Evaluation question 1:In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

My final Magazine front cover, contents page and double page spread

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

A typical convention of a music magazine is a masthead and main image on the front cover. My music magazine includes a masthead and a main image the same as the Q front cover. The masthead is bold and bright and is exactly the same on my contents page as well, therefore sticking to the brand image.

Another typical convention of a music magazine is for the the main image to be slightly covering the masthead, which is happening on the Q magazine front cover. But this was not allowed on my magazine as it is the first issue, therefore I moved my main image down so you can see the masthead clearly and it is slightly covering Vicky’s head. My main image is a medium close up shot of Vicky and is very much like the Q one of Lana Del Rey except that photo is took slightly further back so you can see more of her body.

Another form that this kind of media product would have is a main cover line to explain what the main image is about. I did this on my music magazine front cover to explain what the cover story was and I used anchorage text to explain what the main article of the issue was about, just as Q has done it on their front cover to introduce Lana Del Rey and give a clue as to what the article relating to the cover photo is about.

It is compulsory that every music magazine has a barcode, and you will usually find that they are situated in one of the bottom corners of the front cover on a white rectangle. I developed these conventions while making my media product by putting my barcode sideway under the masthead and with no white background. I did this because I wanted it to blend in more and not distract the audience from the important parts of my front cover, such as the cover lines of main image.

Most media products like this one use puffs to advertise things and attract the audience into buying it. I have done this on my front cover to advertise a competition inside my magazine and I also linked this to the contents by putting what page number you can find the competition on and a bit more information about it. I made the puff a bright orange colour and I put the caption ‘WIN’ in capital letters in order to make it stand out from the rest of the magazine. I copied this convention form real media products like Q which also used a puff on the front cover with bold fonts and bright colours to attract the audience.

A typical convention of a magazine is a skyline running across the top to add additional information to the front cover and the capture the readers attention. I have challenged conventions by not putting a skyline on my front cover as I thought it would take away the effect of the masthead and this is important because it is the first issue.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

A convention of music magazines is other photos apart form the main image that act as puffs to tell the audience what else is featured in that issue of the magazine. I have challenged conventions by making my photos the outline of people rather than just rectangles with a frame around them.

Some conventions of a media product like this one that are very important is the price, date and issue number. Most media products of this kind put all of these features together along with the barcode but I have challenged this convention by putting the date and issue number under the masthead and the price under the barcode, even though they are all in the same font.

I developed forms of a real media product though the use of repetition in the anchorage text to my main cover line. ‘new album, new life and new responsibilities’ conveys to the audience that everything they read about my cover story will be new news that they wont have heard before, therefore making them want to buy the magazine.

I have used conventions of a real media product by listing other bands featured in the issue under an addition sign. This cover line will attract an audience because if they spot a band they like on the front cover they are more likely to buy the magazine. This technique is common on many music magazines.

During the process of making my magazine I used conventions of a real media product by keeping to the same colour scheme on my front cover, contents page and double page spread. This issue of my magazine follows a blue, black and orange kind of theme. The masthead is the same colour and font on both my front cover and contents page and I also did some of the coverlines in the same blue and then some black and white ones. The same fonts are used for different things in order to stick to the house style of my magazine

I used conventions of real magazines such the rule of thirds on my front cover to make it aesthetically pleasing. I placed key features of the main image and cover lines ect where the lines cross, meaning these are the first things the audience look at.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

I have used conventions of a real magazine by putting the masthead on the contents page next to the ‘contents’ title. This is in order to keep a colour scheme to the magazine and promote brand awareness.

Features on my contents page are clearly labelled with the page number so the audience can find what they are looking for with ease. This is a typical convention of a magazine contents page.

I used subheading on my contents page to order the features , the same way as this Q contents page has to the right. This is a typical convention of a music magazine contents page.

Another convention you are likely to see on a music magazine contents page is another photo of the cover story shoot. You are also likely to see a grab quote with this picture to make the audience want to read the article. I have used both of these conventions and further challenged conventions by stating in a blue circle that this picture is related to the ‘cover story’, and stuck to the colour scheme by making the circle the same shade of blue as the masthead.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

A typical convention of a contents page is multiple images being used to show features of the magazine. I have used this convention and also put the page number you can find the feature on, and a sentence of information about it like the NME contents page to the right .

An offer or competition is a typical convention of a media product of this type and I have used this convention. I put it in an orange box, just like the competition advertisement on the front cover, therefore sticking to the colour scheme. I also put the competition as one of the features on the contents page with the page number next to it so the audience know how to go about entering it.

I included the issue number on my contents page in the same position as it is on the front cover in order to make my magazine pleasing.

I developed conventions of a real media product on my contents page by making a ‘band index’ where you can easily look up a band if you want to. On the NME contents page to the right there is a subtitle named ‘plus’ which lists other features in the magazine including some bands. I have done that same, except all of my features are bands.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

I placed my text in columns which is an article style layout which is easy and clear to read and aesthetically pleasing. I also challenged conventions of a real media product by spreading my text out across both pages and putting it over the photo. I did this because the photos I took for my double page spread were all landscape and therefore would cover the whole page. I also made sure that the fold in between the two pages would not disrupt my article.

The title of my double page spread links to the theme of my magazine and article. It is a curly font that links to my genre of indie/alternative and I chose to make the font white so it stands out from the background. I also challenged conventions of a media product by making my title on the double page spread really big, similar to the main cover line on my front cover.

I included the page number on the first page of my double page spread because it tells you which page you can find the article in my contents page. This is a typical convention of a media product of this type.

I took my photos for the double page spread with an orange wall in the background in order to follow my colour scheme of blue and orange. This is also to make my magazine look professional and aesthetically pleasing.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

A typical convention of a double page spread is to have other images as well as the main image, to make it look more interesting and show what the band/artist has been up to. I have done this on my double page spread to show my artist in the studio and performing live, telling the audience what the artist has been up to.

I developed conventions of a media product by putting anchorage text under my title, giving a tiny bit of information about the article. I didn’t want to put too much information like the article to the right, for fear of taking the effect away from the article. I put in in a different font to the title but kept it the same colour in order to follow the colour scheme.

I challenged conventions by making my article a question and answer article. Not many media products of this type would do this but I decided to, putting the questions in bold and the answers normal. I also put a bit of information at the bottom about her biggest gig to date to conclude the article.