Evaluation - Preliminary Task

Evaluation of my preliminary task: school magazine

The masthead of my school magazine front cover is named ‘heads down’ which relates to the theme of the magazine. It is relevant to the target audience if the magazine, students, and conveys the working ethics of school. I have incorporate a bold white font which stands out from the maroon coloured background making the mast head easily visible to passing students who might be interested in purchasing the school magazine. The tagline under my masthead says ‘ the official school magazine’ which tells the audience that the magazine is the real news of what is going on in the school rather than rumours that linger throughout the playgrounds and social areas of the school.

The layout of my magazine has been produced to follow the ‘route of the eye’ concept. The first thing that becomes apparent to the reader is the large masthead, tagline and logo and the top of the page. The central image is then seen by the reader followed by the cover lines on the left hand side of the page. The image of school development would usually be the last thing looked at by the reader. I feel that the layout I have created has made the magazine appealing to the eye and easy to read. The layout of my contents draft is fairly basic but relates to the front cover with the maroon coloured edging and the way the images are positioned on the page.

The language I have used in my magazine speaks to the audience or addressee. I have things like ‘get to grips’ and other words such as ‘guidance’ which are the positive words students would want to hear on a magazine cover.

The colour scheme I selected for my magazine was burgundy, dark blue and white. I think these colours work well together, they don’t seem to clash and the white text I have used doesn’t contrast or clash with the background it is on. The colour scheme also relates to the school colours and the logo is also created to the relevance of the house style. This gives a clear image to the reader and audience that the magazine is their official school magazine. The colours aren’t to bold which would makes the magazine look more sophisticated, it would also look unprofessional if the colours clashed and were to bright and bold.

I think I have addressed the audience throughout this task as I have used the correct media conventions in my school magazine Front cover and contents. These conventions I have used relate to the audience, mainly students, mainly through language in the masthead and cover lines. I feel my magazine looks more formal than informal as the layout isn’t saturated with too much information making it harder to read. The colours also assist to this as they aren’t to bold and they make the magazine look more sophisticated.

Throughout the preliminary task I have gained a good understanding of research, analysis, planning and product skills. Throughout my research and analysis of school magazines I understood how school magazines differed to other genres of magazine for example music or sporting magazines. I also gained an understanding of what sort of language was used to address the audience. Through producing my magazine I understood how to make a magazine look more professional and various layouts I could incorporate.

Preliminary Task - Production - Front Cover and Contents

Preliminary Task - Planning - Template

Preliminary Task - Research and Planning - Annotation(2)

The Masthead portrays the target audience of the magazine as ‘S: Cool’ is a upbeat name and is used in a clever context using the word ‘cool’ and an ‘s’ to create the sound of school. The masthead is a sans-serif font in black bold writing with a gold edging.  This could convey the magazine is quite classy.

The cover lines are written in a similar font to the title which shows the producer has used and created a house style specific for their magazine. This helps the magazine look a lot more professional and tidy.

The magazine has a central image of a girl sitting on a bench and it covers the whole of the front page. I feel the image is appropriate to the topic of a school magazine as it shows a student reading up on information which suggests a working vibe. I also feel the image works well as none of the cover lines and the mast head blend in with the background of the image.The image has used the rule of third which gives plenty of space for cover lines to be inserted around the image. The image is taken at a mid-shot to show her sitting down on the bench.

The magazine doesn’t particularly use the route of the eye clearly but do show some aspects of the producer trying to use some aspects of route of the eye.

The magazine has the date in the bottom right hand corner and relates to the pervious fonts used on the front cover. However the numbers seem to be difficult to read and could be mistaken for issue 1 or issue7. To overcome this problem numbers could have been typed in a different font.

The elements the producer has used are a Main mast head, Cover lines and central image and the creation of a house style.

I think that the magazine the person has created is fairly basic. The person uses the typography fairly well making the fonts clear and appropriate colours in contrast to the background. The fonts are fairly bold which make them stand out and easier to read.

The layout of the magazine is fairly spacious. I think for a magazine it’s too spacey and quite bland, it needs more cover lines or possibly more cut out images with captions. It would assist to making the magazine more realistic in comparison to other magazines on the market. It would also provide the magazine with a variety of extra conventions.

The language used on the magazine is fair basic and easy to understand she uses a unique way of portraying the word ‘school’ into S: Cool.

The Masthead of the contents page is the same font to what’s on the front cover, they have also used a similar colour scheme to what is on the front cover. This shows the producer has thought about a house style for their magazine and suggests they will portray this house style throughout the magazine. The contents have the different page numbers and what themes are introduced on the pages. She has used the colours white and black which contrast with each other depending on what colour it is on. She has used relevant images on the contents page that relate to the themes of the magazine as it connotes the work ethic. The master shot shows everyone involved in the image and portrays a friendly, co-operative working environment of the school.

Preliminary Task - Research and Planning - Annotation

The masthead of the magazine ‘Tell me, Tell me’ is a snappy masthead that portrays to the reader that other readers that read the school magazine want the latest gossip and news as ‘tell me, tell me’ suggests they can’t wait to receive the news.

Typography:  The magazine uses one font or fonts that are similar; this suggests they have a set house style to their magazine. The fonts the producer has used are san-serif fonts which are bold and eye-catching to the reader and audience.

Layout: The layout of the magazine does follow the route of the eye theory as you firstly look at the large masthead at the top of the cover. Your eyes then follow down to the central image of the girl. You then look at the images and cover lines on the left-hand side of the page; you then look along the bottom at the large text concerning GCSE results. The producer has placed the cover lines on the left-hand side as they then do not cover the central image and creates a neat finish to the front cover having the cover lines aligned. 

 Language: The producer has used alliteration in one of her cover lines for example ‘spacious, swanky and sophisticated’ the effect this give is that it emphasises the cover line and article and may lead to the audience/reader to want to read that article. The producer has also used positive language on the front cover such as ‘smiles all around’ and ‘chance to win’ this will also draw the audience and reader to want to read the magazine. It’s also a contrast to the majority of the media being negative in today’s society. The producer has used a good mode of address as they have put a good positive message across to the addressee.

Mise-en- scene:

She is dressed fairly casually in non-uniform this could suggest she was a 6^th form member. It isn’t clear where she Is in the scene but it could be a classroom or work area.

I feel that this magazine has been produced well when considering all of the aspects. The typography, layout, language, and colours have been used well. The magazine looks realistic if it was compared to a magazine which is on the market or to another school magazine it wouldn’t be far off looking professional.  To improve the magazine the producer could have incorporated a tagline to inform the reader a bit more and give a little more information the magazines contents.

The magazine has been produced to look fairly professional and has been made to look like a school magazine. Various elements such as the barcode, school logo and the cover lines suggest this.

The producer has looked at colours and consistency on the front cover as the producer has used the same font type and font colours such as white and silver. The font sizes are the same for the cover lines the producer has used. This shows the that they have thought about a house style for their magazine