Time Management

So far I have taken images for my articles and for my articles and I am currently up-to-date on all of my tasks as I have asked my target audience to fill out my Audience Profiling Questionnaire and have also written ideas down for articles and adverts for my website. I have also looked at wix.com to look at the layout of different website templates and have found a few layouts which I think would convey a newspaper's website connotations.

Photoshoot Planning

For planning the photoshoot I need to book the studio room at Shiney so that it is suitable for both me and my models to attend. Previous to this though I need message both my models to find out when and if they are available. I also need to plan my props which will appear in both my advertisements and images alongside my articles.

Potential Problems

Potential Problems

Images
A problem which I may have is that my image may not go with the layout and so to solve this problem I have planned to take a lot of images which vary in shot type, angle etc and if this doesn't work I could change the layout to suit the image.

Another problem may be that the photographs may be the wrong colour, have too much shade/light on them(be under/over exposed), or unprofessional and so to solve this problem I could do test shots to make sure that the photograph is good, but if it still proceeds I have got another two sessions planned so I have planned for this. I could also change the image using Photoshop so that my image looks how I want it to look.

For my images I will also have to make sure I have enough images before I start to create my products and so to make sure I have the right amount of images I will take my flat plans and inspirational texts with me to make sure that I get the images I want and additional images just in case the images I take don't work out.  

Articles
A problem that I may have with my articles is that I may create articles that are too long and so to compensate this I would either take some off or change the size of the text whilst making sure that the overall appearance and aesthetics still looks good and professional.

Another problem I will have to face is making sure that the language style and technique fits my product and my target audience and so to make sure that I don't deviate from either I will check existing products to make sure they sound similar, throughout the development and creation process.

The Recce for my Newspaper Products

The Recce for My Newspaper Products & Potential Problems

Potential Hazards

During the shooting process I will try to ensure minimal health and safety risks as I will be shooting on location and in the studio so that my newspaper products look both professional and realistic. The main safety risk is shooting in Penshaw as I will need to ensure that I don’t go too close to the road to get the correct shot or fall over on the ground whilst shooting at and near Penshaw Monument and so to ensure that I don’t I will place my footing correctly before taking a shot. Another potential hazard is in the studio as there is many cables for lights and various other materials and objects which can be tripped on and so to ensure that this doesn’t happen I will do a walkthrough before shooting to make sure there is no hazards.

Weather/Lighting

Another factor I’ve considered is weather and how it will affect the outcome of my images as a different time of day will signify a different mood and signify something else. So to ensure that I signify the correct mood and have the right lighting in the studio so that it doesn’t look fake or artificial I will organise my shooting times so that it gets the right time of day and gets the best amount of light in the image. I have also planned to use certain objects which don’t reflect light if I need to use the flash or if I need to take a photograph which has a reflective surface like a window I’ll not use the flash or get a picture which doesn’t reflect the flash.

Background

The background is also another factor I have considered through my idea process as there may be other people in the shot or other objects which might signify the wrong thing in the image and change the context of the article and entire newspaper product. To ensure that this doesn’t happen I will again organise my shooting times so that it is the right time of day, so that people will be at work etc but most importantly I will try and take a photo of the place/object/person etc so that that is the main focus. I will also take many shots so that if there is a lot of people in the shot I can use other shots.

Permission

Most of the photographs I have planned to take will be outside venues so that my audience know where the place is and how it looks at the road side as taking a photograph from the inside might not give my audience an indication of where it is and this is the whole entire draw for my audience; that it is in a local setting which they will recognise.

As well as on location shoots I have also booked a studio room in Shiney Row College as it has the facilities for my work as it will enable me to get professional looking photographs that I can put into my newspaper products.

Planning

I have planned to use my own car and arranged a time which will suit which is best for me and my models and have asked them to bring multiple pairs of shoes, clothing, makeup etc so that if it doesn’t look right, then and there I can change it. I have also asked one of my models to bring a tripod but if she can’t make it I have asked lecturers at the college to see if I could borrow their equipment if needs be. During each process I have tried to think of all the things I would need and all the extra things I could plan in advance if it were to go wrong and so if I needed more than that day for shooting I have already planned another day which was again arranged around a time which was best for me, the models, the opening times of the college and the lighting which needed to be in the image.

