AS Media Studies Preliminary Task

School Magazine

Ross Richardson

My preliminary task will consist of a front cover and a content page for a school magazine. For the purpose of this task during the production stage I will carry out primary and secondary research and necessary photo shoot and magazine layout planning. In the post production stage I will use industry acceptable CAD (Computer Aided Design) to successfully create a front cover and a content page which will be critically deconstructed and evaluated in relation to my original design intentions.

Introduction

Secondary School Magazine Research

Front Cover Critical DeconstructionMise-en-Scene: the props used in the main image are the football and the football top. These are used to show the magazine may have tips on sports and sport events. The football top is fashionable and it may attract students who are into sports.

Mode of Address: the target audience is related to the visual modes of address such as the football and the football jersey. This makes it an enjoyable and easy magazine to read for students who are interested in sports.

Colour: the colour scheme of 'High School Illustrated' is blue as you can see the background goes from a dark blue at the top into a light shade of blue at the bottom. Also the football jersey is blue with some yellow and white. This colour scheme may attract more readers.

Typography: as you can see the fonts contrast. The words 'HIGH SCHOOL' are in large writing and the word illustrated is smaller. The heading of the magazine may catch peoples eyes as the words start off big then get smaller. The sub headings of the magazine are smaller because they are not as important as the main heading. The font on this school magazine falls into the category Serif. The font is like the font you would find on the Most Wanted Poster.

Camera Work: the main image is a student holding a football and wearing a football jersey. This could be showing the style of the football team and people interested in sports. He student on the front cover is smiling and looks happy which may grab more peoples attention.

Language: the language on the front cover is interesting and it is also relevant to the students interested in the school football team. The language gives the reader an idea of what is inside.

Layout: the layout of the magazine 'High School Illustrated' is organised and it looks neat. The heading is in big writing at the top of the magazine to attract peoples attention and the sub headings around the magazine are to make the readers interested on what is inside.

Mise-en-Scene: the props used in the main image are the books being held to show that the magazine is about college classes, studying and information on the college campus. The magazine may have tips on how to get used to college life or how to study in college.

Mode of Address: the target audience is related to the visual modes of address as the books being held on the cover show that the magazine will be interesting for people who are wanting to go to college or people who are already in college.

Camera Work: the main image on this College Magazine cover is a College student standing holding a bunch of books that must be used in the college. The student on the front cover of this magazine looks happy which may represent that he is happy being in college and that it is enjoyable.

Typography: the font on this Magazine cover is San-serif. The font is large and bold to grab the attention of people. It is a warm and welcoming colour. The font makes the magazine look more appealing. The sub headings are smaller on this magazine because the sub headings are not as important as the main heading at the top of the College magazine.

Layout: the layout of the magazine ‘COLLEGE Lifestyle’ is neat and tidy and it is organised very well. It is easy to read what is on the magazine. The sub headings around the sides of the magazine are to grab the readers attention and make them interested on what is inside the magazine.

Language: the language on the front cover is very interesting and it is relevant to students who are interested in going to college or students who are already in the college and want to know more about the college.

Colour: the colour scheme of ‘COLLEGE Lifestyle’ is black but the heading and sub headings are lime green and as you can see the colours go well together and it makes the magazine look good. There is some white and pink on the magazine cover.

Front Cover Critical Deconstruction

Content Page Critical DeconstructionMise-en-Scene: the background colour of this Content Page is white but it also has blue in it too. The font is large and it is black. The school crest is in the top right corner of the Content Page to show what school it is. There are a few images in the content page that are also further on in the magazine.

Layout: the numbers of the pages inside this magazine are on the left side inside a long blue box and on the right of these numbers is a list showing what is inside the Magazine. On the right side there are 4 pictures and on each picture at the bottom left side in the corner there is a number and this is to show the readers what page these pictures are on. The school crest is in the top right corner of the Content page and the background is white with some blue. The title is big to catch readers attention.

Mode of Address: the clear language used on this content page will make the content page easier for the related students to read and they will be able to use this to navigate what is on each page inside the magazine. The colours and fonts make the magazine look more appealing and interesting for the students.

Camera Work: the images on this Content page go from Medium close shot to medium long shot or Low angled shot. The images on the content page in this magazine relate to the subjects inside the magazine. These images show what sort of articles are going to be in this magazine.

Typography: the Main heading is in a large black San-serif font. The numbers on the left side and the numbers on the images are there to show the readers what page each subject or image is on. This is to make it easier for the reader to navigate through the magazine.

