Double Page Spread Final Piece
After talking to Tony, I have updated my Double Page Spread to give it a more professional look. One of the main suggestions was to make the title more eye catching. I have done this by increasing the font size, changing the colour (also the team colours of the team shown in the article) and adding a shadow effect to make it more bold and attractive to the eye of the reader. Another update from the first draft was to loose some text, as it was too bunched up and didn't look appealing to read and as a result of this I have trimmed it down.
Feedback On My Work From People In the Industry
After showing my work to people in the industry, I was able to gain helpful feedback which will enable me to improve my main task and two ancillary tasks.
Pete Carvell is Marlwood School's IT Technician, you can see a link to the school website that he was responsible for designing here. The improvements he suggested that would help my production are:
Pete Carvell is Marlwood School's IT Technician, you can see a link to the school website that he was responsible for designing here. The improvements he suggested that would help my production are:
- Images in the carousel need to be the same size
- The edge of the page needs to be in line correctly
- Darker colours of certain teams don't show up very well, therefore possibly scrap the different colours and add small specific team coloured basketball jerseys next to each team
- The background picture contrasts too much from either side of the page, it is too dark on the right and too bright on the left
- For the 'important dates' page the columns can be moved closer together to make it easier to line up which date equates to which event
- Possibly increase the font size of the text on the 'important dates' page
- Make the channel number 'channel 122' more visible and more clear on the page, possibly add it permanently to the top of the page by the name of the website and slogan
- Make each box at the bottom of the homepage the same size and length and line them up together
Steve Richards is a graduate in Film Production Technology from Staffordshire University and was very helpful when analysing and making suggestions about my ident video. His suggestions included:
- Make the shot landscape to fill the screen
- Ass different cuts next to each other, an alternative way of filling space
- Audio - use sounds of the ball dropping into the net, or the basketball trope of shoes squeaking on the gym floor
Tony Baxter is the Managing Director at Voodoo Designs. Here is a link to his company. Some of his suggestions included:
- Make the header/title more bold and eye catching as this should be the first thing that catches the readers eye
- Lose some text, it it too bunched up and is too close to the edge of the page
- Add a drop shadow effect to the smaller picture as it is too blurred in with the background picture
Double Page Spread Research
These are some double page spread examples from a popular basketball magazine in America named Slam.
Although these 2 articles are more than just double-page spreads, they follow the same format of a double page spread. Key conventions that I have noticed are that pictures play a bigger role than the text, as on every page the pictures stand out and fill the empty space, whereas text looks to play a secondary role (although the text is undoubtedly still important). This allows the pictures to be dynamic and in some cases the pictures do speak more than the words. This means that I will look to fill space with large pictures and the text will fit around it.
Ident First Drafts
These are my four ident ideas. I decided that all shots would be in slow motion as that is one of the main conventions of an ident video. There are two different shots, and two attempts at each shot. For the shot underneath the basket, I decided to do it again as I felt that the sound was not to the right standard, also the way the ball entered the net was not as 'pretty' as it could have been. As for the other shot, I was unsure of having a model in my piece as it didn't fit my purpose which was to be generic and simple. However, I did like the idea of the 'layup' shown so I retook the shot but focused on the basket, cutting out the model for the most part.
The reason I like this ident is becasue it is very generic and suiting of a TV ident, as there are no faces which make it lose its generic appeal. However, there are hands at the bottom of the shot which devalues the ident as it isn't quite purely generic.
This ident is effective as you get a medium shot of the basket, so there is more to see. It is also a different finish compared to the first ident, as this is a layup compared to a standard shot. The weakness is again the person shown which doesn't make it generic, although this is impossible to avoid when filming a layup.
I like these idents because they are generic and simple which is what I was going for. I chose to take two different shots to have an option to choose, as the first shot didn't finish into the net as nicely as it could of. The second shot is more of a 'swish' shot meaning it is very central to the net and results in a swishing motion of the net, which is the best looking shot.
