The document provides details on the production of a cover for a school magazine. It describes the target audience as students aged 16-18 and parents. The main image shows a student working in a classroom to appeal to this audience. Additional images of students are included to represent different school activities. Cover lines promote stories on university expectations and new leadership roles to engage readers. The masthead is designed to look sophisticated yet modern. Overall, the cover is meant to represent the school's academics while showing happy students to attract its target readership.

1. Preliminary Task: School Magazine
Emily Hopwood

2. The masthead: ‘independent school parent’ shows
exactly who the magazine is aimed at and who should
be reading it, for the type of information they may be
interested in.
The children in the background are shown to look
happy as well, this shows that the school has a happy
and comfortable atmosphere that's welcoming. She is
also showing direct eye contact- this engages the
reader and draws them in.
The cover lines appeal to the target audience as they
are all about how to improve your child's school life or
help with it.
Image shows an enthusiastic young girl, who looks
happy to be at school. She is wearing many badges
which suggests she is well behaved and wishes to help
her school community. Her uniform is smart and the
target audience would be appealed to.
The colours on the girls uniform is linked to the colours
used on the cover of the magazine, this shows that the
image and content are linked and there is a steady
colour scheme throughout.

3. The sticker showing ‘new’ also draws the reader in, it
makes the reader focus on the magazine more because
the sticker is red and this contrasts to the overall colour
of the magazine
The cover lines are also appealing to the target
audience, this is shown through the information that
parents would regard as important and relevant to
them. For example, ‘what is different about academy
schools?’.
The font of the masthead shows that the magazine and
the school are sophisticated, smart and serious.
However, this is healthily contrasted by the smiling
children in the image. This shows that the school is
sophisticated but can also allow children to enjoy
education.
The environment shows a bright and colourful
classroom with the displays of children on the wall, this
shows that the school is proud to show the work of its
students, again drawing in the target audience.
The colour of the background is linked to the colour of
the children in the images’ shirt colour, showing that the
to are linked and this shows meaning.

4. The little pictures show children having fun, this will also
encourage people to read the magazine as they wish to
find out what happened to make the children feel so
celebratory
The setting of the main image shows the intellectual
level of the students at the school, as they are on a
school trip to china, the children must be well behaved
or smart- assuring the parents of this.
The magazine clearly shows that the distinctive school
colours are red, this is shown through the group photo
taken and the surrounding images. Also, the
background is shown to be red. This shows that the
school and magazine must be easily recognizable and
presents a statement.
The school logo is clearly shown next to the masthead,
making it easy to recognize to the target market. It is
also shown in the right upper corner- this shows
supremacy.

5. The simple layout allows all aged parents and students
to follow the structure and understand fully the
magazine. There are clear sections used to separate
information.
The font is not too serious and comes across to the
reader as modern and sleek. This shows that the
school itself is approachable, yet sophisticated as the
other fonts on the cover are serif.
The different images appeal to the target audiences as
it appeals to the parents of all year groups as it displays
all different aged students on one cover, this also
allows many different children to see themselves on the
cover and want their parents to read the whole
magazine.
In all pictures, the children are shown to be happy and
enjoying themselves. By selecting these images, they
are showing the readers the opportunities the school
offers and how enjoyable they are.
The masthead is clearly shown and is easily
recognizable. The colours shown clearly link to the
school as all colours are worn in the uniform of the
students attending this school.

6. Target Audience Research
It is important to carry out
audience research, this is due
to needing your magazine to
have the certain
characteristics that will
appeal to the specific
audiences the magazine is
trying to target. Therefore I
have carried out research to
see what things people
would expect to find in a
school magazine. I have
asked 30 people who are
constant owners of school
magazines. This also gives
the designer and producer an
idea of what needs to be
included in the magazine and
thus, mentioned on the
cover.
Things that the school magazine
should include:
Tally:
Specific student achievements III
New updates to do with the school IIII
Pictures of students in the school III
Ways the school has been improved II
School updates IIII
Key term dates IIII
Letters and announcements from
teachers
IIII
The schools contact information III
Pictures and work from students III

