Maryasiye Kircin AS Media Studies 'Preliminary Task Planning And Research'.

1. OCR Media Studies – AS Level
Unit G321: Foundation Portfolio in Media
Planning & Research
Name: Maryasiye Kircin
Candidate Number:
Centre Name: St. Andrew’s Catholic School
Centre Number: 64135
Set Brief - Print
Music Magazine – Production
Preliminary Task Progression and
Planning & Research

2. Section 1) –
Preliminary Task

3. Preliminary Task Progression–Evidence
Front Cover
Step-by-step
I started with a transparent A4
sized canvas and then added a
gradient onto the background.
I started to put
together the creation
of my masthead by
adding a yellow
rectangle shape to add
at the top of the page.
To give my magazine brand
identity; I used the colours
of St Andrews by having
the yellow rectangle being
placed under the navy
blue text stating “Get
Smart” in the font:
“Comfortaa”.

4. My next step was to add
in the strapline for my
magazine. The strapline is
located underneath my
masthead and states
“Surreys finest, most
successful school’s
magazine”. It is in the
same navy blue as my
masthead to keep the
theme consistent.
The first major change to
the front cover would be
the addition of the Main
Image. I took a picture of
our old head of IT; Mr
Hamshar. I edited out the
background and added her
to the front cover. I had to
use the ‘Advanced Hair
Select Tool’ and he is placed
just underneath my
strapline, he takes over the
majority of my page.
The next step was to add in
the Main Headline stating
“Mr Hamshar” and it is in the
same colour as the yellow
rectangular box at the top of
the page. “Exclusive
interview with” was in white
as it stood out well on top of
his suit and it fitted well with
the white to blue gradient
(on my background). Both
pieces of text have a drop
shadow.

5. After adding the main
headline, I added my
cover stories and left
space for images/logos
to fit in surrounding
the specific cover
story. The cover lines
are in white and they
are all in the same font
and colour.
After adding all of the
cover lines, I added my
Puff Promotion, it is
placed on the right
hand side of my page
and it reproduces the
same colours as the St.
Andrews logo
continuing the ‘brand
identity’.
Here I have added the barcode,
I have also copied the
masthead and made it smaller
on top of the barcode, I decided
to place social media logos as
well to remind the students of
the social media that St
Andrews and to let them
understand that when they
need information, St Andrews’
social media is a place to turn.
Lastly, I placed the price and
issue number.

6. Final result
The final steps that I carried
out were putting on images
that made my page look more
detailed. For example, I added
the CGP revision guide logo
next to the cover line that
related to it, and in the top
right hand corner I added the
Ofsted 2014-2015 logo to
prove St Andrews’ academic
excellence.
Lastly, I placed the school web
address in the left hand
corner.

7. Preliminary Task
Progression– Evidence
Contents Page
Step-by-step
Similarly, like my
front cover I
started with a
blank A4 canvas
and then I added
the same white to
light blue gradient.
I then added a
yellow
rectangular shape
across the page to
keep the colour
scheme similar.
I then added the
“Get Smart”
masthead on top
of the yellow
rectangular box.

8. My first step was
to use the ruler
tool (Ctrl + ;), this
enabled me to lay
out where I would
put all of my key
conventions and
features for ‘Get
Smart’ magazine.
Once I was happy with
deciding where the
locations of my boxes
would be placed, I
added 3 boxes in the
St Andrews navy blue
along with a yellow
stroke effect to keep
with the colour
scheme.
I then typed out
the titles and
placed them onto
my boxes.

9. I then found the St
Andrews logo and used
them to basically be
bullet points to make it
clear to the students
what story is allocated
where.
After this, I wrote out
the titles of the stories
that will be featured in
my magazine. I made the
colour of the text in
another shade of blue to
keep the colour scheme
consistent.
I then wrote out the
underneath the
description of each
story in a black font. I
chose a black font
because it makes it
clear to the reader as
there aren’t clashes of
different shades of
blue.

10. Making the editorial
The next step was to make the editorial.
I added in a drop capital which is in-fact a shape
that I created on Photoshop. I then added the
image of myself and wrote my editorial onto
word. After this, I used the ‘Pen Tool’ to wrap
my editorial text around the area I aligned out
and then added my
signature along with
my personal details.

