1st Draft- what I've done so far...

Front Cover (top half)

I've based some of my front cover on Look magazine, meaning it's quite conventional. This is reflected in elements such as its busy appearance, with images and copy. The tag lines are also quite conventional, and stereotypical to female fashion magazines; for example 'Love your shape' and 'Winter's hottest heels'.

I think the way these images and copy are positioned could be improved, as well as more minor factors such as the fonts (as there is a mixture of different fonts- doesn't look organised or themed).

The colours used are conventional with this genre of magazine, they are bright and stand out to the audience. Even though the colour scheme uses red, yellow, black and white (a clear theme) I need to change what copy is which colour as I think this will make difference to how professional the magazine looks rather than it being unorganised.
To improve (based on class feedback): to reduce the size of most components of the front cover as they look too big in the print out, to improve fonts so I have a clear set of 3 or 4 fonts used throughout the magazine, to include more 'buzz' words, such as 'revealed inside' and to be creative with these (e.g. torn post-it note style), make the price to go with the bar codes and to make the boxes/ shapes I've used more interesting.
 




bottom half

Contents Page

I am pleased with the chosen images and copy of the contents page, on the other hand I need to work on the layout. The text down the middle and then to the side doesn't look right in regard to the other images. I also need to get 2 more images for this page. My 'photoshoot' image is going to look a little more up-market (vogue-style), which is un-conventional within the target audience and budget of the magazine but is conventional within magazines of this genre (like Grazia magazine, for example). It also gives me some opportunity to take a more interesting shot and be creative with the model and camera, as my other original images are quite simple and ordinary. For example I could do a winter fashion shoot in the woods, which fits in with my original idea. I'm also going to get an image of my 'editor'.
To improve: complete images needed, make content text more interesting by highlighting some bold and including more tag lines to fit beneath, to make some more 'gossipy' headlines, incorporate the colour scheme from the front cover and change the layout.   

Bottom of contents page

Double Page Spread

I had some trouble with the colour scheme of this page, the background is fine and works, but the text is unclear in some parts because the colours are too similar (for example the '4' on the model's hair). I also need to consider where the fold would be, as in this draft it would cut right through the middle, I will therefore do some more intertext research to see what is conventional. Again, I need to reduce the size of the text as in the print out it will appear too big; this will allow me to add more text and was thinking of including a celebrity's real story relating to this issue. Other factors I need to consider is the reader will view the page from left to right and so I may need to switch the main header to the left. 



Feature Article

 

I am reasonably happy with this page, it's conventional and the title looks professional. On the other hand I, again, need to reduce the size of certain aspects and to generally include more copy and images as it appears too plain which won't interest the audience as much. I am also going to re-shoot the image on the left, even though it looks effective with the sun behind, it's shining in the model's face. Not forgetting, I need to improve minor details such as colours, making the text boxes look more interesting and to include the page number. 

bottom of feature page



Layout Ideas





Green Screen

To ensure the photos of the models look professional I will need to set up a shoot including some kind of green screen lit brightly as possible. However, because the front cover will involve the model standing (medium shot) it will be hard for there to be no shadows.

• White Balance: Set to Flash or Manual WB using a gray card
• ISO: Always use 100 (or lower if your camera goes lower) - High ISO values have more noise. Higher noise can cause a speckled transparency mask on the extraction. This is because some of the pixels from the green screen are less green (or not green at all) with higher noise levels.
• Aperture - Use a wide aperture (lower number) - Similar to ISO, Using a narrow aperture leads to higher digital noise levels. Also, a wider aperture will reduce the depth of field and cause the green screen to be slightly out of focus. This also helps for a more uniform green colour to remove. We usually try to shoot with the F8 or less. 6.3 is the default value that we use for most of our studio shooting.
• Shutter speed - This doesn't matter too much with flash photography as long as the shutter is open long enough to compensate for any delay between the shutter and the remote flash. The exposure will be set with the flash intensity and not the shutter speed. 1/60 or 1/100 sec should work fine.

Model should be roughly 6ft away from the green screen.

Fonts

ADMIRE

(Font- Georgia)

ADMIRE
(Constantia)
 ADMIRE
(Baskerville Old Face)- I think this looks best, concerning the audience and genre of my magazine

ADMIRE
(Felix Titling)- more conventional of a high-end fashion magazine

ADMIRE

(Perpetua)

Copy: Double Page Spread

Title- Always feeling self-conscious about yourself?Here are the top 6 facts to improve self-esteem…

 

Ø Background: Only 4% of women, worldwide, consider themselves beautiful. We’ve all been affected by self-esteem at some point throughout our lives, some more serious than other. Rather than let it affect us we should learn to fight it…

 

1.     Stop those negative thoughts Rather than constantly thinking badly of yourself replace those negative thoughts with positive ones. If you do this you will find you notice the positive benefits in doing things rather than missing out because you are unsure. As well as boosting self-esteem this will boost your confidence.

