Construction of Billboard

After deciding that a simple billboard would be most appropriate for my magazine, it was pretty easy to choose an image (I chose an image with lots of space for me to include text) and copy the font I used for my front cover.

I decided on the slogan "time may change a lot but some things remain the same"
this successfully links to the whole theme of my magazine as it's aim is to appreciate the quaint village-like things that have not changed and can still be enjoyed today!

I wanted to give the billboard an effect, and after trying several from Photoshop, I decided to create my own... I tested a "sepia" filter on Photoshop but the photo looked too edited. I thought that I could give my photo an old-fashioned look by adding a layer that look liked old paper over the top.

 

At home, I stained an A4 sheet of paper using a tea bag. I left this to dry on the radiator and then scanned it into the computer. This will hopefully allow me to have the right effect on Photoshop.

I scanned the paper into the computer and opened it up in Photoshop...

After opening the scanned image in Photoshop, I used the layer effect "Multiply" this dropped the image into the background and gave a nice vintage effect! After playing with the colour and contrast, I am happy with this effect!

 

 

After playing around on Photoshop, I think the scanned image may be too heavy. The darkness connotes a sinister feel to the billboard, almost as though a horror billboard would be! The effect of the stained paper when scanned looks too much like clouds which is not the desired effect.

Contruction of contents page

Construction of Front Cover

 I picked a photo from my shoot in Parbold. I chose a scenic shot of the canal as after having researched Lancashire Life, this was the most appropriate.
I edited the colour with the "colour balance" setting on adobe photoshop, followed by the "vibrance" setting to brighten my picture.




As all my photos have been taken throughout autumn, I thought it appropriate to make my magazine the "Autumn issue" and so to help me choose my colours, I found this colour palate online....

This was really helpful to decide on the colours to use for my front cover (see below)

 After choosing the best font for my title, I added simple shapes and positioned them on the page moving them around a lot before I chose to use a strip across the bottom of the page were my main cover story is going to go.

Production Planning

 

Test Shots

As I am basing my magazine on villages in the Northwest, I decided to base this particular issue on Parbold, a quaint village near where I live. I took photos of both the village and the rural surroundings in order to gain a real feel of the village.  After researching Lancashire Life, I noticed the images they use are quite simple and scenic, reflecting the picture-esque scenery.

Here are some of the scenic shots I took whilst in Parbold:

The pictures used inside of Lancashire Life, are based on real people in real life situations. They aren't edited much and this enables the reader to connect with the magazine further. The real life situations allow the reader to sympathise, I will bear this in mind when I am taking pictures, taking note to capture natural moments.

With this in mind, I went to Haigh Hall Country Park and took some practise shots in order to gain a feel for the type of real-life pictures I could take to use within my magazine.

Some photos I took are shown below:

Mind Mapping
In order to think of magazine title names and cover-story ideas, I combined my knowledge from the research I have done on regional magazines and the ideas for layout that I have had into mind maps and sketches. This process enabled me to gain a clearer idea of what I wanted the outcome of my final product to be.

Mood Board

I have collected pages from the insides of different regional magazines ranging from Cheshire and Lancashire life, to free local magazines and the national trust monthly. This acts as a mood-board and allows me to see all the pages together. I have spotted a general theme of simplicity... by looking at a variety of images and articles I have a stronger feel for what I want to create within my magazine. Images used are scenic and based very much on the real world. 

Fonts
I have decided on the name "Village Life" for my magazine. Below are some test fonts. 

VILLAGE LIFE

Village Life

VillageLife

VillageLife

Researching radio advertisements

 

Basically, I searched how to create a radio advert and believe it or not  WikiHow had many an answer. After reading through the steps, some of the steps actually made a lot of sense in order to create a successful advertisement. Some of the steps I have listed below:

 

"Use multiple aspects of sound to create a desire for the product or service" - this is useful, as different sounds engage the listener, and add to the verisimilitude of the advertisement which connects more successfully with the listener.

