AS Media coursework

1. Evaluation 1- In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media
products?
The title of the magazine- Yellow masthead in bold large font, located central to the page acting as the centre of visual interest, attracting the audiences attention. The
4 letter word on the contents almost frames the image, almost complimenting Drakes face. The bold yellow lettering contrasts the monochrome colour scheme.
Graphology/ Page layout- A very simplistic layout on all pages, with structured text, and simple pages. This keeps the focus on the images and the headings, further
complimenting the image. The use of white text on the contents and cover, enables the text to blend in with the image so that it doesn’t stand out, and make the page
look cluttered. But also stands out on the darker image behind it, making it easier to read. The limited variety of fonts on each page keeps the simplistic feel, making
sure it doesn’t become over complicated. The barcode is hidden in the bottom left corner on the cover, making the page appear neater. Every page shows evidence of
a pop of colour, which compliments the image.
Costumes, props, iconography used to reflect genre- Costume is a variety of bold colours, used to reflect the bold feel on every page. This bold look is used to emulate
the genre.
Camerawork and framing of images- A series of mid/ closeup shots are used to focus on facial expressions. The simple framing of the image keeps the focus on these
expressions, by guiding the attention through lack of colour. For example on the double page spread it shows Kendrick on a simple white background, this initially
keeps the focus on the image and text, similarly on the cover where drake is located on a simple grey background.
Article, header etc font and style- The article is layout in a quirky way, with varying text box sizes, to make the page look more appealing instead of conforming to the
typical article structure. Headings are written in bold, and the article title is written in a big coloured font (burgundy) guiding the readers attention to the key words
and phrases. The article is written in a simple font, keeping a simple overall layout, making clear and easy to read. The overall style following this pop of colour evident
throughout, yet still conforming to the simplistic feel of the pages.
Genre and how the magazine cover, contents and spread suggests it- A consistent quirky colourful colour scheme is evident throughout each page, which means they
all follow the overall style of the magazine. The typical R&B/pop styling is repeated throughout the magazine, including R&B styled artists on each page e.g. Drake and
Kendrick Lamarr. Which initially makes it clear what genre of music the magazine is going to feature. Simple images also connote this R&B style by focusing on key
words linked to these artists.
How are the artist(s) represented- Drake is represented in a simple closeup, enabling the audience to see his trademark facial expressions, the monochrome colour
scheme further emphasises his facial expressions by adding emphasis on his eyes and eyebrows (making his appear angry, or serious). By making the image of Drake
bleed to the edge of the magazine cover it shows importance of his as an individual, emphasising the R&B influence of the magazine. The apparent monochrome
colour scheme further applies to the genre of music Drake’s music fits into, however the pop of colour could contrast this by bringing in the pop influence, attracting a
wider audience.
Colour scheme- As I've already mentioned throughout the simple block colouring of he images on each page, emphasises the distinct bold colours evident in the
masthead and the article titles. This bold colour scheme is repeated throughout, acting almost as a distinct trademark, of each page having a bright electing title and a
monochrome or simple colour schemed image.

2. Evaluation 1- In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media
products?
The title of the magazine- the masthead of my magazine ‘NEON’ uses the codes and conventions of
other massive magazines such as Vibe and Clash on the basis that simple, short word is able to be
written in the big lettering, complimenting the image on the cover. The masthead also has the same
prominence on the page as a trademark or a brand name, acting as the centre of visual interest so that
the masthead is the memorable feature evident on every issue, and on every page in the magazine. The
specific font used for the masthead, is used to mirror a real neon light, with interconnecting lettering. I
felt that this was necessary as whilst the font replicated a neon light, which was the idea behind not
only the font but the name of the magazine, but it is also a very contemporary typeface, befitting a
magazine on contemporary popular music culture. The design of the typeface fills the entirety of the
masthead area, due to the use of all uppercase letters. The lack of ascending and descending lettering
means that the masthead appears clean, filling all of the space. Whilst the font is bold and strong, it is
similar to other music magazines such as Clash and Vibe which both leave sufficient space for creative
photography behind the masthead, enabling the audience to see the entire image. I felt that this was
appropriate on the basis that the apparent white lettering almost contrasted the overall meaning of the
word ‘neon’, as the word neon means colourful. However, the bold coloured filters used on the image,
added colour to the page, achieving the appropriate electro pop styling, that i wanted each page to
include.
Graphology/ page layouts- I challenged the forms and conventions of a
typical magazine by deciding that I would have a variety of fonts in my
magazine all of which would complement each other, the fonts that I used
‘NEON’,’Aaux ProMedium’, ‘Impact’ and ‘Avenir’. I chose to do this, as I felt
that it would give the magazine a quirky look, however the complimenting
fonts wouldn't make the page look messy. I chose these fonts as I thought
that although they were all different and almost contrasting each other, I felt
that they worked together as the theme of my overall magazine is quirky,
sleek and bold, all of which are features of all 4 of the fonts I picked. Although
the overall theme of my magazine is a simple layout, I though that the
contrasting fonts would add a different feel to every page, making each page
as exciting as the previous, which still made the magazine appear
professional. The sizing of my masthead and cover lines decrease in level of
importance, as I though this was important so that the audience could
distinguish the important pieces of information, finding certain information
easier to find. For example on my cover, its evident that my masthead is the
biggest piece of text as this is common for every magazine masthead. I used
the common features of a magazine so that my magazine develops forms and
conventions of a real music magazine or magazine in general.

