Harry Crouch - AS Media Coursework 2013/14

AS MEDIA COURSEWORK
HARRY CROUCH

PROJECT EXPLANATION
• For this project, the final outcome will be a finished Music Magazine cover page, contents page and double
page spread article. However, firstly I will be undergoing a preliminary project of making a Sixth Form magazine
which will consist of just the Cover Slide and the Contents Page. I will be researching a variety of different stuff
which will enable me to make my magazine properly to the target audience I will be marketing my product at.
This research will consist of things such as cover page analysis, representation of cover stars analysis, contents
page analysis, audience profiles as well as a variety of other important and useful things.
• Preliminary task: using DTP and an image manipulation program, produce the front page of a new
school/college magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in medium close-up plus some appropriately
laid-out text and a masthead. Additionally candidates must produce a DTP mock-up of the layout of the
contents page to demonstrate their grasp of their program.
• Main task: The front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine.
• You will be assessed on 3 aspects of the coursework.
• Research ands planning – 20 marks
• Production – 60 marks
• Evaluation – 20 marks

QUESTIONNAIRE
Name: ____________________ Date:____________________
For this questionnaire, please circle your answers. If for any reason you choose other, please specify your answer in the
space provided.
What is your gender?
Male Female
What genre of magazines are you into? (if any)
Sport Glamour Music Gossip None Other: ________________
What is your preferred choice of magazine from the list below?
Nuts FHM Heat 442 Xbox Guide OK Fabulous
Do you enjoy computer games?
Yes No
If yes, what genre is your favourite?
Shooter RPG Sports Strategy Adventure Other: ______________
What genre of movies do you enjoy the most?
Action Horror Romantic Comedy Western Other: ______________
What do you enjoy doing in your free time? (may circle more than one)
Sports Socialising Gaming Reading Watching TV Other: ____________
Do you like music listening to music?
Yes No
If yes, what type? (may circle more than one)
RnB House Dance Rap Hip-Hop Classical Garage Rock Techno
Heavy Metal Other(s): ______________________________________

AUDIENCE PROFILE (PRELIMINARY
SIXTH FORM MAGAZINE)
Target Audience: for the preliminary task, my target audience will be both male and female individuals with the age range from 16-19 as this is the
age range of the students who attend sixth form. However, from my research questionnaire, I found out that the majority of the boys I surveyed
are dominantly more interested in gaming and sports whereas the girls are generally more into fashion and music. Therefore I would need to
include content which would satisfy the different interests of my audience.
What content would I include and why?: Well as the interests of my audience are very different, it is essential that I include content which all
groups of people I surveyed would benefit from and enjoy. Meaning included in my magazine will be sections on sports and gaming, primarily
aimed at the male readers and fashion and music, based more for the females. And as the magazine is sixth form related, content will be included
regarding the sixth form such as important news and information, competitions and activities, updates on the sports teams scores etc.
What magazines do they read(if any)?: I found out from my research that the majority of girls are interested in magazines such as vogue whereas
the boys are more interested in magazines such as FourFourTwo and Men’s Health as well as some also opting with the choice of gaming
magazines. This is helpful to me as it will enable me to look at these magazines and what they include, gaining ideas from them to put into my
magazine. For the female readers of my magazine, I will include articles on the latest fashion trends UK music charts as this will likely attract them
the most as well as including other content aimed at them. For the male readers, I will include articles such as game reviews, the latest games
coming out on different platforms, latest sports news (internal and external) and tips on how to stay fit and gym exercises which would be of good
use (which will likely also attract the female readers as they tend to be more self-conscious with their appearance)
What socio economic group are they?: The socio economic group my target audience belong to are E: People at lowest level of income because
they are students and more than likely unemployed. However they do buy the magazine Vogue which is around £3.70.
How else could you classify them?: I could also classify and group my target audience as aspirers simply because my magazine will offer features
about celebrity gossip, fashion, sport, gaming and sixth form related subjects which gives the impression that they want to succeed and be like the
idol who is most likely a celebrity. This is a stereotypical view however, they may actually in fact be classified different such as a mainstreamer
because they just want to keep up with the latest trends.

Magazine’s main image of a student with a
medium close up shot. This will be the biggest
image on the page and will connote success
of the cover star as they’re showing off their
good grades. This image will take up the
whole page and will act as a background
with the rest of the cover acting over it, The
student with the grades will still be visible
however.
Preliminary Magazine Template
This area shows off the promotion. It’s clearly
indicating that there are prizes to be won inside
the magazine. Vivo miles are for students that
can redeem their points in for a reward on the
website. Giving away free gifts will expand the
audience because everybody likes the chance
of winning free stuff.
This is a puff and it looks like it’s been stuck on
the cover. I chose to use a different colour to
the rest of the cover for the puff as it will really
single it out and stand out to the audience.
The fact that it’s free will attract people to
read this magazine as they’re not having to
pay for it – students may not bring a lot of
money to school, so it’s good to offer things
they don’t need to pay for.
These are the supporting images and they connote
what other articles are included in the magazine.
It’s good to have supporting images on the front as
it will give the audience more of an insight on
what’s included inside. And as they’re different to
each other, there’s more of a chance for the
audience to see something that takes there eye,
which is better than having just one image
connoting what’s inside.
This is a caption and it supports the images that
are on the front cover by helping the audience
understand what the image is of and why it is
there. It also boosts the chance to attract the
audience, especially when it’s encouraging the
audience that they helped to achieve some
kind of a record like it has done there.
This is the masthead, it’s important that
the title is bold, bright and visible so it’s
easily seen and stands out to the
audience. The name of the magazine is
L.I.F.E (At Sixth Form) and it connotes
that the magazine is all to do with the
real world and the life of students that
attend Harris Academy Greenwich.
This is the Issue number and Date of
Issue, it’s important to have this on a
magazine cover so your readers are
aware on whether they’ve missed an
issue or if they’re up-to-date.

PRELIMNIARY MAGAZINE COVER (FINAL)
This is the final piece of my preliminary magazine cover, I kept to the structure of
the template with one dominant cover star with 2 supporting images down the
right hand side. I chose to use the colour of the school (burgundy/purple) as my
primary colour which is what the Masthead consists of, I chose to do this as I
believe if the magazine is going to be about Harris Academy Sixth form, the best
way to show this and present this is through details such as the colour. I also
chose to include the logo in the top right hand corner next to the masthead to
confirm to the audience that the magazine is based on the school. I chose the
name LIFE (at sixth form) as I thought it was catchy and represents the magazine
as being a symbol of what life as sixth former is like because it includes modern
interests of those who attend the sixth form. The main image links directly to the
splash which is very conventional for a magazine, it’s important that the two link
together for maximum effect because otherwise the front cover would not add
up and the audience could be confused. The main image is of a student
opening up his grades and the splash is labelled ‘BEST GRADES IN GREENWICH’
which instantly becomes visible to the reader. I used two puffs on the page, the
FREE in the top left overlapping the masthead is effective as it instantly shows the
audience that the magazine is free, increasing the number of readers, it is a free
magazine because students at the sixth form are in the ‘E’ socio-economic
group, meaning they are of a low income so they would not necessarily be
willing to pay for the magazine. The puff in the bottom right is a promotion and
attracts readers to the magazine as it is offering a competition with a chance to
win free prizes.
Overall, I believe my front cover is pretty conventional and the layout is
structured in the way a front cover of a professional magazine is set out with
straplines on the side as well as supporting images (if included), the splash at the
bottom, cover star central being the main focus with the masthead aligned in
the top left.

