1. OCR Media Studies – AS Level
Unit G321: Foundation Portfolio in Media
Planning & Research
Name: Thomas Spink
Candidate Number:
Center Name: St. Andrew’s Catholic School
Center Number: 64135
Set Brief - Print
Music Magazine – Production
Preliminary Task Progression and
Planning & Research
3. Preliminary Task Progression–
Evidence
Front Cover
Step-by-step
The first thing that I did when it came to
designing my prelim task front cover,
was to use the ruler tool in order to set
the layout of my page and where things
will placed on the page.
The first things that I added to the page
was the general features. This included
the social media, Facebook & Twitter,
and a web address. I also included brand
recognition in the top left hand corer
with the St-Andrews badge. I also used a
barcode to add realism to the page.
I then added arguably the most key
component to the page which is the
cover star image of a student called
Zak Winsall. This gave the magazine
relatability for the students and
created star appeal.
4. Once the cover star had been added I
went about the process of using the pen
tool to shape where my cover lines will go
around the image. This gave them more
shape and a nicer, more professional look.
I then wrote up the cover lines, in the
same font and text as the others to jeep
up with the house style of blue and yellow
I wish to deploy.
At this stage I had almost finished
however I felt that something was
missing form the page. It then struck
me that I needed borders on the page
to fill white space and add more
colour to the page. As a result I added
the blue and yellow border to the
page. The blue and yellow conformed
with the colour scheme I want to use.
The final things added top my page
was the main headline and the puff
promotion. The main headline was
done boldly and in the dark blue to
make it stand out and match with the
rest of the page. Also, the boldness of
it means that it could attract the
audience to want to pick up the
magazine. The puff promotion adds
something different and attractive to
the page for the reader. The box it is
in is St-Andrews blue with the text
being the yellow seen in the school
badge.
5. Preliminary Task Progression– Evidence
Contents Page
Step-by-step
I started my prelim task contents
page in the same way that I
started my front cover. I used the
ruler tool in order to make the
basic layout of where things will
be placed on the page.
I then added the boxes for where the
headings of each section for the
magazine will be going. I made them
blue to keep with my house style. I
also added St-Andrews badges to
create brand recognition for the page.
As time went on I then added a blue &
yellow border to the page as well as
yellow border at the bottom of then
page. The headings were added to the
blue shapes. I then added the magazines
title to the top and bottom border, again
helping to create brand recognition. I
have also included the This included the
social media, Facebook & Twitter, and a
web address.
6. I have now added the stories and their
sublines under each section, showing the
reader where each story will be in the
magazine. As well as this I have added in
an image of the front cover as brand
recognition and a space filler. I have also
added issue details to the page and a
blurb indicating a good story inside the
magazine. With the yellow text, keeping
to the house style of the magazine.
Now I have added in social media
aspects to the page, with the
stereotypical social media
advertisements such as # and
instructing readers to follow the
magazine on social media.
The page is now completed. I
spent the final session
completing my editorial
including the signature, editor
picture and details. I have also
added another image of the
cover stat ‘Zak’ for star appeal
as well as given the blurb and
image to go with it, adding
more detail to the page. Finally
I have added extra images such
as sporting equipment and a
coffee mug to support my
stories.
8. Music Magazine – Genre research• Music magazines are usually released monthly although some magazines release copies every week. Q Magazine for example has
released 339 copies to date. They release one copy every month and have been doing so since October 1986.
• In order to construct a music magazine you must follow the steps as shown below:
Date of publication – the first step of creating a magazine is to set up a date of publication. The date of publication is the date that the
magazine will be released as a finished product. Once this date has been established, a schedule is then operated around in order to
complete the magazine by the release date. This schedule will include a detailed plan of how everything will be completed as well as
deadlines for tasks to be completed by.
• Managing the schedule – this is an extremely important step that you should not take for granted when it comes to the production of a
magazine. If you want your magazine to be produced successfully then you must properly manage the schedule. Your schedule should
be made in such a way that there are provisions for certain mishaps so that even when these mishaps occur, you can always meet the
deadline. This is the reason why a proper management of the schedule is very vital.
