AS Media Studies Preliminary Task

1. AS Media Studies
Ana
Vasilescu

2. Preliminary
Task

3. Introduction
For my AS level media studies coursework part of my preliminary task was to design and create a
draft front cover and a content page of a school magazine. The main purpose of this task is to
familiarize myself with print media design codes and conventions, at the same time to develop a set of
necessary skills that are essential during pre-production, production and post-production stages.
During this task I will need to carry out secondary research which involves research and analysis of
existing media texts. Primary research task will involve carrying out desired target audience research
using questionnaire format. Combining research findings, I will draft and create front cover and a
content page for a school magazine. overall production of this task will be critically analyzed and
evaluated.

4. Front Cover
Analysis

5. Strapline
Main image:
Portrait layout
Middle long shot
Main cover line
barcode
Masthead
Coverlines
Coverlines
Social media logos
Front Cover Analysis

6. Technical codes
● MLS shot
● Portrait layout
● Frontal Natural Lighting
● The framing is crudely
done and poorly edited
● Too plain
Language/written codes
● Language is informal and
simple
● Text is serif, bold and in
capital letters, which
causes word breaks and
makes it hard to read
● Coverlines are too long
and hard to read
Symbolic codes
● Mainly light blue, which isn’t
eye catching
● The blue-on-blue is hard to
read
● The girls is relaxed
● Drumsticks visually link with
the type of magazine
Target audience
● Lower and upper secondary
students
● Male and female
● Interests in music,
specifically acoustic
● Represents average
secondary student in a
positive light
Front Cover Analysis

7. Front cover Analysis
Layout - The magazine follows magazine
portrait format convention. The layout is simple
yet bright and eye catching. The coverlines and
masthead are placed around the main image.
The masthead is placed at the top and the main
image is in the center, this draws the reader’s
attention.
Language - The language is simple and
informal. The coverlines are snappy and
straight-to-the-point, without revealing too
much about what is inside. The language is
appropriate for the target audience which is
secondary students.
Camerawork - The main image is a
medium full-frontal shot which follow the
photographic rule of thirds. The model is a
happy student which is relatable and inviting
to the target audience. The colours are
vibrant and are therefore attracting to the
reader.
Mode of Address - both visual and verbal modes
of address communicate effectively with the target
audience. The language used is informal and similar
to the language which is commonly used by the target
audience. The model has a “girl-next-door”
appearance which is desirable by the target audience.
Typography - There are both serif and
sans serif font being used. The masthead is
a formal but due to additional edited
elements of letter “g” and “e” it creates a
good combination of formal and informal.
The fonts used further show the fusion
between formal and informal.
Mise-en-scene - overall composition
of this front cover visually and
stylistically complies to magazine design
codes and conventions. The main image
is clearly shot at a school and involves a
student who’s holding books, this all
contributes to attracting the attention of
the target audience (secondary
students). The use of additional
graphical elements, contrasting fonts
and complimenting colours further
attracts the reader’s attention

8. Content Page Analysis

9. Content Page Analysis
Page Masthead
Page number
Article image
Main Headlines
Sub Headlines/
Article titles
Article Page
Numbers
Main Features

10. Content Page Analysis
Technical codes:
● Shots ranging from extreme CU to
extreme LS
● All images follow photographic
conventions in regards to framing
● All images follow an aesthetic
Language/ written codes:
● Both serif and sans serif fonts
● Language is short, snappy, easy to
read and straight to the point
● Choice of fonts and font colours are
plain and do not attract attention
Symbolic Codes:
● Very plain and very formal
● No design visual elements that
could complement in significant
ways
Target Audience:
● Appears conforming and strict
which wouldn’t appeal to target
audience (secondary students)
● According to visual elements this
magazine is aimed at
predominantly female

