College Magazine Contents Page

College Magazine Front Cover

Audience Research

Question 1: I asked the Gender of my Participants to see whether there was a Correlation between males and Females within college and to see if they had different views. Out of the 20 Students, 11 were Boys and 9 were girls, I asked people at Random to make sure that my results were reliable.

Question 2: I asked Participants how old they were, to ensure my topic was relevant to the correct age group and so that I knew who my main target audience was among the varied ages. Out of my group of Students, the majority of them were 16 years old while only 5 out of the 20 participants were 18 and 6 were 17 years old. 

Question 3: I was asking my group whether they read a college magazine to see how many people have done, and to see how many didn’t, in which I would set out to persuade them to by including what they would wish to see. I could also see how many people had knowledge, or a strong opinion on what they were being questioned about. From my Results 70% had at least read one college magazine which means that 30% of people asked weren’t satisfied.

Question 4: From my Audience, I would like to see would persuade them into buying a magazine and what they see as needed in a Magazine, by selecting typical things you see in magazines anyway I asked which they would most like to see within it. With 10 people saying Quizzes its evident that they would like to use the Magazine at an Entertainment value as quizzes was closely followed by Games with 7 people wanting them.

Question 5: The Magazine is also very much about the presentation and by selecting a random set of colours which could be used as themes and asking peoples preferences with also having an Option for other which was for their input. With half of the participants voting for Black and Blue as a base its clear that they would like quite dark colours whether that is based on personal opinion or dislike to the others could be questioned.

 Question 6: When taking into consideration how much people are willing to spend, by asking what the participants how much they would expect to pay could be beneficial when thinking about what to price the Magazine. It could also indicate how much people want a magazine as the more you want one, the more willing you will be to pay. With the Majority choosing £0-1.50 it seems that the College Magazine wouldn’t be the top of most student’s agenda and would only spend a small amount on one.

              Question 7: I asked all Participants how many pages they would expect in a College Magazine to get a rough estimate of how much content they were expecting to receive, With 7 people choosing 20-29 pages, 6 choosing 11-19 pages and 5 over 30 pages which means that most students want something for their money but don’t want to spend ages reading.

                                                                                

Question 8: In coherence with question 9, Question 8 asks the Students what they want the overall message of the Magazine to be, and with the more students wanting 25% Educational, its clear that they don’t want the Magazine to be overruled by education but they still want an element of it included.

 Question 9: In relation to Question 9, It’s clear that more of the students would like a more entertaining rather than educational Magazine with 6 students voting that 75% of the magazine should be entertainment.

Question 10: This Question was asked simply to get what the Audience wanted as an overall perspective either Simple or Complex. With The majority wanting a Simple layout means that they don’t want an easy and affective college magazine which is informative.

Question 11: Whether people will buy the Magazine would depend on Money and when  the students receive their money, so by asking them how frequently they would like it to be Published, It makes it clear to me how interested and willing they are in it. It also ensures the editors and publishers involved know how long they have to produce the magazine. With the Majority saying Every Term the magazine looks to be something that a lot of work would go into as there is enough time to get it ready.

Audience Research Questionare

Questionnaire

1.      Are you male or Female?

Male        Female

2.      How old are you?

16             17            18             

3.      Do you Read College Magazines Regularly?

Yes           No            Sometimes

4.      Tick the aspects you would like included in your College Magazine?

Horoscopes             Quizzes             Games            Local News 

5.        What colour Themes would you prefer to see on your College Magazine?

Blue and White            Black and White            Green and Red          

Other (Your Preference)……………….

6.       How much would you expect to pay for a Magazine from your College?

£0- 1.50         £1.55- 1.99           £2- 2.99          £3-3.99           £4+

7.        How many pages would you expect you’re Magazine to have?

Under 10        11-19           20-29         Over 30

8.       How often would you want your Magazine to be updated per year?

0-2 times              3-6 times                   7-9 Times                  over 10 times

9.      How much of your Magazine would you like to be related to Education?

None                 25%          50%          75%          All 

10.   How Much Entertainment would you like Incorporated into your Magazine?

  None           25%            50%           75%             All

11.    Would you expect a Simple or Complex Layout?

      Simple              Complex

12.   How often would you like the Magazine Published?

Every Week         Every Fortnight         Every Term

Textual Analysis of a College Magazine

 University Link is a campus magazine, which is ‘For college students by college students.’ On first look

the American magazine is modern, professional and informative. This magazine front cover denotes a photograph of a man with a plain white background,  looking confident and holding a model-like stance. The Front cover also includes several coverlines either side of him, ranging in size and significance to the man on the front who is known as ‘Joel McHale’ which is shown by the main coverline. 

When looking only at the main image on the front cover, it is of a middle-aged man dressed in a suit and looking very competent. However the one strange thing about him is that he is wearing white trainers. ‘John McHale’ is an American actor who is staring in a show called ‘Community’ which is indicated with the coverlines. The fact that they have an American actor on the front cover of their magazine proves that this American magazine is successful and that they have the money for rights to use the photograph of him at least which is significant to the College Students. 

When considering mise-en-scene, especially costume, it seems that the trainers are significant in some way because it doesn’t follow suit of the smart attire. When focusing on lighting in reference to the photograph of the man, high-key lighting is used which makes the photograph very clear. With the setting as plain white background, disregarding the line in which the wall meets the floor and a slight shadow is made, there is no intentional  settings, its solely to make you look elsewhere and not focus on the setting itself, however the overall look is very bright.The fact that the photograph is very bright is also very effective of his Non-verbal communication as it lights up his face and body completely which means we are able to see the stern look on the mans face, he comes across as very determined but also relaxed which the gesture if his hands in his pockets perceives. He is also looking directly at the camera which means that he is definitely aware of the camera and the look is intentional. 

The masthead of this college magazine front cover is in a sans serif front, is pink and is situated boldly at the top of the front cover. The logo is very plain considering it is intended to be recognisable; however the simplicity is very effective and is easy for people to remember. The Main coverline on this front cover is ‘Joel McHale’ which indicates towards the actor which is presented on the front of the magazine. It is situated underneath the masthead with a sans serif font also; however the contrast between this font and the masthead font is defined. 

All of the coverlines use this font and a bright blue with the kicker being a in the same font despite being smaller than the main Coverline and also in black. This composition is very different from normal as there is six coverlines all having kickers but with only a slight significance of which is the main one would be the small increase in size and the positioning of it. All of the Anchorage include a very likable colour scheme of black, blue and Pink all contrasting on the white background which again adds to how it’s made professional. 

The Selling line is positioned on top of the front cover, and interestingly includes only music related information, which is a good way of addressing the students because most students are interested in music and seeing this could improve the chances of buying the magazine, However the tastes of music vary from student to student making it a vital choice of who to include on the selling line, as you wouldn't like to stereotype the magazine into falling into a certain category. The barcode also isn't evident on the front page which suggest that it is situated on the spine of the magazine or back cover. Underneath all of the Coverlines, it seems that a Puff has been added but without the surrounding shape as it only says 'Fashion on 40 Dollars' with the 40 Bold and big taking up a lot of room which could easily be made into a puff by adding a shape around it. The information is different from the rest of the front cover and would be suitable to fit in the puff, however by choosing not to also adds to the professionalism and sticking to the colour scheme throughout. This Text is above the Dateline, which states the date and price very small but again keeping within range of the colour scheme of being written in black. The controversial front cover has a very good and edgy composition which makes me notice it and like it. 

Introduction

My Name is Eilish Roche and the reason why I am creating this blog is to keep track of all of my Media Studies Coursework at College