Log book

OCR Media Studies – AS Level

Unit G321: Foundation Portfolio in Media

Planning & Research

Name: Thomas Spink Candidate Number: Center Name: St. Andrew’s Catholic SchoolCenter Number: 64135

Set Brief - Print

Music Magazine – Production

Preliminary Task Progression and Planning & Research

Section 1) – Preliminary Task

Preliminary Task Progression– EvidenceFront CoverStep-by-step

The first thing that I did when it came to designing my prelim task front cover, was to use the ruler tool in order to set the layout of my page and where things will placed on the page.

The first things that I added to the page was the general features. This included the social media, Facebook & Twitter, and a web address. I also included brand recognition in the top left hand corer with the St-Andrews badge. I also used a barcode to add realism to the page.

I then added arguably the most key component to the page which is the cover star image of a student called Zak Winsall. This gave the magazine relatability for the students and created star appeal.

Once the cover star had been added I went about the process of using the pen tool to shape where my cover lines will go around the image. This gave them more shape and a nicer, more professional look. I then wrote up the cover lines, in the same font and text as the others to jeep up with the house style of blue and yellow I wish to deploy.

At this stage I had almost finished however I felt that something was missing form the page. It then struck me that I needed borders on the page to fill white space and add more colour to the page. As a result I added the blue and yellow border to the page. The blue and yellow conformed with the colour scheme I want to use.

The final things added top my page was the main headline and the puff promotion. The main headline was done boldly and in the dark blue to make it stand out and match with the rest of the page. Also, the boldness of it means that it could attract the audience to want to pick up the magazine. The puff promotion adds something different and attractive to the page for the reader. The box it is in is St-Andrews blue with the text being the yellow seen in the school badge.

Preliminary Task Progression– EvidenceContents PageStep-by-step

I started my prelim task contents page in the same way that I started my front cover. I used the ruler tool in order to make the basic layout of where things will be placed on the page.

I then added the boxes for where the headings of each section for the magazine will be going. I made them blue to keep with my house style. I also added St-Andrews badges to create brand recognition for the page.

As time went on I then added a blue & yellow border to the page as well as yellow border at the bottom of then page. The headings were added to the blue shapes. I then added the magazines title to the top and bottom border, again helping to create brand recognition. I have also included the This included the social media, Facebook & Twitter, and a web address.

I have now added the stories and their sublines under each section, showing the reader where each story will be in the magazine. As well as this I have added in an image of the front cover as brand recognition and a space filler. I have also added issue details to the page and a blurb indicating a good story inside the magazine. With the yellow text, keeping to the house style of the magazine.

Now I have added in social media aspects to the page, with the stereotypical social media advertisements such as # and instructing readers to follow the magazine on social media.

The page is now completed. I spent the final session completing my editorial including the signature, editor picture and details. I have also added another image of the cover stat ‘Zak’ for star appeal as well as given the blurb and image to go with it, adding more detail to the page. Finally I have added extra images such as sporting equipment and a coffee mug to support my stories.

Section 2) – Log Book

Music Magazine – Genre research• Music magazines are usually released monthly although some magazines release copies every week. Q Magazine for example has released 339 copies to date.

They release one copy every month and have been doing so since October 1986. • In order to construct a music magazine you must follow the steps as shown below:

Date of publication – the first step of creating a magazine is to set up a date of publication. The date of publication is the date that the magazine will be released as a finished product. Once this date has been established, a schedule is then operated around in order to complete the magazine by the release date. This schedule will include a detailed plan of how everything will be completed as well as deadlines for tasks to be completed by.

• Managing the schedule – this is an extremely important step that you should not take for granted when it comes to the production of a magazine. If you want your magazine to be produced successfully then you must properly manage the schedule. Your schedule should be made in such a way that there are provisions for certain mishaps so that even when these mishaps occur, you can always meet the deadline. This is the reason why a proper management of the schedule is very vital.

