1. AS Media Studies
By Oksana Torhan

2. AS MEDIA UNIT G321
PRELIMINARY TASK-
COVER AND CONTENTS OF A COLLEGE MAGAZINE
PRELIMINARY TASK
EVALUATION EXAMPLE
1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms
and conventions of real media products?
2. What have you learnt about the technologies from the process of
constructing this product?

3. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?
THE FRONT COVER SIMILARITIES
The mast heads
are both at the top
end of the cover.
Dateline is small
Cover lines
The main image is
dominant
Rule of thirds were
observed
Interesting
backgrounds
which relate to the
purpose of the
magazine
Barcode

4. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms
and conventions of real media products?
THE FRONT COVER DIFFERENCES
The use of different
sell lines and cover
lines.
Different types of
house styles.
I have used a college
student as my front
cover model and vogue
has used a famous
celebrity.
Big, bold and bright
colours of fonts to
attract my audience of
both genders.
Different face
expressions of models,
mine is rather happy
but Rihanna is more
serious, this reflects
what this magazine is
purposed for.

5. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms
and conventions of real media products?
THE CONTENSTS PAGE SIMILARITIES
‘Contents’ in the
same position and
place on the page.
Highlights front
cover features.
Text layout of
contents.
Fun styles and
images to attracts
audiences of late
teen years.
Both magazines use
bright colours to
make it stand out.
Plain backgrounds,
subtle colours.

6. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real media products?
THE CONTENTS PAGE DIFFRENCES
The size and style of
the contents sign are
different.
All the contents on my
page appear bigger
and fill the page more
on the other hand
cosmopolitans are
smaller and more
discreet.
My colour schemes
are aimed more at the
2 different sexes, while
cosmos's are more
pink and feminine.
I also have more
images around the
contents page while
cosmopolitan just has
one main one.

7. What have you learnt about the technologies from the
process of constructing this product?
Using the digital camera, I could This is how I used Adobe to
ensure that my image was an MCU manipulate my images,
which dominated the frame. I also left and one of my stages of
space at the top for the masthead and development. As you can
I observed the rule of thirds. I told the see:
model to pose. I uses Adobe Photoshop
• I changed the levels of the
to make an ordinary student into a
colours, to add more
“model” for a college magazine
emphasis on the student.
Originally his skin tone
was a bit dull and
unattractive. I made sure
everything looked perfect.
•I also added font with
drop shadow and effects to
make the magazine more
eye catching. I have done
several things to my
magazine with all the
different tools possible.

8. Preliminary task outline
My preliminary task was to start preparing myself to
create a magazine front cover and the contents page. The
very first part of this was to analyse other magazine and
get more familiar with magazine front covers such as
‘Men’s Health’ and ‘Red’. Then we had to go and take 5
photos each of people around college, we had to consider
what type of shot the picture needs to be before we took
the photo. Then we uploaded them onto the computer and
onto the memory sticks before we inserted them into our
magazines, and edited them on Photo Shop.

9. Detailed draft of front cover This is the masthead/the
This is only the draft name of my magazine.
of my college The price of my magazine. I
magazine front cover. didn’t want it to be too
My final piece looks expensive because students
completely different couldn’t afford it then but I also
because I have didn’t want it to be too cheap as
created this draft it wouldn’t cover the printing
before I knew how I costs.
really wanted my The date of when the magazine
magazine to look will be published.
like, designing it on The flashes, these are essential
the computer is in my magazine as they make
much more important notices stand out.
complicated than The main image, on the draft is a
this draft but I female but actually I decided for
definitely got more it to be a male.
creative with my The cover lines, I decided to
designs once I have 4/5 because there is a lot
started using all the of important information for
programmes. So this students.
draft is only an idea
of what my style is, The barcode is at the very
its not meant to look bottom corner because its
anything like my not something the reader
final piece. should be focusing on so its
out of the way.

10. Detailed draft of contents page
The contents sign
This is only the draft
of the magazines always has to stand out
contents page. I have so that it grabs the
used some parts of audiences attention,
this draft to design my that is why I have put
final contents page, I mine at the top in the
really like the simple- very middle so that
ness and stylishness readers would be aware
of it. But instead of the this is the contents
using 1 round shaped page.
photograph, I used 4 I have decided to have
images. round shaped images in
my magazine contents
I have decided for the
page instead of having
upcoming events
the usual rectangle
section to be on the
ones, this is because I
contents page as they
want my magazine to be
are quite important
different and stand out
and are coming up
from other magazines.
soon so readers need
to be informed if The Contents page is
they’re interested. located in the very
middle of the page
The welcoming letter because that is the
from the magazine is purpose of this page, the
necessary to make the contents is why this
reader feel welcome and page exists, it is
that the magazine has definitely very
an interest in them. important.

