James Muggeridge BCM302, Uncategorized

BCM 302 – DA Beta

For BCM302 this semester, I have chosen to create a digital artefact which will benefit my personal portfolio. My DA is called ‘Mugg Sport’. A sports media platform which aims to showcase my skills of sports writing and design together to create a visually aesthetic and informative platform for my audience.

When initially starting my project, I decided to create my own niche of sports writing. I wanted to showcase the positive contributions which athletes were making off the field. To start my artefact, I wrote an article on Marcus Rashford. An English footballer known for his work off the field in advocating for free school meals for all English students.

In writing this article, I wanted to place a foundation as to what type’s of articles my audience would expect going into the future. However, my project was turned on its head as I decided to reach out to athletes for interviews. Since then, I have written profile interview’s with young athlete’s with a great story to tell.

My most popular article to date was with young Cronulla Shark, Franklin Pele. In the past year, Pele had made his debut after receiving plenty of praise from people around the NRL. Yet in the same season, he was also struck down with injury. Capturing the highs from his debut game and the lows from his unfortunate injury created an entertaining story showcasing what it was like to play professionally and what it takes to return from a demoralising setback.

The post received 80 likes, plenty of comments and a plethora of shares. I also gained a significant boost in following through an immense interaction rate.

Since the start of BCM302, I have consistently uploaded one article week including four podcasts. Contributing to my platform, I also upload teasers and posts providing background research and context to the players I’m interviewing. In total I have made 23 posts and have 161 followers. My posts are published on my own personal Wix website and then promoted on my Mugg Sport Instagram page.

Since commencing my project, I haven’t really changed much, however, have decided to iterate my design to see if it is a formula which works. Within the iteration phase, I have adhered to creating a ‘brand position’ which differs me from other sports media platforms. In writing articles which focus on athletes work off and on the pitch, I believe I have already created a niche around my project and a unique brand position.

Another way in which I am creating a unique brand position is the way in which I ensure my platform look visually pleasing. Most competitors around me solely focus on distributing articles and this was where I wanted to create something different. A unique platform which frames to, not only the sports-watching audience, however, viewers who can appreciate quality design and creativity.

I am proud of what I have created to date and believe that my project has the potential to expand and grow. Now that I have started to consistently interview athletes, I feel like there is potential to expand into different sports, interview athletes from outside of Australia and potential to grow into the world of podcasting.

I know I have work to do to build this artefact into something greater and am willing to put in the effort to do so.

James Muggeridge.

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James Muggeridge BCM302

BCM302 Pitch Reviews

Peer Review 1: ‘Moriboys’ – Frank Tremain

For my first pitch review I will be analysing Frank Tremain’s project, ‘Mori Boys.’ Frank’s project this semester has been altered from hip-hop journalism to the creation of his own personal clothing brand. By creating ‘Mori Boys’ Frank wants to contribute to a hip-hop based clothing scene as there is a current lack of it in Australia. This project will look to correspond with his previous journalism work as he wants to work with Australian hip-hop artists who he has previously worked with. The project is based on his own website and promoted through his Instagram page.  

Frank presented his idea clearly with good referencing to the pitch format by identifying his overall concept, methodology and utility. The pitch in general could’ve been enhanced with visual content and evidence of his previous and current journalistic work. As well as this, incorporating subject references and readings could’ve worked to show the connection between the project and the subject.  

CONCEPT 

Frank identified two problems which contributed to starting this project. The first problem was the low amount of revenue which hip-hop artists receive which has been lost during this COVID-19 pandemic. The second problem was the lack of merchandise in the hip-hop industry. The DA works to improve and better both problems as it gives artists a way to promote and monetise their content through the development of a clothing brand.  

METHODOLOGY 

By basing your DA on multiple platforms, it gives the ability to receive a larger following and make your project flexible. By creating a clear aesthetic over each platform gives your artefact a sense of identity, a theme that followers can look out for. The long term goal of releasing a collection by the end of the semester allows for you to plan a clear method in which will achieve your goal. It also allows the ability to prototype content to see if your methods could work again for another future collection. 

UTILITY 

Finally, the utility of this project is clearly conveyed. Hip-hop as you said is a significantly relevant industry now and it is a perfect time to expand in the industry. Taking inspiration from other Australian clothing brands allows Frank to take a similar approach to his brand.  Overall Frank’s project idea is an extremely relevant concept and is clearly planned out for short- and long-term success.  

This a great project which has potential as a pretty unique concept in the field of hip-hop. It’ll be interesting to see how Frank does with the marketing and production aspects, therefore I am looking forward to the progress of this idea in the Beta video.

