Music Magazine Analysis

Contents page conventions

• Contents pages exist to tell you what is in a magazine. They provide the page numbers of where different articles are located in the magazine.
• They are based on a grid structure and rulers are used to line them up correctly.
• They are made of 1 or 2 columns, and these will have subheadings for each column.
• Numbers are used to locate where different things in the magazine are located, these are the page numbers.
• There may also be photos of content with captions which are used to engage the audience more. If the photo is large, the more important it is to the issue of the magazine.
• Articles and features use larger, bolder text. 
• Underneath each article or feature name is a blurb which gives a small amount of information on what the article or feature is about.
• There may also be an editors letter or a section with information on the magazine subscription.

Rule of Thirds

The rule of thirds is one of the main rules when it comes to photography. It comes from the theory that the human eye naturally gravitates to certain points in an image. It is actually the most known rule of photography.

With the rule of thirds, photographs are divided with two imaginary lines horizontally and two vertically, splitting it into three rows, three columns and nice sections.

Important elements of the photograph should be placed on or near the imaginary lines on the image.

Some examples:

With landscapes, it is better if the horizon falls on the top imaginary line or the bottom imaginary line as opposed to directly in the centre (which is natural)

With portraits, it is best if the eyes are located where the horizontal and the vertical lines intersect.

Photos look better when they are located off centre.

Final school magazine front cover

I have completed my final front cover for the school magazine. It is a slightly updated version in comparison to the previous one displayed on the blog, with the headline and strapline slightly enlarged in comparison to before.

In comparison to the first draft, due to the positioning of the face, some of the text has been moved as to not cover the face in the main image.

The text is mostly red, because this is the man colour that the school uses (on the badge/logo, website, documents) which means that is very fitting. The red shows that it is the school's magazine as the red is part of the school's image.

The choice of a student (yr7-11) happy and with thumbs slightly visible s because it links with the headline of a great start - the photo shows that the student in the photo has had a great start to the year. It is even more fitting in that it is of a year 7 student as they are a new student. 

There is also a large banner at the bottom with white text that is mentioning an interview with Ms Campbell. This is in a different fill because of the transparent banner behind it being red. 

I have used a pug because it is likely to attract people to the magazine, especially considering it is giving an offer - which people often like.

The headline, as expected, is large. The strapline is sized specifically to fit directly under the headline to make it look neat.

The font is a sans-serif font. It means it looks a lot more modern and therefore as a result is fitting with the students. Each generation of students has a different 'modern' to other generations. In addition to this, the school is having a modern new building built and therefore a modern font reflects that the school is modern. 

Possible images for the school magazine contents page

Screenshot of the website (relating to the article about new school website)

School Magazine Contents Page Layout Sketches

The images below show my layout sketches for the contents page, on the school magazine. Each one contains room for a main image and two smaller images (though one of the smaller images could be removed to allow for more text).

School Magazine Front Cover Final Draft

With the final draft I have changed to my real main image, this will be used on the final front cover for the school magazine. Some of the text has been moved so it does not obstruct the face on the main image in comparison to the first draft.

The only issue with this is the smaller size for the headline and coverline. This is because of image positioning not being complete checked and this will be fixed in the final front cover.

Photos for the school magazine

School Magazine Draft 1

This is my first draft. It contains all of the content that will be on the final front cover, except the main image. The main image will be replaced and the content will be slightly reorganised to fit around the main image for the final magazine cover.

All of the text, features, the headline and the strapline will be featured on the final front cover for the magazine, but as noted above, may be slightly moved around and reorganised to allow them to fit around the main image.

The main image will be taken on Monday 10th October with the final front cover finished by Thursday 13th October.