Statement of Intent

 You work for an independent media production company. You have been given the task of producing one front cover and the contents page(s) of the first two editions of a new real-life story magazine that is being launched by Bauer and two pages for the working website for the magazine.

My brief is to create two real-life magazine covers and contents pages for a 16-25 year old audience who expect to be emotionally engaged. The magazine will be for Bauer, a company which also owns numerous other magazines of a similar nature. I will primarily target a female audience as this demographic is more likely to be interested in the genre and subject matter of the magazine, however I will avoid ruling out a male audience. Bauer’s existing magazines all follow very similar codes and conventions, with each magazine being almost indistinguishable from the others. I intend to follow this trend – using similar bright colour schemes and layouts. I will mimic the themes of the existing magazines (family-focused, ‘gossip’ and over-the-top levels of drama), albeit scaled down slightly to fit the younger audience. I will use the emotive, exclamatory headlines and sell lines consistent with the genre, with the intention of drawing the intention of the reader. While I will follow most codes and conventions, I intend to break the common conventions around representation in this genre in order to represent not just the demographics of young people, but also to better reflect the social and political attitudes around diversity and representation found in the younger age groups. In order to do this, I will feature images of people on my cover who are not all the typical ‘young white woman’ often found on the front covers. This will largely involve using people who are part of non-white ethnic groups, gender non-conforming or male. It will feature mostly working/lower-middle class representations where relevant, as this demographic is most likely to be interested in the publication. In order to appeal to the target audience, I will present positive representations of young people, in contrast to many publications aimed at older audiences in which the youth are portrayed negatively.  The images on the covers will largely be contained in circular shapes in a reflection of 'stories' and profile pictures used on popular social media sites. 

For the website, I will follow the typical conventions. It will be simplistic and feature mainly white and red, as this is the most common colour scheme and also echoes the masthead. It will feature a number of images relating to the articles and content listed. I will use identical or similar language as the covers in these stories. My hyperlinked page will be a 'Snapshots' section, where readers can send in their own photos with interesting backstories to be featured on the site, adding an element of interactivity. The contents pages will feature a QR code which will direct readers to this page. The website will also feature a mission statement and an editor's note which communicates the values of the publication. Furthermore, my audio-visual component will focus on the positive impact the magazine has on young people.

In order to remain accessible to the young target audience, the price listed on the cover will be low (£3.50), with much of the revenue being made up through advertisements both online and within the publication. In order to help link the two products (the magazine and website) I will use the same advertisements (or the same products) on both. The website will be simplistic, with a white and red colour scheme much like the other Bauer websites for its magazines. The magazine cover and contents page will feature calls to action for the reader to visit the website using the link. The website will feature images of the covers themselves to further reinforce the convergence. Furthermore, when discussing topics which overlap between the magazine and the website, I will use similar phrasing and terminology to strengthen the link.

Summary of brief requirements: • Statement of Intent (approx. 500 words).1 • Real-life story magazine covers and contents pages: Two or three pages for each of the first two editions (based on choice of single or double page spread). • Magazine distribution method: Content must be suitable for retail distribution. • Number of web pages: One homepage and one linked page. • Cross media production target audience: A primarily 16–25 year old mass market audience that expects to be emotionally engaged. There must be a clear sense of branding across the two elements of the cross-media production. Production detail that must be included The production of the magazine covers and contents pages must include (as a minimum): • At least four different main images using original photography across the magazine covers and contents pages. • Editing of magazine covers and contents pages (including photos, text, graphics, typography and layout). • Written text including elements such as the masthead, main coverline, selling lines, headlines, captions, subtitles and copy. • Barcode, date, edition and price information on each front cover. • A different use of mise-en-scène for each cover. • Representation of at least two different social groups (e.g. as defined by age, gender, race and ethnicity, sexuality). • A call to action pointing readers to the online website. The production of the web pages must include (as a minimum): • Original audio or audio-visual content appropriate to the online website. • A minimum of two original images (with at least one different original image on each of the two pages). These images must be different from those produced for the magazine. • Appropriate conventions of website design, including an original title and logo and a menu bar. • Text introducing the main features of the magazine. • Working links from the home page to the other page. • A range of appropriate media language techniques (typography, images, fonts, backgrounds, logos etc.) as appropriate to the purpose of the website.