Abbie ronald preliminary task and planning & research marked

1. OCR Media Studies – AS Level
Unit G321: Foundation Portfolio in Media
Planning & Research
Name: Abigail Ronald
Candidate Number: 2121
Center Name: St. Andrew’s Catholic School
Center 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
To get to this stage of my front cover
I used the shape tool to create a
large white square, I then added a
background where I added a navy
faded gradient. I then used the
stroke tool to create a yellow and
navy striped pattern the top of the
page, I did this to keep the school
colours running throughout my
magazine. I then went on to use the
text tool to type out the masthead.
The next step I made was to yet again use
the text tool to type out my strapline which
I then placed under the masthead. To make
the masthead stand out more I added a
slight drop shadow and inner glow. I then
duplicated my masthead and placed the
smaller copy above the barcode. I gathered
my social media logos as well as the image
of a barcode on google images, I then
arranged them in the bottom right hand
corner, I then added the price and date of
issue release.
After completing the previous steps I
then went on to add in my main
image. To edit this I simply just used
the mask tool to effectively remove
the background, I also used the quick
hair selection tool to ensure I had a
precise selection. After placing my
main image I then added the main
cover line and headline. I added a
stroke effect to this text as it is the
main headline and I needed it to
stand out
After deciding that my headline
covered to much of the main image I
decided to move it down. I then
placed my cover-lines around the
main image, I also decided to add a
stroke effect on these as they feature
the main stories which were set to
appear in this issue of the school
magazine.
After inserting
the cover lines
and adjusting
the position of
some features
such as the
main headline,
I then went on
to add in the
price below
the masthead.
After completing the previous step I
added a puff promotion, I created
this by using the shape tool to create
a circle, I then got an image of an
ITunes voucher where I used the
magic wand eraser tool to remove
the background. I then added a
lightly opaque yellow background to
keep the brand identity. After
completing this I then used the text
tool to write ‘WIN’ in the font I used
for my masthead (To yet again keep
the house style)
This is my completed
front cover after a few
alterations were made.
For example I added a
circle with a slight blue
background behind the
price to highlight it more.
I also made the size of
the puff promotion
slightly bigger.

4. Masthead
Main
Image
Social
Media
Main
Headline
Strapline
Issue
Number
Barcode
Puff
Promotion
Cover
Lines
Price
Date of
Issue
Web
Address
Final Version of Front Cover

5. Preliminary Task Progression– Evidence
Contents Page
The first step I took
when making my
contents page was
duplicating the
background layer
from my front cover
and using it on this
page as I wanted to
keep the brand
identity.
The next step I took was to
create the heading, I did this
by using the text tool, I
decided to use the same font
as the masthead as it was
bold and eye catching, I also
used the same effects such as
a drop shadow. I then
duplicated the masthead an
placed it above the heading,
I then went on to add in
the subheading to
deconstruct what would
feature in each page of my
magazine, I then thought
that there was too much
dead space surrounding
these subheadings, so in
order to fill this I added in
the school logo after each
one of them.
I then added in my editorial in the bottom left
hand corner. I first typed it out in word before
inserting it in a text box on my page. I created
the drop capital by creating a separate text box
and just typing out the ‘H’, I then used the
‘Character’ window to enlarge this and make it
bolder by changing the colour to navy and
making the letter thicker. I then scanned in a
copy of my signature which I then placed in
along side my social media information and
logos. After doing this I added in an image of
myself, backed by a navy and yellow shape
which I created using the shape tool.
To eliminate some
dead space I added in a
‘Star Students of the
Week’ section where I
featured three
students. I got three
students and
photographed them
and made up a story
to why they featured
in this section of my
magazine.
I then added in images
which supported some of
the main stories featuring
in this issue of my school
magazine. I then decided
to copy what I had done
with my editorial image
and added the navy and
yellow backing to each
image to make them stand
out more.
The next thing I did
was add on the
corresponding number
on each supporting
image so that the
reader knew which
image was linked to
what story. I also used
the same font as the
masthead to maintain
the housestyle.
The final thing I did on my
contents page was add in
the page number as well
as the web address in the
bottom right hand corner.
I also used the masthead
font style here to ensure
that the colours of the
school ran through the
entirety of my magazine to
keep the brand/school
identity,

