Report

Relationship with client

Liaison

Dealing with difficulties

Milestone Reviews
I did not do any milestone reviews during this course.
Revision of the brief
The revision of the brief is all about the game concept research.

Concept Qualitative
Introduction

In this assignment I will be looking at 5 different companies (BARB, RAJAR, ABC, ESRB, IABUK) and explaining what it is they
do, and how I can link it to my game trailer, I need to make sure that I link to the theme of qualitative data almost all the
time.

BARB

The Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB) is the

organisation that compiles audience measurement and
television ratings in the United Kingdom. It was created in
1981 to replace two previous systems whereby ITV ratings
were compiled by JICTAR (Joint Industry Committee for
Television Audience Research), whilst the BBC did their
own audience research. BARB is jointly owned by the BBC,
ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky and the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising. Participating viewers have a box on top of
their TV sets which tracks the programmes they watch.

ARB's current research contracts have been awarded to three different market research companies: RSMB, Ipsos MORI,
and Kantar Media. The contracts run from January 2010 to the end of 2015, with options to extend further. RSMB are
responsible for survey design, quality control and calculation methodology. Ipsos MORI's role is to survey the
characteristics of the television owning population, including an element of direct recruitment to the viewing panel. Kantar
Media is responsible for establishing and maintaining the new BARB viewing panel. It has a separate contract covering
meter panel installation, data retrieval, processing and audience reporting functions.

Because BARB specialises in television, this would bring a huge success to the game trailer I am reviewing as it is the media
platform with the most viewers. With this fact, the game company can take advantage of that, and use not only the visual
representation of the trailer but also the audio as well, to really captivate the audience.

RAJAR

RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research Limited) was established in 1992 to

operate a single audience measurement system for the radio industry in the
United Kingdom. RAJAR is jointly owned by the BBC and the RadioCentre. Prior to
this, the BBC and Radio Centre's predecessor (The CRCA) carried out their own
measurements independently of each other.

The company operates as a Joint Industry Committee (JIC) and its Board is
chaired by an independent Chairman. It has shareholder representation from the
BBC and the commercial sector, as well as the IPA (Institute of practitioners in
advertising) and the ISBA (Incorporated Society of British Advertisers). The
company is a non- profit making entity. RAJAR collects information on behalf of over 300 BBC and Ofcom Licensed
commercial radio stations, ranging from very small local services to the national networks. Station listening by time,
duration, platform (AM/FM, DAB, Online/APP, and DTV) and location (in car, at home, at work, or elsewhere) is recorded
and published on a quarterly basis.

As RAJAR is a radio-based company, the only important aspect they can offer is sound. Now compared to BARB they have a
slight disadvantage, however there is a plus side, not many people can view a television, and most people are driving, so if
they have the radio on, if the advert is compelling, they may also profit from RAJAR's radio link. This makes the game
trailers sell well as they are being broadcasting meaning that a lot of people will be hearing it, which gives them a slight
boost in sales.
 ABC

ABC is a non-profit organisation which is owned and developed by the media

industry. It was founded on 14 October 1931 by ISBA (The voice of British
Advertisers) to provide an independent verification of circulation/data figures to
facilitate the buying and selling of advertising space within UK national newspapers.
In 2009 the organisation reviewed how their figures reflected bulk sales- the copies
given away for free. The circulation of six national newspapers were adjusted as a
consequence. In 2011, ABC's online and print divisions were merged. In February
2014, ABC published combined print and digital magazine circulation figures for the
first time.

ABC's aim is to inspire confidence in the ad trading industry by delivering a valued stamp of trust. ABC has two distinct
roles:

1. To bring the industry together to agree standards that define media measurement and determine best practice.
2. To offer independent audit and compliance services, delivering certification which verifies that data and processes meet
the industry-agreed Reporting Standards.

ABC is governed by a board consisting of advertisers, media agencies, media owners and trade bodies. They represent the
differing interests of the media industry, agree new standards and make strategic decisions as to how ABC is run. ABC UK is
a founder member of the International Federation of ABC (IFABC). Richard Foan, Group Executive Director of
Communication & Innovation, ABC UK, also chairs the IFABC Web Standards Group, which works to deliver global
standards and establish digital good practice across the world.

Now with ABC being a newspaper firm, this makes it quite hard for them to publish advertisements in the newspaper, as is
it literally a still image. It is quite hard to appeal to an audience with just a simple image, but with the right set of skills it is
possible. Games are often advertised in newspapers, however not many people read them, meaning that sales might not
be as good, as compared to different media platforms, but it will still work.

ESRB

The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that assigns
age and content ratings, enforces industry-adopted advertising guidelines, and ensures
responsible online privacy principles for computer and video games in the United States,
nearly all of Canada, and Mexico. The ESRB was established in 1994 by the Entertainment
Software Association (formerly the Interactive Digital Software Association), in response
to criticism of controversial video games with excessively violent or sexual content.

The board assigns ratings to games based on their content, using judgment similar to the motion picture rating systems
used in many countries, using a combination of six age-based levels intended to aid consumers in determining a game's
content and suitability, along with a system of "content descriptors" which detail specific types of content present in a
particular game. The ESRB maintains a code of ethics for the advertising and promotion of video gamesensuring that
marketing materials for games are targeted to appropriate audiences. In 2011, the ESRB began offering a system to
automatically assign ratings for digitally-distributed games and mobile apps, which utilizes a survey answered by the
product's publisher as opposed to a manual assessment by ESRB staff. Through the International Age Rating Coalition, this
method can generate equivalent ratings for other territories. The ESRB also offers an online privacy certification program
for websites and mobile software.

