasons being;

. Identification- media content can show us situations we are similar too. For example, magazines include articles about people’s problems. When people find they can relate to the situation of these people they get a sense of identification.

. Entertainment- media content can give us something to do or think about. For example, many websites now involve an entertainment section in their navigation bar. This section can involve activities such as games, quizzes or competitions.

. Escapism- media content can help us escape the horrors of everyday life. Many people find reading about other people lives, such as celebrities, a way to escape the complications of their day.

. Social Interaction- media content allows us to talk/ bond with other people by using media content. For example, when we have watched something on television that we find interesting we may talk about it with others. If the other person is also interested it brings interaction. Interaction can give us a sense of community. We can also interact online with others in chat rooms or discussion boards.

. Educational- media content can teach the audience something or help them learn. For example, there are many magazines which specialise in different subjects, such as knitting or fishing. These magazines can instruct people step by step on the subject or teach them to master the subject.

I have tried to take these 5 reasons people consume media and apply them into parts of my website. For example, on my webpage ‘their stories’ some of my target audience may find that they can identify with someone’s story because they might of suffered the same ordeal.

People can find social interaction within my website as I have included comment sections and links to social networking sights, as well as a ‘like’ Facebook button and a ‘tweet’ Twitter button.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

When looking at what programme to use to construct my product I had to decide between two choices, Wix and Webex Plus. I did not know much about either but I did some research; I made to small fake products on each and showed my friends and asked their opinion on each. I took feedback from my friends and they had decided that Wix was a better choice as Wix gave a better quality finish. Although Webex Plus looked easier to use I found that it looked simple and only included basic features. So when constructing my product I used the website Wix, this allowed me to use a blank template so I could use my own ideas. I have never used Wix before so I decided to experiment with the functions on offer. At first I decided to experiment with colour and backgrounds. At first I considered using a background that showed the sky, but I decided not to use this as I thought it looked childish. I then considered creating a blue boarder as I felt like this would frame my content and act as a brand motif. At first the boarder went all around however, I felt this made the page look smaller and caused my content to look squashed.so, I cropped the top and bottom bands off and now the blue is only and the left and right side.

I then decided to add images, at first I tried to take the images on my phone as I wanted them to look naturalistic and non- posed. I also felt a phone would allow me to capture action shots. Having put the images on my website I found the picture quality was poor to use as they were grainy, pixelated and became distorted when I tried to enlarge or change shape. Another significant problem was the lighting; many of the images looked very dark and this created a gloomy feel that didn’t match the hopeful brand image I was hoping to create. Because of this I retook several of my images and this time I used a camera, I asked my friend Emily to hold a torch by the person being photographed to ensure images were light. Light is an important semiotic code for positivity and hope. I then attempted to use a colour lightening tool to further bleach the colour in the images. When I looked at this I decided to remove it as the effect was too bleached and made the images look non-naturalistic. This vintage look did not match the brand image of my website. I also experimented with Photo-shop editing photos but I also felt these looked non-naturalistic. I knew I wanted my images to be focused upon people. I felt close up shots would give my website a friendly human face. I felt it was important to make the people the focus of my website to show that my brand cares about people. To ensure that the people were the focus, I used Photo-shop again to crop out the background so they appeared as head and shoulder silhouettes. After looking at the finished effect I decided to undo the cropping as cropped and irregular images shapes break conventions. Instead I decided to retake the images against a plain brick wall; this created a blank mis-en-scene but also ensures the people are the focus point of the images.

  I also found that I had more access to other technologies by using a computer e.g. adding links from google maps onto one of my webpages. At first, I found it difficult using Wix as I hadn’t used a programme like this before and I had limited knowledge on using computers. To overcome this frequently used the internet to search how to use certain aspects of Wix, such as adding hyperlinks; I am glad I learnt to use this as it is an important convention.

When shooting my video I used a standard camcorder were I shot each part separately, to edit my video I used a MacBook Pro with the programme Pro C6; on the programme I put all the parts of my video together. Shot length is easy to change as some scenes went on to long. C6 allowed me to crop parts of my video as once I finished shooting all my film I found that the camcorder had left the date and time at the bottom of my shot I also found the parts of my shots was too long. I cut and lengthened shots until I reached shots I was happy with it.