11. The final result
The last step to creating my
preliminary task contents page was
to add images. I added another
image of Mr Hamshar and a quote
from Ofsted that linked in with my
front cover. Along with this, I
repeated the St Andrews web
address being placed at the bottom
of my page.
I also added anchoring images in
the bottom-right hand of my
contents page to fill out the spaces
left on my contents page. I finished
my contents page by adding the
page numbers for the anchored
images.

12. Section 2) – Log Book

13. Music Magazine – Genre researchProduction Process
• Date of Publication – The first that is done is to set the date the magazine will be published to the
general public. This will help with setting a schedule for the development
• Managing the schedule – You must have enough space in the schedule to fix any mistakes before the
deadline
• Editorial and Budgetary Decision – It is the editorial decisions which involved the content that is
covered in the next issue of the magazine. Once they have made the decisions they look at how much
money is available for them and how much should be spent in the production of the magazine.
• Content Acquisition – Probably the most important step because without content there would be no
magazine. There is in-house staff writers for the magazine and external writers that write about a
specialist nature. There is also artwork and illustrations and pictures in the magazine.
• Sub-editing – This focuses on the quality control, it involves checking the accuracy of the facts, making
sure words are spelt properly with correct grammar and punctuation, they also make sure that the
articles follow the house styles and the consistent page layout.
• Page Layout – The person will correctly lay the articles cut to put it together as a magazine using
powerful programs such as Desktop Publishing (DTP), InDesign, or Pagemaker to do this. The
advertisers are also placed into the content.
• Proof Reading – The editorial department will print a hardcopy of the magazine in order to read
through it and try to highlight any mistakes. Any mistake that is spotted is quickly corrected, the
editorial keeps on proof reading until all the team are satisfied that there are no mistakes.
• Printing – The entire magazine is sent to the printer, Pre-Press’ are printed to check all the colours and
layout are acceptable before printing hundreds or thousands of copies.
• Distribution – This is the final stage where the company packs the magazines and send them to a
warehouse to go to the general public.
Sourced from: http://hosbeg.com/the-magazine-production-process/

14. Music Magazine – Genre research
- The genre for Q magazine is mainly based for Pop music or
original classic rock music.
- Q magazine has a circulation of 52,781 from (ABC – Jul – Dec
2013).
- Q Magazine are 69th in the Top 100 digital edition magazines,
beating any other music magazine competitor.
- Also it was recorded Q magazines competitor NME print sales
dropped below 15,000 benefitting Q magazine.

15. Established Magazine for my ResearchMasthead, It is a
bright red which
stands out on the
front cover and stands
out from the
background.
Main headline, it is in the
largest font on the page.
Also, it denotes that this
issue is about Florence and
her personal struggles. The
fact the main headline tells
Florence has had a hard
time shows this artist and
the reader can gain a person
relationship as she is
opening out to the
readership
Barcode/Price/Date/Issue,
the placement of the
barcode is in the bottom left
corner, this is out of the way
so it doesn’t disrupt the
main image
Cover lines, “16-page gig”
will “inform” (Katz) the
reader of what upcoming
gigs are coming out
Cover lines, “noisy git”
highlights the slang that
the reader understands.
Main Image (Florence &The
Machine) ‘Star Appeal’ (Richard
Dyer). She is the centre and fills
out the whole page, illustrating
her importance.
Strapline, “discover
great music” highlights
how Q magazine only
interviews and gives
news about the most
famous music artists.
Pull quote in a puff
promotion format.

16. Target Audience For Q Magazine
I believe the target audience for Q magazine can be denoted as having mass appeal
to all classes and genders. Q publishes their magazine each month and it costs
around £3.50 per issue. According to socio-economic needs, students are placed in
the class E section. £3.59 a month is affordable for a student in education, it also
affordable for anyone that has a part time job. I don’t feel that Q magazine target a
specific class or ethnicity as every issue has a different essence about it that would
appeal to different people. Q magazine could target “Survivors” (Maslow) that wish
to have security and routine in their magazine., The audience most likely read Q
magazine for “diversion” or to be “informed and educated” (Katz).
What is the USP of this magazine?
From the research I completed into this media product I concluded that the USP is
the ‘Star Appeal’ of this cover (Florence from ‘Florence and the machine’) portraying
a large image of her covering the whole front cover, and then the image relates with
the main headline that states she quoted “I feel so alone”. This makes the viewer of
the front cover be attracted towards what has happened to Florence. The large
image of her indicates it’s a big deal. The pull quote of “I feel so alone” infers to the
readership that she will open up to them in the interview about what recently
happened. This could make the audience feel as if they have a “personal
relationship” (Katz) with Florence.

