An Analysis of a music magazine: Rolling Stone

This is the latest issue of Rolling Stone. Rolling stone is a music specified magazine, other magazines which are similar in the genre are: Q Magazine and Mojo. These are similar, as these magazine all include information about cinema, film and television however, this magazine is heavily based on music. This magazine also features politics as well, which is unusual within the British music magazines. The musical genres vary from pop music (Britney spears) to Classic rock band (Led Zeplin) to country rock (Sheryl Crow), this is use full as is does not simplify the audience of the magazine, it widens the possible audience. However, one musical genre which isn't listen on the magazine front cover is any Trance musical artists, or any R'n'B musical artists, I feel the magazine is trying to widen their target audience, however not implying artists from them specific genres due to the fact, it's possible not the magazines ideology to do so. The stylistic features which identify the genre, the whole colour pallet over the splash, it's very grey toned i feel this shows the seriousness of the magazine which reflects how maybe they feel about music, that seriousness, that passion. This reinstates the idea of the magazine possible not displaying anyone commercial, an artist who they consider not serious about music on their cover and artists who obviously won't write they're own music however this could be undermined, for Britney Spears being on their front cover. The idea of the pallet also connects with the main headline as well as identifies the genre, which i believe is mainstream, so this includes any popular music as well as popular rock on the music scene, the musical artist reinstate this idea on the front page of the magazine: Britney Spears, Sheryle Crow, Led Zeplin and The Mars Volta.







The fonts used, reflect the seriousness of this magazine. The fonts are not sans serif font, they are serif fonts, and in capitals. Sans Serif shows the more serious side to the magazine, especially once they are printed in capitals. The whiteness connects with the story which reflects with the purity Britney Spears once had. It also creates the idea of realism within this magazine, the font is very basic and gender neutral which is very important as by doing this is widening the target audience to males and females.



The size of font varies, with the masthead being the biggest and boldest font which is a convention of magazines. The second biggest text on the page is the headline, which is again a convention of a magazine front cover, as it's to make the headline the next most noticeable text on the splash as it's the most important story within the magazine. The even smaller text on the splash is then name of musical artists and an actor towards the bottom, left of the page. This list is in small text, as it's not the most important features of the magazine, however they're there to spark more interest in the magazine as well to establish the type of music featured in the magazine. Using the same font size in the top right corner there is a plug displaying 'how the democrats screwed the anti-war movement,' this also informs the readers on other features in this magazine and also shows it's just as important to them as music is. It displays the idea of equality within their beliefs and values.





The colours of the font as basic white, this is a good idea as it is gender neutral and also it reflects the seriousness and this idea of Rolling Stone Magazine being very passionate about what's issued in their magazine as well as this connects with the main story 'inside an American Tragedy' which creates this idea of the text colour being respect full and almost reflects this feeling of mourning.

The main photograph used is of Britney Spears and is displaying direct mode of address: which to the audience is inviting and eye catching. There is not much make-up visible on Britney, i think the idea of this is the photograph relating to the main headline, how this is the naked truth, and how the story is not going to be sugar coated. If someone is photographed with their naked skin, it creates the idea of that person being open to the world and also makes the audience feel a certain trust is relied in them. The hair in the photograph is sweaped back off the face this also reinstates the idea of her being completely open, honest and seriously. She has a slight upset look upon her face which creates empathy for the reader, which then again, connects with the main headline.

The only photograph on this front page is of Britney Spears and seems dominating from a female prospective however, this seems to be outweighed with the mention of other musical bands which reinstate the reality of this being about music rather then another female magazine.

The splash it's self has been arranged to, i believe make the magazine as interesting and eye catching as possible. By using the image as direct mode of address and the headline on the right of her face, this automatically connects the relationship between Britney Spears and the main story: because it's about her. The idea of the headline being displayed over her face makes the connection stronger rather then the other bands which are places at the far left of her face and in smaller text. The masthead is at the top of the page and is the only section which is in a bright colour, this establishes the name of the magazine and automatically reinstates the ideology and the genre mainly through the iconography of the magazines name however, the rest of the information i believe is through the use age of photography editing and the the rest of the bands which are mentioned on the front page.

The masthead/ title of the magazine is 'Rolling Stone.' I believe this title was chosen due to the idea of how unstoppable a rolling stone is and how by viewing the stone as their beliefs about music and politics they basically won't back down publishing their views. In fact Rolling Stone when first founded had to overcome with a lot of criticism, critics calling the magazine 'Music for hippies.' The name gives the idea of security and passion, as their beliefs and values are hard to knock down. The name could also refer to the musical band 'The Rolling Stones' and how massive that band was could reflect the hopes for this magazine when it first started publishing.

The photograph reflects the idea of the masthead: how serious they feel about music. The way they've edited it, to make it black and white reinstates the idea of passion and the seriousness they feel to music, and have connected the idea of how serious they are about music; to the seriousness of the main story: Britney Spears, Inside An American Tragedy. The emotion showed on her face, is an upset, sad one: this creates empathy for the audience and again creates interest within the magazine. The angle of the photograph is eye level, this creates the idea of this person is just the same as any other person of the public or the audience, it's making the story a lot more personal towards the reader; it's creating the idea for just in this interview she is not above anybody, she is just human and telling you, personally, the story. The hair style is also brushed back, so it isn't in front of her face, this creates the idea of again, this main story is true, because she's open, she's not protected by anything not her make-up, nor her hair, this is the naked truth of Britney Spears. I feel the idea of the photograph just including her face makes the magazine a lot more personal, inviting and interesting for the reader.

I feel in the photographs, the person being represented is just you're average person. The idea of her being photographed with naked skin and hair brushed from her face makes Britney look open and due to this photograph looking so personal, the public and audience can see her vulnerability and the fact she is just a young girl. It allows the readers to connect with her, which sparks interest with in the magazine. It would be a different thing, i believe, if a rap artist is photographed with large cars and a lot of jewelery around their necks and long fur coats: it doesn't connect with the audience because the average working class family cannot connect with that certain person, which average working family do have the large expensive cars, large mansions are all the jewelry around their neck? The idea of the public seeing her vulnerability and the angle being eye level and the idea of status not even being involved with this photograph allows the audience to fully connect with the magazine. I don't believe it's saying much about the world appart from the fact we are all human, and at the end of the day everyone needs help from someone.

I believe the magazine, it's self is representing women as beautiful, determined however, sometimes vulnerable human beings. It doesn't at all, give the sense of one gender overpowering another, or the idea of the stereotypical women, or stereotypical man. It honestly just seems to focus on the artists and music, rather then one genre which has a stereotypical represented look.

