After my initial research analyzing editorial design for film, focusing on; Empire, Total Film, Sight and Sound and Little White Lies I set out to find a concept for a film magazine that reached further than a feminine orientated rehash of all the mainstream magazines currently on the stands. Although my initial concept, described on the 18/01/2011 in my post titled 'An Opinion, Moi?', was created on the foundation of sound research conducted in a group of 21-40 year olds, both male and female, it still did not reflect the brief in that the 'niche' this magazine is supposed to be representing and informing is in fact not a niche but a generalization.
Questions started to become apparent whilst I planned the outcome of my editorial endeavor; what do I really want to achieve, who did I really want to inform and why. I started to think about the people I want to broadcast to, a niche in film critique that I feel is under represented in editorial format. But not only this, a niche magazine does not just focus on a niche demographic or collection of people under represented in the media but a under representation of a particular kind of content in the media.
As a creative avidly interested in film, I am fascinated by design for film. This is a massively under represented part of the film industry, the processes and creative agencies or individuals responsible for the set designs, costume designs, credit designs, advertising, the lost art of the film poster and design for post production and DVD release as well as launch parties and promotions are not celebrated in what would seem a convenient place, the film magazine. The BAFTA nominations do reflect a respect for some of these aspects of design for film with their categories; production design, costume design and representing the work by animators in the special visual effects category.
This attention to this area of film production in the nominations for an internationally recognized awarding body such as the British Academy of Film and Television Arts should instill a respect for this element of film production in the printed media, but who would be interested?
Well as it happens creatives. This niche could be expressed in much the same way as I had intended but now has a lot more depth and substance to see it through production. A periodical of design for film, critiqued and celebrated in a very creative and experimental format aimed at informing creatives interested in film and representing the creatives who work in the film industry. This magazine would still have critiques of the over all finished piece that is the feature film or TV program but these would be presented creatively and in an experimental format to match the over all visual mission statement of the magazine.
I definitely feel the original title of the magazine, Invisible Elephant, is still very apt if not more so and should remain as the name of the magazine. The strapline could simply be Film Critique For Creatives, I think this has an alliterate quality that would be apt for this type of magazine.
The content of the magazine would I think have to in this instance reflect the BAFTA nominations in the production and costume design categories, an editorial exhibition of the work of Akiko Stehrenberger, a freelance Art Director who is hired by creative agencies commissioned by film studios and production companies to design film posters and at least two film critiques represented in a creative and experimental way to show the full creative power of this 'niche' magazine. The most likely of these film critiques will be True Grit and The Kings Speech though I will do creative concepts for up to four double page spreads and use the most successful in final production. Though the BAFTA nominations are to be used in this instance of the magazine, the scope for which this magazine has were it to go into regular production is quite deep. I would guess the production time would be two months per issue for a fully realized and professionally developed magazine, especially considering the mixed media and experimental approach thus making it bimonthly. Each issue could be a celebration of design for both film and TV as well as critiques and reviews of the finished piece. There could also be special editions following the production of the creative elements of a big film in the year, usually around BAFTA and OSCAR time, like for example this year Black Swan was a major focus for all the film magazines on the racks to be critiqued but for one of the most beautiful films to be released in recent years there was very little attention to what made it so aesthetically beautiful in the media.
I am going to move onto paper now to start sketching out ideas for the masthead and cover, I will upload some photographs soon for your viewing pleasure.
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