Evaluation of School Magazine

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge the forms and conventions of real media?When researching for my school magazine I looked at different forms of school magazines and ideas that I could incorporate into my own product. I then developed these ideas into my own product, using real media in my own work. The ideas that I included in my own magazine that have been used in school magazines are; a small print screen of the front page on my contents page, large headings to attract the audience on my front page which are bold and bright, overlapping of features on the front page, and a running colour scheme throughout the front page and contents page.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?My media product represents certain social groups as it portrays art students of a certain level. When researching for my product I realised that using pictures of art students was effective as it drew in attention from readers and gave a positive look to a school or college. It also made the magazine look more creative and give a relaxed and enjoyable feel to not only the magazine, but the school that the magazine is meant to be about.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?The type of institution that would distribute my magazine would be an independent company, as it is an individual magazine for one school. It may also be distributed throughout the school that it is about. Furthermore, the magazine could also possible be distributed throughout local companies to the school, as this would commercialise the school and allow more people to know about it. By distributing a school magazine to a large amount of people it would also make the school look more successful as they are able to produce a high quality magazine.
Who are the audience of your media product?When researching my media product I looked at the different audiences that a school magazine would attract. This largely related to the audience that my media magazine would attract as the type of audience would be; students of the school, parents that send their children to that particular school, teachers of the school, and possible students that may join in the future.
How did it attract/address your audience?My school magazine attracted my audience with a vibrant and colour front page, as this was eye-catching and drew attention. The sub headings on the page also engrossed the audience as it revealed relevant features that would appeal to the target audience, and included things that they would want to read and know.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?The things I have learnt about technologies from constructing my product are: the function of a camera and how to use it to the highest quality. I learnt that flash is not always effective and the different ways in which manual and automatic change the distortion of a photo, and which would be more relevant for my magazine. I also learnt how to edit and change pictures, on programmes such as photoshop and InDesign. I learnt to make my picture more appealing by editing, for example making the complexion of my model clearer, and changing the background to put the focus on the model and what they are doing.

Development of Contents Page

The contents page also follows the same colour theme and layout as the front page. It has the light purple, dark purple, and maroon colours which have followed on from the front page. It also has the same font as the front page, which help continuity throughout the magazine. For the page features I have used a title to show what is on the page and then underneath on some of the pages I have written a small description of what the page is about, and the information that is given on that page. This helps the reader to know what is on what page.

The final design shows more picture features of what can be found on the following pages, as there are the first set of shots I did in the middle of the page, but made smaller. On the top right there is also a smaller shot of the front page. This was used in many professional magazines and I felt it was effective in making the contents page look more professional. A disadvantage of my contents page is that the background is white. This means there are a few blank spaces with nothing in it, and it makes it look slightly unprofessional as parts of it can be a bit boring. Overall however I think that my front page and contents page work well as their is continuity and it follows the theme of a school magazine well.

Development of Front Page

This first print shot shows the title on the page with the picture in the background. The title stands out well over the picture whilst not blocking the picture out and taking over the top of the photo. The colours of the photo and the title colour also work effectively together.

This second print shot shows sub headings and text on the front page. The sub headings have been placed where there is no focus or there is minimal colour or picture. Therefore it has been placed over the white bare parts of the cover. I have also placed a date of the magazine under the title.

This third print shot shows more sub headings and a large heading at the bottom. This draws more attention whilst and seperates the different headings. Although the different headings are seperate they all assemble together due to the colour scheme that runs throughout. This is effective and gives a uniform to the front page.

This if the final shot of my front cover. There has been an added sub heading at the top of the page, this is the main story and focus of all the sub-headings. The main sub-heading is a slightly different purple to the rest of the purple sub-headings to make it stand out more and show its importance. It is also in a fairly large font and slightly slanted to make it seem different from the rest of them. I think overall this is an effective front cover.

2nd Photoshoot

This is the picture I chose from the second set of photos I took for my front cover. The photo portrays what I wanted it to as it shows a student doing art work. This photo meets the needs of what the last photo didn't as it has a professional school background which is shown clearly. The photo is also more focused on the student whilst still including the art work that she is doing. Like the last set of photos I took she looks like a hard-working student whilst also looking as if she is enjoying her work. The photo also includes art apparatus as there is a pair of scissors on the table by her work. I think this photo is much more effective and will suit my front page much better than the other set of photos I took would. The photo is much clearer and is portrayed much better. The photo clearly shows what she is doing, and what message is trying to be put across.

This is the final edited photo that Iwill use fro my front cover. For this photo I edited part of the background and got rid of the black patches that were in the original photo. This was as the background drew attention from the main part of the photo which is the student and the art work. It also made the photo clearer and more simplistic. I also edited the table she is doing her work on as in the original photo there were marks on the table which made it look less appealing and dirty. I also made the photo much brighter as it was quite dark in the first photo and gave a dark feel to her which meant that not all of her features were highlighted. With the editing used for the final photo it has made it look much more professional and I can use this well for my front cover.