I feel, this magazine is operating peoples interest who are interested in entertainment news, as just from the front cover there are actors also included as well as politics. The status quo within music seems to be, simple: write an album, create music videos for songs from the album, make guest appearances to promote your album and then do a tour (depending on how far your music reaches out) possibly a world tour, and they seem to repeat this and at the time of writing this Britney Spears was making world news, for all of the wrong reasons, she shaved her head in Feb 2007 and since this wasn't behaviour made by many other pop artists it broke the status quo which automatically created a lot of interest globally. It seems other magazines would be condemning breaking the status quo, whilst others promote it however from the front cover it just seems Rolling Stone want the public to know the full story rather then propaganda from other highly opinionated writers.

Rolling Stone is made by Wenner Media, this is a company specialised in entertainment and other magazines include US Weekley. The magazine makes it money by selling, and i feel by using these stories which spark interest within the audience then it will sell. Rolling stone focuses on popular culture and by focusing over popular the company are widening their audience. The audience is the most important feature of this magazine, as the magazine has to sell otherwise it wouldn't make any money. The title of Rolling Stone, is connected to the music group 'The Rolling Stones' and this creates the idea of if you know a lot of classic music, you are passionate about music and i feel this is what the masthead does to the audience. The problem with these magazines are, they're very expensive which i agree with: Rolling Stone magazine at Tesco supermarket is £3.95 which is really over priced in my opinion. therefore i wouldn't be surprised if Rolling Stone makes less money each year especially with the global economic. I feel the readers control the content of the magazine, in the back of magazines they include phone numbers and email addresses to the writers, by including these they are promoting the audience to write in and give their personal ideas which will help the magazine. The magazine's views aren't that independent as the main story headline is more about celebrity gossip rather then music, if a magazine is as passionate about music as Rolling Stone makes out to be, it seems wrong they're writing about Britney Spears' life, rather then her music: however, there was such a demand for the public to be in the know on what Britney spears was going to do next.

The contents page drafts

This is the first mock up of a contents page which i hand drew.

I included an editors letter, which is a personal read for the audience. It's nice for the audience to read such a personal statement, and also establishes a relationship between the editor and the reader.

There is a print of the splash with arrows displaying which page numbers the story is on in which the arrow is pointing at. This is mainly for the comfort of the reader, it makes it easier for the reader to just turn to the story in which lured them in to buying the magazing in the first place.

The contents list the numbers and whats on that page, underneath is the sub text; which in this case would basically inform the audience a little more on what the story is about. e.g The main story being: How easy is it to spot chlamydia?, and the sub text being 'Dr Grey gives his top tips on identifying chlamydia.'

The credits display the people's names in which help produce the magazine, some of the credits are in the front of the magazine, whereas all of the credits are printed in the back of the magazine. This is just being informative to the audience which also puts the magazine distribution in a good light.

Alothough this is a good plan which displays the conventions of a contents page, i don't believe i will be using this as my final plan. I feel it's not all in proportion and to be honest, doesn't look like a contents page.

This is another plan which i hand drew, i didn't include an editors letter in this one as i believe im targetting it for students, teachers and parents and some may feel it's slightley patronizing for someone writing a personal letter about education, however if it's just a Wyke college Magazine, instead of an editors letter it would most probably be a letter from the Head Teacher.

I have titled the page 'Contents' which simply tells the audience what this page is about, and gives it a name.

The page listings are in a long row on this splash, with the sub text always being underneath the Titles of the page and number listings.

On the right of the page are pictures, these will be the pictures which connect with the stories on that page. The page number will be layered over the picture. This is like a kind of contents listing however, instead with the contents being told with text, it's being told with images.

The credits are in a more realistic position, across the bottom with little height. The contets page wouldn't donate a lot of the page to the credits as most of the credits are printed at the back.

I really like the idea of this contents page, everything seems a lot more in proportion and i believe looks a lot better. I feel it's a different enough design for it not to be like any other, however it's still using the conventions of a contents page.

All good things, must come to an end!

This is my final magazine cover. It's been a long ride, but we finally got here, and I love my front cover! And now I will talk through it with you:


The image is slightly not what I planned, however im so happy with it. I decided to go for a more softer passion rather then an aggressive passion, it's a lot more comforting to the audience rather then in your face aggression. I still chose to have the eyes closed, I feel this shows the passion, but also shows how he's in another world when he sings. This again is allot more comforting to the audience and the fact that it's an action shot, with his mouth being wide open it makes it more personal, it's as if he's singing to the audience there and then, the neck straining also suggests he's midway through a note. What makes it a lot more personal is the use of the camera angle, this creates a performance feel to the image, as if it's taken from a member of the audience as he's stood on a stage. The T-shirt he's wearing is white, I feel this suggests this is a raw talent, it's pure, it's real. It creates a since of purity about him and it also seems to represent how he's open right now, he's not hidden beneath dark, black clothing, when he's performing he's out in the open: he's come out from hiding. The lighting effect which I edited in also backs this idea of him being out in the open, by these spot lights shining on him makes it visible for people to see him and what he's doing. I tinted the lighting red as I felt the connotations where important use on this photograph, with the connotations reflecting 'Brand new!', 'See him here, now!' and 'Red, Hot new artist!' It also gives the impression of him performing on a stage with lighting which reaches the audience on a personal level once again.


I placed the Headline central of the image and as I said in my planning, I layered the lettering so it really emphasised the word 'WYKE.' I felt the need to layer it, because I wanted to really emphasise the word but I also wanted to express the transformation through the process, you enter being pure and vulnerable thus the white, you then toughen up and start to be who you really want to be as an artist thus the black and you win, being the hottest new artist, thus the red. I feel the importance to tell a little story through the logo I created, even though it was inspired by 'The X Factor' logo, I feel I created mostly from my own ideas. I also wanted the lettering change from large font, gradually becoming smaller, because I wanted to emphasise the competition will start out big, they'll be a lot of people there, the competition will then start to get smaller and then resulting in only one winner, which the red font connects with. The last person being the 'Hottest, new artist out there!' The 'Factor' is coloured, half in white and half in black: I basically did this because against the background you couldn't see the word, in just one colour so I chose two colour which connected with the logo and also I fell connected with the model in the image: how the black, connects with the microphone and the white connects with his T-shirt, I feel this basically means that him and the microphone fit together perfectly like a word.


The subhead line I am also pleased with, I originally wanted the sub headline to be, singular lined and catchy however, it isn't a tagline which is what I failed to remember. I chose to use personal pronouns and rhetorical questions because they are inviting and welcoming to the audience, it includes the audience already without even having to buy it. I used the present tense in ‘As the auditions begin’ because, it’s again inviting to the audience, and they may feel lucky because they have just got to hear the ‘hottest gossip from the auditions,’ it seems like it’s brand new, just been written and they haven’t missed anything if you use present tense, that’s precisely why I wrote the text in red, however I wrote the rest of the text in an orange, I did this basically I want them to feel like to have ‘The WYKE factor’ it’s something different, and I informed the audience this by simply using a different colour, I did still want to have the original red connotations which I why I used an orange, it’s so close to red on the colour pallet scale as it is but it just had that different tint, which I was trying to get cross to the audience as that’s what their looking for, do you have that difference which we’re looking for? I underlined that bit of the text again, to make it seem different then any other text on that page, it’s a lot different to text already printed on there and that is the message I am trying to get across, these auditions are looking for different people.