PRELIMINARY MAGAZINE
CONTENTS (FINAL)
This is the contents page I produced for my preliminary magazine, I used an image of a
sixth form student as it resembles the concept of the magazine, it is very conventional to
have a main image on your contents page which is why I chose to include one, it was
important to have him wearing his sixth form uniform to match the genre of the magazine
otherwise the two would not connect. The page is clearly titled at the top ‘contents page’
to instantly confirm to the readers what page they are on, another conventional feature
for any magazine. I also included the website of the school as well as the issue date as it
shows to the audience when the magazine was issued, for example if they have several
issues or need to find information from a certain issue, it’s made a lot easier by including
an issue date for future reference. Most importantly, the contents are included on the
page and I have put them under 2 sub-categories ‘contents’ and ‘sixth form’. I have done
this because it shows that under the ‘contents’ category, the content included in general
and is the more entertaining part of the magazine and will include the interests that was
gathered from the survey I issued. The ‘sixth form’ category on the other hand links with
the genre of the magazine and will include all content and information sixth for related,
which is comparison to many magazines such as Vogue or ‘Q’, the ‘Sixth Form’ category
suggests that it is the regular content of the magazine. I also included an ‘editor’s speech’
section located at the bottom of the page which is also popular with a lot of magazines,
it’s used primarily to get the reader more involved and make the magazine more
attractive to potential consumers, it could also be used to alert the readers of any
important news or information that is needed.

This is the masthead I chose
for my sixth form magazine,
“LIFE: at sixth form”, it
instantly represents the type
of magazine it is from the
title and is also suitable and
links with the target
audience as they will be
sixth formers.
This is the cover star of the magazine,
as you can see, he is wearing a suit
which demonstrates the uniform of the
sixth form as ‘business dress’, it links with
the purpose of the magazine and is a
very conventional feature of a
magazine to have, particularly largely
placed in the centre of the cover. The
image also links to the splash ‘best
grades in Greenwich’ because the
student is opening up his exam results,
which the audience can interpret from
the image.
These are the straplines of
the magazine on the front
cover, it is very
conventional of magazine
to have straplines to create
an overview of some
content included within the
magazine.
These are the supporting
images, not all magazines
choose to use these but
some do for extra effect
and to give the audience
more of an idea of content
included and it draws the
attention of the readers
more closely as the images
also give the readers a
visual idea of the content
included.
This is the puff, this is very conventional for a
magazine to have on their front cover and is said
to be one of the main drawing points for wanting
people to buy the magazine. It links closely with
the cover star for maximum effect and is the main
feature in the magazine.
This is a promotion and is very attractive to the
audience for the primary reason that people love
free things, it’s showing a competition included in
the magazine and is bound to attract people to
want to read more.

This is the list of contents, the
main focus of the contents
page and is a very
conventional feature for a
magazine. The contents is
categorised into two sub-
headings, ‘contents’ which
are the general entertaining
parts of the magazine to all
its readers and the ‘sixth
form’ sub-heading has
connotations of a regular
appearance in the
magazine, focused solely
on the sixth form.
This is the editors message
and is used in some
magazines to engage the
reader more in-depth into
the magazine as well as
being used to alert the
readers of any important
information etc.
This is the title of the page
and simply alerts the
readers of what page they
are on, the text is large and
easily visible, contrasting the
colour of the background
for maximum effect.
This is the publication information
and website information, I chose to
include these because it gives the
audience an idea of when the
magazine was published and how
relevant the information is. The link
to the website is also included
because one of the magazines
focus is delivering sixth form news
and more news will be found
updated on the website.
This is the main image on the
contents page and the costume he
is wearing is appropriate to the
magazine as he matches the
required uniform of business dress for
the sixth form.

WHAT I HAVE GAINED FROM THE
PRELIMINARY PROJECT
• From the preliminary project I managed to gain a lot of skills and more of an
understanding of the conventions of a magazine and why magazines
choose to do certain things. I learnt a lot of key words which will be
beneficial to my course and will help with my main project of constructing a
music magazine front cover, contents page and double page spread. I am
now aware of what I need to do in order to improve my production skills and
make a very professional music magazine.

TARGET AUDIENCE
• From my questionnaire that I created for the public to get an idea of what types of magazines they are in to as well as
finding some general information about them in order for me to be able to construct my magazine in a certain way.
Because primarily I’m creating a R&B/hip-hop magazine, I chose to survey predominantly males between the age of 16-
24 as well as also surveying some females too, the reason I chose to survey males more than females is because
stereotypically males would be more into the hip-hop genre of music. The majority of people I surveyed were aged
between 17-19 with around 63% of them in employment, meaning that the socio-economic group for these will range
from C/D to E, this is because the majority of the 63% in employment are working class and those not in employment are
students or just do not have a job, meaning they will likely fit in the ‘E’ socio-economic group as they are of low income,
likely being a student. Regarding magazines, I asked the people I surveyed what type of music they are in to and what
genre of music magazine would they most likely be interested in, The majority of people were in favour of R&B/hip-hop
magazines or indie magazines, this is useful for me because it does suggest that a large number of people around my
target age range are interested in hip-hop music/magazines, which is the genre of magazine I will be creating. I believe
these music genres are the most common genre because these genres are more mainstream and get played on the
popular radio stations such as Kiss100 or Capital FM frequently. I also asked how often (if at all) do they buy music
magazines, around half of them do not buy magazines at all which can be quite worrying, however the other half do buy
magazines prefer to buy them monthly, because of this, I will be choosing to make my music magazine a monthly issue
as this is the most popular and because the main socio-economic group which my target audience fits in is those of a
lower income, monthly payments will be more suitable rather than weekly. After research, I also discovered that many of
the major music magazines also issue their magazines once a month. When surveying people, I also found out what
people would typically enjoy doing on the weekend, I found out from my responses that my target audience mainly
enjoy socialising with friends as well as listening to music either at home alone or in a group either with friends or at a
party. I also asked my target audience who their current favourite artist is in order to get an idea of sub-genres etc,
Kanye West, Jay Z and Eminem came up quite frequently which suggests the majority of my target audience are into
mainstream hip-hop/rap which shows that my music magazine should involve contents from stars in the industry like
these. Finally, I asked people within my target audience if they had ever been to a concert of an R&B/hip-hop artist and
around 67% of people asked said yes with 100% saying they would like to go to a concert/go again. I’ve managed to
gain some important information from my survey and it has given me an idea of the content to include which would
benefit and entertain them.

