Media Preliminary Task PowerPoint Presentation

1. AS Media Studies
G321: Foundation Portfolio in
Media

2. Masthead
– main title
Date and
Issue Number
Contents
Giveaways
Main Image
Blurred out
background
Strap Line
ConversationofaMagazine

3. Masthead
The main title is placed at the top of the
magazine. It is written in serif text
containing flicks and is quite informal.
The creator of the magazine has done
this in order to make them attractive to
the audience as the audience is young
so the fact that it is informal means that
they are more likely to read it.
Date and Issue Number
The date and issue number is placed
on the front cover so that the
audience knows when the magazine
was released. It is only small because
it is nor the main focus of the
magazine so the creator does not
want it to take away from the
appearance of the magazine.
Contents
There are not many contents
featured on the front page simply
because the magazine is aimed at
young people and so the less text
it contains, the more likely the
students are going to read it.
The content feature are based on
school life, results and the next
step in education along with the
personal experiences suggesting
this magazine is used to give
information as well as inspiration.
Giveaways
The creator of this magazine has
put a giveaway in the magazine in
order to give students another
reason to buy the magazine as
they may believe that it is a
bargain for what they are gaining.
Main Image
An image of a student of the
school has been put as the main
image of the front cover. This has
been done in order to advertise
the school and the standard of
uniform to the upcoming students.
Blurred out background
The background of this magazine
has been blurred out so that you are
attracted to the main body of the
image and the text reducing
distraction from the information.
Strap Line
This strap line has been put here to
advertise and article in the
magazine
Main content
This piece of content is large and
bold to suggest that it is one of
the main articles in the magazine
simply because if the may is
presented. This suggests that
teenage stress is common and
needs tackling.
Price
This price of this magazine has
been placed under the title and is
very small so that it doesn't not
distract students from it before
they read the contents.
Website
The web address has been
included in order to allow
students to know where to go if
they would like to gain more
information about the school. It is
small so that it does not take
always from the appearance of
the magazine.

4. Evaluation
This magazine is successful as it has given minimal text on the front cover and informal font in order to
attract the students, being a young target audience. The fact that the magazine contains articles on
exam results, teenage stress and general information about the school suggests that it has covered
some of the most needed information students will want and is teaching students to tackle their issues
in terms of how to deal with stress.
The creator of this magazine has been smart in the way the that the giveaway will benefit the students
in because the fact that it is giving away healthy cooking tips and recipes will tackle teenage obesity as
well as giving the students more reason to purchase the magazine.
The magazine is of a low cost of only £1.00 which is good as students do net tend to have a lot of
money of their own meaning that the fact that it is cheap makes them more likely to buy it.
In order to improve this magazine the magazine I think that the creator could include an image of a
male to make it gender neutral and make the date, issue number and web address bigger and more
visible as some people may find these important.
All in all, the magazine is suitable for the target audience is advertised well to them because they have
considered the fact that students will not read extensive text and catered for that.

5. Masthead
– main title
Strapline
Main Image
ConversationofaMagazine2
Free Badge
Contents
Contents

6. Masthead
The creator of this
magazine has used
serif font in large bold
black text in order to
create this masthead.
Although the text used
is serif, it is still quite
formal which gives the
magazine a more
professional presence
presenting the school in
a formal, professional
way.
Strapline
This strapline has
been included into the
magazine in order to
advertise a competition
which the school is
holding. The fact that it
is highlighted purple is
in order to attract the
audiences attention
and convince them to
buy one.
Main Image
The main image of this
magazine is of two
students, which appear to
be sixth form feature in
the centre of the
magazine. The creator
has included a male and
female in the magazine
making it gender neutral
and so it appeals to a
larger target audience
ConversationofaMagazine2
Free Badge
A free badge has been
added to this magazine
in order to inform
people straight away
that the magazine is
free. This is so that the
students take one and
read it without having
to think about paying
for it. This is the
reason it is so bold.
Contents
The contents of this
magazine include
information about the
school and its
campaigns, along
with interviews from
students as well as
the school
committee in order to
provide first hand
experience on the
school itself. There is
also information
about upcoming
events on the bottom
right corner so that
student s are aware
of activities going on
in and around school
which they can get
involved with.
The font used on the
contents of the page is
sans serif making it
easy to read, and is
bold compared to the
bright whit background
allowing it to stand out.
Contents

7. Evaluation
This magazine has been successful in informing the audience of a large amount of its contents so the
students know what the magazine contains in before the read it. This is successful because they have
included a range of contents meaning that there is a larger chance that the students may find
something they like and would like to read, persuading them to buy the magazine. The fact that the
magazine includes personal experiences from other students may also be a good selling point
because it could provide inspiration to students in helping them decide whether they want to stay on at
sixth form or not.
The creator of this magazine has been smart in the use of the large and bold free badge because it as
the first thing which I saw and suggests that because its free, students wont hesitate to take one. The
use of the strapline also has a similar effects on students as they see that there is a competition to win
something which could be useful to them which is another persuasive feature.
In order to improve this magazine the magazine I think that the creator could include a date and issue
number which will be important to some because they will want to know if it is a recent issue before
reading. It could also include a web address to the school website so that students have somewhere
to get more information if they need to. Finally, I feel that the layout of the text could be arranged more
effectively so that the masthead is central and contexts could be smaller so that it does not overlap the
image. Finally, the colour of the text strapline and badge should be consistent in order to give the
magazine a more professional appearance.
All in all, the creator of the magazine has been good in including most of the information needed,
however the layout has let it down giving it a less professional appeal.

