A2 Media

9-7-09 & 10-7-09

For our next project, we are going to be entering a competition producing a film 3-10 minutes long based around underage drinking. Underage drinking has become a major factor within the UK in these present times, and we need to start bringing awareness to all those who participate. It will be entitled 'Consider the consequences' and is rather self explanetary. The charity working alongside this project is called 'Alcohelp'. The website containing a full brief is www.alcohelp.co.uk/consider
Our target audience for this project is 13 year olds, which we found to be quick an astonishing age to work around. They are very young to even consider drinking, whether or not it is on a regular basis or once in a while. Within the film we are able to include one of the following aspects that cause underage drinking to start with to bring awareness to those involved.
They are:
- Peer pressure
- Violence
- Long term health problems
- Truancy
- Binge Drinking

This is to raise awareness of the different issues, and if a particular child has experienced on of these, the short film will aim to show how it needn't be the case.
We have to portray how underage drinking isn't fun and games, but does have serious consequences. For a homework task, we were asked to research into the topic thoroughly and find statistics that will shock our audience.
As I found in my research, long term health issues if starting to drink alcohol at an early age consist of things like Brain damage, liver disease, cancer risks and loss of awareness, for example sleeping with somebody whilst being drunk and becoming pregnant. Young people do not realise these consequences, and until they see it to believe it, it may not become apparent. Statistics gained within my research, showed how many young children these days can buy alcohol within a shop without being questionned of their age. This makes it easier for underage drinking to occur, as parents are not in control of their children's behaviour if they do not see what goes on. Also, 54% of children said that they drink within the home. This is a shocking statistic, but it doesn't state whether this is just one or on a regular basis. Children as young as 12 have been admitted as alcoholics due to excessive drinking on a regular basis. This is hard to understanding, when you automatically think of young children being innocent and well behaved in many parts of the country.
However, alot of the underage binge drinking occurs within parks and outside locations where parents are unable to see the effects of what they do. Many young children say they do this because they have no other activities they can become involved in.
In the second part of our lesson, we started to understand how different aspects of the film could make it more influential and realistic using several techniques. We looked at how documentary type films often use interviewing techniques, cutaways, and still images to get the message across clearly. I like the use of voiceovers in many short films, as I feel it makes it affective when trying to understand the point of the film. This could be affective when producing the alcohol awareness short film, as many of these techniques could attract the audience and inform them of the effects their drinking will have in the future.

Lesson 3

A2- 25/06/09

In this lesson, we were able to get into our new groups to begin on our task of creating a short film titled 'Rape Awareness'. This film is based around personal safety, and has to encorporate a serious side so it is believable to our audiences.
It is aimed at young girls mainly because they are the most vulnerable when looking at statistics of rape and how it occurs. My group chose to use this time to research the topic so we had a clearer perspective of the topic. We found some shocking statistics which included the fact that nearly all rapes are committed by people that the victim has known within their life. We chose the specific statistics that we are going to use within our film, and next lesson we will start to film this sequence. Our storyboards are now completed so when it comes to filming, it will be easier to create, as we are all aware of what shots we are going to use and the sequence of events.
As we found in our other task titled 'The telephone call', planning is vital to completing a successful film. Although the practical side of filming can take a lot longer to come to terms with, the planning helps this become alot easier as we are aware of what to do in order to create the film.

A2

18th & 19th June 2009.

In both lessons we were continuing to develop our ability when using the cameras. In the double lesson, we were able to get into small groups and work together to produce a small film titled 'The Phone Call''. We had to plan using a storyboard so we knew what shots we were going to use and the length in which we were filming for. We used the setting of an underpass, and near a forest for our two locations. After filming we were able to use the apple mac's to start to edit the film and place the shots in the appropriate order. This took alot of time and effort was worth it when looking at the outcome of our first short film.
Through this process I have learnt that filming takes alot of time and effective planning, if the film is to be a success. From this, we now have an understanding of how to use the apple macs which we can now use to edit all work that we produce for this unit. The editing takes time to come to terms with, however overtime this will be a great help to our overall outcome, and help us develop our understanding od film altogether.

A2 Media Blog.

