Website

Website Link - https://12humphriesa.wixsite.com/boho

Research - Codes and Conventions: Website

Research and Planning

Codes and Conventions

* Show clear message about the aim of the magazine
* Have navigation elements such as buttons and various tabs in menu bar
* Masthead to include logo
* Masthead to have magazine title in big font to be the first thing audiences see when coming onto the website
* Title should be the same font and colour as on the magazine
* Make clear the target audience
* House style to be the same throughout with use of colour, font, text size etc.
* Menu bar at top that is easy to use
* Have an audio-visual element included
* Social media links, so people can access the magazine in different ways
* Feedback section so it is easy to stay in touch with what the audience are thinking

Audience Research

For my production I got together a small group of 12 people, a mixture of both men and women, that were from a class AB demographic, in order to get the most relevant feedback for my product. The people I spoke to were mostly aged 18, so were at the lower end of the 16-25 age range, however I feel as if the information I gathered from my focus group was still relevant to the whole target audience, and would still have appeal to people up to the age of 25. Some of the people I included in my focus group were people I had found online that had shown a keen interest in fashion magazines, and were interested in the behind the scenes and set up of a magazine, so I decided it would be very beneficial for me to have these people on board as I knew they would be knowledgeable and would give me suggestions of ideas that they think would help boost the quality of my final product.

I used them as a focus group as I was making my magazine covers and contents and asked them a series of questions in order to benefit me in the later stages of creating the magazine and making it as close to what my target audience wanted to see as possible. I asked them what they wanted to see in terms of articles and what kind of design would draw them in to pick it up off the shelf, I then based my product around this feedback and hoped this would attract my target audience to buy the first two issues, and potentially sign up to the subscription. After speaking to the group I gathered contact details from them so that I could contact them again after the first two issues were published and get their feedback, this links to the brief as by speaking to "a culturally sophisticated, 16-25 class AB demographic" I could really attempt to pinpoint what they wanted to see from my product and best design it to suit their needs.

1. Do you prefer to see models who are like you or models that are clearly fashion models?

"I prefer to see models who look like me as I feel as if then this magazine will be viewed as very inclusive, and not just using your stereotypical model, time and time again. This would mean I am more likely to pick this magazine up, if they are using models that differ from the norms, as it will stand out among other fashion magazines."

"I would like to see models that look like me, as I feel as if it would increase my self esteem and sense of self worth, as I am seeing someone with a similar body shape to mine and knowing if they are capable of being a model, I can be too, I don't have to be size 4 to be able to be on the cover of a magazine, so that would be really empowering for me."

2. What types of clothes/settings would you like to see on a new magazine?

"For a hippie/boho style magazine I would expect to see fashion that is in direct relation to the times, 60's style costume would really bring the magazine and website together, and give off the vibe you as the creator are trying to create."

"I think if you are aiming to do something quirky, you need to make sure the focus is on the fashion still, as it is a fashion magazine, something bright and colourful would definitely draw my eye, you could even try something more quirky and out there, as retro is making a comeback, so going along with the trends could be really beneficial to making a positive start to your magazine."

3. What types of articles/sell lines would attract you to buy a new fashion magazine?

"The sell lines that would interest me, are things that aren't too long so will stand out and catch my eye, but are also informative enough that I can understand the concept of the content of the magazine, such as tips and tricks and exclusive articles with models."

"Something that is in my face, with a story that I know about, for my target demographic you won't draw people in by being anti-everything, as I feel this generation are very empowering of other people such as women and people who are expressionistic in the way they present themselves, that stray from social norms, so articles giving information on different subject areas than what you generally see such as meditation, various different 60's style arts and crafts, and articles on areas that were popular in the 60's such as recycling, vinyl records and tie dye would make me pick it up, for example another article on Brexit would make me ignore your magazine but an article with a feminist would interest me."

4. Do you use the contents to help you decide whether to buy the magazine?

"The content of the contents page isn't the most important factor in me buying magazine, however it is important that everything is simply listed so I can decide whether it is worth buying, I am more inclined to be drawn in by bright and colourful photos, the general idea of what is included in the magazine should be included but isn't the most important thing for me as a reader."

"The contents page is very important to me, especially if you are looking for people to pay for subscriptions for your magazine, you need the content to be relevant, up to date and what the audience is looking to read."

