OCR Media Studies – A2 Level

Unit G324: Advanced Portfolio

Mind Map and Research

Name: Zakary WinsallCandidate Number: 2144Center Name: St. Andrew’s Catholic SchoolCenter Number: 64135

Generation of Ideas for Ancillary Product 1) –

TV Magazine Front Cover

Source of InspirationHistory of the Product• Originally IPC Media• Founded in 1991Publisher• Company - TimeInc. UK• Publishing Director: Angela O’Farrell• Editor: Colin ToughCirculation Figures – January to June 2015• 3.4 million readers every week• 1,015,862 – Print & Digital• 1,013,702 – Print Only• 2,160 – Digital Only• Largest TV magazine in the UKPrice range – 50p-60pThis establishes the target reader because the price of the magazine is very cheap and allows for the younger audiences to be able to afford it with the very little money they potentially earn. This also helps to establish the audience because as it is a very cheap price it means that the target readership is more likely to buy the magazine for a weeks worth of TV information for such a little amount of money. Socio-Economic NeedsThe denotation of the stereotypical target audience will consist mainly of middle/lower class individuals in the socio-economic needs categories of C1, C2, D and E because these are the people which can relate the most to the issues that are risen in the soap. This is because the soap generally follows the middle/lower class people to watch their struggle which the people in these categories can feel.

Source: http://www.abc.org.uk/Certificates/47307340.pdf

Mind Map

Masthead Ideas

Possible Names:Daily Dose: This suggests that the audience will be getting their weekly dose of the up to date soap information they enjoy.Soap Inside: This masthead ‘signifies’ (De Saussure) to the reader that by reading this TV magazine they will get inside the content of the soap.Soap TV: This masthead is also fairly catchy, connotes the feeling that the reader is choosing the exact soaps they want to watch.TV Info: Not very catchy, doesn’t have a ring to it and is very generic. Readers may be less likely to purchase a copy due to this.

Verbal Codes:When researching existing soap opera magazines there is enticing language such as ‘inside’ and ‘digest’. This suggests that the reader is going to be taking in a lot of key information.They also use language such as ‘fight’ and ‘back’ to illustrate what is happening in the soap. Fighting and people returning to the soap are stereotypical plots for soap operas.

Colours:Yellow: Yellow is a very common colour that I used on many TV magazines. This is because yellow is a very bright colour that stands out when visible on a shelf. It is also quite a ‘neutral’ colour as there are no real connotations for it unlike the colour red.Red: There are a lot of connotations behind this colour. Mainly love, passion or even danger. These are usually the main themes for soaps and therefore is a good colour to use.

Position on Page:Top Left: The top left of the page would suit a masthead that is very short and is able to fit into an iconic box that also becomes the magazine logo which would be very memorable.Top Centre: The centre of the page at the top would be good for a masthead which is too long to get inside a small box (E.g. Soap Inside) instead this would be placed across the centre, larger than the rest of the text making it very obvious and iconic.

Font Style:Serif: Serif fonts generally look a lot more fancy and as if it would be used for some that is of a high class. They also do not look as nice when enlarged as a masthead.San Serif: San Serif fonts do not look as fancy and are usually more rounded. This connotes the more lower class which is considering the type of audience this magazine is going to appeal to. Bolded: Bolded fonts definitely make a difference on a page as it gives the original font more depth and allows for it to become more obvious if it was on a shelf. By doing this the reader would be more likely to buy it as it’s stood out for them.

Soap TVDaily Dose

Soap InsideTV InfoFonts:

Serif – Keep Calm MediumSan Serif - Constantia

Mind MapPossible Headlines:Joe is Back!: This headline specifically draws the attention of the reader and potentially captures their focus on the main story of the character, Joe, returning to the soap. There could be a twist in the plot of the soap, because the audience is unaware of the characters original motive for leaving.Affair Revealed: This headline again wants to draw in the attention of the reader because it is revealing something that is currently unknown to the audience. However this isn’t that effective as you don’t know who’s affair it is, all the audience knows is that there is an affair which about to be revealed.Killer On The Run: This headline especially draws in the attention of the reader because it may evoke some sort of fear for them as if they were actually living inside their favourite soap, now knowing that there is a killer around. This is good that there is no name of the killer in the headline as it needs to be kept a mystery.

Main Headline

Characters:Punctuation: Exclamation marks are very important in drawing the attention of the reader because they are very obvious and signify that what they’re reading is of high importance.Capital Letters: Similarly to the punctuation, capital letters also draw in the attention of the reader because is seems like what they are reading is very significant and important to their knowledge about their favourite soaps.