The masthead, I feel is really good. I feel it’s the perfect size, it’s just big enough so It doesn’t fully dominate the page but it’s not too small at all! I wanted it to be one of the main focus points, as it’s one of the most important points about the magazine really. I’ve just simply used the college’s logo as I feel is iconographic and people know what it is already and also establishes the ideology of the magazine, I slightly layered the word ‘magazine’ over the logo, I did this to help establish that ‘This is Wyke’s magazine,’ it’s a way to inform the audience Wyke college is involved within this magazine. I didn’t want to put too much detail in to the magazine, as I didn’t think it needed it, it also compliments the front page as it’s neutral and you can’t stereotype a neutral magazine, it widens the target audience and doesn’t tie the magazine to one type of audience. I also didn’t want to take the attention from the college’s logo and this establishes the ideology of the magazine.


I placed a tagline above the word ‘Magazine’ in the masthead, I didn’t place it over Wyke’s logo as I wanted Wyke’s logo to be a main focus point as I said before, that logo establishes the ideology of the magazine. I wanted the tagline to be short and snappy so it was easy to remember and also backed the ideology of the magazine. I couldn’t have had the tagline ‘Where student gossip, is here first’ because this is an educational magazine it wouldn‘t be supporting the original ideology of the magazine, and it’s also targeted at more people then just students. I printed the text in small, bold and underlined text which I felt let it stand out enough without over powering the masthead. I wanted to do it underline and bold and it makes the text stand out enough with it being small already. Taglines, are usually used to fully establish the ideology of the magazine, and for me it was no exception I wanted to create my magazine using all the conventions which normal magazines do, and this tagline on my magazine makes it fully understandable what the magazine’s ideology is.


I have included three plugs at the top of the page, I finally created the right sized plugs, as it took me a while to fully create them right in proportion.

The first plug I coloured in a dark blue, I did this because of gender targeting however I used the darkness as it’s a more mature then baby blue, it also connects with the story, how the story is ’cold’ and ’shocking!’ because these plug are supposed to lure the audience into purchasing these magazines. I used a pull quote as a shocking statement, a pull quote has to be from a story within the magazine, the more shocking the pull quote the more shocking the story is bound to be. Pull quotes is a good technique to be used in plugs are it’s extremely tempting to read a story which included an extremely shocking pull quote on the cover, and to read the story you have to buy the magazine. I made the speech marks in the pull quote a much larger size then the rest of the text, I feel made it more shocking when you actually realise, this is a speech mark, this must be a true story! I also emphasised the words ’Heroine’ and ’Teachers’ by putting them in capital letters, I feel this is also a good technique as it draws the audience into seeing them two words first and already becoming shocked with the first two words they’ve read. I used a statistic in my pull quote, as statistics are highly believe able to the audience and easy to understand as well, it increases the story seeming even more realistic and shocking.

On my second plug, I used a dark purple. I again used this colour for gender targeting however used a darker colour to signify maturity. In this plug I used a rhetorical question, which is inviting and intrigues the audience as it makes them answer the questions in their heads. I used the last work Chlamydia is large, bold font. I did this because I feel this is the main attraction to this plug, as it is health related.

In my final plug, I used green. I feel this connects with my story as it connotated ‘GO!’ due to the green light in traffic lights. I used alliteration in this plug as I believe it’s short and snappy and easy to become involved within the story, and with the motivational educational driven story the green colour fits in well. I aimed to go for a darker green however, once again to focus on the maturity and the target audience.
I’ve created a kind of, By line at the bottom of my page, I wanted to created it really small as it’s not a necessary piece of information on my front page, it’s basically there for the audience’s feelings, I feel it makes the audience feel cared for, that then can email their problems with the magazine’s features, and we will accept their feedback and use from then on in our productions. I also used a website which can generate curiosity within the magazine as people who purchased the magazine can get news on the website as well, so by giving this information it’s making the audience feel well cared for which I think is important.


All together I really like my finished piece, I believe it’s worked out fantastic! However, if I were to do it again, I think I would have spent more time on planning and perhaps gather some feedback from valued media students who are perhaps doing the same exercise as me. I feel like I’ve really got stuck in to this exercise and have had fun doing it too!

Mock of front page

This is the mock up which i poduced used DP, this isn't the picture i will be using however, it's just a computerised plan of how im going to produce my finished product.

I'm not planning to have the lines around the boxes coloured black, i just wont have lines which will look alot better, as i feel it will look silly if i have boxe's around everything and it's not a convention which magazines use.

I have planned for my picture to be as large as that, because you might as well. If im planning for my picture to be the main focus point i might as well make it the main focus point. This image is going to be the first things people see when they look at this magazine so the conventions which follow the image will have to be perfectley placed, and im talking about the masthead above and the headlines.

I have kept my magazine front cover very basic as i don't want to just target students, i want to winden my target audience to parents and teacher so i believe by keeping the magazine neutral i am doing that, if i was to make the front page focus on 'Nights out,' i would only be targetting students. I suppose i could include puffs on my piece however, what competition is there going to be which will cater to both the parents and the teachers?

I like the idea of the healines being cetreal of the image, it seems to keep everything neat and tidy rather then messy and all over the place. By keeping them centeral it's helping the magazine make more sence, it's keeping it together; rather then plugs and puffs being any size and slapped anywhere over the splash.

I am overall very happy with my mock up of my magazine front page, and i am now focusing on this layout for my final piece.

Drafts of My Front Page, Hand Drawn.

These are my origional hand draw plans for my magazine front cover,

There are a lot of problems with this splash, one being the plugs at the top of the page are larger then the masthead it's self! This makes the plugs become a main focus point when in fact they arn't even that important at a first glance to the audience. By making the plugs larger then the masthead, i have broken a conventional rule of magazine front covers. The plugs need to be smaller as it's dominating the page, which the image, masthead and headline should be doing.

The masthead its a lot smaller then it should be, which is due to the dominating plugs at the top of the page. However i believe the 'Wyke College' should be most dominating as that establishes the ideology of the magzine, so this is a good point.