The reason I like this ident is becasue it is very generic and suiting of a TV ident, as there are no faces which make it lose its generic appeal. However, there are hands at the bottom of the shot which devalues the ident as it isn't quite purely generic.
This ident is effective as you get a medium shot of the basket, so there is more to see. It is also a different finish compared to the first ident, as this is a layup compared to a standard shot. The weakness is again the person shown which doesn't make it generic, although this is impossible to avoid when filming a layup.I like these idents because they are generic and simple which is what I was going for. I chose to take two different shots to have an option to choose, as the first shot didn't finish into the net as nicely as it could of. The second shot is more of a 'swish' shot meaning it is very central to the net and results in a swishing motion of the net, which is the best looking shot.
Planning my Double Page Spread
For my double page spread, the target audience will need to be addressed and persuaded to watch my TV channel. The purpose of the TV listings double page spread is exactly that, to grow the audience but also to inform the target audience that I already have attracted about what shows are on. I can address my audience by adding featured programmes which are the most popular. This would attract attention as the reader of the magazine would see the popular shows advertised and therefore would be more likely to tune in to the channel.
There are two different ways I could choose to design my double page spread. One is to have a TV listings schedule with several added featured shows that are on. The other possibility is to have a more detailed feature on just one show that is featuring on my channel. In my opinion, this would look better than a tv listings guide as there would be more space for pictures which would allow me to add better/more dramatic pictures that would make the TV show advertised look more enticing.
There are two different ways I could choose to design my double page spread. One is to have a TV listings schedule with several added featured shows that are on. The other possibility is to have a more detailed feature on just one show that is featuring on my channel. In my opinion, this would look better than a tv listings guide as there would be more space for pictures which would allow me to add better/more dramatic pictures that would make the TV show advertised look more enticing.
Website First Draft - What needs to be improved?
Now that my first draft has been completed, I can analyse it and see what I need to improve on. The first thing that stands out on the website is that none of the photos used were my own. My chosen subject, basketball, proves difficult to take your own pictures for, however I still need to use my own photographs in order to follow the criteria. An idea that was suggested to me was to replace the picture of the balloons and redo that myself, adding different colour balloons lined up with a clear mise en scene and then later editing the picture, adding each letter of 'welcome' onto each separate balloon.
Name for my TV Channel
A TV channel name must be catchy, relevant and snappy. From research I found that TV channels which are not part of a chain (such as Sky Sports, Sky Movies) are often one or two words. However one pitfall I have discovered from this is that they may not be perceived as a TV channel. For example the name 'Laugh' does not instantly make you think of the TV channel. This problem is often resolved by adding TV to the end of the name to make it 'Laugh TV'.
From this list I have concluded that Hoops TV is the one I think will suit best, as it fits basketball the most and doesn't have any bad connotations. It is also basketball jargon which will likely be more attractive to basketball fans.
Relevance is also important as it needs to bring the right connotations to the the channel. This means that their must be no ambiguity in the meaning of the word and the preferred reading needs to be clear and concise. An example of a TV channel which has addressed this is Channel 4. There are no connotations and it is specific and clear to where you will find it on the TV guide.
Below is a list of ideas of names for my channel:
- Hoops TV
- Nothin' But Net TV
- Handle TV
- BBTV (Basketball TV)
- Slam
- Dunk TV
From this list I have concluded that Hoops TV is the one I think will suit best, as it fits basketball the most and doesn't have any bad connotations. It is also basketball jargon which will likely be more attractive to basketball fans.
Analysing my production through Postmodernist techniques
After looking at my production from a postmodern view, I have found that my production can be defined using two postmodern terms. These include Pastiche & Simulation. A pastiche is something that follows the same style from something previously. My production is a pastiche as the ident video will be similar to the style of something seen before. This is because I will be using a jack-in-the-box symbol to summarize comedy. Postmodernists would say that my website is a pastiche as it will be in the same style as most websites and will not be enterely new or indvidual.
My whole production is what a postmodernist would call a simulation as it is not real. It is something that is based on real life, however it is an imitation. This does not change how my work would look compared to the real thing as it will still look like and have the qualities of a real product, but it is still not original and based on other styles and conventions.
