This document provides details about the production of a music magazine front cover and contents page by a student named Eleanor Mason. For the front cover, Eleanor describes the step-by-step process of adding elements like the masthead, tagline, cover lines, images, and boxes around the text. For the contents page, she discusses including continuity from the front cover, images, page numbers, articles, and an editorial. The document provides evidence for Eleanor's preliminary tasks and progression in creating the magazine pages.

1. OCR Media Studies – AS Level
Unit G321: Foundation Portfolio in Media
Preliminary Task and Log Book
Name: Eleanor Mason
Candidate Number: 6692
Center Name: St. Paul’s Catholic College
Center Number: 64770
Music Magazine – Production
Preliminary Task and Log Book

2. Preliminary Task Progression–
Evidence Front Cover Step-by-step
I started off with creating the more
important part of the magazine front cover,
the masthead in which I created a red box
with the name of the school. I used red
because it is a colour that stands out and is
very eye-catching so that it will draw the
attention of the target demographic so that
they will buy the magazine. I also chose this
red colour because this is the maroon shade
that is the schools uniform so the audience
can relate this magazine to the school.
I then placed in the other conventions into the
magazine such as the tag line which will persuade
the readers to buy the magazine. For example I
then put in the tagline for the magazine which is
‘The most popular school magazine in Surrey’
which may also persuade the audience to buy this
magazine to maybe improve their social status and
keep up on all of the latest information at St
Paul’s. I have also put in the web page which is
important for the audience to access this
magazine where and when they want to.
Then I placed in the picture of Leeza to used as
my main image which will be the main aspect of
the front cover because it stands out as it is big
and in the center of the page. I then edited the
picture by getting rid of the background of the
picture so that it blended into the background
of the magazine. I done this using the rubber
tool so that I could get as close to the original
picture as possible just that the background is
edited out which I think I achieved. This was
done to blend in the image.

3. Preliminary Task Progression–
Evidence Front Cover Step-by-step
At this stage I inserted aspects such as the
promotion/puff so that this persuaded the
target audience to buy the magazine, I
decided to colour this in yellow because it is
an eye catching colour that stands out
against the red/maroon colour that I have
used as my main colour in these magazine
pages. I also added a barcode into the
magazine as that is a key aspect that is
included on all existing magazines so I
needed it in order for it to be bought.
I then put in all the cover lines to attract the
audience to my magazine, so if there was an
article that attracted them to this magazine
then they would more likely buy the
magazine for that article. I included articles
such as the exam results for example to
maybe encourage other students to want to
find out this information if they are
completing their exams after so that they
can see how to improve. I created these
cover lines using the text tool.
Finally, I created these red/maroon boxes
around the cover lines to make them stand
out more and to keep with the colour
scheme of my magazine. I created these
boxes using the shape tool and coloured
them in using the eye dropper tool to get
the right colour and the paint bucket tool to
put the colour onto the shape. This is then
the completed front cover for my school
magazine as it has included all the necessary
conventions for a magazine.

4. Preliminary Task Progression–
Evidence Contents Page Step-by-step
For my contents page I started off with the
same style by repeating the layout of the
masthead and the convergence in order to
create continuity between the pages so that
the consumer finds it easy to navigate
between the pages and that they all link. I
also used the same gradient background
because I though it made it look more 3D
rather than just having it plain white. I done
this using the gradient effect when double
clicking on the layer which I think added a
nice touch.
Then I added all of the pictures that I wanted
to use for my contents page and my articles. I
took these on my phone and they all like to
the relevant articles which creates the visual
representation of the articles which also
makes it easier to navigate around the page.
I edited one of the photos using the rubber
tool to quickly edit out the background that
was on the image. I made the cluster of the
images so that it left room for the editorial
and the articles with the information about
each part.
Next I added the page numbers that linked to
the article on the images so that it was clear
to see which pictures actually linked to which
articles which is a nice aspect to have. I then
added the news articles with all the smaller
cover lines that had a small bit of information
about each article which I think is also a key
convention that is needed on the contents
page so that the consumer know what a
general idea of what the article is about and
where to find that article, I done this using
the text tool.

