AS MEDIA STUDIES

FOUNDATION PORTFOLIO

RESEARCH & PLANNING

CENTRE NO: 11049

ST FRANCIS XAVIER COLLEGE

My name is: Duschan Nembhard

Candidate No: 1387

Preliminary Project – Research & Planning

• As my task was to create a school or college magazine, I decided to make it combined with both concepts so that it targeted students in year 9 (13/14 years of age) to those in the sixth form (16-18 years of age). I did this because I didn’t want the lower band of the college to feel segregated from the magazine

• Due to my target audience range being so wide it meant that I have to ensure I designed my magazine so it didn’t appear too childish but also no so mature. I made sure my magazine was visually attractive to the different ages by making it bright using the right colours. In terms of language, I used words that all would understand, so the language isn't very formal, neither informal but more on the colloquial side

• During the process of my project, I learnt about the wonders Adobe Photoshop can do to your image, from changing the background using layers to editing the images effects to make it brighter or darker. The key points learnt were that layers help a great deal in terms of setting a background and practice using the lasso tool is essential as it will help my images look more professional.

Preliminary Project

• College Cover• College Contents

Reflections & FeedbackWhat would you do differently next time?• I would do a lot better next time then I did on this task as I lacked

in effort and essential research in order to produce a good product.I would ensure I didn't cut corners and finish the project properly.

What kind of feedback did you get that might influence you?• My peers told me that the contents page was rather plain which

alerted me that there needed to be more in order to keep more readers interested. My tutor also told me that my contents page lacked colour, and impact.

What aspects of your understanding of Adobe Photoshop & InDesigndo you need to improve?• I am yet to use Adobe InDesign, BUT because of Adobe Photoshop,

I understood more as we went along but I still next improve of my usage of the tools. I also need to improve the understanding of how the use of layers can help us a great deal. 

The music genre of my music magazine is:

• Genre :

• My chosen title is “Southern Comforts” because of the fact that Blues originated in Deep South of the United States and I wanted my title to reflect Blues in a different way of just having the word “blues” in it.

• I thought the word “comforts” would link right back to the root of Blues as it was used as comfort to those singing it. This would also let the reader think that they can be comfortable reading my magazine.

BLUEShttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd60nI4sa9A

So I researched this genre of music publication and studied:• Model 1• Model 2

What I learned from this was…..

• Cover Design• Musician with an

instrument on the front• Title contains the word

“Blues”• Colours- Bright, most

times, quite mellow with reflects audience

• Quite plain, not eye catching in some cases

• Gender- not specific; men and women feature

• Cover Lines• ALL INVOLVE ARTISTS- all cover lines

involve an artist• Just music?- most of the cover lines I

have seen relate to music itself • Plain?- not enticing especially with

examples I have used.

For my music magazine….

• Target Audience: Men and Women aged 25 and over because this genre does not have a dominant sex and the age of the artists tend to be mature.

• Frequency: Fortnightly- this would enable the reader to have something to look forward too and ensure that the magazine gives them something different each time.

• Cover price: £1.60- this would ensure the magazine appears to be value for money and make the reader want to continue purchasing the magazine.

• Publisher: Rhinegold

• Unique Selling Point: Brings the comfort back into Blues- this links to the title and puts out the message that this magazine is all about true Blues

This is the face of the magazine

• Front cover• This is how it works• Black and white vs. colour- I wanted to

change the conventionsI have seen of using coloured images on the front cover

• Keeps the conventions- artist with instrument, which is trait most examples show.

• Link to Blues- the fact it is in black and white links to time when Blues started, which gives it an authentic look and appeal.

Here are the 4 original photographs I shot for the project……

I modified each photograph; here is the original next to the final version:

• Raw 1 • Final 1

• Here is how I changed the photograph and why

• I cropped the image but didn't do much else because it looks as though it wasn't necessary.

And the second one:

• Raw 2 • Final 2

• Here is how I changed the photograph and why• -I cropped the image and blurred it slightly,

well attempted to blur the background to ensure the main focus was on the featured person.

And the third one:

• Raw 3 • Final 3

• Here is how I changed the photograph and why

• -Again, I did what I did on the second image for this one, in order for the model to stand out from the background .

