Research rationale

I have easy access to teenagers between the ages of 16 – 18, however as I go to a sixth form with a school attached I also have access to young people aged 11 – 15. I believe that surveys will be the best way for me to approach my audience research. I say this because I can create questions which will give me the exact information I need and therefore benefit me the most. I am planning to do my survey online and from there sharing it with my contacts on social media sites so that a decent amount of people will answer it. For my focused audience research I plan to do an interview with one or more people. With an interview I can find out the persons thoughts in a one to one environment where they will not feel pressured to say a certain thing to impress peers and unlike a survey I can ask them to expand on certain points that I find relevant and that may help me. The genre of magazine I have decided to study and eventually create the cover, double page spread and also contents page to is rock but more specifically alternative rock. I have chosen this genre as it is a style of music that I personally enjoy.

Deconstruction of 'Kerrang!' magazine

Prezi showing the deconstruction of two 'Kerrang!' magazine covers.

Magazine typography

Here I have created a moodboard of the different mastheads music magazines use. This will help me when it comes to me choosing the font for my own masthead as I can see what real magazines use and what works well. 

Outline to the brief

This is an audio describing my feelings towards the brief that has been set.

PRELIM TASK: Final completed cover and contents page

PRELIM TASK: Models with consent forms

PRELIM TASK: Finished products and cohension

Here are my final magazine cover and contents pages. I think that the two work well together because of the way I've carried details across from one to the other. 

The first of these details would be the colour scheme. This is pink white and black. All three of these colours are easily visible on both of these pages making them instantly relate.

Another detail which has been carried across are the fonts. I have continued to use  the main puff font from the cover for my feature list. This created a link to the reader and helps to allow them to know they are still reading the same magazine. The masthead font has also been reused as the contents heading font and also the subheading features. 

I have also carried across the title Popular onto the contents page. This instantly shows that they are from the same magazine.

Lastly I have taken across the circular graphic to once again create a similarity between the two. This just continues to make it clear to the reader that they are reading the same magazine.

PRELIM TASK: Audience feedback

Front cover

Contents page

PRELIM TASK: Contents page image choices

PRELIM TASK: Contents page layout

PRELIM TASK: Photoshop manipulations

Here is the main photo manipulation which I used. I changed the lighting used on my main cover photo. as it was a little too bright for my liking. While adjusting the photo I had to keep making sure that the image was still sharp as that was something I was not willing to lose through this manipulation. Overall I like the outcome of this manipulation as the picture is slightly helped and isn't taken to the point where it begins to look fake.

Before                                                After

PRELIM TASK: Cover layout decisions

PRELIM TASK: Masthead and font decisions

Masthead font decisions 

(Lemondrop bold italic)

I chose this font because it looked the best on my cover. The slant added to the gossipy feel of the cover while it was just bold enough to attract enough attention.

(Lemondrop)

This font was my second choice however I do not believe it captured the feel which I wanted on my magazine as a whole.

(Dionisia-regular)

This third and final font was my last option. Personally I do not like the way which the U and the L connect which puts me off of the look as a whole. Next the O is too wide and just doesn't look correct which is another reason why I did not choose this font.

Other font decisions

PRELIM TASK: Final shots for front cover and contents page

Front cover

I chose this image as I believe that it was the most suitable of all of my choices. The smile is inviting and warm which gives the magazine a soft feel. The colours all work well and overall the picture just looks good. Another reason I chose this cover is because of the angle of gaze. Sydney is pictured looking directly at the audience enticing them to pick up the magazine and read on.

Contents page

This is the first image which I have selected to go on my title page. I chose this as the quality is good and the picture is less blurry than some of the others which I took. The student looks happy and she has a good angle of gaze with the camera. 

This is another image which I have selected to go onto my contents page. It shows a student working which allows people to easily see that it is an educational magazine. The angle of gaze is good and the photo is not blurry making this a good image to go onto my contents page.

This photo shows a student surrounded with work looking stressed. As one of the main puffs on my magazine cover will be on the topic of dealing with stress I believe that this image will work well. I say this first off because of the amount of work the student has but also the expression on their face. The student is further making eye contact with the camera creating an angle of gaze strengthening this image.

This is the final image which I have selected to be displayed on my contents page. Although it does not have a direct angle of gaze this image captures genuine happiness from the main model in the shot. Her expression makes the whole image and suits the magazine theme of being social. The phone in her hand also fits around the theme of being social which is an added bonus.

PRELIM TASK: Flat plan

front cover

contents page

PRELIM TASK: Shot list

PRELIM TASK: Reader profile

Hello my name is Sally and I am a 16 year old girl. I have just started sixth form and am finding it quite stressful. The subjects which I have decided to take are textiles, geography, English literature and art however I’m not sure they are right for me.

I find it hard to balance my social life and my work life which is a huge problem because I am a very social person.  My friends are a huge part of my life and I love spending time shopping and partying with them. While I love going out and having fun, I hate sports especially rugby and football. They just seem a lot of work and I would hate to have to play them, I mean I could break a nail!

PRELIM TASK: Magazine deconstruction

PRELIM TASK: My initial ideas

Hello I am Ruby and this is my AS media studies blog. My first task is to create my own college magazine and listed below are some of my initial ideas. I am going to make a girly social magazine aimed mainly at year twelve’s experiencing the jump between GCSE’s and A levels. To cater for the audience, the articles available will be focused around creating a balance between social and work life while at school.

The colours used will be bright, colourful and feminine as the magazine is targeting quite girly girls. The font will be casual; so it’s not too intimidating; however will not be too childish as my target audience are not little kids. I would like my font to be a good balance of these two. Another way which I am planning to appeal to the target audience is through the name of the magazine. This is popular. I think that it suits the magazine because it revolves around the theme of being social whilst also fitting with the criteria as it sounds like a college magazine. It sounds like a college magazine as it revolves around the stereotypical college dream of being popular and having friends. I want it to sound like a college magazine as that is what it is and that needs to be evident from a first glimpse so that it will not be confused with another type of magazine.

For the contents page I am planning to keep the same colours and fonts continuing onto the contents page because this will let everyone know that it is the same magazine. It also makes the transition between the pages smoother and easier to process. For the contents page I would like to include some pictures of students which will fit in with the articles listed on the contents page. I would like to do this as I believe it should all be relevant and not look out of place and as if it has been stuck together.