OCR Media Studies – AS Level

Unit G321: Foundation Portfolio in Media

Preliminary Task, Log Book and Evaluation

Name: Hannah D’SouzaCandidate Number: 6827Center Name: St. Paul’s Catholic CollegeCenter Number: 64770

Set Brief - Print

Music Magazine – Production

Preliminary Task Progression, Log Book and Evaluation

Preliminary Task Progression– EvidenceFront Cover-Step-by-step

I started of on the blank page with the St. Paul colours at the top. I inserted a barcode from the internet and added the date and issue number.

Then, I inserted a St. Paul’s logo at the top right hand corner as a USP. I also visited a website called ‘dafont.com’ where I chose a font for my masthead, where I copied and pasted the font into two colours, Black and the colour of our school. I also typed out the strapline as evidence of a USP.

I inserted smaller images of the logo, along with social networking sites like facebook and twitter for promotion. I also added a blue shape which is the colour of the school and added the price with the logo on it. I added a maroon stroke effect around the price to make it stand out as well.

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3

I inserted my main image and typed up an anchoring headline for the front cover and duplicated it into two colours as well - Black and blue (colour of the School). I placed it over the body of the image, right above the barcode. I also added the school email and added a blue stroke effect around it to make it stand out. I placed it at the top, over the logo and masthead, so it is visible to the audience.

I added a promotion as a USP by inserting a maroon shape with a WHSmith logo and with a white outline to make it stand out. I also added a Spanish flag to go along with one of the stories at the top of the magazine.

Finally, I added cover lines around the main image and added a maroon stroke effect around it. I also added to pictures to engage the audience more, visually and downloaded a picture of a book from the internet for the cover line about the library books. Furthermore, I added a light yellow background to give the magazine some colour.

Step 4 Step 5 Step 6

Preliminary Task Progression– EvidenceContents Page-Step-by-step

I started of with a blank page with the top of the contents page with two merged lines of blue and maroon. I duplicated over the logo of the magazine and added social networking links like facebook and twitter right beside the page number that I also added.

I dragged the black masthead from my front cover and reduced the size to save time. I did this with the school web address as well. I then took a screen grab of my front cover and inserted it onto the right hand side of my conents page. I then used the same font as my masthead and wrote ‘Contents’ in big to make it clear to the audience.

I dragged the main headline and reduced the size as well to save time. Then, I wrote out my editors letter on word so that I didn’t make any mistakes and inserted it on the contents page. I also inserted my signature and wrote out the editors details and placed it below the editors letter.

Step 2Step 1 Step 3

I then added four maroon boxes as sub-headings so that I can categorise my contents. I copied the logo and placed them on the boxes to make it look professional and labeled the categories as well. This was simple to achieve as all I had to do was link the layers, duplicate them and adapt the text inside.

I then dragged the competition from the front cover as well to remind the audience of the magazine promotion inside the fist issue of ‘Maroon Monthly’.

Finally, I added the contents of my magazine in chronological and numerical order and inserted the two images from the front page to the contents page. However, I had to reduce the size to thumbnails as I ran out of space.

Step 4 Step 5 Step 6

Masthead: This is in big and has used the colours red and

white to make it stand out to the

audience.

Main Image: ‘Star Appeal’ (Richard Dyer) to promote the magazine to

a wider audience

Cover Stories: To give the readers an in

sight to what the content of the

magazine is going to be about.

Barcode, Date price and issue number

Strapline: This can be used as a USP as people might want

to read it because it says it’s the ‘World’s

greatest music magazine’

Images: These are used so that the

audience does not lose interest in the magazine with the

text available and also adds variety and

colour to it

Publisher Research-Q Magazine

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

This chart denotes that 31.7% of Q Readers are female, which is quite a small percentage compared to the 68.3% of males that are Q readers. The ABC1 profile pie chart show that 70% of the ABC1 profile are Q readers. It also shows the average percentage of the different ages that are Q readers. This shows that 35.5% of people aged 15-24 read this. Furthermore, 26.3% are aged 25-34, 19.8% are aged 35-44, 13.9% are aged 45-54, 3.1% are aged 55-64 and finally, 1.4% of people aged 65 or over.