Consent Slips

Consent Slips

Below is a print screen of all of the consent slips and booking times that I needed to have before I could begin shooting for photographs to put in my newspaper products:

Time Management

So far I have learned about Uses and Gratifications (Blumler and Katz) which included Diversion, Personal Identity, Personal Relationships and Surveillance and learnt the definitions and how to relate it to my products. I have also leant about shot types; close up, extreme close up, medium shot, medium close up, long shot, establishing shot, two shot, low angle shots, high angle shots, framing, foreground and background, 180 degree rule, tracking shots, tilt/pans and I have also learnt about how to identify them and when they are typically used. I have also learnt about storyboarding on how to structure them and learnt what different elements of it means. I have also leant about the (video) camera itself, filmed, produced, directed and starred in a clip we made about shot types, and in doing so I learnt how to do the above roles as well as learn about the camera, implement the shot types I had learnt and then go on to edit it so that it had music, transitions, edit text in and was cut in the correct places. I have also learnt through my research about newspapers, newspaper posters and newspaper website and how they use Uses and Gratifications to make their products, as well as deconstructing existing products and reconstructing the posters so that I learnt the techniques so that when it comes to producing my products I know how to use the software.

All of the above have helped me develop my skills as well as many other things that I have done in A2 Media, and these skills will help me to create my website, poster and newspaper. Next I will be starting my website, creating my 1st draft for my website, so that when it comes to my finished product I will know what to write, what layout I want, colours I want to use etc.

Resources and Dates

Resources and Dates

During the shooting process I will need:

- Models (contact them to see if they will do and when they are free as well as costumes etc)

- Props (microphone)
- Makeup etc
- Camera
- Tripod
- Studio (Book Shiney Row Studio)
- Sweet tins
- Nail varnish
- Baubles

 I have also had to organise the studio so that I can take photographs of props and models:

- 23/01/13 - Studio 












- 24/01/13 - Studio/Location


- 30/07/13 - On Location 

- 31/07/13 - On Location 

Deconstructions of Posters and Websites of Newspapers

This is the deconstructions of the newspaper posters and websites I have found. By doing these deconstructions I have found what to add to my poster and website, what not to add, and why certain things help make my newspaper poster and website more appealing.                     

Newspaper Research

Newspaper Research

I have looked at a local newspaper and have answered the following questions about that newspaper:

In your chosen selection what events or issues are featured on pages 1 and 2?

Page 1: On this page there is a sell-line/story about Armando Lannucci wanting a bald shaven MP (Political). On this page there is also a sell-line/story about a women, the Marvel villain, with cancer who says that losing her hair was hilarious (Celebrity Lifestyle). There is also a sell-line/story about Madeleine McCann about two e-fits which have came out about the night of her disappearance. On this page there is also a Boots advertisement and a Fountain advertisement.

Page 2: On this page it features stories on awareness for teenagers about diseases (Medical), an advert on Mission, a feature on how to get in contact with the newspaper, a Life&Styles section, featuring different stories which will be in the newspaper. There is also a feature on Banksy and HSBC.

Why do you think these news stories have been chosen?

Page 1: They may have chosen these news stories as they vary on subject, as one is story can be seen as political, whilst another can be seen as life and style, which will help to draw in different types of readers with different types of interests as one reader may enjoy reading the political section, whilst another may enjoy the medical section and so will be intrigued in the story and so buy the newspaper.

Page 2: They have chosen to do these stories as the subjects varies and will allow people with different interests find where they want to read of the newspaper. They have also chosen to add a way to contact the newspaper so that the target audience can always be in contact and be thinking about the newspaper, as it is a way for the newspaper to make the audience permanent readers.

What news values do they hold and how? (Use specific examples)

They hold eight primary factors that determine if a story is newsworthy, the first is the Impact - the story has got to be significant, if it has a massive consequence or importance to a large number of people the story is deemed newsworthy. Another factor is Timelessness - a story needs to be about recent events of what was popular at the time of press, or even about a timeless story which may be still relative to today's news. Another factor of newsworthy stories is the people who feature in the story, if the person is known whether it be politically, because they are a member of royalty or are a celebrity or the President it will be seen as newsworthy; this is the Prominence. Another factor of newsworthiness is Proximity if the story is about something happening in the local area, about a local person or about values, interests and expectations which concern the reader/audience will make it more newsworthy. If the story is Bizarre it will make people want to read the newspaper and so will make the newspaper more newsworthy. Conflict is another factor as open conflict is newsworthy despite the topic people are interested as it reveals arguments between people or society. Currency is another factor which makes a story newsworthy as most people are interested in what is happening currently. Human Interest is another factor which makes a news story newsworthy as it has an entertainment factor which the above don't really have, as people will buy it just because they are interested.

How are these stories delivered? (Consider the construction through language, images, mise-en-scene)

The newspaper delivers these newspaper through informative, yet conversational language, using large images to emphasize the subject matter. They have used colours such as purple and red for the stories which are directed at the younger/female audience and blue colours to describe political stories.

