Models: Aahna and Ruby

Generic research: inspiration and intial ideas

For the next stage of development, I brainstormed some of my favourite films/ cinematography to get a better idea of the inspiration I will take and potential ideas for genre, lighting, composition etc.

From this, I came up with more specific ideas to brainstorm in more detail, taking inspiration from movies in the specified genre, photography ideas, and how I would apply them to my magazine front covers/ contents pages. 

Audience Research

This research has been useful as it has enabled me to more clearly identify and define my target reader in terms of their age, education, political leaning, income and interests. I now have a clearer idea of the kinds of films that should feature in my magazine - a range of genres with a focus on more arthouse films, indie flicks and masterpieces/ classics of the last 100 years, but also featuring some modern mainstream blockbusters and the like, as my audience has a wide cultural competency and is keen to know the latest film-related news.  

Industrial Context: Contemporary Context

The major players in the consumer magazine industry in the UK are Bauer Media, Immmediate Media Company and Future Plc, which controlled an estimated 37% of circulation in 2020. 

The top publishers make up a number of household names. For example, Bauer's biggest titles include TV Choice (average monthly circulation of 1.04 million), Take a Break (380, 000) and Yours (180, 000). Some of Immediate Media Co.'s biggest consumer titles include Radio Times (480, 000), English Heritage Members Magazine (450, 000) and BBC Gardeners' World (220, 000). 

Financing and Audience engagement

Magazines are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combination of all three. In the past the financing of magazines was easier, but nowadays, there are many more methods of making money through audience engagemment. These include regular print subscriptions and advertising, online subscriptions, digital advertising, sponsorships and sponsored content, live streaming, videos, podcasts, apps, VR/ AR, music playlists and much more.

Distribution

There are currently around 185 wholesale magazine and newspaper distributors in the UK, the majority of which are owned or controlled by the big three - WH Smith (39% of market shares), Menzies Distribution (27%) and Dawson News (19%). Each conglomerate has a number of depots, which then distribute to a clearly delineated set of postcodes, and publications are then bought from newspaper/ magazine retailers and news agents.

  

Industrial context: Bauer as a brand

The Bauer Media Group is a worldwide German multimedia conglomerate based in Hamburg with an approximate workforce of 11. 000 in 17 countries. Of the 600 magazines magazines Bauer own worldwide, they own 80 in the UK, as well as over 400 digital products and 50 radio and TV stations, plus print shops, postal, distribution and marketing services. The company was founded 148 years ago in 1875. Publications they own include Empire, Closer, Grazier, Heat, Mojo and Take A Break. 

Empire is a British monthly film magazine first established in 1989, and it is one of the UK's best-selling film magazines. Its first issue featured Dennis Quaid and Winona Ryder from the film Great Balls of Fire! (1989), and sold over 50, 000 copies. Over the years, Empire has had eleven editors, and is currently edited by Sam Mendes. Empire reviews both mainstream and art films, and a regular feature ever

since the Robert De Niro film Raging Bull (1980) featured in May 2003, is the Empire Masterpiece. It is a two-page essay on a film selected by Empire in the Re. View section. The films selected are quite random and don't follow a specific pattern, but L.A. Confidential (1997) and Magnolia (1999) have both featured twice. There have been many special editions, including The Directors Collection, which, in 2001, was on Steven Spielberg. As part of its 18th birthday issue published in June 2007, Empire published a list of top 18-rated moments in film. They also selected the 50 greatest films rated with an 18-certificate. 

Empire occassionally invite readers to take part in a poll to find out what their favourite films are. In September 2001, readers voted Star Wars (1977) as the greatest movie of all time, but in March 2006, The Shawshank Redemption (1994) was chosen as reader's favourite. In September 2008, a list  was selected by over 10, 000 Empire readers, 150 film-makers

and 50 critics of the 500 greatest films of all time. Francis Ford-Coppola's The Godfather (1972) unsurprisingly came out on top, and Steven Spielberg was the list's most represented director, with 11 films in the top 500. However, another reader's poll in July 2014 of the 301 greatest movies of all time saw The Empire Strikes Back (1980) top the list. In 2021, they combined reader votes with Empire critics' choices to create a list of the top 100 movies, which was topped by The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). In 2008, a poll was conducted to ceate a list of the top 100 greatest movie characters, with Brad Pitt's Tyler Durden from Fight Club (1999) coming out on top, but, in June 2015, Indiana Jones was named the greatest film character of all time. 