11. Content Page Analysis
Layout - The layout is simple and it’s
geometrically formatted using rectangles. The
contents are placed on the left hand-side because
our eye naturally move from left to right. The
masthead is placed above the main image and
contents as to attract the reader’s attention.
Language - The language used in the
headlines in short, snappy and captivating. The
language is informal which is appropriate for the
target audience(secondary students). It uses a lot
of persuasive and intriguing words as to catch the
reader's attention and persuade them into reading
further
Camerawork - The main image is long full
body shot . The model is a happy male student
which is appropriate for the target audience
(secondary students). The image is bright and
captivating therefore attracting the reader’s
attention. Mode of Address - Visual and verbal forms of address work well together as the main
model is relatable to the target audience and is a realistic choice for a student and the
language used is language that would be used on an everyday basis by the target
Typography - Throughout the page only
sans serif fonts are used, this gives a more
sleek, modern and relaxed feeling. There is
a combination of both bold and unbold which
makes the masthead and article titles stand
out. A brief summary of the articles is
provided as to intrigue the reader.
Mise-en-scene - The main colours
match with the main image therefore
creating an overall aesthetically pleasing
contents page. The use of only sans serif
fonts further matches with the overall
aesthetic, making the entire page
aesthetically pleasing and satisfying to the
human eye.
Colour - The main colours are orange and
white which provide a sense of enthusiasm,
fascination, happiness and creativity. These
colours captivate the reader’s eye. Overall
the main colours compliment the main image
and vice versa creating an overall easy,
relaxing and satisfying image to the eye.

12. Typography
Analysis

13. Typography Analysis
“Time” magazine uses a serif font, this
shows that it is a formal and
sophisticated magazine. The use of the
colour red is associated with energy,
war, danger, strength, power and
determination. The use of all caps could
mean that it is an “in-your-face” kind of
magazine that provides honest news.
The word “time” covers a lot of topics
showing that it is an inclusive magazine
magazine.
The typography of “seventeen”
magazine is italic and serif this
shows that it is a stylish and
inspired magazine. The
masthead colour almost always
changes to match the cover of
the magazine but mostly it stays
a muted pink which attracts the
target audience (13-to-19 year
olds), as it is slightly more
mature than a fuschia. The word
“seventeen” indicates the age at
which most girls become more
mature and given more
responsibilities.
“The New Yorker” uses a vintage
sans serif font, indicating that it is
a vintage and classic magazine.
The use of black shows that is is
simple, classic and timeless. The
phrase “New Yorker” is used to
describe citizens of New York,
which are considered to be more
cosmopolitan and cultured
people.

14. Typography Analysis
Playfair Display Courier New Trebuchet MS
“Playfair Display” is a traditional
serif font. The timelessness of the
font makes it a great choice for
titles or headings as it is quite
dramatic. The font is inspired by
Roman designs, therefore
connotations are strength and
formality. This font would most
likely appeal to older generations
as it could be nostalgic to them.
“Courier New” is part of the serif
font family. This font is a retro font
designed to resemble the output
from a strike-on typewriter.
However the font is also used in
programming as most common
programming languages use
“Courier New” as their default font.
The font would appeal to all
generations as it is reminiscent of
the past for older generations yet
interesting to younger
generations.
“Trebuchet MS” is a modern sans
serif. It could be used in titles and
headings as it is quite bold and
eye catching yet sleek and
satisfying to the eye. This font
would be appealing to younger
generations as it is minimalist,
modern and on trend, as it
remains one of the most popular
body text fonts on web pages.

15. Primary Research
● Potential magazine names
● Questionnaire analysis

16. Potential School
Magazine Names
The Red and White Life
● Too Long
● Doesn’t follow magazine’s
name conventions
C.I.S. Mag
● Closely associated with
investigation
● Target audience
Chart Elite
● Fashionista
● Posh
● Relevant to pop culture
● Associates to target
audience
● Sounds appealing
Chartwell Times
● Too formal
● Not for target audience
● Overused
● ExpectedChartwell’s
● Too simple
● Magazine appropriate
● Catchy
● Memorable
Prison Time
● Not magazine
appropriate name
● Negative connotation
● Satire
● Anti-school
The Chartwell Girls
● Gender specific
● Sexist
● Unenclusive
Chartwell Life
● Basic
● Overused
● Expected
CharTEEN
● Age-appropriate
● Appropriate use of
informal language
● Memorable
Chartwell Monthly
● Basic
● Formal
● Traditional
● Expectable
Chart!
● Wouldn’t attract audience
enough
● Plain
● Not earcatching
Chartwell Gossip
● Issue limited
● Not school appropriate