Language: the language used on the Content Page for this magazine is friendly and this will attract more people to read the School Magazine and this will make the School Magazine look much more appealing to the readers.

Colour: the colour scheme of the Content Page in this School Magazine is white but there is also blue at the top and left side of the page. The images each have a blue border around them to go with the colour scheme. The font is black and the school crest is white and blue.

Mise-en-Scene: the background of this Content Page is a picture of a school hallway and you can see the windows to the classrooms. On the top right corner there is a bubble which tells the readers what page they’re on. At the bottom of the Content Page it shows the school slogan.

Mode of Address: the language on this Content Page will make it easier to read for the students and it will make it easier for the students to be able to navigate through the Magazine. The colours on the Content Page make the Magazine look better and more appealing. This will attract more readers. The main colour on the content page is blue.

Camera Work: the images on this Content page go from Medium close shot to medium long shot. The images on this Content Page show the students in the school hard at work

Typography: the main heading is in a large black San-serif font with a blue shade behind it. There is a list of sub headings and on the left side of them sub headings there are numbers. These numbers are to show what page each of these topics are on.

Layout: on this content page the Main Heading is at the top of the page on the left and on the right there is a small bubble which says School News: “What’s Going On?”. On the left side there are numbers and sub headings to show the topics on each page. These are in an informal friendly order. On the right side there are images of students while they are in their classes in school. At the bottom of the page it shows their school slogan “Working Together To Achieve”.

Language: the language used on the Content Page is informal; friendly which makes the magazine feel welcoming and more inviting to the students. This makes the magazine look more attractive to the students reading it.

Colour: the main colour used for this content page is blue but there is also some white and yellow involved in the colour scheme. The background is an image an empty school hallway. Each image has a yellow border around them. The main heading has a shade of blue shadowing behind it.

Content Page Critical Deconstruction

Typography Analysis

“OK” Magazine is about all the latest celebrity news, gossip, TV shows and photos. The font of this “OK!” Magazine is San-serif. Most magazines are effective, memorable and eye catching. “OK!” Magazine has a big eye-catching effect which makes the magazine imaginative. The choosing of colour is clever because the colour of the title mixed with the colour of the background gives it a beautiful and interesting design.

“The Resident” Magazine is about London Culture, Homes and Interiors, Property, Education and Lifestyle. The font of “The resident” is Serif. The heading of the magazine is a big eye catcher because it is in a big font and it is in a gold colour which makes it very suitable to the magazine. The title gives the magazine a beautiful outstanding design because of the colour it is mixed with on the magazine. The background of the magazine is mostly white which makes the colours look amazing together.

“Red” magazine is mainly about women’s fashion and it is also about the latest recipes. The font of this “Red” Magazine is a beautiful hand writing like font. It makes the magazine look outstanding and it also resembles a signature and makes the magazine look like it was personalized. It looks like the title was written by someone and it looks amazing on the magazine. It gives the magazine a beautiful design and it mixes in well with the colour of the magazine.

Typography AnalysisLucida Handwriting Imprint MT Shadow PrimaSans BT

As you can see in the name of this font this font is a hand writing type of font and this type of font would be amazing for a magazine because this type of font looks like a signature. This font has a nice relaxing feeling to it and I find this interesting because this may make people feel relaxed and it may interest people more. This font is very creative because it is similar to joint up handwriting. This font looks like it is professional handwriting.

This font is very interesting and appealing. It has a very nice design to it and it is also easy for people to read it. This font is cool and it is appealing to the audience because if it is different and has a different style to it. This font would go well on the magazine and I think it would attract the younger groups more than the older because it is not just plain and simple.

As you can see the name of the font tells you that the font is San Serif. This font is very simple and contemporary. Due to its simplicity such fonts are widely used in print publications such as magazine, posters and flyers mostly because they are clear and easy to read. The simplicity and plainness of such font makes it formal and gives sense of uniformity and structure.

Primary School Magazine Research

60%40%

Are you Male or Female?Male Female

20%

40%20%

20%

What school year are you in?

Year 10 Year 11 Year 12 Year 13

20%

10%

10%30%

10%

20%

How often would you want a new School Magazine to

be released?Daily Weekly MonthlyOnce a Term Twice a Year Yearly

20%

10%40%

10%

10%10%

What sort of stuff would you like to read about in

the School Magazine?School Dinners School Events School TripsStudying Classes School Clubs Sports News

30%

70%

Would you like a School Magazine based for all

years or separate years?