5. Preliminary Task Progression–
Evidence Contents Page Step-by-step
I then added in the extra information about the current
and up and coming events that were taking place in the
school so that the consumer can easily find out this key
information in the magazine and it is easy to actually find
the page that this information will be on in more detail. I
created this text using the text tool and using the existing
fonts that were already inserted onto Photoshop, I used a
basic font so that the writing was easy to read and it was
clear to the reader what the articles were about which is
a key aspect that is needed on the contents page.
Finally, I added my editorial which I first wrote up on a word
document so that I didn’t make and grammar and spelling
errors. I created this using the pen tool so that the editorial fit
around the image that I used to show who the magazine is
made by. I also included the social networking logos, creating
convergence so that it made it easy for the consumer to
access any other information elsewhere. Throughout my
editorial I have used first person so that the reader feels like I
am talking to them and feel more involved. This is the
completed contents page for my school magazine.

6. Genre Research
Billboard Magazine is an American music magazine
which is centred in New York City, and is owned by
Prometheus Global Media. It was published on
November 1st 1894 and it is well-known as being
among the oldest trade magazines in the world.
This magazine tracks the newest records and
singles on the charts; its primary chart is Billboard
Hot 100 and Billboard 200. The magazine ranks the
hottest records in various genres; song rankings are
based on digital download sales, radio airplay, and
internet streaming, while albums are based wholly
on sales.
Billboard magazine caters to everyone's taste in
music due to its universal and diverse range of
genres that are followed through the magazine
articles. Billboard magazine doesn’t have a specific
genre to its name because this magazine follows
every genre as it focuses on the top selling singles
and albums whether that be in the pop genre to
the reggae genre meaning that this magazine
doesn’t focus on a specific audience, and that this
magazine sales are at a maximum as it is a universal
magazine.
The main genres that this magazine usually focuses
on the most is pop, R&B/Hip-Hop, Country, Latin
and K-Pop.

7. Main Headline: Shows what the main
article is going to be about and what this
issue of the magazine is going to be on.
Main Image: Shows what person the article is
going to be about and usually hold the ‘Star Appeal’
(Richard Dyer) so more people will buy the magazine.
Masthead: Shows the consumers what the
name of the magazine is and often makes the
magazine sell faster if it is a popular and well known
magazine.
Cover Lines: Shows the consumers what other
articles are going to be in the magazine so that you
know what else you are going to get from the
magazine apart from the main article.
Convergence (Web Address) and
Date/Issue: Shows where else the consumer can find
out more information about the magazine itself and what
issue this magazine in on. It also shows what month this
issue is for.
This magazine doesn’t have as many conventions as it is a well known magazine meaning that they can get away without using some conventions such as
promotion etc. Although they have used the main and most important conventions so that all the consumers can instantly spot this magazine as its layout is very
different to the rest of the music magazines out there. The conventions that haven’t been used are the tagline which promotes the magazine and sells them as
most magazines say “No 1 music magazine in the UK!” which makes the magazine seem more appealing making the audience persuaded to buy the magazine
but because this magazine is already well known it doesn’t really need a persuasive techniques to sell the magazine; they producers also haven’t used promotion
to entice the audience to buy the magazine as said before the audience don’t need persuading as it is already well know and well loved; they haven’t used
smaller images around the cover lines to show what the cover lines are going to be about; finally Billboard have changed the position of the normal position of a
masthead to make it look more creative and to differentiate itself from other music magazines.
Magazine Analysis