The image is, like i wanted it to be: the main focus point. The expressions which i would like to express are visable and the emotion of passion is very noticable. The idea of the model closing their eyes whilst screaming through a microphone definatley connects with the headline. The angle of the shot makes the model dominating, and it's asif the photograph would be taken at a performance, as if the performer is on a stage of some sort. The camera shot is perfect as it is a mediam close up, which is what the guidlines of this exersise. I also like the idea of a spot light being there, which exagerates the dominance of a good performer and also reflects the idea of passion within this image.

The headline however, isn't that good. It's very small compared to the image, which is what i want: however there's smaller, and just too small. I feel it doesn't have anything to do with the image, connection wise. By all means, the title reflects the image's story, however, it's too far away and pushed away from the image. This looks like it's not included within the image and looks more like it's to do with another story. It needs to be centered, not completley overlaying the image but only slightley, just so it looks like it's included. The WYKE isn't as emphasised as i'd like it to be, also 'The' and 'Factor' isn't centered between WYKE and isn't measured up properly.

There is a sort of by line, in which is bad because it's too big for the page. By lines are only supposed to be small and inform the audience of who's wrote it, who produced it etc. It's only supposed to be small and i feel it's almost the same size as my masthead which isn't a good thing.

One thing i don't like about this page is all of the proportions are wrong, and the masthead, the headline and the image are all squeezed too close together, where as the plugs and the by line take up most of the page. However there are a lot of possitive points, like the image which is exactly what i would like the image to be like if not more over powering.

This is the second hand drawn plan in which i produced, this is a vast improvement on my last one however there are still things which i am not happy about.

The Plugs are a lot more in proportion now then they where, they don't dominate the page anymore, they are nice little lure's which the audience will look at after the main focus point.

The masthead, is also an improvement as it's gained more of a focus point now, were as before it was tiny and too pushed together. It's important to make the masthead a mainfocus point, as most times the masthead establishes the magazines ideology.

The image however, isn't good this time. First of all the the image is shot in close up, where it should be shot in mediam close up. Also, the image is half cut off and i don't remember in my analysing of magazine front covers, ever seeing an image which has been cut off due to a subheading, the headline and subheading are suposed to be included within the image as the image is supporting the main story which is why it's the main focus point. The picture isn't shot at low angle unlike the other one either which i feel is really important as it establishes the dominance of the performer.

Another thing which i arn't happy about is the Headline, it's again really pushed into the left hand side where is should be slap, bang, large and loud in the middle of the image. Wereas i believe the subheading it larger then the headline. The headline should over lay the main image, which gives the idea of the main headline supporting the image and being included, the image should never be cut out for the headline. However, you can do this when your censoring an image so the audience has to buy the magazine to see the image.

The sub heading is again too large for the page, it's needs to be one lined short and snappy to party inform the audience on the outline of this mainstory. The image has also stopped above the sub heading which i don't believe is good, becuase it should overlay which gives the subheading involvement within the story.

The by line is also an improvement, however i still believe it's too big for the real thing. It takes up a lot more space then it should do.

This is the plan which i will be using to help produce my magazine front page, i feel this is all in proportion apart from some bits which i will correct on my real piece anyway.

The plugs are in perfect propotion now, they're just the right size, not too big so they dominate the page, and not too small so they're not un-noticable.

The masthead, i also believe is in good proportion as it's one of the main focus points so it needs to pretty much stand out as much as it is. I've even placed room for a little tagline which helps establish the ideology alot in magazines.

The main image is in medium close up, and low angle which is what i aimed for. There is a bit more of a softer passion within this photography which i what i thought of, angry passion could seem a bit over the top for our audience where as a softer passion seems nicer and less aggressive which isn't a pleasent emotion.

The headline is also in good proportion, however i will probly end up making it larger on the real piece and also a lot more layered then it is now. I like the way 'THE' and 'FACTOR' are nearly enough centered between the WYKE and altogether, how's it's centered and layerd over the image.

The subheading is also perfect, it's singular lined based and is short and snappy, everything a sub headline should be and also pretty much establishes the main story, what it's about and makes the story sound exciting.

The by line is also perfect proportion, as it's small enough if some of the readers care to read it. We have to remember that the by line is not neccesary and is near enough just a nice little bit of information for the audience to feel a lot more included within the college and magazine.

I am very happy with this plan of my magazine front cover, i think it near enough displays what i basically want out of this magazine perfectley and i hope it turns out as good as it looks there! However, there are a few things which i will tweek and change on the way!

Front Page Pictures!

I have recentley had a 'photo shoot' for the front page picture. I have used 'Jask Paint Shop Pro 8' to edit these photos. This is the first photograph i took and edited:

It shows me, passionatley singing through a microphone, i have my eyes closed which suggest passionate as well as focused. My mouth is also open which suggests im either speaking or singing through the microphone. I chose to wear a white Tshirt which is neutral, and which is what i wanted rather then a Tshirt which could cause the audience to stereotype the magazine. However, in this picture you don't view any of his other passions apart from singing and this is what i love about this picture it's completley focus on the singing. There is strong contrast within this photograph which illuminates the white on the Tshirt, the white suggests, singing has a sence of purity about it, how it's natural, and with the contrast against the black microphone makes the microphone stand out as a strong figure within this photograph. I made this photograph Black and White because it adds realism into the photograph, which links with this idea of being passionate about something, how this is 'real to you' it also creates stronger contrast then with would have done if it were in colour. I editted in the spotlights in this photograph, i feel this gives the main focus point in the photograph dominance, which the camera angle also contributes to. Although the camera angle isn't a strong 'low angle mediam shot' it still contributes to giving the person in the photograph dominance, which is what i first aimed for and explained in my planning work. The wall also behind is neutral toned, there is no personal exploitation of his personality which is good if the magazine is targetting a large teenage audience as it doesn't create an expectation of the magazine and provoke a stereotype.

If i was to improve on this photo, i would have created the lights beam up on him in the photograph, this would have given him a god like light, and made it even more dominant. I would have also took the photo away from anything in the background, because at the far right you can see the door where this photo was taken near. There is also a band visable on the persons arm, this is unneccesary to the photograph and could cause unwanted attention, however, with the band not displaying any colour: it's not promoting anything and is hardley noticable, It's not so bad i'd have to take another photo because of it.

This is a second photo which i took, which is very different to the first photo. First of all the camera angle is a lot stronger which does give such a stronger dominant effect which is again, what i hoped to acheive. The camera angle is perfect, as it looks like the person is performing in a concert on a stage, and this photo was taken from a member of the audience lookling up. You are able to see the vocal movement from the throat so it looks like a strong action shot. The lighting effect i've used has more of a red tint, which contributes to two things:

1) Making it look like a real concert, thus adding reality into the image, which connects which the passion of the photograph as well. It gives the audience a message, if your this passionate, you too could be performing in a concert.

2) The colour connotates to the performer being 'Hot, brand new artist!' It adds excitement to the image. As well as adds more contrast between the Tshirt and the Microphone.

