The document provides details on the planning and research for a music magazine project. It includes: 1) A step-by-step progression of the preliminary task to create the front cover, detailing the design elements and process. 2) Research on the music magazine genre, including statistics on popularity and examples of established magazines. 3) Details on the target audience for the magazine, discussing their socio-economic needs and how the magazine informs based on Katz's hierarchy of needs.

1. OCR Media Studies – AS Level
Unit G321: Foundation Portfolio in Media
Planning & Research
Name: Jude Munday
Candidate Number: 3092
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

4. In the first lesson on this task, I created the basic
background of the page. This consists of my school
logo, and then the page design which Is the two
yellow lines as shown. The lines carry on out of the
logo to make the page interesting, and keeps the
house style consistent. To create them I used the
rectangle tool and drew a the right size, the using
“cmd +” to zoom in a made sure they were the
perfect size to the proportions of the logo. To color
the lines, I used the idropper tool to select the exact
same color as the yellow on the logo, and then used
the paint bucket tool clicking on the line.
Additionally I created a barcode box which contains
the contents of the bar code and social media logos.
To do this I had to again use the rectangle tool to
create the box and colored it white using the paint
bucket tool. Next I found suitable logos and a image
of a bar code on the internet and saved them on to
my desk top then dragged them to the page. To
remove the white back all I had to use was the magic
wand tool, and select the white areas to remove. I
made sure all the logos were the same size by again
zooming in and looking closely at the details of the
pixels. When re sizing the images and shapes I
selected them with “cmd T” and held shift key so
that they would’t become distorted.
Step 1

5. Step 2 Secondly, I then focused on my main image, masthead,
strap line, puff promotion (which I will cover on another
slide) and the addition of 2 more yellow lines. To get my
perfect masthead font style I went to dafont.com and
browsed for the correct font. Once coming across my
chosen font I saved and downloaded it. After typing In the
text that I wanted ‘”ENRICHMENT” I dragged it to the page.
I then resized the image so that it was lager and bold
(which I later decided to make even larger), after this I used
the paint bucket tool and I dropper to color the image to
suit the house style (the color change being exhibited on
the next slide). To type the strap line all I had to do was use
the text tool, clicking where I wanted to type and wrote the
strap line. Moving down the page I then again used the
rectangle tool to create the further two yellow lines which
will later support the cover story's, and colored them again
according to the house style. As for the main image I took
of one of my peers, after dragging it from my files to the
page and re sizing it (which I also later changed to be
larger) by using “cmd t” and holding shift which is crucial
for the image not to be distorted. I removed the white back
ground which to do I used the quick selection tool to select
the image, I then went into quick mast mode to the brush
tool. Post to this I used the phrase “white reveals black
conceals” to make an accurate selection. Lastly I went to
select, inverse and deselected it. Finally I also added the
pricing, issue number and date to the bar code box, which
was simply done like the strap line with the text tool.

6. Step 3 Here I re-looked at my puff promotion and
decided that the yellow box was bleak and didn’t
offer vibrancy to the page. Therefore considering
this and the style of the magazine being to do
with education, I chose to use a book as the back
ground. This depicts the conventions of
education and makes the magazine look fun. For
the text “WIN A FREE LUNCH PASS” I went again
and selected a font from da font, saving and
pasting it onto the page, then after re sizing the
text, I selected them again and pressed “cmd T”
and then held the “cmd” key when clicking on
the corners of the image so that I could use free
transform so that the text looks like it belongs to
the pages of the book. Furthermore, I also
decided that the previous strap line didn't’t add
enough variety to the page so I chose a more
interesting font from da font, and followed the
usual processes of saving and dragging it, then
resizing it, holding shift. In conclusion for this
step I added the back ground, which I took from
the st-andrews catholic school website, and
screen shot a perfect piece of the back ground to
my desk top then dragged to to the Photoshop.

7. Step 4 For this step we need to first look at the cover storys. I
simply used the text tool to type them. After this I chose
the color for the text to be the same consistent yellow
by using the swatches and the recent colors. To
conclude I also added the effects by double clicking on
each layer for each cover story and added “outer glow”,
“inner glow”, “bevel and emboss”, “satin” and “stroke”
to really make them stand out. For the information of
the cover story's I just used a less extravagant style and
went with a normal solid black text from the text tool.
Some areas on the page need to be more monotone so
that the other areas stand out more that are more
important. Following this I again went to the st-andrews
catholic school website, and copied an image that for
the ”ace” logo, saving and dragging it to the page. It
didn't’t have a back ground to remove and only needed
simple resizing of “cmd shift” and holding shift. The text
“an ace in every issue” I got from the text tool, and from
the swatches chose colors chose the yellow house style.
I then interestingly selected the simple curve effect so
that the font bent around the ace logo. After this I
decided to make the main image and the masthead
larger so that they made more of a recognizable impact
to the page. For a similar reason I put a yellow glow on
to the puff promotion. To do this I added the following
effects, outer glow, inner glow, bevel and emboss and
satin. On the outer glow effect I changed the color to be
the same color as the yellow house style saved in the
swatches.

