AS Media Studies G321: Foundation

Portfolio

Print Brief

Preliminary Exercise:

Use a Desk Top Publishing and an image manipulation program to

produce the front page of a new school/college magazine, featuring
a photograph of a student in medium close-up, appropriately laid-
out text and a masthead. You should also produce a mock-up of the
layout of the contents page using DTP.

Main Task:

Produce the front page, contents and double page spread of a new
music magazine. If you are working as a group you should each
produce an individual edition of the magazine, following the same
style.

All images and text must be original. There must be at least

four original images produced by you.

Allocation of Marks
Research and Planning 20
Construction 60
Evaluation 20
Total 100

Research and Planning:

For the preliminary exercise you should:

Conduct research into existing media. Analyse the front cover of

two or three school magazines.

Make notes on:

 use of colour/connotations
 fonts – styles and shapes
 layout
 content – types of stories features and
connotations
 images used and connotations
 mode of address – how the language used
appeals/speaks to the target audience
Write a list of conventions.

For the main task you should:

Analyse at least two or three music magazines in relation to:

• content
• layout
• use of images
• mode of address
• fonts
• use of colour

Summarise your findings about the conventions and mode of

address of music magazines.

You should also conduct research into the target audience for music
magazines, and the potential target audience for your magazine
(see page 25 of the text book). Summarise what you find out and
identify who your target audience is.

You will then need to produce drafts of your magazine, and samples
of possible fonts, colour schemes, and layouts.

You should write a plan for your photo shoot(s) listing the following:
• models
• locations
• equipment required and booked
• costumes
• props
• shot types and ideas for content
• dates and times

Once you have completed your research and planning you should
produce a PowerPoint presentation covering the following points:
• what you found out about the conventions of music magazines
• what you found out about the target audience of music
magazines
• who your target audience is
• the process of drafting your magazine
• the planning involved

Research and Planning Level 4 16-

20 marks

• Excellent research into similar products and a potential target

audience
 • Excellent organisation of actors, locations, costume or props
• Excellent work on shotlists and drafting
• Time management is excellent
• Excellent use of digital technology or ICT in the presentation

Construction:

Original Photography - when producing your photographs think

about how they relate to the target audience and conventions of
your music magazine. Consider the locations, props, costume, and
lighting carefully. What will your images connote? Think carefully
about the shot types and camera angles used. What effect will they
have? (see p.18-23 of the textbook).

Layout and design – when producing your magazine consider the

conventions of music magazine layouts and mode of address (see
page 28 of the textbook).

Construction Level 4
48-60 marks

There is evidence of excellence in the creative use of most of the

following technical skills:

• framing a shot, including and excluding elements as

appropriate
• using a variety of shot distances as appropriate
• shooting material appropriate to the task
• selecting mise-en-scene including colour, figure, lighting,
objects, and setting
• manipulating photographs as appropriate to the context for
the presentation, including cropping and resizing
• accurately using language and register
• appropriately intergrating illustration and text
• showing understanding of conventions of layout and page
design
• showing awareness of the need for variety in fonts and text
size
• using ICT appropriately for the task

Evaluation:

Before writing your evaluation you need to gain audience feedback

on your finished product. You may do this through a questionnaire
or focus group.
Your evaluation can be presented in one of the following formats:

• a PowerPoint presentation
• a blog or website
• a podcast

In the evaluation you must address the following questions:

• In what ways does your product use, develop or challenge

forms and conventions of real media products?
• How does your media product represent particular social
groups?
• What kind of media institution might distribute your media
product and why?
• Who would be the audience for your media product?
• How did you attract/address your audience?
• What feedback did you get from your audience?
• What have you learnt about technologies from the process of
constructing this product?
• Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you
have learnt in the progression from it to your final product?

See page 28-29 of the textbook for more information.

Evaluation Level 4
16-20 marks

• Excellent understanding of the forms and conventions used in

the productions
• Excellent understanding of the role and use of new media in
various stages of he production
• Excellent understanding of the combination of the main
product and preliminary task
• Excellent understanding of the significance of audience
feedback
• Excellent skill in chosen format of the presentations
• Excellent ability to communicate
• Excellent use of digital technology or ICT in the presentation