6. Web Address
Editorial
School Logos
Sublines & Page
Numbers
Copy of
masthead/Logo
Heading
Supporting
Images
Page Number
Final Version of Contents Page

7. Section 2) – Log Book

8. Magazine Process
• Date of Publication – The first thing that is done it 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 correctly, property grammar and punctuation are used, make sure that the articles
follow the house style and work on the page layout.
• Page Layout – This person will correctly lay the articles out to put it together as a magazine using powerful
programs such as Desktop Publishing (DTP) or 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 to find any mistakes. Any mistake that is spotted is quickly corrected, the editorial keeps proof reading
until all the team is satisfied there is no mistakes.
• Printing – The entire magazine is send to the printer, Pre-Press’ are printed to check all the colours and
layout is fine before printing hundreds or thousands of copies.
• Distribution – It is the final stage where the company packs the magazines and go to a warehouse to go to
the general public.
: http://hosbeg.com/the-magazine-production-process/

9. Established Magazine for my Research
Bold Masthead which is a capital letter
on top of a bright red background (stands
out from the rest of the cover). The
masthead is also a different font to the
rest of the text on the front cover (e.g
Coverlines) which creates an effective
contrast.
Colour scheme – The colour scheme
is quite limited as all text is white, this
makes the front cover unique
compared to many other music
magazine designs in the industry.
Barcode – The barcode is displayed
in the bottom left hand corner which
makes it discreet – this makes the
main image stand out more. The
barcode also has a web address
alongside it which allows the reader
to then visit the companies main site.
Main image – the main image is the
underlay background which the writing sits
upon, ‘Q’ should have slightly overlaid
Florence’s face over the logo so it makes her
stand out more and makes her look more
significant. As the image is so big the writing
surrounds her face, which adds extra
emphasis on her face as well as her
contrasting makeup.
Main headline – the main cover line
on the front cover of this magazine is
one of its main selling points. This
cover line is very effective as it
sounds exclusive to the magazine –
this is a good technique as it makes
more people want to buy it so they
can know about the exclusive gossip.
‘Exclusive’ Competitions and prizes – Q
magazine have included a small feature on
the magazine as an alternation technique to
attract more buyers. By buying this
magazine it gives the reader a chance to win
an ‘exclusive’ prize. Using the word
‘exclusive’ is appealing as it means that this
specific competition is restricted to this
magazine only.

10. Target Audience
The denotation of the target audience is teenagers to young adults, mainly targeted at the ages 15 – 30
years old (Hartley's 7 subjectivities). The vast majority of the readers are men (around 70%) however
there are a small amount of women (around 30%) who also read it. Q magazine is also aimed at a
middle class audience as the price of the magazine is £3.99. Q magazine make sure to cover many
different music genres which open the appeal to most ethnicities and nationalities. Unlike many other
magazines, ‘Q’ magazine is extremely factual, ensuring that they include details about artists personal
life's, as well as includes many statistics about recent sales figures etc. For this reason I believe that the
readership for this magazine would be ‘Survivors’ as they like to be able to rely on a product, and like to
feel secure in what they are reading.
What is the USP of this magazine?
From the research completed into this media product, I think the USP varies between a few
of the different codes and conventions within the magazine. One of the main unique selling
points of this magazine is the design of the front cover – Q magazine have an original and
repetitive style on each of their front covers - The typical front page of Q magazine always
has to have the trademark masthead, a big red box with a bold white Q in it. It is always
positioned in the top left of the magazine. The text is always very simple but viewable as it
always seems to be in a bold font. The main image of the artist always dominates the front
page as the majority of the time no other images are used on the front page.

