Project monitoring - 23rd January

This week I planned to complete my first article 'Sea, Sun and a flat tum'. I also planned to show this article to 4 members of my target audience and receive feedback from them and then go onto make any alterations. I successfully completed both these tasks and received feed back. Before writing my article i wasn't sure which narrative to write my article in, therefore I wrote 3 very similar paragraphs in 1st person, 2nd person and third person to see which appealed most to my target audience. They all agreed that 2nd person was the most appealing as they really felt like they were part of the article and that they were being included. After showing them my written article, the only alteration they felt I needed to make to my article was on the kicker as it didn't state that this article was step by step tips. After showing this to my target audience, I was little concerned by the fact they only thought to change one thing with my article as I wanted to have some good constructive criticism therefore I decided to have another look at my article myself and construct my own detailed criticism. When having I another look at my article I fell as though I have the chatty nature of my article just right as too much can make the audience feel as though my magazine isn't that serious about the subject and therefore I need to get the tone of my article absolutely right. If it is too factual and serious it wont appeal to my target audience but if it is too chatty, this wont appeal either, as they wont take the tips I am giving seriously. I feel as though I could use more technical language as this will show I have have done plenty of research and therefore really know my stuff. 
I also feel as though I could come up with some better sub headers, maybe make them slightly comical as this will also appeal to my target audience well. I think the fact  have used a statement at the beginning of each paragraph really works as this is a generic feature from women's lifestyle 'how too...' articles. Therefore I know this technique really appeals to my target audience. However, I feel as though i need to make all paragraphs roughly the same size as when I come to creating my double page spread then it will look more symmetrical which will appeal to my youthful target audience. I also feel as though the amount of paragraphs should be an even number, so I either need to add one more or remove one. 

The kicker before was: Summers coming and its that time of year again us ladies dread... Getting back into a bikini!

The kicker now is: Summers coming and its that time of year again us ladies dread... Here's 9 easy tips to get you back into that bikini!

I also planned to research how to write a good interview article along with completing my interview, writing the transcript and beginning to write the actual article. Sadly, I have had to push this back as my interviewee had to cancel and reschedule for a later date due to other commitments, therefore I brought the writing of 'Stress Mess' forward to replace it. In effect, I have just swopped the order in which I am writing the articles. I also planned to show several header options for 'How to tame your man' to members of my target audience but again I have put this on hold to enable me to to everything for the article all at once. 
I also said that this week I was going to complete my photo shoot, but due to my organisation and the times when my four models were free together, I have also had to put this back to the same time next Thursday. In the place of all this, I have done my research of 'Stress Mess' article and completed writing it. I have also planned my questions for what I plan to ask my interviewee in the interview. I found a lot more than I expected to write about in my article 'Stress Mess'. Simple things like eating the write foods and getting the right amount of sleep. This has changed the approach i am going to give this article as i'm going to write my article to PREVENT stress rather than manage it. I think this will be more useful as even those who do suffer with stress can use these tips, so it will appeal to a wider selection of my target audience. 
Also for my 'Sea, Sun and A Flat Tum' article, I want to have a breakout box which includes a selection of people that have taken part in this diet and it has worked for them. I feel as though this will make the article more personal as regular, everyday people like themselves, of a similar age group have followed it and it had worked. This will encourage them to try the diet and hopefully it will work. I therefore created a survey this week for those participants to fill in as this would give me more information to add if need be. I also asked them to write their favourite part of the diet and why as this could be used as a quote so show the difference between different people making it appeal to a larger variety of my target audience.
 

