Article Plan

My article will be an interview with the actress, where she talks about her newest TV show and it's links to feminism, relating back to my critical investigation piece. In addition to this, all the typical codes and conventions of Harper's Bazaar will be carried out through the article, with the actress divulging the details of her personal life and the fashion and beauty brands she can't live without. There will also be a quote of the actress central to the article for readers skimming over the text, it should summarise the page concisely and entice people to read more.

The first draft of my article is as follows

My first sighting of Maisie Bass is across Gauchos in London, her choice of restaurant for lunch. I arrive on time on what is already a surprisingly swelteringly hot day. So when the 19-year-old actress tumbles through the door 15 minutes later, she looks flushed and flustered in the way that anyone might who was running behind schedule and had been pounding the pavement in the midday sun. She is dressed nicely: a white Isabel Marant blazer over a pink Zac Posen top, with skinny Paige jeans, gladiator sandals and a white Narciso Rodriguez bag in the crook of her arm. All of this I take in later; I am more distracted now by the animated dumb show that ensues when

The waitress greets her. Confusion first, then distress rattle across her face as she fishes out her phone and starts jabbing at the screen, presumably to bring up the name of our reservation. It’s a sort of manic behaviour I have seen before, albeit in heightened form, from her character on Chase, though of course Daniella Mathews only manifests it when she has been blindsided by a terrorist bomb or a Met police betrayal, or simply slipped off her meds and spiralled into one of her episodes. I hurry over to introduce myself and a minute later we are about to sit down when Maisie spins around and apologetically disappears off to the bathroom. When she re-emerges – you’d think having cooled off – she is just as charged up as before. Before I’ve even turned on the tape recorder she’s already off on a feminist rant, so my transcript catches her in medias res: “It just doesn’t make sense? How can any self-respecting woman possibly wish to be represented in this way?” she questions as she reflects on last night’s episode of ‘The Royals.’ But, before a feminist rant entails, I discourage the subject topic and begin with a question. When I ask her what she most likes about her new life, she doesn't miss a beat. ‘The money,’ she says, in her husky, Bacall-esque voice.

Pause.

‘I’m joking. The work, the work…’

‘…In fact, I love the new platform I have to enforce feminist views and display to all women that you can succeed in a man’s world without being likened to a sexual object…’ and I couldn’t agree more. Maisie’s character Daniella is consistently empowering herself; she is in a high powered job, dictates the men around her and has a great deal of sex with various people. Her role as director also allows her to get her message across, she continues ‘…I wanted the public to understand that a show like this can exist, powerful female leads are entertaining, female characters are beyond more than just a male leads’ sidekick…’ and by switching those typical ideologies, the women are protecting the men of the country. As a take another bite into my sirloin steak, she shows me picture of her five year old brother Mason, who finds it difficult when she’s away filming. She continues ‘ … He’s adorable, definitely a potential heartthrob, hopefully a little bit of feminism will rub off on him, I’m hopeful he’ll treat girls right” At one point, having wandered off topic, I ask if I may jump back to a subject many readers are longing to know more about, namely the next season of Chase. ‘Of course, of course. You may, you may,’ she says with a flourish, the spirit of gallant silliness creeping in. I see what she means, when comparing herself to Daniella Mathews. She cites a common obsessiveness and restlessness, but also notes a key difference: ‘She’s earnest, I’m earnest. But I’m goofy too.’

So what about Chase, the television series that earned her two NTA awards and worldwide acclaim? To be fair, there have been moments, particularly in the last season, which tested the patience of even the most diehard fan. But at its best the show quickens the pulse and jangles the nerves like no other.

www.harpersbazaar.co.uk                                                                          >>>>> Read more on the next page

Model and image planning

First draft images

I originally took these photos with the intention of using them for my final design piece. However, on reflection I found that the images were too similar to one another as they were all medium shot images with the model wearing the same top in each one, which doesn’t follow the codes and conventions of the images in Harper’s Bazaar. Therefore, I have used these images as first draft images, as they did give me a sense of what poses to use, lighting, colours and how to edit them.  In order to improve the images for my final production piece, I will retake the pictures with the model in various different poses, taken from different angles and distances. In addition to this, I’m going to vary the outfits that the model wears, along with hairstyles and make up to show variety and represent the spectrum of beauty products.

Front Cover Title Draft

Now that I have gained a clear understanding and idea of the images I intend to use and the layout/format of the front page I have begun to experiment with fonts and colours in creating the Harper’s Bazzar logo for the cover. Through my research I have noticed that typically, with a coloured image, black or white transparent text for the magazine title is used, and for black and white covers, bold complementary colours are used to bring style and entice the reader. A few of my initial ideas are below, depending on what colour I decide to make my image. 