Tuesday 9th June 09-

Today we made a start at looking at the practical side of film for our next piece of media work. As we are aware, it is going to be a harder and more challenging project than our magazine production, as it uses a different type of equipment to produce a different type of media.
In this lesson we used the video cameras to try and catch different shots, like medium shots, long shots and close ups, while also trying to use and practice camera movements like panning and tracking.
I learnt that this was alot harder then what it looks like, and keeping the camera still without a tripod is extremely challenging as every slight movement can be shown. The cameras themselves, I found to be slightly confusing, but after practice and more experience this became easier to do.

Final Piece

This is the overall outcome of my magazine. If you click on the images, they will appear bigger for a clearer picture.

Poporama!

Front cover

Contents Page


Double Page Spread

Foundation Portfolio Evaluation

I have now completed the foundation portfolio task, using photoshop. It is called ‘Poporama!’ and I decided to produce my magazine within the Pop genre. I have produced a front cover, contents page and a double page spread with photography and interviews.

Top of the pops is a existing magazine within the music industry. Here I am looking at the conventions of both music magazines, my own production and Top of the pops and seeing how they use, develop and challenge each other. In both magazines, you can see from my research and planning that I have incorporated the glossy front cover style, similar fonts and images of celebrity icons. It also gives an insight into the content inside the magazine by showing different images and exclusive information on the front cover.

Here is my contents page with another pop magazine contents. They are slightly different in the layout, but both portray the correct message to the target audience. They both feature exclusive content, reader interactivity included in the content, and both fit the genre of pop itself. Bright colours and the house style shown on both, are represented clearly through the contents pages.

The double page spread again has used bright colours that fits into the pop genre. As shown in this slide the double page has used the famous icons to represent the music industry. Celebrities are used to attract the audience, as well as the exclusive features shown in both magazines. My magazine has used these conventions of a pop magazine which is already on the market. The house styles has been carried throughout each page which can be clearly seen here.

‘Poporama!’ presents particular social groups in a variety of ways. To show this I have compared it to NME which is based around the rock genre, rather than pop. They tend to show the social groups by using bright and dark colouring, different style of language and different content information. This will attract people who are into this particular music and genre, whereas mine has more girly features and celebrity advice which will fulfil the reflecting of social groups.

I have gained an understanding of the different publishers and how they fulfil their audience needs. If I were to publish ‘Poporama!’, I would use IPC Media. This is because they show a high success rate, and already publish the well known music magazine NME. Statistics show that they reach most of our population within Britain and produce a high variety of magazines. IPC media have a big audience who constantly invest within there company. ‘Poporama!’ will reach my target audience and become a success if published with IPC.

My target audience for ‘Poporama!’ is shown through the layout and colouring of the magazine itself. It shows that it is aimed at young girls, from around 9 years old to early teens who are still in need of finding their identity. Outgoing girls who like to talk about music that falls into the pop category are also the perfect audience for ‘Poporama!’. Escapism through the uses and gratifications of a magazine, shows how my target audience would feel the need to read the magazine as a way of leaving the real world and becoming closer to their celebrity idols.

Attracting my target audience within my front cover was thought about thoroughly in the production of my magazine. The low price will encourage people to buy the magazine and the celebrity icon giving advice within an exclusive interview, will make the young girls want to learn more about themselves and escape the real world. The pastel colours straight away reflect who the magazine is aimed at so it is distinctly different from others that already fall into the pop genre. Free inserts like posters in this case make people want to buy the magazine more than if it was without. This is an effect used by many magazine producers, as girls and other audiences want to use these for themselves.

The learning process when producing ‘Poporama!’ was very challenging. When we initially started to use Photoshop, I was very stuck with the process and I didn’t feel I was learning a lot when I wasn’t seeing a possible outcome. However, through trial and error and practicing on Photoshop with a lot of my time, I managed to produce my magazine to great effect. I have learnt a great deal whether it be time management, or the planning and research. It has made me think carefully about everything when it comes to production, and how important planning is before you start. The images I have used were thought about extremely carefully from the costume to where they were taken, as the genre has to been shown clearly.

