This document outlines the process of creating a front cover and contents page for a school magazine as a preliminary task. It includes sketches of potential designs for the front cover and contents page. Notes describe selecting a medium close-up photo of a smiling student for the front cover and editing it in Photoshop by cropping, adjusting exposure, and including a faded background photo. A brief reflection notes learning how to use Photoshop to edit images and effectively layout a magazine for the target audience.

1. Preliminary Task: School Magazine
Laura Mackie

2. Conventions Of A School Magazine
Date line/Issue number –
It is important to include
the date or the issue
number on a magazine so
that the readers know
that they have the latest
issue and tat the
information is up to date.
Strap/sell line – This is
important to include as
it is generally the
unique selling point of
the magazine, and so
the line that people
read and is aids their
decision on whether to
buy/take the magazine
or not.
Main Image – This is
used to portray what
the magazine is
about through the
use of an image
School emblem – This is
used to show what the
magazine is for and
therefore is useful to
include as it symbolises
the purpose of the
magazine and what it is
generally going to be
about
Masthead (main
title) – used to
inform the target
audience what the
magazine is for and
also what it is about,
so in this case it is
about a school, so
the Masthead is the
name of the school

3. Masthead (main
title) – This is used to
inform the audience
what this article is
about and to give
them an insight into
the article
This is a brief
description of what
the article is about
so that the audience
know whether they
want to continue
reading the article
and if it is of interest
or importance to
them
Main Image – The main
image gives the audience an
insight to what the article is
about within the magazine,
and is also an aid to the
article as it helps to put
across the general objective
of the article
This school magazine article has very
limited text, this is because an article
with less text is more intriguing than
a magazine article with broad text.
Advertisement –
Used to show the
readers things that
are relevant to them
based on what
they’re reading as a
way of getting more
customers.
Strap/sell line – This is important to
include as it allows the audience to gain
a brief understanding of the article in
order to try and get the audience to read
the article

4. Audience Research
I asked twenty people what they believed to be common and essential elements included in a school magazine.
My results are shown below in the form of a tally chart.
Audience research is important as it is a way of understanding what people believe to be the essential part of a
magazine, but also gives the producer a further understanding of what needs to be included in the product to be
able to please the target audience.
THINGS INCLUDED IN A SCHOOL MAGAZINE TALLY
Student achievements ||||
Key events coming up |||||
Pictures of the school ||
Information about the school |||
School contact details |||
Key events from the past |
Pictures of students ||

5. 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.
The audience will range from 11-18 years old, being the students of the school as well as potential students. However, the magazine would also be suitable for the parents
to read in order for them to have more information about the school and what’s going on at the school. However, the students of the school are a priority.
In order to appeal to this range of audience, the magazine should include colourful images and not be mainly text based as it can easily becoming boring to the eye and thus
my target audience wouldn’t be interested in reading the magazine.
Possible title ideas:
(masthead / title block)
What is your magazine going to be called?
Prioryty
Priory Dialogue
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”
Close up of a student working
Main cover line:
What will be the main story? Previous exam results, GCSE and A 'Level
Additional key images:
What other images will be on your front cover?
Remember, it is a school magazine.
Students celebrating their results
Additional cover lines:
Other features, stories or selling points which will be inside the
magazine, these need to be audience appropriate.
Priory is the priority
Typography:
(style, size, colour of copy)
Think about the writing and the style of the writing on your front page.
size 14 for general text
30 for masthead
Size 18 for main stories and secondary stories
Background colour/image:
What will be in the background, remember you don’t want to take the
focus away from the main image.
Background will be white or the background of a classroom that the student is working in to show the school environment
Technical considerations:
(equipment, setting, props, costume, lighting)
Be realistic and creative, think about what you have access to and how
you could use it.
Props I may include are a text book, table, pen and an exercise book for the main cover, to show that the student is working, and pieces of paper for the photo of students
with their results.
Lighting will be natural, people included will be in sixth form attire. The setting will vary from being in a classroom to being outside to show a variety of the school.

6. Preliminary exercise: produce a front page and contents page of a school magazine. Front covers must include a
photograph of a student in a medium close-up with appropriately laid out text and use of an image manipulation
programme (Photoshop).
Below start to sketch what the front cover of your newsletter will look like.

7. Preliminary exercise: produce a front page and contents page of a school magazine. Front covers must include a
photograph of a student in a medium close-up with appropriately laid out text and use of an image manipulation
programme (Photoshop).
Below start to sketch what the contents page of your newsletter will look like.

10. Notes on the Process
• Below are three images, of which all are a medium close-up that I photographed for the use
of my front cover for the school magazine. I chose to use the one on the bottom left-hand
corner because Olivia is happy, making for a better front cover as she makes the school seem
as if it is an enjoyable place to be and therefore was the best selection for the front cover. I
also used the image of Harmony, bottom right-hand corner, faded into the background of my
front cover because she also looks happy and it shows that the school is a joyful place to be
from more than one person’s perspective.

11. How did I change the pictures?
• To change the picture of Olivia, I first cropped the background so that the image only
consisted of Olivia.
• Then I changed the exposure of the picture in order to make it brighter and so it stands out
more than it did before.
• To change the picture of Harmony, I first cropped the background so that the image only consisted
of Harmony.
• Then I changed the exposure of the picture in order to make it brighter and so it stands out more
than it did before.
• I then also changed the opacity and fill percentage of the picture of Harmony so that she fades into
the background of the magazine front cover.

12. A Brief
• For this task I had to create a front cover and a contents page for a school
magazine. The front cover had to include a medium shot of a student of
which I, myself had to take. I had to make this school magazine as a
practice for the music magazine, as well as allowing me to understand
what works well and what doesn’t on a magazine. This also ensures that I
now have a better understanding of what I need to include in a magazine
in order to be effective for my target audience.

13. What have I learnt?
• From making this magazine, I have learnt how to use Adobe Photoshop in
order to change an image. I have also learnt how to make a magazine
using only the features of Adobe Photoshop. Also, from making the school
magazine front cover and contents page I have learnt how to effectively
layout a magazine and how to make the magazine suitable for a target
audience. I have also learnt what works well on a magazine and what
doesn’t, for example for a front cover a medium shot looks good, however
a long shot would not look as good on the front cover.