TARGET AUDIENCE / SURVEY
RECAP• From my survey I constructed, I managed to identify my target audience. Originally my target audience is
primarily males between the age 16-24. They tend to buy magazines only once a month and tend to stick
to a certain genre type, being hip-hop, the most common magazines that came up were Vibe magazine
or XXL. The vast majority of my target audience are working class with salaries at the lower end of the
scale or in education (sixth form/college/university) meaning they also have a low income, therefore I will
need to have this in mind when setting the price of my magazine. I managed to find out from the people
that I surveyed that 67% of them have been to a hip-hop/R&B concert with 100% of them wanting to
go/go again, this suggests that they like to get involved with the genre and enjoy the music a lot which
will help with the content I include and I will make sure it will be enjoyable and fit their wants.

This information connotes that the magazine gets
more male readers than female readers.
Because of this, Q Magazine is going to aim
slightly more of its content at a male audience as
they top the gender that reads this magazine.
They do make sure that they produce content
that is readable for everyone though however.
This information shows that the majority of the Q audience
are higher up in the Socio-economic ladder. These are
people such as bankers, lawyers, teachers, nurses etc. This
connotes that the magazine attracts the more sophisticated
and hard-working people. However, 32% of the audience
are lower in the socio-economic ladder, these range from
skilled workers down to unemployed people or students. So
the magazine must produce all kinds of content to relate to
all kinds of people.
This age range connotes that the majority of readers of Q
magazine are within the 15-24 age range, topping it with
38%. From this information you can also tell that the older the
age range gets, the less amount of readers that there is, so
this magazine is definitely aimed at a younger audience.
Advertising companies would want to advertise in this
magazine if their audience is for young to middle-aged
people as they’re the majority of readers for this magazine.
Q Magazine Audience

The race who reads this magazine the most is
very clear, by a long distance Black/African
American are definitely the most common
readers with 75% of the audience. Due to this,
Vibe magazine will aim to keep these readers
interested and aim more of their articles at this
race.
This section shows the kind of people who read
this magazine. The majority of people that read
are in employment, this further connotes that this
magazine is for a more mature audience as
many people of working age are reading it.
The magazine
mainly attracts
people within the
age bracket of 18-
34, this connotes
that the content
within the magazine
is for mature
audiences as 18 is
the start of
adulthood. To
further back this up,
the majority of the
readers are aged
21+, which makes
them even more
mature so the
magazine is clearly
for people of a
higher age.
It’s clear from this
information that
Vibe magazine is a
mutual magazine
and aims at both
male and female;
however there’s
slightly more male
readers than female
(55%-45%). This
connotes that the
magazine aims to
include everyone
but has more
content that attracts
males.

This shows that the split between the
audiences from socio-economic
groups who read this magazine are
pretty much even. (51%-49%), so this
means that Kerrang! Must include all
various kinds of features in their
magazine to make sure that it will
keep all their readers attached as
they are all from different lifestyles. If
Kerrang! was a magazine that
focused simply on a specific
audience, then you would see the
socio-economic ladder tilt more to
one side.
This information connotes that
more Kerrang! readers are
male other than female. (60%-
40%) due to this, Kerrang!
Magazine are going to aim
more of their content at the
male audience as they’re
aware that that’s where more
of their readers come from.
They will still make sure that lots
of content is there to attract
the female audience but the
majority will be aimed at men.
From this information, you can tell that the vast majority of the
audience fits into the 15-24 audience.

MAGAZINE COVER COMPARISON
Masthead, this is the name of the magazine and it’s situated at
the top of the page as this makes it very easily visible and easy
to spot in shops.
These are the main images of the front cover, also known as cover
stars. These are used to attract possible consumers to the
magazine as they tend to be the main feature of the magazine. As
you can see, the cover stars on the two magazines are very
contrasting, this represents the difference in the magazines genres,
you can tell from the cover star on Vibe that it is a hip-hop/R&B
magazine, whereas the cover star on Kerrange connotes the
magazine of being in the rock genre
As you can see, both magazines use straplines on their front covers
which is very conventional for a magazine as it gives their
audience an insight on what is included in the magazine and
increases the chance of attracting people to buy it.
These are called kickers, this is where some font on the page is
different or bigger than the rest, they do this so stories stand out
and makes it clearer to the reader of the main story. In this case,
they are also a part of the cover’s splash, this means that this is the
main story on the magazine and it’s featured on the front cover of
the magazine. It’s very conventional for a magazine to have its
main story strapline stand out from the rest of the page.
This is a puff, these seem like they have
been ‘stuck on’ the page, they use this
because it draws attention to it easily and
it helps to signal attracting information
such as FREE posters or a type of
competition. Vibe also has one in the
bottom right of their cover (GREEN BOX)
Barcode, conventional of a magazine to
place somewhere on the front page,
doesn’t really relate to any of the
magazines content. Kerrang’s barcode is
situated on the bottom left of their front
cover (YELLOW BOX)

MAGAZINE COVER ANNOTATION
This is the Masthead of vibe
magazine and it’s typically a
conventional masthead,
particularly for a hip-hop
magazine. The font is large
and bold, easily readable
meaning it stands out to
possible consumers.
This is one of the straplines
featured on the front cover
of this issue of Vibe
magazine, they are easily
readable with the text
colour contrasting the
background colour for
maximum effect. The colour
red is used for the bigger,
bolder parts of the straplines,
as red is more of a
masculine colour it connotes
that it is aimed primarily at
males, and with Busta
Rhymes on the front cover,
masculine colours are
needed.
This is the cover star, who is a
famous rap artist named Busta
Rhymes, it is conventional for a
magazine to have a cover star,
in fact it would be incredibly
odd without one. The cover
star itself connotes the genre of
the magazine and confirms to
the audience that the
magazine is hip-hop/rap
based. The tape over Busta
Rhymes’ mouth links with the
main headline ‘the untold
story’.
This is the main story and the
main selling point of the
magazine. In relation to a
stereo-typical layout of a
magazine, it’s in an unusual
place as conventionally, the
splash is located under the
Masthead towards the bottom
or side of the magazine and is
clearly larger and noticeable
than the strapline.
This is some examples of
publication, this section
includes the barcode, price,
magazines website as well
as the issue date which is
helpful for readers to identify
how recent the issue is,how
much it will cost etc…

ANNOTATION OF CONTENTS PAGE
Suitable background
The background that Vibe magazine has
used for this contents page is just a plain
white backdrop, however it is still effective as
it contrasts with the rest of the page which
enables the content to stand out more such
as the text and even the main feature stars.
Main feature star
This image shows off the ‘sexy
side’ to music and features 2
much loved women from the
magazines genre type. They
are using direct mode of
address which makes it seem
they are looking directly at the
audience, making them seem
involved deeper into the
magazine, this is important as
it keeps the readers involved.
It’s also symbiotic co-
dependency as the feature
stars get paid to do this photo
shoot and the magazine gets
more attention for them being
in it, therefore a wider
audience.
Contents & Features
Arguably the heart of the page, however it’s
strongly argued that despite it being a contents
page, the primary focus is still on the images used.
However the contents do give the readers an
insight of the magazine, showing off what’s
including, attracting them to read on.
Main heading
The main heading contrasts the
background it’s set on, this
shows that it’s supposed to be
clear to the audience what page
it is. The font is also big and
bold which adds to the impact it
has on the page.
Sub-headings
The sub-headings are used to show the different
sections of the contents page and to separate them
into different categories, for example some
magazines have a structure on their contents page
including contents, features & monthly regulars..

