Hi my name's Laura and I am studying AS Level Media Studies. This is my blog for my music magazine.

The first we had to do was a preliminary task of making a new school magazine. We were asked to make a front cover and a contents page. I am going to be making both magazines (the school magazine and music magazine) on Photoshop.

Code & Conventions of 'The Bishopbriggs Academy Magazine'

The front cover of Bishopbriggs Academy magazine has a bold tile across the top of the page. It is placed here so your attention is drawn there straight away. The name of the school ‘Bishopbriggs Academy’ is right across the whole width of the page showing that this magazine belongs to their school clearly.

There is a 3 colour colour scheme of grey, blue and white that runs throughout the front cover. The background is white and the text is in grey and blue. The blue is quite eye catching compared to the grey so you are more drawn to the text written in blue as it is brighter. The front cover does not have a lot going on, it is quite minimalist and plain. The bare background and lack of writing make it this way. Because of this it is not very eye catching or exciting to look at. I don't think the minimalist approach works for the front cover of magazine so I will not be using this when I come to make my school magazine. On the otherhand I will think about using a 3 colour colour scheme in my school magazine as I think it gives a professional look.

There are 2 photos of school events on the front page. One placed in the middle third on the left hand side and the other placed in the bottom third on the right hand side. Both pictures are of sporting events, the one in the middle is of the school football team and they look as if they have won something because they have medals around their necks. The other is of what looks like a skiing trip. Both images show events/achievements that have probably recently been happening and ones that the school are obviously proud of and want to show off on the front page. They are also quite small and do not fill up the page very well. I think the front cover would look better if they pictures were larger and filled up the blank white page - this would also make the front page more eye catching too.

The school logo is placed underneath the title in the middle third of the front cover on the right hand side. Your eyes are drawn to it straight away after the title because of it being placed here. Having the school logo directly on the front makes it look a very uniformed magazine and also reinstate's which school it belongs too.

There are three circles placed at the top right hand corner of the front cover and contents page. By having these on each page it shows they are part of the same magazine and links them together. I think I will use this idea or a similar one on my school magazine as it is a small and subtle way of making all of the pages link.

On the bottom left hand corner there is the issue date. It is not something you are drawn to straight away but as it is there you are able to tell whether it is new or old etc. It is not something there for decoration but that is there to inform the reader when it was published. It is in grey writing so doesn’t catch your eye straight away but can be found for refernce purposes.

The schools magazine name “The Bishopbriggs Academy: The Magazine” is on the bottom left hand corner of every page, including the front cover and contents page in small grey writing. This reminds the reader of what magazine they are reading every page they are on and as it is in grey writing you are not drawn to it straight away but still there to see. I don't think very good on this magazine especially as it is on the front cover aswell. I will not be using this idea on my school magazine.

The contents page of Bishopbriggs School magazine has the same 3 colour colour scheme as the front page – blue, white and grey. The predominant colours are white and blue. White is used for the background and blue for the majority of the text. The only grey bit on the contents page is the magazine name in the bottom left hand corner like the front page.

In bold letters across the top of the page are “In the issue...” This shows the read it is the contents page without actually says ‘contents’. The bold letters and size of the text draw your eyes to it straight away tell you what the page is.

Running down the left hand side in the first and second third of the page are the titles of each page followed by a brief description of what it is about in italics underneath. This shows the reader what each page is about without them having to turn to each page to have a look. The page numbers locating where to find each section run alongside each description but on the right hand side of the page. This is a very uniformed way of setting out the contents page.

The page number you are currently on is shown in a blue circle – the same size and colour as the three circles that run along the top right hand side of each page – on the bottom right hand side. The number is in white. The page numbers are shown in the same colour scheme as the rest of the page and also the reoccurring theme of circles is used too. By using both these two features it links the magazine together and makes it look matching and organised.

School Magazine - Preliminary Task

When making my school magazine I took into consideration the codes and conventions found in 'The Bishopbriggs Academy Magazine' I looked at at the start. This magazine was very plain and simple, but also got across the main features of the magazine. I used ideas found in 'The Bishopbriggs Academy Magazine' on mine. I am very pleased with the final outcome of my front cover and magazine, especially in the short time scale given to do it in. I am also pleased with the progress I have made using Photoshop and also doing photography. I look forward to beginning the main task.

I have included my front cover and contents page below.

Evaluation for my Preliminary Task

By looking at ‘The Bishopbriggs Academy Magazine’ I was able to look at the conventions used in an existing school magazine. I was then able to use some of these conventions on my own magazine and it also helped to know what sorts of features are usually seen on a school magazine.

