My Proposal

Dear Jeff

                For my production of my A2 Media Studies coursework I will have to complete a minimum of a 3 page website, 3 page website and a poster for my newspaper. In addition to that I must have at least 3 self-taken pictures in my newspaper and on my newspaper. Obviously just providing the production task alone will not be adequate, therefore I will have to do numerous planning and evaluation tasks to complement it.

Firstly I will draw up a production schedule, this will aid me in completing all my tasks on time and finishing my coursework ahead of the deadline, it will also enable to me to receive feedback and make any amendments needed to improve the coursework.

After that I will buy two different local newspapers and textually analyse them. I will also buy a national tabloid newspaper and analyse that, after that I will look at the differences in how news in represented in the two different types of newspapers and what kind of storied, layout and genres that are covered. I will also look for potential newspaper stories in line with this task, when the stories have been found I will take appropriate pictures myself that co-ordinate with the story lines.

To make sure that I have the correct equipment i must make sure that my camera or USB pen is compatible with not only my personal computer but also with the college computers, if this is done properly then it could put me behind my production schedule. I will also have to check the pictures are in the right format to be used and manipulated on both computers and in addition to that i must make sure that I have the same software at home and school.

                I will also make a questionnaire consisting of around 15 questions to get a general understanding to see if the local community buy their local newspaper and read it. It will contain questions centrally based around local newspapers and if they prefer an online version. I also aim to find out what new areas they would like to see. After I have received the feedback I will analyse the answers using different types of graphs and charts and then explain my findings

                The completion of the planning process will be followed by the start of the production process for my web page, newspaper and production. For my webpage I will use Dreamweaver, this because personally, I find it the easiest and most straightforward production programme over other programmes. It also allows me to manipulate the design of other websites by copying the html into Dreamweaver and then adding my touches to it. In line with the production of my webpage production process I will make a site map so you’re clearly able to see what pages link to what.

                In addition to that I will make a newspaper. Using the research gathered from the earlier newspaper analysis tasks I will try to make my newspaper fit the traditional codes and conventions of a typical local newspaper, however some aspects will be challenged. I will look to have a minimum of 3 pages for my newspaper containing at least 3 pictures taken by myself on recent local newspapers.  It will consist of a front page showing the main story with some advertisement and another story starter. On the inside there will be a page containing general information and a few small pictures of editors and journalists ion the company. Lastly I will have a sports page summing up local sports news as well as the future visit of American football to Wembley.

                The last part of the production tasks will involve me making a poster for the newspaper advertising it to the local population. As it is rare for newspapers to have posters I will look for inspiration from the few posters that have been made for national newspapers. I will try to incorporate the newspapers logo, an eye catching and unique design as well as the newspapers logo.

For the final part of the coursework I will complete the evaluation tasks, this part will consist of two parts. Firstly I will make a final questionnaire to receive a final opinion of how users rated the final production pieces. The questionnaire will be mainly centred on whether the website was user friendly for all ages, its eye appeal and ability to attract attention. If any changes need to be made following the data response from the audience it will be able to be made due to early handing in, and I will state why i made the changes too.

Lastly I will provide an in detailed evaluation, this will be related to all the questions and tasks I was asked to complete in the coursework introduction. I will always use SWOT analysis in the evaluation. This is where I would assess my strengths and weaknesses as well as commenting on what I could of done better and what skills I thought I gained. I will state if any of the tasks challenged me, and how I overcame those challenges whether it be by help or finding an alternative method. In addition to that I will also mention if I was able to keep up to date with my production schedule and if not, why.