5. What elements would you like to see on the website for your magazine/artist?

"Some of the elements that would be really beneficial on the website would firstly be, various points of contact, such as social media links for the magazine and a form that can be filled out for an email inquiry or feedback on the page. A very important factor that you should definitely consider having on your website is a forum for users to fill out, so you can see what people are loving and what isn't as popular. You will also be able to tell with this forum what your reach is, so what kinds of people are subscribing, e.g. their class and age, and where they are hearing about it. This way it will be easier for us to get further feedback from readers, and they have a place that they can ask questions if they are not on any social media platforms. Finally, a brief about us section would be a nice element that could be included as it is then easy for new readers to see the ethos of the magazine, and understand what you are trying to achieve."

6. What elements would attract you to purchase the magazine?

"I think that bright colours would really stand out for me as a reader as it would draw my eye in more as compared to a black and white cover, especially so if you use models that are different shape, sizes and from different backgrounds. People are used to seeing your stereotypical model, therefore if you have photos of someone who strays from this norm they are more likely to stand out as it is not what is usually seen so for me personally, would encourage me to pick it up and have a look."

"Well known names on the front of your magazine would draw me in to read, if you are getting in celebrities that the 16-25 year old age category know they are more likely to read your exclusive interviews and pick up copies, as compared to you interviewing a unknown star that was famous for one song in the 60's. Therefore I would aim to get in young celebrities, or at least ones that are very popular amongst your target audience s that you know the content you are putting out is what your audience (me), would like to see." 

Therefore from getting these answers from my focus group there were many different things I have added to my product and my website. For example my audience said they wanted to see models that looked more like them, rather than a stereotypical fashion model - I have done this by using different model on my covers, one being a white female teenage model, wearing a 60's outfit - this will mean she is able to connect with audiences in the class AB demographic. My second model was a black female teenage model, again dressed in a 60's outfit who could connect with people in a sophisticated class AB demographic. I chose to use models that were within my target audience as then it would be clearer who I was aiming at, and then my audience would be able to identify more with my message so would be likely to pick the magazine up.  

Another example of using my focus groups advice was making sure I had a strong use of colour throughout, in the product I made sure my models were wearing 60's style outfits that were colourful as well as being fitting of the era. I also then edited the product to make sure these colours really were bold and that they were standing out amongst other magazine covers. For the website I went for a colourful tie dye background, as not only as this is what my focus group has said they wanted to see but because it would then be very memorable. I think this advice was very helpful as it makes my product and website go against the stereotypes of fashion magazines but in a good way, and can encourage repeat visits to the website and repeat customers for the magazine, as it will be labelled a colourful and cheery magazine, as compared to some other more hard hitting fashion magazines on the market.  

I asked my focus group about the kinds of articles they would like to see and what sell lines would draw them in, from what they said I made sure they were short but punchy and can be read in a few seconds but be enough to spark an interest. I included exclusive interviews with my own and other models and a variety of tips and tricks on the covers as one of the people from my focus group suggested that this would encourage him to pick it up as he could quickly get the general idea of what my magazine was going to include. I made sure the subject areas I did include were things of interests to my target audience as well as still fitting in with the 60's theme, I used the areas that were suggested to me from the people in my focus group so I know that as part of my target audience they would know what they would be most interested in seeing, so it was important to me these were included.  

For my contents pages one of the females in my focus group said she wasn't too fussed about the contents page being the most important element of the magazine, as long as she could see what articles were going to be included she would rather the use of colour in images be carried on into the contents page. Therefore I did this for my contents page, I made the image take the whole page and overlaid text showing what was going to be in my magazine. Another person in my focus group said that the contents page was important to them, and to make sure the content was up to date and relevant to the target audience - I kept this in mind when deciding which article titles I was going to put there, as it is important to ensure my target audience would actually want to read my magazine.


I asked my focus group what elements they would like to see on my website they suggested that I should include points of contact, preferably in the form of social media links and email as this would be the easiest way for my target audience to contact us. I also made a feedback form on my website for users to fill out, this was so I could see what was going well and what my target audience would suggest that I improve, this would be helpful as then I could tailor my magazine to my target audience. I put in an about us section to show new readers the ethos of our magazine, to help inspire them to want to pick up a copy.