Why are these stories delivered in this way?

They may be delivered in this way so that their audience can distinguish which part of the newspaper they would like to look at, but also as they are using images it helps the reader to visualize the story more clearly.

What uses and gratifications do they offer the audience?

It allows the reader to have surveillance as they are able to find out what is happening in the news, whether that be about a famous artist, an actress, or a story about awareness for teenagers about diseases. They may have personal identify as their audience may be people with mortgages and an article about zero free tracker mortgages is a way to target audience specifically, so that they will continue to buy the newspaper as it holds all the topics which interests them. Another way in which they give personal identity is that they have features/stories about mortgages for example which will help to provide the audience member with reassurance and help construct them with their mortgages. They will also offer personal relationship to their audience as their audience with form a relationship with the editor, the photographer or even the newspaper itself as it may be the one constant in their lives. However this could also be seen as a diversion as they will be keeping an eye on the newspaper regular.

What publishing company is responsible for your local paper? Does this affect how we view the paper? (i.e what other publications nationally/ internationally is this publisher responsible for?)

DMG Media is the publisher for the newspaper METRO, and is also part of the Daily Mail and General Trust. METRO is a British newspaper which is published Monday to Friday which was founded in 1999. This publication is also responsible for the Mail Online, The Mail on Sunday, Evenbase, Jobsite, Jobrapido, Zoopla Property Group and Wowcher, to name just a few.

To what extent can any of the items or the way they are delivered be considered “infotainment”?

The items can be seen as informative as they allow their readers to find out about the news, whether it's about Banksy or an MP. However they can also be seen as entertainment as they contain stories about 'Life&Styles'. Another way it can be seen as infotainment as it is delivered in such a way that it is both formal as it is informative but also conversationalist as it talks about trivial entertainment.

Who has decided the order of importance of the items featured? Why this order?

The one who decides the order of importance is the editor, and the editor for this particular item is Kenny Campell. They may decide the order for this particular edition because they may believe that this story is the most news-worthy story which their target audience want to know about, and in doing so sell more items.

In what ways do you think these items have been carefully selected in order to secure audience interest?

They will have previously done a pilot or maybe a survey to find out what their target audience liked and then continue to publish a stories similar to the original story and delivered in a similar way which would interest them. They may also publish items in a certain order in correlation to what is popular at the time of press as this is what their target audience will want to know about as if they see it front page in another newspaper about a topic they are interested in they may be swayed to buy that newspaper.

How might issues or events selected for local newspapers differ to those selected for national newspapers?

They will be concerned more predominantly about the surrounding area, about local events happening or local talent whereas the national news will be more general informing people of the most important or serious news that happened that week or that day.

METRO Tally Chart 14th October to 18th October

Newspaper Tally Chart
Below is a tally chart of the content of the METRO's newspaper from Monday 14th October to Friday 18th October 2013. This can be found on the following website: http://e-edition.metro.co.uk/2013/10/16/ 

Type of story	Monday 14th October	Tuesday 15th October	Wednesday 16th October	Thursday 17th October	Friday 18th October	What are the stories about?	News Values
Human Interest	39	40	28	41	48	MP’s, cancer, weather report, Life&Style feature	Bizarre, Currency, Proximity, Timelessness, Prominence, Human Interest.
Politics	5	3	4	8	4	Labour, Boris Johnson, Chilean Dictator	Bizarre, Proximity, Currency
Business	2	4	7	5	9	America back from the brink, British gas prices rise up.	Impact, Currency
Sport	24	27	29	25	32	World Cup, Roy Hodgeson, Rooney and his feelings about England going to Rio	Human Interest, Prominence
Crime	14	14	19	13	5	Terrorism, drink drivers, police watchdog	Impact, Human Interest, Proximity
Food	2	6	3	2	0	SOSMOTHIES, cookbooks about beetroot,	Human Interest
Art	9	11	11	1	20
Medical	7	4	4	3	4	(Health watch calls time on dodgy tickers, starting a family at 30)
Education	1	6	2	1	5
Games	5	6	6	6	6	(Puzzles, clockword, quizzes, Sudoku)
Science	3	0	0	0	0
Television	11	11	12	13	11
Beauty	1	1	0	1	0
Money	8	4	4	3	3
Fashion	0	4	7	1	0	(Luxury on a budget, Laura Jackson on What I Wear, Editor’s star buy)
Animal	0	2	3	4	5	(Heart shaped patch on dog’s fur.)
Travel	0	3	3	12	0