Final products

Front cover

Contents page

Double page spread

Preliminary contents page

This is the contents page of the school magazine that I created for my preliminary task. I used the same colours on this page as I did for my front cover because I wanted the two pages to match as they were going to be next to each other.



I didn't want to give too much away about what was inside the magazine, I wanted to just give a brief discription to the audience about what to expect to read.



Like most contents pages I put page numbers next to the text so the readers could find the page they wanted to read with ease. I put a picture of the school that I found on the internet on the page because I thought it would show extra representation of the school.

Contents page

This is the contents page of the music magazine that I created for my main task. I changed this background from plain black to going from black gradually to white by using the 'Gradient tool' on Photoshop, I did this because I wanted the background to be black but I wanted it to look different from the front cover, I think I achieved this.


I kept the topics on my contents page brief and to the point because I didn't want to give too much away, I wanted the readers to want to buy the magazine in order to get the full story.


At the side of each caption I put a page number so the audience could go straight to the page that interested them, I noticed during my research that most magazines do this.


I tried to include what usually appears in music magazine contents pages, such as, reviews, interviews, and tours, I think this makes it look more like an already existing contents page.

Double page spread

This is the double page spread of the music magazine that I created for my main task. I thought white and black would keep up with the theme of the magazine. I put only one photo of the band on this page because I wanted the main feature of the page to be the interview and I thought too many photos would attract the audiences attention from it.


I started off my article with drop capitals, I did this because most magazines start off their articles with drop capitals, so this way my double page spread looked more professional.


I have noticed that in most interviews there are certain parts that stand out to attract the audiences attention. I have done this in my interview, I put the text in red and made it a bigger font size to grab the readers attention.


At the end of the interview I put the bands 'MySpace' page on so the readers could visit it and listen to some of their music.

Front cover

This is the front cover of the music magazine that I created for my main task. I wanted the background of the page and the photo itself to be in black and white, this is because I thought it looked more professional this way and I wanted the text to be in red so it would contrast against the black background and be more eye catching for the audience.


I wanted the girl in the main picture to look as if she was working on a song, so I had the girl holding a microphone in one hand and she was holding headphones up to her ear in the other. I had her looking away from the camera to give a more natural effect and to make the audience think that a spontaneous photo had just been taken whilst she was working.


I gave my magazine the masthead 'CLASH'. I decided to call it this after the band 'The Clash' that had a far reaching influence on the alternative rock genre which is the theme of my magazine.


I put puffs such as, 'Exclusive' and 'Plus' on my front cover to gain the audiences attention and make them want to read the magazine to find out more. I put a bar code on the right side of the page, I did this to make it look more like a professional magazine because most music magazines have a bar code on them so the audience can identify the issue number and price of the magazine.

Preliminary front cover

This is the front cover of the school magazine that I created for my preliminary task. I wanted to incorporate the school badge colours into my front cover so I used a light blue colour for the background.


I put the school badge in the top left hand corner of the magazine; the school badge is recognised by every student and will show representation of the school. I wanted different areas of the school on my front cover, such as, exam results, school productions, school improvements and achievements. I chose these areas for my front cover because it shows a positive representation of the school and I think the students would want to read about this.


I found the photos that are on the bottom of the page on the internet, I put these in because I wanted to show the readers different aspects of the school and the fun side to it.


I used the masthead 'Deyes Daily' because I thought it was catchy and to the point. I made the masthead black because I wanted it to stand out from the rest of the page and nothing else on the page is black. I put the text in white because I wanted something that would stand out from the background and I think white contrasts well with the colour blue.

Evaluation

How does your magazine use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real magazines?

Whilst researching other magazine front covers I noticed that most of them included, bar codes, banners and puffs, I kept this in mind when creating the front cover of my magazine so it would look more like a real magazine. However my magazine challenged some conventions of real magazines, a lot of magazines have the person in their main image looking at the camera, but I had mine looking away from the camera as I felt this made the photo look more natural, which is what I had wanted.

My contents page is different to real magazines contents pages because I didn't want a lot of design on it, I felt that some of the contents pages I had looked at looked slightly cluttered and I wanted the main focus of the page to be the text.

The interview in my double page spread begins in drop capitals, this is the same with most magazine articles. Most magazine double page spreads have a few photos in them but I put one on because I wanted the interview itself to be the main focus of the page and I thought if I had more than one photo on then it would take attention away from the text.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

I would say my magazine represents teenagers with an interest in Indie music, I think this because the artists in my magazine would follow the latest trends in the Indie scene and the audience would want to follow these trends.