• Editorial and budgetary decision – the next step that is taken during the production process of a magazine is the editorial decision. The editorial decisions involve the magazine’s editorial team assembling and deciding what topics will be covered in the next issue of the magazine. Here, the editorial team basically talks about the various contents that will make up the magazine.

• Content Acquisition – the content acquisition process is the most important step because without content we simply cannot have the magazine in the first place. There are two ways that content can be gathered for a magazine. The first is through in-house staff writers and the second way is through external writers that are commissioned to write on topics that are specialist in nature. It is at this stage that artwork and graphics are also worked on. At this stage too, a lot of research is made by journalists or reporters into the topics and events being covered.

• Sub-editing – this is the next step to be taken. Sub editing focuses on one major thing, which is quality control. This step involves the following important things:

• Checking of the accuracy of all facts in the articles• Making sure that words are properly spelled• Making sure that grammar and punctuation are used correctly• Making sure that all articles follow the house-style• Working on the page layout• Page Layout – in big publications, there is a special team responsible for page layouts called the layout staff. Their job is to typeset and layout the various

pages that come together to make the magazine. It is at this stage that adverts from advertisers are placed into the content.• Proofreading –. The editorial department will print out a hardcopy of the magazine for the sole purpose of reading through to find and correct any mistakes in

it. Any mistake that is spotted is quickly corrected on the DTP file. The editorial team keeps proofreading until every member is satisfied that all mistakes have been corrected.

• File emailed to printer –It is at this point the popular term ‘pre-press’ comes in. Pre-press is defined as the process of checking to make sure that you are sending all the fonts and images needed for the magazine with your file. Once this stage is over, the printing company takes over. But before the printing company prints the hundreds or thousands of copies requested by the publication, the company first prints a few copies and sends them to the publication’s editor for checking once again. If the editor is satisfied with the printer’s proofs, then the green light is given to the printer for mass printing to commence.

• Distribution – this is the last stage of the entire process. The printing company, having finished with the printing of the magazines will package them neatly and send them to a warehouse. From the warehouse, the magazines are then distributed and then sold to the public.

Established Magazine for my Research

The strap line here is saying ‘THE WORLDS GREATEST MUSIC MAGAZINE.’ By using terms such as ‘THE WORLD’ and ‘GREATEST’ it conveys to the potential buyer and reader of the magazine that it is a quality product and endorses the magazine it self, possibly attracting more sales.

The magazine has cleverly used a pale white background to make the clothes and hair of the artist on the cover stand out. His dark hair and dark coloured top are of stark contrast to the white background, bringing notice to the cover artist and attracting people to look.

There is no barcode on the front cover which allows more space for the artists picture and conversions to be shown.

The main image on this issue of Q magazine is Paulo Nutini. He is a famous star in the music industry and is currently a very popular artist . Having him on the cover gives the magazine star appeal which makes it more attractive to customers, especially those who are fans of him or that genre of music. Part of the main headline also says ‘Peoples Champion’ which has connotations of popularity and also somebody who everybody loves or is going to love. The word champion also has connotations of success which not only represents the artist but puts the message in the heads of customers that this magazine is successful it self

The cover lines on this front cover really stand out and are very aesthetically pleasing. This is due to the vibrant and range of colours used. This is done to help them stand out from the rest of the cover and help to catch peoples attention. However they are of a different font size as to not steal the attention away from the main headline.

Target Audience – Katz, Maslow, Hartley and/or socio-economic needsI believe that based on the research that I have collated the target audience for Q magazine would be denoted at people of all races and both genders, with the age of people reading it raging from teens to young adults (Hartley). Evidence of this can be found on the Q website as it shows how the majority of the readers (35%) range from the age of 15-24. I feel this is because the music that is talked about in Q is very current and trending. This then would appeal to younger people as younger people are usually more inclined to want to follow the latest trends for music which would make Q magazine appealing for them. It would also be suited to countries and nationalities that speak the English language as the text is written in English and so people who do not understand or speak English would not be suited to the magazine. I feel that its gratification would be in the section of Inform & Educate (Katz’).