The blogs in which we were asked to keep, made me confused at the beginning of our production. However, after being told about how to produce them effectively, I found that the blogs were for track of progress and to show how we overcome problems. Blogs posted recently whilst doing both the preliminary task and final task include images of what would work, and progress of my magazine itself.

From the preliminary task to my final music magazine, you can see there has been great changes. The development in skills and outcome can be seen through the different magazines as shown in this slide. I have taken the challenges and problems which occurred during the preliminary task and tackled them, which overall has made a huge difference. I was constantly developing new skills throughout both tasks, and this progress is also reflected within my blogs.

To conclude this foundation portfolio production, I have learnt a great deal. Through the process of trial and error, I was able to produce a pop magazine to a professional standard. Within my presentation I have included the enjoyments and challenges that I have faced and overcome. There are icons which show which blog will reflect what the slide is about with detailed reference, and if the images of slides are clicked on they will appear bigger so they are clearer to see.
I am proud with my achievement, and feel that the magazine production has been an enjoyable task. Although it was challenging, I have put my skill to good use and worked hard in order to get my magazine to the standard that it is. I have learnt that in order to complete a task on this scale, patience is the key to success.

Lesson 22

Lesson 22: 27-03-09

This lesson was spent thinking carefully about the evaluation process and how we need to present our blogs to gain the higher levels.
We thought carefully about our target audiences, and how it has affected our decisions when producing our magazines. After this, we were able to spend the lesson on what we needed to work on whether it be the production or taking extra images. This lesson helped us organise what is still needed to be completed and to start thinking about what is required for our evaluation when the product is complete.

Lesson 21

Lesson 21: 26-03-09

This lesson we were able to spend the majority of our time working on our foundation portfolio final production. The front cover needs a little more work, and more text about the promotions, and the double page spread is almost complete. The contents page has been started, and is looking the way I had planned. This lesson was simply spent organising our production and making progress.
The photoshop application is becoming a lot more familiar, and I feel I am constantly learning new tools which is helping the progress of the magazine. From the preliminary task through to this foundation portfolio, I have learnt that everything is possible within photo manipulation when using the right tools to work with. I feel this has been successful in the way that I have learnt new ways of using software and although I have found it a challenge, the commitment and dedication is starting to show with the outcome of my magazine.

This an example of the process in which I am producing my final product. This is the start of my contents page, although there is still alot of editing to be done.

Lesson 20

Lesson 20: 24-03-09

In this lesson we discussed the ways in which different magazine companies produce a wide variety of magazines which will suit the majority of readers. We looked at three main institutions which publish the different magazine's and researched their websites to see which would most suit our product itself.
We looked at Emap, ipc and Bauer. There websites showed a range of magazine styles from boating magazines to the music magazines themselves. IPC is said to reach approximately 70% of women and 50% of men within the UK. This is a great amount of our population and shows how this publisher has become a success by producing the wide range.
The website of IPC, http://www.ipcmedia.com/ shows the way they address their audiences, and the different magazines they produce.
Emap shows a different way to their publications, and doesn't show to be as successful as IPC productions. The website, http://www.emap.com/ also shows the different ways in which emap works, and tells us the different genre's of magazine's they produce.
Bauer was the last magazine publisher that we looked at in detail, and includes a variety of genres within their collection. http://www.bauer.co.uk/ again shows the variety of magazines, from Q and Kerrang! down to the magazine's such as Take a Break and Mother & Baby. This shows that these producers like to widen their audiences and supply the right magazine for the majority of our population. There shows to be magazines specifically aimed at men like FHM and Zoo, and also magazines aimed at only women, such as Heat and Grazia.

After thinking about my magazine product itself, I have decided that if I were to choose an institution in which to publish my magazine, I would most likely use IPC. This is because they show to have a wide collection of magazines with a very popular and high audience rate. There success is reflected through their website, and the collection of magazines show how they can compensate for every type of audience, whether it be from specific sports or TV magazines.

Lesson 19

Lesson 19: 20-03-09

In this lesson, we concentrated on the theory side of our media product and looked at a powerpoint presentation about the assessment criteria so we have an idea of where to aim.
It told us the division of marks and the levels in which we needed in order to gain the highest of our ability.
The Foundation Portfolio consists of three sections, the Research and Planning, the Music Magazine itself and the Evaluation. These are all of great importance towards to development of the product and how much work is involved in order to make it successful.
The pictures that we take to use within the magazine, have to be thought about very carefully including where and what is within the shot itself. I have an understanding that a variety of shots including both long shots and close ups will make the magazine more effective, without just using the same style of image throughout.