The lighting effect is also shining up on him which gives him a stronger dominance, god like effect, this is the effect i was after in my planning.

The background on this photograph is completley neutral, where as the other photograph had a bit of the door on, this one has nothing.

There is nothing bad about this photograph really, only the fact you can see the band on the persons arm which gives away some personality which i tried not to expose, as im trying to keep it as neutral as possible. However, i believe this shouts out the right message i wanted, and connects with my headline perfectley! And that is 'The WYKE Factor!' It gives the perfect dominant figure i wanted to display and i don't think i could get a better photograph which shouts out the message i wanted!

Other Layout Ideas For My Magazine Front Cover!

This is a post explaining other layout ideas in which will appear on my front cover!

The masthead, is such an important feature of a magazine, as it is the magazine's name. I think in terms of this magazine being targeted from students/teachers and parents who are included within the college by creating the masthead of the College magazine including the name of the college, it establishes the target audience, and the ideology of the magazine. I would like to include the same logo 'Wyke' College uses on their website, inside their college and on any other publications of theirs example: the prospectus. So this logo is bound to be quite well known by the students/staff/parents of students. I will use the Wyke college logo, however i may construct a piece of text which states 'Magazine' after it, this is a good idea because it establishes what the media piece will be, and as well states that i have altered the logo in some way to make it my own piece of work for my magazine. I would like the text of the word 'Magazine' to be lower case, and just outlined black, i feel by making it too bold and block titled, it's taking the interest off the more important 'Wyke' title in my masthead, however perhaps with the other media language techniques this extra of the title isn't necessary however, I'd ultimately add my little bit on to the college logo, other wise it's not so much my work and that's important to me.

Just left to the masthead i would like a date of the issue of the mag zine. With niche targeted magazine, they are published usually monthly rather then weekly. So these dates will just simply is tiny writing, say 'December 2008 ISSUE 109.' This will be in black text, usually BOW to stand out.

I would also like to have a Tag line above or below my masthead, which connects with the college and i would like it ultimately to be about learning, i would prefer it to be simple, short and snappy. I don't want many unnecessary language skills in the tag line, like puns or just simply making it too long, because these small factors can all degrade my magazine which i don't want to happen. I was thinking of the possible tag line 'Were fun comes first, education comes with it!' or perhaps just simply 'Where education comes first.' I think i prefer 'Where education comes first,' as it's short and snappy and isn't much hassle or too long. I would prefer the tag line to be either above or below the masthead, which ever looks best to be honest. I would like the colour of the text to be a maroon colour, which connects with the main colour of the Wyke College logo. The text i would like to be lower case, so it stands out more then the second bit of the masthead however it will be a lot smaller.

At the top of my page i would like to include 3 plugs, i felt by using 'the power of 3' it was just right as it's not too many plugs, or too little. In these plugs i was thinking to use 'pull quotes' which are inviting to the audience and give an insight into the interview, most interviews display pull quotes on their front page to shock the readers into buying the magazine, they can manipulate an innocent quotation into something really shocking! On one of the educational based magazines, i analysed they used different literature techniques within each plug including: Pull quotes, and image related to the story, rhetorical questions and alliteration.

I would defiantly like to include a pull quote in one of my plugs: i was thinking about the possible quote 'The Drugs sedated him! The Students Laughed!' I would like the pull quote to be something shocking, '20% of Heroine addicts where the Teachers!' and i would like a sub heading under the plug explaining a bit more, perhaps like 'Teacher of the year, explains UK's Worst College!'

In my other plug, i would like to include a rhetorical question. The rhetorical questions are a good technique as they get the audience involved with the stories and the magazine, it's a good technique for luring in the audience.These are a couple i have thought of which are mainly health related: 'Is it easy to spot signs of Autism?' I would like to health related to be connected with children, however young health problems are often diagnosed by the time they're 16! Health problems in over 16s are possibly lifestyle related: obesity, sexually transmitted infections. Instead of printing a health plug on my front page, i don't believe it's going to target the Target Audience of people who have interest or are included in the college. A plug like 'How easy is it to Spot Claudia?' or 'Is your heart 40 years old already?' I feel i would rather go for the more shocking plug, including the Sexual Health information. I also feel this will provoke more interest and also prove to be a worth while magazine, not just a college magazine focused on education!

The third plug, i would like to use alliteration, i feel it's a good technique, it's very memorable and can be quite comical if used correctly. I would like this plug to actually be about learning, perhaps a new technique to make learning fun, i thought of a possible plug 'Art Achieves A*s All Around!' or perhaps to make it simpler 'Art Achieves As!' and a sub heading, could be: 'The highest pass rate in history in Art for Wyke College Students!' This just gives the extra information needed for the audience to partly understand what the story is about.

I would like to use these plugs as they lure the audience into purchasing the magazine, and by using health related plugs and educational related plugs i feel i am widening the target audience and not just specifically to students, but to parents and teachers.

I would like to place these three plugs at the very top of my page, i would like the text to be in bold and i would also like to use mature colours, possibly blues, violets because we have to remember this is a college magazine, not a secondary or primary. I will separate the plugs by using a thin opaque line, not too visible however just visible enough to see they're separated. I will display the sub headings from the plugs in black, smaller text, by doing this is suggest a realism. As in it's okay to place the writing in colour because that's what attracts the audience however, when they've read the stern black text it will hopefully hit them, what's written as a plug is a real story!

I would also, at the very bottom of the page like to include an email and a website of the institution who created this magazine, i feel this makes the audience feel cared for as well as getting them involved with the magazine once more. For this i will just create a BOW text box, in a stern serious font and write the information. By using a serious font i believe gives this bit of the magazine a serious feel, makes the audience feel cared about and puts the institution in a good light, because if there is a problem, or someone is offended with whats in the magazine, the institution appears to care.

I don't believe i will place any puffs within my front page, i feel this is too commercial and is used to target mainstream, mass audiences. However, there is a possible puff i can place within my front page 'Win £500 for your College!' This seems to be the type of puffs used, however we have to remember this is a single college magazine, not a large company so where are they going to get these prizes for? And £500 for your college doesn't even make sense coming from that same college which is producing the magazines. Puffs are most likely going to be used in Newspapers as well, this is rarely a convention in magazines.

These are all important conventions in which i will hope to use on my magazine front page! I've included text arrangements colours and language ideas to help me remember and to look back in a few days to see if i can improve them ideas in anyway!

The front page main story and layout ideas.

This is a post explaining just my main story and my main story layout ideas.

I have created a few ideas for what the headline will display, what the main story is inside. As i am personally into my singing i would like to create wyke's version of 'The X factor.'