• Editorial and budgetary decision – the next step that is taken during the production process of a magazine is the editorial decision. The
editorial decisions involve the magazine’s editorial team assembling and deciding what topics will be covered in the next issue of the
magazine. Here, the editorial team basically talks about the various contents that will make up the magazine.
• Content Acquisition – the content acquisition process is the most important step because without content we simply cannot have the
magazine in the first place. There are two ways that content can be gathered for a magazine. The first is through in-house staff writers
and the second way is through external writers that are commissioned to write on topics that are specialist in nature. It is at this stage
that artwork and graphics are also worked on. At this stage too, a lot of research is made by journalists or reporters into the topics and
events being covered.
• Sub-editing – this is the next step to be taken. Sub editing focuses on one major thing, which is quality control. This step involves the
following important things:
• Checking of the accuracy of all facts in the articles
• Making sure that words are properly spelled
• Making sure that grammar and punctuation are used correctly
• Making sure that all articles follow the house-style
• Working on the page layout
• Page Layout – in big publications, there is a special team responsible for page layouts called the layout staff. Their job is to typeset and
layout the various pages that come together to make the magazine. It is at this stage that adverts from advertisers are placed into the
content.
• Proofreading –. The editorial department will print out a hardcopy of the magazine for the sole purpose of reading through to find and
correct any mistakes in it. Any mistake that is spotted is quickly corrected on the DTP file. The editorial team keeps proofreading until
every member is satisfied that all mistakes have been corrected.
• File emailed to printer –It is at this point the popular term ‘pre-press’ comes in. Pre-press is defined as the process of checking to make
sure that you are sending all the fonts and images needed for the magazine with your file. Once this stage is over, the printing company
takes over. But before the printing company prints the hundreds or thousands of copies requested by the publication, the company first
prints a few copies and sends them to the publication’s editor for checking once again. If the editor is satisfied with the printer’s proofs,
then the green light is given to the printer for mass printing to commence.
• Distribution – this is the last stage of the entire process. The printing company, having finished with the printing of the magazines will
package them neatly and send them to a warehouse. From the warehouse, the magazines are then distributed and then sold
to the public.
9. Established Magazine for my Research
The strap line here is saying ‘THE
WORLDS GREATEST MUSIC
MAGAZINE.’ By using terms such as
‘THE WORLD’ and ‘GREATEST’ it
conveys to the potential buyer and
reader of the magazine that it is a
quality product and endorses the
magazine it self, possibly attracting
more sales.
The magazine has cleverly used a
pale white background to make the
clothes and hair of the artist on the
cover stand out. His dark hair and
dark coloured top are of stark
contrast to the white background,
bringing notice to the cover artist and
attracting people to look.
There is no barcode on the front
cover which allows more space for
the artists picture and conversions to
be shown.
The main image on this issue of Q
magazine is Paulo Nutini. He is a
famous star in the music industry and is
currently a very popular artist . Having
him on the cover gives the magazine
star appeal which makes it more
attractive to customers, especially
those who are fans of him or that genre
of music. Part of the main headline also
says ‘Peoples Champion’ which has
connotations of popularity and also
somebody who everybody loves or is
going to love. The word champion also
has connotations of success which not
only represents the artist but puts the
message in the heads of customers that
this magazine is successful it self
The cover lines on this front
cover really stand out and
are very aesthetically
pleasing. This is due to the
vibrant and range of colours
used. This is done to help
them stand out from the
rest of the cover and help to
catch peoples attention.
However they are of a
different font size as to not
steal the attention away
from the main headline.
10. Target Audience – Katz, Maslow, Hartley and/or socio-economic needs
I believe that based on the research that I have collated the target audience for Q magazine would be denoted
at people of all races and both genders, with the age of people reading it raging from teens to young adults
(Hartley). Evidence of this can be found on the Q website as it shows how the majority of the readers (35%)
range from the age of 15-24. I feel this is because the music that is talked about in Q is very current and
trending. This then would appeal to younger people as younger people are usually more inclined to want to
follow the latest trends for music which would make Q magazine appealing for them. It would also be suited to
countries and nationalities that speak the English language as the text is written in English and so people who
do not understand or speak English would not be suited to the magazine. I feel that its gratification would be in
the section of Inform & Educate (Katz’).
