FMP - Research

Survey Research

To research for my final media project I created a survey using google slides to find out peoples opinions on certain things. The questions are as follows:

I got 26 responses and concluded some answers from these.

The first results made it clear that photographs are more appealing in magazines than text. I decided from this that my magazine will contain and focus mainly on photographs and images of art etc, with the occasional caption or article of text. This will make it more interesting and appealing.

This question focused on potential topics I can include in my magazine and show which I should focus on. There's two obvious topics which have the highest amount of votes which are art and music, so I will definitely include these in my magazine. I have already planned to get in contact with some local artists and musicians to interview and include work from in the magazine.

The two other topics which had a high amount of votes are youth culture and fashion. I also will

involve these topics in the magazine.

Lastly I asked about magazine length and found out what people think is the ideal length for a magazine. As shown by the pie chart the answers were fairly even, however 12-18 and 18+ pages had an even amount of votes so I aim to make my magazine around 20 pages long (including a cover and blurb). 

Overall I think creating this survey was helpful as I could get an overview of how my magazine should (loosely) turn out. By finding what is most appealing to people I was able to shape how my production would go so that my finished product will be as good as it can be.

Similar Print Product Research

To get inspiration and a better idea of how to present my magazine, I looked at similar magazines to what I imagine mine to be like. I looked at Tyler the Creators "Golf Book", an issue of "iD Magazine" & an issue of "Dazed". 

Firstly I looked at the Golf Book which was very colourful. It contained lots of photography and the photographs were laid out in an unorganised format (kind of like a collage) which I thought looked unusual and interesting.

There were also pages which were filled with one photo and no context. I thought that this really bought attention to the photograph and story behind it with no distractions which I also liked.

By looking at the 'Golf Book' I was able to get some ideas on layout and design which I can take as inspiration for my magazine when I go on to the next step: production.

Next I looked at iD magazine. I really liked how they separated the magazine into themed segments using title pages to split them up. This is because it gave the magazine form and made it easier to read. I plan to use this technique in my magazine. I liked the boldness and simplicity of the title pages used in iD.

Lastly I looked at "Dazed" magazine. I liked the retro font and how it was centred. I thought this looked neat and stylish. I also liked the layout of the first photo as it was centred and had a border that fitted the monochrome colour scheme. I plan to use retro styled fonts in my magazine in order to give people a feeling of nostalgia/make it look stylised.

By looking at these products, I was able to determine how to layout the pages of my magazine. It gave me ideas on how to present titles, photos and more. When I go into production and design the magazine, it will be a lot easier for me now. 

Looking at the physical magazines also made me look at the pages and cover and how everything is printed, which led me on to thinking about how I should print my magazine, the paper I should use, the weight it should have and the finish it should have.

Magazine Print Research

I plan to present my FMP magazine in print format. In order to find details and specifics for my magazine I ordered a free sample pack from http://www.stressfreeprint.co.uk/ to get a feel of the different paper weights and finishes.

This is the package I recieved in the post.

 It came with different samples of print products which each had a
description on of the paper finish, weight and size.

After looking through the samples I found a leaflet which was perfect for how I wanted the pages to be. It was 170gsm with a semi gloss finish. I liked this because the paper was thick enough to look good quality and professional, but still act as a page and not be too thick. The gloss finish made the pages look appealing and kept the photos looking vibrant and interesting. Because there's a heavy amount of colour and photos in my magazine, I thought that this finish would be the most effective.

I also found a brochure which was staple bound. I decided this is how I will bind my magazine together. It looks slightly less professional however still works effectively for the amount of pages I have. It is pretty discrete and doesn't affect the pages at all. If I were to have a lot more pages then I would have better binding e.g. 'perfect bound'.

The brochure also had a 250 gsm matt cover which was fairly thick and I thought it was a good weight for the front and back pages of the brochure. The matt finish felt professional and nice to touch, and made the printed pattern look colourful and stand out. For my magazine I would like the paper to be a bit thicker (around 300gsm) but other than that I thought this was a good cover.

From this research I concluded that I will print my magazine in A5 size with 170gsm semi gloss pages. It will have a 300gsm matt cover and be staple bound. This research helped me to determine which paper thickness and finish was best for me, and as I could check it out hands on it was very useful.

Print Company Research

Because I wanted to have this magazine printed to physical copies, I had to find a company which would print a very small amount of copies. Luckily I already had one in mind. At the start of this FMP in my pitch I said that I would use the company 'Mixam' to print it. This is because I have used this company before to print posters and they are quick, cheap and reliable.

The website it is all laid out very user-friendly, with explanations of everything. It also gives an instant quote which is useful because it shows how the cost is affected by changes of each magazine feature. 

I decided to get 15 made because if I went any lower the price would stay the same. By making this amount I could have one to give to my lecturer, have one to keep, and have a few leftover to give to my friends, mum, dog etc... 

I think that the main reason I'm using this website is because of its versatility and freedom to change each feature of the magazine (gsm, finish, colour, binding, pages), along with the instant quote.

Advert Inspiration Research

Lastly to do research for my magazine advertisement I found some videos in a similar style to what I'd like the advertisement to be like.
Firstly this music video has a retro style and uses mixed media as well as vibrant colours for effectiveness. I hope to replicate these styles in my advert and plan to do this through the use of still photography being shown in the video and abstract colour correcting. Additionally what is shown on screen is timed to the music so everything appears to be moving very smoothly and in a uniform way. I hope to time my advertisement to music in post production.

This editorial video showcases fashion items of clothing, and uses heavy editing for effect. Something I'd like to try and use in particular for my advert is the use of cropping and inclusion of VHS style video. I have already experimented with VHS cameras/effects and will be able to effectively show this in my advertisement. This video is also cut to be timed to the music which I plan to do.

Lastly this music video I found features a lot of heavy editing and animation. I like how a small section of video is used and built upon through duplicating it and drawing on it etc. I plan to use some animation in my advert, done in Adobe Animate. Thanks to my past interactive lessons I know my way around this program.