- Friend to help with photography and props Models: - 3 students from different years Lighting: - Natural lighting from windows I have planned my photoshoot to take place at school during lunch break. I will be using the school's courtyard as my location which provides natural lighting. I have listed all the necessary equipment, props and assistance required to successfully capture the desired images for my front cover and content page.

1. AS Media Studies
Ana
Vasilescu

2. Preliminary Task

3. Introduction
For my AS level media studies coursework part of my preliminary task was to design and create a draft
front cover and a content page of a school magazine. The main purpose of this task is to familiarize myself
with print media design codes and conventions, at the same time to develop a set of necessary skills that
are essential during pre-production, production and post-production stages.
During this task I will need to carry out secondary research which involves research and analysis of
existing media texts. Primary research task will involve carrying out desired target audience research
using questionnaire format. Combining research findings, I will draft and create front cover and a content
page for a school magazine. overall production of this task will be critically analyzed and evaluated.

4. Front Cover
Analysis

5. Strapline
Main image:
Portrait layout
Middle long shot
Main cover line
barcode
Masthead
Coverlines
Coverlines
Social media logos
Front Cover Analysis

6. Technical codes
● MLS shot
● Portrait layout
● Frontal Natural Lighting
● The framing is crudely
done and poorly edited
● Too plain
Language/written codes
● Language is informal and
simple
● Text is serif, bold and in
capital letters, which
causes word breaks and
makes it hard to read
● Coverlines are too long
and hard to read
Symbolic codes
● Mainly light blue, which isn’t
eye catching
● The blue-on-blue is hard to
read
● The girls is relaxed
● Drumsticks visually link
with the type of magazine
Target audience
● Lower and upper secondary
students
● Male and female
● Interests in music,
specifically acoustic
● Represents average
secondary student in a
positive light
Front Cover Analysis

7. Front cover Analysis
Layout - The magazine follows magazine
portrait format convention. The layout is simple
yet bright and eye catching. The coverlines and
masthead are placed around the main image. The
masthead is placed at the top and the main image
is in the center, this draws the reader’s attention.
Language - The language is simple and
informal. The coverlines are snappy and
straight-to-the-point, without revealing too
much about what is inside. The language is
appropriate for the target audience which is
secondary students.
Camerawork - The main image is a
medium full-frontal shot which follow the
photographic rule of thirds. The model is a
happy student which is relatable and inviting
to the target audience. The colours are
vibrant and are therefore attracting to the
reader.
Mode of Address - both visual and verbal modes
of address communicate effectively with the target
audience. The language used is informal and similar to
the language which is commonly used by the target
audience. The model has a “girl-next-door” appearance
which is desirable by the target audience.
Typography - There are both serif and
sans serif font being used. The masthead is a
formal but due to additional edited elements
of letter “g” and “e” it creates a good
combination of formal and informal. The
fonts used further show the fusion between
formal and informal.
Mise-en-scene - overall
composition of this front cover visually
and stylistically complies to magazine
design codes and conventions. The main
image is clearly shot at a school and
involves a student who’s holding books,
this all contributes to attracting the
attention of the target audience
(secondary students). The use of
additional graphical elements,
contrasting fonts and complimenting
colours further attracts the reader’s
attention

8. Content Page
Analysis

9. Content Page Analysis
Page Masthead
Page number
Article image
Main Headlines
Sub Headlines/
Article titles
Article Page
Numbers
Main Features

10. Content Page Analysis
Technical codes:
● Shots ranging from extreme CU to
extreme LS
● All images follow photographic
conventions in regards to framing
● All images follow an aesthetic
Language/ written codes:
● Both serif and sans serif fonts
● Language is short, snappy, easy to
read and straight to the point
● Choice of fonts and font colours are
plain and do not attract attention
Symbolic Codes:
● Very plain and very formal
● No design visual elements that
could complement in significant
ways
Target Audience:
● Appears conforming and strict
which wouldn’t appeal to target
audience (secondary students)
● According to visual elements this
magazine is aimed at
predominantly female

