Preliminary TaskSchool Magazine

Puffs also increase sales of a magazine as these display exciting topics in school. Furthermore, this maintains the audience’s interest to read the magazine further. An example is the word ‘new’ something which the students might not have seen or heard thus they would buy the magazine in order to find out

Anchorage uses jargon which applies to school as Head boy means someone, particularly a guy, who acts as a disciplinarian or a helper to his peers. This method will attract readers as the use of a community language will make the reader feel a sense of belonging.

Central image portrays the subject of the magazine through the use of a picture. He is presented in appropriate school clothes that shows neatness and is a good example of how most students are expected to have an image of. It fits with the magazine’s genre – school

Sometimes, freebie is necessary on a magazine because it has a big impact on people. It appeals to audiences as people generally love free stuff. This helps the magazine to sell out more.

The masthead (title) is used to inform what the content of the magazine will be thus the masthead is the name of the school, Chosenhill.

Colour scheme uses basic or primary colours which shows an academic vibe of the magazine. This is relevant as it displays formality which may suggest the school’s status.

Conventions of a school magazine

Colour scheme used is a combination of blue and red which is similar to flames’ hues. This connotes danger as abusing technology will likely result to distractedness, blurred vision or even fire.

Central image – presenting cords of different technologies such as computers, smartphones and other gives information about the content of the magazine, school

Layout – all the texts are set aside and gives the audience a clear view of the central image which is also an important aspect of a magazine as it depicts the subject of the magazine through an image

Sell line uses vocabulary such as disruption to attract the audience because it makes them curious about this particular word, thus the target audience may have to take a magazine and read its content in order to find out

Masthead’s font shows formality as its style is not comic nor has graffiti-like font. This is fitting to the magazine’s genre – school as it shows a studious image of the school.

The issue number and date line should be included in a magazine as it tells the audience that the information given is up to date

The use of few fonts makes the front cover easier to read as it gives the reader a sense of direction on where to start reading. The editor made a good choice of fonts such as semi-cursive to emphasize words that may catch the reader’s attention.

Although the main image is not located at the centre of the magazine, it still looked professional by how the editor laid out texts. Blurring the background makes her to stand out which also helped in having a well-organized layout.

Strap / Sell line aids people in their decision to buy the magazine or not. It acts as a summary in which the editors think is the most enticing aspect of the magazine. They used the mayor as an evidence because people believe he sees all the events in an area

Puffs tackle aspects relevant to school such as GCSE results. Moreover, the use of hyperbole (‘best’) intrigues readers about how impressive the school is. This persuades the reader to purchase the magazine

Colour scheme used is a bit colourful. This is not only eye-catching to the readers but also to not bore them while reading texts on the front cover. This increases the chances of people to take the magazine

Including the date line is essential as it indicates the date when the magazine was published. This allows the reader to know if the magazine was recently published thus, its contents is also up-to-date

Puffs are more intriguing because the topics chosen to discuss are the majority of people would be interested in. An example is Gossip. Clearly, a gossip makes anyone curiousGreat use of font

colour as they stand out. These four colours are different from the rest or the common colour that was used in the magazine. This could suggest the different colours the houses represent.

Another purposeful and intelligent use of their school as a topic however, they are implying a negative atmospheric event. This maintains the reader’s attention because it is uncommon for a school to leak out bad information towards their selves.

The central image is a student wearing her uniform and presenting herself neatly. This gives the audience information that Chosen Hill is an outstanding school as their student is dresses smart.

Today’s generation is most likely inclined towards technology, therefore music may also have additional genres relating to technology such as EDM, Trap, Glitch hop and House. These types of music are made through a computer software. This may target new audiences as not all schools offer house in terms of subject: music.

Audience Research

THINGS INCLUDED IN A SCHOOL MAGAZINE TALLY

Student achievements ||||

Key events coming up |||||

Pictures of the school ||

Information about the school |||

School contact details ||

Key events from the past |

Pictures of students |||

My target audience are students in Bishop Douglass School. I wanted to know their opinions about the common and essential features in a school magazine. Therefore, I conducted a research and asked 20 students. The results I have gathered are presented in the form of a tally chart. Audience Research is important as it is a method which gives the producer a better understanding on the key features that will appeal to their target audience.

AS Media Studies Preliminary Task – School Magazine Front Page Proposal Form

Target audience: (age range, interests)Although it is a school newsletter you still have to think about your audience and how to appeal to them.

The target audience will range from 11-18 years old, being students of the school means including secondary level and sixth form. Moreover, the magazine should also be suitable for parents as they will likely read the magazine to be updated and have more information about the school. Therefore, the magazine needs to include images for it to become enticing to one’s eye especially to younger students. This maintains the target audience’s focus; it will keep them reading the magazine further.