What is the USP of this magazine? The Unique Selling point of Q magazine is the prestigious artist on the front cover. I think that this is the USP because this is what attracts people to buy magazine. This could be due to the fact that it gives the magazine star appeal and so people are inclined to buy it as they see some one famous. The famous person could show that the magazine is a quality one as someone famous is modeling for the cover. Also if the customer is a fan of that artist they may wish to buy it in order to find out more about them.

Publisher research• Q is published by Bauer Media, a media company that manages a portfolio of

magazines, digital products, radio and TV stations in local markets across the world.

• Q mainly focuses on up and coming/well known rock and roll artists . Therefore their target audience are people who enjoy reading about rock music. Readers are mainly teens/young adults aged 15-25, and have enough money to buy the magazine each month.

• Q magazine has a circulation of 48,353 copies distributed in January-July 2014. The magazine also has 339,000 readers.

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

http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/brands/q

Conventions of a Music Magazine

The background of this magazine is white. This is effective as due to the artists dark skin it allows him to stand out more, catching the eye of the buyer.

There is a barcode on the front cover which allows the customer to view the website of the magazine and also see the price and issue number.

The main image on this issue of VIBE magazine is Kendrick Lamar. He is a famous star in the music industry (HIP-HOP rap) and is currently a very popular artist . Having him on the cover gives the magazine star appeal which makes it more attractive to customers, especially those who are fans of him and his music. Part of the main headline also says ‘THE NEW GOD’ which has connotations of popularity and also somebody who everybody loves or is going to love. The word ‘GOD’ also has connotations of success and power which not only represents the artist but puts the message in the heads of customers that this magazine is successful it self. Also God is all powerful which could show to customers that like the artist and God this magazine is all powerful and therefore the best.

The cover lines on this front cover really stand out and are very aesthetically pleasing. This is due to the range of colours used. This is done to help them stand out from the rest of the cover and help to catch peoples attention. Red and black stand out from a white background, much like the cover artists skin, which allows the cover lines to catch attention and become noticed by the reader. However they are of a different font size as to not steal the attention away from the main headline.

Target Audience – Katz, Maslow, Hartley and/or socio-economic needsThe target audience for name of magazine magazine can be denoted as people from the ages of 16 to 30. this is because the genre of music for vibe is current R&B and rap. Music like this is usually only listened to by people of a younger generation and so they would be the people more inclined to buy this magazine. I think that it would also be targeted at people of an African American race as most rap and R&B singers of a black ethnicity and so that would appeal more to the people of that ethnicity. I do not think however that religion has anything to do with it as unless the music is forbade in certain religions then people of all religions could listen to it and so would be interested in buying the magazine. Again like most magazines produced in the U.S or the U.K it is for people of an English nationality as the text is written in English and so people of a foreign language would struggle to understand what was being written about in the magazine. Also people of a foreign country may also listen to different artists and may not know who people on the cover of VIBE actually are.

What is the USP of this magazine? star appeal for the magazine and so people who like the artist will be more inclined to purchase a copy of the magazine. As well as adding star appeal, the way the artist is made to stand out it creates a aesthetically pleasing aspect to the cover that catches the eye of a potential buyer and even if they do not like the music could make them interested to learn and possibly get into the genre of music.

Publisher research

• The chosen genre for inspiration is R&B and the magazine I have chosen to research is VIBE. This is because it is a very current and popular magazine for the R&B genre and I feel it will help e produce the most realistic and best piece of coursework possible for my magazine front cover.

• Facts and research about VIBE• VIBE magazine was first published in 1993 and is owned by • The publishing company for VIBE is • Since its first issue VIBE has sold copies • It has published issues of its magazine and is released monthly with the latest copy having been released

on the (from date which I wrote this entry to my planning)• It has made $ through its sales