My Contents Page

After how many attempts of trying to create the best front cover that I possibly could, I decided to used front cover 2. This is because I feel it is the best one out of the two drafts, as it looks the most professional and links in with the front cover more (as both are simplistic, yet more effective). Furthermore, I think this contents page would appeal more to my target audience as it covers everything they asked for in the "focus group" interview I carried out during the week. In comparison to my other contents page, this one tells you precisely what is inside, before reading the stories. Additionally, instead of showing all the pictures on the front cover (like number 1) the audience is more likely to want to read and find out what "Miss Understanding" is about and all of the other "Miss" titles on the page, as they may be unsure what each one might mean.

First Draft - Contents Page

As I am a rather indecisive person, I decided to make two contents pages and then compare them, before choosing which one I feel looks the best suited for the school magazine. As I have included the "miss" theme, I cooperated this idea in the slogan "you're 'MISS'ing out!". By using this as the slogan at flows with the title "Rumour Has It". I also ensured that I kept continuity throughout the layout with the "Southfield School" logo and the rose on the right hand side of the page, like I did on the front cover. 

With this picture above, I thought I'd go against the conventional ideas of a magazine contents page, where you usually have one main image for your cover story, a list of what's inside the magazine and maybe a comment from the editor themselves. I decided to include the editors comment but have a variety of little pictures to show who was who out of all the "miss" theme titles. Even though it is good to see a picture of who is who, I think the page is a little too busy and the reader may get confused by what the main story line is as it is not clear. Also, there are no page numbers mentioned on this page, so the reader will also be unsure which story is where until the flick through the magazine.

With this image above, I thought I'd stick to the conventional ideas of a magazine contents page, with one main picture as the cover story, a list of what's inside the magazine and a comment from the editor myself. By including the sub headlines of "contents" and "welcome" helps to separate the editors comments, from the list of what is contained in the magazine. Additionally, I kept to the 3 colour-scheme to make the target audience that I am aiming at, feel like they are more involved in the magazine and it is only for their eyes only. By including what is inside the magazine, the reader can instantly see what is published in it, as well as what pages to turn to, to read a specific story. Also, the fact I used a different picture of Neha (to the front cover) but still ensured that in the image she was wearing the same clothing, positioned in the same background, shows continuity, which I have tried to keep through this preliminary task. Even though, I'm not so keen on having a picture of myself on the magazine, I think it was best that I put the image on there so the audience who is reading this magazine, know who I am.

Planning - Contents Page

For my contents page, I have decided to have a theme throughout my magazine. I thought it was a pretty clever idea (well for me anyway) to play on words to make the magazine more appealing for my target audience. As we are a girl school (mainly) and we tend to read more magazines over boys, I choose to focus the idea about us girls being called “Miss”. Therefore, I will play on words, which may not necessarily link to a girls school and put my own stamp on them. For example I will use words such as:

• Misunderstanding which I will turn into = Miss Understanding, who will be known as my Agony Aunt for the magazine that will help out with any problems us girls may have, whether it is down to exam stress, future career, friendship problems ideas etc.
• Misfortune = Miss Fortune, who will be my horoscope, star sign reader, to let readers known what is ahead of them and what to look out for.
• Misfit = Miss Fit, who will be my sports person, giving us the latest ways to keep ourselves fit and healthy and other relaxing ways to keep ourselves chilled is we become stressed for exams or coursework deadlines.
• Mislabeled = Miss Labelled, who will be my fashion icon, giving everyone the seasons trends and must haves, and not forgetting what’s hot and what’s not!
• Misadventure = Miss Adventure, who will be my extra curriculum person, who will inform us on keeping our brain active and stimulated with activities outside of school.
• Mistreat = Miss Treat, who will be the 
  

  person that will tell us about the latest school meal deals and will be open to any questions or any new ideas that the pupils would like to have in the school canteen.
• Misguided = Miss Guided, who will be my organiser, who informs everyone with the latest updates, news and anything else that everyone needs to know.
• Mistune = Miss Tune, who will be my latest tunes person, meaning they will keep us up to date with the latest songs, giving reviews, to help us chill when on a break from school work.

