1. Name: Adam Temple-Heald
Candidate number :
Centre: 33435 Aquinas College
AS Media Studies
OCR G321: Foundation Portfolio
Brief from OCR syllabus

2. Question 1 – Who would be your audience for your
media product?
It will be quite similar to Mixmag magazine so it will attract readers of that, but will be
aimed at a slightly younger audience. The primary audience for my magazine would be
mainly teens/young adults aged 15-25, this is because the biggest audience for electronic
music is people who lie in this age group. Although there will be some people who listen
to this music above or possibly below this age group, I will target my magazine towards
the majority age group so it will therefore appeal to a wider audience.
My content isn’t particularly gender specific like things such as fashion or cars, so this
means the articles will be aimed towards both male and female audiences as both will
read it.
My secondary audience will be people that might not buy the magazine, but read it with
friends. And my other secondary audience will be people above the age group that I
aimed it at, as there will be people above those ages who will want to read something like
my magazine so I have to keep them in mind but still mainly target it at my primary
audience.

3. I made an audience mood board to
visually show what my perfect audience
would be. Although, looking back on
this, I would have added some things
such as other artists, and pictures of
events. But I would have removed some
things such as the Marvel and DC logos
because as I developed my magazine, I
didn’t want them in it anymore.
Question 1
Ideal Reader
My ideal reader would have to have
certain interests to enjoy reading my
magazine. They would have to like
electronic music obviously, as the
magazine is primarily based around this
and everything to do with it from
gigs, and artists to tutorials. To get the
most out of my magazine they’d have to
use social networking sites such as
twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

4. Question 1
I included these features that my audience
wanted under one section called
“Upcoming”.
As my magazine was mainly a electronic
music magazine I wanted to focus on
that, but I still involved film reviews.
I feel as though interviews should be quite a large
part of magazines, and some of the audience
thought so too so I made it quite a large part.
Again, I created a whole section based on
upcoming events as the majority of
surveyed people would want something
like that.
As not the majority of people
wanted to see tech in the
magazine, I decided to base
the competitions off it. Who
doesn’t want to win the latest
gadget?!

5. Question 1
The most popular colour scheme was
the red, white and black one. And
whilst making my magazine I feel it
was definitely the best choice
Although, I didn’t use it on my
DPS, this because they usually have
their own theme and look in other
magazines.
I really should have gone for the offer of
discount in certain shops as it was the
most popular, but I used the free posters
offer instead as it gave me the addition of
another visual object on my contents
page so it wasn’t just all words.

6. Question 1
In the end I didn’t go for anything heavily
film related as I wanted it to be mainly
music focused, so I just went for the
review of films and just do the top films
instead of ones from specific genres. But
maybe in the future I could do a Top 10
Comedy Films or something.
As you can see from the survey, most
people want to get it for as cheap as
possible, but that was the lowest I was
willing to go as it only comes out once a
month so otherwise I wouldn’t make any
money.

7. Question 1
I got interviews with the different
artists, from the popular ones, to the
less-heard-of ones. This allows people to
get to know more about the ones they
already enjoy, and get introduced to the
ones they don’t.
This magazine will be released once a
month as the majority of surveyed
people would prefer it if it was like that.
This also allows my magazine to have
more, and better quality content in it.

8. Question 2 – How does your media product represent
particular social groups?
My magazine doesn’t really represent any specific kind of social group, but more like a
selection of them.
My magazine includes links to twitter and the internet as the
people reading my magazine will most likely have these and
will be interested in finding out more.
My magazine shows that my readers have the time and
money to put into going to the latest gigs and venues as
that’s quite a large part of my magazine.
My cover star doesn’t have a
specific style, but her glowing
eyes shows the genre of music;
electronic.

9. Question 2
The kind of person who reads my magazine always wants to
be the first person out of their friends to find something out.
This is shown by there being exclusive content in this
magazine meaning no other magazine has it.
The people who read it want to always know what the best
things out there are. This is represented through us
providing content on what we think are the best current and
upcoming artists, the best music out there at the moment
and what the best events are. The readers always want to
know what’s happening.

10. Question 3 – What kind of media institution might
distribute your media product and why?
The media institution that will distribute my media product would be Development
Hell Ltd. This company already publishes Mixmag, which is probably the biggest selling
and most widespread electronic and dance music magazine out there at the moment.
I think that Supercharged will compliment Mixmag very well as they are both
electronic and dance music related, and would promote each other.

