Possible layout ideas for my magazine front cover

These are the six ideas for possible layouts of my magazine front cover, which are all unique and consist of many different media conventions, which will be able to inform the readers of the magazine.

Photos taken for the school magazine (thumbnails)

These are all the pictures I took for my school magazine. During the thought process, I had initially thought of pictures with no actors in, but with inanimate objects (such as the Honours Boards, Lockers or the Library computers). In order to take these photos, I went to the appropriate locations and positioned the camera at an appropriate position for the shot I wanted - some of these shots were medium or just close up. However, since I wasn't sure if actors were required, I took three differently frame shots (a two shot and a medium close up of their hands on the keyboard). The final image shown was the used for the main image, and the penultimate one was used on the contents page. This is because I felt the framing of these pictures suited their respective contexts, in addition to them following the "rule of thirds".

Possible plan for a front cover image for my magazine

For the run up to the preliminary activity, in preparation, I have considered the possible options for a professional looking front cover main image. In the wake of the deadline, I have come up with a plan for the main image for the magazine front cover.

The plan is as follows:

• A three-quarter medium close up shot
• The use of the Apple iMac's as the focal point
• Using the room of W9A as a setting
• Use of the depth of field aspect.
• A possible actor's hand

Here are some sample images in which I can take inspiration from:

  

Conventions of a school magazine

School magazines include several conventions, some related to school and some not in order to attain the biggest audience. However, after extensive research, I have identified the key conventions of a school magazine which are:

• Revision tips
• Interviews with teachers
• Tips for new students
• News about the school
• Informative articles (eg. term dates)
• Leisure articles (eg. social media)
• Games (eg. word searches/sudoku)

Target Audience for my school magazine

PbMercury will strive to have a target audience solely of students of Plantsbrook School, as it fits the news and articles (as well as the other conventions) of my magazine. This magazine will be directed at all students (Years 7 to 11, Sixth Formers included) as the type of articles included suit all of those years groups. These articles include tips for the Year 7s and revision tips for Years 9 to 13, which further justifies the target audience of my magazine. Whilst school related things are included within the magazine, other leisure activities will be included in order to attract a wider audience; this includes things from social media to the latest football news which will attract the audience who are into that hobby.

My four masthead choices

Existing school magazine analysis

School magazine content ideas

This is a moodboard containing subjects I could cover in my school magazine, such as technology tips or revision tips. I have included both entertainment and school related themes to make sure my audience will be well varied, whilst simultaneously providing good and sufficient school advice.

Music magazine analysis via Thinglink

10 possible title ideas for a school magazine

I have 10 possible names for my school magazine below:

• PBEd
• PBStudy
• DailyPB
• PBPost
• NewsWithPB
• NewsAtPB
• PBArchive
• PBMercury
• PBToday
• PBMailbox

Masthead research and analysis

This is the masthead for the NME magazine, which would be placed on the cover of each of their issues. In this masthead, you can see that a simple white, bold sans-serif font has been used on a simple solid black background, with the iconic uppercase letters. This particular variant of the NME masthead possesses a three-dimensional effect created using simple white lines with black extruded sides; this will allow for the logo to stand out and, because of the originality of the design, will attract the reader to buy the magazine.

This is the masthead for the RollingStone magazine, which would be found on every issue of the magazine. In this masthead, you can see that a red serif font has been used with a white stroke, with the "R" and the "S" capitalised. In this masthead, there is the iconic three-dimensional effect on the text. To achieve this three-dimensional effect, a hard inner drop shadow is used within the text to bring out the effect. Moreover, a extruded text effect is achieved by using several text layers behind the main one with a striped pattern.

This is the masthead for the Kerrang magazine, which can be found on every issue of the magazine. In this masthead, you can see that a black, distorted serif font has been used on a transparent background, which represents the genre of music the magazine covers (rock music). The use of uppercase letters and exclamation mark reflects the type of music and the culture which surrounds the genre of music.

This is the masthead for the Alternative Press magazine, which can be found on the front cover of the magazine. In this masthead, unlike the other analysed, two different typefaces have been used. For "AP", a large, red, distorted serif font has been used for the abbreviation with uppercase letters. For "Alternative Press", a simple, black serif font has been used with wide spacing.

This is the masthead for the Classic Rock magazine, which can be found on the front cover of the magazine. In this masthead, the same typeface has been used differently on two occasions have been used. "Classic" has the same font but entirely capitalised with two stars either side, possibly to highlight the word "classic". "Rock", however, is shown differently as "RocK" which is used to wrap around the word "classic".

Why I chose Media Studies

I, Tariq Hussain, chose Media Studies due to sole purpose of where my future career lies in Graphic Design. In addition, I am intrigued as to how the media works and I feel this course will be able to open my eyes to the world of media. I have a passion for anything relating to visual communication, be it film or pictures. I feel that taking Media Studies will help me understand the gaps in the industry which I can fit in the future, as I feel I am capable of working within the world of media. I am interested in Graphic Communication, and recently cinematography and the post-processing of film, which I hope to learn more about in Media Studies.

From an early age, I have been serenaded by the world of media. At this age, I had watched many Disney films (a media institution which is deemed very powerful today) and played on the Sega Dreamcast with my mother and the Original Microsoft Xbox with my father. To this day, my interest has expanded to a higher degree. I have used professional-grade programs, from Adobe After Effects to Cinema 4D which I believe supply the media on a global scale. I also watch several media-related videos on YouTube, from press-conferences to music videos, movie trailers to behind the scenes footage. I also have had 3 years of experience with Adobe Photoshop, and I have built up my skills enough to produce high quality work, in which I hope to use within Media Studies.

 In terms of film, I am into many 80s blockbusters, from Back to the Future to Star Wars, Beverly Hills Cop to Ghostbusters. More recent films include: Transformers, the Spiderman trilogy and X-Men.  I also plan to watch several upcoming films, such as: The Star Wars Anthology and Skywalker-based films (present to 2020), Tomb Raider (2018), Assassins Creed (2016), Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016) and Indiana Jones 5 (2018). I am not into TV as much but I have, however, I have seen several TV drama shows which include: Merlin, Miami Vice, 11.22.63, Grey’s Anatomy and Ashes to Ashes. I am also an avid gamer, having owned both PS4 and Xbox One. The games I currently play include Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition, Forza Motorsport 6, Star Wars: Battlefront and Rocksmith 2014 respectively. The games I am currently looking forward to include Watch Dogs 2 and Forza Horizon 3, which look spectacular and have been promoted massively within the media

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Popular culture aside, I would love to know more on the production of magazine and news articles, particularly the graphical aspects. I am a regular user of Reddit, which allows me to keep up to date with the latest news, useful websites and meaningful discussions and life tips – these, I believe, are what make up majority of today’s media. In conclusion, I hope to learn the whole breadth of the media and gain the knowledge to take it with me into the world of work in the near future.