Enrolment Task Feedback and Response

When I first enrolled on my AS Media Studies course, I was given an enrolment task which would give my teachers a general idea of aspects of my knowledge within Media Studies.

The enrolment task was composed of two sections, one of which required me to research into 3 current music magazines and to observe and analyse their primary target audience and what aspects of their products proved and portrayed this. I received positive markings throughout this task, and was fairly pleased with the outcome, therefore, I am considerably pleased with my ability to analyse target audience etc.

The second, and more lengthy, task involved completing an essay-type magazine proposal for a company of the name of Natmags. I have included images of my response to this section of the enrolment task. As you observe these images, it is clear that a lot of detail went into this task as I looked at the task from a fully realistic perspective, writing the essay as if it was a general piece of coursework. 

Overall, the teacher who marked my enrolment task believed I have 'some excellent ideas about both the content and design of [my] magazine' and that I 'understand the connotations of both [my] text and [my] image which is excellent at this stage of the course'. I 'also understand the concept of a target audience'. I was really pleased with these comments and felt they slightly boosted my confidence and made me feel more prepared for the course. I achieved an A* in my enrolment task, which I am thrilled with and hope to achieve grades like this throughout my Media Studies.

Magazine Conventions of a Front Cover

To produce a professional looking magazine, there are certain features and conventions that I must maintain knowledge of and apply to my final product. I have made a note of these conventions below and have also included an example magazine that I have labelled to provide an example of each convention:

Masthead: this term refers to the flag, banner or name of the magazine/newspaper etc. and is printed largely at the top of the front page. It is also usually used as a logo to the magazine and can be used on images belonging to the magazine, on the magazines website or even as a profile picture for the magazine's social media sites. It should be bold and should represent your magazine in a way that makes it memorable and recognisable, but at the same time should be understandable and informative to the target audience. My masthead will prominently cover a large area of the front cover and will follow my house and colour theme in order to maintain a professional look.


Main Image: this refers to the largest and most prominent image on the page. It should usually take up the full front cover with the main feature of the image, usually the model, covering at least two thirds of the cover. The image is usually of high quality and in music magazines, usually employs the use of a popular artist of the magazine's genre. The artist is used as the model and is placed in a way that will produce an effective cover. This usually involves direct eye contact, a position and a costume that fits the genre and draws in the appropriate audience. My magazine will include a main image that makes use of celebrity endorsement of an artist of my genre that is generally popular so that they are recognisable to my target audience and will draw in not only my primary audience, but anyone who likes the artist that is presented on my front cover. My artist will most likely have a serious but desirable look and will make direct eye contact with the camera and therefore the audience in a way that grabs their attention and speaks to them.


Left Third: the left third incorporates the left side coverlines and the masthead, proving them to be very important as they are most likely to be seen due to the typical layout of a magazine stand layering the magazines on top of each other so that only the left side of each magazine can be seen. This means that the coverlines that draw the audience in on the left side, should be attention grabbing and should cause the audience to remove the magazine from this structure and take a closer look. Only part of the masthead is also seen, giving further reasons to why it must be recognisable as it must have the ability to be identified simply by the first few letters. I must ensure that my magazines left third employs exciting coverlines in order to grab attention. At the same time I believe that my colour scheme that I am considering will make my magazine easily recognisable (black and white, with areas of red).


Coverlines: this refers to the small areas of text that give a slight insight as to what is inside the magazine. The are normally in your face and leave you wanting to know more. They can often include a rhetorical question or make use of lexis such as journalese (SLAM, BANG etc.). Usually, a magazine also includes a main coverline which is printed considerably larger than the other coverlines. This main coverline normally links to the main image and introduces the reader as to what this issue's main article is about (usually the double page spread). I aim to use several coverlines in my magazine that will encourage my audience to purchase and read on.


Sell Line/Tagline: the sell line/tagline of a magazine is a short statement that is usually printed near the masthead and tell the audience something about the magazine that will convince you to buy it. An example, in the above image is Rolling Stone's sell line of that issue: 'The best albums and songs of 2012'. This issue was published in December 2012, meaning the sell line is stating that the audience will receive a look back throughout the year at the best albums and songs, making the audience curious of 'what were the best albums and songs of 2012', encouraging them to purchase. I will aim to use a tagline in my magazine, but I would most likely make it less about the issue, and more about the magazine. This would include creating a tagline that states something good about my magazine that will encourage the audience to purchase it, whilst also giving a certain idea about my magazines genre.