I then decided to add sound to my video. I decided to add the sound separately as I did not want background noise and I wanted the sound to be high quality; as I was creating a surreal product. I decided to voice record my friend Emily saying three phrases, “1 in 3 children in the UK have been affected by a form of child abuse”, “Invisible Children need your help” and “what if it was your child?” However, I then decided to change these in to text and make them all into facts about child abuse, neglect and exploitation as text would engage my audience as they would have to read the text. I played these after each other to create a narrative effect. After showing the video to my focus group, I decided that instead of using a voice over I would add music. I felt the music made the video more emotional and made the message more universal. I felt the voice over should be added at the end once the emotional part had ended and I had engage my audience.

From the exam side of AS Media Studies I learnt a lot about lighting and binary oppositions, this gave me the idea to put the first part in black and white and Pro C6 gave me a choice of different dark coloured scales. As darkness connotes sadness I felt this has a great impact on the audience from my video.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Although I had studied GCSE Media Studies, most of my work was based around magazines. This meant I knew very little about the conventions of a webpage, ICT skills or media theories; these are all things I have learnt much more about in the last year.

The big concept that had completely changed my understanding of media is the notion of brand image. I spent a lot of time learning about brand image at the start of the year and I now understand that every media product has its own unique identity. This identity plays a key role in making a product stand out, engaging a target audience and shaping the mood of the product.

From the start I knew I wanted my product to appear sophisticated and factual, I think that I have created this image by using a largely monochrome colour scheme, using formal language and including lots of content so my product looks like a fact based space. To help me achieve this aim I needed to learn more about conventions like what to include and not to include in a website, for example;

. Not leaving blank spaces- by leaving blank spaces it can make a website look unprofessional as real media products do not waste space. A lack of content can also make a product appear uniformed and this goes against my desired brand image; I avoided leaving blank space by including text and images wherever I could. These are powerful as they work on a polysemic level; this gave me lots more opportunities. This is another thing I have learnt, I did not originally know what polysemic meant, but this year through research and by completing deconstructions I have learnt that meaning is often shaped by suggested and implication. I feel this is a powerful tool as it is less aggressive than spelling things out, it also empowers the audience as it allows them to interoperate their own meanings and ideas.

I have learnt a lot about how people are represented in media through stereotypes and Propp’s Character Theory. Propp’s theory suggests that people are complicated and hard to understand and because of this we can never truly represent someone. Instead of accurately representing someone we represent them as stereotypes that are linked with fairy tale characters. The representations include;

. The Hero- the hero tends to be more often male than female and is a person who does well and is likeable by the audience. The hero often has overcome an obstacle or has fought something.

. The Villain- the villain is a selfish person who is trying to gain power. The villains are often a danger     to the audience.

. The Helper- the helper is someone who makes a situation better and offers positive support for other characters.

. The Donor- the donors are often ‘older and wiser’ characters that offer advice to other characters. The donor also helps to improve things.

. The Princess- the princess is usually portrayed as helpless, innocent women e.g. ‘a damsel in distress.                   

I have found that stereotypes are used much more frequently in the real media than I had thought. I have also learnt about how these impressions are created; I now know that shot type, costumes and setting all shape meaning in a big way even though they seemingly appear quite unimportant. My knowledge of this subject has been further developed my feminist media theory as I have learnt about the way power in society is presented. I have also learnt about patriarchy and the way in which men can be seen as keeping power by reducing women to stereotypes. I have tried to comment on this theory in my own video as it is a man who is abusing the female character. I have done this to represent something about the fact feminist theorist think men can misuse their power.  

 

Flat plan for my website

Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs 

Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs suggests that people are motivated by unsatisfied needs, the most basic needs must be satisfied whereas, the more complex needs must be achieved. Maslow put the needs within a pyramid placing the basic needs at the bottom and the more complex needs at the top. 

In my final product I plan to include a 'sign in/sign up'page, this page will allow my audience to create their own account with my website or allow them to sign into a profile that they may of already signed up for. This will relate to Maslow's theory as it will give my audience a 'sense of belonging' as they have their own personal account through my website. 

I also plan to include comment sections within my webpages, this is were my audience will be able to voice their comments or talk to friends. My audience will also have the access to share things to social net working sites through my website; both of these activities will give my audience a 'sense of connection' and 'friendship'. 

