AS Media Studies : Preliminary Task - Research and Planning

In this section, prior to constructing my school magazine, I have undertaken research and analysis of a range of existing school magazines. This will enable me to understand the required codes and conventions of this media product.

The following images have been selected as appropriate for my genre of magazine.

This picture would work well as a school magazine cover because it shows off the student as happy, the girl in the picture is singing which shows that the school has extra activities for the students apart from pure learning, it makes the school look more interesting. this picture is also good because you can straight up see the school badge which shows what school the magazine belongs to. However, the picture could be seen as inappropriate for the school magazine as the girls uniform is messy with the rolled up sleeve and hair ties around wrist, that would give the school a bad reputation.

This picture would be appropriate as a front cover for a school magazine as the girl is doing a science experiment, this shows that the school provides fun tasks activities for students to experience whilst learning. The picture is also good because it demonstrates that the girl is dressed appropriately for the experiment, her hair is tied back , sleeves rolled up and shes wearing goggles to protect her eyes. Nevertheless, some could argue that this picture wouldn't go well as a front cover because it looks like the girl is unattended and is doing the experiment on her own, making it look as though the school doesn't look after its students.

In this picture we can see a happy student which makes the school look good as it shows that the students are happy to be attending this school. The picture would be suitable for a front cover of a school magazine because you can see again that the girl is doing a science experiment which makes the school seem more interesting. You can also see the schools badge once again which straight away tells us what school the magazine belongs to. However, this photo isn't good because the student isn't wearing any protective eye wear which makes the school look like it doesn't look after its students.

This picture would be good as a front cover of a magazine because you can see a mid shot of a boy doing work at school. The boy is looking straight at the reader which draws the reader into reading the magazine. This picture however would be mainly seen as inappropriate to use as a school magazine cover as the boy is left unattended using a sharp object, the bot isn't wearing any goggles and looks like he could be easily hurt. This makes the school look bad and would give it a bad reputation.

This picture is very suitable as a front cover of a school magazine because it is a mid-shot of a girl playing netball. The picture is taken very professionally and in action. The picture is really good as the girl seems cheerful which makes it look like she enjoys the school. In addition the girl is looking straight at the reader so it draws them into reading the magazine more.

School magazine mock up cover