Coursework: Print brief research and planning

 The Print aspect to our coursework brief is as important as the video work have been focusing on so far. 

It is crucial that you research, plan and design print work that could comfortably hold its own alongside professional examples. You will also need to include a section regarding your print magazine work in your redrafted Statement of Intent. A reminder of our coursework brief is here, with the key tasks as follows:

Print

You should create four pages from a music magazine – specifically:

• a front cover featuring the artist/band promoted in Task One
• a two-page interview with the artist/band
• one page with content relevant to the magazine and the target audience.

The magazine targets a mainstream music audience.

The front cover and interview can use some images from the same photoshoot but other original images should also be used that offer some visual variety.

The interview should be used to promote the tour and the music track. It should also reinforce the brand image of the artist/band and integrate some reference to the footwear manufacturers who are sponsoring the band/artist.

What do you need to produce?

1) The front page (A4 portrait) for a new, original music magazine aimed at a mainstream audience that you have created:

• Title and masthead
• Selling line (slogan)
• Cover price
• Dateline
• Main cover image and at least two further smaller images related to the content of the magazine
• At least 5 cover lines

2) A double-page spread feature interview with your artist (A3 landscape - i.e. two A4 pages next to each other):

• Content that is appropriate to the conventions of the genre of magazine being created
• Original copy (at least 400 words)
• Each page to use original images as illustrations (the main cover image must not be repeated but can come from the same photoshoot)
• Internal pages should reflect the design codes and conventions of the genre of magazine being created

3) A single-page with content relevant to the magazine and the target audience (A4 portrait):

• This could be a contents page or alternatively a one-page tour poster advert for your original artist or band. 
• Make sure you have original photography here - NOT from the same photoshoot as the other pages. The contents page would help with this.

Print brief - overall minimum requirements

• A clear house style should be used in the presentation of all pages
• A minimum of 7 original images should be included in the submission.
• All copy should be original and a minimum of 400 words should be submitted. Absolutely no use of AI in any way at all is permitted for the written elements of the print brief.
• Work should be presented on pages that are an appropriate size or in proportion to the size of paper used by magazines

We recommend that all of the above should be A4 portrait page size (with the double-page spread doubling up to A3 landscape).

Research and planning blog tasks

Create a blogpost called 'Print brief research and planning' and complete the following tasks to plan and prepare your print work:

1) Find at least five music magazine front covers (either current or former magazines as many have stopped their print editions) aimed at a similar target audience to your project (mainstream music audience) and research music magazine key conventions. For each one, pick out one design idea, convention or image/text style that you could use in your own print work. A few examples to start you off:

2) Find at least five double-page spread features from music magazines on Google images. How are they designed? How are text and images displayed? What design tricks can you borrow from your examples?

3) Find at least five magazine contents pages - ideally from music magazines - from Google images. How are they designed? How are images used alongside text? How are page numbers displayed? 

4) Find at least five music artist tour posters from Google images. How are they designed? How are images used alongside text? Which UK venues would suit your artist or band? Some examples:   

5) Read at least three example music interview features from newspapers and magazines to learn the format, writing style and content for a music magazine interview. You may wish to use the following to help you:

'I'm an alchemist': Nova, the unknown MC with the Scottish album of the year (900 words)

Rapper SL: ‘When I was coming up, there was nobody else on my level’ (500 words)

Davido on his song ‘FEM’ becoming an #ENDSARS anthem: “It’s amazing to see” (1,500 words)

Tom Vek tells us about his surprise album ‘New Symbols’ (1,300 words)

Interview: 'There's something to scream about': Bring Me the Horizon's pandemic political awakening (1,600 words)

Planning and sketching

1) Plan the content and cover lines for your front cover:

• Title (must be NEW original mainstream music magazine you have invented):
• Slogan:
• Cover image: 
• Main cover story/main flash: 
• Additional cover lines:
• Additional two smaller cover images: 
• Font style / colour scheme, additional design aspects:

2) Plan the images you will use for the front cover - use the elements of mise-en-scene (CLAMPS). One main image and two smaller images required to meet the minimum content in the brief.

3) Plan the content for your inside page feature:

• Subject of feature: 
• Headline: 
• Subheading: 
• Main image: 
• Smaller images (need minimum of four across the three pages) 
• Font style / colour scheme, additional design aspects: 

4) Write the 400 word interview feature you will use for the inside page spread. This must be 100% original and written by you. It may help to use a Q&A approach to this interview.  

5) Plan and write the text for your contents page. This will need to include a range of features and interviews that are not related to your artist but that do fit your target audience and brief (mainstream music magazine). 

6) Research and select the font or typography you will use for your magazine. This is a critical element of your print work - the brief requires a consistent house style running through all of your pages. 

7) Produce an A4 sketch of your front cover design and scan it/upload a picture to your blog.

8) Produce A4 sketches of your inside page feature with clear layout of where headline, subheading, images and text will appear on the pages. Scan or upload a picture to your blog.

9) Produce an A4 sketch of your contents page design and scan it/upload a picture to your blog.

10) Finally, create the pages in Adobe Photoshop or InDesign so you have the documents ready to go in terms of adding your text and images. This will need to include:

• A4 portrait for front cover
• A4 portrait for contents page
• A3 landscape for double page feature

Photoshoot

1) Who do you need to photograph for your front cover and inside page images? Remember, you need seven original images across the whole print production. 

2) What camera shots do you need? Write a shot list or draw a storyboard for your photoshoots. Make sure you plan a variety of camera shots you will look to capture - medium shots, close-ups etc.

3) Plan the mise-en-scene. What costume, props or make-up will you require for your photoshoots?

4) Finally, note down the time and date for your photoshoots. This may be inside or outside school (or a combination of both). You will have Media lesson time for this after the mock exams.

Statement of Intent

1) Once you have completed your print research and planning, go back to your statement of intent and make sure you have included the print brief in your final draft. Then, submit the final draft statement of intent to your teacher. The due date for this will be confirmed by your coursework teacher.