ANNOTATION OF CONTENTS PAGE 2
Main feature star
The main image connotes that it’s
supposed to be targeted towards
more of a male audience, this is
clear because the woman in the
image is wearing revealing clothes.
Eliza Dushku is using direct mode of
address which effective in making
the readers feeling like they are
involved with the magazine by
having the star looking directly at
them. By having this star on the
page is symbiotic co-dependency
because both the magazine and the
cover star are getting something out
of this, the magazine is getting
attention from Eliza Dushku’s fans
and Eliza herself is getting paid to
feature on the page, therefore they
are both benefiting.
Contents
This is the most important
text on the page as it
signifying what this issue of
FHM is about, it shows
what’s included in this issue
by including the headlining
and underneath writing a
brief piece of text saying what
the article will be about. This
is helpful for the readers as
they can skip directly to
pages that they are most
interested in.
Background
The background is very basic as
it’s only a plain white colour, the
colour white is quite a neutral
colour however the cover star
on this page will attract more of
a male audience than women
so maybe a colour more
associated with men would
have been more suitable.
Logo
FHM chose to put their famous logo
on the page as it confirms to the
reader that they are reading an FHM
magazine, it is also used for
copyright reasons, by them having
their name on the page shows that it
belongs to them
Main Heading
The main heading, which is ‘contents’ connotes
what the page is and the fact that it is in a black
colour which contrasts to the white background
suggests that this heading is particularly meant
to stand out in order for the readers to instantly
know what the page is regarding.
Name of Star
This shows the
readers who is
featured on the page,
the fact that the
number ‘62’ has been
included above the
name connotes that
the girl is being
ranked in some kind
of table.

ANNOTATION OF CONTENTS PAGE 3
Cover Star
‘Q’ chose to use Oasis as their cover
stars because the months issue of ‘Q’
was dedicated mainly to Oasis, this will
attract more of an audience because
Oasis has a very large fan base and
their fans are going to be attracted to
buy this issue of the magazine because
they will be able to find out a lot more
information about them as well as get
posters etc. This is symbiotic co-
dependency because both Oasis and
‘Q’ are benefiting by these being
featured on the page. ‘Q’ will be getting
more attention towards their magazine
because Oasis fans will be encouraged
to buy the magazine purely because of
them, they may also like what they see
and begin to buy the magazine
regularly, and Oasis are getting paid to
be featured in the magazine as well as
increasing the chance of them
increasing their fan base because ‘Q’
readers may read about the band and
like what they see therefore they may
begin to become fans of Oasis too,
Issue Number, Date of Issue and
Website
This is included on the contents page
as it shows what issue number the
magazine is and when it was released.
Also, the website is included for
advertisement because fans of ‘Q’ will
see the website and choose the have a
look at it to see what else it has to offer
other than just the magazine.
Contents and Features
This text is the most important of the
page because it is what the page is all
about, it shows what’s included in the
magazine so it makes it easier for the
readers to find articles that they are
most interested by. This contents page
also features a special section to show
off this issues main attraction which in
this case is the band ‘Oasis’, this is
good marketing and all Oasis fans will
be encouraged to buy the magazine as
they are the main features in it and it’s
giving them what pages their articles
are on so their fans can easily view
them. Furthermore, they also include a
section to the contents called ‘every
month’, this shows what’s always
included in every issue of ‘Q’, so it
connotes that it’s almost like a tradition
for the magazine to include these things
in it, possibly because it’s interesting for
their fans so they include what pages
they can find the stuff on to make it
easier for them.
Headline and Logo
The headline connotes what the page is
about, they chose white for the font
colour as it contrasts the colour of the
background (black), this creates the
impression that they want the headline
of this page to be easily identified. Also,
they included their logo on the page as
it illustrates what magazine this page is
from and also to prevent copyright
issues.

Supporting images
These supporting images add a bit of
humour to the page and it connotes
that Rihanna often changes her hair,
this is supported by the sub-heading
being called “hair today, gone
tomorrow”. They are not related to the
article, however they still attract
readers, particularly from Rihanna’s fan
base as content involving her will be of
their interest. A lot of Rihanna’s fans
will be intrigued to find out the different
hairstyles she’s had because they see
her as a role model, therefore they may
consider having a similar hairstyle.
Sub-heading
This sub-heading is used in
order to illustrate a different
topic regarding Rihanna, this
is not particularly
conventional for a magazine
as they typically focus a
double page spread on just
one topic, however this is still
attractive to Rihanna’s
fanbase.
Main image
The close up image which consists of Rihanna using direct mode of
address to the audience is conventional for a magazine and it
draws the attention of the reader. As the image takes up a large
portion of the page, its clearly the main attraction particularly as the
bright red hair draws attention.
Main headline
The headline of this article
connotes that it’s going to be about
Rihanna’s song ft. Drake, ‘what’s
my name’. It uses bright but
neutral colours such as yellow and
blue which means it’s not trying to
aim the article at just one audience
and wants to involve both males
and females. The song was a big
hit in the UK charts and a wide
number of people enjoyed the
song and as it also features Drake,
his fan base may also be attracted
to this article.
Article
The article on this double
page spread is not incredibly
long, the majority of the
pages space is taken up by
images, suggesting they are
primarily the focus of the
page. However it does
suggest that the article was
kept short-and-sweet and
included what was needed
rather than just making it
long including information
which was not necessarily
interesting. The magazine
was able to pull this off
because of the status of
Rihanna and her images
alone are very attracting.
White space
Having the white space in the background definitely isn’t always a bad thing; in this case, the white space assists the rest of the
content on the page by singling it out. For example, because Rihanna has the amounts of white space around her that she does,
her bright picture stands out from the rest of the page.