17. Questionnaire Results
CharTEEN Chart Elite C.I.S. Mag
M 10 / F 10 / M T /
F 10 / F 12 / M T /
F T / F 10 /
M 12 / M 12 /
M 12 / M 11 /
F T / F 11 /
M T / F 11 /
F T / M 12 /
M 12 /

18. Primary Research
Today my task was to brainstorm potential school magazine names. I came up with 12
potential names and chose the top 3. I then presented them to the target audience: 7 girls, 7
boys and 6 teachers. The most voted one was Chart Elite with 9 votes total. I believe that it
was most suitable name for our magazine as it applies to the private school lifestyle. The
name is both appealing and catchy to teenagers, as I want to make it a must-read for
everyone.

19. Questionnaire Analysis
In order to create a successful school magazine i have carried out market research, using
questionnaire format. The questionnaire was composed of 10 questions and using online market
research website called SurveyMonkey.
SurveyMonkey was a great help for finding out what my target audience wanted in their ideal
magazine. It is an online survey development cloud-based software as a service company, they are
great for creating valid and reliable questionnaires.

20. In the first 2 questions participants were asked
about which group they belonged in. I made sure to
use the same ratio of boys to girls and upper to
lower secondary.
I did this to ensure that i had an inclusive group of
participants as this magazine will be for everyone in
the secondary school.

21. I then asked if the school magazine would be of
interest to the students and if they prefered the
magazine to be more entertaining or educational.
In order to find out if the students are actually
interested in a school magazine I had to ask if they
would read a school magazine.
I asked whether the magazine should be more
entertaining or educating so that i could cater to the
audience's interests.

22. I proceeded to ask what the students
would be interested in reading about. I
broke it down to 6 popular categories
which I thought that this audience
would be interested in.
I asked this so that I would know which
topics would be more appealing to the
audience and which topics wouldn’t be
interesting to the audience.

23. I asked two more questions about what the students
would want to read. I wanted these questions to be
more specific, so that I would know exactly what it
was that my audience would want to read.
These questions made it easier for me to decide
what to put in the magazine and what my readers
would be interested in, therefore making the
magazine successful with the target
audience(secondary students).

24. The next question was about
how often should a new issue of
the magazine be released.
This would help me understand
how often my audience wanted
to read the magazine. Through
this I found that most of the
target audience wanted the
magazine released monthly

25. Then I asked about the colour scheme of the
magazine.
This question would show me whether the target
audience wanted the magazine to be more loyal to
the school’s colours or more independent of the
school.
Lastly, I asked whether offering freebies would
persuade the secondary students to read the
school magazine.
This would inform me on whether I should or
shouldn't add freebies to the school magazine.

26. Questionnaire Evaluation
Through my research I deduced that the magazine should be released monthly and be more entertaining
than educational, focused on school gossip and studying advice. The magazine shouldn’t feature to many
features on teachers and students but definitely feature student achievement awards. The magazine’s
identity should incorporate school colours. And lastly the magazine would come with freebies, so as to
entice the target audience to read the school magazine.

27. Front cover & Contents Page
Rough Designs

28. Initial Masthead Design
Using primary and
secondary research
findings, I have designed
set of preliminary magazine
mastheads. Masheads are
composed using existing
school fonts, colour scheme
and logo. This was
purposely done for straight
forward visual identification
and brand association.

