Preliminary Task – School MagazineBy Eliza Chapman-Smith

To start this project I have been asked to create the front and contents pages of a school magazine. I intend to use the school’s colour of red, along with black and white, to create a simple and modern looking magazine. I plan to have a very consistent design as this tends to make a magazine look more professional. To make my magazine look more authentic I will research other school magazines to see what is commonly present, and I will also conduct some audience research to find out what readers expect/want to see.

Consistent colour scheme ties in to the school, makes the magazine look more professional and also keeps it all in keeping

No cost to purchase the magazine, makes it more accessible to students and adults.

Includes a competition to encourage students and parents to buy it, and also to get involved with the school/its magazine.

Directly addressing the audience, makes them more likely to read the magazine, and also shows that the writers want the readers to get involved and respond.

Simple modern colour scheme (black, white and the school’s purple) keeps the overall presentation from looking tacky or cheap.

School logo in the corner adds more reference to the school itself, but in a subtle way so that it still looks professional.

Masthead, the most ornate thing on there due to font choice, draws eye and makes immediately apparent the name of the publication

The figures are very smartly dressed which gives the impression of a well established school with happy, polite students who follow the rules. This is further emphasised by their postures and facial expressions.

This is the secondary story, emphasised by a slightly larger font and underlining.

The main focus of this magazine cover is the central image. The figures are making eye contact with the camera and they are facing forward so the audience feels addressed. The fact that it is not too word heavy makes it more appealing to students rather than parents, but only subtly.

Text Analysis

Bright primary colours used, implies that the school concerned is a primary school.

Very few pictures have been used, only of the principle to relate to the direct address in the text. The fact that it is very word heavy implies that it is more aimed the parents.

An issue date has been included to allow the parents to keep up to date with the issues that have been published.

Key upcoming dates and events, which helps inform the parents as to what is happening in the school. It has been highlighted with a coloured text box to draw attention and emphasise, as well as separating it from the rest of the text.

Some helpful websites for the students to practice reading, science and mathematics. This shows that the target audience is the students as well as the parents, because they are aiming to help with home study

The school name is the head banner, in clear font to make it easy to read.

The contents are clear and easy to read, and help the reader navigate the newsletter. The text colour is very simple because it is not intended to be the main feature of the newsletter

Reminders about RSVPs for parents to join their kids at a Christmas lunch show that the target audience is, partly, parents. The children would not really be concerned with reply slips and dates for the diary, so we can see that the writers are trying to aim towards the parents.

Audience Research

What do you expect to see in a school magazine?

Number

Event information 10

Bulletins 1

A level/GCSE advice 2

Photos 4

News 1

Logo 1

Address from Head teacher 2

Exam results 3

Achievements of students outside school 1

Where to go for more information 1

Local events in the community 1

Interesting things that have happened/will happen

2

How often do you think a school magazine to issued?

Number

Weekly 5

Fortnightly 1

Monthly 6

Termly 3

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.

My target audience is school children between the ages of 11 and 18 (Year 7 to Year 13). I will try to include information that is relevant to them, rather than information that would be better seen by parents (e.g.)‘dates for the diary’).

Possible title ideas: (masthead / title block)What is your magazine going to be called?

Priory Post, Priory Oracle, Priory Press

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”

Two students in an art classroom, drawing/painting and editing/taking pictures. This will link with the headline story – and therefore be relevant – and it will have students from the school which will make it more interesting to those who are buying the magazine.

Main cover line:What will be the main story?

Back to the drawing board with fund allocation, what do you think on the issue of Arts Funding? – this gets the reader interested and encourages them to get involved.

Additional key images:What other images will be on your front cover?Remember, it is a school magazine.

N/A

Additional cover lines:Other features, stories or selling points which will be inside the magazine, these need to be audience appropriate.

I will include a splash that will detail another story

Typography: (style, size, colour of copy)Think about the writing and the style of the writing on your front page.

Simple, modern font. Black red and white, mostly monochrome with red accents

Background colour/image:What will be in the background, remember you don’t want to take the focus away from the main image.

Technical considerations:(equipment, setting, props, costume, lighting)Be realistic and creative, think about what you

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 program me (Photoshop).

Below start to sketch what the front cover of your newsletter will look like.

TEXT – black thin text, but the Ps are red with the Bevelled and Embossed effect, to make them stand out from the rest of the text. Also in a much larger font size

ISSUE DATE – to keep them in order and so people can make sure they are reading the relevant issue, black text on a red box

UNDERLINE – a thick red bar to act us an underline, to separate from the rest of the page and also to tie together the colour scheme

MAIN STORY – black text on a similar bar as above, maybe translucent, funny headline accompanies the picture but gives more information, joke is in capital letters and separated to prevent it being solid text.