My Front Cover

Conclusion:

Overall, I felt that out of the two pictures in my "first drafts", I preferred image 2. This is because there is more space for the text to fit on the second image, whereas on the first image, the text overlaps making it look less clear. Even though they have a similar layout, I think that with just Neha on her own the picture looks more like a front cover for a school magazine.


Reflection:

• Masthead: I realised that maybe the title doesn't stand out as much as it should do and the reader may get confused to which is the title as it is not fully across the top. Additionally, there is too much space between the "Rumour" and the "Has It" which seems to separate the title too much, indicating that the words may be separate. Therefore, I will take on board these mistakes and ensure that the title stands out more on my front cover of my music magazine, so the reader won't get confused.

First Draft - Front Covers

As I was undecided on which picture to choose for my front cover, I edited both to see which one I preferred.

Front Cover 2

I ensured that I stuck to certain conventions that you would expect to find in a magazine, such as a 3 colour-scheme. I believe by including the school colours, red, white and black, it looks more professional and is more aesthetically pleasing on the eye. The title “Rumour Has It” represents the idea of sharing news and gossiping, which I think makes it more appealing to the teenage target audience. Also, I ensured that I listened to the focus groups opinions, as they said they preferred an original title for the magazine instead of just saying "SSFG". The mid shot of Neha clearly relates to a school environment, especially sixth form, as she is wearing smart non-uniform clothing, as well as having a folder to keep her work in. With the use of the clear background, no attention is drawn away from the main image. Additionally, I used sans serif font such as "Candara" for the title and subheadings as I said I would in the decisions post. I used serif font "high tower text" for the "free cucina voucher" to keep continuity of the font the brand uses itself. I also used the font "Edwardian Script ITC" for "Neha's" name as I felt it was a girly-looking font, which relates to my target market, as well as helping the word to stand out, showing it is a main story for this magazine.

Preliminary Task - Orginal Photos

Here are all the original shots I took of both Sam and Neha for my preliminary magazine task. I particularly like these, as they are mostly clear mid shots or mid long shots that fit the conventions of a magazine photo. They are both wearing smart clothing, Neha holding a folder, whilst they are both revising together, representing the idea that our school in a community and work well as I team. I decided to not have all the backgrounds the same when talking my photos, some having a clear white background and some in the library. This was to ensure that the pictures had different backgrounds to see which one would be best when I start editing. I was also unsure on whether to have one person modelling for the front cover or two, therefore, I tried both to see which one looks best when I edit the pictures later on.

Picture 1

Even though I like this picture as the background relates to the school and both Neha and Sam are central in the picture, this will be difficult when editing as the 3 colour scheme, red, white and black may not stand out. Therefore, it may be hard for the reader to see what the text says. Additionally, the picture has been taken landscape, which means that when I edit the picture for the magazine (A4 portrait) the picture will not cover the whole front page. This could result in me has to make enlarge the image and then cropping out their arms our folders, which could ruin the picture.

Picture 2

Similarly to the picture above, I took this picture landscape, not realising that when I start editing my images it may not fill the front cover causing problems later on. However, I like the fact that they both look happy in this photo, representing the idea of them have fun revising together. They also look natural in this photo and not posed, which is another reason why I think this is a good photo. Additionally, the lighting is naturally bright and with the clear background, it will be easier to work with when editing, as the texts (red and black) will stand out on white. The fact that they are central of the photo, means there will be more room to put information and anything else around the picture.

Picture 3

This photo is fairly similar to the one above, however, it is placed more to the right, which I don't really like as it has more restricting layout to put all of the information, school logo etc on the front cover. Although, the lighting is good and they look like they are concentrating in the book, I personally do think it is the best photo that I've taken.