Possible title ideas: (masthead / title block)What is your magazine going to be called?

Calibre de DouglassStudent UnionBDS Magazine

Main image:What will be the focal point of your front page, remember, your work “must include a photograph of a student in a medium close-up”

Close up of a student working

Main cover line:What will be the main story?

GCSE Results How we made it into the TOP 10 schools

Additional key images:What other images will be on your front cover?Remember, it is a school magazine.

None, the front cover may be overcrowded due to the fact that the background of the image will not be rendered. I did not include another image in order to maintain a professionally presented front cover.

Additional cover lines:Other features, stories or selling points which will be inside the magazine, these need to be audience appropriate.

NEW SYSTEM? Discover the changes in Bishop Douglass

Typography: (style, size, colour of copy)Think about the writing and the style of the writing on your front page.

Size 8.81 pt for general text. Font style is Minion Pro and font colour will be mostly white. Size 66.55 pt and 30.19 pt for masthead. Font styles to be used are Minion Pro and Magneto. Font colours will be a slight greyish white and lavender.Size 13.12 to 36.79 pt for main stories and secondary stories. Font styles to be used is Calisto MT. Font colours will be dark pastel blue and lime.

Background colour/image:What will be in the background, remember you don’t want to take the focus away from the main image.

The background will be the study area where the student is working. To maintain the focus on the main image, I needed to blur out several students who are also working on computers.

Technical considerations:(equipment, setting, props, costume, lighting)Be realistic and creative, think about what you have access to and how you could use it.

For equipment and setting, I have chosen the study area in which there are a number of computers thus having my model sit in one of the units, there is already a background which shows an academic environment. I will make him/her sit near the windows in order to achieve a natural lightning; I will not have to edit much after taking the photo because the quality and brightness is already good. Furthermore, my model will be wearing his/her uniform to easily show that my magazine’s genre is about school.

Preliminary exercise Produce a front page and contents page of a school magazine. Front covers must

include a photograph of a student in a medium close-up with appropriately laid out text and use of an image manipulation programme (Photoshop).

Below start to sketch what the front cover of your newsletter will look like.

Preliminary exercise Produce a front page and contents page of a school magazine. Front covers must

include a photograph of a student in a medium close-up with appropriately laid out text and use of an image manipulation programme (Photoshop).

Below start to sketch what the contents page of your newsletter will look like.

School Magazine (Front Cover)

School Magazine (Contents Page)

Notes on the ProcessHere are some photos which I took. The first and third image were used for contents page. These two images were relevant as they correlate with the sub headings (see previous slide). An example is the subheading‘Pro or Con?’. This tackles a debate whether group studies really help students in learning better. Thus, image number 1 demonstrates a group of students working together. Furthermore, image number 2 was chosen as the front cover’s central image. It depicts a determined individual working on a computer and a background showing a school environment. The audience will easily identify that it is a school magazine; it will also make them believe that it represents how students should work at school. A good example may also define the school’s reputation.

As you can see, the images have already been edited and I have lost the original copy. Initially, the background of these photos were not blurred. I used an app called Qtiie.JP from my smartphone to blur the photos’ background. The main focus will only be the models which makes it easier for the audience to identify what the images are portraying.

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How did I render the school logo?

Firstly, I searched for Bishop Douglass’ logo from Google images and found this. I chose this picture as it is easier to render due to the fact that it only has a plain royal blue background and the logo itself. Thus, I dragged this image into Photoshop.

After that, A psd file for the image pop up. I clicked on quick selection tool (+) and selected the logo by spreading the dotted lines into the logo’s outline. Then, seeing the whole outline of the logo has been selected, I clicked on refine edge. A box appeared (seen on the image above) which contains settings to improve the edges of the selected image.

Lastly, I drop the rendered logo into my contents page and front cover psd file.

A Brief In this preliminary task, I am required to create a front cover and contents page

for a school magazine. I had to make this school magazine since it serves as a practice for my music magazine; it also helped me to distinguish the features which are relevant to a specific magazine. Moreover, this task also ensured that I now have a better understanding of what needs to be included in a magazine to effectively attract and satisfy its target audience.

What have I learned? In creating my magazine, I have learned several aspects which are neededto create a successful and effective school magazine. The masthead should be large enough for the audience to see from afar. It will easily inform them that the magazine will be about Bishop Douglass School. In addition, the title block should not extend to more than two words. This allow the reader to remember the name of the magazine and instantly recognized it when the next issue is released. Furthermore, to achieve a professionally and well-organized magazine, the context should not overlap or cover the whole central image. Lastly, a preferred central image should literally have the model in the centre and have spaces for the context.