SPLASH – to give information about the other stories in the newsletter, black text on a red box, maybe slightly translucent.

MAIN IMAGE – two students in an art classroom, one drawing and one editing on a laptop, angle is as if you are sitting next to them at the table, shows everyday school life and is relevant to the headline

LOGO – to bring in the colour scheme, make it look more professional

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.

NEWSLETTER LOGO –simply and quickly gets across the theme, same font as on the cover, interlinked

CONTENTS HEADING –underlined with the typical bar, stays in keeping with the rest of the magazine

HEADTEACHER – a generic picture of the head teacher to stop it being too text heavy, the word in a bolder red font than main text to emphasise and separate, the text is just a general address, in simple black font

REMINDERS – the title will be the same as the page numbers to stay in keeping with the design, the bar will be red with the Bevel and Emboss effects to add texture, the text will be black and each ‘reminder’ will be separated by a big dot, also black

PAGE INFORMATION –I want to have the P in red with the Bevel and Emboss effects, the rest will be just in regular red text, the information about the story will be in plain black text,

I wanted a picture that was relevant to the main story, so something to do with the Art Department. I chose to have two students in an Art classroom, one drawing and one editing on a computer.

I chose this one because the lighting was better, and this mean that I wouldn’t have to edit too much in Photoshop. As well as this, it is easier to see what they’re doing in this one, so I thought it would be the more effective cover photo.

Cover Photo Options

I cropped out the things on the table and the person in the background on the right as it made it look quite messy and doing this improved the framing. I also chose to crop out the pencil case at the bottom because, again, it was unnecessary and messy. I didn’t want to add any effects because I wanted it to look like a realistic representation of student life.

Cover Photo Editing

Front PageTITLE – the size of the Ps is very effective because it emphasises the title. I also like the combination of the red and black letters, because the black picks out the shadow on the Ps due to the result of the effects I added. The underline separates it from the main body of the text, which is a good thing because the title should be visible.

SCHOOL LOGO – the logo fits in well with the rest of the magazine. This is because I used the Eyedropper Tool to pick out the red colour, and then used that throughout the magazine.

ISSUE DATE – I chose to move the issue date down to this corner because the top was too cluttered if I place it there, and it fit quite neatly underneath the logo. I chose not to add effects to the bar because it is not a very important piece of information, so did not need emphasis.

MAIN STORY – I used a bar similar in colour and texture as the title underline for the main story to ensure continuity throughout the magazine, and also a professional look. I made the headline slightly larger and in capitals to separate it from the information below. I thought black test would be best, as it would be legible.

MAIN PHOTO – I chose this photo because it showed the subject clearly. I chose to crop it slightly so that the proportions were better, and the subjects took p more of the frame. I didn't edit it much because I wanted it to be relatively simple. I added thinning lines around the edge to add interest and to make it look more integrated into the magazine as a whole.

SECONDARY STORY – I chose to use a very simple red box in which to place the secondary story, with no editing, as it is not as important as the main story. I chose to use similar typography as used in the main story, to keep continuity.

Contents PageMAGAZINE LOGO – I am very happy with the way the logo turned out. I wanted it to look as if the two Ps were interlinked. To do this I copied and pasted the letters from the cover. I made the second one regular (instead of bold) . I then erased the relevant bit of the lower P. This created the illusion the they were linked, with shadowing.

CONTENTS HEADING – I used very simple text for the contents heading because it is emphasised by the underline. This bar is the same as the others used throughout the magazine.

REMINDERS – I used smaller text for the heading of this section, as it is the least important thing on the page and the red below it draws the eye enough. I think the dividing dots make it look very professional, and the bar provides good structure to the page.

HEADTEACHER ADDRESS – I used a medium shot and I put the picture on an ‘elevated’ section to emphasise it, as it is the only picture. I used the typical text/font combination. I tried to keep it all in the corner of the page, as it is meant to be quite small and inconspicuous. The text is quite brief, but encourages students.

PAGE INFORMATION – this section comprises of the page number that the specific story is located on, and then a little description about the story. I used the same font with this part as I did throughout the magazine. I think this section makes the overall page look a bit text heavy, it would have been effective to include some pictures based on the stories, to break up the solid text and add interest,

Through making this magazine have learnt how to conduct audience research, and then incorporate my findings into a product. I have become more familiar with Adobe Photoshop, and how to use it to create an authentic school magazine. I was already relatively familiar with it as a program, but doing this task helped me better understand the tools that would help me make a magazine specifically.

What I’ve Learnt