MASTHEAD
Special edition title of magazine here
MAIN IMAGE/
COVER STAR
Straplines
Straplines
Straplines
Straplines
Straplines
Straplines
Straplines
Straplines
Strapline
Strapline
Strapline
SPLASH
PUBLICATION
This is where the masthead
of my magazine will be
located, I’ve chose to put it
in a conventional place and
I will also use a bold font. The
colour of the font will be red
and the size of the text will
be pretty large to make it
easily readable.
This is the headline at the
top of the magazine, I will
make my magazine a
special edition magazine
which includes exclusive
features as I think this is a
very effective way of
encouraging people to buy
a magazine.
These are where I’m going
to put the straplines to my
magazine, it’s a
conventional place for a
magazine to put them and I
will use these to promote my
magazine and encourage
my audience to buy it with
the content included in the
magazine.
This is where the main
image/cover star will be
located. I have chose to
place it centrally and it will
take up the majority of the
page. I will pick an image
that best suits the genre of
the magazine and style of
the front page.
This is the main headline of
the magazine which relates
directly to the double page
spread. This will also closely
link to the special edition title
at the top of the page.
The publication information
of my magazine will be
located here in the bottom
left-hand corner of my
magazine, I will custom-
make this to make it seem
unique and fit well with the
colours and purpose of my
magazine cover/magazine
in general.
Front cover mock-up

CONTENTSDATE/PUBLICATION INFO
CONTENTS
SUPPORTING
IMAGE RELATING
TO MAIN STORY
MAIN
IMAGE
COVER
STORY
EXCLUSIVE
SUBSCRIPTION
INFO
This is the title of the contents
page, I will try and make it
as creative as possible by
possibly writing the word
‘contents’ slightly slanted
because I have taken
inspiration from Vibe as I
have seen them do similar
things on their contents
pages, it gives the title a bit
of flair.
This is the main image that
will be the primary focus of
the contents page, I will be
choosing an image that suits
the structure of the contents
page as well as the overall
purpose of the magazine.
This is where I will have the
date/publication info of the
magazine, it’s a convenient
place to have it under the
title as it fits well with the
surroundings.
I will be putting a supporting
image here and it will
related directly to the
special edition magazine
that I will be choosing to
further promote it and make
it looks more realistic.
This is where I will put the
main story headline, I will
make it considerably larger
and it will be in front of the
main image which will show
it’s directly relating to them.
I will be placing subscription
information for my magazine
here at the bottom of my
contents page so it does not
interfere with the content
but it is also visible and
attractive for the readers.
This is where I will put my
main list of contents, I will
have them in a column and I
will choose appropriate text
that suits the page as well as
the main genre and style of
the magazine.
Contents page mock-up

MAGAZINE MASTHEAD RESEARCH
The well-known Kerrang! Masthead was carefully selected by the magazine in order
to relate to the genre of the magazine. The capital letters, exclamation mark and
lines through the letters suggest that it’s a rock genre magazine. The white font
connotes that it’s a magazine that appeals to both male and female audiences as
white is a very neutral colour.
The Vibe masthead creates the impression that it’s a music magazine based on the
hip-hop genre. The fact that it’s using a bold black colour connotes that it’s meant to
appeal to both audiences as it’s not a colour that is exclusive to a certain gender.
The name ‘vibe’ also illustrates that the magazine is meant to give a good buzz.
The name of the magazine ‘Men’s Health’ connotes what the whole magazine is
about, a magazine purely based on men’s health. This also makes it clear on the
target audience, it’s aimed at a male audience of an age range 18+. The colour red
is also more of a masculine colour which is why they’ve chosen to use this colour
instead of a colour like pink as that would be more associated with women.
OK! Magazine is a basic but very well-known masthead. The typography is a white,
basic bold font which makes it very clear to be able to read and as it’s so simple it’s
very easy to remember. The white font suggests at the magazine is aimed at both
male and female audiences as white is a very neutral colour.

NAME OF MAGAZINE / MAGAZINE
• The music magazine I am creating will be called POINT magazine, I believe that this is a very good, short
and effective name for a variety of reasons.
• Firstly, the name is short and sweet which is always conventional for magazine across the genre’s, it is very
unlikely for a music magazine to have a name which is much longer than what I have chosen, the most
successful music magazines, particularly in the hip-hop genre are ‘XXL’ and ‘Vibe’ which are clearly even
shorter than mine but they are still effective and suit the genre.
• Next, the name ‘point’ originated from a saying stereo-typically used by lovers of hip-hop. For example, if
somebody was wearing nice clothes or they had good hair, they would be considered as looking ‘on
point’. This is where I came up with the name for my magazine as well as it being short and to the ‘point’.
• At this point as I have not carried out extensive masthead research, I have not chosen a font so above is
only temporary. I will be using a font similar to this though as it is conventional for a hip-hop magazine to
use fairly straight, bold font. I will also be using the colour red for my magazine as it is a good standard
colour and will appeal more to my target audience as well as suiting the layout of my page.
POINT

MY MAGAZINE MASTHEAD
PLANNING
POINT –
POINT –
POINT –
POINT -
This is font style Agency FB (BOLD), this is one of my choices for the masthead of my magazine
because I like the style of my font, it’s clear, easily readable and plain but to the point where it
has an impact and represents the genre of the magazine. I chose to use the colour red
because it’s more of a masculine colour which is what the general ideology is of hip-hop.
This font style is Arial Black (BOLD) and I believe this could be a good choice for the masthead
of my magazine because it stands out really well and will be very easily read at the top of the
front cover, drawing attention instantly from the public which is important for a magazine.
This is the Aharoni (BOLD) font, it is similar to the Arial Black font just with the exception that is is
slightly less bold and not as wide, however it could still be very good for the magazines
masthead and could be a very good alternative when trying different mastheads because if I
notice that the Arial Black font is just a bit too large, then I know this font may work.
This is another potential font I may use for the masthead of my magazine, the font is called
Euphemia (BOLD) and although it does not seem very bold and full, I believe with the right
execution and appropriate content on the page, it could fit in well with the genre of the
magazine.

POINT• This is the font I will be using for my masthead, it is Agency FB (BOLD) and I have worked with it
as well as the others shown before in my planning and I believe I have managed to create a
very realistic/hip-hop-like front cover using this masthead. The balance of the font is perfect
for my magazine, it’s not too big nor is it too slim/narrow, it allows me to have the best of both.
It suits the genre of the magazine well and followed by the colour of the masthead which I
have chosen to be red, it connotes a masculine, easy to read and effective masthead which
is what is very conventional from a hip-hop magazine, which can be supported by looking at
similar magazines such as vibe and XXL. You can also see that red is a common colour
chosen for these magazines.

