Preliminary task
- 2. The model’s outfit helps the audience to recognise the main theme of the magazine. She is holding books and wearing a common school uniform, which clearly relates to the magazine’s contents and makes it clear that its topics are school related. Colour scheme flows throughout the whole cover, making it look professional and organized. The same colour pattern (red, white and black) also creates a sense of professionalism. As it is a school magazine, the use of date (September 2011) makes the audience aware of what the articles will include based on the school term. For example, as it is a September issue, articles about on start of the academic year are expected to be found inside the magazine. Masthead gives a hint of what the magazine is about. “iTeachU” suggests that it is about teaching or aims at who wants to learn, therefore the masthead attracts audiences who are interested in these. Puffs attract attention of the target audience as it offers help and guidance, for example, “the best tips & tricks,” the inclusion of this makes the magazine more appealing to its potential buyers.
- 3. The central image supports the theme of the magazine, as stated in the masthead, it relates to rugby and in order to reinforce this the model is posing with a rugby ball. The sell line is a important selling point for the magazine as it attracts attention and makes it appealing to the audience. If the sell line gets attention and interest, it is certain that the magazine will be bought. “Issue 27” helps readers to keep themselves organized with that issues they already have or need to buy, also, it enables readers to be up to date with the magazine and make sure they did not miss out on any issues. Puff containing rhetorical question brings up interest in the audience as curiosity arises with the question, this leads them to buying the magazine. It is often unusual to find a feminine colour, such as purple, in a magazine whose target audience is young rugby players because they are usually confident young men, perhaps the use of purple in this front cover was due to the colour theme of the school which the rugby team comes from. This front cover contains a website, possibly because if buyers are interested in the magazine as a whole, the website enables them to access it from other means and not by only physically buying the magazine.
- 4. The central image relates to the cover line; the children are holdings tablets, which links to “A focus on IT”, this strengthens the realism of the cover line by making it more factual with the image as a back up of the statement. Shades of blue are seem throughout the front cover, which maintains the same colour theme and keeps the cover simple but classy at the same time. The colour blue was possibly chosen in order to create a link between the school’s uniform and the magazine. The quote/slogan under the masthead gives readers a hint of what they will find inside the magazine, this is also done by the use of young children in the main image which clearly puts forward ideas about what type of articles or issues will contain in the magazine, and who they are based around, in this case, children. The cover as a whole is very clean and simple, making it more reliable and serious, this suggests that its target audience is adults, possibly parents of students, and not the students themselves, otherwise the cover would contain more colours and groovy features. The cover doesn’t contain codes and conventions that magazine covers usually include, such as a barcode, price or more puffs. However, the presence of a issue number and term makes it a successful school magazine; this makes frequent readers aware of what issue they are reading and allows them to keep up to date with the magazine of their taste.
- 5. This contents page meets its conventions as secondary pictures were included, usually these pictures also include the main model from the front cover. Numbers are in numerical form, which maintains a professional and organized look to contents page, as well as making it easier for readers to find pages that they are interested in. Colour scheme is continued throughout the whole page, usually these colours are the same as the front cover’s. The main articles stand out from the others. “Top story of this month” is at the bottom and a short description was included, in order to gain more attention as it is the key topic. Also, a picture was included next to each significant article. The photos used look sophisticated and link to the contents page as a whole; clean and simple, reinforced by the models’ academic body language.
- 6. Audience Research I questioned 25 people about what they think the essential elements of a school magazine are. In order to organise my results I have created a tally chart, as shown below. It is important to do an audience research because it is a way of becoming aware of what people want to see in a magazine. It also gives a good understanding of what should be included in the product, in order to interest the target audience. Features of a school magazine Results Student achievements ||| Future events || Photos of the school ||| Photos of students and teachers |||| Details (contact, e-mail, etc.) |||| Advice to parents or students ||||| Interviews with teachers ||||
- 7. Front cover proposal form Target audience: Age group, common interests, gender, etc. My magazine will be aimed at 16-18 years old, both males and females, these are sixth form students of a specific school; the magazine will not be available to students of other schools. However, younger students (potential sixth formers) might also be interested in the magazine as they will want to know about sixth form life, but current students are a priority. In order to appeal to my target audience, the magazine will vary between text and images, it will not be writing based as it might become uninteresting to young people. In parts in which writing is necessary, I will provide engaging and exciting stories/articles. Potential title ideas: Masthead/Title block - Task - BDS (Bishop Douglass Student) Main image: - Picture (close up) of a student doing work Main cover line: What will be the main story? “Exclusive interview with the new Sixth Form’s headteacher.” Additional images: Other key images that will be in the front cover. There will only be one main image in the front cover, however, extra photos will be added to the contents page. Additional cover lines: Other audience appropriate features, stories or selling points which will be inside the magazine. - Tips on A-Levels - Article about graduation - Uniform: Yes or No? - Head Boy/Girl candidates - Book offer Layout: Style, colours, fonts, etc. - Font Tahoma in different sizes - Colour pattern will be red, black and white - Ensure the front cover has a simplistic and clean look
- 8. Plan – Front cover Issue number Headline Website Coverline Main coverline Main/ central image Coverline Coverline Free gift/promo
- 9. Plan – Contents page Title Contents – page numbers with text Pictures School logo Website and social networks addresses (school’s)
- 12. Notes on the process Above are three of the images which I photographed in order to use for my school magazine front cover. They are quite similar, however, I’ve chosen the middle image as it is the one that relates the most to the theme of my magazine, ‘Task’; the model is concentrated and engaged with the work. Also, the layout and spacing of the middle image was the best out of the three as it is well centred and has enough space around for writing.
- 13. How did I change the picture? My chosen image was not dramatically changed as I was satisfied with its outcome. However, by using PicMonkey I adjusted its brightness and exposure, so that it stands out more than it did originally. Also, I cropped a part of the background as other people were showing, and I wanted the image to consist of only one person. Firstly I thought of changing the background of the image to completely white, but the original background creates a stronger sense of the theme of the magazine, as lockers and cupboards are shown (relating to school), therefore I decided to not alter it.
- 14. Brief • This task requested me to create a front cover and a contents page for a school magazine, I’ve decided to base it on sixth form. The front cover had to include a image related to the theme, which I had to take myself. This task was done as a practice for the music magazine, Also, it will be used as a comparison at the end, when I’ll have to evaluate my final music magazine. What have I learnt? • From making this magazine, I have learnt how to use PicMonkey more professionally, as before I could only use its basic tools. Also, from making the school magazine front cover and contents page I have gained a better understanding of what needs to be done in order to make a product appealing for a target audience. Additionally, I learnt what works well on a magazine and what doesn’t, for example for a front cover a medium shot looks good, however, a long shot would not be as suitable.