1. OCR Media Studies – AS Level
Unit G321: Foundation Portfolio in Media
Preliminary Task, Log Book and Evaluation
Name: Terna Jogo
Candidate Number: 6425
Center Name: St. Paul’s Catholic College
Center Number: 64770
Set Brief - Print
Music Magazine – Production
Preliminary Task Progression, Log Book and
Evaluation

2. Preliminary Task Progression– Evidence
Front Cover: Step-by-step

3. Step 1 Step 2 Step 3
Preliminary Task Progression– Evidence
Front Cover-Step-by-step
Firstly I started off with a blank page
with the colours maroon and blue at
the top, which are St Paul’s colours.
This would be my colour scheme. I
also added guidelines to help me
with the layout of my Front Cover.
Next I went a website called
‘Dafont.com’ to find a suitable font
for my front cover. I chose a font
called ‘Lobster 1.4’ as it was cursive
and looked like it had been written
in a fountain pen. I also added the
St Paul’s logo to the top right hand
side of the page.
Sticking with the font ‘Lobster 1.4’
in order to be consistent I
proceeded to add a strap line
‘Read, lead, succeed’. I also added
social networking logos, a
barcode, a website address and the
date and issue.

4. Step 4 Step 5 Step 6
Preliminary Task Progression– Evidence
Front Cover-Step-by-step
Then I took a picture of two of my
friends in their old school uniform and
used this as my main image. I made sure
they were looking directly at the
camera, so as to give a personal feel to
the front cover.
Next I added a price of 99p. The yellow
circle is the only deviation from the
colour scheme because I wanted to
highlight what a good and cheap price it
was. I also added a puff/competition in
order to attract readers.
Finally I came up with cover lines to add
to the Front Cover and wrote a sentence
underneath these to give the reader
more information about what would be
in the magazine. I had to make the text
stand out against dark or similar
backgrounds by using the ‘stroke’ tool to
outline the text in black or white. This is
my finished front cover.

5. Preliminary Task Progression– Evidence
Contents Page: Step-by-step

6. Step 1 Step 2 Step 3
Preliminary Task Progression– Evidence
Contents Paege-Step-by-step
I started off again with a blank page
with the colours maroon and blue at
the top, as I was continuing with the
colour scheme. I also added
guidelines to help me with the layout
of my Contents Page.
Then I added in ‘Contents’ and ‘Paul’s
people’ underneath in the same font of
Lobster 1.4. I also added the St Paul’s
logo in the same position as the front
cover. Lastly I wrote out my editors
letter on word to ensure there were no
spelling/grammar mistakes. Then copied
and pasted it onto Photoshop
accompanied by an editors photo. I also
used the Pen tool to create a Drop
Capital for the W.
Next I added in the sub-headings, the
story headings with the number of
the page you could find it on
alongside and lastly maroon lines to
seperate the stories.

7. Step 4 Step 5
Preliminary Task Progression– Evidence
Contents Page-Step-by-step
After that I wrote out the stories for
to go underneath the story headings
and also wrote what you needed to
do to enter the competition
advertised on the front cover.
Lastly I screen grabbed the front cover
and inserted this onto the contents
page with a subscription offer. This is
my final Contents Page.

8. Log Book

9. Music Magazine
Genre research
Music magazines typically include music
news, interviews, photo shoots, essays,
record reviews, concert reviews and
occasionally have a covermount with
recorded music.
“Q, NME and and Uncut suffered double-digit year-on-year
sales declines in another torrid period for the music magazine
sector in the second half of 2011.’’
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/feb/16/music-magazines-suffer-sales-decline(2012)
Billboard magazine is one of
the oldest music magazines
founded in 1894 and is still
active today
Q magazine founded in 1986
http://www.magforum.com/glossies/music_magazines.htm
Many sub-genre’s
such as rock, hip
hop, pop and R&B.
Physical hard copies of
magazines are declining in
popularity due to the increase of
the modern and easily accessible
online magazines.