11. Content Page Analysis
Layout - The layout is simple and it’s
geometrically formatted using rectangles. The
contents are placed on the left hand-side because
our eye naturally move from left to right. The
masthead is placed above the main image and
contents as to attract the reader’s attention.
Language - The language used in the headlines
in short, snappy and captivating. The language is
informal which is appropriate for the target
audience(secondary students). It uses a lot of
persuasive and intriguing words as to catch the
reader's attention and persuade them into reading
further
Camerawork - The main image is long full
body shot . The model is a happy male student
which is appropriate for the target audience
(secondary students). The image is bright and
captivating therefore attracting the reader’s
attention. Mode of Address - Visual and verbal forms of address work well together as the main
model is relatable to the target audience and is a realistic choice for a student and the
language used is language that would be used on an everyday basis by the target audience.
Typography - Throughout the page only
sans serif fonts are used, this gives a more
sleek, modern and relaxed feeling. There is a
combination of both bold and unbold which
makes the masthead and article titles stand
out. A brief summary of the articles is
provided as to intrigue the reader.
Mise-en-scene - The main colours
match with the main image therefore creating
an overall aesthetically pleasing contents
page. The use of only sans serif fonts further
matches with the overall aesthetic, making
the entire page aesthetically pleasing and
satisfying to the human eye.
Colour - The main colours are orange and
white which provide a sense of enthusiasm,
fascination, happiness and creativity. These
colours captivate the reader’s eye. Overall the
main colours compliment the main image and
vice versa creating an overall easy, relaxing
and satisfying image to the eye.

12. Typography Analysis

13. Typography Analysis
“Time” magazine uses a serif font, this
shows that it is a formal and
sophisticated magazine. The use of the
colour red is associated with energy, war,
danger, strength, power and
determination. The use of all caps could
mean that it is an “in-your-face” kind of
magazine that provides honest news. The
word “time” covers a lot of topics
showing that it is an inclusive magazine
magazine.
The typography of “seventeen”
magazine is italic and serif this
shows that it is a stylish and
inspired magazine. The masthead
colour almost always changes to
match the cover of the magazine
but mostly it stays a muted pink
which attracts the target
audience (13-to-19 year olds), as
it is slightly more mature than a
fuschia. The word “seventeen”
indicates the age at which most
girls become more mature and
given more responsibilities.
“The New Yorker” uses a vintage
sans serif font, indicating that it is
a vintage and classic magazine.
The use of black shows that is is
simple, classic and timeless. The
phrase “New Yorker” is used to
describe citizens of New York,
which are considered to be more
cosmopolitan and cultured
people.

14. Typography Analysis
Playfair Display Courier New Trebuchet MS
“Playfair Display” is a traditional
serif font. The timelessness of the
font makes it a great choice for
titles or headings as it is quite
dramatic. The font is inspired by
Roman designs, therefore
connotations are strength and
formality. This font would most
likely appeal to older generations
as it could be nostalgic to them.
“Courier New” is part of the serif
font family. This font is a retro font
designed to resemble the output
from a strike-on typewriter.
However the font is also used in
programmingas most common
programminglanguages use
“Courier New” as their default font.
The font would appeal to all
generations as it is reminiscent of
the past for older generations yet
interesting to younger generations.
“Trebuchet MS” is a modern sans
serif. It could be used in titles and
headings as it is quite bold and eye
catching yet sleek and satisfying to
the eye. This font would be
appealing to younger generations
as it is minimalist, modern and on
trend, as it remains one of the
most popular body text fonts on
web pages.