What kind of media institution would distribute your product and why?

I think the Bauer Media Group-a large German publishing company privately owned by the Bauer family based in Hamburg would distribute my product because they already own successful music magazines such as, 'Q', 'Mojo' and 'Kerrang'. These magazines all attract the same audience as my magazine is aiming at. The Bauer Media Group would be beneficial as the distributors of my magazine because it operates in 15 countries worldwide and is the largest magazine publisher in Britain, this would make my magazine well-known.

Who would be the audience for your project?

The demographic for my magazine would be the fans of Indie music, this is because my magazine is of the Indie genre and features Indie artists, so the fans of this genre would want to read the articles on their favourite artists and find out what's new.

How did you attract/address your target audience?

I used puffs on my front cover to gain the audiences interest and make them want to read on, I also added an existing band on my front cover and in my contents page because I thought it would make it look more realistic if there was some bands mentioned that people recognised. In my contents page I tried not to give too much away, I wanted the audience to read it and want to find out more. My double page spread would appeal to the target audience because I have set it out as a question and answer interview, and when I read an interview I prefer to see who said what.

What have you learnt about technologies in the process of constructing your magazine?

Before I started this coursework I had never used Photoshop, and when I started making my magazines I struggled at first but then I got used to the software and was able to use it efficiently. I was able to upload photos onto the software and change the colour of the background to suit my needs. I learnt how to change coloured photos into black and white to get the effect I was hoping for, and I could put effects on the photos to make them look more professional.

What have you learnt in terms of progression from your preliminary task to the final product?

From my preliminary task to my final product I have learnt how to use Photoshop more competently and was able to, in my opinion make my end product look more professional than my preliminary task did.

Questionnaire results

Preliminary task front cover draft

This is the first draft of my preliminary task, my end result will be posted once completed.

Case study of Kaiser Chiefs

For my music magazine I have chosen to do Indie music, i have chosen this particular genre because it is popular and there are a lot of magazines I can use for ideas.

Kaiser Chiefs are an Indie rock band from Leeds, they formed in 1997. They sprung to fame and international success in 2005 after the success of their debut album "Employment".

They released their second album "Yours Truly, Angry Mob" in February 2007, this very did well in the UK album charts and got to number one.

NME contents page analysis

This is a contents page from NME magazine, I've noticed that the page looks quite cluttered and chaotic.

The main focus of this contents page is Oasis and the moment they "kicked off their world tour", this gives the readers the impression that they will be getting told exclusively what happened at the start and finish of their tour.

On the right hand side of the page there are different headings so the readers can find what page they want to go to easily.

At the bottom of the page there is a banner telling people to "Subscribe today, save 33%", this makes the audience feel they are getting a limited offer and a bargain.

On the left hand side of the page there is a "band index" this will tell us what other bands are
featured in the magazine and will appeal to a wider variety of readers.

Q contents page analysis

This is a contents page from Q magazine, in comparison to the NME contents page it looks a lot more spaced out and organized, i think it has a more professional look to it.

On the left hand side of the page there are headings that separate articles into sections with the page number beside them, this helps readers find what page they want to read easily.

The main feature of the page is a picture of James Blunt, the demographic this will appeal to mainly is James Blunt fans as they will want to read about him and find out new information.

Near the bottom of the page is a subscription section, however unlike the NME contents page it is written in the same way as the other text, therefore it doesn't stand out and grab the readers attention.

School newsletter analysis

This is the first page of a school newsletter, it is welcoming new parents to the school, we know this because at the top of the page in bold capital letters it says "Welcome newsletter" this sets off a friendly tone for the rest of the newsletter.

This newsletter focuses mainly on exam grades and the improvements of the school, this tells us that the demographic for this newsletter is parents. Parents will be pleased to know that exam grades are high because it will show that there is a good standard of teaching and they will want to know that the school they put their child in has good facilities to offer.

In the newsletter it states "we are full to bursting across the school with a sixth form of approaching 300 in number", this supports the idea that Deyes is a pleasant school to be in because so many students in the sixth form have chose to stay on.

The purpose of this school newsletter is the complete opposite of what I want the purpose of my newsletter to be. I want the demographic for my newsletter to be the students so they can be up to date with upcoming school events and will hopefully take a bigger interest in school life.