10. Why Q?
I have decided to research and deconstruct Q as my starting
point firstly because they are an established, popular and
respected magazine, which could offer me some direction in how
to structure my magazine and word its contents.
However Q is also well known for covering all sectors of the
music genre within its pages. From Modern Hip Hop/Rap legend
Jay Z to pop star Katy Perry and English Rock Band Beady Eye.
Therefore as a result of its diversity, by deconstructing multiple Q
front covers, I am able to gain an insight into each music genre
before deciding on my genre of focus.

11. Established Magazine for my Research
Editor Andrew Harrison
Genre Music Magazine
Frequency Monthly
Publisher Bauer Media Group
Total 58,980 (ABC Jan–Jul 2013)
circulation
Readership 377,000
First issue October 1986
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Website Qthemusic.com
This chart denotes that 68.3% of Q readers are
male, whilst 31.7% are female. Also 35.5% of their readers
are aged 15-24. This connotes that Q’s target audience are
males aged 15-24. The chart also denotes that 70% of the
ABC1 Profile read Q magazine, which connotes that Q is a
popular magazine, if not one of the most popular as the
majority of ABC1 profile read Q magazine. The denotation
of Q magazine having 4.5% of their readers being over 55
years old connotes that the magazine is distributed widely
in order to reach such a variety of ages.

12. Target Audience –
The target audience for Q magazine can be denoted as British white males aged 15-
24, from a middle class background (Hartley) due to the fact that the magazine (in pounds)
is £3.90, which is quite expensive for a magazine. They would conform to being ‘survivors’
(Mazlow) because they will have the security and routine of knowing the latest information
about a band/artist as much of Q magazine is devoted to interviews with popular music
artists. Furthermore they can also keep up to date with new music and albums as Q also
offers an extensive review section. Lastly Q magazine would over the reader a diversion
from their reality as they can immerse themselves in the lives of bands/artists through the
multitude of interviews with popular artists that Q offers.
What is the USP of this magazine?
From the research completed into this media product, one of its USP’s is that every issue of
Q has an ambiguous message on the spine that encourages reader’s to guess what will
feature in the magazine. The message has to do with the content of the magazine. It is
interactive and makes the reader feel involved and pro-active. It is referred to as the ‘spine
line’. This is an example of a ‘difference’ (Steve Neale) as conventionally most magazines
don’t do that and will typically just keep their spine blank or possibly have the date/issue on
there. Q magazine is also known for compiling lists such as “The 100 Greatest Albums”. Also
every other month Q, and it’s sister magazine ‘Mojo’ have a special edition dedicated to
musical times, genres or influential musicians. This is another ‘difference’ as typically
magazine will have ‘special edition’ magazines only on very monumental occasions, not
every other month, which is fairly regular.

13. Masthead:
Large, bold and
consistent. Instantly
catches your
attention, due to its red
background.
Encourages Brand
Recognition
Strapline: Q magazine has 2
straplines that they alternate
between, the second of which is
‘The UK’s biggest music magazine.
Since my magazine is going to be
a pilot issue I cannot boast of
being the UK’s biggest music
magazine to attract readers. So
instead I am going to include a
puff/competition to encourage
people to buy/read the magazine.
Date and Price:
£3.99, ‘March 2012’
Direct and states what the
magazine aims to bring to
the reader
Barcode
Cover lines: Colloquial/slang
language is used here in terms
of the word ‘Git’. Q magazine
has a broad audience that
ranges from old to young. This
story and use of the word ‘Git’
could appeal to both
audiences; the younger
audience because it is a slang
word and they will be familiar
with Skrillex (a contemporary
Dubstep artist) , but also the
older audience because it is a
term that someone of an
older generation would use.
Headline (Main Story):
This has been positioned
at the top of the page
which presents some
‘difference’ (Steve Neal)
as conventionally the
headline in magazines are
positioned at the bottom
of the page.
Story Separators:
XXL magazine is
known to do this
as well.

