NEA Task 17 (Planning) : Coverlines, Images and Page Furniture

In order to be able to produce your front covers you need to have planned what is going to be on them.

You have researched the covers of 6 film magazines so should have a pretty good knowledge of this already. 

Take a look at Figure 1 below; the front cover of an issue of Total Film Magazine. 

The main elements of the page furniture have been identified.

Figure 1 : Total Film Magazine Cover

Main Coverline

The 2 front covers of your new magazine will need to have a main coverline. What is the main coverline going to be on the first and second issues of your magazine? 

You need to think of these in relation to your magazine's focus (film) and target audience appeal. 

After the masthead, the main coverline is the thing that potential purchasers of your magazine will probably read first so it needs to draw them in.

In Figure 1.1 the main coverline is LUTHER / THE FALLEN SUN - this is a new film based on the acclaimed BBC detective drama starring Idris Elba.

Other Coverlines

How many other coverlines will your magazine have? Look back at your research into exisiting front covers to see how these are used. 

If you decide to go for 4 other coverlines, what will these be? How will they be worded? Will they represent a range of content that readers will find inside the pages of your magazine?

Coverlines are usually made up of what is called a 'kicker' in bold followed by a teaser.

When thinking of coverlines make sure that you keep them short enough to be easily readable whilst understanding that these are the ways that you are trying to entice readers to look inside and potentially buy your magazine.

In Figure 1 an example of a coverline is DUNGEONS & DRAGONS World-ending stakes and live volcanoes. Here, the kicker is DUNGEONS & DRAGONS and the teaser is World-ending stakes and live volcanoes. The coverline is meant to intrigue the reader into wanting to look inside the magazine.

It is essential that all copy for your magazine covers is checked carefully for spelling and grammar.

Images

You also need to think about the possibilities of links to the main images on your front covers as these are usually 'anchored' to the main coverline.

In Figure 1 the main image is of the title character from the film featured in the main coverline; DCI John Luther. Note that the image is of the character and not of the actor.

You need to plan what your main image is going to be and how it ties into the main coverline.

Remember to look back at the requirements of your set brief. This sets out very clearly that you need to have original photographs which represent two different social groups. My advice would be to go for one cover with a female as the main image and one cover with a male as the main image. Alternatives would be to use models of different ethnicities but, if you do this, the distinctions in ethnicity must be very clear and obvious.

Page Furniture

You also need to plan the other page furniture for both covers.

This should consist of puffs, content plugs, date, price, barcode, etc.

What else will you have on the cover of each magazine issue?

It would make sense for your first edition to have a puff which makes it clear that it is the first edition of the magazine.

Look at your research to remind yourself of what other elements of page furniture you could include on your front covers You could also look at other magazine covers outside of the film genre to see what they make use of.

In Figure 1 you can see an example of a puff which states 25 GREATEST DETECTIVES EVER! showing a link to the main coverline which features a fictional detective.

There are also lots of content plugs on Figure 1. These are different to coverlines in that they are usually much shorter. At the top of Figure 1 content plugs are used for new films (Cocaine Bear, Knock At The Cabin and Magic Mike 3) whereas at the bottom left of the page they relate to actors such as High Jackman and Scarlett Johansson. The magazine is assuming knowledge on behalf of the reader in the use of these content plugs.

NEA TASK 17

Create a post on your blog with the following title:

NEA Task 17 (Planning) : Coverlines, Images and Page Furniture

In this post you need to show evidence of your planning for:

• Main coverline
• Other coverlines
• Main images, and
• Page furniture

There is no set format for how you need to show this planning so do it in the way that you feel most comfortable with.

Remember that this needs to be done for both issues of your new magazine!

This planning, if done correctly, will enable you to complete NEA Task 18.

Suggested Deadline 

Monday 26th June

NEA Task 16 (Planning) : Masthead Design

Your magazine now has a title and strapline; well done! I hope you have chosen well.

The masthead represents the name of your publication and is the most crucial aspect of your magazine cover design. In the real media world, many hours of time will be spent perfecting the masthead for a new magazine. 