Double page spread analysis

This is a double page spread from Q magazine, the headline states "Danger! Shakira at work" this gives us the impression that she is hard at work and she shouldn't be disturbed.

There are four photos of Shakira on the page, two of them show her working, one of them is the single sleeve for her new song "She Wolf", and the final one is a picture of her topless with her hand clutching her back like a claw-this supports the whole "She Wolf" image. The pictures help separate the text so readers don't get bored when they're reading this article.

In bold font with the rest of the text there is an overview of what Shakira has already said previously and it has been sectioned off from the rest of the text by a think red line, this is to make it stand out, it says "I now go after my desires in a predatory way-with teeth and claws". This gives us the feeling that she will do anything to get what she wants, she will work hard to achieve her goals.

NME front cover analysis

The NME masthead is recognisable by everyone, this is because it is the same on every edition, this gives the audience a sense of familiarity and brand loyalty. Under the masthead NME it shows us what it stands for "New Musical Express", this will appeal to more readers because it will put them under the impression that this magazine has all the unheard of and up to date news on your favourite artists.

I think the intended demographic for this magazine is teenage girls because the colours are bright and some teenage girls will look up to Lily Allen as a role model.

In the picture Lily Allen is dressed casually and is stood in a casual manner, this gives us the impression that she isn't worried about having to take on the world and she is comfortable with her image and she doesn't feel the need to dress up.

The strap line "I can't keep on living like this, it's doing my head in" will appeal to its demographic because they will want to know what the article is about and why Lily Allen can't keep her life the same.

The caption "Lily Allen takes on the world" will appeal to more readers because it gives us the impression that it's just her against the world, and the audience will want to know why she has to "take on the world". This statement represents her as a strong independent woman, again making girls look up to her.

On the bottom left hand side of the page there is a little arrow saying "Plus" on it, this shows the readers that if they buy the magazine then there will be lots more to read about. The "Plus" arrow is in black but it's on a red background, this makes it stand out.

There is a list of other celebrities on a banner that are included in the magazine, this will interest a wider variety of readers because it shows them that there are other artists to read about.

On the right hand side of the page there is a black circle on a white background-making it stand out from the rest of the text, it has a list of other artists and an "In-the-studio-special", this will make the readers feel like they are reading an exclusive special.

On the top right hand side of the page there is a picture of Bowie and the statement "How Bowie started the credit crunch", this statement although it may sound bizarre does its intended job because it will make the demographic want to find out how he apparently started the credit crunch.

Q front cover analysis

This is the front cover of Q magazine and it is easily identifiable as this because the Q logo is the same each time, however this particular edition shows the Q masthead being smashed to pieces by Matt Bellamy, this gives him the image of not playing by the rules. This image of him supports the text saying "Matt Bellamy is out of control". Also the lighting of this front page looks quite sinister which doesn't fit in with the Muse's usual image.

On the right hand side of the page there is a list of other celebrities that appear in the magazine, this will appeal to a wider variety of audience because people who don't normally buy Q magazine might see that someone they like is featured in it and will therefore buy it.

The sell line of the magazine "The UK's biggest music magazine" separates it from other competitors because readers will want to read 'the biggest music magazine'.

At the bottom right hand side of the page in bold lettering it attracts the audience by saying "200 things you didn't know about The Beatles", people will always want to know new things about celebrities.

If you look at the bottom left hand side of the page there is a section saying "On tour with Coldplay" this will entice the reader because it will make them feel like they are getting to see them out of the public eye and see what they are really like.

Introduction

What is your brief?

To create the front cover and a contents page of a school magazine that interests the pupils along with the teachers. I have chosen to include what I think to be the main interests of students, these are, dance and drama, music, sports and achievements.

What are your intentions?

To make the front cover and a contents page of a school magazine that will make the target audience want to read it.

What are you intending to do first?

To analyse front covers and contents pages of a school magazine.

What are you going to do for research?

For research I am going to make a questionnaire to see what would make people want to read a school magazine so I will know what else to include in my contents page.

Welcome to my AS media coursework blog

Hi my name is Rosie Button, I am in year 12 at Deyes High and for my AS coursework preliminary task I am making a front page and a mock up of a contents page for a school magazine.

For my AS coursework main task I am making a front page, contents page and a double page spread of a music magazine.

I will be updating my blog often and would appreciate feedback as this will help me make improvements on my coursework, thanks for visiting!