1. 1. In what ways does your media
product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions
of real media products?
2. Uses of existing conventions
(Front Cover)
There is a range of convention I used from similar products on
my final piece, I felt that this was necessary as I wanted to
emulate the success the similar product has. The process of
selecting which conventions I wanted to use started at my
similar product analysis but came into effect when I started
editing my final piece. I used a range of obvious conventions
like the barcode and small cover lines to create a professional
look. A convention used from the well known XXL magazine
was the colour scheme, the greyscale theme with hints of red,
this convention is common for XXL and other rap magazines
like VIBE, I feel I was successful in applying that convention to
my own production piece, as the red can convey aggression
and anger . The large dominant masthead from XXL was also
inspiration for the masthead for DRGM, they both have a bold
colour, and is very dominant in the top third of the cover. Also I
used the dominant centre of visual interest and the skyline and
straplines weren’t over the edge, this is so the focus is on the
artist in a dominant pose, to emphasise the ‘macho’
stereotype’ of the rap genre.
3. Uses of existing conventions
(Contents Page)
This similar product had a lot of influence on my contents
page, this is why my final contents piece uses conventions
from the VIBE contents page. The first convention is the
darker shape that is blended into the background to give
the page more contrast and more interesting to look at in
general, I feel like this was a necessary convention to use
as like the similar product also I used a black and white
filter on the picture of the artist, so to make the page less
dull I used this convention as it successfully serves this
purpose on the similar product as well. The dominant
picture of the main artist with the feature lines around it
is a convention used commonly in similar products, it
emphasises the dominance that rappers stereotypically
battle for within the genre and reinforces the gangster or
street element of the genre too.
4. Uses of existing conventions
(Double Page Spread)
My double page spread uses conventions of two
similar products as shown. A convention I have
used from the first similar product is the two
shot dominating the first page, the similar
product has the artists standing in a very
intimidating way, both their body language and
their facial expressions demonstrate this. I used
this convention to convey the same stereotype of
male hegemony within the rap genre. Another
convention I used from the first similar product is
the large article title, like the similar product the
title is a snapshot of the article itself portraying a
general tone for the article being the change of
his life. A convention I used from the second
similar product is the use of close up shots which
I have applied to the right page of my double
page spread . This gave the article a more
engaging background and since the article is
about that artist I feel it would make a stronger
connection to the reader.
5. Developing of existing conventions
(Front Cover)
Despite using many conventions from similar products I also
developed them into to being in my own style. Take the masthead for
example, even though I used the same base colour scheme I applied
it in a different way as I used the red and white in a gradient overlay
over the masthead compared with the block colours in the similar
product. This is due to my proficiency in photoshop improving, which
allowed me to explore these tools. I also feel that the gradient
overlay makes the masthead look more interesting thus the page is
more engaging. I also developed the masthead by adding a black
stroke to the outline which I believe makes the masthead standout
even behind the centre of visual interest. Another convention I
developed upon was the colour scheme of the centre of visual
interest itself, instead of using colour like the similar product has I
applied a black and white filter which I believe helped me conform to
a more consistent house style, increasing the production values of
my magazine.
6. Developing of existing conventions
(Contents Page)
Even though my final contents piece was heavily inspired by
this similar product, I still developed conventions from this to
adapt them to my own editing style. The first convention I
developed was the darker shape in the background used by the
similar product. The shape in the similar product is a ‘V’ shape
as it stands for the magazines name – VIBE. However, as that
shape doesn't apply to my final piece I changed it to a diagonal
shape connecting the opposite corners, I did this because I feel
that having the shape behind the artist and pointing at him,
almost giving the sense of a spotlight would make the artist
stand out more therefore conforming the dominant, masculine
stereotype that surrounds the rap genr.e. Another convention I
developed was the format of the contents title, I developed
this because on the similar product, the layout of the lettering
could slightly confuse the reader, so to improve readability I
formatted my title to ‘CON’ and ‘TENTS’ which is much more
easier to interpret.
7. Developing of existing conventions
(Double Page Spread)
On my double page spread I developed the two shot
convention from the similar product and made it my
own. The two shot on the similar product is a wide shot
showing the whole of the artists bodies whereas I
wanted to focus more on the facial expressions, so I
used a medium shot to do this. The facial expressions
are very serious and intimidating, reinforcing the
‘street’ element of the genre. Another convention I
developed was the close ups shots on the second
similar product, in the similar product the artist is not
looking at the audience however since my close up shot
is behind the article about the artist I wanted the
picture to have direct address, due to the insight into
the artist the reader gets. This would traditionally
subvert stereotypes of the genre, as usually on similar
products artist look away from the camera showing
control over the situation, asserting dominance over
the reader.
8. Challenging of existing conventions
(Front Cover)
I believe my product challenges several conventions on existing
sets of products. The first convention of similar products I
challenge is that I have included much more cover lines on my
front cover and have made full use of the left third. I did this
due to my process of learning that allows me to know how to
attract audiences to media products, usually when in a store the
left third is always displayed, and naturally readers vision always
goes from left to right. So by including lots of cover lines in my
left third, I believe that my product looks more professional and
will be successful in attracting audiences. Another convention I
challenged was that similar products don’t seem to have any
evidence of issue numbers. Despite being a very traditional
convention of a magazine, I believe it helps readers familiarise
with the product more which would be essential in attracting
audiences to my piece. Also, I challenged the typical convention
of absolutely no text on the centre of visual interest in the XXL
similar product, I put anchorage text over the bottom of the
picture as I felt that it fitted better there and also conformed to
the Gutenberg diagram.
9. Challenging of existing conventions
(Contents Page)
Unlike the VIBE contents page, the main artist on my final
piece is not looking directly at the audience showing that
he possibly doesn't care about their engagement or is busy
doing other things, this reinforces the rebellious
undertones the rap genre has portrayed in similar
products and within song lyrics. Another convention I
believe I have challenged is that, in similar products in my
research I found no evidence to support the collaboration
with artists and media products that is becoming more
and more prevalent in recent years. This was something I
wanted to address in my magazine, so I added the SBTV
logo to promote the channel, which finds young upcoming
rappers and promotes them on platforms like YouTube, to
emphasise the collaboration between media products that
I felt was not being addressed by similar products.
10. Challenging of existing conventions
(Double Page Spread)
I challenged the two shot in the similar product with
the outfit choice I made for the artists in my final
piece, the artist on the left is wearing typical ‘street
wear’ whereas the artist on the right is dressed
smart with a shirt and tie, this combines the two
stereotypes of urban and street attitudes with the
success rappers openly display. This may shock the
audience as typically you would never see rap artists
wear them type of clothes. Also I challenged to
monotone editing on the article itself by adding hints
of red at the start of each paragraph to conform to
the house style throughout the magazine.
