Main Task: Unminipulated photos

I am using this image for my contents page because his non verbal communication shows that he is a religious man and his props so that this he is involved in music in some way.














I chose this for my double paged spread because the non verbal communication used by the main character looks closest to that of a hip hop artist than the other unminipulated photos. The prop around his neck shows that this magazine is to do with music.



















I am going to use this for my front cover because i like the lighting arrangement where it is dark on the left side of his body, and the microphone shows that he is a performer.













I am also using this on my contents page because it shows versatility in the magazine and that it is not only for boys but also for girls. And also her non verbal communication shows she is serious, and the message i will attempt to make is she is serious about music.

I am not using this image because I do not like the pose used or the lighting and the non verbal communication doesn;t show he is into music.

Main Task: Publishing House Case Study

For one aspect of the main part of my coursework I have to research one company that publishes magazines. The publishing house that I have chosen to do is ‘Conde Nast Digital.’

Conde Nast Digital is a magazine publish in the U.S It produces 18 consumer magazines as well as four business-to-business publications, 27 websites, and more than 50 apps for mobile and tablet devices. The company, headquartered in New York City, was founded in 1909 by Condé Montrose Nast and has been owned by the Newhouse family since 1959.

This business publishes a wide variety of different magazine titles such as; Brides, House & Garden, Glamour and GQ. This shows the versatility of the business, by broadening their target audience to almost everyone. Where we have ‘Brides’ that are targeting women that are ever looking to get married or that are getting married in due course and need tips on what dress is right for them and how to organise their wedding etc. ‘House & Garden’ are targeted at both women and men, mostly middle aged couples, because it may be for couples that are moving to a new house which need to be decorated of the garden is not in good shape or they just want to re-decorate their house etc. ‘Glamour’ Is targeted at young ladies that idolise their favourite celebrities and wish to be like them with the way they dress, their makeup, their hairstyles etc. ‘GQ’ is aimed at men that want to be the best that the can be, and how to become the ‘Man of the year.’

Conde Nast Digital would target different audiences with each magazine that it makes because if they publish the same genres of magazines then there will be competition between the magazines that they publish so customers would only go for one or the other but if they replace one of them with a different genre of magazine then they will attract other customers that are looking for that particular genre of magazines. So subsequently they would make more money, which is the aim for businesses.

This company also allows different companies to advertise on their website to make more money, and they also promote for different magazines that they don’t have to necessarily be publishing for. They do not just put the magazine covers that they publish on the website but they also out a link to their websites so there audience can have easy access to their websites.

Main Task: Audience Research

Above is a small minority of the data I collected from my market research.

To start with I asked the person if they liked the genre I picked (Hip Hop) to make certainty I was asking the right questions to the right person, because the data I collected wouldn't be accurate if i asked someone that hated Hip Hop music.

After I established whether or not the person liked Hip Hop, I then asked a series of questions. One of the questions listed above was 'What is your favorite song?' At first three people said Big Sean - Dance but because of the content in the song I didn't find it appropriate to put it in my music magazine. After those three people a following five people said the song listed above Wale Ft. Miguel - Lotus Flower Bomb, this shows that if I put a cover line on a review of the song with the lyrics or something along those lines to do with the song I will attract people towards my magazine so it is a must I included the song.

I also what type of font do they like and a majority of the audience that I asked said times new roman, which is a very dull and obvious one which I pointed out to them and they said that if may work on a music magazine. They also said they like the 'Impact' font so because this is a very eye catching font I could possibly use this for the masthead.

I also asked people what they would expect to see in a music magazine and they all answered fairly the same things such as: album reviews, artist latest gossips and interviews so I can link this in with another question I asked about who is your favorite artist? And possible put an Interview in about Drake or an album review on his new album on the front cover as a cover line.

At first I didn't know what colours I should use for my music magazine cover so I asked my audience and a majority of them said dark dull covers and nothing to bright and feminine because hip hop is manly attracted at male teenagers and they like laid back colours such as black, therefore I will most likely use a colour like black.

Main Task: Mood Board

Main Task: Profiling Your Audience

J'vonte', 17, eats and sleeps hip hop music. He is an upcoming hip hop rapper himself. He is from South Carolina. This chose of music has determined he's friend chose, as all he's friends are major fans of the artist that they idolise. He feels that he physically couldn't go a day without hearing music from some of he's favourite artist. The music he listens to influences what he wears so a normal day he would wear nike air jordans with baggy jeans sagging so you can see his boxers, he would also wear a plain white t-shirt normally around 3 sizes bigger than he's actual size and long gold chains around hes neck. He would wear a durag with a baseball cap over it. Also the music influences him to become wealthy and do anything to become wealthy. He also has three tatoos of he's top three favourite artist to show that music is in his skin. All the money he earns from working goes straigh to buying the latest albums, buying new jordans and studio time. He has also started to listen to some of the UK Hip hop artist and so far he likes what he is hearing. One day he believes that he is going to be in the position that Jay Z is in and have all the fame and money in the world. He's dream is to one day see all he's top hip hop artist live on one stage seeing them performing all there greatest hits.

