Front Cover Terms

• Central image
• Title block
• Anchorage text
• Puffs
• Buzz words
• Price
• Slogan
• Barcode
• Seasonal theme

Half Term Deadline

What should be posted to my blog by Thursday 25th October?

• Pre-liminary front cover
• Contents page mock up
• Britney analysis
• Title block analysis
• 2x front cover analysis
• Initial magazine proposal
• Contents page analysis

Your initial current grade will be based on your two piece of front cover analysis.

Cover work for Ms Schoburgh's lesson: The Evolution of Britney Spears

Part of the coursework requirement is to carry out research into existing music magazines and explore the way characters are represented. Through your exam preparation you have learned how to analyse images through denotation and connotation. This skills will also be developed through your coursework.

You can clearly see the evolution of Britney Spears on the cover on Rolling Stone magazine. How are these images constructed to present ideas about the star? Remember, in the first cover she is only 17!

The questions are provided as a guide. If you would prefer to present your analysis as a denotation/connotation chart (using full sentences of course!) then this will also be fine.
Type your response up in Word and e-mail to Ms Schoburgh at the end of the session.

1)  What type of shot has been used and why? How has the image been framed/cropped?

2) Describe Britney’s costume. What does it suggest about her image? Who is this appealing to?

3) Have any props been used? What messages are they conveying to the audience?

4) Describe the setting and discuss the connotations of this

5) Are any intertextual references being made? What are the connotations of this?

6) What colours are used and why?

1) How has the image been framed/cropped? What type of shot has been used and why?

2) Describe Britney’s costume and pose. What type of relationship does she want with the reader?

3) What setting is used and what are the connotations of this?

4) How is lighting used?

5) What colours are used and why?

1) What type of shot is used and what impact does this have?

2) Why has this image been chosen? Is the use of black and white significant?

2) How has the image been cropped? 

3) How has lighting used to create an atmosphere? 

4) What type of relationship does Britney want with the audience? Is this supported by the anchorage text?

Grading Criteria...

Click on the image to preview. In your summative feedback you will be given a level and told how to improve. Use this table to check what you need to do for each grading level and to check your progress.

First Task: Preliminary Test

Today you are going to create the front cover for a new college magazine. Your front cover will include:

• a mid-shot of a student at the college
• a title for the magazine
• anchorage text
• puffs
• date

You will be using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to manipulate your images and arrange the elements on your page.

Overview of the Course...

Coursework is worth 50% of the final AS grade.

This is a coursework unit where you will produce two paired media artefacts. The chosen topic for this year will be music magazines. In your production work you will need to show progression from a pre-production task to a more fully realised piece.

The pre-production task involves you creating the front cover for a new college magazine including your own images. For those who have never studied media before this will help you to develop skills in media editing packages such as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. You will also develop knowledge and understanding of the format and layout of magazines. For those of you who have studied media before (and may have already become a magazine expert!) this will give you the chance to refresh your skills.

The final production will involve producing a front cover, contents page and double page spread for a new music publication. You are expected to use at least 4 original images in your work.

There is of course plenty of written work to be done alongside the project and this will take the form of a blog.