Creating a school magazine

For the preliminary task we were expected to create a school magazine front cover and contents page in Photoshop. Prior to this we had to analyse two existing school magazines to find out what was important to include. We also had to carry out research on a range of people to find out what they thought had to be included in a school magazine.

Audience ResearchContents Number of people

Images 11

Lots of colour 5

Contact details 10

Hyperlinks to websites

6

Lots of information 11

Dates of events 8

Issue date 4

Cost Number

Free 9

50p 2 (if fundraising)

£1.00 0

£1.50 0

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.

This magazine is going to be aimed at secondary school pupils (aged 11-18). The magazine will have to include a variety of aspects that will attract all of the ages, so it can’t be too complex, but not as simple as a primary school magazine. It will have to include relevant images and colour as well as an appropriate amount of text.

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

The Priory Buzz

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”

The main image of my magazine will include two students of different genders and of different ages, so that it’s clear that the magazine is for all ages in secondary school.

Main cover line:What will be the main story?

What the Head teacher and students have to say about no school uniform.

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

The school logo will be featured on the front cover, as well as the main image and images to match with stories that will be talked about.

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

a list of upcoming events with stories and photos of the pervious years that these events have taken place. Big changes being made to the school will be announced in the magazine first.

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

The style of the front page will be school-related, so will involve a font that looks like handwriting and will feature lots of colour to make it look more exciting (the colour scheme will relate to the school).

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

The background will be white because there will be plenty of colours around the rest of the magazine, so I don’t want it to look too messy.

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

Bright lightingA sixth form student wearing a suit and a lower school student wear regular school uniformBooks

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.

Why you picked main image

I chose the image below as my main image because it features a student from the lower school and a student from sixth form laughing together. However, I think it would’ve been better to include a boy and a girl to make it even more diverse.

How you changed one image

To change the original image, I edited the exposure and contrast of the image to make the background brighter. I did this by clicking on the image and using the exposure and contrast tool on the left hand side. I also erased two of the lines on the background using the eraser tool. I faded the bottom of the image down by clicking on layer> layer mask>reveal all, then clicked on the gradient tool and dragged a line down the image.

What have you learnt?

During this task I’ve learnt how to use a number of tools in Photoshop such as the: gradient tool, magic wand, magic eraser etc. I’ve also learnt what people expect to see in a school magazine.