11. Original images used

12. Stages of development of front cover This is the image after I have put it into Photo
1. This was my original 2. Shop and I have cropped it with the crop tool to
image. It is a mid- ensure it is a medium close up shot. This is the
shot and I needed a best type of shot
medium close up for for a college
my magazine front magazine. I have
cover so I have a also added an
cropped it. This image effect to the
is the real image so it image above to
has no effects on it make it look
and it looks quite more attractive
plain and not to the target
interesting. audience.
This is what my front cover looks like after all Now I have transferred the cover onto a different
3. the editing I have done to it on Photo Shop. I
4. programme called In Design. Now I have made
have added a flash right under the masthead some minor changes to the cover, like adding the
to make it stand out and make people join the dateline and the price. But other than that the
competition to win an iPod. I have added magazine is now complete. The college logo was
a drop- copied from
shadow to google but edited
all the by me and I have
cover lines also added the
and the ‘news’ part with a
flash to green drop
make it shadow. All the
look more fonts have
pressional. special effects on
them.

13. Final cover Price. My previous
price was £0.99
but I thought that
might be a bit too
The expensive for
masthead most college
students so I have
put the selling
price down to
£0.49 for
maximum sales .
Bright flash
The main image
is of a 16 year
old male, effects
were added to
Sell line, added a make the image
multi coloured look more
font for a more appealing.
positive feel
Another cover
line, added a The bar code
drop shadow so is not
that it wouldn’t important to
blend in with the reader to
the similar its in the very
colours of the bottom
background. corner.

14. Stages of development of contents page
Now I have transferred my cover to the In Design
1. This is how my contents page was started off 2. programme and I have completely changed
but gradually I have changed a lot of things
everything about it. The font of the ‘Contents’ has
about it. Right now I was just getting used
now changed and I have also extended the font
to Photo Shop as it is completely new to me
and I have vertically to make it look more elegant, the same
never used it for the ‘Letter from
before so I Magazine’ part, I
was just have changed the
experimenting font of that part to
with it and make it look as if
using new its handwriting, so
tools to that readers see it
complete my as more sincere.
magazine.
Now I have figured out how to insert a
3. background colour under all of the layers on
4. In the final stage I have added a drop shadow to
all of the words on the page as it is all important.
the contents page. I had many colours to To the two main titles on the page I have added
choose from for my back ground but in the six effects including: drop shadow, inner and
end I settled with sky blue because it’s a outer light – to make it look attractive. There are
masculine as
well as a six main circles
feminine on the page – 4
colour. My are photos and 2
photos are are about events,
round and many little
because I bubbles around
want it to be the circles to
unique and make it seem
stand out. circle centered.

15. Final contents
The ‘Contents’ font Usually
is ……. . I have magazines have
added several their photos in a
effects to this word traditional
such as: drop rectangular
shadow, inner shape but I want
shadow, outer my magazine to
shadow, inner glow, stand out from
bevel and emboss, all the other
and satin – to give competing
it a very good- magazines and
looking effect. be a round
shape as it is
unusual and
These are the 2 more interesting.
flashes which are
red and yellow as
they match the In the letter from
blue background magazine part I have
and the black changed the font to
fonts make it make it look as if its
stand out, they handwriting, so that
have the outline readers see it as
colour of the more sincere, I have
opposite box – also added drop
yellow and red. shadow for elegance.

16. Evaluation
Everything I’ve done to my magazine has been a success and
I am happy with it. I have been having some problems but
very rarely, as I got used easily to using programmes such as
Photoshop and In Design to complete my magazine front
cover and contents page. I have added two main cover
lines/sell lines to my front cover as well as 1 flash, the
barcode, the date line, the masthead, the price and the main
image which is a medium close up shot of a male that was
edited on Photo shop. The contents page consists of the
‘Contents’ part, 2 flashes which are red and yellow as they
match the blue background and the black fonts have the
outline colour of the opposite box – yellow and red, there is
also the ‘Letter from the Magazine’ part which is only short
and consists of 30 words, there are also 4 images which were
cropped to a round shape surrounded by little blue circles
imitating bubbles, there is also the page number – 2. My
magazine now looks like a good student magazine and I think
many students will be interested in it.