REPRESENTATION OF COVER STAR
The representation of the cover stars on the cover
of XXL are stereo-typical of a hip-hop artist and
they are coming across as dominant and strong.
This is shown through the mise en scene of the
cover. The costumes of the two are purposely
used to represent the cover stars in a certain way,
Soulja Boy has his shirt off and 50 Cent has a vest
top with a mask on, this works closely with the
main strapline of ‘a hater’s worst nightmare’,
these are meant to come across as strong and
scary which is also shown through their firm body
language. Soulja Boy is standing straight making
him look like a strong figure and generally
intimidating. 50 Cent is behind soulja boy with his
arm around him, suggesting that they are close
friends and will have each other’s back, it also
suggests that 50 Cent is supporting Soulja Boy.
Both of the cover stars are using direct mode of
address, again representing them as strong and
dominating as well as intimidating in relation to
the main strapline.

REPRESENTATION OF COVER STAR
I will be having my cover star represented in a
similar way to how T.I is being represented on the
cover of this VIBE magazine issue. T.I is coming
across as a mixture of things, authoritative,
intellectual and dominant which I believe is a
good mix and is a good way for a hip-hop star to
be represented as that is generally what the
music is about and how the artists want to be
interpreted. I will select my model’s costume
according, my model will be a male and will be
wearing something along the lines of a suit as
this has connotations of authority, intelligence
and dominance. I will also set my model to use
body language in a certain way in the picture in
order for his representation to come across as
effective as possible. I will try to match my cover
star similarly to this issue of Vibe magazine as it is
clearly showing the representation which I am
aiming for.

These are examples of front covers from different
magazines that also show the same representation of the
cover star that I will be trying the represent mine as. 3 of
the magazine covers at the top feature hip-hop artist T.I
and in each cover he is represented in a similar way, it’s
clear that he wants to come across sophisticated and
intelligent as well as looking in control and dominant
which is the stereo-typical ideology of hip-hop. When
taking my pictures, I will aim to take pictures of my model
in similar clothing to those shown on these front covers
because the right balance between smart clothing as
well as the facial expressions and body language of my
cover star will demonstrate representation of my model as
sophisticated but still dominant and in control.
PLANNING OF MY FRONT COVER STAR

IMAGES /
WEEK 1
These are the best selection of pictures I
managed to take of my model. I wanted the
images to be as professional as possible and I
was able to use professional photography
equipment such as a high performance Canon
camera and photography spotlights to create
lighting emphasis on my model’s face. I was able
to use this equipment as a friend from Sixth Form
aspires to be a photographer and has the
necessary photo-shoot equipment and she kindly
allowed me to use them as well as giving me
pointers on lighting and how to take the pictures
as effective as possible. I shot my model in a
variety of different positions and with a selection
of clothes to give me more of a variety in choice
so I have choices for my front cover, contents
and double page spread. It’s clear that I have
chosen the more sophisticated look because this
is going to work well with the main feature of the
magazine which is the ‘Man of the Year’ comp.

IMAGES / WEEK 2
After my first photoshoot, my class from sixth form was able to use
some photography equipment from the photography department
in school so I took some more pictures with my classmates to see if I
could take better pictures or find some more pictures I could work
with on my contents page or double page spread. Although I do
like some of the pictures taken, I’m not sure where they would be
able to play a major role in my magazine, however I have an idea
on how they can be used for a supporting image on my contents.

STRAPLINE PLANNING
Puff/Strapline
This is a puff and it includes
information and included
content in the magazine in a
more creative way. The feature
looks like it’s been stuck of the
page and customers will be
attracted to it, it suits the genre
of the magazine, however it
would be hard to implement this
effectively for a hip-hop
magazine such as what I will be
creating.
Strapline
This strapline is fairly large
despite it not being the main
strapline, this has connotations
that it’s a major selling point of
the magazine and is set to attract
a lot of readers. The strapline
partially goes over cover star
Cheryl Cole however only slightly
meaning the image is still clearly
visible and effective.
Strapline
The straplines are conventionally
aligned to the left and are
columned with background
colours of red and white which
closely link to the ‘Q’ masthead
and logo. These straplines show
off a list of worldwide artists that
are included in the magazine to
attract readers.
Main strapline
This is the main strapline, it
anchors the image and is located
clearly and boldly at the bottom
of the page to show that it’s the
main feature of the magazine,
this strapline is intentionally
larger than the others on the
page. Again, ‘Q’ is sticking to the
same colour scheme using a
dominant red and white colour
for full effect.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD PLANNING
This is an example of a double page
spread from huge hip-hop magazine
Vibe, this double page spread is set out
similarly to how I will be choosing the lay
out mine. I will be having my model on
the left side of the page just like Soulja
Boy is in the example, it will be a side
profile head shot which is what is also
shown on this page. I will be choosing to
do this because it will be an effective
way to suggest how my model is ‘looking
over his success’ as the winner of the hip-
hop contest that my whole magazine is
about, this will be created by having my
article on the right side which makes it
seem as if my model is looking directly at
the article.

STRAPLINE PLANNING
MAN OF THE YEAR
CONTENDERS
INSIDE
OFWGKTA
TYLER KEEPS
CREATING
MIGUEL
“LET MY LOVE
ADORN YOU”
MY NAME IS WHAT?
MY NAME IS WHO?
MY NAME IS…
*CHICKA CHICKA*
SLIM
SHADY
These are the straplines that I have chosen to use, I believe they
strongly suit the genre of my magazine and are up-to-date and
enticing, encouraging the readers to want to buy my magazine.
I will be using one dominant font which was Agency FB which is
also the font I will be using for my masthead as seen on the
previous slide, I chose to do this as it keeps the balance of the
cover right and keeps to conventions, making it look as
professional as possible. The colours I have chose to use are red
and white, suitable for the hip-hop genre of my magazine and
the colours balance out well over the background of my magazine which I will be setting
as black so these are fully visible and effective. I will be using a good mix of regular and
bold font for my straplines to further show effect and for key parts of the straplines to stand
out. I did choose one different font for my straplines and that’s for the ‘slim shady’
strapline to the left. I used Xpress Heavy SF so this strapline in particular would stand out
and be very effecting because one of the biggest hip-hop stars ever is Eminem and the
strapline is a quote from one of his songs which will be noticeable to my readers and they
will understand the change of tone in the song when he says ‘slim shady’ in this phrase.
These straplines will wrap around my main cover star which is why I’ve aligned them
accordingly to best fit the structure of my front cover, the straplines are all relevant and
suit the purpose of my magazine.

FRONT COVER IMAGE
This is the process I used to select the cover star for my front cover, because I will be planning to have a
dark background for my magazine cover, I chose to firstly adjust the brightness/contrast of my selected
image in order to take away some of the effect from the light. Once I was satisfied with the result and
adjusted the image accordingly, I then set the background to transparent by carefully going around the
edges to make it look as professional as possible, this will enable me to be able to place my image on the
front cover of my magazine without any edges and it will sit well with the background. I realised I had a
problem with this image once I had selected it, as you can see when I shot the picture, I seemed to have
missed the top of his hair/headline and because I really liked this picture I used Photoshop in order to
construct the top of his head by manipulating it from another picture I had taken and I am extremely
happy with the result as it blended well and is completely unnoticeable.
Firm body language and direct mode of address which has
connotations of confidence and dominance as well as the
sophisticated, smart clothing, matches the representation that I
am making my model come across as.