11. Publishing my magazine with Development
Hell Ltd will make my magazine a sister publication to Mixmag, the
biggest, most popular dance magazine in the UK. Mixmag is very
successful, so it will help get my magazine into circulation, and will
be distributed via print (physical magazine).
I wouldn’t risk publishing it with a rival company to Mixmag, as it
will be extremely tough going up against something that’s already
majorly popular. But if a rich and influential company backed and
published my magazine I could have a chance. But I’d rather stick
with the safer choice.
A new issue of Supercharged will be released every month, priced
at £2.99 which is similar to Mixmag. But mine will be released
halfway through the month as oppose to at the end/start of the
month. This means my magazine will not clash with Mixmag
meaning more people will buy it.
Question 3

12. SUPERCHARGED
Question 3
Website App
This allows people to have another
experience of the magazine, and allows for
more interaction and accessibility.
This lets people access content
from the magazine whilst on
the go.

13. Question 3
S
Supercharged Mag
@SuperChargedMag
Twitter
This lets the magazine writers etc
interact with the readers easily
and helps promote the magazine
as people will retweet things.
Merchandise
Supercharged

14. Question 4 – In what ways does your media product
use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real
media products?
My music magazine was one based around dance/electronic music. During
the process of making my magazine I used other dance magazines such as
Mixmag as my inspiration. These helped shape my media product immensely
as they too were electronic music themed magazines and so this helped me
with the different conventions such as layouts, colours, fonts etc.

15. Front Cover
The front cover was the first part of my magazine that I created. Before I started creating it, I took
a look at what Mixmag’s front covers looked like, and decided to follow the same sort of layout.
Question 4
Mixmag’s covers had the star right in the centre of
the cover, bigger than everything else showing that
they’re the most important thing in the magazine
with all of the information around them.
The headline linking to the main
image is placed over the main
image somewhere, making it
stand out and easier to read.
The masthead of Mixmag
is very big, filling up the
majority of the
cover, making it easy to
notice and identify. They
also change the colour of
the masthead depending
on the background of the
cover so it contrasts and
stands out even more.
The colour schemes on
each individual magazine
is different but they stick
with the same colour
scheme throughout that
specific issue.
Both magazines had a
banner/catchy slogan
near the masthead to
make you want to buy
the product.
Some of the front covers use
‘the gaze’ where the main
cover star is looking into the
camera, this creates a kind of
interaction between the star
and the audience.
Both covers
include some kind
of
promotion, these
entice the reader
to buy the
magazine and
possibly convince
them to buy
future ones
Mixmag doesn’t use
secondary images on
their front covers, only
the large main image.
This makes it look neater
and less cluttered.

16. Question 4
The masthead I created took up the
majority of the top of the front
cover, just like in Mixmag.
Mixmag’s masthead is quite plain and
simple, whereas I went for font that
fitted the theme of my magazine in a
way, as it looks dramatic and
explosive, just like the music that it
looks at.
I decided to create a banner/slogan
that didn’t increase my magazines ego
like Mixmag’s “The world’s biggest..” I
went for something that went with
the theme of my magazine, and it’s
also a clever play on words.
I put the main star right in the centre
of the front cover as she is the main
story of this magazine.
The headline linking to this story was
placed over them to make it stand out
against everything else, just like in
some Mixmag magazines.
The colour scheme I used all work well
together as they all contrast each
other making the cover look eye-
catching and striking.
I decided not to use any secondary
images to link with my secondary
stories as I think the cover will have
lost it’s dramatic affect, as it would
have made it look a bit cluttered. This
is very similar to Mixmag as they
never use any secondary images.

17. Contents Page
Question 4
A large image is used to show off the
main story and catch your attention.
The features and articles are in a list
layout so they can be seen easily, and
each has brief information about each
one underneath it so you can easily
find what you’re looking for.
Secondary stories are displayed with
pictures instead of short
captions, making them more eye-
catching.
The name of the magazine to keep it
fresh in the reader’s mind.
The issue date so you know when it
was published and if it is relevant
anymore.
The first line of every article is in
bold, so it catches the readers
attention more and lets you easily
distinguish between each article.
Page numbers show the reader where
to find that article.
The word Contents is clearly shown at
the top of the page.