Date: the date simply states the date in which the magazine covers. In the above image, the date of the magazine states 'December 20th 2012 - January 3rd 2013', informing the audience of what time the issue covers and also when the next magazine will most likely be published. I believe that a date is a vital feature of a magazine as it allows the audience to keep up to date with when past, present and future issues are published in order to keep up to date with the music within them. As I aim to provide my readers with information on artists that are up and coming, meaning that they will want to keep up to date with the issues in order to be the first to know of these artists (also almost making them the 'trendsetters of music').


Issue Number: the issue number establishes what issue this is. For example, if it is Issue 17, it is the 17th issue of that magazine. In the above case, the magazine is Issue 1172/1173. This gives the idea that the magazine has been around for a while and that there have been many published issues of the magazine, usually giving further understanding of the magazine's popularity and success. I aim to use this magazine feature as it will enable my readers to keep track of which issue they are on, meaning they are aware of any that they have missed.


Barcode: barcodes generally contain information on the price of the magazine, but also allows the stores to keep track of how many copies have been sold through technology, making it easier for the magazine company to produce sales statistics etc. Due to my magazine not being free, I will add a barcode to ensure that if someone were to buy my magazine, shops could easily register the price, whilst also maintaining a professional feel throughout my front cover.

Research and Planning: Genre & Moodboard

My magazine will be of a particular genre that I have chosen; a mix between Contemporary R&B and Indie Rock. I have chosen these genres as they are familiar to me and I believe my knowledge could enhance my magazine and make it of better quality
I have composed a prezi based on the research and planning of my genre and embedded it below. If you cannot view this prezi, I will also paste the link below.


https://prezi.com/qpetcs5tyjjr/research-and-planning-genre/




I have also embedded a music video below, from one of the artists that would fit into my category; Lana Del Rey. Below is her music video for her song, Blue Jeans (released 2012):




Below, I have created a mood board, in order to put across my genre in a theme that is similar to what I'd like my magazine to have. There are examples of artists and albums on this moodboard, as well as red feature areas that relate to my black, white and red classic theme:

As you can see, I am using artists of both genders in order to attract a primary audience of both genders. I believe that females empower women, and are highly liked by women due to their desire to be like them, although at the same time, the 'Laura Mulvey theory' of 'the male gaze' also will attract males to the magazine. Males on the cover could also be due to sexual attraction from females, but will be more regularly noticed due to their fame and place in music at that current period. The artists that I am using are either legends of this genre, claiming the charts at this very moment, or are up and coming artists that my audience should look out for. This provides a variety of artists within my genres and will give my magazine that extra something else, therefore attracting my target audience and selling my magazine.

When considering my genres, there are certain events and songs that I associate with my genre, for example, festivals. I would associate the Contemporary R&B side of my magazine with Wireless festival, in terms of the relations with the artists that cover that side of my genre often playing gigs there and my target audience of this genre attending this type of festival. Below, I have posted a video of Drake playing a song from his set at Wireless festival 2015:



When I think about the Indie Rock section of my genre, I think of Leeds festival due to those that enjoy indie rock being frequent visitors of this festival. Below I have posted a video of Catfish and the Battlement playing a song from their set at Leeds festival 2015:

Project Outline

     As my AS Media Studies coursework, I am required to produce a front cover, contents page and double page spread of a music magazine of my choice of genre. To do this, I must use a Desktop Publisher (e.g. Powerpoint, Word etc) and an Image Manipulation Program to produce these pages. I will also use at least 4 my own images of my own model to help produce an article to feature as the Double Page Spread of my magazine, whilst using appropriate layouts and texts. 

     Additionally, prior to producing this magazine, I will produce a mock cover page in order to demonstrate my understanding of the project.
     This unit will assess my ability to:
          * demonstrate a critical understanding of how my project aims to provide meaning to my audience, applying my knowledge to do so
          * plan and produce realistic media products using appropriate technical and creative skills and programs
          * be independent throughout my research and planning, and throughout the application of what I gather