Font Development research

Firstly I developed the fonts by just doing them in a black colour but changing the font, this allowed me to create an idea of what font I wanted. I also experimented by doing some of the titles in capitalsand some without capitals. This allowed me to see what was more effective and bold, and would stand out on a page with other features on it. I then decided that I would have use capitals throughout my title to make it more eye-catching. I then played around with the clour, testing out what would be seen better on a page. At first I used a yellow colour but then realised this would not be able to be seen easily on a page, especially if the background what a bright colour. I then tried working with background colours to see if that would work. Although it made the title more interesting I did not like it as I thought it made it look slightly 'tacky' and not simple and effective, and it the background colour tended to clash with the colour of the title as you can see with the black title with the red background. It also drew away from the writing. I then decided to make some of the titles slant to a slight angle, which I found effective and made it look more interesting.  

I then chose a colour which I thought was effective and went with a purple/pink type of colour. The colour is effective as it stands out on a page but also compliments other features on the page. I then experimented with having my title underlined or not. Although this looked good I felt it would seperate the title from the rest of the page and make it look secluded. I then decided on my final title which is the one at the bery bottom. It is bold and eye-catching, with a simple yet effective font that looks professional and a school-type font. I think this well go well with my front cover and will attract the right audiance.

Contents Page Research

For this part of my research I will look at different contents pages of various magazines and compare and analyse them to see which aspects would be appropriate for my school magazine.

This is a really effective and attention-grabbing contents page. There is a colour scheme running throughout and they have stuck to three main colours being: red; white; and black. There are a range of different pictures on this page which portray the stories that will be on some of the pages. Not all of the pages are mentioned on the contents, only the ones which are important and appeal to the reader the most. The title is very striking and also clear. The page is not cluttered or squashed together and is laid out neatly. There is a red box at the bottom which is for ‘regular pages’, this is keeps the magazine running with a theme weekly and allows readers to find the page they want quickly. The font is clear and bold. I like this contents page as I think it allows readers to find pages easily and is interesting as it has many pictures on the page. I will take ideas from this contents page and co-operate into my own contents page of my school magazine.

This contents page has many good attributes to it and works well in many ways. It is very simplistic and there is one large picture on the left hand side which takes up most of the focus. The title is very bold and clear, but also has two different colours to it to differentiate it. The layout is very clear and sophisticated. However this could be portrayed as quite a boring contents page. This is because it is quite plain as there is a white background with only two other colours on the page. There is only one picture to focus on and therefore we can lose interest quickly. I do like some of the aspects of this contents page as I like the layout, however I would want to make mine more interesting for readers.

This is an adequate contents page. It contains a lot of pictures to attract attention and there is also a short description under each of the pictures and a page number of where to find that article. There is also a short passage from the editor at the top, which is common in magazines. This fills out a space. There is a bold and clear title and the contents information is laid out well and clearly. However I feel there are a lot of different colours on this page which can make it seem slightly overwhelming. Some of the writing is quite small and therefore can look like it has a lot of writing on just the contents page. I like the fact that they show a picture of the front of the magazine. I do like aspects of this magazine as they include a variety of pictures, however although there is yellow and black which is noticeable there is not much of a running colour scheme.

1st Photo Shoot

I like these photos as they portray a hard working student doing work whilst also looking like they are enjoying themselves. The angles at which I have taken the photos are also effective and makes the photos seem more interesting. The picture implies what I wanted it to and gets all aspects of the pose in. However I think the quality of the photos could be better. In every photo the models face is slightly blurred and does not show all of her face properly. The hand and art are in focus however the face is not and is slightly grainy. I have used flash on these photos which also has a negative effect on the photos. The background is not professional as it is in my home. When I do my second photo shoot I will make sure to not use flash, to have a professional school background, and to make sure that I use focus appropriately and adequately.

Front Cover Drawing Ideas

For the next part of my research I will draw different designs for the front cover of my magazine and decide how I will want to lay it out.

I like this first layout as it is very clear. The picture is the main attraction and the title is bold. The title also fits well around the picture which gives a modern feel. My title is spread out over two lines and this allows it to not be squashed on one line and to make it stronger. There is room for writing and information on the right hand side and also a bar at the bottom to put some writing. This contains as much writing as there would be on a professional magazine cover. I like this layout for a magazine cover.

I feel that the second magazine layout is not very effective. The title is on one line which will make it easy to read however it may be slightly squashed all on one line. The picture is the main focus however there is a lot of blank space at the bottom which will make the cover quite boring and unattractive. There are a lot of room for information however I feel there is too much for a front cover as there shouldn’t be much on a front page. I feel this layout for a front cover is not adequate and would not be effective.