18. Question 4
A large image is used to show off the
main story and catch your attention.
The features and articles are in a list
layout so they can be seen easily, and
each has brief information about each
one underneath it so you can easily
find what you’re looking for.
The name of the magazine to keep it
fresh in the reader’s mind.
The issue date so you know when it
was published and if it is relevant
anymore.
The first line/word of every article is in
bold, so it catches the readers
attention more and lets you easily
distinguish between each article.
I wrote an editor’s letter, this gives the
magazine a really strong humanly feel
to it.
I didn’t have any secondary images
because I wanted all of the attention
on the main star.
The word Contents takes up a huge
space at the top of the page, clearly
showing the reader where they
are, and if you’re looking through the
magazine you can quickly find it.
I didn’t reveal what the posters were
so people would have to open the
magazine to see what they were.
A large image is used to show off the
main story and catch your attention.
I created a way for people to get information
and content even when they’ve read the
magazine which is a twitter account. And this
will also help to get my magazine known.

19. Double Page Spread
I didn’t look at any specific magazines for my DPS, I just looked at a selection of
different ones.
Question 4
Pull quote to draw the
reader in.
The images take up a
whole page, which makes
the reader get drawn into
them. And the image is
usually found on the left
page.
Set out in columns.
The star of the image is
usually looking straight at
the audience which
entices the reader to read
on.
The star’s name is put
somewhere on the page in
bold or in a bigger
size, this makes them
stand out more as a
celebrity.
A stand first, to slightly
explain who the reader is
going to reading about.
Every DPS has a drop
capital, which shows the
reader where to start.
A DPS usually follows the
same colour scheme as
the rest of the magazine.
In an interview DPS the questions are put
into a different coloured box so you can
tell them apart from the answers.

20. Question 4
Pull quote to draw the
reader in. I chose
something funny to make
the reader want more.
I added a drop capital to
show readers where to
start and it makes the text
look different so it’s not
the same throughout.
I put my article in columns
to make it tidier and
easier to read so you don't
lose where you’re
reading.
I gave my DPS a different
colour scheme to the rest
of the magazine which
goes against usual DPS
conventions. I did this as I
wanted my star to stand
out from the crowd, and
the colour scheme being
different to the rest
connotes this.
A stand first, to slightly
explain who the reader is
going to reading about.
I made the star’s name
huge on my DPS, this
makes the star look very
important, and connotes
that he wants people to
know his name.
The image takes up one
page, just like in a lot of
other double page
spreads.
I put the questions in
different coloured boxes
so they are easily
distinguishable, and they
break up the text.
My main star is looking
straight at the
audience, trying to involve
them more, and to entice
them into reading on.

21. Question 5 – How did you attract/address your
audience?
I attracted my audience by conveying certain conventions to make them pick my
magazine over the competitors.
The masthead I created took up a huge space at the top
of the cover, I also made it look dramatic as to catch
people’s eye. The name of the magazine will also make
readers want to read more because “Supercharged”
connotes that it’s exciting, powerful and fast-paced, just
like electronic music.
I made a pug advertising the chance to win an
expensive prize. I made the pug circular to make it
stand out from everything else on the cover which
were quite square and rectangular in shape. This
will make the reader want to buy the magazine so
they are in with a chance of winning it.
My banner/slogan I used is a clever play on words and
shows that electronic music is in the magazine. It drops
the bass at “your door” making the reader relate to it
more.
I created a little “Plus” section at the bottom
so people who pick up my magazine can easily
see what else is in there and that’s it’s not
only electronic music, but film related things
too and will therefore make other people pick
up the magazine too.
I added “+much more” at the end so people would see
that there’s a lot of content in my magazine and they’d
have to read on to see it. I also put the price on the cover
so you can easily see how cheap it is, which may convince
people into buying it.
The cover star is looking
straight forward, straight at
the audience, this will engage
the audience, and
automatically involves them
with the magazine more.

22. Question 5
I get the audience
involved in the magazine
so it lets them really see
what they want to read.
This also makes them feel
like part of a
community, one in which
they all enjoy a similar
thing; electronic music.
Aimed at people who
enjoy watching their
favourite artists, and who
like to get involved in
lively events.
For people who want to
know things before their
mates.
I didn’t try and make my
cover star into someone
my readers want to be, I
wanted to make her
striking and eye-catching,
with her glowing eyes it
makes her seem slightly
unhuman like a robot
which links to the genre of
music, and will make
people want to know
more.
The genre of music my
magazine is based around
is electronic and the
people who usually listen
to that genre are quite
laidback so I went for a
friendly mode of
address, to make the
magazine have a cool and
calm feel about it, to treat
the readers as equals.
My contents page follows the
same style and colours. I used
the colours red, white and black
as they all stand out from each
other which makes the pages
even more striking.

