Planning

Initial Overview

Up until this point you will not have officially stated what magazine genre and sub-genre you wish to produce, this is the post where you make clear what your final decision is following on from your research tasks. In this post you must say what magazine genre you will be planning and producing and what your initial ideas are; these can be changed at any point so do not feel like you have to stick by any of the potential ideas you outline in this post.

Moodboard

This is intended as a very simple, quick and fun post. Simply find any images that you feel associate with your concept for your magazine and paste them into a document as a collage. Do not limit yourself to purely images relating to magazines; people, places, cars, technology, food, drink, anything you feel associates with the brand you will create and it's audience.

Image Ideas

This post is aimed towards exploring the sorts of images you wish to create for your magazine. You should search for photos that you wish to borrow elements from or attempt to recreate yourself and then explain how you intend to either modify or attempt to copy that style, and why you feel it will fit with your magazine. I would recommend three images or more for this post.

Props & Costumes

Now the logistics begin; you need to start either sourcing, or planning to source your props. You can either use items already within your possession, borrow from family or friends or even purchase them if you feel that it is necessary to produce the images you wish to create. You should then photograph these items (camera phone is fine) and write a brief explanation of what the item is and what you intend to use it for.

Planning Promotional Methods

An important part of launching a new product is marketing it effectively. For this post you should describe some ideas you have for promoting the magazine up to and immediately following it's launch. This can be via more traditional methods such as posters and billboards or through newer more innovative technologies such as social media. It would be great to add a visual element to this through sketches or mock-ups.

Equipment Ideas

This follows on from your equipment research task, in which you listed existed equipment and it's purpose. Now you must highlight some key equipment and explain HOW you will use it to produce your intended images. You can pair this with your image ideas post to indicate which pieces of equipment and what techniques will allow you to produce those images. If you are unsure of how to achieve a style you desire, remember to ask a teacher!

Proposal

This will be the most thorough post in your research and planning, in which you will outline your finalized aims for your media text production (ie. your own magazine). When writing this you should discuss it as if your magazine will be a full, professional production with a scope to continue as a brand beyond the project (essentially, pretend this is a real magazine launching). The areas you should discuss are:

• Intended Genre and Codes & Conventions:
  • What genre of magazine are you producing and why? Which magazine conventions (design choices) do you intend to follow or subvert? Basically explain what the design scheme of your magazine is intended to be, always ensuring you explain why you have made this decision.
• Audience:
  • Who are your target audience? How will you appeal to this demographic? Ideally include some audience theory (click here for theory screencasts) when identifying your target audience. In discussing appeal you can discuss image style, font choices, article content, mode of address etc. etc. In short you should discuss all of the different things you could do in your magazine to create appeal for your audience.
• Institution & Distribution
  • Who is your chosen publisher and why? How will your distribute your magazine; will it be only in print format or will a digital version be available also? How much will it cost? What will the release frequency be? Will there be any subscription offers available? Will you release free content via the web & Social Media or will you rely on a paywall?
• Marketing:
  • How will you promote your magazine? What methods will you use to gain attention upon release, and maintain interest through the future life of your product?

Proposal Feedback

Ask a peer to read your finished proposal and provide their opinion on your ideas. It would be advised to choose another Media practitioner to do this as they will have further understanding of the concept or perhaps even arrange a 'focus group' of peers with different levels of knowledge to hold a discussion of your proposal. This should be recorded, ideally as video or audio or at the bare minimum through meeting minutes.

Equipment List

This is a final list of equipment for your production. Do not forget to include the hardware and software you will use for editing! It may be beneficial to segment this into different intended outcomes (IE. Different equipment set lists for each style of image you wish to produce). A simple bullet point list will suffice.

Production Schedule

This should be a rough breakdown of each task you wish to undertake and how long you anticipate the phase will take. I would recommend structuring this according to the industry agreed format as demonstrated below:

Sell-Line Ideas

Sell-lines are the supporting text you find on the front cover of your magazine. For this task you should create a short list (approximately 10) of potential sell-lines you may use. Firstly highlight your 'main sell line'; this will be the one that supports your main image and feature article, then a number of 'sell-lines' which promote other articles. Ensure these other articles fit the mood and style of magazine you wish to produce. A couple should include numbers (e.g. Top 10 looks to stun this summer) and several should include famous figures in your chosen industry (e.g. Tom Cruise exclusive). These sell lines should be short and concise, try to figure out a way to get the key information across succinctly whilst also enticing your audience.

Masthead Ideas

This post should comprise of a list of potential mastheads for your magazine. Whilst a simple bulletpoint list is acceptable, you should consider designing a few of your favourite ideas in InDesign to show the creative process has been explored for the examiner. Mastheads should be eye catching but easy to read, a good website to explore potential fonts for use is DaFont, from which you can download free custom fonts and install them onto OSX/Windows computers.

Design Sketches

Time to get creative; now you must sketch your intended design for your magazine cover, contents and feature article. This is not an art exam; you will not be judged for your drawing skills. You will however be judged upon the level of detail included in your design so ensure you draw your cover model, sell lines etc as well as add some basic elements of colour. Do not feel like you have to write every contents page entry or your feature article; boxes labelled with the intended contents of that section will suffice.