Megan ward

1. Q1. In what ways does your
media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions
of real media products?

2. The similarities between my magazine and professional magazine
The magazines use a pull quote from the band to attract the
reader , as they know the band will have a personal input
within the magazine.
The convention of using “ears” and “puffs” have the same
purpose to attract the reader to an important promotion or
information about the magazine.
The main coverlines are similar as they both focus just on the band
name to promote the article. This use of simplistic coverlines quickly
shows the reader who is the main focus of the magazine.
The magazine have a three person band that focuses
on the main member then the other members are in
the background
The magazines both have barcodes
.They both only have one main image

3. Differences between my magazine and professional front
cover
The backgrounds are different as the Riff
background is plain where as the MNE
background is of a record studio.
The NME models are male rock star which
is more common in the genre than
females.
The colour scheme of NME is just red and
white , whereas I used three colours on my
front cover.
The position of the cover lines are different
because on Riff I grouped them together at
the bottom. However, NME put their cover
lines along the sides of the main image.

4. How I followed the codes and conventions of a
magazine
The codes and conventions I followed was the masthead being to
the top left corner and the main cover line focusing on the band
that are the main selling point of the magazine. In addition, I
have used a colour scheme of blue, white, red and purple to
show that the genre is rock. As most rock magazines use those
colours ,therefore this follows the codes and conventions of rock
magazines. Furthermore, this implies the stereotypical
conventions of a rock magazine. Also, I have included a main
image of a band, which is the focus of that edition of the
magazine. I have used the bands name “Sabah and the rebels” as
the main cover line , so the target audience are aware of the
main focus of the magazine as the main article will be about
them. This convention of using the band’s name is very common
so the target audience will know that the magazine is of the
music genre. I have used an “ear” on the side of the magazine to
draw attention and to promote special information about that
magazine. In this case, I highlighted that the magazine is a first
edition to attract readers because they will be excited to try
something new and exclusive.

5. How I developed the codes and conventions of
a magazine
• I have developed the codes and conventions of a magazine because I
have chosen to use a white background on the main image. However,
NME used a music studio for their background. I found the white
background directed the target audience’s focus to the band. This
does not mean I am breaking conventions however because a
background is optional for a picture. I felt that the page would be too
busy with a background and all the coverlines, so the focus would not
be on the band. The colour scheme I used for RIFF is more varied than
NME. As NME only uses red and white, whereas I used red, white ,
purple and blue. The reason I did this was red and blue are common
colours that are used in rock magazines. Furthermore, purple is a
colour that is stereotypically linked with women. I did this so that the
colour scheme would imply that the magazine was a rock magazine,
but was hoping to attract a female readership. In addition, I used a
female rock band on my front cover , which does break the codes and
conventions of rock. As rock musicians are generally male so it is
unusual for a female rock band to be the main focus of a magazine. I
wanted to subvert the stereotype of rock being a male genre, it is
genre that both genders can enjoy. Therefore, the main image on my
front cover develops the conventions of a rock magazine.

6. Comparison with Draft
I made many changes from my draft because I felt
that it was important to follow the codes and
conventions of rock more closely. The main
difference is that I was going to use a solo female
artist on the front cover , however I felt that I could
still use the female subversion of the rock
stereotype but use a band instead. Bands are more
common in rock than single artists so I follow that
convention as the target audience would able to
notice the magazine was of the rock genre more
easily. I did not include a second image because I
felt it would pull focus away from the main image. I
did kept the dark blue and blue masthead from my
draft because the colours imply the rock genre.
However, I did move the masthead to the left
because I did not look correct in the certain as it is a
short word. I kept the idea of a pull quote, which I
used as the main coverline, because it is common
feature of a magazine and attracts the audience
because of the personal tone.

7. The similarities between my magazine and
professional magazine
Sub-headings
puff
Masthead and date
Article titles
With summary and page
numbers
Main image
With article reference
House style with colour
scheme

8. Differences between my magazine and
professional content page
One main image compared to
multiple smaller images
Social media links
The colour scheme

9. How I followed the codes and conventions of
a magazine
I have followed the conventions and codes of a magazine
content page because I have included : masthead, contents
title , subtitles, rule of thirds , page numbers and multiple
images. I have used the RIFF masthead to show a house
style. That demonstrates to the audience that the magazine
is well organised. This helps create a recognisable brand and
helps the magazine to gain a loyal audience. In addition, I
have used the rule of thirds to align the text and the images,
so the images and the main article fell on the main visual
focus points. This meant the page looks well structured. I
have used page numbers as it is a code of contents pages.
They are important as they guide the audience to the correct
page. The images I have used catch the audiences attention
because they connate the rock genre. The images are
anchored with articles that are in the contents , this helps to
interest the reader in the article with a visual link. I
continued the colour scheme through , which is a code of
magazines called a house style.

10. How I developed the codes and conventions
of a magazine
I have developed the conventions and
codes of a magazine by including
multiple images. The reason why I did
this was because images attract younger
audiences and my target audience is 18-
25. The page is focused on the pictures,
which refer to articles with page
numbers. I included social media links
but NME did not. This is a development
of the conventions because I decided to
include social media for two reasons.
Firstly, social media is a good way for a
new product to increase popularity as
people can share the magazine social
media page with their followers.
Secondly, it’s a part of everyday life for
my target audience using social media so
it directly interests the reader.

11. Comparison with Draft
I kept the column for the contents from my draft
because I felt it made the magazine well
structure. This is appealing to the target
audience as the contents are easy to follow. The
images I used for the final magazine are of solo
artists because I wanted to break the convention
of rock only being a genre for bands. I wanted to
show different articles through multiple pictures.
It makes the page more visually appealing to the
audience. This is an improvement I made to the
layout of the contents since the drafts. The
editor’s letter I decided against putting it in
,because there was not enough space. The
editor’s letter is an optional feature of magazines
so I did not feel it would be take way from the
contents. The colour scheme I kept the same
with the masthead because it is a convention of
magazines to kept a house style.

12. Similarities between my magazine and
professional front cover
Grab quote
Picture credit
Drop cap
Main image standfirst HeadlineHouse style

13. Differences between my magazine and
professional magazine
Wrap text
Multiple images
Timeline special feature

14. How I followed the codes and conventions of
a magazine
I followed the codes and conventions by including a, standfirst,
byline, grab quote, drop cap, a main image and house style. I
have put in the headline because it is a code of magazine
articles and I main sure that headline was similar to the article’s
coverline on the front cover. The coverline is a rhetorical
question which is a good way to make the audience personally
involved with the article. The standfirst is a summary of what
the article will included which makes the audience more
enthusiastic to read the article. The byline credits the writer of
the article. The main image is a group image of the band with
instruments , which is a common convention of the rock genre.
The grab quote is large at the top of the page to attract the
audience’s attention. The use of a grab quote appeal to the
target audience because it is a honest view from the artist to
their fans. The drop cap is helpful for the reader to be directed
the start of the article.

15. How I developed the codes and conventions
of a magazine
I included the Wrap text feature to
incorporate the main image and the article
together visually. This is a development of
the features is appealing to the audience
because it makes the article look more
visually appealing.
The models in my main image are female
which is not stereotypically common for the
rock genre. Therefore, this is a subversion of
the conventions of the genre.

16. Comparison with Draft
The draft is very different from the final product because I was
undecided about the tone of the article , therefore I was unsure
of the features I wanted to include. This caused me to base my
double page on features of different magazines. The grab quote
idea is still presented because it creates a relationship between
the audience and the artist that the article is about. The purple
colour was kept because it connotes femininity and the rock
genre, which is the aim of the magazine.