Schedule

Production Schedule and monitoring document

Week	Date	Activity
1	13th Jan	1 Schedule Creation: this week I will be creating a detailed and realistic schedule to enable me to create my product in an organized manor, following the objectives stated in my treatment. My treatment will be in great depth and will include three useful activities I will be able to complete as homework. These pieces of work should take up to four hours per week in addition to my study periods. I have chosen to do my schedule first as this will make sure that all my work will run smoothly and effectively. It will help me plan so I know exactly what I am doing and when and therefore I can use this time that I have most effectively. 2 - Today I will look at the commitments I have in my other subjects. This will help me to produce a precise and realistic schedule. I will need to check with all of my teachers what deadlines/exams I have in the next six weeks to make sure that non are missed and therefore the production of my magazine can run smoothly. I will also be finishing my Schedule, I have chosen to continue to finish this off for another lesson as I want to make sure that everything is included and therefore I wont feel as though I have forgotten anything and have to rush to squeeze it in. 3 – Article testing/language identification, I will write 2-3 similar paragraphs on the same topic but in different narrative voices and give each one a different tone. I will then give these out to different members of my target audience to see which one appeals to them the most.  4 Project Monitoring & Begin to write my ‘Sea, Sun and a Flat Tum’ article, from my audience research and internet research I will begin to edit this article. I think it is important to write your article first as then you really get into the topic, therefore your layout and colour schemes of the DPS will reflect the article in the best way. I chose to begin this article first as I used this article for my mock-ups, therefore I already have a structure for this article, the research is completed in detail so it will be the quickest to complete. Homework 1: Complete my interview – For one of my articles I will need to interview someone and therefore I need this to be completed in depth before I begin to write my article. Also this then doesn’t leave me held up and waiting for the interview to happen before I can continue writing anything. Homework 2: Create an audience survey for ‘Sea sun and a flat tum’ for the member who took part in the diet to see how much they lost as this will make my article more believable. Write up the transcript of my interview, as this will help me to be able to reflect and edit the parts I want to add to my article more effectively then just listening to it. Homework 3: Decide on the areas of the interview I want to include and make notes on the ways in which I could talk about them. Also show the areas to the interviewee to ensure that they are happy and therefore my article will be 100% liable. Book photo shoots. Exams/other subject deadlines: Tuesday 14th June – English language exam
2	20th Jan	1 Schedule Creation: This week I will be continuing to write my articles, as this is what will create and bring together the whole DPS. I will need to ensure I stick to a certain word count as this will determine the correct text to image ratio. I will be referring to any research I have completed previously as this will ensure that the data included in my articles is 100% correct and I am not giving out any false information. 2 - Today I will be adding the finishing touches to ‘Sea, Sun and a Flat Tum’ and then showing to members of my target audience to ensure that they find this interesting and it would appeal to them. I think it is important to keep members of your target audience involved as they will keep you straight and therefore it will ensure my product will definitely appeal to my target audience in every aspect. I will also research how to write interview articles and begin to write ‘How to tame your man’ as I recently completed the interview and therefore it will be fresh in my mind. 3. In this lesson I will create header options for ‘How to tame your man’ and show to members of my target audience to see which appeals to them the most. I will then continue writing that article as I feel as though I will need quite a large amount of time to right this as ‘interview’ articles aren’t my strongest point so these will take the longest time as I will need to research the best way in which to write it. 4 Project Monitoring & photo shoot. I chose to do my photo shoot next as this will then have me ready to create my DPS’s when I have finished writing my articles so therefore things will still be running smoothly. Homework 1: Finish the last part of my article ‘How to tame your man’ and finish any research for my final article ‘Stress Mess’ as this will then ensure I am fully able to get on with this straight away. Homework 2: Begin to write ‘Stress Mess’ as once the articles are out the way I can begin to design the layout and actual production of my product. Homework 3: Chose my favorite photos which I am going to use in my DPS’s and edit them to ensure that the focus point of the image is what your eyes are drawn to and there are no other distractions. Exams/other subject deadlines:
3	27stJan	1 Schedule Creation: This week I am going to begin to create my DPS for the completed articles. I am going to create the templates/ layout for all 3 double page spreads so I can begin to create them after I have had feedback from members of my target audience. I chose to do my double page spreads first as these take the longest time to do as they are fairly fiddly. This lesson I will start by creating the template for ‘Sea, sun and a flat tum’ as this is the first article in my magazine. 2 Today I will create the layout for Stress Mess and How to tame your man as layouts are fairly simple and therefore won’t take much time to complete. Once these are out the way I can begin to add my photos/article and things will finally start to piece together. 3 This lesson I will alter any changes my target audience feel appropriate to me layouts. I will then begin to add my imagery to my first article ‘Sea, Sun and a flat Tum’. 4 Project Monitoring & continue editing my first double page spread until I feel as though I am happy with it. Homework 1: Finish Sea, Sun and a Flat Tum layout to ensure next lesson I have plenty of time to create the other two in the next lesson Homework 2: Create questions for a focus group in which I will show the 3 layouts to members of my target audience to receive feedback. I will make sure this focus group is in as much detail as possible to benefit me in the best way possible. Homework 3: Perform questionnaire with members of my target audience to get as much feedback as possible to ensure I am on the same wave length as my readers. Exams/other subject deadlines:
4	3rd   Feb	1 Schedule Creation This week I will be aiming to have completely finished my 3 double page spreads. I have given these around 2 weeks as these are the most fiddly and complex and therefore I feel as though they deserved the most time. Today I will be starting to piece together my ‘Stress Mess’ article as this is less complicated compared to ‘How to tame your man’. I will be creating the background, adding the photos and the text. 2. I will then begin to repeat this process with my 3rd article ‘How to tame your man’ background, pictures and text. 3 I will begin writing up sell line ideas for my 3 articles and again show o member of my target audience to see which they prefer out of the options. I will use a variety of sell line techniques to ensure that the front cover is interesting and gives then lots of things to think about and therefore they will definitely wan to buy the magazine. 4 Project Monitoring & add the masthead and main image to my front cover, find out the colour code for my branding colour. Homework 1: I will be finishing the last minute touches to ‘Stress Mess’ e.g. creating the header and kicker. Homework 2: Finish ‘How to tame your man’ Homework 3: Know exactly what sell lines I will be including on my front cover ready for next week. Exams/other subject deadlines:
5	10th  Feb	1 Schedule Creation This week I want to have finished my front cover and began creating my contents page. I want to be able to have everything finished by the time I come back after half term so the last week I can spend making any changes and alterations without getting myself in a panic. This lesson I will start to research fonts for my sell lines. I will then show a rough layout to members of my target audience to see if this will appeal to them, if not I will make any necessary changes to the layout. 2 Today l will begin to add the sell lines to my front cover. I will ensure the colour scheme matches and I stick to the rule of 3. 3 I will begin adding the imagery and header to my contents page and creating a rough layout. Again I will show this to members of my target audience and receive feedback to ensure it will appeal. I will then make any necessary changes. 4 Project Monitoring & I will look through several layouts of magazine to make sure I feel as though my layout is a similar sort of style. I will then finish completing my contents page then add the rest of the text and sub headers. Homework 1: Analyse target audience feedback and make sure any changes that need to be made are done so. Finish any font research. Homework 2: Ensure sell lines have finished being added to my front cover. Homework 3: Full complete the layout of my contents page. Exams/other subject deadlines:
Half term	17th Feb	Homework: Complete Monitoring and make sure that blog elements are complete
6	24th	1 See focus group for the last time showing my front cover, contents page and 3 double page spreads. Get feedback. 2 Make changes to 3 double page spreads in response to the focus group. 3 Make changes to the front cover and contents page in response to the focus group. 4 Project Monitoring & one last going over on everything. Homework all week: Ensure that everything is perfect for Friday. Exams/other subject deadlines:
	3rd  Mar	Audience/Assessor Review Week 1 Create Audience review questionnaire 2 Teacher assessment of project 3 & 4 Complete prep work for evaluation E exam Unit 5 Blog Deadline 7th March

