1. In what ways does your media product use forms and conventions of media products?

(front cover)

Cover lines are on both sides of the page and go around the main image to frame it.

Both versions have a bar code at the bottom right of the page

All the cover lines are written in the same font and also follow the colour scheme

The models are both directly addressing the audience by looking straight at the camera

Similarities between my front cover and a actual front cover

Both magazines have a masthead which is quite large, stands out and follows the colour scheme of the magazine.

The two covers both have a plain white background with no effects to make the images stand out.

The main cover line has a larger font and stand out more compared to other cover lines

Consistent colour schemes are used for the text, images and all the other features in the magazine

Both covers contain a puff to advertise posters

The Kerrang cover has a banner t the top advertising a festival

My cover lines have a stroke around them to make them lift off the artists clothing but the ‘Kerrang!’ cover does not use any strokes. Instead it places a background behind the text.

The actual magazine places the main cover line in the middle of the page to anchor the main image, whereas I placed my main cover line on the bottom left.

Differences between my front cover and the actual front cover

My magazine has the date the magazine was published on the top right corner but the ‘Kerrang!’ cover does not have a issue date or number.

How I followed codes and conventions on my front cover

On my magazine cover I followed some codes and conventions to make it obvious that I have produced a magazine. • I followed the convention of having an eye-catching masthead as

my font is very bold, blocky and could be read from distances. I placed this at the top left of the page as this is where a masthead on a magazine is conventionally placed.

• The main image of my magazine is of a artist looking directly into the camera, while holding a microphone therefore my main image establishes direct address, which is what a main image in a typical magazine does to grab the attention of a audience. By using a mid shot for the main image I have followed technical codes as the main image is usually supposed to be a close up or a medium shot.

• My front cover follows the rule of thirds as the main cover line is placed in a hotspot and so is the puff. By doing this my cover is following codes and convention as the features are in places where a audience would look first.

• I have made sure that my front cover consistently follows a specific colour scheme as this is a part of the codes and conventions. The colour scheme conventionally consists of three or four colours. My colour scheme consist of 3 colours.

• Typically, magazine publishers also tend to cover white space by placing puffs on their front covers to advertise freebies such as posters/CDs inside of the magazine, which promotes the magazine. I have added a puff to my magazine too and have placed it in a hotspot so it catches the attention of the audience and helps promote the magazine.

• The artists names are also written in a bigger font to make them stand out more, which is also following conventions as magazine brands tend to highlight the name of artists to help with promotion.

• My cover lines are also written in capital letters, which is typically how the cover lines are written to make them stand out.

• The banner I have used also follows conventions as it is placed under the masthead, where they are often placed to advertise the content that the magazine holds inside.

• The date and issue number of a magazine are usually placed close to each other. I have adhered to conventions by placing the two close to each other at the top of the page.

• The barcode is placed at the bottom right of the page, which is where the barcode is conventionally placed as this is not a hotspot therefore people tend to ignore the place.

How I followed codes and conventions on my front cover part 2

How I developed codes and conventions on my front cover

• I have developed codes and conventions of a R&B music magazine by using a female on the front cover. Contemporary and alternative R&B is not very female orientated as there are many more male stars compared to females for the genre.

• Another way I have challenged codes and conventions is by adding pictures of more than one person on my front cover. Usually front covers of R&B music magazines have one person on the front cover, so the focus is only on one celebrity. But my front cover has images of three different people. I used a puff which contains images of people who’s posters I could promote.

• Other than this I have not developed codes and conventions too much. This is because I felt it would be safer to stick to the regular codes and conventions. My magazine is no where near the level of success in which it can majorly start challenging codes and conventions.

Compare draft & final – changes made to final

For my draft I had planned to have a background on my front cover, however on my actual version I decided to leave the background plain as I felt in actual this made the main image stand out more.

The colour of the masthead was also changed as I felt that the colour purple used in the draft clashed with the clothing of the person in the main image.

I also placed the cover lines in slightly different places as I felt they framed the main image better in the places that they are.

The puff is placed on the opposite side on the final version as I thought this was where it should go to cover any white space. I also changed the shape of the puff as the initial shape was hard to put information in.

On my final version I placed the barcode on the bottom right of the page as there was no space after adding the cover lines on the left side. This also looked better there in actual.

The issue date was placed where I had originally planned to have it placed

Compare draft & final – similarities to finalI kept the font of the masthead on final similar to that on the draft as they are both quite bold and blocky. I also placed it on the top left of the page, where I planned to place it on the draft because of conventions.

I also placed the main image in the centre of the page and got the person to dress similarly to the character in the draft in terms of accessories.

The main image on the final version also acts as a background to the cover lines, s I had planned to do in the drafts.

The main headline was placed in a similar place to where it was placed on the draft.

I ended up changing quite a lot f things from my draft because when I accumulated all the cover lines, images etc. they did not suit the format I had decided to use in the draft. I also changed things quite a lot because things seem different in real life compared to drawn versions.