2.     Focus on achievements rather than perfection Lots of women are too absorbed into making it their most important goal to be flawless. This is so unrealistic and will take over your life meaning you could miss out on many exciting opportunities. So why don’t you concentrate on your accomplishments instead? You are guaranteed to feel happier.

3.     Change your routine Trying new things that are outside of your daily routine will help you discover abilities you never thought you had. You can now take pride in your new skills which will make you feel a more interesting and all-rounded person. 

4.     Contribute your ideas, they’re brilliant! Never think your opinions or suggestions aren’t worthy enough, voice them! If you’re not sure how try some simple solutions such as talking more in class or at work. And  be more adventurous; get out there and help your community, participate in a charity event or do some volunteering in your free time.

5.     Go for a run Exercise releases endorphins, which are hormones psychologically proven to improve your mood and happiness. You don’t have to necessarily run, find out about your local exercise classes or sports clubs, bring a friend or if not you are bound to make some new ones!  

6.     Dress nicely Taking consideration into what you are wearing can have a huge impact on confidence. Wear an outfit which reflects you’re positive qualities and that makes you feel good. Be careful, this doesn’t mean you have to spend lots of money! Have a flick through our fashion pages and you are sure to find something fancy and affordable.      

 

Celeb story: ‘I was always obsessed with my appearance as a teenager’

Katy opens up about her most personal anxieties…

“When I was told I was suffering from depression it was a huge relief to me. I know that might sound strange but to have a diagnosed condition meant I could be fully advised on how to fight it. I did anything from attending advice groups to eating different foods, as long as it was a step towards fighting the depression. I was always obsessed with my appearance as a teenager, I know being a TV star at such a young age didn’t help but I felt I was going out of the way to ensure I looked perfect. In a way I always knew deep down I had self-esteem issues, it sounds contradicting due to the fact I appear so confident in front of the camera but I think I used this to cover up what I was really feeling. My advice to those who think they may have depression is to seek help! Even if you have a little inkling that’s nagging you, there’s nothing to lose by taking action.”   

 

What the Doc says…

Doctor Fields is a psychologist, specialised in giving consultation to all kinds of people dealing with anxiety disorders.

“We all feel anxious from time to time – it's a part of normal life. But, for one in ten people, their anxiety is so bad it dominates their life. This is also the case with depression, this presents a very bleak picture. However, it's important to remember that depression isn't an absolute - it's not simply a case of either you're depressed or you're not. There's a progression from feeling blue to the full clinical illness. Even then, you won't suffer from every symptom.”

 

(Arranged separately as in sketches)

Copy: Contents Page

The Editor's letter:

Model- Ellie Hamilton

“Feeling a little down knowing winter is on its way? Well you’ve come to right place. Lift your spirits with the all new and exciting winter styles. Whether you’re working, doing a little shopping or going out with the girls we’ve got some fashion hotties to feast your eyes on. Also check out River Island’s new designer range, fully approved by celebs! Tweet me @admireellie.”

Sketches

Ideas for Magazine's Pages...

Front Cover-

·        Title- Admire, conventional to have model overlapping the title (on top).

·        Date- on side against the ‘A’ of Admire e.g.:

·        Look at fonts on photo shop.

ADMIRE

10th October 2012 (positioned on vertically along the 'A' of 'Admire')

·        Bar code and price- positioned at bottom of page, on long edge.

·        Small box in top right corner- advertising what celebrity stories will be inside the magazine (will need a model and decide on wording)

·        Main title- relating to Celebrity story (decide on title)

·        Fashion- clothing featured on front cover, including prices

Contents Page-

·        Images relating to fashion shoot inside (few pictures needed of original natural setting idea- what to wear for winter).

·        Narrative- Fashion, Beauty, celebrity, real life and every week:

6) Fashion Fix

9) What you need this season

12) Shoes, Shoes and Shoes

      Fabulous new foot wear, plus what celebs are wearing

15) …….

·         Fashion- clothes cut outs

·         Small advert at bottom promoting a weekly deal for magazine (talk to sir- will I have to create more front covers?).

·         Editors letter- “Feeling a little down knowing winter is on its way? Well you’ve come to right place. Lift your spirits with all the new and exciting winter styles. Whether you’re working, doing a little shopping or going out with the girls we’ve got some fashion hotties to feast your eyes on…”

 

Double Page Spread Ideas-

·        ‘Always worrying about what you look like? Top 10 facts to improve self -esteem:….’ or 'Can Phones Cause Cancer?'

·        Interviews with public and celebrity story.

