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1. OCR Media Studies – AS Level
Unit G321: Foundation Portfolio in Media
Planning & Research
Name: Dan Sgarbini
Candidate Number: 2005
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
Step-by-step
This is a blank canvas of my
soon to be preliminary task
front cover. This will be
produced on Photoshop and
will consist of many relevant
features such h as the
masthead, cover star and
headlines.
This image displays the
introduction of a banner which
will feature the issue, date and
many more features. This will
be located above the masthead
and has been presented in a
dark blue colour in order to
stick with school colours and
build a brand identity.
This image clearly implies the further changes that have
been inflicted upon my preliminary front cover, these
changes include the issue number, issue date and St
Andrews logo. The logo adds an aspect of relevance and
displays familiarity with the audience as parents and
students are all well associated with the school logo. The
issue details are primarily added in order to inform
readers and keep them up to date with the latest issue.

4. Here I have created a masthead in order
to gain brand identity for the A Star and
to clearly display the name of my
created magazine. I have chosen this
font as it is bold, basic and eye catching
to the reader and I have added the St
Andrews colour scheme of blue and
yellow in order to ensure that my
magazine is as relevant as possible.
I have also inserted a strapline into my
St Andrews school magazine as it also
displays brand identity and is the
school motto therefore students,
parents and staff are all familiar with
my strapline and will therefore have an
interest in my school magazine. I have
placed the strapline in a small font in
order to ensure that the masthead
stands out and the strap line acts as a
backup for the masthead.
I have now introduced codes and
conventions around the barcode
such as a smaller font masthead,
social media links and my magazines
website. I have ensured that my
conventions are of my St Andrews
colour scheme of blue and yellow as
it creates brand identity and stays
familiar with the target audience.

5. I have now included the school logo into
the bottom left corner of my magazine
cover in order to continue with my
brand identity. A circle has also been
inserted in my relevant colour scheme
and will be used for puff promotion as
a source of advertisement.
In addition, I have now developed this
circle outline and have included text and
a well known logo in order to create my
puff promotion. This has been put into
place in order to attract readers and to
continue with my house style being the
colours of blue and yellow denoting
brand identity.
My cover star has now be introduced into
my magazine in order to denote ‘star
appeal’ to my magazine. Matthew (cover
star) matches the criteria of a St Andrews
student based on his intelligent appearance
and clothing which matches the school and
its colour scheme, this also builds brand
identity and introduces ‘star appeal’ to my
magazine cover. I also used the quick
selection tool in order to remove the
background of this image ensuring that this
mage fits in to my magazine cover.

6. Furthermore I have now introduced my cover lines
and my main headline which all give the reader an
insight into the magazine. This is put into place in
order to inform readers. I have also ensured that
my main headline appears in a bold/larger font
than the cover lines in order to denote the
importance of this story, they all feature in the
same colour scheme building the brand identity of
my magazine. These stories also have a stroke
effect in order to inflict both of the school colours
into the text which maximises my brand identity.
Here is my final draft of my prelim front cover which has been
completed through the introduction of the school badge being used
as bullet points, not only does this denote relevance but this also
keeps parents and students aware of the magazine and what it
consists of.

7. Preliminary Task Progression–
Evidence
Contents Page
Step-by-step
This screenshot reveals a blank A4 Photoshop
template, this will eventually be converted into
a preliminary contents page. I will continue
with my house style of dark blue and golden
yellow as these colours feature in the St
Andrews colour scheme.
I have drawn a dark blue rectangle in order to
create a banner and background for my
masthead copy. This colour is relevant as it is
one of the prime colours in the St Andrews
colour scheme. I have also added a contents
page title in order to reveal to my target
audience what this page is about. This appears
in a thin font as it appears as basic and easy to
read.
My masthead copy has now been
inserted with a yellow stroke effect. This
feature is vital as it introduces another
colour into my house style and
reintroduces the magazines identity.

8. In addition, an issue number has been introduced as
has the date in order to keep readers up to date with
this magazine. This follows the thin and readable font
in order to build a brand identity. I have also added
three boxes which will categorise the stories in the
magazine, these are blue boxes with a yellow shadow
effect, in order to continue with my well established
magazine house style. I have also added a web address
in order to build communication with readers.
I have now added two St Andrews school logos as readers can familiarise
themselves with the school and this is also a key factor in building brand
identity. Headings have been added into my boxes in a bold font as it
denotes importance and immediately draws in the reader. This has been
created in a yellow font as it appears as bright and eye catching due to the
contrast between a dark blue and a powerful yellow. Social medias has also
been introduced as it builds communication with the readers.