Picture 4

With this photo, again I think the lighting is really good as you can clearly see their faces and their expressions, showing they are smiling and into the book. The fact that it is portrait helps, as the image will fit on the front cover, meaning I will be able to put things on top of the picture. Although it is central to the picture, there isn't much space to put information around the outside. This could result in me having to cover Sam's or Neha's arm in text, which could distract the audiences eye from the picture as well as the information not standing out as much like it would on a plain background.

Picture 5

By having just one person in the photo means that I will have more room to put all the information I'd like to include on my front cover. I also like that Neha is positioned in the center of the page, resulting in more space for everything to fit on the front page. On the other hand, the lighting isn't as good as the other photos and she looks like she is posing more for this picture and think I would prefer a more natural looking pose.

Picture 6



Lastly, with this photo I like the fact there is a lot of natural light coming through from the background, which means there would be less need in editing it as much, keeping it a natural looking photo that I am aiming for. Like above, Neha is in the middle of the photo, resulting in the information being able to fit around her. Furthermore, it is portrait meaning it will be able to fill the cover, not having to stretch it or fill the white space with too much advertisement or enlarging the title etc. The only thing that I dislike about the photo is that because she was moving her head at the time as she wasn't expecting the picture being taken, her face is slightly blurred. Therefore, I would have to see if I could sharpen the photo, in order for it to be used.

Conclusion:
Overall, I have decided that I am either going to use picture 2 or 6 as I believe they are the most natural looking photos and they will be the easiest to edit and work with. Even though picture 6 is not necessarily a mid shot picture it could be easily cropped if I needed too. Plus, this way I can decide which looks better and works out best, a picture of both of them studying in or one of just Neha on her own.

Decisions

For my preliminary task, I have decided that I am going to use Microsoft Office Desktop Publisher, as I have use this software before to make a children's book in ICT, and therefore feel confident in using this program. I am aiming my school magazine at 6^th form students because I feel that they are likely to be interested and provide feedback. In addition, since I can personally relate to this market, I can have a more direct input to the magazine. 

I will ensure that I stick to a fairly basic layout, which is easy on the eye and atheistically pleasing for my target audience. One specific convention I am going to stick to is to having a sans serif font, so my target market immediately recognises the name of my magazine. Furthermore, I will ensure the magazine is conventional by incorporating the school name and logo, a picture of a 6^th form student, as well as the key features in the layout. For the background of my magazine, I have chosen to incorporate 3 colour scheme of red, white and black to represent the school colours. I intend to maintain a similar format on my front cover for future editions to promote a specific house style for the magazine.

Focus Groups

Today I decided to do some research before starting to take pictures and create my school magazine. Therefore, in order to make a successful school magazine, I had to go and interview different age groups, year 7, sixth form girls and boys, as well as staff. This was to ensure that the information was unbiased, relatable to all age, genders and interests. 

Year 7's (age 12-13):

•  A free gift given away with every magazine e.g. a ticket for free house points or cucina vouchers.
•  Upcoming events on a school calender.
• Teacher profiles, including 'secret' information and jokey comments.
• Information about council meetings.
• Student achievements, and awards e.g. sport P.E student of the month.
• Include a page on the house point and stationary shop.
• After school clubs.
• Revision session timetables.
• Horoscope page.
• Embarrassing moments and confession page.
• Agony aunt/problem page. 
• Canteen menu (telephone number to contribute for new ideas, meal deals etc)
• Released monthly

Staff:

• Targeted at students and parents.
• Include student opinions on topics or upcoming events.
• Achievement page of student's excellent work. 
• Reports from house meetings, inter-house competitions etc.
• Have a constant theme through the magazine.
• School colour scheme throughout.
• Feature articles about life at the school
• Polls to show opinions of the school community.
• Jokes, games and quiz pages.
• Editorial letter in the contents page.
• Comic strip.
• Letters page from students.
• School upcoming event page.
• Split into sections for lower and upper school.
• Local events advertised
• Released termly