This company can easily link to my game as it can provide the age rating for my chosen game. This gives it a strong link to
my game, as all the games need an age rating as it is by law that it is required to have one.
Qualitative Research
Qualitative research

Focus Groups

focus group is a small, but demographically diverse group of

people whose reactions are studied especially in market research
or political analysis in guided or open discussions about a new
product or something else to determine the reactions that can be
expected from a larger population. It is a form of qualitative
research consisting of interviews in which a group of people are
asked about their perceptions, opinions, beliefs, and attitudes
towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or
packaging. Questions are asked in an interactive group setting
where participants are free to talk with other group members.
During this process, the researcher either takes notes or records
the vital points he or she is getting from the group. Researchers
should select members of the focus group carefully for effective
and authoritative responses.

In the world of marketing, focus groups are seen as an important tool for acquiring feedback regarding new products, as
well as various other topics. In marketing, focus groups are usually used in the early stages of product or concept
development, when organizations are trying to create an overall direction for marketing initiative. In particular, focus
groups allow companies wishing to develop, package, name, or test market a new product, to discuss, view, and/or test the
new product before it is made available to the public. This can provide valuable information about the potential market
acceptance of the product.

A focus group is an interview, conducted by a trained moderator among a small group of respondents. The interview is
conducted in an informal and natural way where respondents are free to give views from any aspect. Focus groups are
similar to, but should not be confused with in-depth interviews. The moderator uses a discussion guide that has been
prepared in advance of the focus group to guide the discussion. Generally the discussion goes from overall impressions of a
brand or product category and becomes more specific as the discussion progresses.

Participants are recruited based on similar demographics, psychographics, buying attitudes, or behaviours. So within my
game, a focus group will take place to organise how the game will work and take place, with all the setting and features. A
focus group will help structure the game, whilst the other teams will go and create the game.

Questionnaires

A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions and other prompts for the purpose of gathering
information from respondents. Although they are often designed for statistical analysis of the responses, this is not always
the case. The questionnaire was invented by the Statistical Society of London in 1838. A copy of the instrument is published
in the Journal of the Statistical Society, Volume 1, Issue 1, 1838, pages 513.

Questionnaires have advantages over some other types of surveys in

that they are cheap, do not require as much effort from the questioner
as verbal or telephone surveys, and often have standardized answers
that make it simple to compile data. However, such standardized
answers may frustrate users. Questionnaires are also sharply limited by
the fact that respondents must be able to read the questions and
respond to them. Thus, for some demographic groups conducting a
survey by questionnaire may not be concrete.

Usually, a questionnaire consists of a number of questions that the

respondent has to answer in a set format. A distinction is made between
open-ended and closed-ended questions. An open-ended question asks
the respondent to formulate his own answer, whereas a closed-ended question has the respondent pick an answer from a
given number of options. The response options for a closed-ended question should be exhaustive and mutually exclusive.
Four types of response scales for closed-ended questions are distinguished:
Dichotomous, where the respondent has two options

Nominal-polychromous, where the respondent has more than two unordered options

Ordinal-polychromous, where the respondent has more than two ordered options

(Bounded)Continuous, where the respondent is presented with a continuous scale

A respondent's answer to an open-ended question is coded into a response scale afterwards. An example of an open-ended
question is a question where the teste has to complete a sentence (sentence completion item).

A questionnaire could be used to determine the success of a game, or what game customers would like to see. They could
use the answers to help them decide what to do next for their audience. This is all about audience participation.

Interviews

An interview is a conversation where questions are asked and answers are

given. In common parlance, the word "interview" refers to a one-on-one
conversation with one person acting in the role of the interviewer and the
other in the role of the interviewee. The interviewer asks questions, the
interviewee responds, with participants taking turns talking. Interviews
usually involve a transfer of information from interviewee to interviewer,
which is usually the primary purpose of the interview, although information
transfers can happen in both directions simultaneously. One can contrast an
interview, which involves bi-directional communication with a one-way flow
of information, such as a speech or oration.

Interviews usually take place face to face and in person, although modern communications technologies such as the
Internet have enabled conversations to happen in which parties are separated geographically, such as with
videoconferencing software, and of course telephone interviews can happen without visual contact. Interviews almost
always involve spoken conversation between two or more parties, although in some instances a "conversation" can happen
between two persons who type questions and answers back and forth. Interviews can range from unstructured or free-
wheeling and open-ended conversations in which there is no predetermined plan with prearranged questions, to highly
structured conversations in which specific questions occur in a specified order. They can follow diverse formats; for example,
in a ladder interview, a respondent's answers typically guide subsequent interviews, with the object being to explore a
respondent's subconscious motives. Typically the interviewer has some way of recording the information that is gleaned
from the interviewee, often by writing with a pencil and paper, sometimes transcribing with a video or audio recorder,
depending on the context and extent of information and the length of the interview. Interviews have a duration in time, in
the sense that the interview has a beginning and an ending.

You could interview the developers behind the game, as they would have some great answers once interviewed. Most
interviews like this are recorded and then put online to get the audience and fans excited.

Audience Profiling
Audience Profiling

Socio-economic status

Socioeconomic status (SES) is an economic and sociological combined total

measure of a person's work experience and of an individual's or family's
economic and social position in relation to others, based on income,
education, and occupation. When analyzing a family's SES, the household
income, earners' education, and occupation are examined, as well as
combined income, whereas for an individual's SES only their own attributes
are assessed. However, SES is more commonly used to depict an economic
difference in society as a whole.

Socioeconomic status is typically broken into three levels (high, middle, and low) to describe the three places a family or an
individual may fall into. When placing a family or individual into one of these categories, any or all of the three variables
(income, education, and occupation) can be assessed.
Additionally, low income and education have been shown to be strong predictors of a range of physical and mental health
problems, including respiratory viruses, arthritis, coronary disease, and schizophrenia. These problems may be due to
environmental conditions in their workplace, or, in the case of mental illnesses, may be the entire cause of that person's
social predicament to begin with.

This can be linked to my game as they will aim to make a revenue and a profit, and hopefully have a contingency to put
towards the next game they create.