9. I have now added school logo by my subtitle
and have added a screen shot of my
preliminary front cover as this features in
many content pages from many magazines. I
have added the school logo in order to
familiarise my audience with the school and
to build brand identity. I have added my front
cover copy in order to reveal which magazine
this is relevant to and to display how I have
continued with a specific house style.
Here I have added sublines in order to give
the reader an insight into the magazine. I
made this a quicker process by creating one
story and pressing alt whilst dragging the
layer to duplicate it, this ensured that my
stories were in a consistent format. I also
ensured that the page number and story
title’s were in bold in order to denote their
significance over the story itself.
I have now added a subtitle for my
editorial and have continued with my
yellow and blue colour scheme and
have added a yellow stroke effect in
order to reveal the contrast between
the two. I have continued with the
same font style to also build brand
identity. I have also added a page
number in order to navigate readers
around my preliminary magazine.

10. I have now written my editorial via Microsoft Word and
have added both my editors details and signature. My
editorial appears in a dark blue as this is relevant to my
school colour scheme of blue and yellow. My editorial is
written in an informal tone as this builds a relationship
between the readers and the magazine. This editorial was
completed on word due to the fact that this ensures that
my grammar and spelling is correct throughout the
editorial.
I have now completed my editorial by adding an editors photo and a drop
capital, both of these features feature in many magazines as the drop
capital clearly reveals where the text starts and the editors image keeps
the editorial itself professional.

11. I have now added images into my contents page in order to
cover up blank spaces and to indicate where specific stories
feature, both of these images are relevant to stories making
the contents page more appealing to the reader. I imported
these images via google as many images can be accessed
through this site.
This image reveals my finished piece for my preliminary task contents
page, in order to complete this I have zoomed into a key story within the
contents page and have added a relevant image. Overall my prelim
contents page meets the criteria as it consists of a consistent colour
scheme, relevant stories and many more relevant features.

12. Section 2) – Log Book

13. Music Magazine – Genre research
• In order to construct a magazine the first thing to do is to set up a date of publication. The date of publication is simply the
date that you want the magazine to be released as a finished product to the general public. By doing this you are operating
with a schedule.
• Secondly you must manage the schedule which must be performed to a high standard if you are aiming to run a magazine
company to a high standard. The next step is the Editorial and budgetary decision stage. The editorial decisions involve the
magazine’s editorial team assembling and deciding what topics will be covered in the next issue of the magazine from
images to cover stories.
• The next process is the content acquisition process and is arguably the most important step because without content you
simply cannot have the magazine in the first place. The first step is through in-house staff writers and the second way is
through external writers that are commissioned to write on topics that are specialist in nature. It is at this stage that artwork
and graphics are also worked on. The artwork is defined as illustrations and pictures that are going to be placed in the
magazine. Graphics are the pictures or images that are designed with a computer program.
• Sub editing focuses on one major thing, which is quality control. If the media organization is big enough to have a sub-editor,
then he is going to be responsible for this job; if there is no sub-editor, then the editor does this job and they Check the
accuracy of all facts in the articles and manage the overall layout and grammar.
• The next stage is page layout. There is a special team responsible for page layouts called the layout staff. Their job is to
typeset and layout the various pages that come together to make the magazine.
• In addition proofreading is put into place which involves sending the magazine to a printer in order to have it double
checked whether images and headlines are relevant etc. after this the entire magazine is printed out in many copies if the
editor approves of it.
• The final method involves distributing the magazines to the public and into retailers so the magazine can be seen and
purchased.
• The most popular music magazine in the UK is Q magazine as it covers a wide range of genre from pop to R&B this magazine
produces a magazine for multiple genres in order to suit a wide target audience.
• I gathered this step by step magazine production guide from hosbeg.com/the-magazine-production-process

14. Established Magazine for my Research
Masthead: The masthead is the main heading and name
of the magazine. This is generally located above the
cover star and act as a banner however Q magazine do
not follow this as their masthead only covers a corner.
Main Headline: The denotation of the headline is “Liam's Beady Eye Kick
Off” which denotes the name of the artist automatically appealing to
readers of the magazine as they are given a relevant and clear insight of
what is due to feature in the magazine. The main headline is generally in
a bold, large and appealing font in order to denote its importance over
the cover lines. In this image Q magazine have placed the main headline
in front of the cover star as the main headline features the artist on the
front. It is also presented in a large font that matches the Q magazine
colour scheme this highlights their brand identity.
The cover star displays the celebrity starring in the
main heading and is generally located in front of
the masthead to denote his or her “star appeal”
however Q magazine do not follow this basic rule.
Cover lines are generally seen as secondary stories
that feature in the magazine however do not have the
importance that the main headline possess.
The strapline: The denotation of the strapline is “Discover great
music” which inflicts an influence on the reader that this magazine
will possess high quality music. This acts as a source of reassurement
for the reader as they feel that the music in which they follow is good
music, therefore Q magazine are building a relationship with their
audience.. This is generally located below the masthead and is
generally used to portray a brief insight of the magazine company to
all readers.