3. Next is my cover lines on my contents, I varied the sizing of the cover lines and stories
on the basis that some headlines were more important than say other. For example, I
chose to make ‘Downing’ and ‘Electro pop’ the biggest headlines, on the basis that
Pria Downing was the artist and Electro pop was the genre of music. I decided to
make all of the text on my cover and contents white, as I though that the simple white
text would compliment the colourful image, also enabling it to stand out on the darker
background. Although nearly all of this text is white, I decided to highlight a variety of
words in red, which emphasised to specific words, however also adding more colour to
each page. I think that my colour choice of the text complimented each other well as
the red was almost a direct contrast from the simple monochrome black of white text,
as red usually connotes danger and excitement whereas white connotes simplicity and
cleanliness, both messages something that I want to convey in my magazine, and
portray to the audience. I decided to locate all of my text on the left hand side on the
basis that it drew the readers eye to cover the entire page, moving from the masthead
to the list of headlines on the left hand side. I also wanted my text to be minimal,
almost working together with the image, as I wanted my magazine layout to be fairly
simplistic and minimal with all of the emphasis on the colourful filters applied to the
images. I wanted my barcode to be fairly small and located in a place where it didn't
stand out as I didn't want it to take the minimalistic theme that was apparent on the
rest of my pages, I thought that by making the barcode seller the overall composition
of my page would look far neater as I think that the largeness of the image made the
cover look full in itself and no space therefore needed to be filled with a bigger
barcode. Even though I loved the styling of the V magazine, I thought that the 1 word
masthead wouldn’t look right with the overall theme of V magazine also tend to make
their masthead coloured and their images monochrome however I did the opposite, as
I though that the styling would link more with my electro pop theme.
Evaluation 1- In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media
products?
Costumes, props, iconography used to reflect genre- I used the forms and conventions of a typical magazine by locating my artist on the front cover, my artist
‘Pria Downing’ was specifically styled in order to cater to the electro pop style, which developed my electro pop genre. I dressed her in a variety of different outfits in
both of the photoshoots that took place, which showed a variety of different aspects taken from the electro pop theme. During the first photoshoot the electro pop
theme was evident through my artists makeup instead of say her clothing. I chose to emphasise her makeup as I knew that I was going todo a variety of closeup and
medium shots where the majority of the shot was taken up by her face. I chose a simple colour palette for Pria’s makeup as I though that this style would be most
effective after adding the effects to the images. By using a simple colour palette, I though that it added a new spin on the typical expectations of an electro pop artist,
however my artists makeup was heavily influenced by electro pop artists such as Rihanna, who also use simple colour palettes on occasions. I decided to use off the
shoulder items during the first photoshoot on the basis that I wanted all of the emphasis to be on the artists face rather than her clothing, and i though that the lack
of visible clothing would mean that I could feature a greater variety of colours in the text, instead of through the clothing and makeup. I though this as the magazines
like Clash also did a similar thing, by dressing there artists in very minimal monochrome clothing so that the emphasis was on the artists face or expression. However,
I decided to slightly twist this idea by adding a few neutral, pinky tones, instead of simply creating black and white images, as i further wanted to include more
colours to my magazine pages. Although, there was a lack of bright colours in the first photoshoot, I decided that in my second photoshoot that i would look at
electro pop inn a different way. My artist in the second photoshoot was specifically dressed to look like an actual electro pop artist.