I have thought of a possible headline, and is simply:
'The Wyke Factor'
However, there's a fraction of doubt that maybe this is a bit too simple, and perhaps i can create a more personalised one. On the other hand, i do believe this is catchy enough and would make a good headine. I thought of another possible headline 'Wykes Got The X Factor' however, this isn't as personal, where as this magazine, is targetted at the Wyke College audience, its seems to be more personal to the targett audience.

I would like the text to pratically, be a replica of the text which is used for 'The X Factor' however, i honestly i don't believe this will be possible to get the title to be an exact replica however all we can do is try! I would like the 'Wyke' in the title 'The Wyke Factor' to be most emphasised and dominant, i feel this is more eye catching for the target audience which is Staff, Parents and students who attend the college. I want the 'Wyke' to be the first thing the audience see, as that establishes the niche audience and makes it obvious who the magazine is targetted at. The X factor logo (below), the main colours they've used is red, this suggests 'red hot and brand new!' They have layered therefore emphasizing which then sparks interest, what is this 'x factor' about? The Large 'X' gradualy forming a small X connects with the idea this is a national search, a national competition and in many competitions there is usually, only one winner thus the tiny, red 'X' within the larger white 'X' in the centre of the frame. Again, the idea of the tiny 'X' being the colour red suggests 'brand new, red hot, see the next big thing here!' The idea of the other words in the title, the letters are quite spacious between one another, I believe this is to draw attention to the other words, as the 'X' is the main focus point the other 2 words of the title are important, because the audience need to know what the programme/competition is. It's like people speak slow so people will listen to them more intensley, it seems to be the same with spacious lettering, you tend to take more notice, then you would if it seemed like just an ordianary printed text. If you follow the Logo from 'The' down through the centre, to 'Factor' you can visulise this poster as a kind of process. 'The' is placed just above which looks like a funnell, the funnell then points straight to the centre of the tiny 'X', then follows out of the centre to the largely spaced X factor. It seems to be suggesting 'The X Factor Journey', you enter small and can leave a 'big' star, the spaciousnell and largeness of the 'Factor' along the bottom is large in comparrison towards 'The' at the top. However, i don't want it to look like i've just created a logo, i want it to look like a head line so perhaps, its not going to be a replica of 'The X Factor' Logo at all, however i'm still going to make the 'Wyke' most dominant and

The main focus point on my front page, i would like it to be the image. I would like to produce an image which connects with the idea of 'The WYKE Factor.' I have an idea of two people being in the shot, one playing an instrument sat on a stool and another singing through a microphone, stood on the ground but i really want to see their passion of their singing through this photograph. I would prefer the people in the photograph to be quite neutral dressed as i feel this would help widen the target audience, for example, if i were to photograph a 'goth' singing their heart out it would only attract a certain audience were as by using neutral dressed people it's alot harder to gain a stereotype for people who don't express themselves through different clothing. I'd rather them not wear jackets/clothing with the brand of clothing visable, i think this raises stereotypes and expectations for the people who wear them clothing brands. For example, people who wear adidas are expected to be sporty, or even food wise people may not want to buy a magazine promoting Nestle, because of their contraversial history.

The lighting, i would like the spot light to be on the singer who is also stood up, i feel this gives the right idea of 'The WYKE Factor' being more of a singing competition, rather then a music competition as with the spotlight on the performer, the main focus point within the image will be the singer, however i feel by including a musician it also widens the target audience, however will spark interest and encourage musicians to take part, and will spark interest within these musicians.

The camera angles i will shoot this will have to be mediam close up/MCU, because they where the set guide lines, however, i feel it would be a lot more appropriate within my piece if i shot this photograph, with a Low Angle Mediam Shot Close Up, this gives the singer the dominance in the photograph which i want and also gives the impression of if you enter this competition you could leave being as powerfull and dominant as this performer. However, actually thinking that i have to use a medium close up, i don't think i'll be able to do it within a two shot, the way i wanted to. I feel to photograph a medium close up, within a two shot could be too much of a squeeze and look rediculous, aswell, i might not be able to photograph using the Low Angle which i hoped to use either.

The subheading, is supposed to follow on from the heading, and gives a little more insight into the main story. I was thinking about a possible subheading which is actually a rhetorical question 'Have you got the wyke factor?' however i feel by using this pun, makes it cheesy which degrades it a little bit. Another one i thought of is 'As the auditions start, who will have the Wyke Factor?' This i feel is a lot more inviting and makes the artical more interesting and leaves the audience wanting to buy the magazine. I like the like 'As the auditions start...' because it adds a hint of reality into the story as the auditions have 'already begun.' It also draws in the audience from the beginning, and by printing the new updates in each issue, the regular audiences will keep purchasing as since they where involved from the begging, they will want to know how the competition is going.

The text of my subheading will be smaller then the main heading, however it doesn't need to be that big. Im trying to create a sort of order in which the audience will first look at the front page, first: The main focus point, the image, second: The heading, and third: the sub heading. And by the third stage the main story should have already lured in the audience to purchasing the magaizine. I would like the text to be small, however i also want the text to be possibly underlined and coloured in a contrasted colour depending on what the background of the image is.

I have just displayed my ideas for the main story on my front page. These will probly change as soon as i start to take photographs, get new ideas, plan it out on paper!

The conventions used on a magazine front page

The codes and conventions of a magazine are quite similar to a newspaper.

A magazine always includes a main focus point of an image. Whats interesting to note is when the main headline is displaying bad feelings for a celebrity, they show a photograph of the celebrity with indirect mode of address.which makes the celebrity look very unconfident and unhappy. However, if a celebrity is using direct mode of address, they look a lot more confident and happy this also benefits for the readers as it comes across as inviting and warm... they use this when the celebrity is making positive headlines.

If the magazine is lucky and rich enough to have booked to celebrity for an interview and a photo shoot with the celebrity, the celebrity in the photo shoot will rarely display indirect mode of address, but focus more on the emotion she is experiencing whilst making these headlines/quotations from the interview. If you look at the heat magazine to the right: 'Charley' has had a photo shoot for the magazine, and the quotations do match the emotion she seems to be showing. E.G shes quoted 'Chanel- I WILL go out for a drink with him' with the emphasis on the 'WE' suggest determined, and with her being photographed with her arms on her waist, she does look determined, very dominant and confident.

The headline is always used, this is to advertise the main articles they have in the magazine to make it sell. Usually, the main headline will accompany the main image, and be assisted with sub headline, these can be quotations from the celebrity during the interview. Most magazines have a kind of order in which they intend you to read the front page, first is the image, second, is the main headline and the third will be the sub headline. Which in the NME magazine's case in a quotation from the band 'the automatic'

Another convention of a magazine front page are plugs, plugs are used to lure the audience into purchasing the magazine, because they give an insight into what stories and images inside the magazine. In the secondary teachers magazine, they had plugs which were about learning because the magazines ideology was for supporting learning. Were the NME's ideology is music, therefore their plugs which they include: the stories, competitions and images will be involved somehow with music.

