PRACTICAL

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PRACTICAL PRODUCTION
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Objectives Outcomes

• To understand the requirements for the task
• To be able write a brief
• To understand the magazine industry

• Discuss requirements
• Write brief out in groups

Homework Complete market research with report on
findings
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What does it involve?

• A group or individual production task, lasting
  half a term
• Research and planning
• Individual contributions
• Technical Competency
• Supporting account

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The Task

• To develop an idea for a new magazine. The
  magazine can be of a genre of your choice and an
  audience of your choice.
• You will need to include
• A front page
• Readers Lifestyle
• An editorial
• A double page spread
• You could also include a contents page and
  another feature of your choice, ads

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The Industry

• Magazine comes from the French magasin meaning
  shop or storehouse this is appropriate as
  magazines are storehouses for information.
• Very different from newspapers. Thicker,
  glossy,colour and published less frequently.
• Focus of feature material not every day news.
• Over 300 titles- 1.6B profit. 350 new launched
  every year half become established.

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Types of Magazines

• Business and professional
• Consumer- aimed at general public or at specific
  sections of it.

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Costs

• The low cost means that they can be set up for
  small audiences- niche markets
• Not all published to make profits e.g fanzines-
  increasingly e-fanzines
• Mags make money from their cover price and
  advertising (about 9000 for a full page in
  J-17).
• Can also rely on subscriptions- then the mags get
  a lump sum which is money they can then invest
  into the business

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Setting up a magazine

• Identifying a market Are there people who will
  buy your magazine?
• Is the subject matter large enough to create a
  mag and future issues
• Assessing the competition Survey of the market.
  If there are a lot how will yours be different
  and capture interest? Is there market saturation
  or a gap in the market?
• Attracting Advertisers Convincing businesses
  that it is worth advertising with your mag.
• Securing Finance Loan or investment by other
  businesses
• Organising Distribution Persuading the
  newsagents to sell their mags.

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4 Stages of Production

• Planning Editor and ad manager decide on number
  of pages (Pagination). It is decided on the basis
  of the number of ads they have sold.
• Writing Content produced.
• Designing Designers and sub editors lay out he
  adverts and editorial on pages. They work out a
  flat plan. Shows what will be included on each
  page.
• Printing usually full colour

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Writing your brief

• What is your task?
• What must you include?
• Any rules/guidelines?
• Who is your target audience?

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Research

• Qualitative- Peoples opinions
• Quantitative- Numbers and numerical data
• Primary research- your own research and findings
  not based on others work.

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Methodology

• Questionnaires and surveys
• Focus groups
• Interviews
• Content analysis

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Market Research

• Questionnaires- producing qualitative/quantitative
  research- to your target audience.
• Choose your questions carefully, making
• sure that it will produce results that you can
• measure- multiple choice is often good for
• this.
• Complete questionnaires in private study- with
  report this week.

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Content Analysis

• Looking at similar products and analysing them
• Decide on what you are looking for- devise some
  questions to answer when analysing texts
• Write notes about findings and how they will help
  you in developing your product.

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Focus Groups

• This can be done initially to decide on what you
  will include and after drafting/planning your
  ideas. You can test whether your ideas meet the
  needs/desires of your target audience.
• A focus group will include at least 6 people of
  your target audience
• It is a guided discussion group and an
  opportunity for you to test the effectiveness of
  your product.
• It is a qualitative method of research and will
  produce opinions through content analysis and
  discussion.

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focus group

• It must include
• Materials similar to and then from your
  production
• A series of carefully constructed/detailed
  questions- written down for the moderator
• Note taking during the group
• A final report/analysis on findings with how it
  will affect your final product.

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Your Focus Group

• Find a selection of the products that you will be
  producing.
• Decide on materials to use and the questions to
  ask about them
• Have a written up, clear idea about how you will
  conduct the group and who will chair it,
  questions that will be asked etc
• Decide on who will be in your group and complete
  for personal study, including a written up
  analysis of your findings.

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Magazines

• Genre
• Mass or niche market
• Messages and values (representation) e.g what
  perspective on the world do you want to present?
  P 183
• Layout and design
• Forms and conventions- typical content
• Actual content
• Mode of address (friendly, , sisterly/brotherly,
  not talking down or talking like a news reader)
• Which pub co would you approach and why? Or make
  up your own- remember certain groups pub certain
  types of magazines

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Readers Lifestyle

• readers are (age)
• Interested in
• Gender
• More detail about interests
• At the weekend they
• They enjoy
• Buy clothes from

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Editorial

• What does your magazine set out to do?
• What messages and values does it create?
• What does it offer the reader?