This document outlines the production process for a magazine. It involves 8 key stages: 1) planning the production schedule, 2) editorial decisions on content and design, 3) acquiring content through writing and photography, 4) sub-editing for accuracy and style, 5) creating the page layout, 6) proofreading, 7) printing, and 8) distribution. Key personnel include the editor, writers, art director, and photo editor. Their various roles in content creation, design, fact-checking, and oversight of the process are described. Timeframes for different stages like research, editing, and proofreading are also provided.

1. ! Unit G321 – Foundation Portfolio in Media – Production Plan Template
Week beginning: Monday 17th November 2014
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Finish plan for the
magazine front cover,
contents & DPS-hand
drawn drafts,
call models and
arrange photography
times and location, to
be ready to shoot any
day from now.
Take photo’s (if
models are able to
come) of all possible
shots in all pages.
Set up a photoshop
document for
magazine cover.
Finish all production
planning as I can focus
on the production side.
Edit the magazine
cover using photo’s
took and photoshop
on this day, as
editing will be going
on for a long period
of time.
(Available to take more
pictures if needed)
Send the
progressing cover
for proof reading /
checking.
start laying out the
contents page
Complete by: The
Next Day
Complete by:
Thursday
Complete by:
Monday
Complete by: the
end of Monday
18th November
2014
20th November
2014
24th November
2014
24th November
2014

2. ! Unit G321 – Foundation Portfolio in Media – Production Plan Template
Week beginning: Monday 24th November 2014
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Finish creating the
contents page’
masthead too. Continue creating the
contents page, until it
is finished (including
positioning of pictures,
listing of the contents
etc.
Finish Planning &
Research tasks if
there are any left.
Complete by:
Friday
Complete by: The
end of the Sunday
28th November
2014
29th November
2014

3. ! Unit G321 – Foundation Portfolio in Media – Production Plan Template
Week beginning: Monday 1st December 2014
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Start editing the DPS
Send the DPS for
using Adobe Indesign.
checking.
Start here so that I will
have time to complete
it, as well as having
feedbacks then editing
the checked points /
mistakes for other
pages if necessary.
Complete by:
Sunday
7th December
2014

4. ! Unit G321 – Foundation Portfolio in Media – Production Plan Template
Week beginning: Monday 8th December 2014
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Get Feedback and
work on corrections.
Upload the final
pages onto blog and
start evaluation.
Use different
medias to answer
different questions.
(Distributing
magazine onto
blog)
Complete by: The
end of Friday
Complete by: The
end of the day
12th December
2014
22nd November
2014
13th December
2014

5. ! Unit G321 – Foundation Portfolio in Media – Production Plan Template
Week beginning: Monday 15th December 2014
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Start Evaluation
(answering 7
Questions). Use
different forms of
media.
Upload all
evaluations onto
blog page and make
sure everything is
finished.
Complete by: The
end of Saturday
Complete by: The
end of the day
20th December
2014
21st December
2014

6. ! Unit G321 – Foundation Portfolio in Media – Production Plan Template
Production process involved in a magazine
1. First of all the date of publishing the magazine as a finished product needs to be decided. Once this date is decided upon, then the editors etc
can now create a schedule of plans on when each parts of the production process will occur and the deadlines for them. The Schedule must
be followed, and there should be parts in the schedule that nothing will be over-due if a happening occurs.
2. Editorial decisions are now to be made. This involves the decision of who will be in the magazine editorial team, and what issues / topics
will be covered in the next magazine issue. During this decision, they will have to think about the types of images, illustrations, articles and
stories that are going to be presented. They also look at the money that is available and how it will be spent during the production process.
3. Next the editors move on to content acquisition. This is about gathering the actual content of the magazine. This is achieved is by in-house
staff writers or writers outside that are commissioned to write on specific topics. Meetings for interviews, deciding on locations for
photography, researching into the topics being mentioned by journalists and reporters is done as well. During this time, illustrations /
photographs and graphics are created and refined continuously. The graphics are designed with a computer program, and photographs are
taken in studios etc.
4. Sub Editing is done next, which ensures quality control of the magazine content. This is done by sub-editors, but if there aren’t any, then it is
done by the editors. During this process it is their responsibility to check accuracy of all the facts and spellings in articles, as well as
grammar and punctuation. Also they check whether the articles have the house-style of the magazine. This is also the stage where editors
work on the page layout.
5. Next is the stage where the page layout is created in detail. This is also the point where advertisers place adverts into the content of the
magazine. The layout staff is responsible for creating the layout, and their job is to decide on positions of images, words and articles for each
of the magazine pages. They use softwares such as Adobe Indesign and other Desktop Publishing (DTP) programs to produce a high quality
finish.

7. ! Unit G321 – Foundation Portfolio in Media – Production Plan Template
6. Once all the pages are created, proofreading is done. The editorial department will print out the pages and proofread for any design or
content corrections. If mistakes are found, the editors correct it on the original document. This is repeated until no more mistakes are found.
7. The file of the entire magazine is sent to the printer to print the magazine. It is at this stage where ‘Pre-press’ is done. It is the process of
checking whether or not the editors are sending all the necessary images and fonts needed for the pages. Before the printing company prints
out many copies of the magazine, they first print out a few for the publication editor to go through a final proof-reading. (Printer’s proofs).
When all pages are correct and ready to be distributed, mass printing occurs within the printing company.
8. The last stage of the magazine production process is the distribution. When the printing company finishes printing all the magazine copies,
they are packaged neatly and are sent to a warehouse, where they are distributed around stores and shops, then they are sold to the public.
A time scale in which a magazine is published can vary depending on the page numbers and the content. For example, research / writing can
vary from a few weeks to a several months, depending on how complex the project is. The editing may take 3 to 4 weeks, depending on how
many proofs the editors had to go through, but also how much corrections are to be done on each page. The total time spent approximately on
proofreading pages are 2 to 3 weeks. Colour proofing can take up to three weeks but this can be done while editing / design is taking place.
Key Personnels:
Editor- They are responsible of the editorial and the production side of magazine. In Kerrang!’s content, they are also responsible for choosing
cover stars, choosing bands for tours and tracks for CD’s, and overseeing the layout, content and artworks of articles. They also have the
responsibility to manage writing staffs, and proofreading their articles and the whole magazine, which may be returned to the writer for revision.
It is also their job to send out briefs to the writers mentioning word counts, deadline, fees etc.
Writer/journalist- They are responsible for generating ideas for future contents, verifying information and interview sources, writing and
proofreading the actual text, meeting and discussing ideas and plans with designers, photographers, editors and subs.

8. ! Unit G321 – Foundation Portfolio in Media – Production Plan Template
Art Director- They are responsible for the aesthetics of the magazine. They oversee the words and images across every page in the magazine,
and create a house style that represents the magazine.
Photo Editor- They oversee the photography that goes into the magazine. Their job is to hire photographers, not to take them. It is their
responsibility to make sure that the photographs are in the right place in the right pages.
Sources:
http://hosbeg.com/the-magazine-production-process/ - this webpage is where I gained most of the information from, and it helped me to
understand exactly what each job roles involves and what they have to do.
http://www.bpccam.co.uk/timescales.htm - This website is where I gained the information of the timescale in which the timescale a monthly
magazine may take to be created.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/my-life-in-media-paul-brannigan-editor-of-kerrang-900352.html - Where I got the information of the
Kerrang! Editor from.