When a magazine/newspaper advertise a competition on the front page it's called a Puff. Competition Puffs are a lot beneficial for the magazine to use, if the magazine is tar getting a mass audience as their are more people to support that competition and take part.

The masthead is another big convention of a magazine front page as it's the magazines 'name', usually after years of the same magazine being in the production the magazine will hopefully become more well known such as 'the sun'.

This masthead is very popularly known, and people also start to get their expectations of the magazine with the colours supporting the idea of 'the sun' being a 'red top' which is automatically suggesting it's very celebrity driven. Also 'the mirror' is a red top newspaper; which suggests the newspaper is celebrity driven. The masthead, i believe has to be a quick, snappy name to make it more memorable, magazines also tend to use the same masthead for years whilst the magazine is in production, because people will remember it, and as soon as you change it... it's a lot harder to remember the new name. The mastheads font and name give a first impression of the magazine, so calling a magazine 'Secondary Teachers' is almost obvious to what the magazine is about and who the target audience will be, just by calling a magazine 'Wyke College Weekly' you can get an idea of what the magazine's ideology will be about.

Magazines will usually include a date, issue, email/website, price line just above or below the Masthead. These are used for obvious reasons, they are informative to the reader and by displaying the email or website the audience may the magazine cares about their feedback, and any questions or comments.

There are lots of Conventions i could use on my college magazine, there where some conventions used more on a magazine targeted for a mass audience however, they could still possibly work on my niche audience targeted magazine, and possibly make it a bit different. These are all conventions of which i gathered from analysing magazines front covers from both a mass audience and a niche audience:

- A Masthead

- A Head Line

- A Sub Head line

- A main image being supported by the headline

- A line displaying the date, price and website/email

- Plugs

-Puffs

- Some include a tagline.

Analysis 3: Another Secondry School Magazine Analysis

This is another magazine for Secondary School teachers and parents. This is again targeted for a niche audience and with the main focus point being on a main image which is two gingerbread men, on a baking tray being held by a student.
The Gingerbread men represent a girl and a boy, this is obvious because one is wearing a skirt which we would expect a girl to wear for school. By using a stereotype you are making it obvious what the gingerbread men are, as we do represent a girl wearing a skirt, shirt and tie: as a school uniform. The boy is wearing what a stereotypical school uniform for a boy would be, a shirt and tie, however he isn't wearing trousers... possibly this could have made the image too complicated to understand which is why they have left it stereotypical and to a minimum. The gingerbread men are both the same size, they are not promoting one sex rather then the other, and they both have completely equal facial features, they're both smiling: like a nice, friendly, happy to be a school, students.
The person holding the tray, is gender unidentified: you can only see the tie, shirt and a little bit of the bottoms, whether it's a skirt or trousers are unknown. This widens the audience from possibly one gender toned, into multi gender toned, as its not one gender specific.
The caption above the centre image is printed in white and again includes a sub caption underneath the main caption. Again it's as if there is an order in which you view this magazine, as in what features the magazine want's you to see first: First, it's the large caption, which gives you a hint on what the main story is inside. Second, It's the sub caption which gives the main insight into what the story is like on the whole, and third is the supporting image which supports the main article in the magazine and also provokes a lot more interest, then there originally could have been with the use of text, rather then an attention grabbing image. The idea of this being in a kind of order, never lets the reader loose attention with the magazine, as the readers eyes are always fixed on something also the caption 'Cook With Me!' uses a personal pronoun which is very inviting and warm.
The second main focus point is the masthead, which is the same on the other magazine, it is very mature colours compared to the primary school magazine. The Masthead is a fade between green to blue and is in sans-serif font, this gives a more tabloid feel to the magazine thus attracting a wider based audience. I feel the colour bluey/greeny gives a lot more older feel to the students, whereas primary school children would be more acceptable of being labelled with a lighter colour, either baby blue or baby pink, however with the darkness to the colour it seems to have matured the look of the audience a bit more, as well as the masthead called 'Secondary' we then understand why it's trying to have a more mature feel to the magazine.
There is again 3 plugs at the top of the magazine which are supposed to lure the audience into buying the magazine, it's supposed to seem to the audience that they're are a lot more stories then just the main article. The colours are a lot more warm, using reds and pinks: it also connects with the uniform the students wearing whilst holding up the baking tray. The plugs are including quotations which could intrigue the audience as they don't really make since, they've used an image along with a caption however, they don't give too much away by using the image, it still creates interest about this plug, and the final one is hints and tips in the classroom using alliteration and all words are all duel syllabic. It seems all 3 of the plugs all include a different effect, the first plug includes a quotation, 2nd includes an image and the 3 includes alliteration. I believe the they've used this to make it a lot more different, the fear of how boring the 3 plugs would seem if they just used the same effect, it creates a variation and therefore can retrieve a more interested audience.
At the bottom of the front page, they again include a sort of by line, displaying their production company as well and an email which does give the audience the idea of caring, because why would the magazine print their email if they weren’t caring enough to receive feedback, comments and questions? It's all an idea of caring for the audience.
This is another good example for a college magazine, however, they use the same ideas for each magazine, and that’s their way of producing their magazine front cover. However, I feel it would be a lot more helpful if I analysed a different magazine perhaps, one targeted at a mass audience, or maybe just another college magazine as I do have to produce a college magazine, I feel I just need more interesting ideas then I’m analysing already.

Analysis 2: Another Niche Audience targetted magazine, for a primary school

This is a front page for a primary school magazine, this is again targeting a niche audience, of teachers or possibly parents.

The masthead is a lot more warmer and seems a lot more younger colours then the secondary school magazine. The primary masthead is a fade between pink to red. It seems a lot more caring because of the warm colours and a lot more maternal and paternal whereas on the other magazine, the secondary school magazine the colours where a lot more mature.

The main image, is again the main focus point, it shows a person holding a mug which states in bright, white on red text 'The Boss.' The image on the mug stands out a lot from the bright white mug, and connects with the headline underneath the image, 'would you want the top job?' It seems stereotypical that in school, you do always see a teacher drinking coffee through a mug, either in the staff room or on their desks, or just in simple office job, however, everyone must have a quick thought of what their working life would be like as boss... and that's what this image and the caption underneath is doing it's recognising the realism for people to think this. There is only the hand shown which is holding the mug, also the hand has no features to fully determine the sex of that person whereas if they fully wanted the audience to determine the sex of the person holding the mug for a woman they could have painted the nails, or wear a diamond ring. Or for a man, they could have made the person have unkept hands, dirty hands and unmanicured nails because these are all the factors which make the sex recognisable. By keeping the model's sex completely anonymous they are stretching their audience to men and women by stating this magazine is for men and women by not stereotyping the other sexes.