15. Primary Research
● Potential magazine names
● Questionnaire analysis

16. Potential School
Magazine Names
The Red and White Life
● Too Long
● Doesn’t follow magazine’s
name conventions
C.I.S. Mag
● Closely associated with
investigation
● Target audience
Chart Elite
● Fashionista
● Posh
● Relevant to pop culture
● Associates to target
audience
● Sounds appealing
Chartwell Times
● Too formal
● Not for target audience
● Overused
● ExpectedChartwell’s
● Too simple
● Magazine appropriate
● Catchy
● Memorable
Prison Time
● Not magazine
appropriate name
● Negative connotation
● Satire
● Anti-school
The Chartwell Girls
● Gender specific
● Sexist
● Unenclusive
Chartwell Life
● Basic
● Overused
● Expected
CharTEEN
● Age-appropriate
● Appropriate use of
informal language
● Memorable
Chartwell Monthly
● Basic
● Formal
● Traditional
● Expectable
Chart!
● Wouldn’t attract audience
enough
● Plain
● Not earcatching
Chartwell Gossip
● Issue limited
● Not school appropriate

17. Questionnaire Results
CharTEEN Chart Elite C.I.S. Mag
M 10 / F 10 / M T /
F 10 / F 12 / M T /
F T / F 10 /
M 12 / M 12 /
M 12 / M 11 /
F T / F 11 /
M T / F 11 /
F T / M 12 /
M 12 /

18. Primary Research
Today my task was to brainstorm potential school magazine names. I came up with 12
potential names and chose the top 3. I then presented them to the target audience: 7 girls,
7 boys and 6 teachers. The most voted one was Chart Elite with 9 votes total. I believe
that it was most suitable name for our magazine as it applies to the private school
lifestyle. The name is both appealing and catchy to teenagers, as I want to make it a
must-read for everyone.

19. Questionnaire Analysis
In order to create a successful school magazine i have carried out market research, using
questionnaire format. The questionnaire was composed of 10 questions and using online market
research website called SurveyMonkey.
SurveyMonkey was a great help for finding out what my target audience wanted in their ideal
magazine. It is an online survey development cloud-based software as a service company, they
are great for creating valid and reliable questionnaires.

20. In the first 2 questions participants were asked
about which group they belonged in. I made sure
to use the same ratio of boys to girls and upper
to lower secondary.
I did this to ensure that i had an inclusive group of
participants as this magazine will be for everyone
in the secondary school.

21. I then asked if the school magazine would be of
interest to the students and if they prefered the
magazine to be more entertaining or educational.
In order to find out if the students are actually
interested in a school magazine I had to ask if they
would read a school magazine.
I asked whether the magazine should be more
entertaining or educating so that i could cater to
the audience's interests.

22. I proceeded to ask what the students
would be interested in reading about.
I broke it down to 6 popular
categories which I thought that this
audience would be interested in.
I asked this so that I would know
which topics would be more
appealing to the audience and which
topics wouldn’t be interesting to the
audience.

23. I asked two more questions about what the
students would want to read. I wanted these
questions to be more specific, so that I would know
exactly what it was that my audience would want
to read.
These questions made it easier for me to decide
what to put in the magazine and what my readers
would be interested in, therefore making the
magazine successful with the target
audience(secondary students).

24. The next question was about
how often should a new issue
of the magazine be released.
This would help me
understand how often my
audience wanted to read the
magazine. Through this I
found that most of the target
audience wanted the
magazine released monthly

25. Then I asked about the colour scheme of the
magazine.
This question would show me whether the target
audience wanted the magazine to be more loyal
to the school’s colours or more independent of
the school.
Lastly, I asked whether offering freebies would
persuade the secondary students to read the
school magazine.
This would inform me on whether I should or
shouldn't add freebies to the school magazine.

26. Questionnaire Evaluation
Through my research I deduced that the magazine should be released monthly and be more
entertaining than educational, focused on school gossip and studying advice. The magazine shouldn’t
feature to many features on teachers and students but definitely feature student achievement awards.
The magazine’s identity should incorporate school colours. And lastly the magazine would come with
freebies, so as to entice the target audience to read the school magazine.

27. Front cover & Contents Page
Rough Designs

28. Initial Masthead Design
Using primary and
secondary research
findings, I have designed
set of preliminary
magazine mastheads.
Masheads are composed
using existing school
fonts, colour scheme and
logo. This was purposely
done for straight forward
visual identification and
brand association.

