Magazines: Oh Comely Industry case study

Our final concept for Oh Comely magazine is industry.

This is crucial concept because Oh Comely is a small, niche independent magazine - completely different from the global brand that is Men's Health. We need to explore the surprising rise in independent publishing in recent years and why small print magazines seem to be surviving and thriving in the digital age.

Lesson notes

The independent print magazine is characterised as:

“…published without the financial support of a large corporation or institution in which the makers control publication and distribution…“independent” in spirit due to a maverick editor or publisher who leads the magazine in an exploratory, noncommercial direction” (Thomas 2007).

Source: Writer's Edit




Print: the challenge for publishers

Despite the renaissance of print through independent magazines, there are still huge challenges:

• Distribution: finding distributor, risk of unsold stock
• Lack of advertising revenue: meaning high cover price (all over £5, many around £10 or more)
• Audience: finding and targeting a viable audience

Ironically, the internet has proved an unlikely saviour for independent magazines – it facilitates direct sales and subscriptions and allows magazines to find niche communities, crowdfunding and contributors

Iceberg Press: an independent publisher

Iceberg Press is completely different to Hearst UK – the publisher of Men’s Health and subsidiary of global conglomerate Hearst.

It publishes just two magazines: Oh Comely and The Simple Things.

Oh Comely Industries case study - blog tasks

Work through the following tasks to complete your work on the Oh Comely magazine CSP. There are plenty of questions here but you will be given plenty of time to complete it and will find this gives you a brilliant insight into a vital aspect of media - the power of independent institutions.

Iceberg Press

Visit the Iceberg Press website - particularly the Who Are We page and the Why Are We Here page. Read the content and then answer the following questions:

1) Why did the people behind Iceberg Press set it up?

2) What is the Iceberg Press mission statement? (It's on the Why Are We Here page and is a series of statements).

3) What are the two magazines that Iceberg Press publishes?

4) What similarities do you notice between The Simple Things magazine and Oh Comely?

5) What differences can you find between Hearst UK, publisher of Men's Health, and Iceberg Press?


Writer's Edit journal article

Read this excellent Writer's Edit academic journal article on the independent magazine industry and answer the following questions:

1) What is the definition of an independent print magazine?

2) What does Hamilton (2013) suggest about independent magazines in the digital age?

3) What is the aim of Kinfolk magazine and what similarities can you draw with Oh Comely?

4) Why does the article suggest that independent magazines might be succeeding while global magazine publishers such as Bauer are struggling?

5) How do independent magazines launch? Look at the example of Alphabet Family Journal.

6) What does the article suggest about how independent publishers use digital media to target their niche audiences?

7) Why is it significant that independent magazines are owned and created by the same people? How does this change the creative process and direction of the magazine?

8) What does the article suggest regarding the benefits of a 'do-it-yourself' approach to creating independent magazines?

9) The article discusses the audience appeal of print. Why might audiences love the printed form in the digital age?

10) What are the challenges in terms of funding and distributing an independent magazine?


Irish Times feature

Now read this short feature in the Irish Times on the growth of independent magazines and answer the following questions:

1) Why are independent magazines so popular?

2) Why is the magazine publishing industry set up to favour the big global conglomerates?

3) What does the article suggest regarding finding an audience for an independent magazine?

4) What are the challenges for magazine distributors?

5) The article suggests that many independent magazines only make money by diversifying into other products. What examples do they give?


TCO interview with Ruth Jamieson

Finally, read this excellent interview on the TCO London website with Ruth Jamieson, who has written a book on the renaissance of the independent magazine sector. Answer the following questions:

1) Why does Ruth Jamieson suggest there's a renaissance in independent publishing?

2) What are the common themes for successful independent magazines?

3) How many of these aspects can you find in Oh Comely? Make specific reference to the CSP pages where possible.

4) How does Jamieson see the future for the magazine industry?

5) How might this future impact Oh Comely? Do you think Oh Comely will survive the next five years - and why?


There is plenty of work here but this concludes our work on Oh Comely and the Magazines unit. Complete for homework - due next week Friday.

Magazines: Oh Comely - Representation

Oh Comely magazine raises some important questions regarding representation and identity.