Positioning:Centre Page: Usually a headline placed in the very centre of the page ‘signifies’ (De Saussure) the importance of it to the audience. This is the main story that will grab the attention of the reader and if it does not look significant it will not cause the reader to purchase a copy of it.Bottom Page: This would not be a very effective place to position a headline as it does not signify any importance to it considering it is the main story. Therefore it is unlikely to grab the attention of the reader.

Mind MapMain Image:As seen with all of the magazines I have analysed it’s obvious to see that the most stereotypical shot which is used is a medium shot of the character involved in the story. This is very important because this is illustrating that his character is the most important person this week in the soaps and something important is clearly happening with them.The medium shot is very stereotypical and popular with soap magazines because it allows for the audience to few the majority of the characters body to establish their tone through their body language.

Images Needed

Examples:

Cover Line Imagery:Boxes: Cover line imagery is usually located in separate boxes on the front cover. By placing the images in their own box with the cover line it separates them from the main headline and image and doesn’t draw the attention away from that main story.Edges: The cover line imagery is also usually located around the edges of the page. This is again so that attention is not taken away from the main story and it therefore does not interfere.

Other Soaps:Coronation Street, Hollyoaks, Eastenders, Emmerdale: By choosing these soaps to be features in my magazine it is opening the magazine directly to a wider audience as these soaps are the most popular in the UK. These soap operas would be cover stories to my own soap opera that is airing soon. If the audience is not interested in the new soap opera, they have the other, more generic and more popular soaps to watch and gather details on instead.

Mind MapPrice:Currently the most popular TV magazines such as What’s on TV and InsideSoap usually cost less than £1.00 . In order for my soap magazine to be competitive I would need to charge less than the usual price in order to attract the reader. So because of this I will most likely charge within the range of 50-60 pence for my soap magazine.

Other

Puff Promotion:Buzz Words: It has been seen in the research into soap magazines that there is a use of enticing language in order to draw the attention of the reader. Some of these words include ‘Exclusive’, ‘Revealed’, and ‘Secret’. By using language such as this the audience is enticed into reading about that soap in the magazine as they want a preview into this week’s line up of soaps.Competitions: As seen on some soap magazines, competitions are used on the cover in order to entice the reader. This is because by buying a copy, there is an incentive as they could win something big from the magazine.

Shapes: The use of various different shapes on the page also entices the audience. This is because the main story to the magazine is not in a shape, so when seeing the cover stories and other items in a shape it will draw the attention of the audience.

Strapline Language:Similarly the strapline has to include different buzz words and other enticing language. The strapline is used to create recognition of the new soap magazine brand that needs to stand out from the rest of the current magazines. These buzzwords may include a mixture of capital and punctuation such as exclamation marks as well as language such as ‘Exclusive’ and ‘Inside’.

Synergy With Social Media:Facebook and Twitter: When designing my new soap magazine, I need to take into consideration how I want to appeal to a wider audience. I can do this by incorporating the social media logos onto the page in order to potentially appeal to a younger audience who are always on their phones.

Mind Map - ConclusionWhat I need to do next:In order for me to take the first steps to actually creating my soap magazine, I need to actually consider going to shop and walking down the magazine aisle to see what magazines catch my attention. The ones which I think are the most appealing I should buy and repeat the features seen in these magazines. I would also be able to look inside the magazine in order to have an incite in to what is usually present and manipulate this to be present on my front cover.What I need to organise/arrange:As we’re working in groups it would be ideal to get the pictures that I need for my magazine to be taken with them when we’re all free. One of these times could be on the date in which we are actually filming the trailer. However this may not be ideal because we would be busy filming and may not have the time to take pictures for the magazine. Therefore I would have to take these images in my own free time so I don’t waste the time when we need to film. The prop list also still needs to be sorted in our group so that we know who is able to bring in what props, or to see what we actually need to go out and buy for both the trailer and the magazine images. Finally I need to make sure that I find a suitable font style that looks professional, but is also stereotypical of soap opera magazines.Software I will use to create the product:The main program I will be using in order to create my magazine will be Adobe Photoshop CS5. This is a professional photo editing program in which I can manipulate images and text in order to achieve a professional magazine cover. I could also consider using Adobe Fireworks CS5 as well as this program is able to easily remove background colours and shapes from an image I want to use with not a lot of hassle.