Photo shoot plan - Front cover

Material to be shot:

Main image:  A pretty girl to create window to future self. She will have a sexual facial expression to look fairly enticing. It will be a shoot from the hips upwards as if the image is too close or too far away it doesn’t look as professional.

What personnel do you need?

Lighting assistant: Mark Dixon

Makeup assistant: Becca Dowson

Models: Katie Greenwood

What props will you need?

Make-Up

I want my model to look very glamorous to ensure the fast majority of people will aspire to be like her. I want her eye make up to be soft but fairly dark to make her eyes stand out. I also want her lips to look very plump, red and glossy as this it how most women desire to have their lips. I want her cheeks to be a soft pink as this wont draw the eye away from the bold eyes and lips. The glamorous model will create a stronger relationship with the target audience and therefore they are more likely to buy it.

 

 Costume

I want my model to be wearing a short black dress, as this will really bring out the colours of her eyes and lips. It will also stand out well on the white background of my front cover. I want it to be fairly short as showing a small part of the leg will also create a window for future self as it something that the target audience may way to wear. However I don’t want the dress to revealing as I want her to look classy and admirable.

 

Studio shoots: what kind of lighting?

I will be using butterfly lighting as the imagery in this photo shoot is glamorous and therefore this lighting is the most flattering.  This will also help create a window to future self.

Backdrop:

I will be using a white backdrop as from my audience research this showed to be the most popular with my target audience as it looked the most professional.

Lighting equipment needs:

• Soft box
• Brolly
• 2 lights