10W Media - Does the page work? (Mr Smith's lessons)

There are a few basics which you MUST try and stick to when analysing or building your page, this goes for the cover, the contents or the double page spread.

Step 1

Pick a magazine cover.

Draw a diagonal line from the top left corner down to the bottom right corner.

Step 2

Now draw a diagonal line from the to right hand corner which will hit the other line at a RIGHT ANGLE. Repeat this process from the bottom left.

Step 3

Now you should have two hot spots. SOMETHING interesting should be happening at these spots.

Yr 11 cover analysis basics from Mr Smith

Do this for FIVE magazine covers and write about the 'things' which appear in these hot spots.

Magazine Analysis Improvement

When analysing your magazines, it is essential that you use the correct media terminology.

TASK

Read the three posts below and improve your analysis by identifying and then including the correct terminology in your work.

Extension task

Reflect on what you have found by answering the following three questions

1. What do you think is the most important element of a magazine page and why?
2. What idea will you use in your own work and why?
3. What will you not use in your own work and why?

Magazine Double Page Spread Analysis

When analysing magazine double page spreads, you should be able to identify all of the following elements:

Alley: the space between columns within a page.

Bleed: when the image is printed to the very edge of the page.

Byline - A journalist's name at the beginning of a story.

Copy - Main text of a story.

Cropping: the elimination of parts of a photograph or other original that are not required to be printed. Cropping allows the remaining parts of the image to be enlarged to fill the space.


Deck - Part of the headline which summarises the story. Also known as deck copy or bank.

Drop cap: a large initial letter at the start of the text that drops into the line or lines of text below.



Headline - The main title of the article. Should be in present or future tense to add to urgency. Must fit the space provided. If it doesn’t, you are using the wrong words.

Kicker - The first sentence or first few words of a story's lead, set in a font size larger than the body text of the story.

Pull quote: A brief phrase (not necessarily an actual quotation) from the body text, enlarged and set off from the text with rules, a box, and/or a screen. It is from a part of the text set previously, and is set in the middle of a paragraph, to add emphasis and interest.

Standfirst - Lines of text after the headline that gives more information about the article, or about the author.
Talkie headline: a quote from one of the people in the story used as a headline

This vocabulary is essential for any student aspiring to a B or above.

Magazine Contents Analysis Terms

When analysing magazine contents, you should be able to identify all of the following elements:

Alley: the space between columns within a page.

Bleed: when the image is printed to the very edge of the page.
Boost: picture boost (usually front page) pic promoting a feature or story in later pages

Strap boost: as above, but with a strapline, not a picture

Cropping: the elimination of parts of a photograph or other original that are not required to be printed. Cropping allows the remaining parts of the image to be enlarged to fill the space.

Flush left: copy aligned along the left margin.

Flush right: copy aligned along the right margin.

Sell - Short sentence promoting an article, often pulling out a quote or a interesting sentence.

Talkie headline: a quote from one of the people in the story used as a headline

This vocabulary is essential for any student aspiring to a B or above.

Magazine Cover Analysis Terms

When analysing magazine covers, you should be able to identify all of the following elements:

Boost: picture boost (usually front page) pic promoting a feature or story in later pages

Strap boost: as above, but with a strapline, not a picture

Centre of visual interest (CVI) - The prominent item on a page usually a headline, picture or graphic.

Cropping: the elimination of parts of a photograph or other original that are not required to be printed. Cropping allows the remaining parts of the image to be enlarged to fill the space.

Filler: extra material used to complete a column or page, usually of little importance.

Flush left: copy aligned along the left margin.

Flush right: copy aligned along the right margin.

Golden ratio: the rule devised to give proportions of height to width when laying out text and illustrations to produce the most optically pleasing result. Traditionally a ratio of 1 to 1.6.
 Masthead - Main title section and name at the front of a publication.

Sell - Short sentence promoting an article, often pulling out a quote or a interesting sentence.

Talkie headline: a quote from one of the people in the story used as a headline

This vocabulary is essential for any student aspiring to a B or above.