Male 6th form members (age 17-18):

• Include more images than text in the overall magazine.
• Variety of colours include, not necessarily following a specific theme.
• Attractive female on the front cover.
• Updated information about the school.
• Exam dates.
• School football team scores/sport competition results.
• Events taking place nearby
• Free vouchers for the school canteen.
• Uni./college open days that might interest them for future carers.
• Letter page written by students.
• Gossip page.
• Reviews on music, DVD's, games, events etc.
• Problem page.
• Cartoon/comic strip.
• Released fortnightly.

Female 6th form members (age 17-18):

• Fashion page.
• Music page.
• Extra curriculum event page.
• Sports page.
• Horoscopes.
• Problem page.
• Profile of the week.
• Exam updates.
• Released Monthly.
• Discount vouchers for school canteen.
• School colours Incorporated.
• Relatable picture.
• Atheistically pleasing on the eye.
• School name and logo.
• Catchy name – NOT SSFG.

Textual Analysis - Good Example

Front Cover:

This particular magazine called “The Griffin” I thought was one of the best school magazines published so far, as it had a clear conventional layout, ensuring the audience can read what is on the front cover to engage them in the rest of the magazine.

The fact that the background is plain with no distractions of clashing font colours, help the picture stand out instead of getting lost in a mish mash of colours. By having the font colours, such as purple and black, contrast with the light grey background and therefore the font is easy on the audience’s eye to read. This overall has a professional look to the magazine making it more aesthetically appealing to their target market.

By having the main image of the magazine placed in the centre of the page, helps to draw attention of the reader to the magazine, as well as having enough room to write the title of the magazine, sell lines, logo, buzz word etc. The title is positioned near the top of the page (where you would expect to find on most magazines) as it is one of the first thing the reader notices. The title is also emboldened and in italics to emphasise its importance and for those who know of the magazine can look out for the styled title. Although the use the title is a serif font and main image conveys a formal feel to the magazine, the rest of the cover lines seem to be in a sans serif font. This implies that the magazine is for people who are at a mature enough age to read it, but not too formal that their target market would not be interested to read what is inside.

By having a buzz word positioned around the outside of the magazine, a reader would glace upon this information first and want to pick it up due to the free promotional offer. Especially if this magazine is targeted at the teenage pupils who go that school, the competition of recieving a £15 iTunes voucher would appeal, as it is a good prize to win. Furthermore, the use of the logo at the bottom left hand side of the magazine represents the school, again making it seem more professional and appealing to their target audience.

Textual Analysis - Bad Example

Front Cover:

I decided to choose this magazine to do my textual analysis on as it is an unconventional looking magazine and felt it would have not gained many readers compared to my good example “The Griffin”.

Even though the title is position at the top of the page, pretty much near the centre, like a conventional magazine would, the rest of the front page is rather bare. The lack of information presented on the cover, doesn't really appeal to the audiences eye, as they do not know what this school is about or what the purpose of this magazine is. In one aspect the editor may have chose this on purpose, to intrigue their target market to pick up the magazine to find out more, as the front cover does not give much away. However, the majority of readers prefer some idea as to what they are reading and buying.

Although the picture is bright, bold, clear picture of a giant sharpener, helps to symbolise this magazine is to do with schools, the lack of information does not help the audience to understand what is inside or what it is about. Additionally, without a picture of a student from the school, the audience are unable to see how the pupil feels about their school and what the school has to offer.

With having no buzz word or telling you the price of the magazine, the reader does not know what is included in the magazine. By having a lot of space around the magazine represents the idea this magazine is empty and doesn’t have much to offer in it, for all the reader know, they only have a competition inside where you win a sharpener as the winning prize!

