OCR Media Studies – A2 Level

Unit G324: Advanced Portfolio

Mind Map and Research

Name: Abigail RonaldCandidate Number: 2121Center 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:- October, 1992Publisher:- Editor: Stephen Murphy - Publishers: Hearst Magazines UKCirculation Figure:- 147,294 Price range:- £1.65Socio-Economic NeedsThe denotation of the stereotypical target audience will consist mainly of young adults, as well as the older generation due to the relatability of the several different storylines presented. Because of this, the Soap Operas attract a wide audience as there are many different age groups presented in the majority of the Soaps written about in this magazine. This target audience would be in the socio-economic needs categories of C1, C2, D and E because the people that buy these magazines generally would not be of a high class or have high paid jobs otherwise stereotypically they would not be watching programmes of this genre.

Masthead Ideas

The name I have chosen for my magazine is ‘Soap Insider’. I chose this name because the common reader of this genre of magazine buy it in order to get the latest information and gossip about their favourite soaps. Therefore by including the verbal code ‘Insider’ it will make the reader believe that the publishers have a particular ‘Insight’ into the current affairs in the Soap world.

In order to repeat the frequent style of Soap magazines I will be using a bold font for my masthead (Possible font styles presented on following slide), as well as the main headline wish to do this so that my magazine will stand out from other competing brands and entice any potential buyers.

The colours I will be using on my front cover will all be extremely bright and bold colours (Mainly Primary colours).

I will be positioning my masthead across the width of my magazine front cover. I will be doing this because it is important that the name of my magazine is recognisable.

SOAP INSIDER

Bebas Neue

The Big Font

SOAP INSIDER

SOAP INSIDER

ChunkFive Ex

SOAP INSIDER Crewniverse

Images Needed

One of the most important images I will need to take is my main image. My plans for this are to have the main actors/actresses that appear in my trailer to have shocked/worried/angry facial expressions, the shot type will also be a close up. I want to do this to portray the drama that appears in my trailer to the potential viewers.

I will also need more images to use for the sub stories to support their coverlines. I will be featuring other soaps on my front cover such as EastEnders, Coronation Street, Hollyoaks and Emmerdale.

The reason why I am including other soaps on my front cover is because if a particular consumer hasn’t got an interest in the main headline soap, there is a variety presented that they may be interested. Therefore keeping my potential market broad.

Main Headline Ideas

The language I will be using for my main headline will not just be colloquial language, but also shocking language in order to attract the audience to the drama. Due to the fact my target audience will mainly be based around the younger, lower class generations, colloquial, conversational language will appeal to them the most. By using shocking language which hint at horrifying storylines such as murder, rape etc, the potential market will increase because audiences enjoy hearing gossip about these serious topics.

I will be positioning my main headline across the middle of my page below the main image (As they will be supporting one another). My main headline will also be in the same (Or similar) font to my masthead so that it stands out from my sub stories.

Other features

Puff Promotion – I am considering including a puff promotion on my front cover to offer a sense of exclusivity to attract more people to my magazine.

Price – When deciding on what I am going to price my magazine I will have to take in to consideration the price of the current soap gossip magazines as I will need to compete with their prices.

Social Media – After looking at existing magazines of this genre I have decided not to include any social media logos/features on the front cover of my magazine, instead I will be incorporating them onto a contents page instead.

Strapline – For my strapline which will appear underneath my masthead I will be using colloquial language and enticing language in order to attract my target audience.

Mind Map - Conclusion

The next step I will be taking is purchasing a copy of InsideSoap as this is my magazine of inspiration so I need a hard copy in order to be able to analyze the structure of their front covers in vast detail.

I will also need to complete hand drawn drafts of my front cover in order to get a rough idea of the layout I will be using, as well as positioning of images and color schemes.

In order to get the desired images for my magazine front cover I will have to organize a photo shoot with the actors/actresses appearing in my trailer. I may also take images of a specific scene when filming the trailer as all props will already be on scene.

After I have made my final decision on what font style I will be using I will have to source and download it from DaFont.com.

The software I will be using to complete my front cover will be Adobe Photoshop CS5.1. I have chosen to use this software as I previously used it at AS Level when completing my last brief so I therefore have a lot of experience with the software. This in the long run will save me time as I will not have to learn how to use a new software and will be able to complete the task quickly.