CONTENTS PAGE MAIN IMAGE
This is the main image that I will be
using for my contents page, like my
front cover I will also be using a dark
colour in order to show continuity
with my whole magazine. I am
deciding to place this image on a
grey background which I will use
the eyedropper tool to get a shade
from my model’s shirt and set this as
the background colour, this will be
effective because the image will still
be visibly clear but will sit well on the
background because the colours
on the page will not be contrasting.
As you can see, the images shown
look different in size because I have
cropped the image because I want
the image on my contents page to
be large and take up the majority
of the page from top to bottom
and I will have text overlapping him
such as the title at the top of the
page.

SUPPORTING IMAGES ON
CONTENTS
These will be the supporting images I will
be using for my magazine‘s contents
page, because the whole issue is a
special edition called ‘Man of the Year’,
this gave me an idea for supporting
images. The 3 models I used in the image
are the contestants for the ‘MOTY’
contest so I thought it would be a good
idea to include these on the contents
page as it is further advertising and
encouraging the audience read on to
find out more about the competition. I
chose to dress the models appropriately
for the competition, looking
sophisticated, appealing and dominant.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD IMAGE
This is the image that I have chosen to use for my double page spread. I think it suits the page really well and it will link in with my by-line which will
state how my cover star is “looking over his success”. This is why I chose the image is shot from a side-profile view because it creates the impression
that he is looking at the article that will be on the right of the page and because the article is about him winning the competition, it has
connotations that he is successful. As you can also see, I constructed the background myself using gradients on photoshop because I believe the
best double page spread articles have professional looking backgrounds which cover the whole page. So, I create the background on an A4
documents are duplicated it, flipped it and put it alongside one another to create a finished, professional looking background.
+
=

FRONT COVER FINAL
This is my magazine’s masthead, I
have placed it in a conventional
place at the top of the magazine
just below main feature headline
across the top of the cover.
This is a splash, it is considerably
larger than the straplines as this is
the main selling story of the
magazine which is why I
conventionally chose to make it a
lot bigger and appealing.
This is my custom made publication
information, I took inspiration from
Vibe magazine who also use their
own publication barcodes/issue
dates etc. in a custom made box.
This is the main feature headline, I
chose to do this because it makes
the issue of the magazine more
appealing and engaging because
people generally like to find out the
winner of things.
My straplines are suitable to the
genre of the magazine as well as
fitting well on the page around the
image and the colours used
contrast the background which is
very important, giving the cover an
overall balance.
I chose to use a black ground
because it goes well with my cover
star’s clothing and ethnicity to give
it a smooth effect and the two are
not completely contrasting which is
important.

CONTENTS PAGE FINAL
The title of the page, labelled
‘contents’. This is to confirm to the
reader what page that they are
on, the text is slightly slanted which
I took inspiration from a vibe
magazine issue which also used
this, this is effective because it
keeps the readers intrigued.
This is the general list of contents
and features of the most
appealing stories included in the
magazine. It is vital for a magazine
to include its contents, every
professional magazine will include
a contents page of some sort.
The cover star is the same as
featured on the front page, I chose
to do this because primarily the
whole issue is based around this
one man because it is the ‘Man of
the Year’ edition and John Treyton
won this year’s award.
The main feature/cover story is
separate from the other list of
contents in order for it to stand out
in full effect, I made the text
considerably larger so it is easily
visible and it’s clear that this is the
main feature on the page because
just above it I stated ‘cover story
exclusive’
This is the subscription information,
some magazines use it for extra
gloss to the page as well as it being
a good opportunity for marketing
and attracting their audience to
sign up to the magazine which is
why I thought it would be a good
idea to also do it.
This is the supporting image, I chose
to include this because it supports
the main story and the special
edition of the magazine. The
image shows the 3 main
contestants of the competition
‘Man of the Year’.

QUESTION 1 / IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR
MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR
CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS
OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS
•Click here to be redirected to Prezi for
question 1 of my evaluation

QUESTION 2 / HOW DOES YOUR
PRODUCT REPRESENT PARTICULAR
SOCIAL GROUPS?
•Click here to be redirected to Prezi for
question 2 of my evaluation

QUESTION 3 / WHAT KIND OF MEDIA INSTITUTION
MIGHT DISTRIBUTE YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT AND
WHY?• Seymour is 100% owned by the Frontline Group (Immediate Media Company, Haymarket Publications,
Bauer). At Seymour we have 13% share of the total magazine market and the Frontline Group,
including Seymour, has 42% share. This gives us the stability and clout to drive your magazine sales, in
an increasingly volatile market place. Seymour is the largest distributor of UK magazines internationally,
exporting magazines to over 90 countries.
Whether it be in the UK or overseas, we can help you develop your circulation strategies, to achieve your
sales goals and maximise every opportunity for each of your titles. Our experience in magazine distribution,
our market leading systems and market intelligence will provide you with the competitive advantage to
succeed in today’s markets
During my research for question 3, looking at different distribution institutions, I managed to come across the institution Seymour who are international magazine
distributors, primarily for magazines based in the UK. I managed to find out some vital information from the institutions website which encouraged me in the decision
to choose these as the company to distribute my magazine.
This institution works across the different genres, from Dance and Techno to hip-hop as well as also working well with other industries not relevant to music such as DIY
magazines and even children’s Peppa Pig magazines, the list of different clients this institution deals with is endless. This is highlighted in the red first red box at the top
of the page, which I took from the homepage of the website just to show how good of a company they are. Seymour themselves have 13% share of all magazines
in the market and the group they are also apart of called ‘the Frontline Group’ has 42% market share, including Seymour. This suggests that they are a successful
company and I can also infer that they have a lot of links and sources that would be useful for my magazine in relation to the distribution.
Furthermore, from exploring the website, I managed to find that they are excellent at retail, they have links with all the British leading news retailers such as WHSmiths
which is very good news for a magazine which is hoping to be successful, because chances are increased by being able to get our magazine across to as many
people as possible. They also have their own independent Seymour sales club which would allow my magazine as client, to directly promote and communicate with
1,200 of UK’s independent retailers, further expanding the ability of success and increasing the number of issues available for purchase to the public.
Another factor which makes Seymour a good choice for a distribution company is that they are very interactive and engaging with their clients, keeping them up-
to-date with constant data changes and explaining what has been done and also what can be done in order to increase sales as they will be well aware of
consumer tastes and how to maximise sales.
They are distributors for 1 in 3 of UK magazines sold overseas with a high success rate, this suggests that I will be able to make my music magazine global and reach a
wider market range, particularly as my magazine is hip-hop based and countries such as the USA are very into their hip-hop music like we are in the UK.
Thisinformationisavailable
onthehomepageofthe
Seymourwebsite.