Main Task: Double Page Spread Conventions Diagram

Main Task: Double Page Spread Textual Analysis

In this assignment I am going to analyse these double paged spread.

Colour Scheme: The colour scheme is simply just White and black which gives it an olden day theme where they only had black and white TV's.

Image: The image of Rick Ross takes up one complete side of this double paged spread to show that he is the main aspect of these two pages. He is wearing a suit to show that he is upper class and has gold bottle of champagne which shows he likes expensive objects. The balloons behind him show that they are celebrate this character as if he has done something amazing.

Subject name: The subjects name is not in big letters but is just part of the text and to make it stand out they have highlighted it.

Quotes: There is one quote used in this article in the middle of the text. Quoting what Rick Ross said in the interview.

Stand-First: The stand first in this article is used in between the headlines 'made men' it stands out because it is surrounded by the headline and lines. It introducing what this article is about and gives brief information on the main character Rick Ross.

Drop Capital: In this article the drop capital is the same as the stand-first.

Headline: The headline used in this article does not give away anything about what it is going to be about but it is just a saying used by the main character. It is in stylish font bold in the middle of the page on the right to show that it is the headline and draws a lot of focus towards it.

By-Line: The by line for the writer is at the bottom left hand side of the second page and he's name is in bold letters so it is clear who it is and the photographer is parallel to the writer and his name is also in bold letters so it is clear to read.

Columns: there is just one column used in the text.

Strap-Line: Arguably this page spread doesn't have a strap line or they could say that it is the stand-first. But it tells us the subject matter of this article.

Conclusion: To conclude there is a lot of key aspect that i can steal from this double page spread to use for my own because this has worked for me very well and I am doing the same genre.

Main Task: Contents Page Conventions Diagram

Main Task: Front Cover Conventions Diagram

Main Task: Front Cover Textual Analysis

In this assignment I am going to do a textual analysis of the Front cover above.






Denotation: In this front cover of 'The Source' I can see a grey back ground with red and white cover lines around it. I can see a young afro american man holding a gun, he has countless tattoos onb his body.


MastHead: The masthead of this magazine is 'The Source.' 'Source' Is in a bold red font with white outline to make it stand out even more and they also edited it to have a drop shadow. The 'the' is small and hangs on to the source which suggests that there is alot hanging on to this magazine showing there is alot of information in this magazine.


Costume: You cannot really see the costume being worn by the main character but u can see that he is wearing a plain white vest, this shows that it is hot and also that he doesn't care much about he's appearance because he didn't care about wearing anything over the top.



Props: There is only one prop used in this front cover, which is of a gun. This shows that the main character is a gangster and ready to kill someone. Because the gun is pointed to himself it showed he is ready to kill himself. This juxtaposes with the cover line which says 'suicide is not an option' but then the image is saying otherwise.



NVC: The main characters head is pointing up as if he is in a desperate situation and is seeking God's help. He eyes are squinting to show that he is scared o what he is about to see or that he is holding back tears.


Setting: This looks as if it is set in front of a wall. It is very dull and not excited, this keeps the attention on the character. The gun is the same colour as the background which makes it blend in.


Dateline: The dateline is just above the barcode. It says the month first which shows that this magazine will be sold monthly. It's very small and in a dull black font which shows that it isn't the main attraction of the cover.


Main Image: In the case of this front cover there is a single image of the rapper The Game. The image is very big in order for the main character to stand out, with the singing closing his eyes to show that he is hiding something.


Cover-Lines: The cover lines on this article are very bold and clear and use bright colours to make them stand out. They are all in good positions and do not overlap each other or overlap the main image. Also the colour used does not clash with the background decided to use so it fits in with the whole magazine front cover.



Main Cover-Lines: The main cover line is very large and just a little bit smaller than the masthead. It consists two parts one with the main characters name and the second a punchline which is smaller but underlined so it also draws a lot of attention. The main cover-line is only over a bit of the main image and does not cover the main aspect of the image, but is still big and clear enough to see.


Left third: In this particular magazine the left third is quite important as it contains a lot of valid information such as: the barcode which is used to scan the magazine in shops. The date so the customers know if this is the latest edition out. And the main cover-line so they know what the main story in this magazine is about and if it catches their eye.


Barcode: The barcode is in the bottom left of the magazine front cover and it is very plain and simple and doesn't draw much attention towards itself.


Selling Line: The selling line of this magazine is directly below the masthead and it seems as if the main image has cut off the end of the selling line. The selling line is 'The Bible of hip-hop music' this shows that this will give you every bit of information you need for hip0hop music in this magazine. It is very short but does the job it is meant to do.


Website Link: The website link is very small and is at the bottom of the barcode. This shows that the magazine is not bothered about their website being advertised on the front cover but it's just there for policy.


Conclusion: To conclude this cover has focused on different codes and conventions of a cover to make this as successful as possible. There are a lot of aspects that i can use for my cover to make it as successful as this one especially as i am doing the same genre.