14. Publisher research
http://magazines.bauermediaadvertising.com/magazines/detail/Q
http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/brands/q
Largest privately owned
publishing group in
Europe!
Offer over 300
magazines in 15
countries plus other
media platforms
such as TV and radio
Founded in
1875
Website:
www.bauermedia.co.uk
Only publish 4
entertainment/music magazines:
Mojo, Empire, Kerrang and Q
magazine.
Attract 19 million
consumers every
week through their
various media
products
Their strap line is ‘We
think popular’ which
connotes that they
aim to reach a mass
audience
In 2010 they made a
turnover of €2.129
Billion

15. I wanted to look at other music
magazines other than Q before I
decided which genre I wanted to
do.
Here are some of the other
magazines I looked at…

16. Similarly to Q they also
covered multiple
genres such as hard-
core punk, alternative
country, reggae and
world music,
experimental rock and
jazz. However they are
notably know for its
emphasis on ‘college
orientated rock music’
and Hip Hop.
Stopped publishing in
print in 2012 and is
now a ‘webzine’.
Founded in 1985
Circulation (2011):
459,586
Genre: College oriented rock music and Hip Hop Date/Issue
Masthead
Barcode
Main Image
Known for having
iconic images on
their front covers
Main Headline: presents
‘difference’ (Steve Neal)
as it is not very big and
has been placed in line
with the subheadings.
Does not really stand
out. Possibly didn’t want
to distract from the
main image?
Aimed at
“young, forward-
thinking audience“

17. Genre: Rock/Popular Music/Entertainment Founded in 1967The Rolling Stones
not only includes
music news but has
a heavy emphasis
on politics.
‘In the 1990s, the magazine
changed its format to
appeal to a younger
readership interested in
youth-oriented television
shows, film actors, and
popular music’
Jann Wenner one half of
the founders of the
magazine wrote that
Rolling Stone "is not just
about the music, but
about the things and
attitudes that music
embraces."
Total Circulation
(Paid & Verified)
1,464,943 (Annual-
2012)
Colour Scheme: Red, Black
and White

18. Genre: British Rock Music
Named after the
onomatopoeic word that
comes from the sound made
when playing a power chord
on a distorted electric guitar.
First Issue: 6 June 1981
Early 2000s – It was the best
selling British newspaper.
Dark colours are
conventional to the style
and genre of music. Rock
music can be seen as quite
dark.
Red, white and Black seems to
be a popular colour scheme
amongst music magazines.
Spin, Rolling Stone and XXL are
just a few other music
magazines that have adopted
these colours.
Only magazine I’ve seen with a
punctuation mark in the
Masthead. This is a ‘difference’
(Steve Neal). Rock music is also
known to be quite
loud, expressive and involve
shouting. The exclamation
mark (used to show when
something is being said loudly
or using strong emotion)
connotes this.
Puff or some sort of prize
attracts people to buy the
magazine.
Retails at £2.10
Kerrang! is “The world’s
largest weekly music
magazine”
Circulation: 35,127 (Jul-Dec '13)
Readership: 345,000 (July-Dec '12)
Target audience

19. First Issue:
November 1, 1894
Known for its record
charts
Circulation: 16,327
Have a broad multi-
coloured colour scheme.
This is a ‘difference’
(Steve Neal) as most
magazines will usually
stick to a maximum of 3.
Target audience “key
executives and
tastemakers in and
around the music
business” it is intended
for music
professionals, such as
record label
executives, artists, musi
c retailers, and radio
DJs.
Strap line:
‘Experience the
Buzz’
Published Weekly
Genre: Popular Music (as it is a music charting magazine it
unconventionally focuses on all genres)
Owned by
Prometheus Global
Media
Retails at around
$6.95.

20. My Chosen Music Magazine Genre
I chose to do a Hip Hop magazine because I felt like I could relate the most to it and I am genuinely
interested in Hip Hop music and its culture. Although I knew it would be a challenge as it is harder to
structure and layout than say a pop magazine, I was ready to take this on.
The magazine I decided to model it after is XXL magazine, which is the most bought and read magazine
in the niche Hip Hop sector. I also liked the professional yet sleek and simple style of XXL magazine and
felt that I could replicate it to a similar if not level standard.
Although I am modeling my magazine after XXL magazine, I have been inspired by
other Hip Hop magazines such as Vibe and The Source. Whilst looking into the Hip
Hop magazine Genre, I noticed many ‘similarities’
(Steve Neal) between them.
For instance the colour scheme, red, white and
black is very common among them. It is also
one of the colours people said they
Would like to see in a Hip Hop magazine
From my survey monkey. Also the
Majority of artists featured on the front
Cover are Black and Male, which will
indicates who they are aimed at.

