Toby Penny

Task Brief

For this task I have been asked to create a front page and contents page for a school newspaper. I am going to stick to using the main colour scheme of the school which is Red, White and Black. I will use Red White and Black throughout the project and any other colours I use will be used to make the particular thing stand out. I am going to use Photoshop for everything in this project. I used Microsoft PowerPoint to analyse the two school magazines, present the audience research and to analyse my school newsletter.

Having a picture of the head

teacher next to a piece of text

shows that he either wrote

the text or endorsed the text.

This automatically makes the

text more legitimate and

people will trust it more.

Ofsted decide whether a

school is good or not and is

truthful so by displaying the

Ofsted logo and the results

shows they are very proud of

the results

The School logo is

displayed so the school

becomes easily

recognisable like a

business/ company.

Important information is

highlighted in bold so it

stands out clearer than

the other text in a large

paragraph.

Heavy in text and lots of

information is provided

Bullet points point out

important things in a short

and quick way so people find

out vital information.

Edition number and date so

people know that the

newsletter/magazine they are

reading is valid and in date.

Colour scheme matches: it is

a blue and white theme

which is consistent

throughout the newsletter

Clear and professional

looking font which, the

same as the colour scheme

stays consistent throughout

the magazine/newsletter.

The word Newsletter is the

biggest font on the page

because people will already

know which school it is but

they will need to know

automatically that it is a

newsletter

A colour scheme isn't as

consistent throughout as the

previous newsletter because

there are random colours on

each box however this

makes it stand out more

There are images

based on the theme

of the box, so if you

are looking for

something in specific

you can easily

recognise which

each box is about

The date means

parents can be sure

that the edition of the

newsletter that they

are reading is the

most up to date

version.

Each box has a different

colour border so it is very

vibrant and stands out. From

this I can tell that it is a

Primary school newsletter

because

Clip art gives the

magazine a childish

and fun look which

shows that this is

for a Primary

School

Audience ResearchWhat do you expect to see in a school magazine? No.

Event information 3

Head teacher 3

GCSE Results 1

Images 4

Out of School activities/clubs 3

Advice 2

Contact Information 4

AS Media Studies Preliminary Task – School Magazine Front Page Proposal Form

Target audience: (age range, interests)Although it is a school newsletter you still have to think about your audience and how to appeal to them.

Year 7-11 School students with an interest of what’s happening in the school (e.g. extra classes or school trips) or parents who are interested in what’s happening in the school (e.g. rules of the school or school trips)

Possible title ideas: (masthead / title block)What is your magazine going to be called?

YourPriory

Main image:What will be the focal point of your front page, remember, your work “must include a photograph of a student in a medium close-up”

Shot of a student with their head over the top of the text. The image will be cut out round the edges so that it is visible on the gradient background.

Main cover line:What will be the main story?

Events coming up or currently happening in the school, also including information about the school. Example if it’s Christmas the magazine will be Christmas themed and talk about events like the Christmas fair.

Additional key images:What other images will be on your front cover?Remember, it is a school magazine.

Logos of associations linked with the school

Additional cover lines:Other features, stories or selling points which will be inside the magazine, these need to be audience appropriate.

Christmas concert

Typography: (style, size, colour of copy)Think about the writing and the style of the writing on your front page.

Big block letters with a different text box for each letter, white text

Background colour/image:What will be in the background, remember you don’t want to take the focus away from the main image.

Gradient background with lots of different colours. A vibrant colour is good because it

Technical considerations:(equipment, setting, props, costume, lighting)Be realistic and creative, think about what you have access to and how you could use it.

White background wearing the school uniform in a well lit area

Preliminary exercise: produce a front page and contents page of a school magazine. Front covers must include a

photograph of a student in a medium close-up with appropriately laid out text and use of an image manipulation

programme (Photoshop).

Below start to sketch what the front cover of your newsletter will look like.

Preliminary exercise: produce a front page and contents page of a school magazine. Front covers must include a

photograph of a student in a medium close-up with appropriately laid out text and use of an image manipulation

programme (Photoshop).

Below start to sketch what the contents page of your newsletter will look like.

Original Image

Manipulated Image

How I Manipulated The ImageI manipulated this image by taking an alternative photo of a smarter background and cutting out the person in the original image and pasting them in front of the new image.

I’ve written the words “Christmas Fair” in colours which stand out from the rest so that you know what the main article of the magazine is and it stands out clearly

Here I have made the colours match so that it looks like something which would be on the cover of every magazine, the colours of these boxes match with the colours of the logos

Here I have put a barcode and a price which makes it look like a real magazine which you would see in the shop

Here I have made the school logo appear behind the person, so it looks like she is standing in front of the logo, this is another example of the image being manipulated

Just like the first page I made the line talking about the Christmas fair a completely different colour to the others, and a colour that stands out so you know it’s the main focus of the magazine

I like this image because it shows two people during school and doesn’t look like a planned photo, it looks like it’s been caught off guard

All the text and the boxes here match in with the colour scheme of the school, this keeps it looking realistic and professional. Each line here has the same theme as the date and the issue number on the first page

What I’ve learned in this task

Most of the skills that I have learned in this task are within Photoshop. Prior to the task I already knew how to cut round an image to make the background transparent, but I learned how to tidy it up and make it look more professional by using the rubber tool, and also how to add the shadow effect. This is done with the Magnetic Lasso tool. I was already familiar with most of the tools on the program, however there are so many tools and there is still lots to be learned in Photoshop