This is where branding also becomes important. The masthead is the title of the magazine and the most consistent element throughout the publication's issues, and it's how readers will recognize the magazine on stands. It will also be used at the top of the website accompanying your magazine.

Take a look at the image below which shows part of a magazine display at a well known high street shop. Mastheads are traditionally at the top of the front cover due to how they are positioned behind each other on a shelf.

Which of these mastheads catches your eye the most?

What Next?

Your next task is to design your masthead (including the strapline.)

This effectively means doing the following:

• Deciding the font to use for your masthead and strapline
• Deciding how your masthead and strapline will make use of capital letters and lower case 
• Deciding how you will use other typographical elements such as bold, italics, font size, spacing, etc. in your masthead and strapline

Also, don’t forget that the masthead’s color has a crucial role in making it 'pop' even more. Some magazines stick with the same masthead colour for every issue whilst others colour match the masthead to the main image.

I suggest that you go to Dafont and peruse the different fonts available.

Download several that you like and add these to Adobe Photoshop. You can then produce a mock-up of your masthead and strapline in different fonts to see which resonates best with your target audience.

Here are some examples that I have put together for Fluffy, the magazine for film fans. I have played around with different fonts, capitalisation and lower case, positioning of strapline, etc.

The 3 fonts I have used are Franklin Gothic Heavy, Magneto and OCR A std.

NEA TASK 16

Create a post for your blog titled:

NEA Task 16 (planning): Masthead Design

In this post show evidence of the process you go through to select the typographical elements for your masthead and strapline.

This should include multiple mock ups such as the ones above for your magazine.

Make sure that you are clear in identifying which design you are ultimately going for and make sure you know the name of the font as you will need to import this into Photoshop and Wix at a later date.

Suggested Deadline

Monday 19th June

NEA Task 21 (Planning): Familiarisation with Wix.com

The purpose of this task is to ensure that you know how to use Wix in readiness for producing the website for your film magazine.

Wix is a cloud-based website builder. Its user-friendly drag-and-drop tools and over will help you build your website without the need for any specialist knowledge of web design.

However, you need to learn how to use it.

There are a selection of links below that you can access in order to develop your knowledge and understanding of Wix.

My advice would be to sign up and create a website for yourself or for something that you are interested in. Use this to gain knowledge and understanding of how Wix works.

Do not start to try to produce your film magazine website as you will do this later.

Wix Resource 1

The video below provides a really useful introduction to Wix.

Wix Resource 2

You can access Wix's own YouTube channel by clicking here.

Wix Resource 3

WixLearn is a Wix site where you can find tutorials. Some of these are not relevant to your website design but there are still lots of other useful resources. Click here to access the site.

Wix Resource 3

If you have selected a font from dafont.com that is not available in Wix you will need to know how to upload your own font.

This can be done by following the instructions provided by Wix here.

NEA TASK 21

Create a new post on your blog titled as follows:

NEA Task 21 (PLanning) : Familiarisation with Wix.com

In this post write a summary of what you have done to familarise yourself with Wix.com

You could include screenshots in your post.

NEA Task 15 (Planning) : Film Magazine 60 Second Pitch

So, you have thought long and hard over your magazine's title and strapline. Now you have to pitch this to a representative of Bauer Media (me) in what is known as a 60 Second Pitch.

What is a 60 Second Pitch?

Have you ever watched the TV series Dragons' Den? If so, you are familiar with the idea of a 60 second pitch.

In this TV programme entrepreneurs explain their idea for a new business venture to a group of very wealthy investors. 

They need to try to convince these investors to contribute funding to their idea in return for a share in the business BUT they only have a very short amount of time in which to do this.

What Should My 60 Second Pitch include?

You have been given the task of producing the front cover and contents page(s) of the first two editions of a new film magazine. 

You now need to pitch your idea for your new magazine in a short video that is, surprisingly, 60 seconds long.

You should begin by introducing yourself and the title of your film magazine, like this:

Hello, my name is (insert name) and I am here to pitch (insert name), a new film magazine aimed at a 16-25 year old media literate audience. 