15. Target Audience –
Q magazine is a pop and Rock magazine and their target audience can be denoted as the male gender due to the fact that 68.3%
of readers are male with 35.5% of readers being between the age bracket of 15-24 (Hartley). This magazine searches for social
climbers due to the fact that throughout the magazine the life of music artists is employed which appeals to social climbers as they
are materialistically driven (Maslow's). Q magazine also appeals to survivors as it appeals to a wide range of people of many music
genres (Maslow) , survivors strive for routine and security which is exactly what this magazine produces as it is released on a
monthly basis and covers a wide range of genres appealing to a large target audience. They do not target a specific ethnicity or
nationality as the music and presentation on the magazine could be aimed at a wide range of people. This magazine is also used in
order to inform and educate readers about multiple genres in the music industry, this also informs and educates readers about
specific artists and their complex lifestyles (Katz). In addition this magazine company also uses diversion as it immerses readers
within stories through features such as interviews with artists and new albums/singles which all draw readers into the magazine
(Katz).
What is the USP of this magazine?
From the research completed into this media product, I think that Q magazines USP is the cover
star featuring on the front cover as it clearly displays who will feature in the magazine and the
magazine genre that will feature in this magazine. It also connotes “star appeal” (Maslow’s) that
will attract buyers due to the fact that music is currently at its peak and many people across the
country identify specific figures with good music and by displaying this artists people will
automatically feel that good music features in the magazine.

16. Publisher research
This information was gathered from: http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/brands/q
Q magazine is a monthly music magazine issue that is produced by Bauer media who
own multiple sources to the extent that they reach over 22million people in the UK.
They own many brands such Kiss, Grazia, Empire, Magic. They aim at people from the
age bracket of 15-24 with 35.5% of readers fitting into this age group. 68.3% of
readers are of the male gender. This magazine reaches out to a large group of people
due to the fact that it covers a wide range of music genres from R&B to pop this
magazine features a wide ranges of genre to suit a wide target audience.

17. Conventions of a Music Magazine
Masthead: The masthead is the main heading and name of
the magazine. This is generally located superior to the cover
star and is generally in a bold font with a established brand.
Cover lines are generally seen as secondary stories
that feature in the magazine however do not have the
importance that the main headline possess. However
give a brief insight into what the magazine possesses.
The cover star is the main USP of a magazine
displaying the celebrity starring in the main heading
and is generally located in front of the masthead to
denote his or her “star appeal”. This determines the
cover story and the readers.
Main Headline: This is used to give the reader
an insight of the main story in the magazine.
And generally features the cover star. This is
based on the magazine genre and the artists
that are relevant to this.
The Strapline acts as an extra source of information for the masthead as it builds
brand identity, acts as a catchy slogan to draw in readers and acts as an extra source
of information of what the magazine is about. In this issue of XXL the strapline is
“special collectors issue” which denotes the importance of the magazine issue to
the reader.
The web address is generally advertised towards the barcode area in order to act
as an extra source of information for those who are interest in seeing the next
issue, previous issues and many more sources of information regarding the
magazine.

18. Target Audience –
The target market for XXL magazine can be denoted as a prime source of entertainment for men as 78% of readers are male
leaving only 22% being female. This is also aimed at African Americans as this category consumes 67% of readers. This is also very
popular for adults between the age of 26-29 years of age due to the wide range of music and the genre that perhaps is most
suitable for people of this age and is least suitable for those over the age of 60 due to how modern this style of music is which is
portrayed in XXL. XXL magazine primarily targets social climbers due to the fact that the hip hop lifestyle is a prime feature in XXL
which involves cash, chains, caps and materialistic goods. Those who are social climbers are driven by materialistic objects and
the genre of hip hop denotes this complex and materialistic lifestyle (Maslow). This hip hop magazine also links to diversion due to
the fact that readers become drawn into the hip hop lifestyle and those who fall into the diversion category immerse themselves
within the magazine. XXL magazine ensures that readers immerse themselves in the hip hop lifestyle and within the
story's/interviews that feature in the magazine (Katz).
What is the USP of this magazine?
The unique selling point of this magazine is the cover artist as the cover star portrays some “star
appeal” (Richard Dyer) that the reader attracts to based on the artist and his or her popularity.
The cover star gives a clear insight of what the reader is buying into based on the stars
appearance and genre of music. The cover star must be relevant to the magazine issue and must
feature in the main headline he or she must also be relevant to the music genre of the magazine.

19. Publisher research
• My chosen magazine is XXL which is produced by Warner Music.
• Warner music reaches over 19 million adults every week as this is the main target
group that they strive to appeal to.
• They also connect people and communities with compelling and quality content,
whenever, wherever and however they want.
• This Magazine is produced monthly and is available for customers at the beginning
of each month in stores.
XXL Figures:
78% Male Readers
67% African American Readers