After studying the school magazine I can see that the collective school identity of the audience is addressed through various individual elements such as the mise en scene, use of colour, fonts used, text sizes and the title.
Firstly the mise en scene that is used throughout the magazine are the pictures of students that are placed within the magazine show identity within the school because they are all wearing the school colours or the school uniform which gives our school its own identity that enables the reader to feel a sense of shared experience. In connection with this there are conventions that the magazine follows and are in the same place in every issue of the magazine. These are the issue number, three small images that represent the school as a performing arts school and the date of the issue. All these things are placed directly underneath the title of the magazine. There is also a logo that represents the school with a picture of what the new school will look like in the future in the top right corner.
The use of colour used throughout the magazine is very uniform as all the block colours used are pastel colours that stand out and draw your attention towards the magazine and are used to separate articles from each other so they all stand out. The articles are written in columns like you would find in a newspaper, but by having it written on a different pastel colour makes it less formal and aims it more at the students that attend the school.
Secondly the fonts used in the magazine are kept very simple and are consistent throughout. A basic font of times new roman is used for the articles so that it is clear and concise, and so that it is easy to read. The title of the magazine is “PLUMLINE” which is in italics and is written in capitals, this is so that it stands out and grabs our attention. The name plumline uses part of the name of the school which is Plumstead Manor, so they have taken the plum from Plumstead and incorporated it into the title of the magazine which gives the school collective identity as it is unique to the school and school student, teachers and parents that read the magazine feel a part of a community.
The text sizes throughout the magazine are very consistent, with larger text sizes for the names of the articles published and a standard size 11 or 12 for the actual articles, this is so it is still legible but it’s the right size for it to still be appealing to the audience without it being too big and looking like its aimed at young children. The articles that are written are written by the students themselves which gives the people reading it a different perspective of the school as it is not just an adult writing what people want to hear but it’s an actual student’s experience, which connects with other students reading it because they can relate to it.
The dominant mode of address for this magazine is the students their parents and teachers. The various elements I have written about help to convey an image or send out a message to the targeted group of people that are going to read it. It is almost as if only the people that attend the school or have heard about the school can really understand the concept of what the magazine is trying to tell us.