Finally, I spoke to my focus group about what elements they would want to see in order to encourage them to pick up a copy of my magazine they said they wanted colour and different models from what is stereotypically seen on fashion magazines, they said that if I did this that they would think my magazine would stand out more and would definitely encourage them to pick up a copy of my product over other fashion magazines. One of the women in my group also said that having a well known name on the cover would spark an interest for them, this is especially true for my 16-25 year old target audience as they are more likely to keep up with celebrities lives so will encourage more customers to pick up the magazine. They also needed to be relevant celebrities to the people in my 16-25 target audience age range so that they would actually be interested in reading the articles with that person.

Influences

Website - I didn't base my website off of another website I had seen, as I couldn't find any other fashion magazines with the same take as what I wanted to do. I knew that I wanted to do something colorful and with minimal text, which goes against the traditional style of most fashion magazine sites. My final product goes against typical conventions as it isn't as heavily focused on the articles in the magazine but more about the photographs used, I decided to do this because as a new magazine I felt photographs would be more likely to draw in readers than a website with lots of different text-heavy articles drawing the eye to nowhere in particular.

Magazine -



I was influenced by the first image as an idea for my cover, I liked that the shoot was done outside with a background that didn't take too much away from the model whilst still be a nice detail in creating the outdoorsy, hippie look I was trying to create. I also took ideas from what the model was wearing in this image, I noticed that a lot of the effort was in the details, in the various pieces of jewelry, I made sure that this also came through in my images. For the contents page I used the second image as inspiration, I liked the ideas of using columns so that the text didn't look too bulky on the page and fit in a more newspaper style, giving what I thought was a more professional look. I also learnt from looking at other contents pages that I didn't want the focus to be on the page number which a lot of contents pages did, I decided to do this because I didn't want it to draw any attention away from my image or the other article titles.

Production

Website Link - https://12humphriesa.wixsite.com/boho

Choosing a Brief

Link to brief - http://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/465770-unit-h409-03-04-a-level-media-studies-making-media-nea-briefs.pdf

I am going to be doing the following brief:

You work for an independent media production company. You have been given the task of producing the front cover and one contents page for each of the first two editions of a new fashion magazine that is being launched by Bauer and the working website for the magazine. Bauer intends to sell the magazines in retailers.

Planning

minimalist?
what style?
lots of cell lines?
alignment?
fonts and colours?
language that fits the audience?
vibe from model?

Camera
Low ISO e.g. 100 preferable, not above 400
Use digital zoom
Hold camera portrait
Keep an eye on the focus
Keep arrow of light meter in the middle - make sure it is on the right part of the photo
Use tripod
High shutter speed is best if you are moving a lot
Low shutter speed for more light but need to be very still

Hippie/Boho theme for magazine

1st Cover - Lily, relatively plain background - plain top, quirky, flowery trousers, anklets? rings? necklaces?

2nd Cover - Amy, hippie clothes, sunken gardens in Westgate, use sun for naturalistic lighting, mid to long shots, no close up shots. costume - colourful dresses/interesting trousers and plain top, accessorize with rings and round glasses  

Camera Skills Research

Aperture

Like the iris, the bigger the aperture the more light goes in the camera

Large Aperture = bright image

Small Aperture = dark image

HOWEVER

Large Aperture = blurred background (shallow depth of field)

Small Aperture = all in focus (deep depth of field)

F-Stop/F-Number

Written in the format f/8 for example. This shows how large or small the aperture is.

Small numbers are large apertures. Big numbers are small apertures.

To change ISO (sensitivity of sensor) - click ISO button then use scroll thingy next to it (low number=dark, high number=bright) although the higher the ISO, the more grain/noise

To change shutter speed (how long camera is exposed to light) - use scroll thingy (low number=slow shutter speed=captures motions, high number=fast shutter speed=freezes movement)

To change f/number - half hold down button, hold Av button, and use scroll thingy (big=bright=small number, small=dark=big number) (big=blurred background, small=sharp)

Drafts

Research - Codes and Conventions: Magazine

Research and Planning 

Codes and Conventions

* Hippie fashion style

* Very colourful, tye-dye(?)

* Title will be big, and in your face

* Not necessarily bold text

* Direct mode of address from both models potentially

* Naturalistic lighting, use sunrise/sunset (?)

