Preliminary Task: To plan, design and produce a front cover and content page of a college magazine (Leyton Sixth Form)

Main Task: Using photo manipulation programmes (Photoshop), digital cameras and Microsoft Publisher to create the front cover, content page and double side spread of a new music magazine. As this is a group task each candidate in the group has to create their own music magazine containing the front cover, content page and double side spread. However, they have to follow the same house styles which were designed for each front cover, content page and double page spread. All images and text have to be original and produced by each candidate. A minimum of four images are required by each candidate.  

In our brief we are asked to create a front cover, content page and double page spread for a new magazine. The layout, photographs and content of the new music magazine should be developed using Microsoft Publisher and Photoshop (which is an image manipulation programme). Furthermore, this will be done for us to be able to produce the magazine. Also we have to research into existing magazines such as RWD, Kerrang and Complex. We will analyse these magazines and learn the structure and conventions. We will mostly focus on R&B and Grime magazines such as RWD, this is because our development is on R&B and Grime.  It is also essential for us to analyse these existing magazines in order for us to learn from the codes and conventions and construct our own ideas for our music magazine. We will also be researching on the magazine industry itself and analysing how it is coping in this period and researching into businesses such as IPC and Dennis Publishing. This research task will be able to supply us an understanding as to where our magazines will fit in. Moreover, we will produce a focus group questionnaire each to widen our research and look into what our target audience and identify the needs and wants in order to help us improve our magazine. Overall this will benefit and give us an idea of what exactly we need to include in our magazines from the layout, content, images, colours and the way we construct the magazine itself.