All Years Separate Years 20%

80%

What sort of articles would you like to have in

the School Magazine?Long Articles Short Articles

20%

20%

10%10%

30%

10%

What do you like to read about when you

are not in School?Sports FashionGames MoviesCelebrity Gossip History Magazines

40%60%

What would encourage you to buy a School

Magazine?Freebies 5$ voucher on snacks

10%

30%

20%10%

10%20%

What sort of color would suit the School Magazine

best?Black Red Yellow Green Purple Blue

80%

20%

Would you help create the School Magazine?

Yes No

Market Research SummaryThe graphs showing the results of my 'School Magazine Questionnaire' are in the previous slides. The first question of my questionnaire was '”Are you Male or Female?” The majority of answers was male. The second question was “What school year are you in?” and there were 2 in Year 10, 4 in Year 11, 2 in Year 12 and 2 in Year 13. the third question was “How often would you want a new School Magazine released?” The majority of answers were Once a Term which I think means we will publish a new School Magazine at the start of each term to show what will be available during the term such as a new dinner menu or more study classes etc. and I think this is best because it gives the students the chance to be prepared for the new term ahead. The fourth question was “What sort of stuff would you like to read about in the School Magazine?” Most people said school trips but I think it would be best to include most of the options such as school dinners, school trips, studying classes and school events. This way the magazine may be more appealing to the students because they will know what sort of trips are planned throughout the term, they will know about what events are on during each school term and they will know when study classes are available for them to revise for class tests and end of year exams. The fifth question was “Would you like a School Magazine based for all years or separate years?” and the majority of people said separate years which I find better because then each year because they can each see what sort of plans have been made for their year. The sixth question on the questionnaire was “What sort of articles would you like to have in the School Magazine?” the choices were short articles or long articles and most people said short articles. I agree with this because short articles get to the point. If the articles were long then readers would find the magazine boring lose interest very quickly. The next question was “What do you like to read about when you are not in school?” and the choices were Sports, Fashion, Games, Movies, Celebrity Gossip and History Magazines. The most picked choice was Celebrity Gossip and I find this interesting because it shows people are interested in what celebrities do in their day-to-day lives. I feel that the magazine should have a section which shows what the pupils like to in their day to day lives inside and outside of school. The next question was “What would encourage you to buy a School Magazine?” the choices were Freebies and a 5$ voucher on snacks. People seem more interested in the 5$ voucher on snacks and I think if one was put in each School Magazine this would encourage many students to buy and read the magazine. The next question was “What sort of colour would suit the Magazine best?” There were many colours to choose from and most students chose the colour red. Red would look good on the Magazine and I think it will look good and appealing. The last question was “Would you help create the school magazine?” and majority of people said yes. This is very good because if there are more students helping create the magazine then there will be many ideas to make the school magazine more interesting and more appealing to the students.

Magazine Design Colour Scheme

Magazine Design Colour SchemeI decided to use these colours when designing my magazine because these are the colours that were available on my questionnaire and these are also the colours that were chosen by the 10 students who completed my questionnaire. The background will be blue with some white because the colour blue represents trust, honesty and loyalty and that is how I want the students to be with each other, the teachers and the rest of the staff in the school and I think the colour white will go well with blue on the magazine. Also the colour blue represents peace and calm and it represents safety which is how the school is represented. I will use red for the Masthead because the colour red represents energy, passion and action. The colour red also attracts attention and it makes the magazine more noticeable. I will use black for the text because the colour black represents protection from emotional stress. I will use the colour yellow for the sub headings because the colour yellow is bright and joyful and the colour yellow represents happiness. I will use the colour green for the borders because green is a nice, attractive, bright and joyful colour and I feel it will make the magazine more appealing to the students and I feel it will make the magazine more relaxing. I will use the colour purple for the border of the images because the colour purple is a nice colour for a magazine and the colour purple represents imagination and spirituality which I think best describes our school.

Magazine Front Cover and Content Page Draft 1

Cover Page and Content Page Initial Designs

Cover Page and Content Page Draft 2

Cover Page AnalysisOn the front cover of my school magazine “Prima SHOUT” I need to improve a few things in order to make my school magazine more appealing to the readers. I need to move the Masthead to the top of the page because I am using up room that could be used for other things on my cover page such as images or more subheadings. Also for the masthead I need to change the colour because I think that the colour yellow is not appropriate for the masthead of the school magazine. The graphical feature around the heading (Starburst) is too sharp and needs to be improved to be suitable for the cover page. The background of the cover page needs to be changed from a fading colour because of the costs. I feel that the main image should be an image of a group of students in the school feeling relaxed and happy at the end of another school day. I want the students to be happy and relaxed in the image to reflect the style of the school magazine. I need to add a banner onto the cover page saying “Prima International School Belgrade” to let the readers know the magazine is mainly for students in Prima International School. The cover lines are very plain on my cover page so I am going to work on a composition of cover lines. I am also going to remove the emoticons because they are very childish and my magazine is aimed at all ages in Prima International School. The overall cover is very plain and needs to be enhanced visually in terms of the overall design. I am going to add in a Webpage account e.g. www.primashoutmagazine.com