29. Final Masthead Development
After critical
masthead analysis, I
have decided that
school magazine
masthead must be
composed out of
two contrasting
typefaces. Both
types of fonts are
contemporary, easy
to read and
aesthetically
pleasing. Stencil font
is mostly associated
with graffiti art and
therefore it does
relate to potential
target audience.
Second chosen font
belongs to a script
handwritten category
which gives a
personalised note to
overall masthead
design. Next stage is to
select final masthead
design elements

30. Final Masthead Design
The final masthead
consists of a capital “C” in
the font stencil surrounded
by a grey circle with the
school’s full name and its
tag line in it. This helps
associate the magazine
with the school’s brand
image.
“Elite” is in a script-family
font and is in the same
shade of red as the one of
the school’s colours.This
makes the masthead very
aesthetically pleasing and
eye catching.

31. Rough Cover
I created two rough sketches of the
front cover. I opted for the cover
which included 3 people of the cover
as I thought that it visually conveys
main school adjectives such as
multicultural, friendly, welcoming and
at the same time academic. I planned
on putting the headline around the
people as to frame the characters and
attracting the target audience. For the
headlines I used short, snappy and to-
the-point language so as to make it
understandable to the target
audience.

32. Content Page
Using traditional magazine mockup technique I have created a
rough content page template which will further guide me in the
design and making of the final school magazine content page. Next
task in this stage of pre-production would be to create a digital
mockup using existing images in order to create digital print which
will incorporate my aesthetic and creative ideas and will at the same
time t=follow traditional magazine codes and conventions.

33. Rough Cover & Content Page Prior to commencing with the
production of my front cover and
content page in this digital mockup I
have incorporated all the design and
visual elements which I envisioned
during the research and planning
stages of the task.
For the front cover I have decided
that the main image will include more
than one student in order to appeal
to student population and to depict
inclusive school environment.
My final decision for the content
page was the use of columns and
pictures, to guide the reader's eye to
the desired images and topics of the
school magazine. After completing
this stage I had to plan a photoshoot
with a location, equipment and prop
list.

34. Photoshoot Location, Equipment and Prop List
Equipment
- Camera: Cannon 1300D
- Lense: 18-55 and 55-200
- Tripod
- Memory card: 32GB
- Battery
- Battery Charger
Props:
- 2 notebooks
- 1 pen
- 1 homework diary
- School bags
- Calculators
- Pencils
- Worksheets
- Pencil Cases
Location:
- Access to desired location
and use of school
premises approved by
school board members
- Classroom C0
- Entrance hallway
- School playground
- Main staircase

35. Front Cover Possibilities
Cover Image

38. Content Page Photo Possibilities

40. Adobe Photoshop As Image Manipulation and CAD
For my preliminary task I used Adobe Photoshop CS6 to design and create my school magazine
front cover and content page.

41. School Magazine Front Cover & Content Page Design
Development Final Front Cover

42. Evaluatio
n

43. Evaluation
Main part of my preliminary task was to design and produce the front page and the content page for
a new school magazine. Using DTP and image manipulation program . The school magazine front
cover and content page were supposed to follow established magazine codes and conventions and
within the design I was supposed to incorporate a photograph of a group of students or a single
student.
The purpose of this task was to develop necessary photographic and CAD skills in order to fulfill the
foundation portfolio main tasks and design specifications.
Initial stage of this project was to carry out primary and secondary research. I began by doing
internet research on magazine codes and conventions for images, font, layout and the content itself.
After the secondary research I moved on to primary research, I created a survey on surveymonkey
and asked all kinds of students from my school about their preferences about the magazine, they
even weighed in on the title of the magazine.

44. Evaluation
After my research had been concluded I proceeded by applying the information to begin sketching the
magazine. I first created a few sketches of how I wanted the magazine to look, then I settled on the main
sketch of the cover page and the content page and began the production process. The production itself
entailed using Adobe Photoshop CS6 to bring to life my imagined cover and content page.