8. Step 5
For the final step I made the last quality control corrections, for
example I made simple tweaks such as putting a black outer glow
effect effect on the “AN ACE IN EVERY ISSUE” text. Also I put put
the bevel and emboss effect to the barcode box, school logo and
Ofsted logo (which I will later cover the creation of) to add depth
to the page. Additionally I also added the all important cover story
(the pull quote from Shaune Hazlehurst). I collected the font from
the website da font, after saving the text and then taking a screen
shot and dragging it to my front cover, I used the magic wand tool
to remove the background. I then changed the color of the text to
be the same navy/purple as the school logo using the paint brush
tool and eye dropper to get the exact same color. All that was then
left to do was to apply the following effects, outer glow (which I
made white in color so that the text would stand out against the
background) inner glow, bevel and emboss, satin and stroke.
Finally to fill space, on the left hand side of the stage where there
was a lot of empty space I decided to add a filler, this was the
Ofsted stamp, with 5 stars. To do this I saved an image of the
Ofsted logo and a gold star found through google images. I then
went to the tool, selecting the rectangle tool and drew a box to be
the background of the Ofsted stamp. After this I went to the eye
dropper tool to select the exact same navy as on the st Andrews
logo, and used the paint bucket to change the apply this color to
the rectangle. Following this I paste one of the Ofsted logos and
the gold star 5 times. I had to use “cmd +” to zoom in on my word
and also utilized the “cmd ;” option so that I could use margins to
ensure that all of the stars were of equal distance , look inline and
not look out of place. So that the house style is consistent, using
the swatches and paint bucket I decided to change the color of the
stars to the same yellow found all over the page.

9. Preliminary Task Progression–
Evidence Contents Page Step-by-step

10. Step 1 To start the creation of my contents page, I began with
the creation of my mast head, choosing the same font
as on my front cover, I typed what I had planned with
my text tool and chose the appropriate font size.
Furthermore, to add to the mast head I saved an image
of a star from google images, and pasted it ono the
document above the letter “A”. After this I used the
swatches tool to get the exact same yellow color as
found on my front cover and used the paint bucket tool
to change the color of the masthead and star. After this
I copied the logo from my front cover and paste it in
the same corner, and also copied over the yellow line
that underlines the mast head. Post to this, I created a
new yellow line at the side of the page, instead of
coming out of the logo as on the front cover to give me
more space for contents. To do this I used the shape
tool, and then used the paint bucket coloring with the
same yellow. Finally for the creation of my subheading
“contents”, I went the the website “da font” and looked
for a appropriate font. I noticed the traveling type
writer font which I thought had connotations of looking
hand drawn/ typed, therefore giving it a feel that it had
been created inside of a school, which is appropriate to
the magazine style. After saving the font style I went to
Photoshop where I selected the text tool and simply
typed “contents” where I thought the subheading was
appropriate.

11. Step 2
For the second step, I added in four more yellow
lines, one to underline the sub heading
“contents” the second to plot where my images
will be placed, third to section off the editorial
and final to underline the subheading “editorial”.
To do this I simply copied the line already created
for the left hand border and shortened it to the
appropriate width with “cmd” “t”. Secondly
focusing on the editorial, I dragged the image off
my desk top and re sized it with “cmd” “t” so that
it wouldn’t get distorted in the process, I then
used the shape tool to draw a box for the writing
to be held. After this I used the pen tool to wrap
the text around the drop capital “H” also created
using the pen tool. This was also assisted with the
use of bleed lines to ensure that the text was
wrapped in perfect straight lines. Finally the
finishing touches consist of, adding the
subheading typing in the consistent font of
“travelling typewriter”, also adding in a twitter
logo found off the internet, deleting the white
background with the magic wand.

12. Step 3
After the second step I needed to flesh out my
page by adding in the other images, dragging
them from my desk top and resizing them with
“cmd” “T” and I ensured that they were
equidistant to make the page look neat. After
this I used the shape tool again to draw two
more shapes, filling them with the back ground
from my front cover a ocean blue gradient on
the shape on the left hand side. The shape
created at the top right, I used a tab bar option
so that the majority of the shape was hollow so
that I could add an image and the other part had
a small tab filled with solid dark blue. To make
the shaped stand out I put a black stroke effect
with a width size of 3px, I did this for the
editorial box and also the contents box on the
left and then for the box with the tab, changed
the color of the stroke to the same dark blue
used in the tab.