29. Final Masthead Development
After critical masthead
analysis, I have
decided that school
magazine masthead
must be composed
out of two contrasting
typefaces. Both types
of fonts are
contemporary, easy to
read and aesthetically
pleasing. Stencil font
is mostly associated
with graffiti art and
therefore it does
relate to potential
target audience.
Second chosen font
belongs to a script
handwritten category
which gives a
personalised note to
overall masthead
design. Next stage is to
select final masthead
design elements

30. Final Masthead Design
The final masthead consists
of a capital “C” in the font
stencil surrounded by a grey
circle with the school’s full
name and its tag line in it.
This helps associate the
magazine with the school’s
brand image.
“Elite” is in a script-family
font and is in the same
shade of red as the one of
the school’s colours.This
makes the masthead very
aesthetically pleasing and
eye catching.

31. Rough Cover
I created two rough sketches of the
front cover. I opted for the cover which
included 3 people of the cover as I
thought that it visually conveys main
school adjectives such as multicultural,
friendly, welcoming and at the same
time academic. I planned on putting the
headline around the people as to frame
the characters and attracting the target
audience. For the headlines I used
short, snappy and to-the-point language
so as to make it understandable to the
target audience.

32. Content Page
Using traditional magazine mockup technique I have created a rough
content page template which will further guide me in the design and
making of the final school magazine content page. Next task in this
stage of pre-production would be to create a digital mockup using
existing images in order to create digital print which will incorporate my
aesthetic and creative ideas and will at the same time t=follow
traditional magazine codes and conventions.

33. Rough Cover & Content Page Prior to commencing with the
production of my front cover and
content page in this digital mockup I
have incorporated all the design and
visual elements which I envisioned
during the research and planning
stages of the task.
For the front cover I have decided that
the main image will include more than
one student in order to appeal to
student population and to depict
inclusive school environment.
My final decision for the content page
was the use of columns and pictures,
to guide the reader's eye to the desired
images and topics of the school
magazine. After completing this stage I
had to plan a photoshoot with a
location, equipment and prop list.

34. Photoshoot Location, Equipment and Prop List
Equipment
- Camera: Cannon 1300D
- Lense: 18-55 and 55-200
- Tripod
- Memory card: 32GB
- Battery
- Battery Charger
Props:
- 2 notebooks
- 1 pen
- 1 homework diary
- School bags
- Calculators
- Pencils
- Worksheets
- Pencil Cases
Location:
- Access to desired location
and use of school premises
approved by school board
members
- Classroom C0
- Entrance hallway
- School playground
- Main staircase

35. Front Cover Possibilities
Cover Image

38. Content Page Photo Possibilities

40. Adobe Photoshop As Image Manipulation and CAD
For my preliminary task I used Adobe Photoshop CS6 to design and create my school magazine front
cover and content page.

41. School Magazine Front Cover & Content Page Design Development
Final Front Cover

42. Evaluation

43. Evaluation
Main part of my preliminary task was to design and produce the front page and the content page for a
new school magazine. Using DTP and image manipulation program . The school magazine front cover
and content page were supposed to follow established magazine codes and conventions and within the
design I was supposed to incorporate a photograph of a group of students or a single student.
The purpose of this task was to develop necessary photographic and CAD skills in order to fulfill the
foundation portfolio main tasks and design specifications.
Initial stage of this project was to carry out primary and secondary research. I began by doing internet
research on magazine codes and conventions for images, font, layout and the content itself. After the
secondary research I moved on to primary research, I created a survey on surveymonkey and asked all
kinds of students from my school about their preferences about the magazine, they even weighed in on
the title of the magazine.

44. Evaluation
After my research had been concluded I proceeded by applying the information to begin sketching the
magazine. I first created a few sketches of how I wanted the magazine to look, then I settled on the main
sketch of the cover page and the content page and began the production process. The production itself
entailed using Adobe Photoshop CS6 to bring to life my imagined cover and content page.