 

"Mention the name of the product or service at least three times in your advertisement" - this makes the advert memorable, repetition allows the listener to effectively remember the name of my regional magazine, this could by done by the use of a slogan, after bringing the name of the magazine in by conversational technique throughout the advert.

 

 

 

Billboard Advertisements

As part of the brief that I have chosen, I have to create a Billboard advertisement that will effectively advertise my magazine... 

After research, I have found it difficult to find a billboard advertisement for a Regional Magazine.

Instead, I decided to research the conventions of billboard advertisements in general, so that when I create my own advertisement I can base it on the features I have seen in these.

This Billboard is advertising iPlayer for a Nokia phone. The image is striking and realistic, the hands holding the phone portray an element of synthetic personalisation, as the audience could identify the hands as similar to their own. The hands also add perspective as on the large scale of the billboard, the phone looks impressive against the hands. This allows me to understand that an eye-catching image is vital to creating a striking Billboard ad.

 This Billboard for Qantas Airline follows similar conventions to those of the Nokia advert. The large image contrasts the few words or slogan that feature underneath the picture. The short sentence used "The world's most experienced airline" implies that nothing more needs to be said, this gives an instant professional feel to the airline. The full stop used after the short sentence connotes finality and definiteness. This shows that the lexis and grammar used on Billboards (despite being usually minimal) is important.

This advert is a 1950s Billboard advertisement for McDonalds. I am analysing this to prove that the main features of Billboards have not changed despite the move in technology.
The large image connects with the reader as it simply includes a young, healthy boy, which readers can easily relate to. I like the fact that the image looks like a painting. I am thinking about my magazine being based on the past and villages before times changed, I could possibly edit my Billboard photo to look like a painting. Incorporating the old 1950s technique into a modern Billboard would highlight my attempt at appreciating the past.

Where would the billboard advertisement be shown?

This video gave me a clearer idea of the places that feature in the regional magazine, Lancashire Life.

This will help when I'm creating a billboard advertisement as the places shown here are possible places were the magazine would be advertised.

The places shown vary from the countryside to cities and towns, which means that the magazine includes a variety of things. I would like to make my magazine more focused on villages within  the north west, however I think this would still be appropriate to advertise in towns, as the contrast would attract more attention and possibly make the demographic of my magazine larger.

Researching Layout

Double Page Spread



 As part of my regional magazine I would be creating a double paged spread and after looking through Lancashire Life I have decided that I really like the style of the articles.

The text is separated into boxes which enables it to be clear and easy to read, the simple style reflects a sophisticated theme of the magazine.

 Double page spread conventions:

-Large image anchoring the article

-Simplistic and sophisticated layout

-Text separated into boxes

-Plain and easy to read font

-Images used are clear and high quality- not over edited

- Pictures appear to balance out the text, text is not minimal

-True, real-life images add to the verisimilitude of the magazine

-Layout is simple but eye catching

-Regional magazines focus on the article combined with simple pictures rather than heavily edited images (such as with a music mag)

Researching target audience

Above, I have researched the audience profile for Lancashire Life magazine.

It is clear that Lancashire life readers are conservative and wealthy; the magazine is aimed at 45-60 year olds. I think I would make my magazine suitable for a slightly younger audience, such as 25-45 year olds.

After research I have found out that there is a gap in the market for a magazine aimed at young married couples or middle-aged people who perhaps aren't as wealthy as buyers of Lancashire Life. This is why if I created a magazine which focused on the fact that it is perfectly possible to maintain a "proper" standard of living, despite perhaps being on a budget (as a younger audience would be).

By reading about the style of Lancashire Life (to the left), I have decided that I really like the idea that the magazine brings together "everything you love about your county".

There is a definitely a strong focus on the British, kitsch trend with things such as The Great British Bake off being very popular and so by creating a magazine focusing on villages of the north-west, and adapting my photos and articles to have a British-theme this would fit the popular interest in all things kitsch.

The magazine is aimed at an older audience; I would like to aim my magazine at the slightly younger audience of 25-45 year olds. I will however, still abide by the conventions of this regional magazine, focusing my inside stories particularly on property, food and drink and health and beauty.