Lesson 18

Lesson 18: 19-03-09

In this lesson we used the ICT suite to make a start on our media product, the music magazine. I used photoshop to start the front cover of my pop magazine named 'Poporama!' and thought about the type of image I was going to use for the front page. From the plans that I produced during the preparation, I had an idea that I wanted to have a bright and bold front cover, with a bubble writing effect as the title to fit the pop genre. I thought this was appropriate to the style of music that I have chosen to base the magazine around. The use of music notes as imagery and bright colours fulfils the expectations of a pop magazine, and I am currently in the process of producing the front page.

This image is the one that I have chosen to use for the front page. I thought it would work well with the genre of Pop, as the participant looks glamorous and fits the style well. The iconic girly features will express the genre clearly, and I am going to cut the body out of the background using photoshop, so the background will not be shown.

This image that was also taken as part of the process, I do not feel works as well as the image above. The positioning of her body doesn't reflect the right message that I need in order to make this magazine production a success. The shot was not taken correctly, and therefore cuts out a part of her left arm. This is a problem when coming to work on the image in photoshop, as it will not look effective as a the image on the front page of the magazine itself.

I have learnt that it is alot more time consuming than what I originally thought. In order for this to be a success, I have to spend a significant amount working on my final product so it is at a professional standard.

Lesson 17

Lesson 17: 17-03-09



In today's lesson, we focussed on the Uses and Gratifications approach within our media consumption. It made us think carefully about how we can involve these ideas within our magazine production to fulfil our target audience needs. The uses and gratifications is the notion that we choose what we consume as an audience, and ties in four main subjects.

1. Escapism- Where readers have a chance to get away from reality, and become engrosed in what they are involved in.
2. Personal Relationships- Where the audience feel they have a significant relationship with the celebrity they are reading or looking at.
3. Personal Identity- Where the trends and ways of living become shown through the particular media product, which consequently makes people make a statement about themselves and discover their own identities.
4. Surveillance- Where the readers and audiences learn about the world around them, whether it be about music itself or a particular news topic.

I have an understanding that all of these points that come under the uses and gratifications, have dangers and can often make people believe lies about certain issues and take things too far when consuming their own media. We also discovered that there are certain ways in which our media product the music magazine, can include these aspects which will fulfill their needs to full effect.

Lesson 16

Lesson 16: 12-03-09

In todays lesson we had access to the computers within the ICT suite, to make a start on a final product. I looked at my previous plans for the pop music magazine that I am going to produce, and started to think carefully about the practical side and how the layout is going to fit within the Photoshop element.
I started the middle page spread and started to add in the text that will be the information on photoshop. I have left spaces for the images that will be used on this page, and worked around what I need to add. I found the text needs to be thought about carefully, and quantity that is going to be on the page as there needs to be room on both sides for the logo, title, and captions aswell as the images themselves.
This is the first part of our practical task that I have started, and it has given me an understanding of how the planning needs to be precise and clear before starting.

Lesson 15

Lesson 15: 10-03-09

In this lesson, we looked at our plans of the magazines and produced them in greater detail. We considered the images, text, contents and articles that we were going to put into our magazine.
I produced a storyboard of the images that I am going to include within the magazine. Every page that I am going to produce will be thought about carefully and I have an understanding that the pages will need more than one image each. I found that it will be better if I take more than the amount of images needed and choose from then, rather than being limited to what I am able to use.
After the images were roughly drawn, I used the time to think about the article that will produced for the double page centre spread. I have chosen to keep to the genre of the magazine, by having a pop icon and idol being the centre of attention with an interview style spread. It will consist of questions and answers from the personal response of the chosen pop star, so the younger readers within my target audience will be inspired to achieve.
This lesson made me think carefully about the planning required before setting out to physically take the images. The storyboard of ideas will be helpful when taking the images, as I will know what images I need for the production of my magazine.

