Tips ahoy!

Went for the Star NiE Mag Inc workshop today. I was so shocked when the teacher asked me to fill up the permission slip to leave the school. I thought I did something wrong unknowingly and she was calling me out to kill me! It turns out my English teacher nominated me. I was so touched because even though she's taught me for 3 years she can't really remember my name (my name is hell to pronounce for a five-lettered thing) but she thought so highly of me. 


The group of girls sent to attend the workshop were rather diverse, one from each form baby! And we fulfilled the 1Malaysia requirement. Its rather amusing to see me in the midst of these accomplished girls. They're in the top classes, very involved in school activities. Two of them are prefects and high up in the popularity scale (the number of positions they hold in co-curricular activities is proof), the other girl is a school debater. In the mix of this you have ye average person aka me. No accomplishments unless you count choral speaking team. No positions (my club members in our tiny CF don't even recognize me), unpopular and content to float around and let the day pass. The average commoner. I got my laughs.

Mag Inc is a big thing to students nationwide. Mostly because of the pizza voucher for participation. Pizza in Malaysia isn't a cheap dish at all and we certainly aren't in the habit of eating it all the time. With so many people participating, they're bound to start researching and I thought, why don't I share what notes I've taken down. Perhaps some people would find the website vague (I did last year) or maybe they don't know how to get started. There are many who wouldn't ask the workshop participants out of shyness, fear etc. They prefer to sit down in their comfy chairs and websurf, so this is for you. 

1.    Team consists of 4 or 5 people only.

2.    Brainstorm on topics; choose one you would like to Speak Out

Ë  What are you talking about

A                    Plus and minus interesting aspects

A                    Relate to anecdotes/happenings in real life. Give it the human touch

A                    Provide statistics/ Do a poll

Ë  What are the solutions

A                    What can people get/learn from your magazine (educational value)

A                    Give suggestions and tips

3.    Don’t plagiarize articles/cartoons from other publications

4.    Always state the sources, e.g. write what song you’re using in your video and who sang it in the credits

5.    Delegate the work

6.    Photos are important. Hilarious captions too

7.    Include a masthead and editorial note

8.    Encouraged to do in scrapbook form (you don’t have to dig out too much money from your pocket this way)

Ë   It would be prefer if you paste things that can be felt, e.g. If you’re doing on fashion, paste scraps of cloth so the judges can feel the texture

Ë  Make sure whatever you paste does not break easily and will not hurt anyone. So, no glass, no mirrors, ceramics etc  

9.    Judges will look at layout/creativity/content/use of language.

10.                       Most importantly be original and creative. The sky’s the limit.

Pizza vouchers

            I.      1 mini pan pizza, 1 personal pan pizza

         II.      2 mini magazines/1 mini magazine and 1 three minute video clip, 1 regular pan pizza

Basic requirements:

·       1 feature article

·       3 other elements

v   Poems

v   Polls

v   Editorials

v   Cartoon

v   Comic strip

v   Interviews

v   Jokes

v   Photograph

v   Illustration (if you use some form of design in the page it counts too)

v   Adverts

Template:

a)    Only the original template from The Star is allowed

b)   You can type, cut, paste and draw on this template. Yes, you can type your feature article on A4 paper and stick it on the template.

Video:

a)    Same topic as your magazine

b)   Format on .mpeg file supported by Windows Media Player

c)    Label the CD/DVD clearly with the name of team and school name

d)   Make sure the ink will not smudge

e)    One form (original form B) per CD/DVD

Design Tips

   Play with colours

   Use clip arts (you don’t need to pay royalty for these)

   Auto shapes

   Lines

   Cut and paste from recycled items

   Adopt mix media, e.g. collages

What is……

A magazine

§    A form of publication; for a larger audience; something people can relate to

§    Issued periodically (at a certain time) e.g. Once a month, once every 2 months, two times a year etc (Your mini magazine? Once in a lifetime)

§    Bound in a cover

§    Contain essays, stories, poems etc. Also contains photographs and drawings

§    Frequently specializing in a particular subject or area, e.g. hobbies, sports, fashion

Masthead

§    Where you list out the members of your team and their roles, e.g.:-

Team leader

ABC

Writer

DEF

Photographer

GHI

§    You can include photographs/pictures of your individual team members

§    You may also include email addresses for feedback

Editorial Note

§    A way to get your personal opinion on a topic out

§    Usually written by team leader but can also be written from the whole team’s point of view

§    Encouraged to write it from the whole groups point of view

§    Keep the topic relevant to the magazine

§    Do not let it get too long (it’s only a small corner). Keep it short and simple

§    It provides an understanding of a subject