Overall, I decided unlike the magazine, I will include more than just a main image and a title to engage my reader in the school magazine (and my music one later on) as I feel that with just these two aspects on the page there is not enough wow factor for the audience wanting to pick up and read this magazine. Lastly, if the shoes were on the other foot and I was buying the new school magazine, I would prefer something bright, bold and eye catching to take my interest and that is way I will have my information displayed on my school magazine.

Research

Before analysing any school magazines, I decided to do some research to see what the typical conventions of a magazine are and what is generally included on a front cover. For example, the main features include are:

·         Advertorial - this is a piece of advertising used to look like it is part of the editorial.

·         Anchorage - used to show the exclusive in a magazine.

·         Banner - this is usually a strip of images of even a phrase across the cover of the magazine.

·         Barcode - a readable code machines can read, to define the price of the magazine.

·         Bimonthly - this means the magazine is published monthly.

·         Biweekly - this means the magazine is published every fortnight.

·         Body Copy - this is the main piece of text on a page.

·         Boost - the biggest sell line that is intended to increase sales of the magazine.

·         Bubble Gum Reader - this means the language is aimed at teenagers because it is easy reading.

·         Burst - an insert on the front cover, which contrasts from the main image in order for it to stand out e.g. "Free Cucina Vouchers!". 

·         Buzz Word - are words that gives a magazine reader the idea about what is going to be in a magazine.

·         Call-out - a part of the front cover that "shouts" out to the audience they are aiming at. 

·         Centre Spread - which is the two middle pages of a stapled magazine that includes some advertising or free posters that can be removed easily from the publication.

·         Colour Scheme - particular colours the magazine stick to, to make the brand recognisable.

·         Consumer Specialist magazines - which are magazine specifically targeted at a particular audience e.g. knitting.

·         Date - when the magazine is released.

·         Direct Mode of Address - this is when the information involves the reader by talking directly to them. Also, a model will generally be giving eye contact on the front cover, to again draw the reader in.

·         Dog End - a "pretend" fold on the page, which generally presents the page number.

·         Ear Piece - is a piece of information that is usually presented in the corner.

·         Hook - is aims to effect the reader, hopefully drawing the reader into wanting to read the rest of the story and in the end buy the magazine.

·         Issue Number - tells you how many issues there are, so if you collect magazines you know which one comes first.

·         Kicker - is usually an additional piece of information to influence the reader to buy it.

·         Main Image - is exactly what it says, which is the big main image.

·         Mast Head - this is the title of the magazine, which is conventionally at the top.

·         Menu Bar - these are generally at the side or at the bottom of the magazine to inform the reader.

·         Plug - is the information about the contents included in the magazine.

·         Puff/Teasers - this is a small snippet of text to attract the audiences attention.

·         Sell Line - a short, sharp description of the title's main advertising points.

·         Sky Line - is a strip of text above the Mast Head.

·         Tag Line - motto for the magazine.

·         The Third Left - which is a strip down the left, where the main storyline is.

·         Typography - this means the font that is chosen for the magazine should be clear and readable.

·         WOB(White On Black) - this means white writing on a black background.

By doing this research I have been able to gather any relevant information about magazines that I will ensure to include when creating my preliminary and coursework task. Afterwards, I looked at all the variety of areas of magazines that are available to buy in the shops and these included:

• Fashion
• Food
• Finance
• Music
• Arts
• Photography
• Sports
• Environment                                            
• Animals
• Science and Engineering
• Politics
• Business and the Economy
• Computers and Technology
• Trade
• World
• Weather
• Health and Medicine
• Traffic

Getting Started

Welcome to my AS Media Studies Blog!


Before starting my coursework I will be doing a preliminary task, to produce a front cover of a new school magazine. Therefore, I will do some research into what is in a conventional magazine and find out which ones are good examples and bad examples to give me inspiration when creating my one. Later on, I will be moving on to the main task which is to create a front page, contents page and a double page spread of a new music magazine, which I will be updating on here to show the different stages of my work and the progress I am making. Hope you enjoy reading my work:)