1) The document provides details on the planning and research for a TV magazine front cover project, including inspiration from the magazine Inside Soap. 2) Key aspects that will be included are masthead ideas, headline ideas, needed images, language style, price, puff promotion, and social media synergy. 3) Additional steps include purchasing Inside Soap, taking original photos with permission, choosing fonts and colors, and using Adobe Photoshop to create the cover.

1. OCR Media Studies – A2 Level
Unit G324: Advanced Portfolio
Mind Map and
Research
Name: Thomas Spink
Candidate Number: 2130
Center Name: St. Andrew’s Catholic School
Center Number: 64135
Generation of Ideas for Ancillary Product 1) –
TV Magazine Front Cover

2. Source of Inspiration
History of the Product
Inside Soap was first published in October 1992, it was a monthly magazine. It went on
to be published fortnightly in the mid 90s, before going weekly early in September 2003.
Publisher
• Hearst Magazines UK
• Publishing Director: Greg Witham
Editor: Stephen Murphy
Circulation Figures – HOW many people read the magazine?
• Has 247,699 every 2 weeks
• The largest soap magazine in the UK with the largest circulation
Price – £1.65
Socio-Economic Needs
The denotation of the stereotypical target audience will consist mainly of women
because a lot of the current multi stranded narratives in the soaps are relatable to
women’s everyday problems and les so towards the type of problems that men may
face. As well as this women would also be more inclined to want to read and find out
more about the program as it would allow them to talk and gossip with one another
about it, something that is not a stereotypical action of a man. In terms of class, the
target audience would range from class C-D as firstly the price is cheap and people of a
higher class in society who earn more money would be more likely to buy more
expensive magazines. However, the key reason it is aimed at this target group is due to
the fact that typical soap opera is based around the lives in the same as those in the
lower classes and so if they are watching the soaps more than people in the higher class
then these will be the people that are aimed towards when marketing their magazine.
Source: http://www.abc.org.uk/Products-Services/Product-Page/?tid=2137

3. Masthead ideas
• Soap Weekly- This name is effective because I feel it clearly outlines
the intentions of what the magazine is providing to the reader. The
name is also simple but is appealing as its short and snappy which
can be catchy for the reader.
• The Vogue of Soap- This is a clever and almost cheeky name for
the magazine. I thought this was a good idea as Vogue connotes
eloquence and a very professional magazine however it is
contrasted by the fact that it is based around soap operas.
• Soapy!- Again like the first headline this is a very catchy headline for
the readers and will appeal to the people who are buying the
product. I feel that by including the word soap in the masthead
allows the reader to know what the magazine is about whilst also
enjoying the humour in the name. This is effective as it is linked to
the humour which could be included in the stories of the magazine.

4. Main headline ideas
• The main headline is a key aspect of any magazine front cover and can
often become a grasping point for the reader. As a result of this the
headline will need to be centered in the page. It will need to conform to
the regular presentation of soap opera magazines and so I will try to
present it with bright colours that conform to the colour scheme of the
magazine. The font will be the same font types as the masthead which
again needs to be stand out.
• Based on this I will choose between the masthead titles of ‘This is soap’
and ‘Soap for You’ because I feel that they are appropriate yet catchy
headlines to choose from.

5. Images needed
• The type of images that are needed for the magazine will be varied form puff promotion images such as an
apple logo form images of people from popular T.V soaps. However I will also need to include some
original images into my magazine which will allow me to get a top grade.
• The reason that images are effective in the magazine is because they will provide visual stimulation to the
reader. The use of images including famous soap stars is useful as it helps create star appeal and makes
the magazine more approachable for the reader due to the fact that they will be able to recognise the
actors/actresses included.
• The shot types that I need to include will be close ups and medium shots as i believe that they capture the
element of the body that is needed in order to connote the feeling sand portray the emotions of the
selected storylines included on the front cover. Facial expressions and costume will also be key to this asi
believe that they help represent what is being displayed in the cover line. For example if the cover line was
about a murder that had been committed, the image could not be of a man wearing a comedy t-shirt and
smiling. Therefore where taken the images I need to carefully consider what storyline it is representing.

6. Language/price
• The language of the magazine should be both a mixture of formal and informal.
The language should be formal due to the fact it makes it easier to understand for
the reader. As well as that, some of the audience may be of a higher class and so
will find it easier to relate to the text and find it more enjoyable to read. However
there will need to be informal language as the majority of the people who watch
soaps and purchase the magazines are of class C and below and are more likely to
talk informally to one another. Therefore by including the informal language they
will find it easier to relate to. Also by doing extensive research, the existing soap
magazines have both a selection of formal and informal language to appeal to
both the target markets they have.
• The price of the magazine will be £1.50. This is because I have researched the price
of ‘Inside Soap’ and have discovered that the price was £1.65 and so I will need to
make mine cheaper so that I can stay competitive with my closest rival for sales. As
well as this the people of C class and lower will not be able to afford a magazine
that is more expensive as they would more likely not be willing to spend the
money they manage to earn on something that is not a necessity.

7. Puff promotion
• I think the inclusion of a puff promotion is a key
element to include in a magazine as it can bring
finance through advertising other companies
products. As well as this it could make the
readers more inclined to buy the magazine as
they would be interested in winning a potential
prize or having a poster included in the purchase
of the magazine. Puff promotion can be done in
different ways and I would like to do mine as an
advert on the front cover that is presented in a
sharp bubble which will stand out to the reader.

8. Synergy (social media)
• Synergy is a good aspect to have in a magazine
as it helps build the brand of your magazine. The
most common forms of social media synergy to
use is ‘Facebook’, ‘Twitter’ and ‘Instagram’. These
are the social media sites that I will use in my
magazine as these are they most popular and
most used forms of social media. As a result of
this it will allow my magazine to gain the most
recognition as more people will be able to access
its pages on these social media sites.

9. Mind Map - Conclusion
• In order to produce a good quality magazine front cover I will need to take steps based around this plan to
do so. One of the things I will need to do is purchase a copy of ‘Inside Soap’ due to the fact that it is my
magazine of inspiration. By doing this it will allow me to carefully analyze their cover and use some of the
elements in my own magazine and also allow me to see what I do not like about their magazine cover and
change it to give my magazine originality. Once I know where I am going and have a good plan for what my
cover will look like, I will begin to create the magazine cover and eventually produce a finished copy.
• I will need to arrange things in order to create the cover though and so it will involve me collecting all the
props to do this. This includes getting high quality pictures to use on the cover. Due to these pictures
having to be original I will also need to get the permission that I can take pictures of them during school
time and or outside of school. Not only pictures, but I will also need to collect the props needed such as
costume and anything they need to be holding during the pictures. Finally I will also need to gather a
camera to take the pictures. When I download the pictures I will either email them to myself and save them
or use a memory stick to save them form computer to computer. Lastly I will need to choose the font style
and colour scheme that I will be using for the cover. To do this I will analyze fonts form other soap opera
magazines and look at ‘DA-FONT.COM’ to choose an appropriate style.
• The software I am going to use in order to create my front cover will be ‘Adobe Photoshop’. This is because
firstly I have had previous experience of creating magazine pages with this software and so I feel confident
in using the features of the software to create an effective page. As well as this, I have researched and
discovered that this is the software that most if not all magazines use to create the pages of their
magazines and so in order to create an effective, aesthetically pleasing and all round high quality product I
feel that using ‘Photoshop’ is the best software to use.