Whether it's gender and feminism or race and ethnicity, there is a lot to deconstruct in the CSP pages AQA has selected from Issue 35 of Oh Comely magazine. We need to apply the representation and feminist theories we have learned this year to the magazine CSPs, exploring the way Oh Comely seeks to differentiate itself from other women's lifestyle magazines. 


Oh Comely: Representation blog tasks

Work through the following questions on representation and Oh Comely:

1) How do representations in Oh Comely challenge stereotypes? 

2) What representations of race, ethnicity and nationality can be found in the 'Speaking Out' feature?

3) What representation of women and femininity can be found in Oh Comely?

4) Why might Oh Comely deliberately under-represent men? (The absence of men in the magazine appears to be a largely deliberate move by the editors).

5) Does Oh Comely fit into the possible fourth wave of feminism? Or is it evidence of post-feminism - that feminism is no longer needed?

6) How does the 'More than gender' feature challenge Levi-Strauss's structuralist theory of binary opposition?

7) Judith Butler argues gender is a performance. How does Oh Comely challenge traditional gender roles? You should refer to both the cover and the selected CSP features. 

8) Angela McRobbie explored the empowering nature of women's lifestyle magazines in the 1990s. Oh Comely seeks female empowerment in a different way. What differences can you find between Oh Comely and more traditional women's lifestyle magazines such as Cosmopolitan or Glamour? 

9) David Gauntlett argues that identity is becoming more fluid, media representations change over time and that there are generational differences. Does Oh Comely support this viewpoint?

10) It has been argued that Oh Comely is a far more open text (Stuart Hall - encoding and decoding) with more room for negotiation in interpretation. Do you agree with this view? Why?

These questions will give you a range of theories and opinions on representation and Oh Comely - complete for homework (due next Friday).

Magazines: Oh Comely - Close-textual analysis

We need to analyse selected pages from Oh Comely to explore how it is constructed and what it communicates to its audience.

Oh Comely deliberately offers an alternative version of the women's lifestyle magazine genre and we need to explore how design, content and conventions are used or subverted to create this effect. We also need to consider the different representations that can be found in these features.

We recommend you buy your own copy of Issue 35 of Oh Comely - the selected CSP issue. You can order this from the Oh Comely website here. Alternatively, selected pages of the magazine are currently available to view online through the website Issuu here. 

Oh Comely close-textual analysis: blog tasks

Work through the following tasks to complete your close-textual analysis of the Oh Comely CSP pages:

Front cover

1) What do the typefaces used on the front cover suggest to an audience?

2) The words under the title introduce the content and topics addressed. What do these suggest about the potential audience of Oh Comely?

3) How do the cover lines use narrative to create enigma? What do the cover lines suggest about the magazine's content and audience?

4) Write an analysis of the central image.

5) What representation of gender can be found on this front cover?


Feature: Speaking Out

1) What does the headline and standfirst suggest about Oh Comely's feminist perspective?

2) What do the interviewees in this feature suggest about the values and ideologies that underpin this magazine?

3) How conventional is the page design in this feature? Why?

4) Pick out specific aspects of this feature that subvert the stereotypical representation of women in the media. Are they different to what we may find in conventional women's lifestyle magazines such as Glamour or Cosmopolitan? Why is the absence of men a key feature of Oh Comely?

5) How does the photography offer a fresh or unusual perspective on women?


Feature: More than gender

1) How does this feature offer a fresh perspective on gender and identity?

2) What is the significance of the writer and photographer? How does this fit with the Oh Comely brand?

3) What style of photography is used in this feature?

4) What representations of the trans lifestyle can be found in this feature?

5) Why is the biographical information at the end of the article significant? (Clue: the writer is also an editor of a niche, creative magazine called Entitle).


You will have lesson time to complete this but will need to finish for homework - due next week.

Preliminary exercise: research suggestions

In order to make an effective genre scene, you need to familiarise yourself with the genre.

Deciding whether to work with the horror or coming of age drama genres will be one of the most crucial decisions you make in your entire coursework production. Consider your options carefully!

The film trailers below will help you decide which genre to go with - and also give you ideas for potential scenes you could write and film next week.

