Proposal Task with Potential Problems

For this task I looked at all the possible ways my magazine could go wrong, and by identifying the problems before they occur I can eliminate them all together.

Front Cover and Contents Page Images

For my images the model(s) I have chosen may not want to do it any more  – To solve this problem I would choose a different person to model in my magazine (to make this problem even more easier to solve I would have a backup model who would be willing to have photographs taken of them).

Another problem may be that the images may not come out how I want them to – To solve this problem I would have other shots already taken along with the others so that I wouldn’t have to arrange times and dates for my model to come in for another shoot.

Another problem may be that the image doesn’t go with my layout or magazine as a whole – To solve this problem I would either rearrange my layout to suit the image whilst still keeping in with my intended look or use different images so that it does go with my magazine look. 

The image may also use the wrong colour which doesn’t go with my colour palette, or have too much shade/light – To solve this problem I would check as soon as I took the photograph to make sure it does, but if it got past that stage I would either retake the shots and arrange another shoot or change the photographs on Photoshop so that the images look how they are supposed to.

The images may also come out looking unprofessional – To solve this problem I would have to make sure that the image has a good backdrop so that it is easier for me to Photoshop and when I Photoshop it I will have to use the correct tools accurately. 

Article Inside Magazine

Problems that may arise for my coursework is that the text is too long – To solve this problem I would either take out parts of the text so that the page doesn’t look too detailed, or change the text size whilst still making sure that the text is a reasonable size so that you can still read.

The text may have a different language technique/style which might not match my magazine – To solve this I would make sure at the beginning that it went with my magazine but if I passed that stage and I found that problem I would change the language technique/style so that it sounds more like my magazine style by using inspirational adjectives and upbeat quotes.

I may find that there is too many/little number of columns for my text – To solve this I would make sure at the start, when I am writing it that it fit the right amount but if I got passed that stage I would either change the text or take/put in existing text to suit.  

Images to Accompany Article

Not having the right/amount of image – To solve this I would make sure that when I was taking the photographs that they had a specific purpose and place for my magazine so that they fitted in so that I would have the right amount as they would all have purpose and they were the correct type of shot as it would go with my plan. Another problem is that it might not be the correct shot – To solve this I would either create a new photograph that was the correct shot type or just zoom in on the image so that it was the correct type of shot.

It may have the wrong colour(s) that don’t go with my colour palette for my magazine – To solve this I would either go on Photoshop or edit out the colours I don’t want in or take another photograph that held the colours I do want for my magazine.  

Institutional Research

For my research I decided to look at different institutions what they publish and what type of magazines they publish. I have found from doing my research that the institutions have different types of magazines as they will appeal to different target audiences. Usually the institutions have women’s magazines, men magazines and teen’s magazines. However there are exceptions as some of the institutions have magazines about Health, Science, Food or Construction. 

Institution	Details
Emap	Emap International Limited, which is also known as Top Right Group and is a British media company that specializes in the production of business-to-business magazines, and the organizations of events and conferences. ‘EMAP’ is an acronym, which stands for East Midland Allied Press. The magazines that they publish include Retail magazines like 'Retail Week', Health magazines like 'NurseandTimes.net ', Government and Environment magazines like 'LGC', Construction and Engineering magazines like 'Construction News', Architecture magazines like 'ar The Architectural Review' and Media magazines like 'Broadcast'.
Condé Nast	Condé Nast, a division of Advanced Publications is a magazine publisher. It is in the US and produces 18 consumer magazine which include ,'Vanity Fair', 'Vogue' and 'GQ'. It also produces 4 business-to-business publications as well as many website mobile apps and tablet devices apps.
Natmags	Natmags is abbreviated for The National Magazine Company and is a British magazine publisher that in mainly based in London. They have published 19 magazines including 'Cosmopolitan', 'Reveal' and 'Men’s Health' (UK only).

IPC Media

IPC Media is a British publishing company, which is formerly known as the International Publishing Corporation. IPC Media is for the American publisher 'affiliated with the Communist Party USA'. It produces consumer magazines and is a digital publisher in the UK, which include 'Good to know Recipes', 'Look', 'Ideal Home', 'Shooting Gazette', 'Teen Now', and many more from other different genres.

Future Publishing

Future Publishing is an international media group that has operations in the UK, US and Australia that creates over 200 specialist publications, apps, websites ad events but is based in the UK. They publish magazines like 'Classic Rock', 'Tap!' and Official UK PlayStation Magazine' and many more like it.

Bauer Media

Bauer Media Group is a multinational media group, which has its headquarters in Hamburg, Germany, and there it operates 15 countries worldwide. The magazines that they publish are Celebrity/Entertainment ones like 'Intouch', Life&Style, Women's magazines like 'Woman's World', and 'First for Women', Tweens and Teen magazines like 'M', 'twist' and 'J-14' and Science and Technology ones like 'iD'

Proposal Task 2 - More Advanced

Proposal Form

Describe your idea for the brief: My Magazine will be a music magazine, which will have the up-and-coming artists, where they will be interviewed and commented on by the magazine and a link where the audience can comment on the article/artist/band. It won’t be like any other magazine as it will be for artists and bands who haven’t made it by competing in a talent show but progressing because of their own determination that will inspire my target audience.

Genre/ sub genre: list similar texts which have inspired your thoughts My genre will be music magazines and what inspired me to think of this is that usually in music magazines they have artists/bands that have came into the charts through talent shows and I wanted mine to be an inspirational magazine that will inspire the target audience to accomplish their dreams, no matter their background or road blocks.

Target audience: gender/ age/ characteristics/ behaviour My target audience will generally be females, aged 14-21 year olds as at that time they are still trying to figure out their career, and so it may inspire them to choose a career in music. It will be R&B/hip-hop/acoustic music; generally the type of music you would expect to see in the charts but with real, non-famous people singing the lyrics. It will be artists/bands who are current and would fit into the charts but just haven’t got the chance to show off their abilities.

Major conventions I will use mastheads at the top, left side of the magazine front cover and a smaller version alongside the contents page title and page number at the bottom of the page. I will use drop capitals at the beginning of the text to show the audience where the article starts. I will also include images that look professional and that actually go with my text. I will have a limited colour palette with colours that don’t clash and that match the images. I will have only 3 columns on the left page and the text on the right page, which will include pull quotes, the same styles of text throughout, a dominant image, a title and a good use of magazine language. For the front cover I will only have one image as it is what they usually have on music magazines, they may have more than one person on it but it is usually just one image.

Conventions I may subvert/ change/ not use a wide variety of text styles/fonts and colours, as it would make the magazine look unprofessional. I won’t use a lot of image or a lot of text as it won’t pull the audience in to the magazine and I won’t give too much information/detail on the main cover as the audience won’t want to buy the magazine to look inside for the articles inside the magazine as it will already be on the cover page and it wouldn’t look exciting.

Original images: what/ where/ what For my front cover I will only have one image, which takes up the entire page, which will be a medium-close up with the background faded as it allows you to focus more on the person in the shot than what’s around her. For my contents page I will have a main image of a band or artist, which will take up most of the page with a short paragraph article alongside it. I will also have a smaller image at the bottom of the page, which goes with one of the articles in the magazine. They will be of a professional finish that has a background, which doesn’t look too amateur. They will be smiling, looking happy and they will go with the text it is put with.

Potential difficulties/ Plan B: Getting the images to a professional finish, that match the text and that go with the magazine style and layout. Another potential difficulty is finding the right people to go in my images, as they may not match the genre of my magazine. I may also have difficulties putting the layout in the correct places and matching the text with the style I want for my magazine.