In what was does your media product use, develop or

challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

http://courtenayjonesa2media.blogspot.co.uk/

My blog:

You may want to refer to it whilst reading to get a better idea of the forms and conventions that I have followed.

UseMy newspaper uses forms and

conventions of real media products as I have looked at local newspapers like ‘ The News’ and I

have taken a look at the layout that they use on their newspaper.

The Idea of having lines to separate the different areas of the cover

and inside page is something that I took into my work. It is almost

like a grid, which allows different aspects of the newspaper to be separated, which makes it a lot

easier to read.

Here I have cropped two sections of my newspaper cover and The News’ newspaper front cover. As you can see the lines that separate the adverts and stories on The News’

cover I have carried through to my own work.

I have also use these lines on the inside page to separate columns.

I used the way that they put a advertisement at the bottom of the page on a thick banner. The boldness of the banner makes my newspaper cover seem more realistic, as advertisements are part of the layout of the page, without the advert it would seem empty.

These are all advertisements that I have used on my newspaper web pages. They create a sense of realness as they are all real places an businesses that I have used.

I have kept my newspaper traditional by having a simple colour scheme of white, blue, light blue and black. The blues in the colour scheme relate to the local area as Portsmouth is an island so you would say that the blue

represents the sea. I think that having a colour scheme adds to the realistic feel to my newspaper cover. I didn’t want to over power the cover because

you wouldn't find it on an average newspaper as it wouldn't be easy enough for the audience to read. If the cover was too busy I think that it would put people off buying it as it would look more like a magazine and

the seriousness of the new

(Black for lines text and the title)

Blue for sub headings and some bold separating lines.

Light Blue for advertisements and a top bar. Also to back other stories.

I have followed the colour scheme through to my inside page and my website pages. This is a good way of creating a sense of fluency across the pages. However, unlike on the cover page where I have used a darker blue to create a more serious look, on the inside page I have used a lighter blue to create a more light hearted feel to the page. On the web pages I felt that I needed to keep it interesting by keeping the colour darker so this made it bolder.

(The colour scheme of my front page and my inside page)

Just like ‘The News’ would, I have used one main cover image. I have chosen quite a happy picture that I took at a small gig in Portsmouth. Originally the image had two people in it, however I cut the other person out so that I could put text there. I think that having one image works well because it creates a focal point for the audience and this story can determine whether a customer would buy the newspaper.

(Both mine and The News’ covers have one main Image)

I have placed pictures on top of transparent blue backgrounds to create the same type of look that you would find on a front cover of The News, as a side advertisement. I cut out an image of a boy that I photographed around college and I used him to create an advert about South Downs college. I feel it works really well because it makes the advert stand out from the rest. The transparent blue that I used here is the one that I took through t my inside page and website pages.

(I like the technique and I took it through

to make a larger advertisement on

other pages)

All the fonts that I have used have been inspired by The News. This is because I have looked at how bold and simple they are, with the intention to stand out. I tried to find fonts that where similar to these and I think I did very well with these as they all stand out. I have used more of a toned down font on my front covers main image as it is a light hearted story unlike the dramatic tone of the other headline fonts. I wanted this font to be more sensitive so I chose a feminine font and made it white so that it would still stand out from its background.

(I feel the italic font looks more sensitive)

(more dramatic font for a shocking story)

DevelopI have developed the forms and conventions of real media products because I have used my own images and developed them to get the look that I want. I have cut out people in images that I feel don't fit into my newspaper and used the extra space to put text there.

(Original image with another band member has been cut out to achieve the desired look)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/67934968@N02/6789166123/in/set-72157629098451003/

My flickr page:

I have also developed the forms and conventions of real media products by using colours to create emotions and moods to my stories and advertisements. I have used dark colours such as the darker blue, on my front cover to create a serious mood so that people know that the news paper is informative. I have used a light blue on the inside page to create a light hearted feel to the page so that the audience know that the newspaper isn’t going to just be about conflicting issues, it will be about light hearted stories too. In one of my advertisements about a holiday to California I have used a yellow so that the advert feels ‘sunny’. This will draw people towards the advert.

I think this light colour works well in relaxing the consumer. It lets them know that the news isn’t all dark there is a lighter side.

I feel that the dark blue gives a great informative feel without being to tedious.

I have used fonts to also create good and bad feels to stories. I have used bold harsh fonts to make the reader feel that the story is important and serious. I think the font is very important in catching the audiences eyes as it determines whether they would be interested in buying the paper. I have used more elegant fonts to give stories a more uplifting feel and I think this works well as it again shows the lighter and nicer side to the news.

I have used an advert which consists of a college student coming out of the top. You don't normally find this technique on an advert, however I thought it would make it seem more interesting and it may stand out more to the consumer. I kept the advert quite plain as he adds an element of interest and I feel that if I added more then the advert would be too overpowering.

(He looks happy to be at college so I think this advert is successful).

ChallengeI don't feel like my work challenges the forms and conventions of a real media products because it very much uses them. There is only one way in which I feel that I have challenges them and that's through the images that I have used. This is because in an everyday newspaper you would find images of lots of people. I have used limited images of people in my work and only chosen images from the local area of roads work signs, bins, a college building and a tree to set the seen of the area. I did use images with people in on all pages however my images all seem to consist of the local environment. The audience may want to see more people in the newspaper so that they could relate to them, however I feel that there isn’t a need in my work as I think I have provided an adequate amount.