OCR Media Studies – A2 Level

Unit G324: Advanced Portfolio

Mind Map and Research

Name: Patrick CollCandidate Number: 1102Center 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• First published in October 1992• The editor of the magazine is Stephen Murphy since 2009• Owned by Nat Mags• Started selling weekly in September 2003• Currently covers the Soaps: Coronation Street, EastEnders, Hollyoaks, Emmerdale

and Home and AwayPublisher• Hearst magazines• Publishing Director Matthew HayesCirculation Figures • It’s circulation figures from July- December 2015 were 117,539.Price Range £1.55-£1.75• The price range of Inside Soap is currently £1.55-£1.75, on average around £1.65.

Stereotypically Soap Opera’s are associated with working class people who may view Soap Opera’s as a source of diversion from their ordinary lives. The price is expensive compared to other Soap Opera magazines such as Inside Soap charging between 50-60p for their magazine. However to produce a 100 page magazine a lot of money is required so I think this is justified.

Socio-Economic Needs• Generally, the Soap Opera magazine genre might appeal to Care givers in regards to

Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. The denotation of “Falling for a rapist” or “Drug collapse” are effective in making people feel pity towards the characters presented on the magazine front cover, which may entice people into buying the magazine. However some people may want routine in the magazine’s they purchase and a magazine such as InsideSoap would fulfill these needs ‘Social Climbers’.

http://www.hearst.co.uk/about-us http://www.insidesoap.co.uk/

Masthead Ideas and connotationsSoapCity- The masthead name SoapCity connotes a sense of community, implying that all the Soaps are local and in the same place (the magazine). This masthead name works particularly well with the strapline “The best Soaps in town” as both reference the idea of a city containing all of the listed Soaps. The inclusion of the word Soap in the masthead of the magazine make it clear what the purpose of the magazine and it gives ‘Survivors’ (Maslow) the security that the magazine will contain information regarding all of the latest Soap Operas.

SoapStop- Primarily the sibilance within this masthead make the masthead memorable and further implies the focal point of the magazine (Soap Operas). The denotation of the word ‘Stop’ could connote how this magazine contains all the information the reader needs and it only takes one stop to digest it all. The inclusion of the word Soap in the masthead of the magazine make it clear what the purpose of the magazine and it gives ‘Survivors’ (Maslow) the security that the magazine will contain information regarding all of the latest Soap Operas.

Mastheads are often followed by short snappy slogans that reflect he tone of the magazine which are usually positioned directly below the masthead.

ColoursYellow- The colour yellow is particularly bold and prominent on the page when complimented with other darker colours. In the Inside Soap magazine, yellow has been used to highlight words mid sentence to put further emphasis on them. Bright colours are generally more appealing to working class people as it looks exciting and engaging on the page.

Red- The colour red could be used to highlight the darker side of Soap Opera’s with connotations such as blood, danger and hell. This colour stands out on the page and is often used for the masthead.

Blue- By using all three primary colours within the Soap Opera magazine, each colour will stand out individually on the page and compliment eachother. I will most likely use blue for the top banner of the page and the footer.

Font style and PunctuationSans Serif- The sans serif font family is particularly bold, which help words stand out on the page with some fonts being curved, which may appeal to some working class people as it is a very basic font. Most serif fonts are not used within Soap Opera magazines as they are considered ‘fancy’ and mainly used by the upper classes. Most magazines use bold renditions of sans serif fonts to make the text to stand out more on the page.marks.

Punctuation- A lot of Soap Opera magazines use excessive punctuation in an attempt to appeal to the working class. Most commonly used are exclamation marks, which follow the end of each sentence to further highlight the content of the sentence and put emphasis on it. This would not be appropriate in upper class magazines as a lot of upper class do not use many exclamation marks.

Positioning on the pageMasthead- The masthead is generally positioned either in the top left hand corner of the page or along the top of the page as a strip. This is where the readers attention will be drawn to first as it is the biggest text on the page and is usually a recognisable colour. Most British people read from left to right so by having it in the left top hand corner most people will look here first.

Headline- Most headlines featured on magazine front covers are towards the lower-centre of the page as this is most likely where people will read next. The magazine Inside Soap uses an orange headline consistently throughout all of their magazines so frequent readers are able to quickly locate the main headline on the page.

Images- The main image is featured in the centre of the page with the main headline beneath it and other images are featured along the sides of the magazine page or the bottom section with their own separate headlines.

HeadlinesBattered, Bruised but Breathing! Use of alliteration is effective as it rolls off of the tongue and will have more of an impact on the reading. The connotations behind the words ‘battered’ and ‘bruising’ are negative and make the audience feel pity towards the victim. This will most likely be the headline for my magazine as this is a plot element from our Soap Opera trailer.

Final Words! This short phrase is effective at hinting at plot elements however it doesn’t give away who has died straight away. This short phrase may be more suitable as a sub line.

Terry’s divorce! This gives away major plot elements assuming that other people have not already seen the Soap episode, which may entice readers into reading more. Some Soap Opera magazine readers may see the magazine as a form of television catch up in which they do not need to watch every episode of the soap to follow the storyline.

Images needed and Price Main Image- The main image featured in most Soap Opera magazine is usually a medium close up shot of a character that has been superimposed against a white or colourful background. The image is usually quite big on the page so it is important that there is a suitable resolution image. Most magazines have multiple characters as their main image, which are stitched together to create one bigger main image. In my magazine I will likely have three of the main characters from my Soap Opera standing next to each other in the middle of the page so it is essential that I take the pictures in similar lighting conditions. Generally the characters are featured looking directly at the camera to give the audience a sense of involvement in the content of the magazine so this is what I will do for my magazine. I will likely take close up shots of the characters featured on the front cover of the magazine and then medium long shots of the characters for the sub stories.

Price- Personally I want the quality of my magazine to be similar to that of InsideSoap, which means I could justify paying prices of £1.50 per magazine. This price is still affordable for working class people and would represent my brand as one of the premium magazines.

Language/Puff PromotionAfter looking at a lot of other competing Soap Opera’s I’ve noticed that the language utilised is rather informal and more conversational than other more expensive magazines. This is due to the stereotypes of working class people generally being more socially informal and more conversational than other upper classed people. In my magazine I will try to replicate this by using short sentences with over exaggerated punctuation to catch the attention of the working class. Most magazines also offer other incentives such as potential chances to win a prize for example that will persuade working class people, who may need some more money, to purchase the magazine. Language used such as ‘Free’ or ‘New’ are particularly effective in attracting a working class audience as it portrays the content as exclusive to that particular magazine.

Synergy (social media)From analysis, not many Soap Opera magazine use social media synergy regularly on their front cover, despite a working class audience having social media accounts. However as a modern magazine appealing to a younger audience, I think it is essential for my magazine to include social media and website links so the younger generation can be updated over social media accounts. In addition, to this I would be tempted to promote an online edition of the magazine so a younger audience have another means of reading the magazine.

ConclusionFor the next stages of the production of my magazine I should purchase a copy of InsideSoap so I can use it as a guide when forming my hand drawn drafts. From this I can then create a magazine that is similar to the quality of Inside Soap, which will justify paying a premium price for it. I will then need to organise the props that will be necessary for the front cover of the magazine and the outfits the characters will be needing to wear.

Furthermore I will need to download a font style to represent my magazine for the masthead, for the headlines and cover lines.

In regards to the software used to create the product I will most likely use Pixelmator at home which I will then convert to a PhotoShop file for finishing touches.