Production Portfolio: controlled assessment (30%)

This is the final piece of coursework you will do for media studies and it is worth 30% of your overall mark. It’s very important that you do as well as you possibly can so you can get the best possible mark!

This is your chance to be creative and make your very own media product!

All deadlines for each section of the coursework is clearly marked on the blue slides throughout this PowerPoint

Your brief (print)

An extract from a new magazine aimed at a specific audience, to include the front cover, contents page and a double-page spread article, using original photography.

Production Portfolio will consist of the following:

• the Production Log • the Production itself• the Evaluation•the Appendix – to include a range of additional material appropriate to the product, such as: rejected photographs and graphics, photos of props/locations, surveys and graphs for market research, and mock-ups of magazines or advertisements.

The production log

This is a record of how many hours it has taken you to complete this project. Remember, it is a controlled assessment and you are entitled to 30 hours.

You must complete the production log at the end of each lesson

The production log can be found on Frog as shown below. You should save it to your computer and update it every lesson

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Let’s get started!

Before you go on to make your

final product, it is vital that you

do thorough research so that

you can make your product

look as professional as possible.

The aim is to produce a final

piece that looks as good as

industry standard.

Research stage

On the tracking spreadsheet there are targets that you have to meet by certain dates. This is to ensure that you stay on track and produce enough work to get you lots of marks. I will mark you off on the spreadsheet once you have completed all the necessary stages. This is so that we can keep track of your progress.

The research and planning stages have to be completed by the 30th January

By now you will have chosen what genre of magazine you would like to make and already done some research into how magazines attract their target audience through things like

• Brand image

• Content

• Images

• Layouts

Now you need to be sure exactly what the conventions of your chosen magazine genre are so that you can make one to the same standard.

In order to do this, you must closely analyse 2 front covers, 2 content pages and 2 double page spreads of magazines of the same genre. This should be done on PowerPoint.

Extension: analyse 2 more magazines (front cover, content, double page spread).

Things to consider when analysing a magazine cover

Everything is carefully designed to attract a specific target audience.Think about every thing you can see on the cover and ask yourself why

it has been put there. Such as;• Colours used• Main image (including what person is wearing, how they are posing,

whether they are looking directly at the audience)• Language used• Styles of fonts used• Design of the title• Position of the title• What is offered to the reader• The layout of the text• Where the price is• Where the barcode is

Big, bold Q on a red background. This is instantly recognisable as a brand name

There is a clear colour scheme on this front cover. The pink reflects the female singer in the main image

The image is big and bold which will attract the audience’s attention. Also, the image is unusual as she is bleeding. This shows that she is an alternative artist and will attract people who like alternative music

Graffiti-like font. There is variation in the font and makes it stand out

Use of alliteration to make the audience want to read inside the magazine

Note: to get top marks you will need to be more detailed than this

Things to consider when analysing a contents page

• Is there anything else included other than a list of articles/features? Such as; quotes, images, subheadings, page numbers.

• Is there a particular order that the articles or features go in? Where does the main article appear?

• How is the star on the front cover advertised on the content page?

• How are the other stories/features on the front cover advertised on the content page?

• What other images are used and how are they laid out?

Note: to get top marks you will need to be more detailed than this

Things to consider when analysing a double page spread

• How much space does the main image take up?• What is the pose?• How many columns are there?• Are there any other images?• Is there clever language used in the title?• How big is the title?• Are quotes used in the article? And do they stand

out?• How does the article start?• How is the double page spread laid out?

Note: to get top marks you will need to be more detailed than this

You have 3 lessons to do this

To be completed by the 13th

January 2014

Record your progress in your production log

All new magazine companies would conduct extensive market research before the final designs were drawn up and the product was made. This is to ensure that the magazine appeal to the largest number of people possible!

One way of doing this is by conducting a survey.

In Word, design a survey/questionnaire in order to find out what people want from your chosen genre of magazine. These can be given to classmates, friends and family. The results should be analysed and will influence your final design.

Example market research question:

4. What would catch your eye on the front cover of a magazine?

a. Bold writing [ ]b. One main picture [ ]c. Attractive mast head [ ]d. Different fonts [ ]e. Lots of different pictures [ ]f. Distinctive colour scheme [ ]

Other questions you might want to consider:

• How much will people pay for a magazine?