On the top right hand corner of ‘The Bishopbriggs Academy Magazine’ there are three circles all the same size, these circles continued on every page linking it all together. I decided to use this idea on my magazine as I liked how it made the magazine fit together. I used 3 small squares on the top left hand corner of both my front cover and contents page. ‘The Bishopbriggs Academy Magazine’ has a very minimalist front cover and contents page. Both have a plain white background and use a simple tri colour scheme of blue, grey and white. I decided to use a plain colour scheme in my magazine as I think it looks effective. I did not use a plain white background like the one in ‘The Bishopbriggs Academy Magazine’ on my front cover as I didn’t think it looked exciting nor grabbed your attention – although, I did use it for my contents page. On ‘The Bishopbriggs Academy Magazine’ they used a uniformed list to show what was in their magazine on their contents page. I liked this way and thought it was easy to read and showed the titles clearly, therefore I decided to use this layout on my contents page. ‘The Bishopbriggs Academy Magazine’ also had a brief description of what each page was about under its title in italics on their contents page. I thought this idea was simple yet effective and showed the reader a quick explanation of what could be found on each page. I used this idea on my contents page as I think the layout is easy to read and understand. I have put the name of my magazine in the bottom right hand corner next to the page number on my contents page. ‘The Bishopbriggs Academy Magazine’ uses this idea but on the bottom left hand side. I like this feature as I think it looks very professional and a lot of established well-known magazines do this, which reminds you of what magazine you are reading on each page.

Through producing my school magazine I have learnt many new skills.

Firstly, I have learnt how to use an SLR Camera. I’ve learnt features such as focusing the camera and how to zoom as well as changing the aperture and shutter speed. I was able to the skills I learnt about aperture when I came to take my photo for my front cover. I changed the aperture so that the model was in focus but the background was not.

For all of the photos I have included in my school magazine I used natural light. I took the photos in the day time and it already quite light areas so artificial lights were not needed. The flash on the camera helped the look of the photos too.

I have also developed my skills on Photoshop throughout this project. I had basic Photoshop skills before I started making my front cover and contents page but I have learnt many more advanced skills through doing so. Some of the skills I used while creating my front cover and contents page were merging and linking layers. I merged the layers when doing the 3 squares in the top left hand corner of each page. This meant that they became one layer instead of 3 which was good when I was trying to get them in the right place as it meant they were all in the right position and moved as one piece. Another tool I used was the colour dropper tool. This tool lets you take a colour from either a picture or text already in use on your page and use it for something else. I used this tool to make sure I used the same shade of navy throughout my front cover and contents page.

Week 1

This week I started the preliminary task of the coursework – making a front cover and contents page of a new school magazine. I started by looking at the codes and conventions found of an existing school magazine. I looked at ‘The Bishopbriggs Academy Magazine’.  I was then able to use this as inspiration for when I came to make my own school magazine. I then made this blog so I could keep a log of my work.

I then went out and took photos of my friend Iona to put on the front cover of my magazine. I also took pictures of plants and other students working around the school for my insert pictures of my magazine. Once I had done this I started to put together my magazine front cover and contents page on Photoshop. The version of Photoshop I used was Elements 4.  

Next week I am going to start looking at the codes and conventions of music magazines. I am going to analysis 5 front covers, 5 contents pages and 5 double-page spreads. I am going to look predominately at ‘Q’. This is because I know I want to make a mature music magazine for popular and/or upcoming music artists/bands and having looked at a range of currently available music magazines I feel ‘Q’ is the most similar to what I am looking to create myself.

Week 2

This week we analysed different magazine front covers. We looked at codes and conventions of existing magazines and what you usually find on their front covers, content pages and double paged spreads. This helped me know what type of features to put on the music magazine I am going to be making and also what type of features are on existing magazines I am using as inspiration.

Next week, I am going to look at target audience research and create an initial ideas mind map of what I am planning to do.

Typical Features of Existing Music Magazines

This week we have been looking at different features of existing music magazines. I have found that different genres of music use very different features. For instance a Kerrang magzine which features rock bands looks and uses different codes and conventions to a pop magazine such as Top of the Pops. I have included some images of different genre music magzines below:

Week 3

This week I have made an initial ideas mind map which explains my initial ideas and thoughts of what I am going to be doing on my music magazine front cover, contents page and double page spread. This included points such as what fonts I might use and what sort of photos I will use.

Also, this week I have done some target audience research. I have made a questionnaire and I have decided what sort of people I will ask. I will be carrying out this research next week.

Over the next couple of weeks I am going to be finishing off the work I have been doing this week so that I am ready to start the initial draft of my music magazine.