Hi. My name is Jack, I'm 17 years old, and I'm taking Media Studies at Hills Road. This is my coursework blog. I've been tasked with producing a cross-media piece, consisting of a 2.5-3 minute audio-visual sequence, and a double page magazine spread and front cover. The video piece must be from an ITV or Channel 5 show of my creation, either factual or fictional, with a target audience aged 18-35, and containing either 'a key turning point, a point of significant conflict, or a resolution', while the print elements will contain interviews and promotional materials relating to the show. I haven't yet decided which channel, genre, or direction my piece is going to take, but I'm excited at what lies ahead. I'll be keeping my blog up-to-date with all my progress, so feel free to stick around and have a look!
Aside from the audio-visual piece, I also have to create a front cover and double-page spread about my show for a lifestyle magazine. As such, I've been looking at several of these magazines to see how they're designed and laid out.
One thing I've noticed is that practically all the covers are more about the star than the show itself. Take the following examples:
All of them have a celebrity taking centre stage on the cover, usually with their name in the strapline or main cover line, always either looking into the camera or slightly off into the middle distance, surrounded by several cover lines promising to drastically improve your life, entertain you, or both. As this format is shared by practically every lifestyle magazine under the sun, this is the format I'll use. Originally I was planning to have a cinematic-looking still from the show as my cover, perhaps the opening shot of DCI Griffin tied up in the chair, but that's not really right for lifestyle mags, so I'll do a photoshoot with my lead, in the style above. I'd like to go for the sort of high-end feel of Esquire or GQ magazine, simply because I prefer it.
My double page spread will be image-heavy, as many other magazines are. See below:
It'll also be stylised, broken up into columns across the page, with drop caps and block quotes abound. Some of the magazines I've seen also have ads in the form of mini sponsored segments on their pages, so I may include one or two of them. I'd like my feature to take the form of a special, so I may devote one page to being a title page, containing a still from the show and a large title and strapline.
One thing I've noticed is that practically all the covers are more about the star than the show itself. Take the following examples:
All of them have a celebrity taking centre stage on the cover, usually with their name in the strapline or main cover line, always either looking into the camera or slightly off into the middle distance, surrounded by several cover lines promising to drastically improve your life, entertain you, or both. As this format is shared by practically every lifestyle magazine under the sun, this is the format I'll use. Originally I was planning to have a cinematic-looking still from the show as my cover, perhaps the opening shot of DCI Griffin tied up in the chair, but that's not really right for lifestyle mags, so I'll do a photoshoot with my lead, in the style above. I'd like to go for the sort of high-end feel of Esquire or GQ magazine, simply because I prefer it.
My double page spread will be image-heavy, as many other magazines are. See below:
It'll also be stylised, broken up into columns across the page, with drop caps and block quotes abound. Some of the magazines I've seen also have ads in the form of mini sponsored segments on their pages, so I may include one or two of them. I'd like my feature to take the form of a special, so I may devote one page to being a title page, containing a still from the show and a large title and strapline.
Some good notes here. Can you increase the amount of media language used or add some links to theory? Some rough layout designs of your own would be good.
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