School Magazine: Front Cover

Here is the front cover of my school magazine. I have chosen to use a photo which I have taken and manipulated so that the background is clear and I am able to use a background colour which was suggested in my survey results.

Magazine Photos

For my school magazine, I have looked at photography skills and how to take a good picture which will enable me to have a good cover image. During our class we used cameras to take photos which we then began to edit so that they were suitable for our magazines.

Here are some of our photos:

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

Analysis of Similar Texts

To further discover how to set out our magazines for full effect, we analysed the front covers of various school magazines and voiced our views about them.
The school magazine which I analysed was the 'Focus', from the Scotch Oakburn school:


Genre: I think that this is a 'school'magazine, which covers topics occurring in the school such as the 'new physical education center'.
Representation: The boys in the image are shown as successful, as they are running past students and smiling whilst the students try to reach out and touch their sporting heroes.
Audience: Although the image is of boys playing sport, which could possibly link it to males, the image has connotations of school success and therefore is suitable for anybody at the school and could also be interesting for parents and those visiting the school.
Values and Ideology: The title of the magazine 'Focus' links into the genre of the magazine, as focus is a word generally associated with schools. The title also suggests that if you 'focus', you will succeed.
Institution: I think that this magazine was made by the students for the students.
Language: The colours used on the cover are the school colours, obvious because of the emblem and sporting uniform also present on the cover. I think that the title is too small and although the colour is yellow, which should stand out, the font is not bold enough against the background image to make a statement. The tagline 'Creating the Future' is most likely the school motto, but it is in an illegible font, so cannot be read easily.

Front Cover Drafts

For my magazine cover, I have been experimenting with the arrangements of features such as the masthead, the sell lines and the image. Here are examples of the different concepts I have created for my front cover:

Although this is the layout which i generally associate with magazines, i am not sure whether i would like to use this draft for my magazine, as the sell lines will have to be short or some words might be cut of. 

I like this draft as it allows room for the image to attract the reader, but also enough room for the sell lines to be prominent. The masthead would also look good in this position as it would be bold and eye catching. 

I do not really like this draft, as the masthead would be in the middle of the page, which would make it harder for the reader to find the name. Also this draft is very separated and would look to split up rather than fitting together on the page.

I think that this is a good draft although i would be slightly worried about the masthead not being visible enough. 

Reader Profile

From my survey results I have been able to decide on a reader profile for my school/college magazine. My magazine will be aimed at any female students over the age of 16, which I have decided due to my survey results. Because I am aiming my magazine at this age group, my magazine will focus on 'Sixth Form', and link to my chosen title: 'The Sixth Form Social'. The readers of my school magazine will want to hear about local news, sport and music and will be willing to pay £1.00 for the magazine which will be released monthly.

Survey Results

By sending out my survey, i have gathered information which will help my to produce my school magazine, as i now know what to include in the magazine, and have an idea of the age group I am targeting.
Here are some of my results:

As well as multiple choice questions, I also asked for opinions from participants about colour schemes, titles and activities they are interested in.
Here are some of my responses:

What would you call a school/college magazine?

'Grammar Gazette'

The School Magazine'

'The Sixth Form Social'

What colour scheme would you most like to see on the magazine?

'School colours'

'Blue'

What activities interest you outside of school?

'News, Sport, Music'

'Music, Celebrity, Sports'

Survey

For my practice School magazine, I have decided to conduct a survey through 'SurveyMonkey' to find out what pupils from around my own school would like to see in my magazine. In my survey, I compiled questions which I thought would be helpful to me when producing my magazine, such as what information people would like to see inside and also what price they would consider paying. I will then use this feedback to produce a magazine which will appeal more to my audience.
Here is a link to my Survey:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RTN7LWH

1st Post

Hi, so welcome to my Media AS Blog which i will be posting work on for the rest of the year. For the course, I will be expected to produce a Music magazine, so you should expect to see my progress from making a practice School magazine to eventually my final magazine! Enjoy!
Alice