media evaluation question 1

1. AS Media Studies Evaluation
Brandon Nolan - http://nolanb6419.blogspot.co.uk

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

3. Masthead The Masthead of my magazine is shown as short and bold. I used
the font ’Agency fb’ because it matched the font on the hat of the
front cover model near enough perfectly. This helped create a sense
of certification of the magazine. The title was kept separate to the
image as it suited the main image a lot more this way. It made it look
like much more of a statement, not just about about the magazine
but also about the featured artist on the front cover. If the artist is
seen as an icon, they're seen as one of the highest up in the music
industry. This would usually entice the reader even more as most
readers would want to read all about popular artists and gain an
insight into their life and their story. The idea of the masthead came
from FADER Magazine as it was kept simple, clean and bold. Another
example I used was Billboard magazine as this was also simple and
clean.

4. Main Image
The main image on my front cover was shot at a lit up, modern
location at night time. The original image taken was a wide shot,
showcasing all of the featured artists body as well as some
background. This original image was then cropped and resized to fit a
portrait style front cover. The fact that his whole body is pictured goes
against the norms of the magazine style I have chosen as they usually
use close ups or mid shots. The artist is looking away from the camera
(down), creating a sense of mystery as his face is kept hidden but the
reader still knows it’s him. Other artists such as SIA do this to keep their
identity somewhat hidden to avoid being mobbed by fans. This would
suggest that they are quite a big artist. It also goes against typical
magazine codes as on the majority of music magazine front covers,
the artist tends to look into the camera with direct mode of address.
The image is lit in all the right places, showing off the background as
well as lighting the artist perfectly considering he is dressed in all black.
black.
Direct mode of address Looking down
Looking at the camera out the
corner of his eye

5. Anchor text
Artists name is bold, eye catching, fulfills the needs of the
reader. It overlaps the main image/ brings to the forefront of
audience mind and greatly contrasts from the background.
This tends to follow suite of the style of the magazines I have
modelled mine off.

6. House Style
Use of simple colours and fonts, creates a nice
mellow, modern vibe for the front cover. The text
doesn't take too much attention away from the main
image. Follows the codes and conventions nicely and
also doesn’t define target audience gender but
would steer more towards my target audience as the
main artist is male. The colours are also very
simplistic, following the codes and conventions
further. Here are some examples of existing media
with the same house style:

7. Masthead Large bold text, draws attention,
placed on top of the main image
making it stand out more. Stays with
the element of simplicity but is still
affective. Kept at the top of the page
following the general codes and
conventions of the majority of music
magazines. The use of upper case
lettering is also conventional for
modern day magazines. Examples of
followed existing contents pages are
shown below (VIBE Magazine):

8. Fonts & Features
Brief descriptions of the magazine
features listed in order of page
number. Continuing with the ’Agency
Fb’ font as it is a running theme
throughout the magazine. Each
feature is alternately coloured to
make each one stand out more
individually. Slight space kept from
the edges of the page to follow
conventions of existing media.

9. Numbering
Helps to organize the magazine as well as
keeps it neat and tidy for the reader. Easy to
navigate their way through the magazine at
their own leisure. Numbers run down the left
side of the columns with the text following
after, which also follows conventions of other
magazines shown below:

10. Images There are two different
conventional styles that magazines
follow for contents images. Either
one main image or a coloured
background with a few different
images. I have chose to take both of
these and put them together, using
one main image and two smaller
images based in the columns of text.
I feel like covering both conventional
styles can’t really go wrong and is
still aesthetically pleasing for the
reader.
One main image Separate images on a
coloured background
Main image as well as
smaller images

11. Columns
Simplistic layout makes it more
accessible for audience. Easier to find
what the individuals readers needs are.
Each column is fairly spaced out and
similar to each other in terms of content.
Easy to read each feature, this is
important as it would suit the average
readers needs.

12. Image
One landscape image displayed
across two pages. This decision was
slightly unconventional as it’s not a
very popular style chosen by existing
magazines. In terms of the final
outcome, I feel this was very
effective as the image itself is very
powerful and a very well take photo.
The way the photo was edited also
runs with the theme of the other
photos take on the same
photoshoot of the artist. I modelled
the main idea for my double page
spread from the existing production
below, then added my own touch to
it:

13. Layout
I decided to chose a very similar
layout to the NME magazine
example showed in the ‘image’
category of this presentation. I feel
like with the different zones of my
image it’s the best way to lay out the
text. The big bold title stands out
and catches the readers eye,
showing the name is just as
important as the image. The
featured artist is also to one side of
the image, leaving him on one page,
and the rest of the image on the
other which follows the conventions
of other existing magazine double
page spreads.

14. Pull Quote
Large and bold font, shows the artist name as well as a brief
summary of the article, draws the most attention on the page besides
the image. I have chosen not to include a quote as I feel like the
article can still be just as powerful without one as shown below by the
Niki Minaj article. This decision was somewhat unconventional as a
quote is normally included to help create a relationship between the
artist and the reader.

15. Text
I have gone against the conventions of
having a lot of text and as much
information as possible about the artist
and chosen to only write a limited
amount of text on the best areas where
visible on the image. This is because
certain areas of the image are lit
completely different to others and I feel
like writing over those areas in a different
colour text would just be confusing and
annoying for the reader as that is itself is
completely unconventional. Therefore I
have added a ’Read More’ section on the
bottom, right corner of the article to
show that there is still more to read on
the next page. I feel like this decision
worked best for my production as it suits
the image the most and that’s the most
powerful part of the whole double page
spread. I also feel that the information
given in the limited amount of text on
the double page would be enough to
pull the reader into the story enough to
want to read more on the next page.

16. Language
The majority of the language I used was as conventional as
possible, sticking to the formal language to stay professional
and make the magazine seem as professional as possible. This
seems like the best way to communicate with the reader.
However when it came to the quoted interview the language
changed to the style of the artist, using poorly structured
sentences and slang. This made the answers sound like they
were written word for word as the artist spoke them. This
helps the reader to feel as though they’re able to listen to the
artist and really take in what they say.