Synergy

Synergy 

Media synergy is the way in which different elements of a media conglomerate work together to promote linked products across different media platforms. 
Synergy can be used in many ways if I was to use it i would use synergy in the following ways;
By using celebrity endorsements; if my product was in reality and I had money I would ask David Cameron to be the face of my charity and to appear in my video. I would also get him to talk about my charity on the news and on television programs. I would choose to use David Cameron as he is the current Prime Minister of our country so he has great significance in our country and government. As he is the Prime Minister he is also powerful, so if he was talking about my charity on television it may encourage people to donate. As well as being powerful, he is also a serious man and as my charity is a serious problem that needs to be addressed he fits the criteria well.
I am also including a film on my website. This is an example of synergy/ cross media convergence as my product is a website, however by including a film the product my audience are consuming two different types of media. 
  

Inspiration sheet

Inspiration Sheet

When researching different media products for inspiration, I came across the NSPCC's website. The colour scheme they have you inspired mine as it is simple and this is what i wanted for my website; I also like how they have used a non-gender specific colour scheme. I found with a lot of charity websites that had a male and female target audience they tended to use primary colours in their colour schemes. I chose a pale shade of blue as this colour tends to be a non-gender specific colour, whereas, if i used a darker shade of blue the colour would of been bias towards males.

I also took inspiration from the Barnardo's logo; I like that they have used more than one figure and that they are all holding hands. The logo looks friendly and caring and that there is support from the charity for children. For my logo I also used three figures, however they were not touching as I thought this may look to similar; as well as there being a hidden meaning behind them not touching. This meaning is that children who have been abused, neglected or exploited may feel alone like no one is there, but we are here all in there reach. I also like that the figures had no colour in, soi also left mine colour-less. However, I also put a meaning behind that; the meaning relates to the 'invisible' part of my charities name. Meaning that children who have suffered a form of abuse may feel like they are invisible because many people in the UKs are unaware of how many children are actually suffering.

I took inspiration from the NHS website as all the content seems to be factual. As my target audience are 21-35 I want my text to be factual and sophisticated. As my target audience are both male and female I have to be careful when writing my text as I don't want it to come off gender bias. 

Second focus group findings

Whilst in the process of my product I have often conducted a range of formal and informal market research. However, when I finished creating my website I wanted to make sure my product would still attract my target audience; so I did another focus group. I printed out each page of my website and handed it out to adults who fitted the criteria of my target audience. Along with giving them the website pages I asked them what they thought of different feature and quoted them as well as taking notes.

I asked what they though about the layout of the pages- "There is a lot going on in the pages, it helps keep me interested", "The use of facts in the text is emotional and engages people","The page is busy, its good that there is very little blank spaces".

I also asked what they thought of the picture I have included on the website- " I like how simple the images are", " I like that the people in the pictures are smiling, the pictures look simple". 

I then asked what they thought of the name of my website- " I think it's clever how there is a hidden meaning behind it", " I like that the INVISIBLE CHILDREN part of the name is in capital letters, it really draws attention to the name".

I then asked what they thought of the colour scheme- " I like the shade of blue, its almost like a pastel blue which is a commonly used colour now", " This is a better shade than a darker blue and this looks happier", "A light blue is nice as it's more sensitive than a dark blue".

Finally I asked what they thought of the interactive parts of the website e.g. comment sections- " I like that we can voice are own opinion, this seems to be rare of charity websites", "I like the links to social media, I like to share things with my friends", " I like to use interactive features online as I like sharing opinions.

Evaluation of my pictures

Evaluation of my pictures 

Here are some of the pictures I have used on my website; these are the picture i used for my 'their stories page'. I used medium shot images to show just the peoples head and shoulders, i did this to make them the main focus of the picture. Again, to make them the main focus I chose a brick wall background so all the focus is on their faces. I asked them all to smile so it would show that they are happier now that they have overcome their abuse, neglect or exploitation. I also chose to have bright lighting in the pictures to keep a hopeful feel to my website.

This was the picture I chose for the 'Youth Team'; I was supposed to use adults but unfortunately no adults would participate in the picture so I have to improvise and use 17 year old boys and girls. I asked them all to smile and stand close to each other so that they would look friendly and approachable.  

Questionnaire Findings

Questionnaire findings

Question 1

How many pictures do you prefer to see on a website?

10% of people said they would like to see 1-2 pictures. 30% of people said they would like to see 3-4 pictures. 60% of people would like to see 5 or more pictures.

Question 2

Do you like websites that include real life stories?

100% of my target audience said yes.

Question 3

Which shade of blue would you prefer on a charities website that’s main focus to protect children from abuse, neglect and exploitation?

80% of people said that they prefer the lightest shade of blue. 20% of people said they prefer the medium shade of blue. Nobody said that they prefer the dark shade of blue.