11. Publisher research
Editor: Phil Alexander
Frequency: 12 issues per year
Publisher: Bauer Media Group
Q Magazine is a music magazine which has an extensive review section it also
features new releases, film and live concert reviews as well as TV and radio reviews.
Q Magazine is targeted at mainly 15-30 year olds..
Annual circulation figure (2014) : 39,000

12. Conventions of a Music Magazine
Masthead – the masthead of this CLASH magazine front cover is bold as it is
very simplistic, as it is a plain font and plain white. The masthead is the
magazine companies logo but in white and is very appealing due to the size
of the font as well as its placement on every issues front cover – as it is
displayed right at the top of the cover, it is the first thing the consumer gets
drawn to when looking for what magazine to purchase.
Main Image – The denotation of the technical code for this image is a close up image. As Iggy
Azalea's image is the only image o the front cover it allows all the attention to be drawn to her
– as her clothing is the only pop of colour on the front cover, it emphasises her even though
the text is all over laid on top of her image. The image also has a large amount of star appeal as
she is the only person featured , making her the centrepiece.
Cover Lines – On the vast majority of issues produced by CLASH magazine, the cover
lines consist of the different artists names that also feature elsewhere in the
magazine. By using cover lines in this unique way, they provide a brief summary and
insight into what the magazine holds, yet doesn’t give too much away which means
the reader is still intrigued enough to buy it.
Colour Scheme – CLASH magazine have used a very
effective and simplistic colour scheme. The colour scheme
is effective as the backdrop colour is plain grey, and all the
text is simply white. This is gives off a very smart and
professional look as the only bold colour on the front cover
is the photograph, this emphasises Iggy Azalea’s hair as
well as her clothing.
Barcode/ Date/ Price/ Web address – This is
discretely placed on the right hand side of the
magazine cover, it is also fairly narrow which allows
more of a space for other text and images which are
displayed on the cover. The web address is also an
effective feature as it allows the company to direct
the reader to their website where they have more
information, interviews, photos etc.
This issue of ‘CLASH’ magazine is
however lacking many features in
which other magazines include. This
included features such as a Puff
Promotion, Social Media links and a
strapline. When making my own
music magazine I will ensure to
include these features as it adds
extra appeal to the magazine.

13. Target Audience -
The target audience for CLASH magazine is portrayed as young adults, aged between 15 – 35, the
‘Download generation’. As the magazine alternates between modern artists and groups such as Coldplay
and Iggy Azalea, it attracts a broad audience that are interested and music as well as modern fashion. As
the magazine incorporate fashion, film and music into one magazine it allows them to open up their
magazine to people who aren’t that interested in music as well as the ones who are. Inside the
magazine the text style is very simplistic and there are no large blocks of text which makes it easier to
read and makes it more appealing to those who are short of time. The magazine mainly consists of
pictures which also makes the magazine more appealing for those who are less interested in reading
about the artists. According the Katz’ the readership for this magazine would be white males/females
aged between 18-35years.
What is the USP of this magazine?
From the research completed into this media product, I think the USP is the unique style. CLASH
has a very indigenous style compared to many other music magazines on the market, the colour
schemes features are usually very simplistic, on the majority of the pages there is a main image
which fills the entirety of the space, the text styles used are also very basic which gives a chic,
minimalist look, compared to other magazines which use as bold fonts as possible to try and draw
people to their magazine. Another unique selling point of this magazine is the lack of codes and
conventions in which are portrayed on their front cover, as well as throughout the rest of the
magazine. Many other magazines include Straplines, Puff Promotions as well as other fetaures to
entice readership to their magazine, making CLASH unique for not doing this.

14. Publisher research
Editor: Simon Harper
Frequency: 12 issues per year
Publisher: Music Republic Limited
Annual Circulation Figure: 17,000
CLASH is a music magazine that includes a brief insight on the world of fashion
and also photography.
The magazine is targeted at 18 – 35 year olds.
CLASH is sold in many stores around the UK; including WHSmith, Martins,
ASDA, Sainsbury's etc.