Codes and Conventions (Empire):

• Consistent, simple masthead which can vary in colour or opacity depending on the colour scheme of the issue
• The magazine's name is instantly recognisable, so large portions of it can be hidden behind an image and audiences will still recognise it
• Usually only one image on the front cover - always brightly coloured and attractive
• Images can vary from being one character/ actor to an ensemble 
• Shot type of main image can vary from a close up to a long shot
• Often feature a brightly coloured puff
• Colour scheme and font types always relate to the main film they are covering - every edition is very different - attracts a larger audience
• Always feature several plugs to indicate lots more content inside. 

Industrial Context: History of Magazines

The very first magazine was published in Germany during the 17th Century, which led to the introduction of magazines across Europe. The earliest magazine ever published is believed to be one called Erbauliche Monaths-Unterredungen, started by Johann Rist, a theologian and a poet of Hamburg.

One of the first film magazines was Moving Picture World, which was established in 1907, but the first film fan magazine was established in 1911 by J Stuart Blackton, the head of Vitagraph Studios. The first fan title, The Motion Picture Story Magazine combined short-story adaptations of popular films as well as advice on how to break into the film business and profiles of stars. The magazine was a hit, and in 1914 its name was shortened to Motion Picture Magazine, and it continued to be published until 1977. 

The most popular film magazine, however, was Photoplay. Photoplay was established in the same year and gained an edge over its rival by balancing studio tie-ins and an "independent" editorial voice. They were given access to sets and stars, but at the same time spoke to fans through their campaigning editorials. 

This edition was released in October 1920, featuring Mary Pickford on the front cover. 

The majority of film-goers were women, so they chose to target their audience by including fashion and beauty hints, as well as relationship advice. 

Other early film magazines born in the early 1900s such as The Kinetograph and Lantern Weekly focused on business developments in the film industry and short film reviews. 

Picturegoer was established in 1913 and ran until the 1960s and was one of the earlier consumer magazines about film, including articles titled "how to get a job Hollywood".

Variety Magazine remains a popular magazine and platform for entertainments news today, and was published in 1905, when it would mainly cover theatre entertainment. Nowadays, it covers a wide range of not only film news, but also lots of other news from different platforms of the entertainment world. 

One of the most popular film magazines today is Total Film. It was launched in 1997 and is available as a print magazine as well as an interactive website, iPhone app,  and various social media platforms. It is an in-depth magazine which features interviews, making-of pieces, future releases plus a section where readers can send in letters. 

However, the most popular film magazine of today is Empire, which was established in 1989. Their first issue featured an article which went over the life and death of Freddy Kreuger from A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Editions include film reviews, competitions, interviews, quizzes, news and exclusive behind-the-scenes and upcoming content. 

NEA - Chosen Brief: Magazine and Online

For the NEA, I am most interested in Brief 3: Magazines and Online. This is largely due to the fact that I would be producing the front cover and contents pages of two new editions of a film magazine, as outside of school I am very passionate about films, and I regularly try to watch a variety of both new and old in order to broaden my knowledge and appreciation. I am also interested in pursuing a career in writing/ editing/ proof reading, so this, combined with my love for film, is an ideal brief for me. In addition to this, I enjoy using Photoshop and InDesign to create visually appealing, detailed and thoughtful pieces, plus I am also interested in photography. Planning, constructing and executing shots, taking into consideration the models, lighting, composition, intertextuality and meaning is something I would greatly enjoy, especially given the creative freedom we have to produce entirely original pieces. With the prior knowledge I have of films and will hopefully continue to expand between now and the time of producing the coursework, I believe I would be able to think of some creative, original ideas, perhaps taking into account intertextuality, and I would enjoy this process (and the investment of time, care and attention to detail) very much.