PLANNING - a summation of my findings

My research has shown that entertainment magazines both adhere to and subvert the general codes and conventions of magazines because it is such a diverse magazine genre. Each entertainment magazine tailors their design and content accordingly to their target audience, whether this be much more diverse and mainstream, such as Entertainment Weekly and US Weekly, or more niche, such as Rolling Stones and Inside Soap. However, a key convention which almost all magazines have in common is their models use of direct mode of address.

For my NEA photoshoot, I plan to take a variety of photos to create a hybrid entertainment magazine by incorporating the codes and conventions of a celebrity/gossip magazine with the content of a film/television/music magazine. Therefore, my magazine will target the mainstream, mass market 16-25 year old demographic because it highlights choice in the variety of content (which I have found is a vital part of audience consumer habits in modern society).

My initial idea involves intertextuality with the iconic television series Gossip Girl. The cover will feature a new crime/investigation drama which tributes Gossip Girl in some of its style, thus I aim to use intertextuality in my coverlines, and choice of model and pose, to portray this. Gossip Girl is a very well known and mass market series which I felt would be easily recognisable for the target demographic.

My second idea involves intertextuality with the James Bond movies. The next movie of the series is in development and there has been rumours surrounding the star who is possibly singing it's theme tune. Therefore, for my cover, I am going to focus on the star who is lined up to sing this theme tune (a made up artist for my magazine) and use intertextuality for James Bond through costume and coverlines. Again, I felt James Bond would be easily recognisable for my mass market/mainstream audience because it is so well known.

PLANNING - flatplan

Gossip Girl Inspired

James Bond Inspired

GENERIC RESEARCH - Inside Soap

GENERIC RESEARCH - Us Weekly

AUDIENCE RESEARCH - defining my target audience

 

AUDIENCE RESEARCH - my focus group

https://forms.gle/3uHoMd7Si9NP4n7b7 - I created a Google Forms questionnaire to find out what my target audience look for in an entertainment magazine. This helped me with my planning and decide on an idea for my pitch.

Introducing my focus group

These are the people that I will focus asking my questions to throughout the production process of my magazine.

Name: Ella Findlay
Age:17
Psychographic: Explorer
Demographic: E (student)
Interests: dance, music, sports/fitness, the environment, film, musicals
How often they buy magazines: rarely
How much they would pay for a magazine:£1-£2
What type of entertainment magazine they would prefer: a mixture, covering different areas of the entertainment genre
What would make them buy a magazine: the content that is featured on the front cover and who it is about

Name: Isabel Clifton
Age: 17
Psychographic: Aspirer
Demographic: E (student)
Interests: netball, dance, film/TV, music, acting, media, fashion, photography
How often they buy magazines: rarely
How much they would pay for a magazine: £1-£1.50
What type of entertainment magazine they would prefer: typically associates magazines with the celebrity gossip genre, so would expect to have exclusive information and news about film/television and the celebrities that feature in them
What would make them buy a magazine: the aesthetics and layout of the front cover, recognising the celebrities on it

Name: Molly Bates
Age: 18
Psychographic: Succeeder
Demographic: E (student)
Interests: singing, dance, music, history
How often they buy a magazine: once a month
How much they would pay for a magazine: £2
What type of entertainment magazine they would prefer: a mixture, covering television/film, music, celebrity news surrounding the entertainment genre
What would make them buy a magazine: the quantity and quality of the content that is featured inside, bright and interesting colour scheme

PLANNING - pitch

The Pitch 

The Feedback 

From my pitch:

- I have been able to consolidate an idea for my magazine with help from audience and industry research however the feedback has made me aware that I need to make sure the idea sticks to the entertainment brief because i am incorporating a hybrid entertainment magazine genre.

-I have become aware that I still need to consolidate ideas for my website as I focused my pitch more on the print editions.

-I was able to become confident in my idea.

From my feedback:

-the group praised my in-depth research into the brief; including the institution being Hearst UK and awareness of the young target audience and their needs.

-the intertextuality was highlighted as a good link to the brief, however, how this will be represented in my magazine was not made as clear. 

-I have found that I also need to create a clearer idea towards the branding I want to create, linking to the cross-media convergence with my digitally convergent platform.