Statement of Intent

Brief

I am making a magazine and website titled (Lockdown) Now. It is being published by Dennis
publishing and I have created two editions of it. The whole message of the magazine is to keep
people connected, especially during Lockdown, which is why these two editions are sort of ‘special
editions’ where the focus would be on how Lockdown is effecting people during the COVID crisis.

Product 1:

The First issue of Lockdown now will be focused on film. Young people are known to watch films
anyway, but especially with Lockdown and with access to streaming services such as Netflix. I’m also
producing an article on BAME directors and how film is slowly becoming more and more diverse.
This relates to Media representation and Bell Hooks, as BAME directors have been pushed aside in
the past. In regard to exploring film, one theorist that could potentially be quite helpful is Steve
Neale and his genre theory. The logo on the front cover of this issue is placed lower on the cover to
allow the message of Black Lives Matter to be front and centre.

The second issue of Lockdown Now highlights the transport industry in this time of crisis. It looks
how train and bus drivers are coping, and to what measures (or lack of) the government takes to
keep people safe. It could be argued the government are rushing into restarting the economy for the
sake of making money, which is an interesting perspective to pursue, as stereotypically young
socially aware people are left wing with liberal values, so they would mostly disagree with what the
conservative governments pushes out. This issue of magazines (and currant issue magazines in
general) could be an example of Hesmondhalgh, as they are using currant topics to resale their
magazine each week.

Product 2:

The website obviously includes information on both subjects of the magazine, thus connecting the
whole message of keeping up to date during Lockdown together. In regard to the film aspect of the
project, producing articles and media on films at all is an example of Shirky’s end of audience theory,
which suggests that people and fans create content based on already made content, whom he calls
prosumers. Lots of young people can be considered prosumers, especially in regards to film, with a
good example being the thousands of fan social media accounts for certain film franchises.

Digital Convergence

Lockdown Now has several ways of digitally converging its different products. On the website there
will be a way for people to leave their thoughts on articles and films in general. There is also several
social media accounts that will be advertised on the contents page of both editions of magazines
that allows readers to follow the magazine and to keep up on what it is releasing. Another way
digital convergence will be shown is that the website will be fully functioning on mobile phones, as
younger people use them more than computers, which is important as younger people are
Lockdown Now’s target demographic.