What is the USP of this magazine? The Unique Selling point of Q magazine is
the prestigious artist on the front cover. I think that this is the USP because
this is what attracts people to buy magazine. This could be due to the fact
that it gives the magazine star appeal and so people are inclined to buy it as
they see some one famous. The famous person could show that the magazine
is a quality one as someone famous is modeling for the cover. Also if the
customer is a fan of that artist they may wish to buy it in order to find out
more about them.
11. Publisher research
• Q is published by Bauer Media, a media company that manages a portfolio of
magazines, digital products, radio and TV stations in local markets across the
world.
• Q mainly focuses on up and coming/well known rock and roll artists . Therefore
their target audience are people who enjoy reading about rock music. Readers are
mainly teens/young adults aged 15-25, and have enough money to buy the
magazine each month.
• Q magazine has a circulation of 48,353 copies distributed in January-July 2014. The
magazine also has 339,000 readers.
http://magazines.bauermediaadvertising.com/magazines/detail/Q
http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/brands/q
12. Conventions of a Music Magazine
The background of this magazine is white. This
is effective as due to the artists dark skin it
allows him to stand out more, catching the eye
of the buyer.
There is a barcode on the front
cover which allows the customer
to view the website of the
magazine and also see the price
and issue number.
The main image on this issue of
VIBE magazine is Kendrick Lamar.
He is a famous star in the music
industry (HIP-HOP rap) and is
currently a very popular artist .
Having him on the cover gives the
magazine star appeal which makes
it more attractive to customers,
especially those who are fans of
him and his music. Part of the
main headline also says ‘THE NEW
GOD’ which has connotations of
popularity and also somebody who
everybody loves or is going to love.
The word ‘GOD’ also has
connotations of success and
power which not only represents
the artist but puts the message in
the heads of customers that this
magazine is successful it self. Also
God is all powerful which could
show to customers that like the
artist and God this magazine is all
powerful and therefore the best.
The cover lines on this front
cover really stand out and are
very aesthetically pleasing. This
is due to the range of colours
used. This is done to help them
stand out from the rest of the
cover and help to catch peoples
attention. Red and black stand
out from a white background,
much like the cover artists skin,
which allows the cover lines to
catch attention and become
noticed by the reader. However
they are of a different font size
as to not steal the attention
away from the main headline.
13. Target Audience – Katz, Maslow, Hartley and/or socio-economic needs
The target audience for name of magazine magazine can be denoted as people from the ages of 16 to 30. this is because the
genre of music for vibe is current R&B and rap. Music like this is usually only listened to by people of a younger generation and so
they would be the people more inclined to buy this magazine. I think that it would also be targeted at people of an African
American race as most rap and R&B singers of a black ethnicity and so that would appeal more to the people of that ethnicity. I do
not think however that religion has anything to do with it as unless the music is forbade in certain religions then people of all
religions could listen to it and so would be interested in buying the magazine. Again like most magazines produced in the U.S or
the U.K it is for people of an English nationality as the text is written in English and so people of a foreign language would struggle
to understand what was being written about in the magazine. Also people of a foreign country may also listen to different artists
and may not know who people on the cover of VIBE actually are.
What is the USP of this magazine? star appeal for the magazine and so people who like the artist will be
more inclined to purchase a copy of the magazine. As well as adding star appeal, the way the artist is made to stand out it creates
a aesthetically pleasing aspect to the cover that catches the eye of a potential buyer and even if they do not like the music could
make them interested to learn and possibly get into the genre of music.
14. Publisher research
• The chosen genre for inspiration is R&B and the magazine I have chosen to
research is VIBE. This is because it is a very current and popular magazine for the
R&B genre and I feel it will help e produce the most realistic and best piece of
coursework possible for my magazine front cover.
• Facts and research about VIBE
• VIBE magazine was first published in 1993 and is owned by
• The publishing company for VIBE is
• Since its first issue VIBE has sold copies
• It has published issues of its magazine and is released monthly with the latest copy having been released
on the (from date which I wrote this entry to my planning)
• It has made $ through its sales