13. Step 4 Final step. This the stage where I added in the
contents, with page numbers and also other
small details to conclude. For example the
page number in the bottom right corner of the
page, typed using the travelling type writer
font to keep consistency. Furthermore

14. Section 2) – Log Book

15. Music Magazine – Genre research
Hip Hop originated from
the Bronx in New York
City in the 70s. It is the
best selling genre for
teen male teens in many
states across America.
In 2012 the music industry
made 50 billion dollars, 15
billion in the USA alone
“Mojo is now
the biggest
rock music
magazine in
the UK”--
https://www.greatmagazines.
co.uk
Graph highlights the popularity
magazines as a part of the music
industry. Concludes that magazines are
the second most influential media
form.
http://canadianmags.blogspot.c
o.uk/2012_03_01_archive.html
-The Guardian 2006 ranking
all music magazines in the
UK on popularity.
https://www.theguardian.com/medi
a/2006/aug/17/pressandpublishing.c
irculationfigures4
Q Magazine
exclusives Q magazine is the
UK’s biggest selling music
magazine and the world’s best
music guide. Q is available as a
print or digital magazine.
https:/
www.greatmagazines.co.uk/music-
magazines?gclid=CO7HyZK1o9ICFQoB0wo
dNWEDsA

16. Established Magazine for my Research
Main image
indirect stare, works well
with house style of
wonky/distorted text.
Furthermore, the use of a
full body shot is interesting
as it allows the star to
highlight his clothing, as
Kanye is an inspirational
character in the clothing and
fashion industry
Main Headline
“Kanye” written boldly half way across the image
of Kanye West. This will catch peoples eyes and
encourage Kanyes fans to purchase the magazine
(this is called “star appeal” by Richard Dyer). Even if
people don’t recognize the artist at first then his
name written in bold certainly will.
Cover stories
These are large and bold, so fans
of the other artists being
covered will notice them and be
encouraged to purchase. This is
a use of star appeal, and the
fans of these artists will want to
buy the magazine because they
feel it is to do with the artist and
perhaps they are interested or
want to support them. More so,
it also connotes the individual
that there is lots of varied
content in the magazine not just
the main story we initially see.
Strapline
The use of white writing on a black background is
interesting as it makes the text really stand out
from the magazine, illustrating its importance. We
know they have done this so that the strapline
isn't lost within the cover, and can tell this
because there is no other text in this stile on the
hole page.
Puff promotion
The give away of a free CD encourages people to by the magazine, because of the exclusiveness, and the personal value that they know they wont
be able to get the prize anywhere else. Also it makes the individual feel that the magazine is worth the price it is ranged at by adding extra
content they wouldn't’t expect to get when buying an ordinary magazine.
MastHead
This magazine has a unique masthead, being just
a singular letter “Q”, It is therefore punchy and
easy to remember. The colour scheme is also
based on Barbra Kugers propaganda, being a
distinctive red back ground to compliment the
striking white letter. This really catches the eye
with the color red connoting alert, there fore is
identifiable and pops out from the page.

17. Target Audience – Katz, Maslow, Hartley and/or socio-economic needs.
The magazine informs (Kats- inform and educate) people on important events that Kanye has been
involved in such as recent performances, or new tracks he has made him self or featured in. It also
informs us in a similar way with the artists on the cover story's, for example “back stage, with Blur”. The
magazine is targeted at people who are from E to roughly C1 on the socio-economic ladder. This means
that the main target audience is people of lower class. This is because the issues that are covered within
the magazine are about issues which people with a higher class are less likely to be interested in such as
what Kanye has been doing recently. The magazine is also aimed at a Male audience due to the feature
of Kanye and many other male artists as cover stories. More so the magazine is aimed at people who
are between the ages of 18-30 this is suggested by the give away of a CD. This is important as CD’s are
generally not used by teenagers, as they’re more up to date and digitally hold music. Further I have
capped the age limit at 30 due to the style of Kanye’s (the main feature) music which is generally not
appealing to people over the age of 30. According to Maslow's theory of needs the magazine is aimed at
people who are caregivers, people who care about Kanye and the issues covered in the magazine.
What is the USP of this magazine? YOU MUST refer to specific
conventions/stories from you research
From the research completed into this media product, I believe the USP is the main
image of Kanye on the front. This is because Kanye is huge A list celebrity with a
massive following, therefore this huge following will be encouraged to purchase the
magazine.
Analysis of the established magazine for my research