45. Evaluation
After a crude cover page and content page, I asked
students from my school to have a photoshoot. We
took pictures in the school for both the cover and the
content page. This was supposed to create a
relatable feel to the magazine, attracting the target
audience into reading the magazine. After picking out
the best pictures and rounding them down to the
best pictures for the cover and content page.
I proceeded to recreate the cover and content page
using the chosen pictures and then editing the cover
so as to make it appealing to the reader. I wanted the
design to attract the target audience and make
everything visible for the reader, so that the reader
can know what to expect in the magazine.

46. Evaluation
I used media terminology to help me identify the kind of cover I
wanted and how I would achieve it. For my cover page I used a
medium long shot of three students in the school, this is supposed
to attract the target audience of secondary students. I asked
students from the school to pose for me in the school, so that the
audience could relate to the magazine. To visually communicate
with the desired audience chosen models are selected on the basis
of gender, age, ethnicity and race. I made sure to use a number of
students so as to promote commerodary, friendship and unity
within the school, therefore appealing to the target audience. The
students were also dressed in modern yet appropriate clothing,
which would appeal to the target audience.

47. Colouring was kept loyal to the school colours, as requested by the target audience, making red,
gray, black and white our colour scheme. This helped to quickly create magazine identity along with
the magazine’s aesthetic. The Masthead was placed over the students in the main image, following
front cover format conventions. For the masthead I used the school logo and the word ”elite” in a
cursive, matching red colour, this helped upkeep the overall aesthetic of the magazine along with
being pleasing to the eye. I made sure to lay the headlines around the students in the main image,
as this would attract the the reader’s eye to the cover. I kept most fonts serif so as to give a
sophisticated feel to the magazine, which would attract the teachers of the school. The colours of
the headlines also varied in different shades of the school colours, so as to upkeep the aesthetic
and follow through with the general feel of the magazine. For the headlines themselves I made sure
to use short, snappy language with an informal mode of address and vocabulary which would be
easily understood by the target audience.
Evaluation

48. Evaluation
Through my entire preliminary task I had to learn lots of new skills to help me create my ideal cover
and content page. I had to begin by analysing two cover pages and two content pages in depth.
With this i learnt media terminology which gave me plenty of insight into the subject. After finishing
the analytical portion of my task I began the research portion. This entailed reading up on media
language, magazine covers and content pages and magazine codes and conventions along with
what the target audience wants. For this I used SurveyMonkey so that I could easily access my
target audience and know what they are after. With the survey I was able to know which headlines
to include and which topics to focus on so as to attract the target audience.

49. Evaluation
After finish the research portion of my task I used my
planning skills for my cover and content page, this
entailed using both my time management skills and
my creativity, as I had to come up with an
appropriate magazine cover and content page which
could be created within a certain window of time.
This meant I had to further plan and research the
production portion of the task. I began by leaving out
time to research how I would create the cover, who
would I need for the cover, where the shoot would
take place and when I would shoot the cover.

50. Evaluation
After setting the date, time and place for the cover shoot all I
had to do was get the equipment and models.In order to
create a semi-professional photoshoot conditions all the
models involved were briefed and instructed on how to
pose and how to communicate with the camera and as a
main part of technical requirements i have used a tripod to
have stability and avoid handshakes and the camera that I
used was the Cannon 1300D with a 18-55 lense, which
allowed me to create semi-profesional images. This was
only half of the production process as half was the editing
and use of an editing software to design and manipulate
images and texts. This is where my research and planning
came in handy, as I had left most of my time for the editing
process. The research helped me design the cover and
content page by following magazine codes and conventions.

51. Evaluation
Considering that this was my first ever
magazine cover and content page and my first
time learning about traditional magazine codes
and conventions, even though I have fulfilled
all of the preliminary task conditions I can admit
that there are certain visual and aesthetic
aspects of the task that could be improved.
For example: the visibility of text; the camera’s
focus and if the school allows to publish this
kind of student magazine I would’ve spent
more time on the pre-production portion and
planned a more elaborate and professional
photoshoot.