Question 4

Do you like websites that contain a lot of facts and statistics?

80% of my target audience said yes.

Question 5

Do you like websites that include interactive services e.g. comment sections?

80% of my target audience said yes.

Question 6

Do you like websites that allow you to make your own online profile?

90% of my target audience said yes.

Question 7

Do you like websites that allow you to receive up-dates e.g. emails and newsletters?

70% of my target audience said yes.

Question 8

Would you like to receive a free gift with your first donation when giving to a charity?

100% of my target audience said yes.

Question 9

Do you like websites that mainly consist of factual text informing you on what the website is about?

90% of my target audience said yes.

Question 10

Do you prefer webpages to stick to a simple colour scheme or do you like bright, loud and colourful webpages?

70% of my target audience said simple, whereas, 30% said bright, loud and colourful.

Synthetic Sisterhood

Synthetic Sisterhood

It has been suggested that media professionals encourage us to think of all media products of having a ‘personality’. The fact we ‘like’ or ‘relate’ to a particular products personality helps us pick it above all other media products that may be similar. This then becomes that products unique selling point.

There are many ways a product can create a personality. For example;

1.      Star endorsements- if a product has a celebrity face behind it, it can make the product more desirable.

2.      The company’s logo- using a logo like a mascot can make a product more desirable. For example, if a company’s logo is a pink heart it may attract to females more or if the products logo is a skull and cross bones it may be more attractive to males.

3.      The origin or place or the product- people may find products more desirable if they are from a certain country. For example, English people may find English products better as they are authentic to their own country.

4.      The products target audience- a products target audience normally mirrors the personality of the product.

Media experts in the 1960’s found that language was being used in products to make them seem rather male or female. Language is an extremely important factor in a products personality. Media experts found that adverts that used a female voiceover tended to promote caring, motherly products. They also found that adverts that used a male voiceover tried to create an impression of being powerful authoritative and informative almost creative a father figure.

Feminists have picked up on this media practice and have criticised it; feminist claim, that this supports unfair stereotypes. This idea was re-explored in the 1990’s by Mary Talbot. Talbot looked at magazines and newspaper articles and has called the updated version of this theory ‘synthetic sisterhood’. Talbot also suggested that female writers try to create a sense of sisterhood. To create the sense of sisterhood the writers use informal, chatty language by constructing a simulated friendship. However, the voice/ personality of articles in newspapers, magazines or webpages are normally a false ‘sisterly’ one.     

Conventions

Conventions

Conventions are features we would typically expect to see in a media product. *********** For example, in magazines the conventions we would typically see can include; images, headlines and mastheads. Every genre of media products has its own individual conventions. As I am making my own charity website at the end of the year, I need to consider which conventions I will use and which I will subvert to make my product seem original.

After conducting lots of research and looking at lots of charity websites I have decided that there are pros and cons to using and subverting conventions. By subverting conventions you can attract a larger audience as you can easily make your product appear unique and original.  This can also be risky as sometimes a lack of conventions can make a product seem odd and hard to understand.  Conventions are also closely linked to making a product seem professional.

In my opinion, I will be best using and then subverting some conventions. I hope this mix will make my finished website seem both professional and creative.

 The conventions most commonly associated with websites are;

1. The name of the website- the name of the website is important as it shows the audience they are in the right place as well as identifying the website.
2. Text- this is important as it can educate/ inform the audience. This relates to the Uses and Gratifications theory proposed by Blummer and Katz, their aim was to find why people found appeal to media content. One of the reasons they suggested was that media content can educate us.
3. The navigation bar- the navigation bar is important as it’s a common convention within websites. The navigation bar is useful and helps the user find what they are looking for quickly and efficiently.
4. Hyperlinks- hyperlinks are links that allow you to be directed to different websites related to the same topic.
5. Videos- videos on websites can make them more educational and personal. By putting them on a website it can appeal to more people rather than just reading text.
6. Adverts of other famous people- these can be included on websites to draw an audience in to seem inspirational to get a bigger target audience.
7. Message boards or comment sections- this convention is used for socialisation purposes. Being able to socialise can encourage a wider target audience as the audience can talk with others about the selected topic.
8. Social media icons- these are included so that the audience can ‘like’, ‘share’ or ‘tweet’ things like pictures, videos or articles with their friends.
9. Images- images are used on websites as it can help the audience identify themselves as well as making the website more attractive.
10. Very little space is left blank on web pages as it can be off putting and look plain. If a website doesn’t look interesting it may put people off.