4. I dressed her in a pink fur coat and emphasised this look further by giving her a bolder colour palette, including blue eye shadow. Both of the photo shoots linked
due to the apparent reoccurring pink colour palette, providing a seamless match between each page however the specific clothing and different interpretation of
makeup, give the second photoshoot a different spin. I chose this specific look as i think it was heavily influenced by Rihanna (an existing electro pop artist)
however it also provided a quirky, cool look, which could connote danger, this enabled my artist to fit in with the genre and not look out of place for the styling
that was adapted for my audience.
Evaluation 1- In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media
products?
Camerawork and framing of images- my magazine follows the code
and conventions of typical pop magazines it features mainly closeup/
mid shots, focusing all of the shot on facial expression. Furthermore, my
artist is located centrally on my front cover, making sure that she is the
centre of visual interest, meaning that this is the first thing that people
look at, this follows the common conventions of magazines like Clash.
However, on my contents and both of my double page spreads, I have
located my image off centre (either to the left of to the right), this also
follows the thirds rule in photography. Because these rules have been
taken into account whilst taking the images, a professional image has
been created, making my magazine look realistic due to including
common features of magazine, due to the fact that I have manipulated
the levels of all of my photographs, making the images more interesting
and making each image different from the last, adding originality to each
page. I was heavily influenced by Clash with my images on the basis that
the simple white background meant that all of the emphasis was on the
clothing and the colour palettes of the makeup etc… I followed the
conventions and forms of a typical magazine by making the cover very
simplistic, with just an image and text, not only does this use the
convention of other magazines but the simplicity also contributes to
Roger Black’s theory that “a cover should be a poster a single image of a
human will sell more copies than multiple images or all type”. I did this,
as I felt that by doing so my magazine would be more of a success, I also
felt that it was visually more appealing to the reader with just one
image.
Article, header etc font and style- My magazine challenges forms and conventions of existing magazines on the basis that my article does include features
evident in other magazines e.g. the location of my image, the use of drop quotes etc… I decided that I would layout my article in a way that magazines don’t do. I
chose to have a lot of space on my article and carry it onto a second double page spread as I felt that it would reinforce the simplistic theme evident throughout.
I didn’t want my article to appear cluttered so I spaced it out and included a variety of gaps. Because of this I felt that my article was more interest got look at
and also making it easier to read. Which would further connote the simplistic look I wanted my magazine to achieve, in order to reinforce this, i decided to use a
simplistic font ‘Aaus ProMedium’ as I felt that this fonts the best font for small text. By reinforcing this font, it also linked the cover to the double page spreads. I
chose to have no significant title ace though it would guide the CVI away from the image, also providing the page with a more clustered look, something that i
didn't want to introduce in my magazine. I chose to do all of my text in a simple black text colour as I though that it would contrast well with the light grey
background, helping the text further stand out.

5. How is the artist represented- I have
used the forms and conventions of a typical
magazine on the basis that I portrayed my
artist in a way that caters to my genre. I
have decided to portray my artist as a
quirky, cool teenage girl interested in bright
colours e.g. blue, yellow and bright pink. I
chose to portray her as being like this as I
feel that she connotes other female electro
pop artists such as Lady Gaga and Rihanna.
This was my initial aim to highlights the
need for female electro pop artists as the
genre is mainly dominated by male DJ’s
such as David Guetta, Calvin Harris and
other artists such as the Weeknd. I tough
that by challenging the common electro pop
scene and catering towards a common pop
scene (as where females mainly dominate
the industry) I felt that my magazine would
cater to a greater variety of people,
targeting both male and women (through
Laura Mulvey’s idea of the Male Gaze). I
posed my artist in very confident poses as I
wanted her to appear a strong female
character (which also contradicts the
common expectations of women) by doing
so it also supports her article in where she
talks about her confidence.
Evaluation 1- In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media
products?
Genre and how the magazine cover, contents and spread suggests it- My
magazine uses and develops the forms and conventions of existing magazines
due to the fact that it is heavily influenced by typical pop magazines, due to its
colourful, quirky style which is heavily influenced by its bright colour palette and
its unique layout. Because of this, the target audience is instantly intrigued due
to the originality of the magazine, as although it includes features of magazines
such as Clash, it also includes features that aren't apparent in any other
magazine, making it individual. This individuality means that the audience would
be more likely to purchase the magazine as it arguably would stand out. The use
of coloured filters (heavily influenced by Petra Collins) would attracts the
audience, by standing out from typical magazines that share a similar colour
scheme.