7. AS Media Studies Preliminary Task – School Magazine Front Page Proposal Form
Target audience:
(age range, interests)
Although it is a school newsletter you still have to think about
your audience and how to appeal to them.
My target audience will range from 16-18 years old. This is because my magazine is aimed at students going to
secondary school. This means they will all have similar interests as they all have lessons in the same or similar
subjects. This means that the content will have to intellectually written but still understandable to the lower aged
students in the school. The cover should appeal to all students, this can be done through the use of school colours
to not show a definitive audience has been targeted. I would also like for parents to be able to read the magazine.
Possible title ideas:
(masthead / title block)
What is your magazine going to be called?
The magazine is going to be called ‘The ‘6’ Former’ this is to show that the magazine is specifically about students
and for students. This appeals to the audience as it shows that the student is getting more information than they do
normally regarding the people they know and are friends with.
Main image:
What will be the focal point of your front page, remember, your
work “must include a photograph of a student in a medium
close-up”
My main image will be of children working in a classroom or outside. This is because students will see the image
and be able to associate their experiences with the cover model. It will be a medium close-up shot as it will need to
show the student fully as well as the setting of the photograph.
Main cover line:
What will be the main story?
The main cover line will be ‘Universities: What can you really expect in the future?’. This will make the reader
wish to be a part of the magazine as it includes direct address. It also appeals directly to them as it has adverse
affects on the specific target audience.
Additional key images:
What other images will be on your front cover?
Remember, it is a school magazine.
If any, i will add pictures of other students working in a separate environment to show the diverse sections of work
the school offers. However, i would prefer to only have one main image as the target on the magazine is the older
years of the school, this means the magazine would not look tacky and therefore appeal to more people.
Additional cover lines:
Other features, stories or selling points which will be inside the
magazine, these need to be audience appropriate.
I will include other cover lines like: ‘Your new head boy and girl are revealed’ Another may be: ‘Resolved student
issues that will make our school better’. Both of these coverlines will appeal to the audience and will both entice
the reader as again, the content will completely benefit the reader.
Typography:
(style, size, colour of copy)
Think about the writing and the style of the writing on your
front page.
The background will hopefully be light so that the title can be dark and bold and stand out completely. The size of
the masthead and the coverlines will not overpower the image. This means that the font should be big enough to be
eye catching, but small enough so that the audience can clearly see the setting and the model in the main image.
Background colour/image:
What will be in the background, remember you don’t want to
take the focus away from the main image.
In the background I would like for my model to be placed working outside in a playground or working in a
classroom surrounded by other children, this can look messy and not as professional as an image taken outside.
This will also not distract the audience from the main image as it will still clearly show and feature the model.
Technical considerations:
(equipment, setting, props, costume, lighting)
Be realistic and creative, think about what you have access to
and how you could use it.
I will use the outdoor areas so that the lighting is natural and creates a happy vibe for the audience of the magazine.
This also will make the picture bright and more appealing. The props I will use will be school based meaning that
the model will be holding a book or doing work. The models costume is going to be a smart uniform to allow the
audience to affiliate themselves with the model.

8. COVER
LINE
COVER
LINE
COVER
LINE
COVER
LINE
COVER
LINE
MASTHEAD MASTHEAD
IMAGE
IMAGE
IMAGE
IN THE
MAGAZINE
IN THE
MAGAZINE
MAIN IMAGE
DATE AND ISSUE NUMBER

10. Production
I used an online software called PicMonkey to create
the cover for my magazine. This has allowed me to
explore different programs to create my music
magazine. I was able to change the font, size and
colour of all of my texts. This means that I was able
to match all texts and make the magazine look
professional.
I chose to use the colour scheme of black and white
for the cover of the magazine so that it did not
contrast with the background of the image I took. I
also felt that the image was colourful enough to have
black and white texts. I also felt that as there was a
bright white background at the top of the image, it
would be bold and eye catching to have a bold and
black masthead. It also matched the model's
clothing.
I used the simple and sophisticated font ‘Tahoma’ to ensure the clean-cut and professional looking magazine.
There were some issues with the black text and cover lines due to the complexity of the background colours, in
my music magazine I wish to ensure that there is only one main background colour so that I can make my
magazine more colourful and matched to the genre I chose. I added a banner by using shapes and text at an
angle, this was to create excitement and subvert the rest of the magazines image. The white background of the
text also makes the black text on top bolder and more eye catching. I kept all sizes the same so that it was big
enough to read but didn’t clutter the page. This is the same with the date and issue number. I may chose to
change the sizes of the texts on my music magazine in order of importance to attract the audience to particular
parts of the contents. I may also crop my music magazine main image so that it is more of a close up shot, this
is to ensure that the intensity of my magazine is evident and different to this school magazine as this is clearly
an educational magazine and will not appeal in the same way to my audience.

11. Notes During Production
Below are some of the pictures I took to be on the cover of my magazine. All were
suitable as they fitted the criteria that I wanted for my magazine. This is because
they were all taken in a classroom or outside area where the models were reading
or working, this shows the audience that they can relate to the cover model and
look the same as them, thus coming to the conclusion that the magazine is aimed
at them. I decided to use the last image as it was the clearest, brightest and
looked the most professional. The remaining image of the girls reading were used
as images in my contents pages.

12. A Brief and Learning Process
For this preliminary project, I had to fully construct a cover and contents page
of a magazine. This had to consist of a self-taken photograph for the main
image and other images for the contents page. This has been practice and
preparation for my music magazine and has allowed me to understand further
what is required in magazines and how to make them look professional,
sophisticated and suited to my target audience specifically. I now know that
an effective masthead is needed to attract the target audience at first sight. I
am also now aware that a cover image needs the right colours, age group and
model to appeal to the correct and targeted audience. The contents page
must also draw the reader's attention secondarily as this is where the
audience turns to decide if they will purchase the magazine. Also, through
conducting the research for this school magazine I know how to target a niche
market in order to find out their interests, dislikes hobbies and personal
requirements when buying a specific magazine. I have also learned how to
successfully manipulate Photoshop and PicMonkey in order to create and edit
new images and texts.