QUESTION 4 / WHO WOULD BE THE
AUDIENCE FOR YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT?
From my questionnaire that I created for the public to get an idea of what types of magazines they are in to
as well as finding some general information about them in order for me to be able to construct my magazine
in a certain way. Because primarily I’m creating a R&B/hip-hop magazine, I chose to survey predominantly
males between the age of 16-24 as well as also surveying some females too, the reason I chose to survey
males more than females is because stereotypically males would be more into the hip-hop genre of music.
The majority of people I surveyed were aged between 17-19 with around 63% of them in employment,
meaning that the socio-economic group for these will range from C/D to E, this is because the majority of the
63% in employment are working class and those not in employment are students or just do not have a job,
meaning they will likely fit in the ‘E’ socio-economic group as they are of low income, likely being a student.
Regarding magazines, I asked the people I surveyed what type of music they are in to and what genre of
music magazine would they most likely be interested in, The majority of people were in favour of R&B/hip-hop
magazines or indie magazines, this is useful for me because it does suggest that a large number of people
around my target age range are interested in hip-hop music/magazines, which is the genre of magazine I will
be creating. I believe these music genres are the most common genre because these genres are more
mainstream and get played on the popular radio stations such as Kiss100 or Capital FM frequently. I also
asked how often (if at all) do they buy music magazines, around half of them do not buy magazines at all
which can be quite worrying, however the other half do buy magazines prefer to buy them monthly, because
of this, I will be choosing to make my music magazine a monthly issue as this is the most popular and because
the main socio-economic group which my target audience fits in is those of a lower income, monthly
payments will be more suitable rather than weekly. After research, I also discovered that many of the major
music magazines also issue their magazines once a month. When surveying people, I also found out what
people would typically enjoy doing on the weekend, I found out from my responses that my target audience
mainly enjoy socialising with friends as well as listening to music either at home alone or in a group either with
friends or at a party. I also asked my target audience who their current favourite artist is in order to get an idea
of sub-genres etc, Kanye West, Jay Z and Eminem came up quite frequently which suggests the majority of my
target audience are into mainstream hip-hop/rap which shows that my music magazine should involve
contents from stars in the industry like these. Finally, I asked people within my target audience if they had ever
been to a concert of an R&B/hip-hop artist and around 67% of people asked said yes with 100% saying they
would like to go to a concert/go again.

QUESTION 5 / HOW DID YOU ATTRACT
/ ADDRESS YOUR AUDIENCE
•Click here to be redirected to Prezi
for question 5 of my evaluation

QUESTION 6 / WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT ABOUT
TECHNOLOGIES FROM THE PROCESS OF
CONSTRUCTING THIS PRODUCT?
Click here to be redirected to Prezi
for question 6 of my evaluation

QUESTION 7 / LOOKING BACK AT YOUR PRELIMINARY
TASK, WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE LEARNT IN THE
PROGRESSION FROM IT TO THE FULL PRODUCT?
• Going back to my Sixth Form Magazine front cover and comparing it to my music magazine front cover, it’s clear
that I have learnt a lot of new skills, understanding and knowledge of front covers such as what makes them
conventional and how they should be laid out in order to make them presented professionally.
• One example is that magazines tend to avoid having very colourful backgrounds as it draws attention away from
the main image which arguably is the most important convention, this is why I avoided doing what I did for the
background on my preliminary project and instead used a black background colour because it suited for a
variety of reasons such as suiting the genre of hip-hop as well as working well with the colour scheme and cover
star.
• I also learnt about the positioning of the model used such as their body language, facial expressions and stance.
As you can see from my preliminary magazine, the image is not conventional as my model is looking away from
the camera. On the other hand, my music magazine cover star is an example of a conventional cover star image
as he is using direct mode of address, a firm stance and I also got him to fold his arms to show representation of
dominance and authority which links closely to hip-hop.
• The masthead used for my preliminary is also unconventional and not very professional, magazines should have a
masthead which is pretty basic but powerful, with not too much going on making it look jumbled. The preliminary
magazine masthead has too much going on, I have words overlapping each other as well as a puff going over
the masthead which also makes it look unprofessional.
• The straplines and splashes used also show how my skills have developed. They look very professional on my front
cover and are very conventional of a hip-hop magazine, the sizing and font are both very good and are kept
away from the cover star which is conventional for a hip-hop magazine, many magazines choose to have the
splash overlapping the cover star which is why I also chose to do it to show use of conventions. The colour scheme
also works together well as I have a dark background with bright text so they contrast each other, enabling the
text to stand out more. My preliminary project on the other hand uses too many bright colours which means it
looks as if too much is happening on the page and nothing really stands out. The straplines look unprofessional
and the effect used for the splash is really unconventional as magazines never do this.

QUESTION 7 / LOOKING BACK AT YOUR PRELIMINARY
TASK, WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE LEARNT IN THE
PROGRESSION FROM IT TO THE FULL PRODUCT?
• It’s also clear that my contents page of my final piece has vastly improved in comparison to the one I produced during the
preliminary project. Overall, my preliminary contents page looks unprofessional and rushed mainly because there are not very
many conventional features.
• The sixth form magazine piece has little conventions, but even then, they are very basic and not professional. The headline for
the sixth form magazine is very basic, so is the whole lay out of the page, the music magazine contents page looks very
advanced and professional compared to the sixth form one.
• The difference in the images used also shows the improvement in my skills, the image I took and used for my music magazine
contents page is excellent and I also adjusted it slightly to make it fit in perfectly with the page and sit nicely with the other
colours used on the page. For example I used the eyedropper tool the get a shade of colour from my model’s shirt and then
set it as the background, I believe this was effective because it keeps the colour scheme continuing but still enables the main
image to be the priority.
• On the other hand, the image for my contents page is of a reasonably good quality, however it just does not fit well on the
page. I did not do anything to it such as cropping, cutting out the background or even using the background for the whole
of the page, instead it just looks like it’s been thrown there.
• The overall colour scheme of both contents production pieces shows juxtaposition between them, the colour balance for my
music magazine works really well and I followed typical conventions of other music magazines such as Vibe and XXL as they
use 3 dominant colours for the whole page which is why I also choose to do the same with the colours red, white and a dark
grey colour and they work really well together. The dark grey background was used to work well with the costumer of my
model as well as the being a good background for the white and red text to sit on comfortably being easily readable which is
vital for a magazine. Even though the text on my preliminary magazine contents page is fairly easy to read, the colour
scheme makes the page look very basic with just a pink/purple shade colour background with white boxes and black text,
magazines are meant to look creative and appealing, however this is not really shown on my preliminary contents page.

Harry Crouch - AS Media Coursework 2013/14

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Harry Crouch - AS Media Coursework 2013/14