Lesson 14

Lesson 14: 7-3-09

In this lesson we started to think about the content and layouts of our magazine, brainstorming anf noting down different ideas. This was quite challenging, as we had to think about the genre, title, captions and images that will need to be taken in order to make the magazine a success.
Images, content, layout, font, style and colours are all needed to make a music magazine, and how we portray these is key to making an interaction with our audiences.
There has to be a house style, in order to keep the readers attracted and in line with the magazine and how it is presenting its information. The magazine's have to be thought about with great detail, before the producing of the final product starts to take place.
Here, we have learnt how important it is to think about every aspect in detail in order to produce a magazine which has a significant impact on its readers and will make them want to read it again.

Lesson 13

Lesson 13: 5-3-09

In this lesson, we had access to the computer room and ability to produce a powerpoint presentation on a music magazine of our choice.
The magazine which I focussed on, was Kerrang!. This gave me an insight into how the heavy rock genre was portrayed to it's audience and how they present the specific styled bands in a variety of ways. Within the presentation, we had to show the success of the magazine through circulation and readership figures, how it was first produced and made a high valued magazine, and the ways it attracts it's target audience.
It was an insightful lesson, that made us think carefully about the magazine's and how the different music genres had various ways of representing the different aspects within the read.

Lesson 12

Lesson 12: 03-03-09

In todays lesson we had to write an exam style essay under timed conditions, about the magazines print and online versions and how they target their specific audiences.
This enabled us to think carefully about how the online versions of the music magazines offer many other aspects than what is avaliable in the printed versions. I found that the music magazine of NME- New Musical Express, had a lot more video footage of the music agenda and had a lot more interactivity than the printed version. The printed versions of all magazines are going to be limited in what they can offer as many of them are only weekly, if not monthly issues. Therefore, the most up to date news about music is going to be shown on the online versions and through E-Mail newsletters where avaliable.
This task helped me to think about how the different magazines portray different aspects in each version of their music news. It enables me to think how many magazines keep the same style on the online version, and how different the information can be in both the printed and online versions.

Lesson 11

Lesson 11: 27-02-09

In this lesson we focussed on a specific magazine genre in pairs, and how they use different symbols to represent the genre itself. The magazine that I looked at was NME which is New Musical Express. I come to the conclusion that this fell under the category of Rock, as within the magazine there were many references to rock itself whether it be certain bands or the colour connotations and imagery. There were a lot of use of the colours black and red which symbolise a depressing and low tone. This was also expressed within the content of the magazine in specific stories, including one from the band 'White Lies' who portrayed themselves as being very unhappy and are only within their band because it is a ''necessity''. There were many references to the fact that it is targeted at older teens and people in their 20's who enjoy the music of rock, as there is certain language that is used with 'rock' terms which I think if you weren't a regular reader, it would become harder to understand.
This lesson helped me gain an indepth understanding into how each different genre of music can have a great impact on the type of magazine that is produced. Whether it be from the colour and imagery used, to the type of stories and general tone of the magazine, they are carefully thought about to target the right audience.

Lesson 10

Lesson 10: 26-02-09

In our double lesson today, we used the computer room to finish any left over work from our preliminary task, so we have a clear understanding of how to produce our music magazine main task. We needed time to be completely comfortable with photoshop so we can produce the magazine to the highest possible standard with every element taken into account.
I managed to complete the task, along with the contents page. This helped me to understand how the contents page and front cover had to have a specific connection. This is to make the magazine recognisable with it's own personal feel, with colour connotations that will reflect and symbolise the producers and magazine itself. I used the same font and colour scheme for the front cover and contents page to make this connection, and it taught me how important this is for a professional magazine standard.

Lesson 9

Lesson 9: 24-02-09

In this lesson we got into small groups of three or four, and produced brainstorms on different genres of music to help with our final task of creating a music magazine. We had to think about pop, hip hop/R'n'B, dance, rock and the different forms of these genres. In our group, we each assigned to a genre and produced four A3 mind maps with all the information about each genre and gave examples of current bands that would fall into these categories. We also thought about popular magazines that portray these bands in different ways, which helped us understand how different types of music are reflected in order to target their specific audiences.
This task helped me in the way that it showed us how different genres of music are presented to give off certain effects. The target audiences are attracted by using different ways of presenting the music, whether it be from the lyrics used or in different magazines that specialise in the certain music type.