45. Evaluation
After a crude cover page and content page, I asked
students from my school to have a photoshoot. We took
pictures in the school for both the cover and the content
page. This was supposed to create a relatable feel to
the magazine, attracting the target audience into
reading the magazine. After picking out the best
pictures and rounding them down to the best pictures
for the cover and content page.
I proceeded to recreate the cover and content page
using the chosen pictures and then editing the cover so
as to make it appealing to the reader. I wanted the
design to attract the target audience and make
everything visible for the reader, so that the reader can
know what to expect in the magazine.

46. Evaluation
I used media terminology to help me identify the kind of cover I wanted
and how I would achieve it. For my cover page I used a medium long
shot of three students in the school, this is supposed to attract the
target audience of secondary students. I asked students from the
school to pose for me in the school, so that the audience could relate
to the magazine. To visually communicate with the desired audience
chosen models are selected on the basis of gender, age, ethnicity and
race. I made sure to use a number of students so as to promote
commerodary, friendship and unity within the school, therefore
appealing to the target audience. The students were also dressed in
modern yet appropriate clothing, which would appeal to the target
audience.

47. Colouring was kept loyal to the school colours, as requested by the target audience, making red, gray,
black and white our colour scheme. This helped to quickly create magazine identity along with the
magazine’s aesthetic. The Masthead was placed over the students in the main image, following front
cover format conventions. For the masthead I used the school logo and the word ”elite” in a cursive,
matching red colour, this helped upkeep the overall aesthetic of the magazine along with being pleasing
to the eye. I made sure to lay the headlines around the students in the main image, as this would attract
the the reader’s eye to the cover. I kept most fonts serif so as to give a sophisticated feel to the
magazine, which would attract the teachers of the school. The colours of the headlines also varied in
different shades of the school colours, so as to upkeep the aesthetic and follow through with the general
feel of the magazine. For the headlines themselves I made sure to use short, snappy language with an
informal mode of address and vocabulary which would be easily understood by the target audience.
Evaluation

48. Evaluation
Through my entire preliminary task I had to learn lots of new skills to help me create my ideal cover and
content page. I had to begin by analysing two cover pages and two content pages in depth. With this i
learnt media terminology which gave me plenty of insight into the subject. After finishing the analytical
portion of my task I began the research portion. This entailed reading up on media language, magazine
covers and content pages and magazine codes and conventions along with what the target audience
wants. For this I used SurveyMonkey so that I could easily access my target audience and know what
they are after. With the survey I was able to know which headlines to include and which topics to focus
on so as to attract the target audience.

49. Evaluation
After finish the research portion of my task I used my
planning skills for my cover and content page, this
entailed using both my time management skills and my
creativity, as I had to come up with an appropriate
magazine cover and content page which could be
created within a certain window of time. This meant I
had to further plan and research the production portion
of the task. I began by leaving out time to research how
I would create the cover, who would I need for the
cover, where the shoot would take place and when I
would shoot the cover.

50. Evaluation
After setting the date, time and place for the cover shoot all I
had to do was get the equipment and models.In order to create
a semi-professional photoshoot conditions all the models
involved were briefed and instructed on how to pose and how to
communicate with the camera and as a main part of technical
requirements i have used a tripod to have stability and avoid
handshakes and the camera that I used was the Cannon
1300D with a 18-55 lense, which allowed me to create semi-
profesional images. This was only half of the production
process as half was the editing and use of an editing software
to design and manipulate images and texts. This is where my
research and planning came in handy, as I had left most of my
time for the editing process. The research helped me design
the cover and content page by following magazine codes and
conventions.

51. Evaluation
Considering that this was my first ever magazine
cover and content page and my first time learning
about traditional magazine codes and
conventions, even though I have fulfilled all of the
preliminary task conditions I can admit that there
are certain visual and aesthetic aspects of the
task that could be improved.
For example: the visibility of text; the camera’s
focus and if the school allows to publish this kind
of student magazine I would’ve spent more time
on the pre-production portion and planned a more
elaborate and professional photoshoot.