Psychographics

Psychographics is the study of personality, values,

opinions, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles. Because this
area of research focuses on interests, attitudes, and
opinions, psychographic factors are also called IAO
variables. Psychographic studies of individuals or
communities can be valuable in the fields of marketing,
demographics, opinion research, prediction, and social
research in general. They can be contrasted with
demographic variables (such as age and gender),
behavioral variables (such as usage rate or loyalty), and
organizational demographics variables (sometimes called
firmographic variables), such as industry, number of
employees, and functional area.

Psychographics is often confused with demographics, where historical generations may be defined both by demographics,
such as the years in which a particular generation is born or even the fertility rates of that generation's parents, but also by
psychographic variables like attitudes, personality formation, and cultural touchstones. For example, the traditional
approaches to defining the Baby Boom Generation or Generation X or Millennials have relied on both demographic
variables (classifying individuals based on birth years) and psychographic variables (such as beliefs, attitudes, values and
behaviors).

When a relatively complete profile of a person or group's psychographic make-up is constructed, this is called a
"psychographic profile". Psychographic profiles are used in market segmentation as well as in advertising.

With all games, everyone needs to ensure that the psychographics are respected and took into consideration as people may
get easily offended or hurt from what they might see within the game. All that is needed is a disclaimer to ensure that the
game does include graphic scenes.

Geo-demographics

Geodemographic includes the application of geodemographic

classifications for business, social research and public policy but has a
parallel history in academic research seeking to understand the
processes by which settlements (notably, cities) evolve and
neighborhoods are formed. It links the sciences of demography, the
study of human population dynamics, geography, the study of the
locational and spatial variation of both physical and human
phenomena on Earth, and also sociology. In short, geodemographic is
the study of people based on where they live. Geodemographic
systems estimate the most probable characteristics of people based on the pooled profile of all people living in a small area
near a particular address.

In 2005 the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in collaboration with Dan Vickers and Phil Rees of the University of Leeds,
released a free small scale social area classification of the UK based on 2001 UK small area census data. Notably Stan
Openshaw and colleagues at Newcastle and Leeds Universities had developed similar classifications for earlier censuses,,
but access to these generally was restricted to the academic communities.

The 2005 Output Area Classification (OAC) and the 2013 release of Acorn in the UK is a move to 'open geodemographics'
and reflects a concern that applications of commercial geodemographics in policy and social research can otherwise be
'black box': it is not always clear exactly what variables were used to classify small areas and to define their neighbourhood
type, how those variables were weighted, or how similar (or otherwise) each of the neighbourhoods within a class type
actually are. Open geodemographics provides such information (because it is not constrained by commercial interests) and
is an important development for applied social research that also seeks to understand and to explain the roots causes or
processes that generate aggregate spatial patterns of social behaviour and attitudes.

This is much like psychographics, as these need to be taken into consideration, as to what type of people are going to play
the game, so again a disclaimer will be needed.

Age

Media representations of different groups of

people based on age (i.e. children, adolescents
and the elderly), also generalise and categorise
people on the basis of stereotypes.

Childhood

British children are often depicted in the British

media in positive ways. Conten analyses of media
products suggest that eight stereotypes of
children are frequently used by the media.

As victims of horrendous crimes some critics of the media have suggested that White children who are victims of crime
get more media attention than adults or children from ethnic minority backgrounds.

As cute this is a common stereotype found in television commercials for baby products or toilet rolls.

As little devils another common stereotype especially found in drama and comedy, e.g. Bart Simpson.

As brilliant perhaps as child prodigies or as heroes for saving the life of an adult.

As brave little angels suffering from a long-term terminal disease or disability.

As accessories stories about celebrities such as Madonna, Angelina Jolie or the Beckhams may focus on how their
children humanise them.

As modern the media may focus on how children these days know so much more at their age than previous
generations of children.

As active consumers television commercials portray children as having a consumer appetite for toys and games. Some
family sociologists note that this has led to the emergence of a new family pressure, pester power, the power of children to
train or manipulate their parents to spend money on consumer goods that will increase the childrens status in the eyes of
their peers.

Youth

There are generally two very broad ways in which young people have been

targeted and portrayed by the media in Britain.

There is a whole media industry aimed at socially constructing youth in terms of lifestyle and identity. Magazines are
produced specifically for young people. Record companies, Internet music download sites, mobile telephone companies and
radio stations all specifically target and attempt to shape the musical tastes of young people. Networking sites on the
Internet, such as Facebook, Bebo and MySpace, allow youth to project their identities around the world.

Youth are often portrayed by news media as a social problem, as immoral or anti-authority and consequently constructed
as folk devils as part of a moral panic. The majority of moral panics since the 1950s have been manufactured around
concerns about young peoples behaviour, such as their membership of specific deviant sub-cultures (e.g., teddy boys,
hoodies) or because their behaviour (e.g., drug taking or binge drinking) has attracted the disapproval of those in authority.

The elderly
 Research focusing on media representations of the elderly suggests that age is not the only factor that impacts on the way
the media portrays people aged 65 and over. Newman (2006) notes that upper class and middle class elderly people are
often portrayed in television and film dramas as occupying high-status roles as world leaders, judges, politicians, experts
and business executives. Moreover, news programmes seem to work on the assumption that an older male with grey in his
hair and lines on his face somehow exudes the necessary authority to impart the news.

However, female newscasters, such as Anna Ford, have long complained that these older men are often paired with
attractive young females, while older women newsreaders are often exiled to radio. Leading female film and television stars
are also often relegated to character parts once their looks and bodies are perceived to be on the wane, which seems to be
after the age of 40.

Sociological studies show that when the elderly do appear in the media, they tend to be portrayed in the following one-
dimensional ways.

As grumpy conservative, stubborn and resistant to social change.

As mentally challenged suffering from declining mental functions.

As dependent helpless and dependent on other younger members of the family or society.