Lesson 8

Lesson 8: 12-02-09

In this lesson we had the time to produce our preliminary task of the front cover of the St Mark's school magazine. We individually chose the layout, images, font types, information and colour schemes to our front covers, and tried to think specifically about our target audiences.
The task was to help us think about our ideas carefully, so when it comes to producing our music magazine, it will enable us to use the appropriate techniques to fulfil the aims effectively.
The school magazine that I produced was specifically targeted to the Sixth Form of St Mark's only. Therefore, I used an image using two year twelves as the front cover and included captions of information that was included within the content that would appeal directly to the Sixth Form. UCAS tips, exam technique and star sixth former were all parts that would have been included within the magazine, which was made clearly on the front cover. The layout was bold, and used vibrant colours as the image was situated within the library which suggests the study side to the sixth form itself. The front cover was made to fulfil the needs of the sixth form and included topics which would have been useful and informative for the readers. I think this task worked very well, and I enjoyed producing the front cover thinking carefully about every detail, and I was happy with the outcome. It will help give us an insight into the expectations of an audience,
espcially when it comes to making our music magazine as part of our coursework.

'On Your Marks' front cover finished product.

'On Your Marks' contents page finished product.

Lesson 7

Lesson 7: 10-02-09

In this lesson, we had the opportunity to go out and use the digital cameras to full effect. It allowed us to take our images that we want for our front cover of the school magazine preliminary task. We had to consider how many pictures we wanted on the front cover, before going out to take them so we knew what we wanted to capture. Planning was essential in this part of the task if it was going to be a success. We had to think about how the images would fit the A4 page, and whether they were suitable to our specfic audience whether it be just the 6th Form, Staff or the school as a whole. We gained an understanding into how we should think carefully about everything in the shot, so when it comes to producing the front cover, it is slightly easier and more effective. On my front cover, I had an idea and knew the way in which I wanted my image to look which inturn will give off the right message. The layout, size and camera angles were thought about with great consideration, because I want my magazine cover to be a success and appeal to those who will gain the most out of the information inside.

Lesson 6

Lesson 6: 5-2-09

In todays lesson, we used photoshop to adjust our images which we took in pairs the previous lesson. It gave us a chance to use photoshop and see how it worked so we could use it to great effect. I completed two front covers, one of which I didn't like as much as the other. It gave us an insight into how it worked, and how we could adapt our photo's to fit the A4 size, adding text, and creating different effects on each image. This let us understand what type of effects are successful when creating a front page of a magazine, and I now know how to use photoshop with the specific tools needed to make my preliminary task a success.

Lesson Five

Lesson Five: 30-1-09

Today in pairs, we completed a photo task and had to take photo's which would suit a magazine called 'Nature'. We had to think about everything that was going to be useful as a front page of this type of magazine, thinking about its target audience group and how well the image would symbolise nature itself. Adam and myself took four images altogether, and thought carefully about the framing and everything that was shown within the shot. We saw a contrast in colours by the pond scenery which helped create a powerful image portraying that nature aspect of the magazine. It could promote many messages within the images taken, and this task helped us to think carefully about how many things we have to take into account before taking a picture which would be suitable for a specific magazine.

Lesson 4

Lesson 4: 29-1-09

In todays lesson, we had a photoshop tutorial consisting of an expert in the field coming to discuss the benefits and functions of photoshop, which we can then use when producing our magazine. Photoshop is a program on the computer which helps adjust a particular image to fit our own purpose. We got taught how to use the basic skills we need in order to use photoshop effectively. In the second part of our double lesson, we started to focus on an indepth analysis of two front cover of magazines which are from universities. 'Newsman' is a magazine aimed at undergraduates of Newman College, and 'Quad' is a magazine aimed at postgraduates from Queens College in the University of London. Both differ very much in the way they are presented and we looked at the different aspects like font, layout, titles, colour and the overall presentation. From this we could make a finialised conclusion, and produce a detailed textual analysis which is our homework task for next week.