This means that the target audience are males aged 15-24

Target Audience –

The target audience for Q magazine can be denoted as males and females aged 15-24 (Hartley), which has been established through the publisher research that I have completed. This is mainly because young adults would seem to be interested in the music this magazine covers as it features famous hip hop and popular music artists like Lady Gaga, Tinie Tempah and many more. This type of ‘Chart’ music is generally listened to by young adults this age. Hence, they would become the target audience. Katz’ Uses of gratification theory would state that this magazine would ‘inform and educate’ the target audience as they would be able to learn something about their preferred artist through the front cover and the double spread page in particular. They could also build a ‘personal relationship’ (Katz) with them as they could relate to some of the stories or interviews of some of the celebrities featured in the magazine. Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs would state that the magazine is aimed at ‘social climbers’ as they might want to improve their status by wanting to look more like the artists. For example, if the reader is a fan of Ashley Tisdale, they would buy the magazine, just to be like her. Furthermore, the socio economic needs in this publication would appeal to are the ‘B’ and ‘E’ category which include teachers, creative and media people. Also, unemployed people, students and casual workers. This is because these people would generally be interested in this magazine.

What is the USP of this magazine?

From the research completed into this media product and established music magazine publication, I think the USP (Unique Selling Point) is the use of imagery and the obvious and attached ‘Star Appeal’ (Richard Dyer) on the front cover. This is because some of the most famous artists all around the World are featured in this magazine and this use of ‘Star Appeal’ captures the target audience in wanting to read more about the magazine. The use of these non-verbal codes also widens the name of the magazine in many more places or countries because of this as more people would want to read about the world wide famous celebrities like Michael Jackson and Jay-Z. Another example of a USP is using a Puff (competition) to get the readers excited about winning tickets to see their favourite band, for example, “free Kings of Leon CD inside!”

Music Magazine – Genre research

‘Pop is still the king of the worlds music genres’

Source: http://musicandcopyright.wordpress.com/2010/08/11/pop-is-still-king-of-the-world’s-music-genres/

The two most popular music genres in terms of retail sales over the past 10 years are pop and rock. According to Music & Copyright, retail sales of pop music stood at US$7.4 billion in 2009, while retail sales of rock music stood at US$6.5 billion. In terms of revenue share, pop accounted for 29.2% of global music-retail sales last year, with rock taking a 25.7% share. The closeness of the two genres at the end of the last decade was also apparent at the beginning. In 2000, pop had a global sales share of 27.8%, with rock at 22.7%. Despite a difference in year-to-year share performance, the retail-sales decline of the two genres in the previous decade has been fairly even: For pop, retail sales decreased 27.7%, while retail sales for rock fell 22.1%. However, both genres outperformed total music-retail sales, which fell 31% in 2009, to US$25.4 billion, from US$36.9 billion in 2000.

Other Pop Magazines… We Love Pop is targeted at 13-16 year old girls obsessed

with music, celebrities, fashion and is chatty, funny and informed but never patronising or preachy. They update you on what's happening next with exclusive backstage access, photos & interviews. They also have unrivalled access to behind-the-scenes photos, exclusive interviews on the latest artists. We Love Pop is a monthly mag for pop loving teenagers, or anyone with very good tastes in magazines. “We have the best free gifts, the funniest interviews, the coolest fashion, ten gorgeous posters each time, a different celebrity agony aunt every issue and loads more general pop amazingness that you won’t find anywhere else. You won't want to miss it. So don't?” –We Love Pop Facebook page

The target audience for Billboard magazine are from the age 16 to 26 year olds. This is because the magazine focuses on the charts and many genres, including Pop. It doesn’t advertise gossip but focuses on the artists completely.