The rest of your pitch should include the following information:

• The month in which the first edition and website will be launched
• How often the magazine will be published (monthly / bi-monthly)
• Price of magazine
• The strapline for the magazine
• What readers of your magazine and website can expect to find
• How you will make sure that the content of the magazine and website appeal to your target audience.

You need to draft your pitch and practice it before recording yourself delivering this to camera - I suggest that you do this using your phone.

NEA Task 15 

Upload your 60 second pitch to YouTube (you can use your Google account to log in to Youtube as Google owns the video sharing platform)

I will show you this next part in class.

1. Go to the video once it has been uploaded and click on the share icon.
2. Select the Blogger icon
3. Select your Blog
4. Click on share

Rename the post on your blog with the following title:

NEA Task 15 (planning) : Film Magazine 60 Second Pitch

Suggested Deadline

Monday 12th June

NEA Task 14 (Planning) : Magazine Title and Strapline

You have now finished the research phase of your NEA and will be starting the planning phase.

The first part of your planning journey is to consider the title of, and strapline for, your magazine.

Coming up with a magazine title and strapline can be a creative and challenging process and is not something that can just be plucked from the air.

For this task you need to take a sheet of A4 paper (or the digital equivalent) and complete a mind map of potential ideas.

It is essential that you do not show or share your initial ideas with other members of the class.

Here are some tips to help you:

Consider your target audience 

Consider the interests, demographics, and lifestyle of your target audience to come up with titles and straplines that resonate with them.

Brainstorm keywords 

Brainstorm a list of keywords related to your magazine's content, themes, and mission. Use a thesaurus to expand your list of keywords and synonyms.

These keywords could be the catalyst for potential magazine titles.

Use puns or wordplay 

Consider using puns or wordplay to make your magazine title more memorable and attention-grabbing.

Keep it simple and memorable 

Choose titles that are easy to remember, pronounce, and spell. Avoid using complex or obscure words that may be difficult for your audience to remember or understand.

Most magazine titles are 3 or less words with the majority being a single word.

When thinking of your potential strapline, keep this short and pithy too.

Check availability 

Before finalizing your magazine title and strapline, make sure they are not already in use by another publication.

Get feedback 

Get feedback from friends and potential readers to see if your magazine title and strapline resonate with them and captures the essence of your publication.

Remember, a great magazine title should reflect the content and mission of your publication while also being catchy and memorable to your target audience. 

Take your time, be creative, and test out different options before settling on a name that feels right for your magazine.

NEA Task 14

Create a post for your blog titled:

NEA Task 14 (Planning) : Magazine Title and Strapline

In this post you need only to do the following:

1. Add your mind map of initial ideas to your post

2. Confirm the title and strapline for your magazine

Suggested Deadline

Monday 12th June

End Of Research Tasks

Once you have completed NEA Tasks 1-13 you have finished the research phase of your coursework.

Hopefully, through completing these tasks, you will have developed a better knowledge and understanding of film magazines, their covers and contents pages and the websites that accompany them.

When we return after the half-term break we will be commencing the planning phase of your NEA.

NEA Task 13 : Research Into Existing Film Magazine Websites

You are now ready to complete the final task in the research stage of your NEA.

What To Do

Visit the websites of each of the film magazines that you have looked at for your research so far. These can be accessed by clicking on the links that follow.

For each website make notes about what you find.

You have been given a lot of direction with previous tasks but, this time, you are on your own a little bit more.

My advice, however, would be to take screen shots of the home page and add these to PowerPoint slides, making annotations as appropriate. I would probably suggest at least 3 screen shots for each website.

Focus on any cross-media convergence that you can see between the website and the magazine as well as the content of the website and how it tries to appeal to its audience.

Sight and Sound

Little White Lies

Film Stories

NEA Task 13

Create a post for your blog titled:

NEA Task 13 : Research Into Existing Film Magazine Websites

Add your annotated PowerPoint slides to this post.

Deadline

Tuesday 6th June at 9:00am