As a burden as an economic burden on society (in terms of the costs of pensions and health care to the younger
generation) and/or as a physical and social burden on younger members of their families (who have to worry about or care
for them).

As enjoying a second childhood as reliving their adolescence and engaging in activities that they have always longed to
do before they die.

However, recent research suggests that media producers may be gradually reinventing how they deal with the elderly,
especially as they realise that this group may have disposable incomes, i.e. extra money to spend on consumer goods.

The game developers need to make sure that the game is suitable for the age range it is aimed at, they can do this with an
age rating.

Gender

Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to, and

differentiating between, masculinity and femininity. Depending on
the context, these characteristics may include biological sex (i.e. the
state of being male, female or an intersex variation which may
complicate sex assignment), sex-based social structures (including
gender roles and other social roles), or gender identity. Some
cultures have specific gender roles that can be considered distinct
from male and female, such as the hijra (chhaka) of India and
Pakistan.

Sexologist John Money introduced the terminological distinction between biological sex and gender as a role in 1955. Before
his work, it was uncommon to use the word gender to refer to anything but grammatical categories. However, Money's
meaning of the word did not become widespread until the 1970s, when feminist theory embraced the concept of a
distinction between biological sex and the social construct of gender. Today the distinction is strictly followed in some
contexts, especially the social sciences and documents written by the World Health Organization (WHO).

In other contexts, including some areas of social sciences, gender includes sex or replaces it. For instance, in non-human
animal research, gender is commonly used to refer to the biological sex of the animals. This change in the meaning of
gender can be traced to the 1980s. In 1993, the USA's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) started to use gender instead of
sex. Later, in 2011, the FDA reversed its position and began using sex as the biological classification and gender as "a
person's self representation as male or female, or how that person is responded to by social institutions based on the
individual's gender presentation.

The game developers need to make sure that if there are any sexist scenes, that a disclaimer is made first before that
content is shown.

Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the
opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generally
subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality, while asexuality (the lack of sexual attraction to others) is
sometimes identified as the fourth category.

These categories are aspects of the more nuanced

nature of sexual identity and terminology. For example,
people may use other labels, such as pansexual or
polysexual, or none at all. According to the American
Psychological Association, sexual orientation "also refers
to a person's sense of identity based on those
attractions, related behaviors, and membership in a
community of others who share those attractions". Androphilia and gynephilia are terms used in behavioral science to
describe sexual orientation as an alternative to a gender binary conceptualization. Androphilia describes sexual attraction
to masculinity; gynephilia describes the sexual attraction to femininity. The term sexual preference largely overlaps with
sexual orientation, but is generally distinguished in psychological research. A person who identifies as bisexual, for example,
may sexually prefer one sex over the other. Sexual preference may also suggest a degree of voluntary choice, whereas the
scientific consensus is that sexual orientation is not a choice.

Scientists do not know the exact causes of sexual orientation, but they believe that it is caused by a complex interplay of
genetic, hormonal, and environmental influences. They favor biologically-based theories, which point to genetic factors, the
early uterine environment, both, or the inclusion of genetic and social factors. There is no substantive evidence which
suggests parenting or early childhood experiences play a role when it comes to sexual orientation. Research over several
decades has demonstrated that sexual orientation ranges along a continuum, from exclusive attraction to the opposite sex
to exclusive attraction to the same sex.

Same rules apply for the other headings, if there are scenes of a sexual nature, then a disclaimer is needed.

Regional identity

In international relations, regionalism is the expression of a common sense of

identity and purpose combined with the creation and implementation of
institutions that express a particular identity and shape collective action within a
geographical region. Regionalism is one of the three constituents of the
international commercial system (along with multilateralism and unilateralism).

The first coherent regional initiatives began in the 1950s and 1960s, but they
accomplished little, except in Western Europe with the establishment of the
European Community. Some analysts call these initiatives "old regionalism". In
the late 1980s, a new bout of regional integration (also called "new
regionalism") began and continues still . A new wave of political initiatives prompting regional integration took place
worldwide during the last two decades. Regional and bilateral trade deals have also mushroomed after the failure of the
Doha round.

The European Union can be classified as a result of regionalism. The idea that lies behind this increased regional identity is
that as a region becomes more economically integrated, it will necessarily become politically integrated as well. The
European example is especially valid in this light, as the European Union as a political body grew out of more than 40 years
of economic integration within Europe. The precursor to the EU, the European Economic Community (EEC) was entirely an
economic entity.

If a location is featured within a game, they will probably need a say-so off of the local council to make sure that it is okay,
and also another disclaimer will be needed too.

Mainstream
Mainstream is current thought that is widespread. It includes all popular
culture and media culture, typically disseminated by mass media. It is to be
distinguished from subcultures and countercultures, and at the opposite
extreme are cult followings and fringe theories.

This word is sometimes used in a pejorative sense by subcultures who view

ostensibly mainstream culture as not only exclusive but also artistically and
aesthetically inferior. In the United States, mainline churches are
sometimes referred to synonymously as "mainstream."

The labels "Mainstream media", or "mass media", are generally applied to

print publications, such as newspapers and magazines that contain the highest readership among the public, and to radio
formats and television stations that contain the highest viewing and listener audience, respectively. This is in contrast to
various independent media, such as alternative media newspapers, specialized magazines in various organizations and
corporations, and various electronic sources such as podcasts and blogs (Though certain blogs are more mainstream than
others given their association with a mainstream source.)

Because the mainstream is so big, it is very easy for memes and gifs of games to take off, meaning that a lot of people will
want to play the game after seeing something funny about it.

Alternative

Alternative media are media that differ from

established or dominant types of media in terms of
their content, production, or distribution.
Alternative media take many forms including print,
audio, video, Internet and street art. Some
examples include the counter-culture zines of the
1960s, ethnic and indigenous media such as the
First People's television network in Canada (later
rebranded Aboriginal Peoples Television Network),
and more recently online open publishing journalism sites such as Indymedia.