17. Publisher research – Quote Analysis
“The UK’s Most Influential Media Brand Network” – This connotes to Q
magazine that they are serious in music, and they can be trusted.
Furthermore “Influential” means having influence on something/being
inspired, letting them know that its guaranteed to have a large range of
artists in the magazine so customers may potentially start buying or
reading once Q magazine is published.
Bauer “We think popular” – This slogan is very effective to create rapport
with the reader of a magazine as ‘we’ can denote all of us as one
community interested in the same music industry and genre. Also
‘popular’ can also attract as people may become convinced that its
modern and the best way to be up to date in music news and gossip.

18. Music Magazine – Publisher research
• Q magazine is published by ‘Bauer Media’.
• ‘Bauer Media’ is a company that manages a variety of
other magazines. They also focus on radio and TV
stations in different areas of the world. They manage
radio stations such as “Kiss”, “KissFresh” and “Kisstory”.
• Due to Bauer Media, Q magazine has a total of 48,353
copies of their magazine (January – June 2014) and a
total readership of 339,000 (January – December
2013).
• Q magazine’s content focuses on new and old rock and
roll artists, their target readership is mainly those in
the age range of 15-25.
Sources:
http://magazines.bauermediaadvertising.com/magazines/detail/Q
http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/brands/q

19. Conventions of a Music Magazine – ‘XXL’
Masthead, Clear and bold,
stands out “XXL” also provides
connotations of big, popular
music.
Strapline, ‘Hip hop on a
higher level’ alliteration
attracts and shows its serious
and a popular magazine
Cover
lines
Cover
lines
Cover
lines
Main image of the 2
celebrities Nicki Minaj and
Drake. ‘Star Appeal (Richard
Dyer) lets the reader know
they are the main focus of
gossip and news in that
weeks article.
Main Headline
(relates with
the Star Appeal
– Richard Dyer)
Alliteration of R is eye catching and relates with
the theme of RnB because the alliteration gives
it that flow. “Royalty” connotes Nick Minaj and
Drakes success in the Rap and Hip-Hop industry.
Barcode/Price/Date/Issue

20. Target Audience
The target audience for XXL magazine can be denoted as a male majority in the
age range of 17-30 years old from the D to C1 class with probably an African
American/British race. XXL may have used Nicki Minaj in that specific issue,
however, if they do just have a woman she would most likely be sexualized to
attract the male majority in relation to the “Male Gaze” – Laura Mulvey.
What is the USP of this magazine?
From the research completed into this media product, I believe the USP is similar to Q
magazine; the use of the star appeal of Nicki Minaj and Drake, because in real life Nicki Minaj
has has lots of successful collaborations with Drake and the readership also know this. The mix
of the khaki and leopard print clothing proves their unique styles. The main headline relates
with the picture and is another USP for this magazine because “The Rebirth Of Rap Royalty”
connotes to the reader the successful collaborations Nicki Minaj and Drake had before and
there is almost a brand new extraordinary song that they have created together, attracting the
readership as they will wonder what is to come from these two artists in the future.

21. Publisher research – XXL
• The publisher of my chosen sub genre (XXL magazine) is ‘Townsquare Media’.
• ‘Townsquare Media’ has local and national media which infers they are a serious
yet successful business. Furthermore as they are known for national media, this
gives an idea XXL magazine have successful levels of circulation.
• XXL magazine have a circulation of 140,000.
• Townsquare media’s portfolio attracts over 75,000 US monthly users.
• XXL must keep up to its standards and keep the great reputation Townsquare
Media has. XXL also must keep up to date and stay as a good magazine for its
potential customers so XXL magazine can pay Townsquare Media for publishing
their magazine
• Source: http://www.townsquaremedia.com/press/townsquare-media-acquires-xxl-
king-and-antenna-from-harris-publications