Content Page AnalysisI also need to make a few improvements on my content page for the magazine to make it more appealable and welcoming to the audience. The content page is very plain and needs to be improved to make it more lively and welcoming to the audience. The background on the content page also needs to be changed from a fading colour because of the costs. The mast head needs to be moved to the top of the page because it is taking up too much room. The layout of the cover page needs to be improved because it is very childish and appropriate for primary school children. I need to add more articles to the content page because the articles on the content page are exactly the same as the articles on the cover page so I need to add more articles onto the content page to show the readers that there is more to read further in the magazine. I also need to unify my content page and put the page numbers in order to make it look more presentable. The masthead on the content page is plain so I need to improve that to make it look interesting and eye catching. I need to make the magazine look more mature to show it is for all age groups because at the moment the magazine looks childish. I am going to remove the emoticons from the content page. I need to make sure the content page is in order so it is easy for the readers to navigate through the magazine. I am also going to add a punch line or a short summary below the article titles.

Cover Page and Content Page Draft Final Mockup

Cover Page and Content Page Draft Final Mockup

Photo-shoot Preparation

Photo-shoot Preparation

Front Cover Main Image – I would like the main image on the front cover to be an image of a group of students in the school feeling relaxed and happy after finishing another school day. I want the main image to have a relaxing and happy feeling to it because I want the main image to reflect the style of the magazine. The main image student feature will be mixed sex and mixed age to show the school diversity.

Images on Content Page – I would like to images on the content page to show the readers what sort of articles are going to be featured in the magazine. The images will also have mixed age and mixed sex students to show the diversity of the school and in these pictures the student will be doing activities that are available around the school such as basketball. One of the images will be an image of a fruit bowl to represent the article about the new school menu’s. there will also be an image of students studying for exams. This will show the students that study classes are now available. Each image will represent what the articles are about.

Photo-shoot Front Cover & Content Page

Content Page

Content Page

Content Page

Front Cover

Photo-shoot Front Cover & Content Page

Content Page Content

Page

Front Cover & Content Page Final Design

Preliminary Task Evaluation

Preliminary Task EvaluationMy preliminary task was to analyze and create a new school magazine Front Cover and Content Page involving many different topics of the students interests. First I researched existing magazines and analyzed up to three existing magazine Front Covers and Content Pages in order to become familiar with the design. Then I used this research to design my own Front Cover and Content Page drafts. I then used these drafts to see where I could improve for my final Front Cover and Content Page.

The layout of my magazine is similar to any normal school magazine except I wanted to make mine look more professional. The font I used in my magazine is san-serif because I feel that san-serif is the most appropriate for a school magazine and it is also easy for the students to read. To do this I had to analyze a few different san-serif and serif fonts to get an idea of which font would be suitable for a magazine and what font would look most appealing on a Front Cover and Content Page. I have included the mast head, sub heading, main cover lines etc. as a magazine has to have. Also the content that I used in my magazine is mostly relevant to school life but I included a few extra’s such as a quiz etc. to make it more enjoyable for the readers. I made the colour scheme of my magazine with many different colours in order to attract both genders to read the magazine.

In order to make the magazine to look more appealing to the readers I had to do a photo-shoot and take images of objects and students to show the topics that are inside the magazine. The main image of the magazine is an image of the three runners for presidents and as you can see by the clothes they are wearing it gives the magazine a professional, casual and relaxed feeling to it. I created a questionnaire to get information from students on what they would like to see on the school magazine such as topics, colours, fonts etc. and I used the results to make my magazine more appealing to the students and also to make the it more enjoyable and interesting for the students.

During this preliminary task I have gained more knowledge on how to research specific topics. I have also learned how to analyze magazines in a more professional way. My planning skills have increased as I had a big amount of planning involved in this task when I was in the process of planning and designing the school magazine. My organization skills have also increased as I had to organize how I was going to complete this task and I had to organize a photo-shoot and specific times to work on this task. There are a few certain changes I would make to improve the school magazine such as the images. Overall I am impressed with the final design of my Magazine Front Cover and Content Page.