2. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?
Front Cover
The masthead and strip lines try to draw the audience in to
tempt them to buy the magazine. Mastheads are normally
at the top of the page and is the largest title on the cover
page. The strip line is also underneath the masthead and
convinces the audience to buy the magazine. I have Masthead Strip Line
decided to use a bold font and used the colour black
because it stands out and represents to heavier music in
my magazine. Also I have decided to draw lines around the
‘O’ in volume to emphasise the beat you can feel when you
plug a guitar into an amp because my magazine is called
‘Amp volume’.
The main image is always
dominant to all the other
images and features on the
front cover. This shows the
audience that the main
article is on the person who
is on the cover.
My magazine has the typical
barcode which is normally place in
Freebies are a perfect way to draw the bottom right hand corner. This
attention to audiences and to hook a is a real feature a magazine will
certain target audience. have. By adding a bar code my
magazine looks more professional
and real.
3. Cover lines are conventional codes and
they are needed on the covers of
magazines to show the audience what
else the magazine has to offer and the
other stories which are featured on
other artists. My cover lines are different
from some of the conventional cover
lines. I have added pictures to my cover
lines which gave my magazine a unique
style however the magazine ‘Kerrang’
sometimes use the technique with the
cover lines and pictures.
The top and bottom strips will either advertise various things to the audience for
example discounts, or to win exclusive things like backstage pass at concerts, or to be
able to download free music from the magazine website. Or they could tell the audience
about what else is featured in the magazine like bands or artists that are also inside the
magazine. On my magazine cover I have decided to use the top strip for advertising and
the bottom strip for showing who else is featured in the magazine.
4. I learned that next to the masthead the largest text
should be the band or artists name which is featured
on the cover. I decided to make the text white with a
black outline, the reason for this is because I thought
that the white stood out in front of the image which
is placed behind the text. The font that I chose is bold
and I also stretched the text to make it stand out
more. When I was doing research for my cover the
headline is a conventional code which is used in
every magazine. It is important because it shows the
audience who the band or artist is and who is the
main feature of the magazine in that week.
Another convention that I think is important, is a quote
from the artist. Normally the quote is placed underneath
the headline, I think the reason its so important is because
it tells the audience a bit about the artist and how they are
as a person, also it involves the reader because it is wrote
as if the artist is talking to you directly.
5. Contents
Whilst I was researching contents
pages, I noticed that most have
contents wrote on the page and the
issue number and date therefore this is
a conventional code. This is to make
sure the audience can identify the issue
and keep up to date with the magazine
releases.
My contents page does not follow the conventional
magazine because I do not have a main image. Many
magazine have a main image of the band or artist they
have interview or who is featuring in the magazine. I have
followed the theme of ‘Kerrang’ magazine. However I have
a main image at the top of the page which I have used to
show the audience what my magazine consists off, which it
focuses on live performances. In the top main image I have
layered two smaller images on top, one is of the artist who
is on the cover and who the magazine have interviewed
and the other of another band that features.
Another convention I had to
Most magazines have an editors remember whilst producing my
section where the editor contents page was a subscription
summarises what’s inside this box, this is so the audience can buy
weeks issue and maybe a small the magazine monthly, this also
section on what it was like to involves the reader and promotes
meet the band or artist that is the magazine
featured on the cover page. This
is another convention
6. The most critical part of a contents page are the cover lines and the featured articles.
Without these convention the music magazine does not exist. As I did more research
on contents pages I had to make sure that the audience knew where different things
in my magazine where, so I had to make sure that my headings were clear, I thought
that six different headings was appropriate I named them ‘News’ which is all the
breaking news about different artists in the magazine. ‘Posters’, ‘Win’, ‘Live review’,
‘Gig guide’ and ‘Features’ this is the most important because this is everything that is
on the cover advertises. I think it is very important to have headings because it
makes it easier for the audience to navigate and find the articles and features they
want to read.
I have decided to use bright colours of red and orange and an outline of black to
make the headings stand out to the audience and it grabs peoples attention. I have
also stuck to the colour scheme of red and orange throughout my magazine.
7. Double Page Article
In most double page articles images and quotes are conventional
and are most important as they tell the audience a lot about the
artist they are reading about. When I was creating quotes I wanted
something that was inspiring to the audience and made them think
and that’s what I think my quote does the quotes also represents the
artist and what they stand for. I wanted to create a sense of
belonging for the audience as they are all fans of the same type of
music genre and they should stick together. I decided to use white
and orange text with a black background to make the text stand out
and grab the attention of the audience.
By putting a larger quote in the middle of the interview it highlights
the importance of what is being said, most magazines that I have
researched have used this technique.
Throughout the research that I carried out I noticed
that most of the images that were placed on double
page articles could portray a lifestyle or market a
different target audience by how the model or artist
was posing or how they were dressed. The images
also represent the type of music they create.
Most magazine have a large image and a smaller one
somewhere else on the page these are the codes and
conventions.
8. The introductory comment are also very important
and are conventional codes in magazine interviews.
They are important because it sets the scene for the
audience and hooks them as readers, it also tells you
a little bit about what might be involved in the
magazine.
The most important thing on the double page spread is the main
feature article, and it is the most important ingredient for a music
magazine. I made my article have an autobiography theme, because it
was about how the band started, and I think it had more of a personal
feel, this is better for my target audience because it shows you how
the artist thinks and feels about being in a band, also I wanted the
audience to keep interested. I think an interview is the most
important thing about a magazine because if the article was good
then the audience will remember it and want to read next weeks issue
to read the good interviews, it is also the advertisement of the
magazine. I used the colour white on top of a black background I did
this so my text would stand out and be as bold as it could be, also I
used orange for the questions that were asked so the audience knows
where each section starts and finishes.
9. Page numbers are a very basic convention
in magazines which makes it easier for the
audience to locate specific pages
10. House Style
I noticed whilst creating my magazine that I have stuck to the same colours which are red, orange, black and white