21. Conventions of a Music Magazine: Front Cover
Masthead
Strap line:
‘hip hop on a higher level’
Headline
(Main Story)
Barcode
Web address:
XXLMAG.COM
Date
Price:
$5.99
Cover lines:
(not much information
on the what the article
will be about. Just
indicates who will
feature in the
magazine)
Target Audience: American Black
males, who are Hip hop/Rap
music fans aged 16-35, from a
middle class background as the
the price (in £) is approx. £3.70

22. Conventions of a Music Magazine:
Contents Page
XXL always has two contents
pages plus a whole page
dedicated to the editor’s letter.
This is a ‘difference’ (Steve
Neal) as most magazines only
have one. The A-side deals
with the more
primary/important features.
The B side deals with the
secondary less important
features. The sub-headings
on the B-side stay the same
for every issue.
XXL logo
Date
Page number, date and
website address.
There is consistently a
quote here from the artist
who is featured in the
main story that
month, and is on the front
cover.
Always only one image on
the A-side, usually of the
artist that is featured in the
main story. They are always
taken against a plain
grey/white background.
Eye Candy: This features
pictures and interviews with
that months most in demand
video girl.
X-Rated: To XXL the most
important aspect of Hip Hop
is the music. X-rated is the
biggest section in the
magazine and includes well
informed reviews and
critiques of modern tracks,
albums and artists. It also
includes underground
artists and old school lyrics
and beats.
Doin’ Lines: A chosen artist
completes a fill in the blanks Q&A.
Made personal as the artists actual
handwriting is actually used.
Editorial: Editor’s letter
360: Is the first section of XXL magazine. It includes the latest hip-hop
news, short interviews and articles on fashion/trends. There are special
monthly features such as Step Your Rap Game Up, which highlights
rappers who’s lyrics are not up to standard; Murder to XXLence, where
Shaheem Reid battles with today’s hottest rappers; and Picture This, the
photo of the month.
Photo credits

23. Conventions of a Music Magazine: Double Page Spread

25. Target Audience –
The target audience for XXL magazine can be denoted as Black American males (78% of
their readers are male and 67% of their readers are black), from a middle class
background, aged 16-27, who are fans of hip hop music and hip hop culture as a whole
(Hartley). They would conform to being social climbers (Mazlow) as the magazine features a
lot of fashion adverts/campaigns mainly by current hip hop/rap artists that have their own
clothing brand for instance Wiz Khalifa. As a result of this XXL readers can be know what the
latest fashion is and buy the clothes before any of their friends do. In addition XXL offers
extensive knowledge on the origin of hip hop and its culture. Therefore their readers can
be ‘informed and educated’ (Katz) and gain knowledge that maybe their group of friends
don’t know.
What is the USP of this magazine?
Having deconstructed a number of different issues for XXL, I feel the USP is that
XXL offers an extensive knowledge on hip hop/rap culture. This ranges from the
style of clothing worn in hip hop videos, to the origin of hip hop (California). This
is a ‘difference’ (Steve Neale) as usually music magazines just focus on
interviews, reviews and promotions and not educating their readers on the
history of the music genre. The USP of XXL’s front cover is that they are known for
having iconic front covers such as their front cover entitled ‘the greatest day in
Hip Hop’. XXL magazine front covers are typically close ups or mid shots of the
main artist featured in the article. They will usually be looking directly at the
camera, which gives the impression that they are looking directly at you (the
reader). This gives each front cover a personal feel.