While mainstream mass media, on the whole, represent government and corporate interests, alternative media tend to be
non-commercial projects that advocate the interests of those excluded from the mainstream, for example, the poor,
political and ethnic minorities, labor groups, and LGBT identities. These media disseminate marginalized viewpoints, such as
those heard in the progressive news program Democracy Now!, and create communities of identity, as seen for example in
the It Gets Better Project that was created on YouTube in response to a rise in gay teen suicides at the time it was created.

Alternative media challenge the dominant beliefs and values of a culture and have been described as "counter-hegemonic"
by adherents of Antonio Gramsci's theory of cultural hegemony. However, since the definition of alternative media as
merely counter to the mainstream is limiting, some approaches to the study of alternative media also address the question
of how and where these media are created, as well as the dynamic relationship between the media and the participants
that create and use them.

This is the same for mainstream media, alternative is just another way of advertising games, such as YouTube or viral
videos.

Niche
A niche market is the subset of the market on which a specific product is
focused. The market niche defines as the product features aimed at satisfying
specific market needs, as well as the price range, production quality and the
demographics that is intended to impact. It is also a small market segment.
For example, sports channels like STAR Sports, ESPN, STAR Cricket, and Fox
Sports target a niche of sports enthusiasts.

Every product can be defined by its market niche. The niche market is highly
specialized, and aiming to survive among the competition from numerous
super companies. Even established companies create products for different
niches, for example, Hewlett-Packard has all-in-one machines for printing,
scanning and faxing targeted for the home office niche while at the same time
having separate machines with one of these functions for big businesses.

In practice, product vendors and trade businesses are commonly referred as mainstream providers or narrow demographics
niche market providers (colloquially shortened to just niche market providers). Small capital providers usually opt for a niche
market with narrow demographics as a measure of increasing their financial gain margins.

The final product quality (low or high) is not dependent on the price elasticity of demand, but the specific needs that the
product is aimed to satisfy and, in some cases, aspects of brand recognition (e.g. prestige, practicability, money saving,
expensiveness, environmental conscience, or social status).

So with a niche market the game will hopefully take off as there will be a high demand and sales will hopefully skyrocket.

Revision to plan
Diary

16/03/17

Today I started a new assignment where I need to create graphics (A3

Poster, a logo, and CD cover). Today I am going to be taking you
through how I created my logo for The Pixels.

My logo is featured within my storyboards which is the design I will be

following.

I started off by creating a square, where I coloured it in and created a

stroke.
Then I duplicated them, and moved them and skewed them into the correct positions and created the appropriate colours
for them.

Then I found a decent looking font on a website called www.DaFont.com and

placed them into the squares. The letters have a meaning. They are the first
letter of the first names for each member
of the band; Abel, Bryson, Cole, Drake
and Sean.

It may look basic but thats all a logo

needs to be, as it needs to be simple yet appealing to the audience and I believe I have
achieved that with this logo I have created. This logo is now finished.

20/03/17

In todays sessions, I am going to be creating my tour dates A3

poster. This is a background that I found on the internet and I feel
like it would be perfect for the theme that I created in my
storyboards. I have not edited this image in any way.
I have used my 5 favourite artists as the band members as myself
and a lot of other people would love to see them perform
together. The names I have used are real names for these
characters. I have cropped all of the images they were originally
on and then placed them where I needed them on my poster.

Then the colours you can see on the logo, are the colours that I
have tinted for these characters, and also the letters used on the
logo are on a certain colour, for example the letter A is on the
purple square, A stands for Abel who is tinted purple. This is
the same case for the other for members. I have also used a
stroke effect to give them an outline to make them stand out.

I then added a text up at the top that is labelled UK Tour Dates.

The colours I have used are similar to the background as I want
to keep a theme with this poster. I have used a gradient of 2
shades of blue and a gentle glow for the stroke around the
outside.

Then I added text that says The Pixels in 2 different fonts and
styles. This is not the official title I have used for The Pixels as I
had a good idea which would appeal to fans. The The doesnt
have that much colour as it isnt important as the main text
which is Pixels, which I have created a 5 colour gradient for the
text which are the 5 colours that I have used for the characters
and logo.

Then I added the venues and the dates for the tour. I have used
another gradient for the tour dates text, I have used
complimentary colours, which are colours that you wouldnt
expect to see together but work well.
I then added the logo and the website for people to go and purchase the tickets. I have also used a theme and a gradient for
these too to keep with the theme.

21/03/17

In todays sessions, I am hopefully going to complete the A3 Poster and get started with
the CD cover. All I need to do is add the social information and then the poster is
complete. I got 3 images for Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as fans can see more
information on there if they wish to. I have not effected these images, I have just made
them smaller.

I have used the same font consistently and I have used it again. I have included the
relevant information for the social pages. I also used colour overlay and gradients to match the colours which I thought was
a clever trick.

I am starting to create my CD covers now. This is a template I got from

the internet and then I coloured it using the paint tool. This is the front
cover. I have chosen four random colours for this and the turnout is well.
This is the official text colours and font that I will be using for the pixels. I have
again used the same font again for this logo too. I feel like it works really well,
it may look like there are a lot of colours but then its easier for people to know
and recognise.

I then added the characters from the A3 Poster into the bottom of the front of
the CD cover as I had a lot of space and I feel like it would work well.

Now I am starting on the back cover for my CD. What I have done is zoomed
in the template I have used on the front, and turned it around so it looks like
a different image. I have also used 2 different colours to show diversity
within the band.

I have used the same font again, and the colour scheme too to make the
Track list title as it plays upon consistency. Again it looks plain and simple
but effective.
 Then I added the actual list for the songs on the album. I have
used the same font again and used colours that work well
against the background in a gradient style. I have also added
the side to the ends of the back as it will work when placed in a
CD case.

