Planning - Flatplan

A flatplan is a page plan of a magazine/publication which maps out the elements and the layout  of the product. They are used to ensure all of the people working on the product are aware of how the finished item will appear and they are also able to work around it.

Flatplans for my sixth form magazine

Below are the flatplans for the front page and contents page for my own sixth form magazine.

Front Page

Contents Page

Generic Research - Summary of sixth form/college magazine analyses.

What forms and conventions can you identify in sixth form/college magazines?

• Branding: like all magazines, there is a sense of branding. Demonstrated through the use of a school logo and the iconography of the school colours. 

• Masthead: for two out of three of the magazines I analysed, the masthead was placed in the top third of the front cover. This is also often the case with other magazines from other genres, implying this is the norm - a convention. On "The Novaportan" magazine, the masthead was in the lower third, showing how it is a magazine that is perhaps marketed for a more niche audience since it does not follow the regular codes and conventions of magazines.

• Contents page: there is often an editor's note welcoming readers - this may also take the form of a "headteacher's introduction" in sixth form magazine.

How are students and young people represented in these publications?

In these magazines, young people are often presented as youthful and full of joy. The abundance of colours on the magazine reflects this and how a teenager's time at school is supposedly one of the best times of their life. It reflects nostalgia and happy memories. 

Who would the audience be for these publications? How can you tell? What techniques have been used?

The primary target audience would undoubtedly be the students. The magazines' format are broken up and easy to read, suitable for a young audience. The content is aimed for a student audience - the magazines are written by students, for students.

There would be a secondary audience of parents and teachers - the magazine also has aspects for these demographics. For example, "The Novaportan's" house style is very formal and suitable for a more mature audience with the way the font is all serif and the colour scheme is very mature.

Generic Research - Analysis of sixth form magazine 3.

Sixth form magazine analysis 3 from 10-klam

Third and final analysis of a sixth form magazine.

Generic Research - Analysis of sixth form magazine 2.

Sixth form mag analysis 2 from 10-klam

Another analysis of a sixth form magazine.

Generic Research - Analysis of sixth form/college magazine.

Analysis of sixth form magazine from 10-klam

This is my analysis of a college magazine.

Planning - A montage of me.

This is a small montage that I created on Photoshop of everything which I think represents me. 

Genre:
No specific genre. Perhaps coming-of-age?

Language:
The background is a light baby blue that gradients from the bottom left hand corner to the top right. My name in the middle is also blue, my favourite colour.

The photos surrounding my name indicate all these photos are things that mean something to me. For example, there is a picture of my friends and I at prom. My friends are extremely important to me and the photo highlights how close we all are. There are also photos from my adventures whilst travelling, an incredibly important aspect of my life. There are pictures from my holidays in Hong Kong and Crete. Finally there is a photo from a concert I recently went to as music is an inexplicably important part of my life and concerts are events I thoroughly enjoy.

Audience:
n/a

Representation:
This image represents me as somebody who is adventurous, interested in photography and enjoys the company of others rather than spending time in solitude. The photos are all very colourful which perceives me to have a bright and uplifting character.

Narrative:
n/a

Planning - Editing photos

This is the original photo.

This is the edited photo.

Firstly, I raised the exposure of the photo so that more detail of the petals could be showcased.

Then I increased the contrast of the photo to make the flower and it's individual petals stand out more.

Additionally, by heightening the saturation of the photo, the lilac colour of the roses and the green in the leaves in the background are much more vibrant, giving the photo more life.

Finally, I experimented with various different filters and settled for the "Fade" filter, giving the photo a slightly brighter, more luminescent effect.

Planning - Why I chose to study media

Media studies has always been a subject I've been intensely fascinated in. Being constantly surrounded by media, I wanted to explore and understand the industry much more. I decided to study it at GCSE level because the topics interested me but I just mainly wanted to take part in some filming, directing and photography. The more practical aspects of the course persuaded me. But along the way I became interested in studying representation and how people of different ethnicities, religion, sexuality, gender etc. are all portrayed through the media. The theoretical and controversial aspects of media changed the way I viewed everything around me - films, television shows, music videos, even the news. It made me question whether people of colour were being represented fairly and accurately. Was television news really a reliable source of updates on current affairs? How does the media affect people of today's society? I understood that my perception of the media prior to taking the GCSE in it was far too naive and ignorant. As a consumer, I had been far too passive. I thank myself everyday for taking media studies as it really opened my eyes into how the industry worked. I now know not to simply sit there and absorb everything the media throws at us. I have learnt to question and challenge it. To put it simply, media studies changed my life.

I decided to carry on with media studies into AS Level because I think there is still much more to be discussed and to be learned since it is an ever-growing industry.