Main Task: Introduction

My name is Jay Rabess. I am an AS media student. I have been asked to complete a music magazine front cover, contents page and double page spread. To complete this task I will need to pick the genre of music that I am going to do. I will also do some mini tasks to understand the conventions of a magazine, such as a front cover textual analysis and a front cover conventions diagram, this will show me all the things that I need to add to my magazine to make it more realistic. After that I will do some audience research so I can see what my target audience expect in this magazine and what would make them buy my magazine. I may do a questionnaire add include questions such as, what artist to incelude in the magazine, what colours to use, what to call the magazine etc. We will also complete a mood board and upload the unmanipulated photos to get a before and after effect. We will then do our Magazine cover, contents page and double page spread. The genre I am doing is Hip-Hop.

Preliminary Task: Contents Page FINAL

Preliminary Task: Front Cover FINAL

Preliminary Task: Front Cover & Contents Page Mock Ups

Preliminary Task: Front Cover Conventions Diagram

Preliminary Task: Front Cover Textual Analysis

In this assignment i am going to analyse the 'college lifestyle' magazine front cover.

The main character is wearing a casual black jacket with a plain white t-shirt. This connotes that he is just a normal 'college boy' that is not trying to stand out from the croud but just get by with college life peacefully. Black and white are both bland colours but they both go with everything so this connotes that the character gets along with everyone and is easy going.

The character is holding some law and society books which show that he is an intellegent man and that he cares about his education because he has been bothered to bring in his school books. In school life today it is said to be 'un-cool' too carry books around so I believe that this magazine is attempting to bring some coolness to carrying books around and to make students that do carry books around feel more comfortable in them selves. The pendant he is wearing is a cross which shows that this may be a catholic school or he has his own relationship with God.

There is not much to the background because i feel that they wanted the main focus point to be on the character. From the background it looks like this shot has been taking in a studio. They have added a little bit of editing to the background by making the middle of the cover a lighter shade then the edges of the cover and they have made it fade together.

The background of the front cover is very dull and dark where that have just used black, but this contrasts with the text which is in bright broad colours such as a lime green and pink. It is as if it is showing too sides to college life. Where the dark background is showing the boring stuff such as coursework and so on, and the bright colours are showing the fun side of college. Also the books are a bright colour which shows that maybe doing bookwork can be fun at times.

The main character has a little grin on his face which shows that he is having fun at college. He is standing upright and strong which shows that he is happy where he is at the moment.

The masthead is bold and in bright colours so the audience can clearly see what the magazine is called. The main cover-line is used to attract the youth because alot of college life poeple like to party. The barcode shows that this magazine is not free and that they will have to pay. The dateline shows that this magazine was released in summer 2009 which shows that it may have some tips on how to revise during your holidays and what equipment you will need to buy for the next college year. The cover-lines are very youth orientated for example 'Why we love blackberry' because currently there is a bbm buzz going about that it is said to be cool to have a blackberry eventhough the target audience are working class adults.

Induction: Movie Poster Textual Analysis

In this assignment I am going to analyse this Indiana Jones front cover.



The main character is wearing a rugged shirt which is also covered in dirt and it looks like the top 2 buttons are broken. This connotes that he has just been in a rough battle which has caused him too lose some buttons and to dirty he’s clothes. His sleeves are rolled up. People normally roll their sleeves up before they have a fight or when they are about to do something that they are not meant to.


The main character is wearing an authentic hat which connotes that this is set in the past. He has a gun on his belt which shows he is ready for action and is also ready to defend himself for whatever comes to attack him. The gun connotes death and shows clearly that this is an action adventure movie and also the fact that he is holding a whip shows he has been giving a few things a beat down.


This is set in a dark room almost as if it is in a cave of some sort, which shows he may be getting it to some danger. The stairs show that he is at the bottom and is trying to climb to the top and the skull behind him shows there is going to be some trouble in order to get up there. Also there is some ancient carving on the side of the cover which shows that it is going to have some past educational facts in the film.
Behind the main character is a skull which is on fire which juxtaposes the dark image with the skull lighting up, which makes the skull stand out. Also at the bottom of the stairs is dull and dark and at the top it is light this shows that at the top has the higher status than the bottom.


The main characters fist are clenched tight which shows that he is ready for a fight. Also he’s body language is very upright and not fragile which shows that he is confident that he can overcome what ever obstacle is in his way. Finally he’s stance is very strong which shows he wont fall down easily.

Induction: Re-Creation Of A Movie Magazine Front Cover

This is my first piece of work in AS Media. I had to re-create this 'Empire' front cover (on the left) promoting Ocean's Twelve. I struggled with fitting all the words on to the page and also making the writing go behind the characters head as it did in the original. I fount it rather easy to be able to put some of the writing in the right positions but struggled to get it to the write shape, sizes and fonts. I did not add a drop shadow to the 'Oceans Twelve' font and didn't know how to add the shape where it said 'Amazing start to 2005.' Also i did not add the top line of the magazine and the shape in the top right hand corner. This is the first time i have used photoshop in a couple of years, and I need alot more work on photoshop to become more confident in the software and excel in using it at A2 Level.