* Title will be at the top of the magazine, will be over the photo of the model if needed

* Colourful colour scheme, draws attention 

* Both in outdoors settings

Mood Board

Text Layout Ideas

Contents Page Ideas












Ideas of what to write on covers and contents 

Lily's Cover (#1)

• Title, month & year underneath on right hand side
• Barcode
• Something about it being first issue

“Your complete guide to hippie fashion”

“Lily Collier on her modelling debut”

“16 must haves for this season”

“Exclusive interview from ___ inside” (selling line)

“Do all things with kindness”

“Radiating positive vibes/Radiate positivity”

“Don’t worry be happy”

Amy's Cover (#2)

• Title, month & year underneath on right hand side
• Barcode

“Learn how to meditate from these simple steps”

“48 new looks you’ll love forever”

“___ tells all about his new book”

“How to wear colour with confidence”

“Collect 5 copies and get your own 60’s hits CD”

“____ tells us what’s hot and what’s not”

Contents Page Ideas

• Need the word contents
• Logo
• Link to the website (maybe in some sort of bubble)
• Page numbers

• “Your fashion plan - must have dresses, shades and shoes”
• “Stress test - how to tell if you’re headed for a burnout”
• “The real ___ - no makeup, no photoshop and no regrets”
• “Great hair in under 10 minutes - discover your style”
• “Secrets to better sleep”
• “Yesplus give us their best Meditation tips for beginners”
• “Hot hits from the 60’s”
• “Footspa - tips for how to keep your feet in the best condition”
• “How to reduce your waste output”
• “The best wrist wallets to suit your budget”
• “Learn the basics in the art of wood carving”
• “How to wear tye dye to suit your style”
• “12 gorgeous dream catchers to suit your style”
• “All things drums”
• “Your Questions to our agony aunt answered!” 

Questions to ask Uncle David for interview, for original audio

intro - hi I'm Dave and I'm here shooting for the cover of new magazine Boho

1. What was your favourite thing about the 60's
2. What would you say, for you, was the song of the 60's?
3. What would you bring back from the 60's?
4. Who would you say your icon was in the 60's and why?
5. How do you feel about being on the cover of Boho? (e.g. looking forward to working with the company again, a pleasure to be picked, great team etc.)

Statement of Intent

How do you intend to use the four areas of the media theoretical framework to communicate meaning and meet the requirements of your chosen brief?

Product 1: (Fashion Magazine)

I am going to be creating a magazine that targets a sophisticated 16-25 year old audience and is aimed at both genders. To appeal to the audience, I will be focusing the attention on the 60's style fashion and use of colour. My audience research suggests using models the same age as them, I also intend to use models from two opposite social groups to represent the inclusivity of my magazine, and to allow me to fulfill the brief ‘At least two models representing at least two different social groups.’ My focus will be on attracting an audience who are interested in the style so they can identify with it. My audience research suggested I included content such as punchy sell lines and articles with major and relevant celebrities. Most magazines feature high end fashion, and the iconography is mostly airbrushed. However in recent years, the more sophisticated audience I am targeting have started to reject these representations, so by using more realistic representations I feel it will appeal to them more fittingly. My magazine is not something that appears on the Bauer website as part of their group of magazines however I feel as if it would add to their portfolio and target a younger audience than is currently within their fashion demographic. 

Product 2: (Accompanying Website)

My website will be designed to act as a supporting media product for my magazine, but with some extended features, such as exclusive content for online readers. On the home page of my website, I plan to have articles, different to those in my magazine, as this appears to be a convention of fashion websites. In addition to this, I will include features, such as points of contact in the form of social media pages and feedback forms to create a relationship with my readers, this forum will encourage audience participation by asking multiple questions about the brand. The website will also include individual pages for my model interview and behind the scenes page. I will have a clear and concise mission statement, which will feature at the top of the homepage as a way to connect my audience with my intent. For the audio visual element, I will produce a behind the scenes of the studio photoshoot, this is to help my readers identify with the magazine creation process and feel a part of the production.   

How do you intend to link your media products to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the digitally convergent nature of your media production? 

I intend to make a clear connection between my two products by creating a consistent House Style across both my magazine and website. My masthead will be eye-catching and I will feature elements such as interviews with my models that are featured on my magazine with a wider range of images of the same models from the shoots to create a clear cross-over between the two products. I have put my media company logo and company logo for Bauer on both of my magazines. In addition to this, as stated in the brief, my magazine covers and contents contain a call to action for readers to visit the website. My website should reinforce the clear link between the two through use of a forum section as the aim is to make audiences feel as if they are a part of the production process. 

CBR Powerpoint

CBR Powerpoint, copy and paste to open https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1iQHjpMpQuPY8gDR8iFlrJL3ZbZ6kINTPkQ-HuVYr6Pg/edit#slide=id.p3