6. Colour scheme- My magazine used the forms and conventions of other
magazines on the basis that the colour palette was heavily influenced by
magazines such as Clash and V magazine, on the basis that its apparent
that both of these magazines use very bright colour palettes. Although the
majority of my images and text included a limited amount of colour, and
followed a simple colour palette I included a variety of different image
filters that added blue and red to my images, making them cater to my
overall ‘Neon’ theme. As notes on previous posts the majority of the colour
on the page tended to be through the colour schemes of the photography
filters, and after doing so determined the overall colour scheme of my
page. As apparent from my magazine the colour themes on each page
tended to be in the style of a 3D image, with a reoccurring blue and red
theme. Not only was this theme evident in the images, but I also matched
the red from the image to make a seamless match of the red text colour,
making the text and image correspond. I decided upon blue and red as
they contrast each other however they complement one another, making
it appear quirky yet aesthetically pleasing together. I also featured lots of
grey as i felt that white would make the page look too sparse, yet grey
would fill the blank spaces more. I also did this as in my research and
planning I found that typical pop magazines such as V magazine, tended to
fill the pages with either images or text, and having a white background
would make the page look blank and out of place. Because of doing this I
was following the forms and conventions of real magazines, making it look
more realistic. Besides the red, blue and grey, I also included a bright pink
colour scheme, this colour scheme is also apparent in magazines such as
Clash, this further widens my audience, as it caters to a variety of people. I
feel that the overall colour scheme highlights the femininity that I wanted
to highlight, yet still attracting the target audience through the neon
colour scheme.
Evaluation 1- In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media
products?

7. Cover inspiration- My magazine used the forms and
conventions of existing magazines, based on the fact that the
layout was very common for usual magazines, however it was
evident that my cover was not inspired on one particular
magazine. Instead it was heavily influenced by a photographer.
I chose to compose my image like a famous Petra Collins
photo, by applying a condemnation filter on top of the image. I
really liked the way that the image came out, I also included a
similar colour palette behind the image, as I though that the
dark image wouldn't link with the colourful images on the
other pages of the magazine. Because of this I used a neon
colour palette of colours such as pink, yellow and grey. This
added a POP to the cover, making it more like the Petra Collins
image. Although the image was heavily influenced by Petra
Collins, The layout of my cover was heavily influenced by Clash.
The location and sizing of my masthead was specifically
measure to mimic the Clash masthead, giving it a recognisable
look. I loved the way that clash used a simplistic styling of all of
their magazine issues, and there reinforcing colour palette. I
also like the common shots used in these magazines, and
similarly i used the reinforcing mid/ close up shot in my
magazine. As the emphasis on my magazine was on the face.
Contents inspiration- My contents challenged the forms and conventions of an existing
magazine on the basis that its not typical to have a double contents in a magazine, its
also not typical to layout a contents in the way that mine was layout. I chose to make my
magazine different in this sense on the basis that I wanted each page to be almost
shocking, and unexpected. I decided to do a double contents page on the basis that I
wanted my magazine to include features of other magazines it to differ from typical
magazine layouts. I decided to do big page numbers on my contents as I though that the
sizing and font of both the ‘Contents’ title and the page numbers would compliment
each other. I think that this also decides the page into 4 distinct sections, which
emphasises the biggest section (which includes both shots merged together). I didn't
have very much influence from another magazine for my contents, as I wanted it to
challenge the forms and conventions of a typical magazine as I wanted to make this page
unexpected. As this danger is the overall theme portrayed throughout my magazine
through layout and colour palettes. However, I did show features of V magazine through
the use of a plain background.
Evaluation 1- In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media
products?

8. Double page spread inspiration- My
DPS did use forms and conventions of
existing magazines on the basis that
there was an article and image, however
it was layout in a very different way to
typical magazines. So its arguable that
although there were some aspects of
using the forms and conventions of other
magazines, it almost challenges a larger
minority of magazine features, on the
basis that it was an un-typical layout.
Similarly to my contents I didn't have a
specific inspiration for my double page
spread, however some features are
evident on other magazines. Such as the
location of the image, by allocating a
single image that bleeds to the edge of
an entire page, this links my magazine
double page spread to other magazines
such as V magazine. I also used boxes to
highlight and emphasise not only the
image but also the text. This feature is
evident in magazines such as Loud and
Quiet and Clash.
Evaluation 1- In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media
products?