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183MC - Media and Cultural Fields

Group Work:

The first task was to produce and advert, either print or radio, for a product or service of our choice. We decided to create a radio advert, for a hangover relief tablet we created called 'Kill The Beat'. In the advert we wanted to play on the use of noise and silence, as well as using sound effects to give signs to the audience about what is happening. 

The second task was to create a Zine and then turn it into a mainstream  Magazine. For the Zine we decided to create it as a guide to the UK music festivals for people who have never been to a festival but want to attend one. We chose this because music festivals are it is such a huge part of the UK summer culture, however, we found that there is quite a niche audience of people who want to attend festivals that already have not or who are unsure what festival would suit them. For this we all took a different music festival, I did Reading Festival, and created our own page about it for the final Zine. The overall design of the Zine is to make it look like a festival lanyard, and every page was made by hand to give it the authentic look and feel of a Zine. Photographs of the final Zine are below.

To see the full magazine click on the PDF button, the magazine was created using InDesign.

Next we took the same concept of UK music festivals and turned it into a mainstream magazine. To do this we moved the focus slightly to look more at specific artists, and information people might want about festivals to do with clothing, food, hair and make up, and much more. The magazine is aimed at young adults who will be attending music festivals and is there to give a helping hand when planning for the festival. 

The third task was to create a 5-7 minute video that explores what a YouTube video is, making sure to engage with key concepts. For the task we decided to explore  how YouTube has effected the growth and popularity of conspiracy theories. This was because it seems to be one of the most popular mainstream platform for conspiracy theories, as well as being a subject we believed would be interesting and engaging to our audience. Watch the video below. 

This week were were exploring the importance of digital media. Therefore, we were tasked to design a new media app and to create a pitch for it. In the pitch we had to make sure that we linked back to what we had learnt in the lecture. Therefore we designed an app called ScreenBuzz, to find out more see the pitch click on the PPT button.

For the group essay we decided to do a semiotic analysis of our zine and magazine, 'Intents'. This is because we wanted to do a compression of alternative media and mass media, and felt that these products we designed showed that off to the best standard possible. Once the topic was decided as a group, we then all split up who was going to write which section, it was then decided that I would be the person to do the final edit of the essay. This was going to be a challenge as I have never had to do anything like this before, however, I was determined to succeed in turning eight peoples work into one coherent and flowing essay. In the end the most difficult part of editing was feeling guilty for all the cutting and adjustments I had to make to everyones work. Firstly, because the essay was massively over the word count I had to re-write peoples work to make it more clear and concise. Secondly, quite a few people in the group messaged me explaining how they had not included theory due to being unsure which theory to include, an issue which is understandable when you are only writing a small section of one big essay as there is a risk of repeating theory. Therefore, I also had to spend time finding theory to add in an analysis into some individuals work to make sure all paragraphs were up to the same high standard. However, with all of this I believe I did manage to sucessfully bring together one concise and flowing essay, and I was glad that the rest of the group also approved of it and appreciated the work I had put into it.

Reflection on 183MC:

At the start I did not know what to expect from the module, especially in relation to working in groups of eight and the practicality of completing the work. I think this has been one of the strongest groups I have worked in as everyone had different skills which seemed to compliment each others. I feel that because I am a very organised person I could use this skill to really benefit the group as with such a large number of people organisation is key. Therefore, by making notes during brainstorming helped to keep the group on topic and by allocating roles for each task it meant everyone always knew what they needed to do. I found the topics explore in this module very interesting, and think I have enjoyed the practical tasks more than I have for any other module, as they allowed us to explore our creativity in new ways. By having such a short time frame to complete all of the work it did add some pressure, however, this pressure made us push ourselves to get each task as close to perfect as we could the first time, so that when we were given feedback we did not have to change much. I feel this module has given me the confidence of working as a good team member in a large group but to also on occasion be the leader. 

Critical Reflection of Module Feedback:

The marking for the module was a bit different from the other modules completed giving us an overall mark, of 80 which is a high first and I am extremely proud of the mark we achieved. However, we also were informed of what mark we achieved for each individual task. For the radio task we achieved a 72, the marker liked the fact we took on the challenge of making a radio advert instead of a print advert, and believed it was well produced. For the Zine and the Magazine we achieved 75, I was glad the marker like the title, 'Intents' as it was a title that I came up with. The marker believed that we did a good exploration of the two mediums and that both were loaded with content, and great visual compositions and humour. The marker specifically commended on liking the lanyard style of our Zine and the layout work of our magazine, giving it a unified feel. For the YouTube w achieved 85, as the marker believed it was an excellent video and had very good engagement with media concepts and contained a nice range of examples. Specific areas the marker picked up on was the good quality production, the quality scripts (which I was glad about as I was the main writer and editor of it) and how the video was humorous yet analytical. What especially impressed the marker was the level which we incorporated critical feedback into the project in a way that did not seem superficial or forced. For the app pitch we also achieved the mark of 85, the marker liked our observation of social media fatigue to help build the case for our app concept, and reinventing the 'chat room' concept to repurpose an outmoded form. The design of the powerpoint was described as looking great and being well thought out. Lastly, the essay which I was most nervous about due to being the editor of it also received the mark of 85, a mark that I was ecstatic with. The essay was described as being well written and containing a good selection of key quotation to unlock key concepts. One improvement mentioned would be to explore the historical setting of both the magazine and the zine, however, this would have been difficult to achieve in the limited work count. Yet, overall we had a well informed contrast of these different mediums. 

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