Flat Plan Layout

Below is the basic format and layout of my Front Cover. By using Photoshop, I will be able to reproduce the A4 sized cover - the space dedication is clear as the image will dominate the whole page.

This is the layout of my first double page spread with a small amount of text on the left and a picture on the right, with a small amount of text anchoring the image, informing the reader of where they can buy the products featured in the photo-shoot.  

The double page spread for my article follows a similar pattern to the double page spread beforehand, text on the left, image on the right.

Overall, these diagrams have enabled me to have a greater sense of direction as I continue the planning of my production piece. With reference to these plans I need two main, fashion/beauty images for the front page and the body of the article along with a smaller image to embed in the text. Furthermore, I need to write the content of the article, along with choosing the appropriate font for the titles and text to follow Harper’s Bazaar’s typical codes and conventions.  

Article Content plan                                                                       

After reading, deconstructing and analysing multiple Harper's Bazaar editions I feel confident enough to incorporate my own ideas with the typical codes and conventions of the fashion magazine into a replica edition. The piece will be based upon my critical investigation in which I explored how we are becoming more open to a pluralist view of a female representation, and enjoy watching powerful women take charge. I have focused on may powerful, intelligent female leads in TV drama and wish to carry this through to my production piece. 


In order to attract the target audience of Harper’s Bazaar and fully replicate the codes and conventions, the use of language and content must be relevant and correct. The Harper's Bazaar March 2015 edition will pay tribute to loved British actress, Maisie Bass, who is making her lead debut role in the highly anticipated police TV drama "Chase," which she is also directing and co-writing. The interview will flow like a regular article, in continuous paragraphs and columns, unlike typically in interviews, where each paragraph is titled with the interviewers question. The article will be more of an account from the interviewer with quotes from the actress embedded into the text. The interview will revolve around the up and coming drama, mainly focusing on the feminist views in which it enforces, and why Maisie is so passionate about presenting these views to the British public, whilst perhaps also relating to previous events that have occurred in her personal life and shaped her ideas on feminism.  

The article format is as follows:

- Article title: Maisie (in artisitc font) 
- Text under title: On Chase, and life as a Director 
- First PG: Briefly outlines Maisie's history and what the new TV drama entails. 

Front cover and Article Initial Plan

My production piece will consist of the front page of Harper’s Bazaar, a double page spread introducing the article and a double page spread of the article. Below is my initial planning and ideas for the front cover and double page spread; features and conventions that need to be produced are:
Front Cover:

1.       The Harper’s bazaar logo on the front cover of each edition s there is a definitive Sun logo positioned at the top of the cover, which is sometimes transparent on top the image of a celebrity or is partially blocked out from the image

2.       A large image of the celebrity which fills most of the page - the image which I use will have a clear professional feel and must have a fashionable edge

3.       Title text, organised into short phrases relating to the feature articles and aiming to entice the reader

4.       The release date; positioned to the right and just under the Harper’s Bazaar title, usually in a small black san serif font

5.       The ‘Type of edition’’ usually the words ‘FASHION’, ‘BEAUTY’ or TRAVEL’ are displayed along the bottom of the front cover, usually in the same font as ‘Harper’s Bazaar’ but perhaps in a contrasting colour

6.       Colour pallet; I’m unsure on the exact colour pallet but I wish to either use a black and white image with bold text or the use of vibrant colours like in the Kiera Knightley edition.

Article:

1.        A large image which fills the right side of the double page spread - the image which I use will again have a clear professionally shot feel

2.       Text, organised into two neat columns, the second positioned slightly lower than the first, relating to the celebrity interview and revealing exclusive information about the celebrity’s personal and professional life.

3.       Sub heading on the first double page spread to introduce the celebrity interview and a small bold introduction to give the audience a snippet of what the piece will be about.

4.       Factual information/summaries/quotes embodied in the text through central boxes to break up the bulk of writing, which organises the text for skim readers and to further add interest and the option of a lighter read.

 

Feature images:

The images used in Harper’s Bazaar, on the cover and throughout, help entice the reader before any text is read. My critical investigation explores how we are become g more open to a pluralist view of a representation, so I’d like the celebrity on the front cover to be represented in an empowered shot, to oppose the typical representation of female celebrities.  There will also be two more images within my article, both of which will have the same colouring or style as the initial image on the front cover.