I had some free space on the back of the album cover so I

decided to fill that up with the logo for the band that I created
as I feel it would fit in.

Then I added a copyright banner and the barcode too to make

it look authentic, official and professional. All together I believe
that this is beginning to look really professional and creative.

Then I added some disclaimer information like the copyright

laws and the distributers, the producer and the website for the
band. I also created the side parts, I added the official text for
the band, the logo at the top, and a copyright symbol in the
bottom.

Now I have completed all of my creations, and now this is the

end of my diary.
Constraints Experienced
Legal and Ethical

Copyright laws

The copyright designs and patent act, which was created in 1988 and was introduced for two main reasons, which
consisted of making sure people are rewarded for their hard work, and also give their creator some kind of protection if
their work is ever stolen. Before this act, there was very little that these people could do if someone did steal their work
and claim it as their own. This law covers a number of different types of primary multimedia and in particular its focused on
protecting ICT work since its a lot easier to take credit of someone else's work. This can also apply to copying software,
mp3, songs, video, images, text etc. anything that someone has initially created and you have taken without the owners
permission is in breach of this copyright law.

In the UK right now, you have no need to apply for or register as such since the laws of copyright are enforced
automatically. This lasts for a lifetime and then an additional 70 after the creators death. After this time period has worn
out, the copyright is usually passed downed to the creators heirs or beneficiaries. sometimes, the copyright does not lie
with solely the creator, but someone else. This can sometimes be hard to track, however using primary assets without the
copy rights holders permission could put you in serious trouble since you are in violation of this copyright law. The
copyright holder is the only person who can authorise the reproduction of a work in any medium by any other party even if
the work is being stored electronically. If people are commissioned to do any kind of design work, they will retain the
copyright until an agreement is signed by both parties stating otherwise. however, if these visual creators are employed
and not working for themselves, then the employer actually is the one who retains the copyright.

Especially with images, there is always the option of using stock photos, which are photos where the copyright owner has
decided to open them up to be easily used freely by the public. Sometimes, strict rules can occur when and where the
asset may be used, so its always important to read what copyright owner has specified. Then again, you are able to
actually pay for assets now, meaning you dont necessarily buy the copyright to the image, but you buy the right for it,
meaning that because you have paid for the actual right, you can choose to use it how you wish.

Libel

Liable laws cover both libel and slander detrimentally. Libel refers to the false oral accusation that someone can make
against a person, therefore damaging their reputation as a whole. As my videos will be shown to members of my class, I
need to make sure that nothing visual or spoken will harm or offend them, such as racism, swearing etc. If there is a case of
this, I need to edit or bleep out any harmful events within my selected music videos.

Ethical

When working in any part of the media product, restrictions always apply in regards to exactly what you want to say or
what youre allowed to do. This is to protect people from things such as racist comments which may not only offend
someone, but even cause great problems. Contrary to popular belief, the internet is not somewhere that you can escape
these rules, its obviously easier to do online and more people are likely to break these laws here more than anywhere else
since its all done very anonymously. However, things can always be tracked and therefor, even on the internet, some things
are just still not allowed. Clearly within different media job roles, more restrictions apply and are more heavily enforced
such as television channels and radio presenters etc. where content may be freely published nationally. If someone finds a
piece of information offensive in any way they may be able to sue the company for lots of money. there are rules however
to avoid this. These consist of:

Youre not allowed to use a picture, video clip of sound of anyone else unless you have their permission to do so
beforehand.
You cant make a verbal statement about any individual which could be seen as abusive or could harm their
reputation. This is called slander.
You cant make a written statement about any individual which could be seen as abusive or could harm their
reputation. This is called Libel.
You arent allowed to use any part of someone elses work (or the whole thing) without having their permission to
do so first. This is an example of a copyright law.

You have to be extremely careful in how you represent and describe the content and characters in your work since you must
make sure you are both unbiased and accurate. This applies to:

Race (black, white and Asian)

 Gender (Male and Female)
Disability (able-bodied and otherwise)
Nationality (British or otherwise)
Class (Working, middle, and upper)
Regionalism (north and south)
Age (old and young)

ASA

The ASA, otherwise known as The Advertising Standards Authority monitors a series of codes of practise used to monitor
the Medias. Basically what this means is that they control and supervise that was is being shown on TV at a certain time is
eligible for the people who may be watching it, so their job is to make sure that no 18+ films are being shown on prime
time TV. To keep in check with the public the ASA offers surveys and contact details to the public, this presents the
opportunity for a member of the public to write to them any concerns about an advertisements appropriateness levels.

Confidentiality

Confidentiality is a requirement that is presented to someone who needs their permission if someone can use any of their
details, whether it is their name or address, this law is to be asked first before use. Many people would reject the law, as
they would want to keep their personal information safe, as if a TV show mentioned a housing address of someone,
anyone could go and visit and the outcome isnt likely to be good.

Privacy

Privacy in a way is similar to confidentiality, however this is all about the person as a whole, and whether it be their face to
their voice, this law is also required to ask before use. This law is enabled to keep a persons identity safe when instructed
to do so, so you cant go and make a TV programme using someones voice or character without their permission, as it
would be illegal to do so without consent. If so they grant this request, then the editors will have to cut, mute or edit their
face or voice out of the shot, before the final footage is released.

Decency

The decency aspect of a piece of media is used to help identify and determine what age rating of the content shall be.
Decency is determined by looking for harmful material such as; Swearing, sexual content, drugs, fears, violence or any
other material that may be considered wrong or offensive to anyone at all. The decency of a product is very strictly
monitored and is rated as accurately as possible. So for my product, I need to be aware of each of the following as listed
when I rate the age for the product.

Representation

Representation of classes is a factor which should be considered but is commonly overlooked in the film industry; this is
because the class is only considered it where it is needed.