This layout is very similar to the first one however the writing is on the other side. The title is on two lines however it is centred rather than over slightly to one side, this would make the feel of the front cover very regimented and ordered which I do not want. As I want a modern feel this would not be good and would take a slightly different approach to the title, however overall I like the general layout.

I like this layout for a front cover magazine however it does have some faults to it. The title is more to one side which I think is effective. There is room at the bottom and at the side for information. However what I don’t like about it is that the information on the right hand side is very high up and is quite close to the title. In this way readers could get confused and the cover could have a “cluttered” feel.

I think the layout for the fifth drawing can be very effective. There is lots of room for information and I have incorporated a different idea by having three small boxes at the bottom for different features. The picture is merged well but also stands out and would be the main focus on the page.

For the sixth drawing I have put together a few ideas from different drawings. The picture is fairly large on the page and overlaps part of the title which is very common with magazine covers now. There is a bar at the bottom for information and two small boxes for information spread at the top and bottom of the page. This makes the cover more interesting and gives the reader different places to look on the page to read information.

Overall I like the first idea that I drew, I think it gives enough room for information, is laid out clearly and effectively, and gives a simple feel without it being boring.



Extra Photo Research

This picture is good as it focuses on the student doing the art work; the art work in the background makes the picture colourful and bold. She looks as if she is enjoying herself and is participating well in the class. The teacher also looks informative and as though she is enabling the student and helping her with her work. Although I do like this picture it is portrait and therefore not the right shape for my school magazine cover.

This picture is very good as it mainly focuses on the student but also includes the art work she is doing. She looks fairly serious but she is also enjoying the work. She also looks as if she is concentrating and is a hard-working student. Although the photo portrays a good student the colours are fairly boring. There is a pale background and what she is wearing is fairly bland. It implies the sense that a school may be quite strict and allow no fun or excitement in lessons. There is a professional background as we can see she is a school environment due to the computer in the background. I don’t think this photo would be sufficient for a front cover of a school magazine as it is not enticing enough and does not show enjoyment from the student.

This photo is extremely good in many ways. It gets both the whole of the artwork and the student in the photo. The piece of work is very colourful and artistic, and the student looks as if she is working very hard and has put a lot of effort into it. There is a professional background as we can see she is in an art room. This photo is very good for a school magazine cover and is effective as it is eye-catching and attractive. This is similar to how I would want my front page photo to look as I like the layout of it and how it focuses on both the student and the art work. This would be a good photo to use for the front cover of a school magazine as attractive and appealing and would entice a certain type of reader which is suitable for the type of magazine I’m making.

Front Cover Research

I like this magazine as I think the layout is effective. There is a large and prominent title at the top which attracts the audience, and tells us what the name of the school is. The white font title stands out in front of the dark green back ground. However the writing underneath is hard to read as it just slightly a lighter shade of green, and therefore blends in with the background. Although it blends in, the font of the title is bold and clear. The majority of the front cover is filled with a student painting. Although it looks like she is working hard and the work she is doing is of a high standard, she does not look that interested or as if she is enjoying herself. I would try to take a picture with a student who looks like they are enjoying themselves. The picture is bright and bold and is very eye-catching to the reader, which makes it more interesting and intriguing. At the bottom is a bar which has information about what is inside the magazine, yet again they have chosen an appropriate font, however they could make the writing bigger to make it easier to read. Overall I think this magazine cover is good and effective, it is quite simplistic and not cluttered with words and pictures and is noticeable to a reader. I prefer this one and would like my magazine cover to look similarly to this.

This school magazine cover is quite different to the first one. There is much less on a page and the pictures and titles are spread out across the page. The background colour is a bold green, which portray the strength and power of the school. On the outside of the pictures is a gold rim which portrays clarity and prosperity. The pictures at the top of the magazine show the opening of the school and many formal people celebrating it, the pictures are mostly action shots and not really posed. In the middle of the magazine is the school name and logo, yet again in the gold font. Font is clear and bold and the colour compliments the green well whilst also making it stand out from the background. At the bottom are pictures of excelled students that are taking parts in particular sports, classes, and dramas. These pictures reveal the vast amount of classes and clubs the school has and all the pupils look happy and joyful which implies that they find school fun and enjoyable. The pictures at the bottom are spread out and have bright colours and are very clear, this makes them more eye-catching. Overall I like this magazine as it is spaced out and not cluttered, however although the back ground colour is strong it is fairly plain and gives it a dull look, so I would change that to make it more interesting and colourful.

Getting Started!

Hey, I'm Lauren! I'm doing AS Media and am using this blogger to display my media coursework which is based on a school magazine. There are many different aspects I will focus on and these will be presented on here. I will then create a part of my own magazine which will also be based on schools. I hope you enjoy looking at my site and I will update it regularly!