1) The document is an AS Level Media Studies assignment that asks the student to analyze their media product in terms of how it uses, develops, and challenges conventions, and what they learned about technologies from constructing the product. 2) In responding to the questions, the student discusses taking photos for the magazine cover using different camera shots, designing the cover in Photoshop and laying out the contents page in InDesign, and learning skills like photo editing and document formatting/publishing. 3) The student also evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the cover and contents pages, noting design elements like organized cover lines and clear page numbers but also excess white space and lack of focus in some images.

1. AS Level Media Studies
Preliminary
1.
Task
In what ways does your media product use, develop and
challenge forms and conventions of media products?
2. What have you learnt about technologies from the
process of constructing this product?
Steven Knowles

2. Question 1 – Part 1
My cover and similarities
Masthead
Cover lines
Main Image
Rule of thirds
(approximately shown)

3. Question 1 – Part 2
My cover and differences
My masthead is designed to fit in with the
whole of my cover page. The name of the
magazine ‘6th form weekly’ fits in with the
audience which is college students.
On the other hand, the magazine ‘Red’ has
gone for a masthead which is directly related
to the name and would make it stand out.
My cover lines are all based on college life and
students.
On the other hand, ‘Red’ has cover lines which
are purely meant for promoting and selling the
magazine to its potential. The cover lines are
the main selling promotions of the magazine
and are made to entice the reader to buy it.
The main image in my magazine is a medium
close up of a regular student at the sixth form
college. His face shows a smile and a chilled
out posture.
Again ‘Red’ is different because the magazine
has an A-listed Hollywood star on the front
who has got an enticing posture that is telling
the audience to look at her.

4. Question 1 – Part 3
My contents and similarities
Masthead
Sub-Heading
Pictures
Cover lines (Contents)
Vouchers

5. Question 1 – Part 4
My contents and differences
My pictures are to do with college
whereas NME has pictures of musicians.
The mast head and sub- heading are
presented in a different way. In my
contents the mast head is bigger than the
sub-heading. In the other magazine it is
the exact opposite.
My magazine’s contents are laid out in a
way that is bunched up together but is
easy to recognise between due to big
numbers in different colours. In the other
magazine, the contents are laid out in
columns under headings which would
make it easier for everyone to find what
they were looking for.

6. Question 2 – Part 1
Technology

7. Question 2
Camera Shots
For my magazine, I was required to go out and
take four photos minimum for the preliminary
task. I managed to take six and therefore was
able to pick the best four. One was a medium
close up of a student who goes to Solihull sixth
form college. This one is shown on the front
cover of my magazine.
For my other photos, I took a few long shots
and close ups. Due to all of this, I have learnt
how to take a mixed variety of photographs
using many techniques.

8. Question 2
Creation
Photoshop is a desktop publishing software at InDesign is again an industry standard package
industry standard . It is a predominately that is mainly designed to create text based
imaged based program that is ideal for graphic products. It is there to bring in all of the magazine
design. together. You can import in the cover page and it
will be stored next to the contents page.
Using this product, I learnt how to use many
different tools and skills in order to create the Using this product, I also learnt how to use many
front cover of my magazine. I learnt to import different tools and skills which were used in the
an image, get the colour from an image and production of the contents page. I learnt how to
apply it to text, crop photos, arrange layers to import the cover page of my product into the
suit an order (like text in front of picture etc.) same document, align photos, add effects and
and how to add effects on text. different colours to text.

9. Question 2
Blog
For the whole of our preliminary task, we had to save,
upload and publish work onto our own blog. Whilst
doing this process, I have learnt how to upload
photos, convert a Photoshop/InDesign product to a
JPEG(only format acceptable), save/edit and publish
work, how to work a blog and use slide share to
upload this evaluation as a PowerPoint presentation.

10. Question 3
Strengths and Weaknesses
Cover page
Strengths Weaknesses
Cover lines are organised Font all the same – Could
around photo have changed it to lots of
different ones
Titles of cover lines are Too much free space on
different colours-Stand out cover
Main cover line is good(Big
in size shows importance)
Bottom part shows what is
inside
Photo is in middle gives
space for cover lines

11. Question 3
Strengths and Weaknesses
Contents page
Strengths Weaknesses
Page numbers stand out Too much empty space
Mast head is included along Too much free space on
with contents heading cover
Image layout looks good No real focus for the two
sport images
Text layout is well organised
and looks good