Behind the Scenes: Sparks
We’re back again with another behind the scenes look at how things “happen” at camp. So far this year, you’ve learned about hiring our staff, adding new classes, planning Carnival, organizing Closing Vespers…and today, we are looking at how our Sparks magazine is created. Let’s jump in!
Sparks: What is it
We love keeping in touch with our campers throughout the year, and one of our favorite ways to do that is with our Sparks magazines. These little magazines help us look back and reminisce on the previous summer while also stirring up excitement (and often giving some sneak peaks) into what lies ahead for the upcoming summer. We typically send these to our campers in the Fall and the Spring (and for this year, we’re even squeezing in a special Winter edition…has yours come in the mail?).
Our Sparks magazines have been a staple of camp from the beginning. While these original Sparks may have looked a little different than they do today, the goal was (and still is) the same: update our campers on all the fun and exciting things going on at camp. I bet many of our Alums will recognize some of these “looks” of old!
Content
When we start a Sparks magazine, we first figure out what we want to include…and that’s often a hard decision! With the hundreds of thousands of photos from a previous summer, and so many amazing events and experiences, we usually create a HUGE list of possibilities at the end of each summer and then have to cull down the list.
As we’re thinking about content, we try for a large range of articles. We always start with a letter update from Jimboy, but then from there, we’re looking for a good mix of articles that appeal to many different ages and interests. From quizzes, to funny pictures, to Scripture reading challenges, to surprise updates and hints on what’s coming the following summer, we brainstorm a big list of possibilities.
Writing
After we’ve finalized our list of options, we spread out the work, assigning all of our Head Staff team with writing duties. If we’re explaining a new recipe, Alli will test the recipe and write up the details. For articles about our new activity classes, Ellen-Anne will give us the scoop and find some pictures. It’s a team effort, as we all help to put some ideas on paper.
Designing
After all the articles are written into drafts, the fun really begins. At the beginning of each new year, we come up with a “look” we want to use throughout the Sparks magazines that year. Often, these stay pretty similar across the years, but we do always update slightly to make the Sparks feel more relevant and fun.
After we’ve decided on the overall look for the year, we start designing the issue. Each article within the issue usually takes up one spread (meaning the two pages you can see when the magazine is laid opened). We start with the text for the article, gather pictures that relate, and then design away! Each spread averages about 2 hours to design, so when you’re considering a Sparks magazine with 18 spreads, you’re looking at 36 hours of design time…but it’s fun! As the design process gets going, you can start to see the final magazine coming together.
Editing
After the design is done, our team starts the editing process. Everyone provides feedback on the textual wording, pictures used, layout of the spreads, and more. Each picture must be edited, making them look their best and ready for print. Once all of the edits are complete and everyone gives their approval, it’s time for printing!
Printing
While we may feel like we are done with the Sparks on our end, we still need to review the print-ready file to make sure everything still looks great. Our printer drops off a color-matching proof and a position proof for us to review. In the color-matching proof, we make sure all the colors pop like we were expecting. (Sometimes what you see on your computer is not what you see on printed paper!) In the position proof, we make sure the pages are cutting correctly so that everything looks like we expected.
Once we’ve given the approval, our printer begins the actual printing process. It takes about a week for our printer to print, cut, and bind all of the magazines. After that, the addresses are added and the Sparks make it into the mail, headed to our eagerly awaiting campers.
Alumnae Sparks
Every year, we also put together an Alumane Sparks for our beloved Greystone campers of old. We either do these in a print form or an online form, but the process of creating these is the same: decide on some exciting content, write the articles, design the layout, and print! We love looking back at our camp history with our alum group.