How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My media product represents a broad range of social groups and does not specifically focus on one particular group. However, I would say that my product focuses more towards younger people, regardless of gender. I chose to be fairly broad in my representations as homelessness is an issue that affects more than one group, but I did decide that I would focus more on the representation of younger people in my product as homelessness effects them more then others.

^^ Young people ^^

The representation of young people in my product are not very stereotypical, usually people are exposed to an image of runaway teenagers, addicted to drugs. There is no significant mention of drugs as a factor of why young people become homeless. I chose to focus on the financial and family aspects; I explored this more in the video clip I produced. However, I did also represent young people very positively. In my video the volunteers are mainly younger people, this represents them as people who are willing to help others and not the drug taking tearaways as the media presents.

 ^^ STEREOTYPES OF YOUNG PEOPLE! ^^

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

I feel that my media product uses forms and conventions of real media products very well. For example, whilst looking at various other charity websites (homeless mainly) I used aspects of their layouts in my own website. If you take a look at www.crisis.org.uk/index.php  their navigation bar is very similar to mine, I chose to use this in my own media product as it was very easy to use and looked very professional, therefore giving all of my pages a distinct look. Also, if you look back over their overall layout and compare it to mine, there are other similarities. The use of a ‘big image’ as the focal point of the homepage and the side panel with different links are some of the more obvious.

^^ CRISIS^^

Other forms and conventions used include: a weekly newsletter, facts and figures and social networking links. In the modern-era, social networking has become a very important media tool; every charity website has links to various social networks, mainly: Facebook and Twitter. These social networks have become conventions of charity websites; therefore I had to add a few into my own.

^^ FACEBOOK or TWITTER? ^^

Another website I closely looked at was http://england.shelter.org.uk/ .  While I was browsing through I came across a convention which you see in most charity websites and used in my own - a free advice telephone helpline. I also came across an option to find help in your local area, therefore I inserted an option into my website were you could find help from my charity in different regions of the country. While I did find a lot of inspiration from looking at other charities, I didn’t want to copy and use so much from these real media products, which is why I tried to develop them further.

^^ Screenshot of Shelter.org ^^

Referring back to the layout, I could test Sklar’s theory on how people scan web pages and the importance of how a web page is laid out. Looking back on the real websites, all of their logos were located in the top left corner of the page and the most important information being located in the centre. I would adopt Sklar’s theory into my own website; however the theory gave me the impression of being based around the fact that the website had a lot of text. Seeing as my website was not very text heavy in some pages, I developed the layout of my pages differently to maximise the chances of the content in being consumed.

^^ SKLAR THEORY ^^

My media product not only used and developed forms and conventions, it also challenged them. If you look back on the websites I researched, most of them use ‘happy’ images which reflect the good work the charities do. However, I wanted the purpose of my product to show the effects and negative side of homelessness, which is why I decided to use grey, sad images throughout. I think these images would have a greater effect on an audience rather than the happier images usually used.

^^ Examples of 'sad' images ^^

Another way that my media product challenges the conventions is the colour scheme. It may seem like an obvious choice for charities to use darker colours in their websites, but brighter colours seem to be more popular. I decided for my product I would use a mix of darker and bright colours – blue, grey, black and white. Blue and grey were the main colours I used, and the mixture of the colours complimented each other very well. By using darker colours such as grey, I was able to set a tone for my website of being for a charity and serious, while the use of blue would give my website more colour and brightened it up.

EVALUATING

15/02/11

Evaluating.
After every long process there has to be an evaluation. Today I started thinking and analysing my media product - my charity website. Over the next few lessons I will be blogging my final evaluation.

Also, I looked back on my video and the whole process. Given the time we had to film and edit I would say overall my video turned out quite good. There are aspects which could've been improved, but I am very pleased with the end result.



EDITING

14/02/11

FINISHED!
After a set-back with technology I have finally finished my video clip.
Today I was able to download free non-copyright music from www.freeplaymusic.com
After I had my chosen sound I added it into the final part of my clip. I decided that I only wanted non-diegetic sound at the end as the dialogue during most of the video is very important and effective. The sound I chose is very cheerful and happy, which goes very well with the ending of my clip.

Also, in between scenes I added black blank screens with writing. This included: facts and some information about my charity. The blank screens help tell a story and are very effective.

Finally, after I had finished adding to my video I was able to go back a tweak a few things.

Maybe in my dreams.



EDITING

03/02/11

Editing.
As I had finally decided on the sequence of my video, today I was able to add most of my effects and transitions. What I realised whilst adding in transitions is that, when editing 'mini-profiles' they come in very handy. (If you don't understand, wait till you see the end product)

Also, a part from the clips in the final sequence, all the other clips would have a grey-scale effect (they won't have any colour). I thought this would give my video a better sense of being a charity video. However, I decided that I wouldn't change the colour of the last few clips as they're more 'happier' and a grey-scale effect would look odd.

My video clip is shaping up very well and should be complete in the next few lessons. The only major part left in the editing is to incorporate non-copyright music into the video.

EDITING

01/02/11

EDITING!
So today I carried on with the editing process. While looking back at the clips I decided to use in the video, I had a change of heart on the sequence (told you it was likely you change).

Many of the clips I'll be using in the video are like 'mini-profiles' of previously homeless people and volunteers that work with my charity. So I decided I wanted to introduce the video with the 'mini-profiles' of the previously homeless people and then lead in to an interview/story. I would finally conclude the video with the profiles of my volunteers - a happy ending.

My decision on the sequence was mainly influenced by watching other clips similar to mine and studying the conventions. There always seems to be a point in these clips were there is a 'low' point or negative. And then the video leads to a happy conclusion, which shows the good work the charity has been doing.



EDITING

31/01/10

Editing.
In today's lesson we began editing our short clips using Windows Movie Maker.
Firstly, I had to get all my clips into the order that I wanted them to be in, however over the editing process this was likely to change.
After I had my sequence order started to cut and edit each clip that I was using, therfore the clips were shortened (I ended up not using A LOT of the clips I filmed). As I had most of my clips cut and edited I was able to start the beginning stage of adding effects and transitions.

The beginning.