Race

Because my product will be featuring music videos and lyrics to song, I need to ensure that nothing racist is included. Racial
discrimination is a major issue in todays society, so it is important to represent other ethnicities in work to avoid
discrimination. In my product, I need to look out for any wrong doings towards a race or ethnicity, whether it is visual or
oral, so people who are viewing my product wont get offended.

Gender

The content is to be unbiased towards male and female genders. Unless the product is targeted at a certain audience
(which it isnt) then there isnt a way to aim towards a certain sex. My products target audience is mainly aimed towards
teenagers of both genders, as its the type of music that they listen to nowadays. There is a slight fault that has raised my
concern, in my product, there is a music video where a male and female or dancing romantically in a ballroom, the male is
fully dressed in a smart suit, and the female is wearing something quite revealing. I am somewhat certain that the original
idea wasnt to discriminate the female gender, as some can argue that the clothing is quite traditional, meaning that
people shouldnt take offence to this.

Religion

I also need to be aware of the religious aspects and beliefs, as it is a major concern that any religious parties should not be
a victim of the media. I need to ensure that my product does not say or do anything that may be looked upon by a certain
religion, meaning that my product should either respect all the major religions, or that nothing religious is included within
the final version.

Sexuality

Sexuality is now a modern day aspect that everyone should respect; therefore I shall proceed to do this in my product. This
doesnt mean I need to include any kind of sexuality preferences within my product, but I need to ensure that I do not
offend them, by saying or doing anything harmful that they may take to heart. By showing a male and female together in
the product, any sexuality shouldnt be offended by this, as it isnt harming them.

Time Management

Communication
Evaluation

Effectiveness

Extent to which brief has been realised

Firstly, with each assignment I receive I look at the brief and the read the whole of it. This
includes the scenario, reading this allows putting myself in the position as if it were real
life and I am doing this for well in this case a band. After reading, that I would look
through each task and set up blank documents in the correct folder to make myself
organised and ready to do the assignment. I would look at the criteria that needs to be
covered just so I find it easier to manage time. Further, design and produce digital
graphics in response to a brief to near-professional standards, showing creativity and
flair and working independently to professional expectations. The expectations were
longer and this is the fact the assignment was bigger.

Use of appropriate method and techniques

I feel that when I comes documentations I like to be organised. I feel the method I use to complete documentation is very
good and has worked out to be very successful with my previous grades in assignments based on theory.

I kept a diary in which all of my progress is stored so I can keep up to date within
anything I do within the creation of my designs. I feel this method has been useful and
successful as it helps me understand what I did. The diary was a success therefore; I feel I
have used appropriate methods and techniques in this area.

Level of professionalism achieved

I feel when trying to achieve professionalism its important to stick to a

plan or in this case a brief. This is because my client needs to understand
that I take my work very seriously and that I need to make sure that
everything is created to a professional standard. The design stage with
this assignment was just as important as the documentation based work.
I feel without this, for example the diary, the sources document, the brief
I would have just made three graphics lacking a purpose with no
intentions, which isnt good because my client needs me to create to a
purpose so that they have a clear knowledge of what it is they want.

What message your final versions communicates

I feel the way I chose to do this assignment, which was

an inaccurate method; I decided to use assets and
information. When I received the brief the information
about the band other than the name the pixels was
not clear therefore I thought the page I was using was
the actual band. Turns out the band has been made up
for use of this unit.

I have the same text from the album cover but I have
used another image of them on stage and I feel this
allows the viewer to imagine the band playing live after
seeing the image. To conclude I feel the final version
communicates well with the information about the band stated on the brief.

Problem solving

There was a major problem I faced from when I was trying to print out my work in A3. Luckily I had a colleague on hand to
help me with this difficulty.

Skills development

During my time whilst I was doing the checklist, I learnt a lot of new features on Photoshop that I never knew existed.
Because of this I feel I have developed a lot of new skills.

Areas for improvement

I feel like I used too many colours during this assignment and I possibly couldve used less. Having said that I used a lot of
the themes and colours to create my own graphics.
Fortunately, this turned out to be a success and I am happy
with the way the graphics have turned out. I would be even
happier if the real band and the one I used for inspiration
related as personally I think the graphics I made would have
been perfect for the band, which was not the real one.

think If I was to do this again I would stick with my own

plan, and make more detailed storyboards so I can work
from them more easily and then the final graphics create
my own graphics based on how I think they should be made,
rather than looking at inspiration. I think this way the
graphics could be more original. This is something I would
have enjoyed doing for my own benefit, as I believe I would
feel like I have put 100% into it if the graphics were
completely mine.

Sources of information

Self-evaluation

believe my performance throughout this assignment

was okay. I think I slowly and one of the reasons for this
is the fact I only have one lesson a week for this lesson,
which means it is a very long time consuming process,
and one thing seems to take weeks to complete. Which
is something I do not equip to well as I get quite
impatient. Another performance issue related to the
fact I only have one lesson per week is especially with
the part of the assignment (theory based) the work was
really hard to do, just because it felt like it dragged,
especially towards the end I stated to slack with the
work, in turn the work was a proposal and it didnt turn
out too well, I had to do a lot more work on it just
recently. Having one lesson a week also affected my
work ethic whilst producing my graphics I would begin by thinking of an idea, Id get a good start in but with the lesson only
being one and half hours I never got anything done in a lesson, meaning I would always forget what I was doing, or how I
was thinking.

Documentation notes, sketches production logs, comments from others, peers, tutors, client

After I made my designs in simple forms of Photoshop,

and the cd cover panned out from there. Further, with
the poster I did not do any sketches on this because I felt
it was important the poster went well with the album
cover. I wanted to create an image for the band and I felt
making the cd cover first then using it as inspiration for
the poster would be the better idea as it would ensure
similarities throughout the designs.