And the last one:

• Raw 4 • Final 4

• Here is how I changed the photograph and why

• -I cropped this image and feathered it, in order to give it a priceless look of an antique image.

Here are a couple of research models for my contents page…

This is my contents page• Contents Page

• BOLD NUMBERS- to identify where the features can be found without the reader struggling to look for it

• CLEAR HEADINGS- to alert the audience of what section of the magazine they are looking at so they know what they will find

• LINKS TO PICTURES- the images link back to writing alongside the images so the audience is able to identify what and what and who is who.

• CONSISTENCY- The fonts are the same as and reflect the fonts of the cover page and the colours are consistent also. Colour schemes.

These are key features…

How does the contents page link back to the cover page?

• My contents page highlights the mentioned people on the cover i.e. Miquel Smith. His picture is the biggest picture on the page which identifies his importance and the fact that he is the main feature. The fact the artist is recognizable in both images also links.

• Same fonts- On both contents and cover page the fonts are the same. I did this for consistency so that my mature looked professional and would assure the reader of good standards.

• Colors- the colour scheme remains the same (red, black, grey and white) another colour was added to the contents but it still goes well with the cover page and doesn't distract to the reader

SAME FONT

COVER STORY

COLOURS

Key points of contents page

• How have you made the reader want to read on? – PICTURES & WORDING: I’ve used images that grab the readers

attention and make them question what interest the article would bring to them. In terms of wording, I used little teasers to entice the reader to read on after first being drawn in.

• What are the links between images and words?- POSITIONING & RELATION: The positioning of the image in a huge link

between them and the words. I placed the images close together and ordered the wording in so that all the images would be next to there particular section of writing for the contents page.

• What determines the dominant stories?- COLOUR & SIZE: The size of the image is bigger than the rest and is

the first image of the contents page. I also decided to use a different colour for the title of the story to make it stand out amongst the other stories.

• How have you gone about ordering the information on the page?- IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE: I ordered the information in terms of how

I laid out the cover page so it went in the order of appearance which links to how the images were.

How does the contents page flag up your double

page spread?• My double page spread is based on the

main image of the front cover and contents page; Miquel Smith.

• I have ensured that this artist stood out on the contents pages to clearly show he is the cover story and the main feature of the magazine

• The colours, style and type of fonts remain consistent throughout to keep the reader alert and interested.

Here’s an example of an inspiring double page spread…

This is why I think that double spread works

• This double page spread uses traits that I aim to have on my own double page spread; simplicity and effectiveness.

• The use of the black and white theme with the red, highlights significant information and creates authenticity.

• The layout isn’t over crowded which is exactly what I need for my audience to be attracted and intrigued to read on.

• My music genre being Blues means my magazine has to have a relaxed theme which I think this double page spread represents clearly.

This is my double-page spread

This is how my double page spread works

• My double page spread uses the same simplistic features which my cover page and contents use.

• Colour schemes show a clear link to the cover page and the contents page

• I have changed the model for my magazine so it would appear that there is no link to my front cover but my re-drafted cover page & contents page uses images that link clearly to this double page to indentify with the audience that is my main story.

This is how all three components are linked together….

Baring in mind the fact that the models are different because during my feedback for my re-draft of the cover and contents I was told to change my model which is why the double page spread has the final model.

This is my re-drafted cover page

• Improve on image

• Tasters to stand out more

• Differentiate cover lines

• Reconsider mise en scene

Cover Page Key modifications from feedback

BETTER IMAGE WITH NEW MODEL

MAIN COVER LINE IDENTIFIED

TASTER

COVER LINES

This is my re-drafted contents page

• Include tasters• Background• More contents• Images

Key modifications from feedback

Contents Page

MORE CONTENTS

REVELANT IMAGES

TASTERS

This is my re-drafted double spread

INTERESTING HEADING QUOTES

2nd IMAGE

VISUALLY INTERESTING

IMPR

OVE

MEN

T O

N C

OLO

URS

CLEAR NUMBERING

Key modifications to double spread from feedback

• Include quotes from text• Colour schemes• Include more than one image• Ensure all text is within it• More visually interesting

Evaluation • You can find my blog here:

(URL) http://duschla.blogspot.com/And You can find my evaluation with responses to the 7

questions here:(URL)

http://duschla.blogspot.com/2010/12/music-magazine-front-cover.html