Homework Task- Magazine Research

Homework Task-

Research into school magazine: Leaving School Issue 7.

This magazine focussed on what issues are raised once you have left school itself, hence the magazine name. There is a picture of a famous celebrity on the front cover, which would be appealing to students as it is what they want to know as well. The front cover includes ASOS fashion tips for him and her, sexual health advice, Diplomas uncovered and a land based careers special. There is a play on words, as it says ‘Paint the town Pink’, which is also the name of the celebrity revealed on the front page. The contents include many different aspects of the magazine that appeals to its target audience. This magazine looks like it has been aimed specifically at the younger generation and just the students, rather than acknowledging staff and parents. It shows that it includes advice about different ways of post student life from diploma discussion, to sexual health advice. There are advertisements including Price Water House Coopers, which is aimed at students who want to go to university, other adverts include RAF careers and Camp America opportunities which give advice to students that are leaving school. A main part of the magazine’s purpose is the careers advice. There shows to be a lot of information about different careers that will suit the majority of its readers from NHS health workers, down to careers at sea. There is an entertainment section which includes the celebrity Pink and a page full of information on her and how she made her career a success. This has probably been used as a way of showing how any person is able to make something of themselves, as she is famous for being quite an uncontrollable character. There is a page of reviews towards the end of the magazine, which shows film of the month, game of the month, and a response card. This suggest that this is a monthly magazine, and it gives the students a guidance into there life after school. I think that this type of magazine looks very professional, and will gain an audience successfully. It consists of 50 printed pages of information on various topics, and shows to have a balance between informative topics like careers advice, to more personal advice and celebrity gossip like the information on Pink.

Didn't know how to do a link! Website is:

http://www.leavingschool.co.uk/downloads/LS_7.pdf

Lesson 3

23-1-09
Lesson three- In todays lesson, we focussed on the making of the fron page of our school magazine. We looked at the ideas from our sales pitch and gained knowledge into the production layout. We continued in our groups of two's and three's to produce different issues of the magazine itself. In my group we included imaghes from previous magazines and tried to tie it in with our content ideas. On the front of the first issue which I produced, I included community news, a free promotional stationary set advertisement, wrote the cost in bold font and used many others. This lesson helped me gain an understanding into how we should consider all aspects when producing a front page of our magazine, from how appealing it is, to suiting our target audiences appropriately.

Lesson Two

22-1-09
Lesson Two- In this lesson, we worked on our sales pitch presentation which helped us see our ideas in a clear and understandable way. This will be very useful when starting to plan and produce our magazines and we listened to everyone elses ideas which was very effective. Within our groups of two's or three's we started to come up with a plan and gain a visual construction of how the magazine could look.
I worked with two other students within the class, and we came up with very good ideas which will benefit everyone. We focussed on how the magazine will be produced and included the costs of production. Our presentation included how we would attract and appeal to our target audiences of pupils, staff and parents by including different content on a monthly basis. We decided that we would include themed pages including a problem page, dates for upcoming school events, subject news, and a page about changes within the school. We worked out that with a 15 double page A4 magazine layout, including one coloured front cover and a ringbinder fastening, one magazine would cost around £1.06 to produce. Therefore, we came up with ideas in which we could make the money if we were to sell each magazine at 50p each. These included advertisements which would be of some use to the audience, inlcuding promotions from local food stores etc.
From this lesson, I learnt that we have to think carefully about the selection of items to produce the magazine. This can be very costly, if no profit would be made. Secondly, we have to think about what would suit the target audience as there has to be something to suit every kind of reader from a member of staff, to a parent of a student. Lastly, we have to show a mix of entertainment and fun from the school magazine, to a certain level of news and school topics. This would be a good balance and should suit our target audience with higher success.

Lesson One

20-1-09
Lesson one- In this lesson we focussed on The Foundation Portfolio. We were talking about the process and outcomes of the preliminary exercise. We have to be aware to consider all parts of the school magazine including, target audiences, content, format and the costs. We looked at the key themes of the school magazine, and started to work on our sales pitch presentation work, which will give us an insight into what we are going to produce. It will help us be able to see what will work within the magazine itself, and listen to other ideas which could be of our benefit.