1. In what way does your media product use, develop,
or challenge forms or conventions of real media
products?
EVALUATION QUESTION 1

2. I wanted my magazine to be totally different to any magazine on the shelves at the moment.
I wanted to challenge conventions and be totally different to the usual conventions of a
music magazine. Originally I wanted my magazine to be square in shape, this is because no
magazine on the market is square. It would be such a statement, and people would be come
more aware of the magazine due the abnormal and abstract shape. However I then began to
realize that this wouldn’t be the best idea, because even though it would be very
different, and possibly sell very well, it would be very expensive to make. This is because
the printers and cutters would have had to have been made or programed specifically for a
square magazine. For the reader, it would also be awkward to hold, as it would be more
floppy than the usual square magazine, and this may put people off from buying the
magazine again. Production of the actual magazine would also be a much longer process
than the usual conventional magazine, this is because all the images within the magazine
would have to be adjusted, and altered to fit as square magazine. Personally I feel like the
square shape would be a good idea, and if I was to be producing a music magazine monthly
then I would possibly try it once to see how the sales go, but however for this occasion, I
am sticking to the conventions of a usual shaped magazine.

3. Here is the cover of my magazine. I did it with a simple colour
scheme, to make the front cover more of a statement. I like the
red, gray, black and white colour scheme because personally I
feel that it is a modern scheme, but works well. By using these
colours, it is easy to ready, and doesn’t strain to read. If I were to
product a magazine on a monthly basis, then I wouldn’t just uses
this colour scheme. This is because it would begin to look dull
and boring, and people would stop noticing my magazine,
consequently not buying it. I put the masthead where it because
this is a usual place for a masthead. I didn’t challenge
conventions on this, this is because I have challenged the
conventions of a magazine in so many other ways in my
magazine, I though I should keep something’s the same with in
my magazine. I personally like the masthead in the place it is,
because it fits in the image as a whole well. I did it in this font so
that it was not too complicated, and fits the theme of my
magazine. I use this font numerous times in my magazine, to try
to keep the theme the same or very similar throughout my
magazine.

4. On the final magazine, I changed the colour of the front cover quite a bit. I
changed the word ‘LIVE’ to a grey which a slight transparency to it. I did this
because again it challenges the conventions of a traditional music magazine, as
not many music magazines have a transparent name. I also added a
advertisement for a free track from a CD. This doesn’t at all challenge the
conventions of a magazine, however I feel that it made the magazine as a
whole look much better and much more professional.

5. Here is the contents page of my magazine. I
wanted the contents page to be very striking
and very different to the conventions of the
usual contents page. I did it in black and white
to make the page more dramatic, but add the
simplicity to it. The contents page is only made
up of two images. I used these two because
personally I feel like they both link together
well, as one of the images is an empty arena
and the other is an upcoming star, which
probably aspires to play an arena. I tried
adding more images to the contents page to
match the stories mentioned, however I found
that it made the images as a whole look to busy
and it didn’t work. So I took these images off
and just used the two images to make up the
background, and the text.

6. I know this isn’t how a magazines contents page would usually be, however I
wanted to make my magazine different, and really challenge the conventions
of a usual magazine. I did the word ‘contents’ in the same font as the
masthead is. I did this because I liked this font, and I also wanted to keep the
fonts similar through out the magazine. This is something, which usually
happens in magazines. I did it slightly cropped off at both the top and the
bottom, to give it more of an edgy, yet sophisticated. Personally I feel like
this challenges conventions of a usual magazine. This is because most
magazine doesn’t have a bug title on the page stating that it is a contents page.
On the finished magazine, I changed the colours of the numbers and the
word ‘Features’ to red. I did this because firstly it made them stand out much
more; it also ties the colour theme of the red, gray, black and white together.
I felt that by doing this it tied the magazine together, and made it look a great
deal more professional.

7. Here is my two-page spread. Again you can
see that the colour theme has gone
throughout my magazine, and continues on
to this page. The only other colours in this
are the colours in the actual images. I didn’t
make these black and white because I felt
that it would be way too much, and get very
boring. I feel that this page lay out is very
different to the usual music magazine. This
is because usually two paged spreads have a
one colour back ground. I went for the two
because I feel it gave a more dramatic look.
I did the words ‘Dream life’ the way I did
because not only does it look quirky, but it
gave me a way of adding more pictures into
my magazine without making the page look
over crowded.

8. Overall I feel that my magazine as a whole challenges conventions more than
it embraces them. I like this because it reflects my personality, and I feel that it
would reflect the personality of a usually teenager/young adult, and by
challenging conventions, it reflects my target market.
OVERALL…