My name is Catherine Claessens; this is my blog of the planning, production and post-production of my zine, Psycho Nightmare. The plans below have changed: the zine, named after a song by Daniel Johnston, will (in this issue) cover the theme of the connections between mental illness and creativity. Therefore, artwork etc. will be included, as well as interviews etc. BELOW is my original proposal.
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For this semester’s Process to Production assignment, I have chosen to create the first edition of a ‘zine’; as yet I am unsure of the name. As in the tradition of ‘zines’ (short for ‘fanzines’), I will likely put together all the content using a photocopier. The theme will be arts-based, with some experimentalism involved. Also, there will be at least a few pieces on interesting things to do in Canberra. I have chosen to do this project based on a few factors:
1. I have a good skill for writing, including reports and essays, as well as creatively; this I can utlilise with a print project.
2. I am an artist and have many artist friends, as well as connections within the industry; this will be helpful for interviews, reviews, illustrations etc.
3. Having picked up many zines in the past, I have a good idea of what they are about and involve; already I’ve had experience writing for two zines, ‘Grandma’s House’ and ‘Project512Mag’.
4. It is greatly in my interest to create a magazine full of unusual thing such as poetry, interviews, reviews and other stories; many people regard Canberra as a boring, lifeless place- and this is a mission to prove that, with a little effort/exploration, that is not true.
5. This project is viable for me, and I am passionate about it; I am already interested in the aspects involved in the magazine, know many people to whom I can go to ask for contributions, and am excited about the opportunity to create my own magazine.
The support I will need: I will need the help of contributors first off- these may include photographers, poets, writers, artists, musicians, bands etc. I already know a few of these, and am sure an interview will be possible. Also, as I’m thinking of including some e.g. Dada poetry, recipes- I will need to find out if copyrights apply to those items. The contributions I am going to start planning (the ones that I myself am producing), and requesting, straight away; I will create a deadline for about week 6 or 7.
I may need another student to help with organising the pages to suit the proper order; however, here I can probably call upon the friends I know who already regularly produce zines of their own for this. Another practical issue may be the stapling, and distribution- this zine will be distributed as a real issue in various venues.
Equipment I envision needing: -A camera (more likely my own) - A Lomo camera (for photography/interview/personal project feature) - Lighting props
- Costume for photography? - Photocopier - White A4 paper (to make A5 zine) -Long stapler - Voice recorder (for interviews) - Folder to keep physical things organised - Computer files to keep everything saved etc.
I will need the camera/s, writing tools etc. straight away to begin collecting the input; however the other items such as the photocopier will not be needed until the final stages- estimated to be in the last 3 weeks of the assessment.