To the left, are the statistics of the type of people that read "Now Then" magazine. The magazine is aimed at a younger audience and I plan to aim my magazine at a younger audience than that of Lancashire Life; so, by basing some of my contents around the contents of Now Then would help attarct the demographic I'm aiming to have.

Now then can be found in local retailers, bars, restaurants, doctors, dentists, hairdressers, libraries, tourist information centres, hotels, cinemas, cafes, takeaways, museums, theatres, universities, and online.

Knowing this information, allows me to understand what sort of articles and features I should include in my magazine as it is likely that my magazine would be sold in similar local places!

Researching Existing Magazines

This front cover sticks to the colour rule of three: Blue, White and Pink. Blue and white are very neutral colours which connote calmness, however the pink stands out against the neutral colours which prove to be a contrast and thus implies the that the contents of the magazine contains different information; fundamentally attracting a larger audience.

 

This particular issue of Lancashire Life focuses on the Lake District and so the front cover image anchors this as a photograph of the Lakes' landscape is used. This would automatically attract a reader as they may recognise the place. However, the magazines cover image is attractive and eye-catching, the scenic image would attract readers out of curiosity.

 

I will definitely consider using a recognisable and attractive landscape image for the front cover of my magazine as it would attract the demographic of locals as well as people who are interested in discovering more about the image on the front.

 

The graphology of the magazine is simple, the writing is plain and easy to read which implies that the magazine is 'to the point'. The use of alliteration "wild and wonderful" and "cult collies" effectively draws attention to the cover stories.

 

"Exposed" is a magazine sold only in Sheffield and South Yorkshire.

The magazine targets a range of demographics, each issue containing specialised features which attract a large audience.

 

The cover of this issue of "Exposed" is striking. The bright colour scheme of yellow, red and white has connotations of fire and heat, which highlights the fact that the magazine is "hot" or up-to-date.

 

The main cover story is large and eye-catching. The rhyme used "Ram, Bam, Thank You Man" is simple but effective and also suggests a lack of seriousness and a laid-back attitude which reflects the content of the magazine.

 

The cover image is a medium close up of a person with an indirect gaze, this suggests a sense of mischief, often associated with a younger audience (the image anchors the main cover story).

The cover story focuses on Chris Ramsey, a comedian from the North East of England, not many would know this other than local people, this is a common feature of a regional magazine as Chris would be recognisable to locals but perhaps not people from different regions.

 

This particular issue of "Exposed" appears to be targeted towards a younger audience due to the youthful comedian being a main feature; the bright colours used also suggest that the magazine is
targeted at a younger demographic

 

Another regional magazine that I have found is "Now Then". This magazine is slightly different as it is free, however it still abides by the usual conventions of a regional magazine.

Now Then is a free magazine distributed all over Sheffield and the Peak District.

The magazine is  produced by Opus Independents, a not-for-profit social enterprise which has been operating in this, our fair city for over five years. Now Then is a full colour,

content led magazine, featuring articles and interviews on local & national politics, trade,

visual arts, music, poetry and satire. Now Then is read by 30,000-40,000 people each month.

About Me / Brief

About me:

 

My name is Kate Naylor, I am an A2 Media Studies student and Winstanley College and it's safe to say that I love all things quaint. My fondness for attractively unusual and old-fashioned things can be applied to pretty much anything and so this is why I have chosen the brief I have chosen (see brief).
 

I think that it's important to create something that is personal to you, this way, the final product will inevitably have had a lot of thought put into it and that will show. I am excited to create a regional magazine for the area which I live (West Lancashire) as I am proud of the quaint villages that will be so wonderful to research and write about.

 

I have a passion for reading and writing; love to sit down with a book and a cup of tea and I really want to apply this  to my coursework. Due to my passion for books, I plan to investigate the history of these quaint villages through reading and researching (and of course a little feature on the afternoon tea I so love to have, would not go amiss)!

 

 

Brief:

 

"The first four pages from an original regional magazine together with two of the following three options:

- a radio advertisement for the magazine

-two hyperlinked pages from the magazine's website

-a billboard advertisement for the magazine