OCR Media Studies – AS Level

Unit G321: Foundation Portfolio in Media

Preliminary Task and Log Book

Name: Noah AshworthCandidate Number: 6102Center Name: St. Paul’s Catholic CollegeCenter Number: 64770

Set Brief - Print

Music Magazine – Production

Preliminary Task Progression and Log Book

Preliminary task

Preliminary Task Progression– Evidence Front Cover Step-by-step

Step 1: This stage I began adding the ruler lines to my background page, I have chosen the colour scheme of maroon and light blue because these are the colours of my college uniform.

Step 2:This stage I added in the main picture for the magazine and using the magic wand tool and the quick mask tool, I removed the background of the picture.

Step 3:Here I added the masthead of the magazine “marked in” using a unique font, also I added the strapline, date and issue number these are conventional things will all magazines.

Step 4:In this stage I added more conventional items, barcode, online links (website, twitter and Facebook logos).

Step 5:Here I added the main headline, I decided to do this in bold contrasting colours to draw more attention to it and to the picture behind it.

Final stage:In the final stage of the construction of this product I completed it by adding the secondary stories around the main image using the pen tool to make them fit neatly around the main image.

Preliminary Task Progression– Evidence Contents Page Step-by-step

step 1:Here I started by adding the ruler lines, I will be using them in the construction of the page to make sure all the items I place in will be perfectly aligned.

Step 2:Here I added in the boxes that will be the hedders for the columns showing the contents. Also I added the name of the magazine while using the same colour scheme I used in the front cover for continuity.

Step 3:In this step I added a jpeg of the front cover this is conventional with other magazines of this type.

Step 4:Here I added the online social networking logos (twitter and Facebook) and the website link, this has the purpose of making the magazine more appealing to the audience because of increased availability.

Step5:In this step I added the editorial, the purpose of the editorial is to build a personal relationship with the readers. Using the pen tool I made the text fit around the editor picture.

Step 6:Here I added the final touches to this piece of production work, numbers (in the same colour scheme to ensure continuity) andSecondary stories.

Research

Music Magazine – Genre research“The Q brand has developed a worldwide

reputation as a trusted and premium quality

voice of musical authority amongst fans,

musicians and the music industry alike”

Q magazine statistics

Established Magazine for my Research

This magazine could be made better by adding more examples of cross media convergence like a social network link and by adding a website address so that the magazine will have a higher availability to the public, both online and in store.

USP: People want to know what the “100 most shocking moments are”. This cover line entices the potential readers and builds interest in the magazine.

Humor: draws in potential readers and makes the cover more fun.

Star appeal: Lady gaga is a well know popular influential artist liked by many people, this will make people want to know what Q has to say about her.

Masthead: this clearly shows the name of the magazine.

Strapline: makes the magazine more “edgy” and appealing

Target AudienceThe target audience for Q magazine can be denoted as 16-30 year old males (Hartley) who can build a ‘personal relationship’ (katz) with the artists and bands displayed in the magazine as they are well known popular performers, for example “Lady Gaga”. ‘survivors’ (Maslow) are the main readers of this magazine as they don’t present any new and radical performers they stick to the well known artists, for example “The Gorrilaz” . The socio-economic needs of the main reader are A, B, C1 because of the wide range of music the institution cover, which draws a wide range of readers from different social standings.

What is the USP of this magazine?From the research completed into this media product, I think the USP is that Q is one of the only magazines on the market to present such a wide range of music in one magazine this means that the magazine will appeal to every person in some way at one time or another. Q contains a unique and well balanced sense of humor which makes the magazine more reader friendly and allows the reader to relate to the magazine easier which makes the reader more likely to buy the magazine again. Another example of a USP that is presented on most covers for Q is an element of ‘star appeal’ for example on this cover Lady Gaga.

Publisher research

Source: http://magazines.bauermediaadvertising.com/magazines/detail/Q

According to the information provided by Q magazines Publisher website, 68.3% of the readers on this magazine are male with 31.7% being female.35.5% (the largest percentage) of the readers of this magazine are between the ages of 15 and 24. This connotes that the

Front covers and language of theses magazines are targeted at a younger audience.

70% of the readers are in classed as either A, B or C1 in the socioeconomic needs profile. This connotes that the main readers for Q have a middle to upper class social standing. This also connotes that the magazine is targeted at people with high power jobs for example doctors or urban professionals.

Why I have chosen this sub genre I have chosen this particular sub genre of music to use as research inspiration material because I personally listen to this genre of music “Rock/alternative rock”. Therefore I will be trying to construct my magazine while trying to involve the conventions I have identified from this preliminary research. “KERRANG!” magazine will be one of the main inspirations for the construction of my magazine because I am a long term consumer of this magazine, therefore I feel that I have a great understanding of its conventions.

Conventions of a Music Magazine

Star appeal: Well known very popular band links the magazine to the genre.

Verbal codes: By saying “The return of” encourages past fans to buy the magazine.

Puff: Special/promotional offers entice people who are fans of masters of noise to buy the magazine for the posters

Verbal codes: Adds interest, people want to know what the exclusive is.

Loud color scheme stands out, making the cover conform to the stereotype of rock music being very rebellious.

Target AudienceThe target audience for Kerrang! magazine can be denoted as 15-24 year old members of both sexes (Hartley) who are entertained by the magazines ability to ‘inform’ (Katz) it’s readership of the latest bands and artists displayed in the magazine, for example “My Chemical Romance” and “Attack! Attack!”. ‘explorers’ (Maslow) are the most likely readers of the magazine as this is a very unorthodox and under publicized genre of music, which would appeal to ‘explorers’ as the rebellious nature of the magazine is something that would definitely draw in a pass along audience.Research into this magazine suggests that readers are from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds varying from A to E because it uses a variety of literary techniques and humor that appeals to all groups across the socioeconomic spectrum.

What is the USP of this magazine?In binary opposition (Levi Strauss) to the more mainstream music publication of Q, I think the main USP is the fact that it is a unique media product that offers a unique look into the world of rock music with it being one of the only music magazines to explore this genre in music. Each Kerrang! issue offers a wide range of special offers with the opportunity to win different pieces of rock memorabilia that would be unavailable anywhere else, which along with the cover lines denote enticing verbal codes such as “Exclusive” to capture the attentions of the readers on the magazine shelf . Kerrang! adheres to the stereotype of rock music being very rebellious, which in turn appeals to teenagers and young adults who are in what is considered a very rebellious stage in their lives. Finally, other features of the magazine that would appeal to the reader and offer something unique over it’s competitors are, the puffs offer experiences that can not be found else where also the offers of free magazine which would be hard to find in any place other that this magazine.

Publisher research

Source: http://magazines.bauermediaadvertising.com/magazines/detail/kerrang

Both sexes read Kerrang! in a relatively equal amount with 54.7% of readers being male and 45.3% of readers are female.

This data denotes that the largest percentage (56.1%) of the readers were between the age of 15 and 24 because the magazine appeals to this particular audience in a way that it is considered very rebellious and different, at this stage in peoples lives this is what they strive to be.Only 51% of all readers are in the A, B or C1 socio-economic needs profile, which connotes that Kerrang! is enjoyed buy a variety of different social classes, from the upper classes to working class people.