Conventions of a Music Magazine-Front Cover

Ident

Masthead: In bold big writing to make it stand out to the target audience. The verbal code ‘Top’ connotes the number one songs featured in the magazine. It therefore works well with the main image and the colour as well. The colour pink connotes feminism, which is appealing to the target audience which are teenage girls.

Main image: The technical code of a mid-shot of ‘Cher’ oozes ‘star appeal’ (Richard Dyer) to appeal to a wider range of audience. The image of her smiling and looking ‘Blissful’ gives teens a chance want to read it more.

Cover stories: These give the readers a chance to have a ‘sneak peak’ of what’s on the inside. The target audience may want to read about celebrity gossip. For example, “what Taylor Lautner wants from his girlfriend” and therefore might feel the need to buy this magazine to establish the answer.

Date and price: date, price and issue number help the audience know how often the magazine is produced (weekly or monthly) and how much it costs and this may lead them to subscribe to the magazine, adding to more copies being sold as a USP.

Heading (main Headline): This usually features the celebrity in the main image. It’s in big, bold letters and therefore stands out from the rest of the magazine. The colour, its printed in matches the colour of the dress, and therefore doesn’t look out of place.

The colour of the masthead, matches some of the colours used in the headline as is it the main colour of the magazine. It also works well with the target audience which are teenage girls aged 12-18

Something that is missing, which is meant to be a key part to the front cover is a competition to increase the amount of readers looking through and even purchasing the magazine. There is also a lack of synergy with well known social media products such as Twitter and Facebook, which may harm the magazines appeal across the media platforms and discourage viral marketing. This is something I will avoid discounting as I feel this is very important to include somewhere on or in the magazine.

Puff: The puff is usually a competition that helps promote the magazine by giving out free tickets/posters etc. By doing this, the magazine are promoting themselves as a USP and widening the number of purchases.

Editors Letter: This is a little paragraph written to the target audience. This ‘informs’ them what the magazine is about and features some of the main stories in the magazine. It also shows a picture of the editor, to increase publicity. The editors letter also follows Katz ‘Personal relationship’ theory as the audience is able to build a relationship with the readers.

‘Inside your mag’: This denotes a clear representation of the contents page as it is big bold letters and stands out from the rest of the page; therefore it’s eye catching. The colour pink also links to the main colours of the magazine.

The non-verbal code of the image of the celebrity in the main heading is generally shown in the contents page as well as the double page spread as it is the main article. The contents: These

demonstrate all the stories. pictures and articles that the magazine consists of . It has the page number and the title of the story so its easier for the audience to find what their looking for.

Cover story pictures are shown as well, so that it adds more colour and are easier for the reader to know what the story is about,, instead of them reading everything.

Conventions of a Music Magazine-Contents Page

The main image: This takes up half of the double spread page. It interests the audience as they don’t have all texts to look at. It usually links with most of what the article is about.

The heading: This is usually at the top of the page or through the middle of the page in other cases. It’s in big bold writing so that it stands out to the target audience. The colours used match well with the text, so it’s colour co-ordinated well.

Some elements of the text are highlighted in red. This is to add a bit of colour into the article, and interest the audience. The colour also matches the magazine headline at the top “girls give me”

Other pictures, of the celebrity featuring the magazine, so that the audience engage well with the article, and can physically see what it’s about instead of just reading through the text and imagining it.

The article also uses quotes from the celebrity to interest the readers, and help them have a connection with the celebrity. This technique is also a deliberate tactic by the institution to capture the readers attention and feed their need for the latest information and gossip.

The ident of the magazine on the double page spread so that the audience know what magazine it is and promotes the magazine as well.

Conventions of a Music Magazine-Double Page Spread

The stand first on the double page spread is present to make the introduction “stand” out from the rest of the interview and immediately capture the readers focus and attention, for example.

Publisher researchhttp://www.immediate.co.uk/brands/top-of-the-pops/BBC Top Of The Pops Magazine is the biggest-selling teen lifestyle title in the market, focusing on self discovery, self expression and the world of celebrities. Featuring the latest fashion and beauty, star gossip, real life stories and celebrity advice, the magazine brings readers exclusive and exciting content every four weeks.

