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Wednesday 16 April 2014

SurGE magazine:


If you're out and about in Edinburgh or Glasgow in the near future (or have been over the last week or so) you may well stumble across a copy of the magazine pictured above.  I'm really proud to say that SurGE magazine was created and produced purely by my uni class in just over two (short and stressful) months.

SurGE is loosely themed around the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this summer.  As the least sporty person I know, I wasn't expecting to get on board with this theme as much as I did.  In the end, it worked out perfectly.  We managed to create an interesting and well rounded publication that covers the human and cultural sides of the Games, as well as the sporting element.  I really think that there's something for everyone in SurGE!  But maybe I'm biased.

Source: here

It started as a class assessment, but became a way of life.  We did everything you might expect journalism students to do along the way (i.e. writing and editing copy) as well as quite a bit that you wouldn't expect.  Fundraising, diving and wrestling (for research purposes, of course), sourcing advertisers and distributors, wrangling with alien programs like Photoshop and InDesign to construct the individual pages of the magazine...  You name it, we did it.  SurGE even has its own website with extra content, from interviews to videos.

Source: here

My main role on the team was Culture Section Editor, but I also did various other bits and bobs to help out.  The most challenging of these was arranging a sportswear fashion photo shoot for the magazine.  I don't claim to be anywhere near an expert on sport or fashion, but I can organise the hell out of anything, and that's exactly what I did.  Somehow - with a lot of help from friends and classmates - I manage to rustle up a photographer, two models, two make up artists, top of the range sportswear, props and both an indoor and outdoor location for the shoot.  The day went really well in the end, and we even avoided the rain for the most part!  My partner in crime Nicola and I filmed a behind the scenes video of the shoot which you can watch below.




Seeing the magazine in print makes all the hard work worth it, and I'm so proud of all of us!  Last Thursday the majority of the class went out in teams to distribute SurGE across Edinburgh and Glasgow before celebrating our official launch with a party at The Voodoo Rooms.  The French Quarter Bar there has an amazing light up dance floor, which we all pulled our fair share of shapes on during the course of the evening.


It feels good to say I helped to make a magazine, but it also feels good to say that we've finished it!  Now please excuse us all while we take a two week holiday to recover...

1 comment:

  1. This is really cool! It must have been a fun thing to do and a great feeling to have your work actually published!
    Lauren | OhHay Blogs!
    xxx

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