Coming of age drama genre

Y Tu Mama Tambien



Kidulthood



Bend It Like Beckham



Moonlight



Lady Bird


Horror genre

It Follows



Monsters



Get Out



28 Days Later



Blair Witch (2016 version - original also worth watching)



Example of horror scene: 28 Weeks Later opening sequence

Magazines: Oh Comely - Audience

Our second Magazine Close-Study Product is the niche women's lifestyle publication Oh Comely.

We need to study both the target audience for Oh Comely and the audience pleasures that readers get from the magazine.

Notes from the lesson

Oh Comely magazine is a niche women’s lifestyle publication with a strong feminist perspective. It launched in 2010 and publishes six issues a year. It describes itself:

“Oh Comely is a curious, honest and playful independent magazine. It’s a place to meet strangers, hear their stories and look at life a little differently – where our readers are our writers and our models, too.

“Each issue we pick a theme and see where it takes us. We try something old, something new and something that scares us a bit. Then we present our findings in a beautiful, artbook style, putting new writing, photography and illustration talent at the heart of it.”

[Source: Oh Comely magazine website]

Oh Comely audience

Social Media Reach: 100,000 
Readers Per Issue: 25,000 
Average Age of reader: 27 
Sold through independents, WHSmith and international outlets


Oh Comely offers: “Access to a difficult to reach and highly-targeted niche demographic of creative women who spend money on the things they love.”

“Oh Comely is a powerful mix of words and pictures, stylishly presented and much loved by its readers. It provides an alternative to the ‘pile-it-high-sell-it-cheap’ aesthetic of mainstream magazines for young women, and this is why it has carved a loyal niche of fans. It is a breath of fresh air for a creative audience desperate to find something that speaks to them directly in an accessible, intelligent and interesting voice.”

[Source: ohcomely.co.uk/advertise]

Psychographics

Oh Comely magazine's description of itself would suggest targeting the Reformer and Explorer psychographic groups with an emphasis on creativity, self-discovery and a rejection of consumerism and commercialisation.

Audience pleasures

There are many potential audience pleasures for Oh Comely readers. Applying Blumler & Katz’s Uses & Gratifications theory, three in particular would be:

Personal identity: Readers enjoy having their quirky, creative lifestyle and feminist viewpoint endorsed and reflected by the magazine.

Personal relationships: Oh Comely is presented in a particularly personal way. It is the creation of three university friends, the magazine offers background on the contributors and readers are encouraged to ‘get to know’ the editorial team.

Surveillance: Oh Comely deliberately looks to inform its readers about niche stories, events and people.

Oh Comely - Audience blog tasks

Read the Oh Comely website page on advertising and audience to get a good idea of the demographics and psychographics for the Oh Comely target audience then answer the following questions:

1) How does Oh Comely introduce itself?

2) How do the print circulation/readership statistics for Oh Comely compare to Men's Health?

3) How is Oh Comely distributed to the audience?
4) What do you think the target audience demographics for Oh Comely might be? Some details are provided by the magazine (e.g. average age 27) but make an educated guess on further demographic details.

5) What psychographic groups might be attracted to Oh Comely?

6) What social class classification would you expect most Oh Comely readers to be? Why?

7) What level of education would you expect for most Oh Comely readers? Why?

8) What audience pleasures are offered by Oh Comely?

9) It has been suggested Oh Comely is a “magazine about people, their quirks and creativity rather than money and what it can buy”. How does the design and advertising content of Oh Comely support this view?

10) Why do you think Oh Comely has been able to build a loyal audience of subscribers in the eight years since it launched? Think about audience demand, rival magazines and the overall media landscape in the digital age.


Complete for homework - due next week Friday. 

Coursework: Preliminary exercise

We are starting our coursework unit with a preliminary exercise: a chance for you to refresh your technical production skills prior to creating your actual production.

This is a vital element of the overall coursework as it gives you the opportunity to make mistakes and learn from them without it impacting on your grade. There's also another crucial factor here too: this is your opportunity to enter work for the 2018 Media Awards in October! Your actual coursework productions won't be complete in time for the 2018 Media Awards so this gives you a chance to see your work up on the big screen.

Preliminary exercise: film scene

Task: Create a scene from either a horror or coming of age drama genre film.

