How do you intend to use the four areas of the media theoretical framework to communicate meaning
and meet the requirements of your chosen brief? (approx. 400 words)
Product 1
For my magazine, I intend to create a brand reflecting individuality. The models that I will use for my footage fall into varying social groups, which meets a requirement of the brief and appeals to the audience of 16-25 year old aspirers, as they are likely to be able to identify with these characters. I will create a first and second edition cover from April and September allowing me to include cultural and seasonal lifestyle interests relating to the time of year - festival season preparation and autumn/winter preparation. My cover models will be part of different social groups, and so will the models featured on my contents pages. I will be cautious not to include 'token' varieties of social groups but instead present an equal spread. This will also be appealing to my target audience as it is a mass audience. My contents pages will be two double page spreads, keeping a sense of branding with similar layouts and colour pallettes to the front covers, featuring photos of the cover starts to further enforce this branding. I will include some repeating features such as nail inspiration articles, as this creates continuity for my magazine. The layout of the contents pages reflects the conventions of Hearst Media in the magazine industry.
Product 2
My accompanying website will continue the branding on and have a house style reflecting the magazine and contents. I plan to include an 'About' page, a photo gallery and a page for each section of the magazine - similar to the division of my contents page. There will be a 'contact us' feature which reflects other magazine websites that I have studied, and social media links which also feature on my contents pages. Social media links will reflect and appeal to my target audience who are likely to be very active on social media and interactive with it. An editors letter will also be featured, which is conventional of lifestyle magazines, and a 30 second audiovisual video which is a required part of the brief. For my audiovisual video I have planned to include people from a very diverse range of social groups, reflecting my brand identity and the brief. The song I will use in my video is called 'Essence' which is the name of my magazine, and the target audience may recognise this too due to their cultural competency. I will also have an easter egg to encourage subscriptions and promoting exclusive content.
How do you intend to link your media products to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of
the digitally convergent nature of your media production? (approx. 100 words)
I will include digital media convergence features such as links to social media of the magazine. Links to social media and the website will feature. I will also feature a QR code linking to the website to engage users in a competition, emphasising direct interaction, another feature that will appeal to my target audience. I will also have an easter egg that pops up as soon as users enter the website to invite them to sign up to a newsletter and get more inolved in the magazine. The covers, contents and website all adopt a house style and the website will feature elements that my contents pages are separated into, such as fashion and beauty and lifestyle.