Peer Review 2: ‘Foreign Footy’ – Leo Twemlow

My second pitch review is Leo Twemlow’s project, ‘Foreign Footy.’ ‘Foreign Footy’ will be a video essay and blog post collaboration on the sport of rugby league in America. With little to no exposure of the sport, Leo will aim to shine a light on rugby league on both the international ad American stage.  

Through watching Leo’s pitch video, I am intrigued to see where he will take it. Due to Leo’s great knowledge and understanding of the sport of rugby league, the pitch is engaging and you can truly tell that Leo will put time and effort into making the project worth while. He uses the pitch format to create an ingenious pitch idea which will aim to raise awareness of the sport of rugby league, being so similar to popular contact sports in the USA.

Overall providing a product timeline to show that he has already got a plan in mind, as well as the use of the FIST principle, shows that Leo is adhering to subject references.

CONCEPT

Leo clearly conveys his project concept through listing the core components of it in the opening part of the pitch. Important to note under the ‘background’ subheading that Leo has a clear knowledge of the sport of rugby league and therefore already understands the context and current state of the sport. A clear problem is stated and justified with a solution to fix such problem over the course of the semester. Expanding a sport with such a small scale of popularity is an idea, if well executed, which can have large ramifications on an international level.

METHODOLOGY

Leo plans to create video essays and distribute these videos to niche sub reddits raising awareness of the sport. As stated in the pitch, Reddit is a great platform for growth, especially with such a niche project idea. This is something which I may look at changing about my DA in effort to make it a multi-platform project. Accumulating his results in a blog each week can allow for reflection on what is working and what needs to be changed. Displaying his results into a platform such as blog website can provoke feedback from his audience and even members of the American audience.

UTILITY

Based on statistics and data provided in the pitch, Leo’s DA is relevant and has the ability to create change in the American sporting market. Due to America’s population, the sport of Rugby League has the potential to slide into the American sporting scene and compete with a similar sports league in NFL.

Personally I cannot think of many key weaknesses of this project as it does have the opportunity for growth and development in a niche market. I would advise, if Leo hasn’t already, having a look at previous research in the field of American rugby league and locating any important sources of information which can benefit his own work.

James Muggeridge 2021, BCM302

BCM302 Project Pitch

My name is James Muggeridge and for BCM302 this semester I will be starting a fresh project called ‘Mugg Sport’. Mugg Sport is a personal portfolio platform where I will share sports articles trying to raise awareness and promote the positive contributions which athletes are having off the field. My project content is currently displayed on my on personal website and is promoted on my Instagram page. Looking into the future, I definitely see potential to expand to other social media platforms.

In creating this project, I intend to fix my problem of not writing enough stories and being unmotivated to do so. The ability to do this project gives me a reason to produce content which will work to increase my portfolio. My goals for this semester hand in hand work to fix and manage my problems. Long term I would like to increase my following and online presence.

At the early stages of this artefact, I have posted three posts. One post was dedicated to refreshing my followers on the new project which I would be pursuing. The second post was a teaser to provide context into my first article. The third post worked to promote my first article on the page. All in all, I tried to use the FIST principle to provide myself with a clear direction with the future of the project. It as well worked to see if my audience would understand and like the direction which I was taking.

The idea of using the FIST principle in the early stages of my project appeals to Dan Ward’s ‘Simplicity Cycle’ as posting three posts provides a foundation for the future progression of the DA. Receiving valuable feedback proves that the foundation which I laid has proven to seek attention from my audience and is something which I can continue throughout.

CONCEPT

The concept behind this project is to shine light towards athletes contributing off the field. My first story looked at one of the most influential footballers in the world. Marcus Rashford received an MBE for his work campaigning for child food poverty during the COVID-19 lockdown period in 2020. This is just an example of the types of stories I will aiming to raise attention towards.

METHODOLOGY

My methodology with this project will consist of posting a story each week. This story post will be attributed with another post providing context behind the story. As well as this I will post other journalistic work such as podcasts or videos in an aim to differentiate my content. I do not have a “niche sport” in which I will keep myself to, however, will aim to cover as many sports as possible to show off my flexibility and promote as many different athletes as possible. This idea may hinder my ability to get a confined audience, yet it is something which I can monitor as I move towards the beta stage of my project.

UTILITY

My project is inspired by Instagram pages such as Bloke in a Bar, Bleacher Report and Scouted Football, I aim to create a page which is both aesthetically pleasing and informative to a sports watching audience. My content will be relevant as I will write stories which are timely and thus up-to-date.

Here are my links if you would like to support my project.

WEBSITE

INSTAGRAM