The feedback was constructive it allowed me to expand

on my ideas and create designs which include more
thought and effort. Im grateful for all the feedback now
the assignment is over and the designs are completed.
The feedback also helped as a form of planning. For this
assignment I did not have an ILP. An ILP is an individual learning planner which includes dates of lessons, targets and
session reviews. I did not have this due to only having one lesson per week. This meant the feedback I used as planning and
to keep up to date in replacement of the ILP.

Production Process
Pre-production planning, preparation

This unit consists of 4 assignments, two of which are planning and

preparation. The first assignment was preparation and it was an
illustrated article. The information in the article consists of the
difference between a raster graphic and a vector graphic, file
extensions, vector based and raster based applications, and the use in
different media forms, prints, interactive, etc. To summarise, in
preparation I needed to write an illustrated article on main file
formats and applications that are used in production of print media
products. This was a part of preparation as its important for me in
order to understand the rest of the unit that I understood the graphic
file formats and applications. I feel assignment 1 was beneficial as it
gave me an in-depth knowledge in the area of print media products.
This made it easier to produce the graphics in assignment 3.

Production, Time management, project management

Time management Although the way I managed time in throughout this assignment
was different in relation to other units. I still feel Ive been successful in the way I
handled my time. To summarise, I handed the two assignments of work in so far on
time, and both came back at level distinction. Im really happy with the results and I
feel time management played a part in that. I

Monitoring work in progress

Monitoring work in progress I think the tutor was a big part of this. Throughout the
lesson the tutor would occasionally walk around the room and ask everybody: Do you
need any help? and what are you working on now then? I feel this was very helpful to
monitor progress, as it was a reminder that work needed to be done. Also I pride myself
on time management and organisation skills so I feel monitoring work comes natural to me in a way I can do it and know
how much work needs to be done and when the work needs to be done by. knew that I had one lesson a week to complete
this assignment, because of this I had such a big deadline to complete a piece of work therefore I used this opportunity and
did a lot of the theory based work in my own time and used my lesson time to produce the graphics.

Technical competencies

Technical Competencies I feel when it comes to Photoshop I am still a beginner, and after a
year and a half experience with the software I feel I have improved but not even to the point of
an intermediate user. I feel comfortable with the software, and I know how to use simple
features. Im aware of how all the tools on the tool bar work and I am aware of what some of
the features do in the advanced menu(s). Im aware of some of these features I have not
mastered them. Meaning I dont know the most accurate and efficient way to do things. I
sometimes feel sluggish and untidy when I work on Photoshop, this is inaccurate of me as
when I work on computers I usually try to remain organised as it helps me work.

Creative ability

Creative Ability To create my desired album cover I did a lot of research, I researched some of my favourite albums and
used them as inspiration even if they didnt fit the genre of the band. I wanted influences of a great variety.

Own work, teamwork

Own work I am happy with the way I produced my work I feel I managed my time
well, I bettered my skills on Photoshop, I learnt some new skills. I managed to blend
these together and I feel I pulled this off successfully. I am happy with the way this
assignment turned out and I overwhelmed of how well it turned out considering I had
one lesson a week. The one lesson makes me forgetful when it comes to deadlines. Also
with the fact I have a lot more lessons with another teacher it creates an illusion that
this lesson is less important. This has been downside of this unit, but overall I am happy
with how everything has turned out.

Finished Product

Compared with original intentions

I feel comparing my original designs and intentions to the graphics I have made is a
quite an accurate comparison. The colours are similar, images, and themes. I am also
going to add some images below this section of album cover designs to get an idea of
how much I stuck to the original intentions. When it comes to comparing my work to
my original intentions I dont care all too much. I think its important to make
decisions in the moment regardless of the reason. I think work is better when its
spontaneous as creative ideas seem to flow better. I feel this was the case when I was
designing all my graphics. I feel plans and sketches are important for guidelines but I
dont think they have to be followed or should be followed in fact.

Appropriateness to audience

Originally I was asked to design and create a range of

promotional materials; a logo, A3 poster and CD cover,
following the animated web banner I created last year. The
content is designed to be launched nationally and possibility
to an international audience and market place. The content is
for the Pixels which as I have mentioned in an earlier
assignment are a new fairly successful, upcoming band in the
Manchester area. The band are looking to branch out, get a
bigger a following.

I think the content is a success. I believe the ideas and

designs are true to the band, and the ideas are original in
comparison to other bands in the Manchester scene
currently. I think the graphics are appropriate to the
audience, they strike similarities with the genre of music
being indie/techno. The band name The Pixels is related in
the designs (as I pixelated certain areas of images). I have included images of the band within the content so it gives
viewers a better idea of who they are and potentially who to look for. I believe the images I have chosen to represent the
graphics are good images, they are interesting especially with the poster the image on the poster is very exciting and it
makes you want to be there.

Technical qualities

I believe that my work in terms of the technical qualities is a good standard considering I had to create them on Photoshop,
and make my original designs look somewhat similar to that of the digitally created ones.

Aesthetic qualities

Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of art, beauty, and taste, with the creation and appreciation of
beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgements of
sentiment and taste. More broadly, scholars in the field define aesthetics as "critical reflection on art, culture and nature".
In modern English, the term aesthetic can also refer to a set of principles underlying the works of a particular art movement
or theory: one speaks, for example, of the Cubist aesthetic.
Content and style

In the visual arts, style is a "...distinctive manner which permits the

grouping of works into related categories." or "...any distinctive, and
therefore recognizable, way in which an act is performed or an artifact
made or ought to be performed and made." It refers to the visual
appearance of a work of art that relates it to other works by the same
artist or one from the same period, training, location, "school", art
movement or archaeological culture: "The notion of style has long been the
art historian's principal mode of classifying works of art. By style he selects
and shapes the history of art".

Style is often divided into the general style of a period, country or cultural group, group of artists or art movement, and the
individual style of the artist within that group style. Divisions within both types of styles are often made, such as between
"early", "middle" or "late".