23. Question 6 – What have you learnt about technologies
from the process of constructing this product?
The following slides show how I got this text and effects.

24. First I typed out the text I wanted at size 220 and put it in the
font Myriad Pro. Then I set the background to black and the text
to white so the effects would show up much better (see later).
I then right-clicked on the text layer and chose blending
options.
The I set it to these settings, which create a glow around the text.
This is what it looks
like when complete.
Then you right click on the text layer and select ‘Duplicate
Layer’ this will create an identical text layer that you will be able
to edit independently.
Question 6

25. Go into the blending options for the duplicate text layer, but
instead of red set it to blue and the size is a bit bigger.
Also make sure to tick the ‘Drop Shadow’ option, this is what
gives it the 3D-ish effect.
This is what it looks like.
Then create a
new
layer, make it
the second one
from the
bottom, fill it
black and set it
to ‘Screen’.
Then play around with the
positioning of the lens flare so
it is under your text
somewhere.
And then
it’s done!
Question 6

26. The following slides show
how I removed the
background and blended
her waist into it.
I used the magic eraser tool on the green-
screen background and then used a soft
edged eraser to get rid of the green
between the fur on the hood.
Then I used the fill bucket tool to set the
background as black.
Question 6

27. Then you use the burn tool and set it to the
‘shadows’ option. Then you paint around the base
of her body.
I set the exposure to 68% as it makes the shadows
darker.
And then
it’s done!
Question 6

28. Question 6
I gave one of my pull quotes a border to
make it stand out more against the picture.
I typed out the quote I wanted to use.
Then I put black boxes between each line
and aligned it perfectly.
Then I copied and pasted the two black
boxes and moved them a layer below the
other black boxes. Then I change them to
purple and shifted them down and slightly to
the right which gives it a 3D effect.

29. Question 7 – Looking back at your preliminary
task, what do you feel you have learnt in the
progression to the full product?
Technologies Used:
• DSLR
• Computer
• Adobe Photoshop
• Publisher

30. Question 7
In my college magazine masthead I went for a smooth,
cartoonish look as it is aimed primarily at younger readers, aged
from 16-18. I used the same sort of colour scheme as the
Aquinas logo so readers can relate to it.
Whereas for my music magazine I created an edgy looking
masthead, which looks quite explosive just like the music it’s
representing. I think that this looks much more professional
than my college magazine, so could be sold much better in a
shop.
On my college magazine I put the banner at the bottom of
the page, and copied the cartoon style of the rest of the front
cover. I also made the word ‘BEST’ stand out by putting it in
capital letters.
The music magazines banner is underneath the
masthead, which I feel looks better and the readers are more
likely to see it here, and what it says really links to the
content of the magazine and is actually inventive instead of
just upping the magazines status.

31. On my college magazine I highlighted key words in the
secondary stories to make the reader notice them more, this
made it so people could easily see what the story would be
about at a glance. I also included a picture to go with my
story which gave the story a visual representation of the
story, although I felt this made the front cover look a bit
cluttered.
Question 7
On my music magazine front cover I titled the secondary
stories, this made it even easier for readers/viewers to see
what stories they were. And I put boxes around the title of
the stories so they stood out more, and I made them slightly
transparent so you could see the image behind if need be.
I put the main cover line over the main image on my college
magazine, this showed the link between the
two, although, this made it a bit harder than normal to see it
as it blended in with the background a bit too much.
On my music magazine I put the main cover line under the
picture of the star, this made sure it was still easily visible but
still linked with the main image. I also changed the font of it
from the rest of the front cover so it stood out.

32. Question 7
Technologies Used:
• DSLR
• Computer
• Adobe Photoshop
• Publisher

33. Question 7
In both of my magazines I set out my features section in a
ordered list. This is because it makes it easy to find what
pages things are on, and it fits well on the page. A lot of
magazines don’t order their content in page order, whereas
mine does making it easier to navigate.
In my college magazine I included
images for my secondary
stories, whereas in my music
magazine I didn’t. This is because I
wanted to stick with the simplistic
theme following on from the front
cover. Adding secondary images
would have also taken the room
away for me to add the extra
information I put under each article
on the features list.