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

2. By directly comparing my magazine to this one of Kerrang, a similar rock music magazine, it is clear to highlight the similar
conventions. This is the type of magazine that I based mine on, as of the genre and also in particular the fact this magazine also
features a strong photo of a single male on the cover, and is fairly minimalist.
Many of the main conventions for the cover of a magazine I have followed, as the title is at the top of the page, enlarged and bold.
With a main slogan by the title, mine as ‘Fresh rock’ and for Kerrang ‘Life is loud.’ The title of the main feature is enlarged in the
centre of the page with a short tagline beneath, there is a banner containing the other bands featured in the cover and there is a list
of the key contents of this issue.
The photo I have used on the cover is also following the conventions as it’s a mid-shot, commonly used on magazines the same
with close ups, such as the one on this Kerrang issue and the image also covers the majority of the page and includes the model
facing forward in a simple pose. The clothing of my model is dark and simple much like this comparison and for this particular sub-
genre of rock is particularly common and in keeping, gothic and punky.
My magazine also has the basic use of barcode, issue number and date on the cover, typical to all magazines.

3. The chosen name for my magazine also follows conventions as it is short and catchy such as other popular music
magazines like Q and NME and it also reflects and has relevance to the genre, as rock music is also considered
raw and edgy. (The name also relates to the idea of the inclusion of new or ‘fresh’ bands featured in my
magazine, as in raw being fresh.) The Chosen font for my magazine doesn’t necessarily follow the conventions of
most magazines, as those tend to include a simple and merely bold block font, whereas mine is a little rugged
and broken. However this does follow the conventions of the rock genre, as with Kerrang magazine this also
features a font which appears almost like shattered glass. This style of font is a little more controversial and so
reflects the rugged and controversial side of rock and so will hopefully appeal further to my intended audience as
the genre will be replicated in all aspects of the cover.

4. The colour scheme for my magazine is purple which very much challenges the conventions of the traditional red, a more
typical and popular choice of colour. Although I chose this colour for the purpose of standing out as I wanted it to be more
noticeable when on the shelf and against the sea of red. I also feel that particularly with rock as the genre, they purple is
acceptable with the connotations of punky and gothic.
My contents follows the conventions
of layout as;
• The main title is across the top.
•There is a dominating image,
covering a large proportion of the
page, of the main feature band.
•A secondary picture of a further
article or feature.
•The main contents listing with
appropriate page numbers and
descriptions.
•Category headings to sub-divide
the separate sections.
On my contents I have also
included a subscription
advertisement, which I have seen
used on some other magazines
such as NME.
NME
subscription
advert.

5. My double page spread follows most of the generic conventions as it includes a main
title, Main (and usually single) image of the band or artist and then the feature article
usually covering a whole side. Other features commonly used that I’ve copied is the
highlighted quotes taken from the article to draw the reader to certain aspects and then
under the main image I’ve used another key quote for the article to summarise, which is
very similar to this example as they have included a short summary of the article.
The choice of shot for my double page does challenge conventions a little as quite often a
long shot is used, like this example. However I think my mid-shot works best as it is a far
more focused image and as this is a new band allows readers to clearly see the artists
faces and begin to recognise them.