26. Publisher research
XXL magazine is published by Harris publications.
Circulation (USA) - 136,532
Number of Issues
per year: 11
2012 Statistics
Source: http://www.americasmedia.com/mediakits/XXL%20MediaKit.pdf
Readership:
Male Readers: 78%
Median Age: 27
Median HHI: $47,007
College Educated: 44.7%
African American: 67%
Outsells ‘The
Source’, ‘Complex’
and ‘Vibe’ even
though it is more
expensive by $1
According to Hartley, XXL readers
are Middle Class (which is
reflected in the price) African
American Males, aged 21-29.
Monthly page views
(www.xxlmag.com)
5,281,435
Monthly unique
visitor's
(www.xxlmag.com)
1,014,085

27. Research for my Magazine –
Survey Monkey
Questions
Answers

28. Research for my magazine - Results
What is your age?
Under 9
10 to 17
18 to 24
25 to 34
35 to 44
45 to 54
What is your gender?
Male
Female
How much would you
spend on a magazine?
I don't buy
magazines
£0.01 - £1.00
£1.01 - £2.00
£2.01 - £3.00
£3.01 - £4.00
£4.01 or more
What is the most important
aspect of a magazine front
cover? The Main Image with Star
appeal (Richard Dyer)
The Masthead
The Cover Lines
The Main Story
Social Networking Links
All of the Above

29. Research for my magazine - Results
Do you listen to rap
music?
Yes
No
What would you expect to see in a hip hop magazine?
Some reoccurring answers were:
- Girls
- Famous/Known Hip Hop artists
- The Latest Music
- Competitions
What colours would you like to see in
a Hip Hop magazine?
Some reoccurring answers were:
- Black
- Red
- Blue
- White
- Orange
What would you expect and interview in a hip
hop magazine to consist of?
Some reoccurring answers were:
- Q and A
- Upcoming music and music videos
- Artists Future Plans and Track Record
- Personal Questions
- An insight into the artists lifestyle

30. Research for my magazine - Results
What would you expect someone featured in a Hip Hop
magazine to be wearing?
Some reoccurring answers were:
- Hoodies
- Hats such as a beanie or a snapback
- Chains
- ‘Trendy’ or ‘Gangsta’ clothing
As a result of the responses I received from my Survey Monkey I have decided that the
colour scheme of my magazine will be red, white and black. This is because they were some
of the colours people said they would like to see in a hip hop magazine. In addition it is also
the colour scheme of XXL magazine, which my magazine is modelled after. I will definitely
take into account the style suggestions that were received from my Survey Monkey.
Although this is not a result from my Survey Monkey, I have decided to do two contents
page as this is conventional to XXL magazine.

31. Planning my Magazine Pages - Layout

32. Planning my Magazine Pages -
Photographs
In order to take successful photographs for my magazine, I had to carefully plan and then orchestrate my
photoshoots. This included choosing a location, a model and ensuring the styling of my model corresponded with
what the audience would expect from the Hip Hop genre.
I asked my friend Bradley if he could assist me and luckily for me he
was very co-operative and a great model! He also fit the stereotypical
male that you would see on the front cover of a Hip Hop magazine.
We had to negotiate and decide on a time that was convenient for the
both of us. In total I did two photoshoots with Bradley, one for the
front cover and first contents page and the second for the double page
spread.
Taking into consideration the answers I got from my Survey monkey, I
requested that he brought in a jeans jacket so he would look ‘trendy’
and I provided a black jumper and a chain which people said they would
expect to see in the survey
monkey.
I took the purposely took the pictures against a
white/cream wall outside my common room as I knew
I wanted to edit them and remove the background, which would be
much easier if it was taken against a plain light background. I took LOTS
of pictures so I would have many options when it came to choosing a
picture for my Front cover and Contents Page. I did the same thing for my double page
spread.

33. Contact Sheet – Front Cover and
Contents Page
……………………………………………………………………………………….
Final Images – Before and After Editing
Before After (final image) Variation I tried (This
was my initial idea)
FRONTCOVER
Before After (final image)
Variation – I removed the
background from his neck upwards
as I wanted his head to to be in front
of the ‘CONTENTS’ heading.
These are a selection of some
of the best images I took.
All pictures edited using Photoshop CS4 and
PicMonkey; a free online editing website.
CONTENTSPAGE

34. Contact Sheet – Double Page Spread
…………………..……………………………………………………………………………
Final Images – Before and After Editing
Before
Before
After (final image)
After (final image)
All pictures edited using Photoshop CS4 and
PicMonkey; a free online editing website.
These are a selection of some
of the best images I took.
I decided to style Bradley wearing a hoodie
because in my survey monkey that is what
people said they would expect to see.