18. Publisher research
“Q is the ultimate guide to
modern music, distilling it
down to the good stuff.”
Bauer publish 89 different magazines including Q, one of the most popular music magazines in
the UK. Further, Bauer publish in England and wales and are the largest publisher within them.
“Your music, your life”
This is one of Bauer’s slogans, which is influential as it
suggests that everyone has the right to choose their own
music genre to listen to, and essentially Bauer offers this
with 89 diverse magazines.
This goes hand in hand with another slogan from Bauer “we
think popular”. This suggests that Q magazine is all you
need as it only gives you the important “good stuff” and is
the “ultimate guide”. They focus on modern music and what
is relevant and “popular” at the time.
According to Katz theory the aim of Q magazine is to keep people up to date and inform them of
what's happening in the world of modern music. Additionally according the socio-economics ladder Q
magazine targets its self at people from section B to C2 which is generally middle class people who are
likely to listen to pop genre and modern radio music. Due to Qs popularity its available in almost all
outlets that sell magazines, for example WH-smiths.
Quotes and information collected from - https://www.bauermedia.co.uk

19. Conventions of a Music Magazine
MastHead
The masthead is outlined by a
box, at the front (over the image)
and in large bold text which
connotes the important of XXL as
a magazine.
Main Image
The main image is a close up shot
of Future, the facial expression is
aggressive which clearly targets
younger audiences intrigued by
aggression and violence. The fact
there is jewlery in the artists
mouth goes hand in hand with the
Hip Hop genre, and the dream of
wealth and prosperity, which the
artist has clearly achieved. The
image and connotations depict
that he could possibly be an idol
for the younger demographic.
Cover Storys
The cover stories relate to the style of
Futures music, they show people that
there is more to the magazine,
essentially so they know that there is
more good content to come.
Barcode/Price
The barcode is clear but in proportion,
making the cover look professional. The
price is “$5.99” and selects its target
audience as this is a relatively expensive
magazine making it more exclusive.
StrapLine “Future the trap king”
This is a very influential strapline,
representing the artist in the main image
as some kind of “king”. This inspires
people to want to be like this character,
highlighting the the HipHop culture as
influential and inspiring. If XXL get people
to have an interest in HipHop then they
have done their job, hopefully to generate
more sales. More so the idea of “trap” is
supposed to be something illegal and
therefore frowned upon, however XXL
have turned it to look glamorous, this is
important because XXL readers are
typically excepted to be in this “trap”
culture, or able to relate to it therefore
the magazine seems to speak for the
people who read it, captivating its
audience.

20. Target Audience – Katz, Maslow, Hartley and/or socio-economic needs
According to Katz “Uses and Gratifications” theory the magazine informs and educates people on who “Future” is as a rising star
in the trap/rap genre calling him the “Trap King”. Additionally using Hartley's theory the target audience’s age range is 18-30
mainly due to the high price of $5.99 meaning only really workers would be able to afford. But further the ideology oh having a
large diamond in his house represents the hustling nature people have to go through to achieve, this connotes that future has
clearly achieved this idealistic goal. This is a dream for the specific target audience, money being a massive motivation for 18-30
year olds, which is in theory relevant to people who are younger than this as aren't likely to be working yet, and older ages wont
be as worried in materials and money. Secondly the target audiences’ gender is prominently male due to the culture and style of
Future’s music. The audience is mainly for people who are around middle class, roughly C2 on the socio-economic needs ladder.
This is because we can see from the image is quite informal in the expression Future is making. However the magazine is not for
the higher class as it covers a genre (Trap/Rap) which is mainly aimed for a lower class audience being about dreams of social
climbing, which higher class people wont have much relation to. According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs the magazine is aimed
for people who are explorers and want to read about new upcoming artists. But is more importantly for people who are social
climbers, wanting to get more out of life, listening to “futures” style of music being about dreams of a better life, in a modern way.
What is the USP of this magazine? YOU MUST refer to specific
conventions/stories from you research
The USP for this issue is the main image of Future seen on the front, because of this
people who are, or even aren't fans of Future may buy the magazine out of curiosity
to learn about who he is.
Target Audience and USP

21. Publisher research
XXL is an American Hip Hop magazine founded by Townsquare Media in 1997. Further XXL is aimed at people who
have jobs but are explorers of hip hop which creates a relation ship with hip hop fans. This is roughly C2 on the socio
economics ladder, and isn't aimed at the higher class due to the style of the artist which the magazine covers. The
magazine headquarters are in New York City but are sold internationally, even in the UK in stores such as Tesco.
Townsquare also produce “high-quality print and digitally integrated publications” along with other programs
dedicated to creating magazine/leaflets for local tourist locations and other projects. They also provide distribution of
custom designed prints, also offering digital and mobile integration. Finally Townsquare boast that they have the
fastest turn-around times available in the industry.
Townsquares mission statement connotes that they are “relevant”
and up to date to with current affairs. – screen shot of the mission
statement gathered from the official Townssquare website.
This is a screen-shot taken from
Facebook showing the number of
likes Townsquare has. This connotes
that they are popular as people go
out of their way to present their
interests on social media, and also
support for the company.