8. Main Headline: Shows what the main
article is going to be about and what this
issue of the magazine is going to be on.
Main Image: Shows what person the article is
going to be about and usually hold the ‘Star Appeal’
(Richard Dyer) so more people will buy the magazine.
Masthead: Shows the consumers what the
name of the magazine is and often makes the
magazine sell faster if it is a popular and well known
magazine.
Cover Lines: Shows the consumers what other
articles are going to be in the magazine so that you
know what else you are going to get from the
magazine apart from the main article.
Convergence (Web Address) and
Date/Issue: Shows where else the consumer can find
out more information about the magazine itself and what
issue this magazine in on. It also shows what month this
issue is for.
This magazine has lots of conventions used on the front cover. It has used a bold red colour for the masthead and continued to use a navy blue
colour as the background, this is very effective because the red stands out a lot against all the other conventions even though most of the
masthead is covered by the main image. This magazine had also used more conventions then most because it has included the unique scanning
code which links to an online version of this magazine which creates the convergence between the hard copy of the magazine and the online
version. Another aspect of the front cover that is very attractive and appealing is the image that is used, it is very clear and it is the main focus of
the front cover this is because it takes up the majority of the page and it overlaps even on the masthead. Also, because this magazine is very well
known it doesn’t need a strap line to persuade readers into buying the magazine because it sells itself, they also haven’t used promotion to sell
the magazine because as I said before it isn’t needed as it sells itself because its so popular.
Magazine Analysis (Different Example)

9. Target Audience
The target audience for Billboard magazine can be denoted from the
readership of 16 years old to about 30 years old (Hartley) of all genders
because Billboard magazine uses celebrities from all types of genres that are
current and up and coming artists that appeal to the younger generations as
well as the older generations who are/would like to be up to date with the
current artists that are on the top of the chart which is an example for ‘social
climbers’ (Maslow) who like to be up to date on the most current successful
artists. Billboard can also appeal to people all over the world who enjoy
listening to all genres of music for example people in the UK, America, Australia
(Hartley) etc. Also people that enjoy listening to their favorite artists will buy
this magazine and it will appeal to this people as they will want to know about
their favorite artist that they can form a ‘personal relationship’ (Katz) with as
they will be intrigued to know what's happening in that celebrity’s life.
However, the target audience for Billboard magazine can vary each week due
to the fact that this magazine caters to a lot of peoples taste in music
depending on each week what the top artists and music is as Billboard focuses
on the the current top sellers in all genres.
From the research completed into this media product, I think the
unique selling point for Billboard magazine is that this magazine
doesn’t stick to a specific genre making this magazine allow the readers
to no only branch out on the genres that they like but it allows the
magazine to have maximum readership as it also uses ‘star appeal’
(Richard Dyer) and the ‘female gaze’ (Diana Saco) and ‘male gaze’
(Laura Mulvey) of both male and female artists on the cover/main
image to appeal to both the male and female gender. Also I think that
another USP of Billboard magazine is that the masthead of the
magazine has now changed position onto the side of the magazine
making the magazine stand out from other magazines as it is very
unique and can be used as an identifier to differentiate the magazine
from others.
Unique Selling Point (USP)
Billboard
Readers
Percentage
Between the
ages of 25-54
71%
College
graduates
82%
Post degree
graduates
27.5%
Director level or
above
65%
Keep the annual
double year end
issue for over a
year
37%

10. Publisher Research
Editor Danyel Smith
Frequency Weekly
Circulation 16,327
First Issue 1894
Company Prometheus Global Media
Language English
Prometheus Global Media is the publishing company for Billboard magazine. Prometheus Global
Media is a New York City-based business-to-business media company. The company was formed in
December 2009 by the sale of the entertainment and media division of Nielsen Company to a private
equity-backed group led by Pluribus Capital Management and Guggenheim Partners.
Prometheus Global Media publish many other magazine such as The Hollywood Reporter and Back
stage within the entertainment section; they also publish Film Journal International and
Insidesocialgames. Prometheus Global Media publishing agency describes itself as "a leading publisher
of music and entertainment titles". The readership for The Hollywood Reporter and Film Journal
International have similar demographics because they are still aimed at both the younger generation
and the older generation but they are in different genres meaning that not only do the other
magazines attract the same age range but they also attract a wider audience, who like film/current
films for example.