 

Feature Article/ advertorial-

·        ‘What people are wearing’

·        High street photo shoot

·        Bargain hunters

·        Advertising clothes they are wearing.

·        Link to what celebs are wearing?

·        Link to ebay/ other cheap online fashion websites.

Models

Front cover:

Ø Main model- red carpet background (can create on photoshop).

Ø Celebrity

·        Contents page:

·        EDITOR – Nikki or Ellie?

·        ‘NATURAL’ SHOOT MODEL – Anna and Ellie

·        CELEBRITY (could be same as on front cover) Ellie s ?

 

·        Double page spread:

Ø Main model (blowed up large picture, maybe face in hands)- Anna?

Ø Interviewee

Ø Celeb

·        Feature article:

Ø high street people (2?- 3 pics each)

Ø celeb

Ø who- friends

Reactions From Magazine Ideas

First of all, the demographic of my target audience needs to be higher if I am to do my double page spread on the winter shoot, in natural settings. This is because it's unconventional for a high street magazine aimed at a young audience to do this; and so I would also increase my target audience range to an older audience, 17-30, for example. A problem with this is, however, is that there may not be a market for this audience in the real media and so I will need to carry out more research.
Another option would be to not do a shoot in natural settings and choose somewhere more urban; for example a winter shoot in the city. Also if I wanted to still include some country features I could combine the two, 'A City Girl Goes Country' ?

Overview of Magazine Ideas

Magazine Name Ideas

The Article

Advertorials are quite conventional for high-street fashion magazines; an article written which within it advertises a new product. Because I am producing a magazine in-between intertexts such as Vogue and Ok I think it would be good to include some type of celebrity gossip- because this is conventional- and so I could link this to a product a celebrity is using (e.g. a beauty product). This is an effective means of advertising for the product's company as the celebrity will act as a role model, attracting many other audience's to use it, and so following their lead.
Example of an advertorial:

Double Page Spread

As I am creating a fashion magazine I will do my double page spread on a fashion shoot. It's conventional for high street fashion magazines to not necessarily feature the clothes always on a model but on their own, for example from Look magazine:

On the other hand, Look magazine also include double page spreads featuring the models styling the clothes and using the setting around them to make it look professional and up-market as if from Vogue:

 



Because I don't have the time and the team to create high profile pictures like the images above I want to design a page more like the ones below. This also shows that I am fully following the conventions of my magazine's genre and overall makes it appear more interesting because there's plenty more for the audience to look at: 

Contents Page

The contents page is also important in terms of attracting the audience, it needs to look professional and modern, as well as interesting the audience in what the magazine has to offer. Some examples of high street fashion magazines' contents pages:

I like the appearance of Look's contents page as it makes high street fashion appear more up-market and therefore will attract the audience.

Front Cover

As I've decided my fashion magazine's genre will be high street fashion I'm going to follow the conventions of magazines such as More!, Look and Glamour. So first my front cover needs to be quite busy with text advertising what's featured inside the magazine for example:

The layout of this text is really important in terms of attracting the audience because it can appear too messy and therefore unreadable.

Further decisions to be made...

High-Street Fashion Magazine Intertexts

 More magazine is aimed at younger women and teenagers, an audience aged 16-25, which is the age bracket I'm targeting my magazine on. It features lower budget high street fashion suggesting the audience is lower to middle class. The models on the cover are always celebrities which make the audience want the magazine because of the article about them inside.


Glamour magazine is very conventional is terms of how it represents women, the colours are very feminine and the copy shows how the magazine features articles on fashion, beauty and dieting (all stereotypical representations of females). The models on this magazine are also always famous, they are mostly shown in a relaxed and fun way which suggests it's targeted at again lower to middle class.
 

Decisions Made

I've decided that my original idea of doing a natural history magazine is too hard to base my essay on and so I've decided to do a female high street fashion magazine. My target audience will be females aged 16-25, low to medium demographic, meaning middle to lower class.
My research essay question is 'Exploring the Representation of Females in Fashion Magazines'.
The magazine will consist of a front page cover, a double page spread, an article and a contents page (not essential- might decide on an alternative).

Welcome.....Ideas and Thoughts on New Coursework

New blog for year 13! For our course-work this year we will complete individual research for our main essay in which we have to create a research question. The area of research we then choose needs to have some link with the production piece we produce as the second part of our coursework. As I have already done film last year I will either do a magazine or an advertising campaign .
I was thinking of doing a magazine and basing the genre on natural history or an informative magazine such as National Geographic; as this will enable me to take my own pictures of the nautral world, which is something I am interested in. Although, this is difficult to research as there aren't any interesting conventions or stereotypes I can research for my essay and so it will be very difficult in creating the narrative question.