The caption underneath the picture, the topical, controversial question is coloured in a light yellow/orange, this informs us on what the picture was about and we can then conclude on why the picture was any relevance to the article. After the caption we then have the sub caption which is just a basic summary of the article as a whole, this intrigues the audience and acts like a mini preview or a trailer on TV, once you've actually read the basic summery and what it's about you want to then buy the magazine and read the article. The sub caption is in WOB however, it is in smaller text then the main caption, they've tried to make it a lot more obvious to read the main caption first because of the way it's placed in order size on the page it's as if there is an order in which you have to read this section of this front page: First it's the large image, then the caption by using large bright text underneath the image and to Finally fully conclude what the image and caption are about is the sub caption, in even smaller, black text.

This primary school magazine is made with the same layout as the secondary school magazine layout, there are again 3 plugs at the top of the page, 2/3 of the plugs are health related which is an important issue for parents with young children and will again help stretch the target audience wider then just teachers. The three colours of the plugs are all different, ranging from pink to orange to red. I feel this is to give the idea there are variations of children and suggests that every child is different, and this magazine (especially because most of the plugs are giving advice on health problems and advice which children do commonly suffer from e.g How to spot dyslexia) could give advice to every child no matter how different as well as there is a photo of a young girl and boy also suggest this magazine is very uni-sex. These plugs are again, used to lure the audience into buying the magazine and by stating the magazine is useful to both sexes of children and adults it's widening the audience which where originally targeted.

There is a kind of by-line at the bottom of the page, with the institution clearly noticeable, with the issue, and the website. This adds responsibility into the production, like someone cares enough what they've produced to accept feedback. It seems like the institution care about their readers.

Ultimately i believe with the features used in this front page gives strong identity of the audience they are intending to target: Teachers and Parents. This audience is very niche however, i believe they have widened their audience as much as they can, with trying to keep it very open, by keeping the person holding the boss mug unidentified and by using a photo of young children of both sexes.

Analysis 1: Secondary Teachers Magazine Cover

This is an example of a college magazine front cover, I will be analysing this and pointing good ideas which i can then use on my magazine:

The first key point is the photograph of the boy student, it's obvious these two people are school students because of the uniform they're both wearing. The boy student is displaying direct mode of address, this is inviting and provokes interest, his smiling face creates ambiguity and the caption to the left of the photo which is actually a good controversial question can also be used as a lure, to lure the audience into to reading the debate.

On the opposite side of the page there is a girl student giving him an annoyance look, she is not displaying direct mode of address and this suggests she doesn't have as much confidence as the boy which then connects with the idea of learning, and the confidence with certain subjects. The caption for the girl (it's displaying the same rhetorical question as on the other page) is written in pink, and the caption for the boy is written in blue. The idea for this picture is promoting the debate 'Do boys and girls learn differently?' It coming across as a bit of battle of the sex, which then connects with the iconographic factor of the colour representing a sex.

At the top of the front page there are 3 plugs, one is another interesting, controversial question which is attempting to lure the audience into buying the magazine, the other two are just features of whats in the magazine to also lure the audience into buying the paper. It's interesting to note the boys hand is upright (obviously trying to get attention from the teacher) and his finger ends right underneath the question 'Dyslexia- how easy is it to spot?' perhaps he's trying to draw us to reading the plug, which we probably could just simply not notice, or perhaps he's trying to state the connection between students and Dyslexia, because Dyslexia does effect learning thus effecting schooling. There is also another plug to the bottom right of the boy in the picture which in a bright colour states 'PLUS, FREE student cookbooks. See page 5' this is tempting the audience by using the word FREE, and in bold capital WOB it makes it a lot more noticeable.

The 3 plugs at the top of the page are coloured in bright pink, red and purple, this are all warm colours and do invite the reader but also suggest the other sex, because on this page we have a main focus point, which is the boy centered presenting direct mode of address, with all the typical boy colour, blue, around him and by using stereotypically more girly warm colours like pinks they will also be targeting and attracting the other sex.

The Masthead is a fade between green to blue and is in sans-serif font, this gives a more tabloid feel to the magazine thus attracting a wider based audience. I feel the colour bluey/greeny gives a lot more older feel to the students, whereas primary school children would be more acceptable of being labeled with a lighter colour, either baby blue or baby pink, however with the darkness to the colour it seems to have matured the look of the audience a bit more, as well as the masthead called 'Secondary' we then understand why it's trying to have a more mature feel to the magazine.

Ultimately i believe the publishers created the two front pages, opposite each other to break the stereotype that girls and smarter then boys, and by using the total role reversal they are attracting an audience by the mysterious picture and also luring in the audience to read/buy their magazine.

This magazine i believe is cleverly produced and i feel does attract the correct niche audience of a college. There are lots of good points about this magazine which i feel, i could on my magazine front page.

When You Read You Begin With ABC, When You Study Media You Begin With LIIAR

Language- Technical terms, theoretical terms of which we use when we are analysing a media piece; and what we use as guidelines: Denotation, connotations are used as well. In a magazine the Language Features which are included on the front page, are possibly a main image displaying direct mode of address, also a masthead is an example of media language.

Institution- The institution is the production of media texts, from a magazine point of view the institutions are OK! and Heat magazine! These magazines objective is to provide celebrity news.

Ideology- The ideology is represented in it's beliefs and values, what the magazine personally believes in: it's its more celebrity driven or world news driven. For a college magazine, they would include news on education and students as that is their ideology.

Audience- The consumers of Media, a large media audience are called a mass audience, and a small and specialised audience is called a niche audience. For a college magazine they are targeting a niche audience as it is small and specialised.

Representation- This is how social groups are portrayed in the media e.g Teenagers are portrayed particularly bad for creating havoc on the streets. For a college magazine the students would be represented as hard working and generally really nice students!

Task 1- Start At The Very Beginning, A Very Good Place To Start.

For my AS Media Studies, i am assigned to produce two print artefacts from a set brief, this includes involving my planning work for a pre-production, preliminary exercise to a more fully realised piece. Every part of my planning work and analysing: if it's either my piece or other pieces of work will be presented on here, I will present my thoughts and ideas on how i could improve my work.

The purpose of this unit is to ultimatley access my ability:
-To Plan and construct print products using appropriate technical and creative skills
-To assess my application of knowlage and understanding in evaluting your own work, showing how meaning and responses are created
-To assess my ability to undertake, apply and presend appropriate research.

My Preliminary Exercise: With usage of DTP (desktop publisher) and an image manipulation programme (Photo shop) I have to create a front page of a School/College magazine. There are precise guidelines to what the front page must include:
- A photograph of a student in Medium Close Up
- Some Appropriatley laid out text
- A Masthead
The preliminary exercise deadline is for Friday 9th November 2008