My whole production is what a postmodernist would call a simulation as it is not real. It is something that is based on real life, however it is an imitation. This does not change how my work would look compared to the real thing as it will still look like and have the qualities of a real product, but it is still not original and based on other styles and conventions.
To Do List & Revisit in April 2015
Tuesday 10th February Deadline:
Revisited April 2015:
I managed to complete all tasks on the list by the deadline of 10th February that was set. However, there were some issues along the way. There was a glitch in the website design software which meant some parts of it had to be manually coded. This had a negative impact on my timing when it came to deadlines as it was very unexpected and took time away from completing other tasks.
On the other hand, the double page spread production ran smoothly compared to the website design, therefore I managed to make some time up that I lost and still make the deadline. Although, I didn't include any TV listsings on the double-page spread as it didn't match with my content analysis or the real media conventions that I researched.
- First draft of TV website channel completed
- First Cut for Ident video completed (that means footage shot and edited)
- First draft of TV listings Double-Page Spread
Things to do:
- Shoot and Edit Ident footage
- Complete first attempt at creating the website using the software 'Quick 'N Easy Web Builder 2'
- Create double-page spread with TV listings and focused on the launch of the channel
Revisited April 2015:
I managed to complete all tasks on the list by the deadline of 10th February that was set. However, there were some issues along the way. There was a glitch in the website design software which meant some parts of it had to be manually coded. This had a negative impact on my timing when it came to deadlines as it was very unexpected and took time away from completing other tasks.
On the other hand, the double page spread production ran smoothly compared to the website design, therefore I managed to make some time up that I lost and still make the deadline. Although, I didn't include any TV listsings on the double-page spread as it didn't match with my content analysis or the real media conventions that I researched.
Content Analysis of Real Media TV Websites
From my Content Analysis I have found trends which I can replicate in my website. No websites that I researched had a catch up player, this means that for me to create a website that will rival ESPN, Sky Sports and NBA.com, it is highly recommended to include a catch up player on my site. Another feature I found to be significant was a link to the latest news, which would be a useful for visitors and will most likely make them visit the website more often.
What was popular however, was the television listings shown on the website, this was present on every website. One trend that I found which was no surprise was the use of pictures. Every website incorporated pictures into the look of their websites, whether it was pictures related to individual programmes on the channel, or it was related to the news of that day (bearing in mind only if they had a news link featured on their website in the first place).
Social Media was shown to be more popular in the modern day for TV channel websites. However, to gain the most publicity for my website possible, I will include this as it is increasingly becoming more popular and it doesn't affect the image of the website or TV channel by including it.
How I Will Create My Website
When designing a website, it is vital that some criteria is met for it to be a successful one. The website has to be user friendly and easy to use and also has to have some originality to it for it to stand out. The purpose of my website is to inform as it will have TV listings and other information about my television channel as well as having a second purpose to persuade viewers from rival channels such as Comedy Central.
To make my website stand out, I will need to stick to a house style font which matches the branding of the channel itself, so that it would be instantly recognisable. When designing the website I need to make sure to avoid making it too 'clunky' and overcomplicated. This will frustrate my audience and will make them less likely to watch the channel.
For my website design I have chosen to download a specific software to the Apple Mac computers. This software is called 'Quick 'n Easy Web Builder 2'. I have chosen this software as it is easy to use which gives me more time to focus on the content of the website, as opposed to spending more to on the detailed creation of coding a website.
To make my website stand out, I will need to stick to a house style font which matches the branding of the channel itself, so that it would be instantly recognisable. When designing the website I need to make sure to avoid making it too 'clunky' and overcomplicated. This will frustrate my audience and will make them less likely to watch the channel.
For my website design I have chosen to download a specific software to the Apple Mac computers. This software is called 'Quick 'n Easy Web Builder 2'. I have chosen this software as it is easy to use which gives me more time to focus on the content of the website, as opposed to spending more to on the detailed creation of coding a website.
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