• What main features do people want to read?

- This needs to be specific to your genre e.g. Interviews with film stars, pop stars, chefs, celebrities

• What colour schemes do people like?

***Also, try out initial ideas for names that you have for your magazine! See which one is the most appealing...***

Once you have done this, you need to enter the data into Excel and create graphs which illustrate your findings

Enter you data as shown in the diagram. Once you have done this. Highlight both the options and the number of people

Then go to Insert – Pie (or column if you prefer) and select 2-D Pie

A colour coded pie chart will then be created displaying your results

Research summaryThe next stage is to write a 250-400 word research summary

on your findings from your analysis of magazines and your market research.

Both these stages should influence your final designs.

Things to consider in your research summary:• What have you found out through research?• What have you found out through audience research?• How will you use the information from your research and

survey when you make your own product?• What do you think makes a successful magazine cover,

contents page and double page spread?

To be completed by the 23rd

January 2015

Record your progress in your production log

Now it’s time to start your final designs!Design 2 mock-ups for your front cover, content page and double page spread, complete with annotations stating why you have chosen to design it in this way.Consider carefully how each one will be laid out. At this stage, layout is more important than content!Here is an example of a GCSE student’s mock up of her pages.

In your mock-ups...

Experiment with;

• Different layouts

• Different fonts

• Different colour schemes

And then ask your classmates for feedback to help you inform you final decision.

You have 2 lessons to draw up your mock-ups

This will be completed by the 30th

January

Record your progress in your production log

Now plan your photo shoot!

• Who or what are you going to photograph?

• what camera angles/ shots are you going to use?

• Where are you going to take your photos?

• Are you going to use any props or costumes?

• How are you going to make the photos look interesting and appealing?

A useful video: ‘how to think like a photographer’

http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/clips/z62sb9q

Once you have finished your photo shoot select the ones that you are going to use.

Do not discard the rest- they can go in the appendix, along with your final choices, as evidence of your creative journey.

Also, state in your appendix

why you chose some images

over others.

All photo shoots must be completed by 2nd

February

Record your progress in your production log

Carefully select which photos you are going to use for each product you are making and plan how they will be laid out.

Extension: explain why you have chosen specific ones and why you have chosen not to include other.

Record your progress in your production log

Now it’s time to put your creation together!

Here is an example of an A* music magazine front cover

Double page spread

Contents page

There are Photoshop templates available on Frog to help you layout your work. After all, you must makes sure everything fits. Especially on a double page spread, you don’t want things to be lost in the middle where the page folds!

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Helpful tools in Photoshop: the magnetic lasso tool

This allows you to draw around an image really accurately- the line automatically snaps to the outline for your image this is really handy for cutting out parts of your image

Helpful tools for Photoshop: Fonts

Here is a link to a website which offers free font types that you can use.

Remember, play around with colour and styles.

www.dafont.com

Helpful tools in Photoshop: changing colours

This is useful if you want to make the colours of certain body parts/ clothing a different or vibrant colour. A step by step guide on how to do this is here

http://www.htmlgoodies.com/tutorials/web_graphics/article.php/3908261

Helpful tools in Photoshop: turning your images into polaroid pictures

This is useful for making your content page look interesting or adding some more images on your front cover or double page spread. Also to border additional photos on the back of your game cover.

A guide on how to do this is here

http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/create-a-polaroid-effect-of-your-photo/

Helpful Photoshop tools: creating different lighting effects

This is useful for making images look funky. Perfect for video game covers or magazine front covers.

http://www.adobetutorialz.com/articles/30970670/1/use-lighting-effects-to-make-beautiful-artwork-photoshop-cs5

All designs need to be finished by Friday the 13th March 2015

Record your progress in your production log.

Now it’s time to evaluate your work!

You must write between 500 and 800 words for you evaluation. You should include include pictures, screen shots, scanned images to show your journey and decision making.

• You must include how your research has influenced your final products.

• You must demonstrate your understanding of the conventions of your chosen product (use the image of your final products to show your understanding).

• You must mention any artistic decisions you have made and why you made them (add in images here to illustrate your answer)

• You must mention how you have tried to appeal to your target audience. Do you think you did a good job?

• You can include images and any other piece of information which shows your journey

Your final deadline is 23rd March

Make sure you have recorded everything in your production log