Prelim Task - Front Cover

This is my preliminary school magazine front cover, I have used many typical conventions shown in examples I have looked at. In this example the title is bold and is central showing relevance to the school it has been made for. This is displayed on a plain background, making the title stand out more. The sans serif font of the title connotes a modern tone, which shall attract the audience it is targeted to.

The mid shot displayed as the main image was taken on a plain background, it makes the front cover look more simplistic and makes the front cover simple.

I have used sell lines around the main images in order to display important content of the magazine. These follow the colour scheme of the magazine making the front cover more coherant and guiding the reader through it.

I could have included the school logo as it is a typical convention of school magazines, but i could not access the new school logo therefore it made it difficult to do this.

Prelim Task - Images

These are some examples of the photos I took for the front cover of my school magazine:

1.

This image was blurred and the model was not central to the framing, also as the preliminary task stated it must be a mid shot this image is not as suitable to the task.

2.

Again the model was not central to the framing and in the background of the image is a light switch, this is irrelevant therefore I would have to crop this out or no longer use this image.

3.

Out of all the images I took, I believe this is the most suitable as it shows ambient lighting and the model is more central. Although there is part of the light switch in the background of the image, this can easily be edited out of the image. This would leave a mid shot of the model on a simplistic background. 

Conventions of School Magazines

Through looking at the examples of different school magazines I have established conventions typical to these magazines, showing typical content and the layout of a front page. These conventions are:

• Title: Bold and clear, in a central position.
• Main Image: Presents the tone of the magazine and has a clear overview of the school.
• Sell Line: These should be present, but not largely important. Generally only a few and they give an indication and hint at the content of the magazine. 
• Colour Scheme: Both of the examples I liked had a three colour scheme that was basic and coherent to the rest of the magazine.
• School Logo: These are relevant to the school, not on usual magazines however generally on school magazines.

Textual Analysis of School Magazine 3

In this example, they have tried to create a common theme of a scrapbook. However by doing this the title is not bold or clear. The use of the torn squares and the varied fonts of the different letters works on a informal scrapbook, however this does not work on a informative school magazine. I do not like this as it is not clear, it does not follow typical conventions of other school magazines I have looked at.


The three images in the centre of the front cover present to the audience the school environment, but does not make the front page clearer. The torn edges of the pictures are to link with the scrapbook theme, however create a messy sense. In this example there is no clear image to draw the readers attention and the images create no emotional impact on the magazine and don't add anything interesting to the cover. It would be more successful if the front image was of a student on a clear background, which would then present to the audience a tone of the environment of the school.  Although I like the use of the school logo on the magazine as it is a common link to everyone who will read the magazine. 


The front cover includes no sell lines so is difficult for the reader to understand what the main themes of the magazine are, and give no indication as to what the magazine includes and if there is anything of interest to the reader. Due to this it shows a dull and uninteresting tone to the magazine, therefore meaning no one will be interested in the magazine, with nothing acting as a hook. 

Textual Analysis of School Magazine 2

Although this example is not for a particular school, it shows the typical audience of the magazine and what catches their eye. In this example the title, is again shown clearly and is relevant to the subject and purpose. The clear colour scheme of green, pink and orange is used on the front cover, however the use of yellow to highlight the '5 Answers to your school-safety questions' makes the front cover slightly less coherant as it does not link with the rest of the colours. By the title being the only thing orange on the page, it stands out the reader as the title and is bold and clear.


The text around the main image are used as teasers to give a hint to the audience as to what is to be expected of the magazine. These sell lines present a range of graphological features in order to highlight the more important and interesting articles in the magazine. The use of bold CAPITALS present the more important parts of the sell lines, they also show the audience that the information underneath in the same colour is an elaboration on the previous bold point. 


I also like the image displayed on a white background, as it is not complex or distracting as well as not appearing too simplistic. This image of the student is simple and presents to the audience a educational environment as she is holding books and a bag. The mid shot of the girl is central to the magazine acting as hook to draw the attention of the reader. Due to the model smiling it makes the magazine seem light and friendly, therefore showing the tone of the magazine.


I think this front cover has shown to me what the target audience like and as it is an existing magazine, it also shows how successful this is. Also showing me the typical conventions of magazines of an educational theme. However it has not allowed me to see the typical content of a magazine for a particular school.

Textual Analysis of School Magazine 1

The positioning of the 'Greenfields School' shows that it is the title and immediately shows the readers that it is for their school. The title is bold and clear, and contrasts the duller background and is larger than the other text showing it is important and relevant.  Due to the central positioning of the title it shows that this is the title.


The logo and the colour scheme link into one another with the logo including green and blue and yellow. Due to the colour scheme linking with the logo it creates a professional and coherent appearance.  

The main image is of the three children, they are smiling and show that they are happy. This medium long shot shows the audience that there is an upcoming event of a theatre production and also interests potential parents looking for a school for their child, as it shows they are happy and excited to learn new things. The three smaller images around the main image are relevant to the contents of the magazine and also act as teasers to the audience.

I also the like that the front cover is not littered with too much information. It shows the important information and things of interest, if they wish to read more then they are able to find the article in the magazine. This layout is very simple but effective is a professional appearance.

Welcome to my AS Media Blog

For my coursework task I will be producing a music magazine; front cover, contents page and a double page spread.  I will be completing a prelim task before the coursework, this will be a School Magazine including a front cover and a mock up contents page, the front cover should include a mid shot of a student. To create a magazine conventional to the task given I will research and de construct examples of magazines.