Length: 1-2 minutes

Equipment: Your own camera, smart phone or sign out a school Canon SLR.

Groups: None. You MUST work individually. However, other people can act in the film or operate equipment (e.g. camera, sound) as long as they are directed by the candidate submitting the work.

What your film needs to include

Content: Your scene must include at least two characters that either reinforce or subvert stereotypes.

Camerawork: You must include an establishing shot, long shot, medium shot, close-up, extreme close-up, over-the-shoulder shot and either a high or low angle shot. You also must include both fixed camera (tripod) shots and camera movement (e.g. handheld, tracking, pan etc.)

Editing: You must include match-on-action, shot-reverse-shot and adhere to the 180 degree rule.

Sound: You must include dialogue and/or voiceover, non-diegetic sound (e.g. music), diegetic sound (e.g. dialogue, ambient sound, foley sound/SFX).

Mise-en-scene: iconography to establish genre - actor placement/movement, costume and make-up, props, setting etc.

Deadlines *STOP PRESS* deadlines extended due to PPEs

Planning deadline: Wednesday 20 June

Filming deadline: Wednesday 27 June

Final deadline: Wednesday 4 July

Important note: you will submit this film for the 2018 Media Awards.


Research and planning tasks

Create a blogpost called 'Research and planning' and complete the tasks below. First, watch this clip on the mistakes beginner filmmakers make - it will help you identify the errors to avoid when planning and shooting your film.



There are loads more tips and tutorials from Darius Britt (D4Darius on YouTube) that we would recommend watching as part of your research and planning. These include:

• How to brainstorm ideas for a short film
• How to write a short film - principles of drama
• Nine things to check before pressing the record button

Now complete the following tasks:

1) State the genre you have chosen - horror or coming of age drama.

2) Choose at least five films in your selected genre and watch the trailer and one scene from each film. Make bullet-point notes on everything you watch, commenting on camerawork, editing, sound and mise-en-scene.

3) Write a 250 word statement of intent for your film scene. This should follow AQA's guidance (look in your coursework booklet) and clearly lay out how you will use media language to meet your brief. You should also discuss what representations you plan to create (either reinforcing or challenging stereotypes) and how your scene would appeal to an audience. This is an example Statement of intent for a preliminary exercise - it's 370 words so over the word count but covers the four key concepts as per AQA's guidance.

4) Write a script for your film scene. You'll find guidance for writing a script in the BBC Writers' Room (click on the Script Library to read real examples of professional scripts).

5) Storyboard at least five key shots from your scene, take a photo of the storyboard and upload it to your blogpost. What visual style are you trying to create? Storyboard sheets are available in DF07.

6) Write a shot list containing EVERY shot you plan to film AND additional shots to create flexibility when editing. These additional shots are often close-ups, cutaways, alternative angles or similar. I advise using a simple table on Microsoft Word to set out your shot list - you can find an example here. 

7) Plan your mise-en-scene: what iconography are you including to ensure your audience understands the genre? Plan your cast, costume, make-up, props, lighting and setting.

8) Plan a shooting schedule that will ensure everything is filmed by Wednesday 27 June. Include when, where, who is required and what shots you will complete at each time/location.

Research and planning deadline: Wednesday 20 June

Music video: end of unit index

We have now completed our work on Music Video and need to complete a short index to ensure we haven't missed any vital notes or research.  

As we've established now, keeping an index of all your work is extremely good practice from a revision perspective. This keeps the vital CSP information fresh in your mind and also highlights if you've missed anything through absence or trips. This is particularly important with your end-of-year exam approaching. 

Music Video: index

Your final Music Video index should include the following:

1) Music Video - introduction and factsheet questions
2) Music Video theory and This Is America analysis
3) Common - Letter to the Free context and analysis
4) Michael Jackson - Billie Jean context, analysis and MM article

For your index, it needs to link to YOUR corresponding blogpost so you can access your work and revision notes quickly and easily. This also means you if you have missed anything you can now catch up with the work/notes and won't underperform in the Year 12 exam due to gaps in your knowledge.

Important: your index needs to be completed by Wednesday. Any missing work MUST be caught up by that deadline too.