I feel that my prelim task was successful in many ways; however, aspects could be improved to add an effective impact to my front cover and contents page as a whole.
The magazine school cover contains 2 images which I felt was an appropriate amount to capture and attract the target audience successfully. This ignored the disadvantage of not having any images which would give no sight and decline the audience. It also stopped over flowing of imagery which would also decline and give a negative first impression. I feel that the images were of a high quality. During the planning process, I decided on an image of the front of the school itself. On my front cover of the school magazine, I produced a low side shot which captured the graffiti, two different buildings, stairs, tree and the opening doors. The use of graffiti and different buildings emphasised diversity in the school. The stairs could be seen as showing Acland Burghley School always gets better and achieves higher. The front door opening gives a friendly, inviting feel. The second image on my front cover was of a pupil working, emphasising the hardworking, successful atmosphere the schools offers, which is echoed by the use of strap lines. If I was too reproduce these photos to achieve images of a higher quality, I would focus more on the setting and background of the shot. This is because, I felt, the second image particularly could of achieved a more effective impact. This has widened my knowledge on photography and media, which will ensure I gain a higher quality set of photos for my music magazine itself.
I decided 'ABS arts' as it I believe it is simple, but short and snappy masthead, which would achieve its purpose and attract the audience into purchasing the magazine. It is also memorable, which would widen the target audience, as pupils, teachers and parents are more likely to notify others, more than a longer, boring masthead. I used two different fonts. The font used on 'ABS' is very bold and stands out. It is quite a masculine font, giving an edgy feel. Whereas the other, 'arts' is more flowy and poetic, which can be seen as appealing to the female gender, this shows gender equality and also increases the idea of diversity in the school. I used an effect on the ‘arts’ to make it stand out and achieve the arts college status. The blue background gives the bold writing a good field to lie on, as it does not over power it and enables it to stand out fully.
I used a catchy slogan to draw in the audience, which works well as it is also memorable. This is mirrored by the use of short sentences, repetition, punctuation and rhetorical questions. All these devices are used to give brief insight which plays with the audiences mind, leaving them questioning to what’s next, which will then make them pick up the magazine and read further, widening the knowledge which is what I intend to do as part of this magazine and my music magazine.
The colours used throughout the front cover are continuous, with good control. This relates to the school system, showing all pupils are disciplined, and teachers know what they are doing and how to ensure pupils achieve top grades. However, if I was too improve this magazine, I would not use blue as it is seen as attracting males. Although the ratio in Acland Burghley School is 3:1 boys to girls, I want my magazine to attract both genders and ignore male dominance. To ensure this, I would use a colour scheme, such as yellow, because it is proven yellow attracts both gender.
I have used a range of different fonts, with different effects to make the wording stand out further. This emphasised the range of diversity of people attending Acland Burghley School and how the school itself welcomes everyone and ensures an inviting atmosphere. I feel this is a positive aspect, it gives an artistic feel, enhancing 'ABS arts' and Acland Burghley arts college status. However, looking at this through a different person’s perspective, i.e. those with limited eye sight or lower skilled, it can be a huge disadvantage as they will find it harder to read. This will alienate them and isolate certain people in the school community, making them feel unwelcome. This is an aspect, I will work on when creating my music magazine as I feel it works effectively, stands out and could fit all intention, so if I took into consideration those with difficulties, I could work with the fonts to appeal to all, and continue the diverse feel.
My contents page automatically relates with the front cover. This is a key feature which is used in all magazines; I noticed this in my research and content analysis, earlier on and carried it out on my own magazine. I will also use this feature in my music magazine. I used the same range of colour, included the logo which was a necessity and the use of different fonts. All these aspects have the same advantages and disadvantages as the content analysis. However, there are some different features.
I used a catchy slogan, at the top of the contents page where I think will be noticed first and give an effective first impression. 'Exclusives this week only!' attracts the audience as it leaves them eagerly waiting to find out. The use of explanation mark emphasises the excitement. I think the only aspect I would change of this, would be to make the font of a larger scale.
I used curved rectangles to hold the pictures and content inside. The curving effect shows how friendly the school is. The images, despite the fact they show insight to the school, I think the viewpoints could have been focused on more which would of overall gave an effective impact. This is also a disadvantage with the images on the front cover and I have personally noticed this issue and planned to work on this aspect. In areas, it is hard to realise what the image actually is, due to the small scale so when creating my music magazine I will ensure I use clear, large images.
The use of repetition, 'keep updated! Keep updated!' reinforces the idea the magazine wants everyone to stay drawn in. The way I have placed the repetition, underneath each other, it is almost like it is being shouted and the ‘keep updated!’ in blue is an echo. This re-enacts the importance.
As a whole, I feel I have learnt from my prelim task. Features that I used and felt would have produced an effective, outstanding outcome, proved me wrong. Without a prelim task, I would have used them on my music magazine and had an unsuccessful outcome. There are aspects I will continue to use in my music magazine, however, improve in areas.
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