PITCH: TAGGING IN EXETER The repeated use of a single symbol or series of symbols to mark territory

OUTLINE OF CONCEPT For my final major project, I am creating two pieces of work based on the topic of tagging in Exeter. One of these pieces of work will be a magazine feature and the other will be a radio segment. I chose to focus on tagging because I feel that it can be quite a controversial topic with many different opinions based upon it. Personally I am very interested in street art and graffiti, so exploring the increasingly-popular term of ‘tagging’ taught me more about what street art has become. This follows onto the dividing question of whether tagging is art or vandalism, which I have also been researching.

RUN TIME COPY LENGTH IMAGERY I am planning to create a 3 minute radio segment for BBC Radio 1. I think that creating a segment any longer than this would be quite unrealistic. To ensure that I achieve this run time, I am going to write a script and create a broadcast wheel which will help me schedule my segment and give it structure. COPY LENGTH I am aiming to write around 750 words for my magazine feature as this is achievable and realistic for a magazine piece. I am also planning to write a short online feature for the Exetera website, where I will condense my original copy length to around 300 words. IMAGERY For my magazine feature, I will be including some imagery to enhance my piece and create a more visual approach. I will use my own photography for this and I will include photos based on my topic. Here are some test shots which I may use, or use as guidance to taking my final photos.

TARGET AUDIENCE PROFILE BBC RADIO 1 Males aged 25-39 Social Grade – ABC1 Top Region – East Anglia Mainly Right Wing Professions – Sports Industry Monthly Spare – Less than £125 EXETER Females aged 25-39 Social Grade ABC1 Top Region – West Country Slightly more right wing than left Professions – Travel and Hospitality Monthly Spare - £1000 or more (Exetera Magazine is aimed at Exeter University Students)

INSPIRATION The inspiration for my idea came from the admiration I have for a street photographer – Martha Cooper. This may not seem relevant to my topic, but Martha Cooper’s photos are based on the hip-hop culture and almost always include evidence of graffiti and tagging. This made me think about how many people would say that graffiti/tagging is vandalism rather than art. I wanted to choose a topic which wasn’t cliché, overused and always spoken about. I wanted to choose something which I was interested in myself, and use this to create awareness and let other people discover the art of tagging. I think that tagging is a subject that many people don’t recognise or pay attention to, so creating a radio segment and magazine feature would reach out to those who don’t, and start making them notice their surroundings more.

KEY CONCLUSIONS Tagging originates from the art of graffiti and is used to mark territory or to symbolise a person/group Tagging and graffiti in general has a vast connection with the hip-hop culture 60% of people questioned approve of graffiti in Exeter 30% of those questioned know somebody who tags in Exeter 57% of people in Exeter think that tagging should be legal Exetera Magazine is aimed at Exeter University students (ages 19-25 – my target audience) BBC Radio 1 has a similar audience, therefore I am going to create a radio segment for this station My target audience are found to be more inclined to read something if it is online, meaning I will also write a shorter version of my printed feature to go onto the Exetera website I will record interviews, use scripts and credit any source of publication to avoid legal issues such as copyright and defamation

PRODUCTION SCHEDULE I do not feel that I currently need to change my production schedule as I am already on track with each day, and I am happy with keeping it how it is unless I have any major obstacles which mean I will have to change something.