8. In order for me to
get an idea of the
contents which
people would like
to see in my school
magazine, I
created a
questionnaire and
surveyed 10
students from each
year in the school
which amounted to
70 students in total.

9. Questionnaire results
What do you expect to see in a school magazine? Frequency
Contents 70
Interviews of Students About School Life 29
Upcoming Events 62
Information on Achievements 58
Sports Results 40
Giveaways/Competitions 70
Form Attendance 16
How much do you expect a school magazine to cost? Frequency
Free 53
50p 17
How often should a school magazine be published? Frequency
Monthly 38
Weekly 12
Fortnightly 20

10. Analysis of Previous Work
Front Cover
Based on the ‘Press’ magazine, I think that the creator has
created a very professional looking front cover. They have
used a Medium Close Up shot of a student as the main
image which had been shifted slightly to the right in order
for the contents to be shown on the left without covering
the image. The fact that there is only four contents on the
front page is relevant to the target audience because it is
aimed at ages of around 9 to 18 meaning that they will be
put off of reading the magazine if there is a large amount
of text compared to images. The main story has been
placed at the top of the contents so that the audience
know that it is the most important. It is bold and large
compared to the other contents, followed by the secondary
stories which are likely to be of interest to the audience
.The creator has also included a large bold white title at
the top of the page. This is successful because it is eye-
catching, however it is not central and looks our of place
as it is shifted slightly to the left, therefore in order to
improve I would ensure that it was central.

11. Analysis of Previous Work
Contents Page
On the contents page the creator has included and
image of students at the top of the page in which is a
low opacity version of the title. On top of this in the top
righty corner is a story relevant to the image. There is
then a main contents area on the bottom two-thirds of
the image which has a selection of smaller images
which have been blurred around the edges placed
within them relevant to the stories. This is successful
because it breaks up the text and as a result has made
the page less boring and more aesthetically pleasing.
The page numbers have been written in large bold text
so that it is easy to read, and it is clear which story goes
with which number. The stories have been written
slightly smaller to the numbers so that their total height
is similar to the height of the total number making the
layout clearer and more professional.
I believe that the contents hits all of the correct criteria
and therefore have no improvements to offer.

12. Do you think you could produce similar
work? What skills do you need to improve?
I believe that I could produce a magazine of a
similar quality because I know how to use
Photoshop in order to manipulate images in the
way the creator has so that they bled will with the
background. I also know how to frame an image
correctly and so I will be able to include a well
framed image of students in order to portray the
students correctly. In order to improve my skills, I
need to look at more examples and get an idea of
good layouts which I could used to make my
magazine more visually pleasing.

13. Features Description
Target Audience (age range, interests) My magazine will be aimed at students aged 11 to 18 whom are in
full time education at the Priory School
Possible Title Ideas (masthead/title block) Prospects
Main Image (what will be the focal point of your front page?)
Main Cover Line (what will be the main story?) GCSE Exam Results
My main story will include the 2015 GCSE results and some student
advise on how current year 11’s can work towards their exams
Additional Key Images (what other images will be on your front
cover?
Additional Cover Lines (other features, stories of selling points
which will be inside the magazine)
Online Safety – do you know the basics of online safety?
WIN a £10 One4All Voucher!!! See inside for more information
World Challenge – Are You Ready For an Experience of a Lifetime?
Year 7 Disco!!!
Typography (style, size, colour of copy) I will use sans serif text for my magazine in order to give it a modern
professional look., and to ensure that it is clear to read as it will have
no flicks or joint handwriting. The title will be sized 72pt and the
contents will be size 36pt.
Background Colour/Image (what will be in the background) The background colour of my magazine will be white because I will
photograph the pupils on my magazine in front of a white
background giving it a clean professional appearance.
Technical Considerations (equipment, settings, props, costume,
lighting)
I will us a 16 megapixel camera in order to photograph my pupils,
and will not need any props to do so.
Proposal Form

14. Editing Process
I have edited this
image because it was
extremely dull. In
order to do this I first
changes the contrast
and brightness in
order to brighten up
the image and make
it lighter, whilst
keeping the different
between the
foreground and
background using the
contrast. I then
changed the levels in
order to give the
image a natural glow
and finally changed
the exposure so that
the darker colours
have more form and
contrast from each
other.

15. Initial Paper Designs

16. Publisher Draft

17. What I have learnt...
During the course of this preliminary task, I have learnt that the process in
creating a magazine involves a large amount of preparation. In order to
create my magazine I analysed the positives and negatives of others
magazines, and did some market research into what to include on the
magazine and the pricing so that I had a clear ideas on what I needed
to include.
In my draft magazine, I focused on that layout and colour scheme and
learnt that the colour scheme is important on holding the magazine
together and making it look as if it is one. This is important as I know
from now on that I need to keep this consistent throughout. I also
learnt that the colour schemes should also match the theme, that is
why mine is red and black, to resemble The Priory School colours.
If I were to do this again in the future, I would focus on adding more
images to the front cover and including some in the contents page to
make it more appealing to students as well as ensuring that that the
images and their exposures match so that the levels are the same.