BBC Top Of The Pops Magazine is published by Immediate Media Company London Limited under licence from BBC Worldwide who help fund new BBC programmes.

We bring our readers closest to their idols, because we’re the magazine that knows celebs the best. Every issue is packed with exclusive interviews and photos, as well as brilliant star advice and affordable fashion and beauty. We’re the friend our readers can rely on to give them confidence, make them laugh, and share all the juiciest gossip. And that’s why BBC Top Of The Pops Magazine is the UK’s biggest-selling teen title.-Peter Hart, Editor - BBC Top Of The Pops Magazine

Target Audience –

The target audience for Top of the Pops magazine can be denoted as females aged 12-18. I know this through the publisher research and I also found out that stereotypically teenage girls would seem to be interested in pop music this magazine produces as it features famous pop artists like Beyoncé, Little Mix and many more. This genre of music is generally listened to by teenage girls this age, hence, they would become the target audience. Katz’ Uses of Gratification theory would state that the target audience for this magazine would form a ‘personal identification’ with the magazine and build a ‘personal relationship’ with the celebrities featured, as well as by purchasing the magazine, they could relate to some of the life stories these artists and also want to be more like them. Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs would state that the magazine is aimed at ‘survivors’ as the target audience might want to know the latest information about their favourite band/ artist. The Socio-economic needs in this publication would appeal to students and creative media people like graphic designers as they would have the time and would be interested in reading about famous music artists because of their age and occupation. This readership won’t affect my target audience as I will be targeting teenage girls that are mainly in education. Furthermore, creative media people would want to read my magazine as part of their job so it wont affect them.

What is the USP of this magazine?

From the research completed into this media product, I think the USP is the use of imagery and ‘Star Appeal’ (Richard Dyer) on the front cover. This is because some of the most famous music artists all around the world are featured in this magazine and this use of Star Appeal captures the target audience in wanting to read more about the magazine. This marketing strategy also widens the name of the magazine in many more places or countries because of this as more people would want to read about the world wide famous celebrities like Beyoncé and Cheryl Cole. The other USP would be the use of promotions like ‘Win tickets to see One Direction in concert’ as this would interest the target audience and also the ‘One Direction’ fan base as they would want to see their ‘idols’ in concert.

Questionnaire resultsWhat gender are you?

Male

Female

What is your age?

20 or under21-3031-4041-5051-60

How often do you purchase music magazine?

EverydayOftenRarelyNever

What is the first thing that attracts you to a maga-

zine?Masthead

Main Headline

Cover picture

Promotions

Questionnaire resultsWhich music genre interests you the

most?Hip-hop

Pop

Rock

Dance

Electro

Other

Would you buy a magazine that is multi

genre?

Yes

No

Would you expect an editorial from the magazine ed-

itor?

Yes

No

What would encourage you to buy a music magazine?

Free DVD/CDFree postersCompetitionsOther

Questionnaire results

How much would you be willing to pay for a mu-

sic magazine?

Under £1£1-£2£2-£3£3-£4More than £4

What would discourage you from buying a music maga-

zine?

High pricesNo internet ar-ticlesLack of star appealBad layout of the front coverOther

Music Magazine Names

Brainstorm

Melody-Has a nice ring to it-Works well with the genre -Also fits the target audience

Harmony-Calm-Slow peaceful music-Girly audience

Swing-Energetic-Fun-Fresh-ModernI have decided to use ‘Melody’ as the name of my

magazine because it works well with all the conventions I need for my magazine. I have used a font style from ‘Dafont.com’

Conclusion

Overall, planning and research helped me learn more about the genre of the magazine

I created. It gave me an insight to what I needed to include to ensure I created the magazine specific to the ‘Pop’ genre. By

having ‘Top of the Pops’ as my magazine of inspiration, I was able to decide which conventions I would like to have in the

magazine I created. By creating a preliminary front cover and contents page

for a school magazine, I received more experience in using Photoshop for my final

magazine as well.