AS Media Evaluation Question One

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

2. Cover Page

3. Masthead
• The masthead is the biggest piece of text on the cover, it is the main eye
catching and important part as it is what the readers eyes will be drawn to
and if it doesn’t help catch their attention, they wont want to read the
magazine.
• Some of the text is obstructed by the artists picture which helps to express
the importance of the artist within the magazine.
• The text is in front of a yellow background, this is to help draw attention to
the magazines name and help it to stand out.The colour on the magazine
also helps to catch the attention of the reader.
• The text itself has a shattered effect on it with a gradient overlay, this will
attract the target audience as it is something that will be appealing to their
taste and suits the rock genre.

4. Cover Image
• The artist is making eye contact with the camera
lens so it looks like she is looking at the target
audience , this helps to draw in the audience in and
make a connection with the artist straight away.
• She is also in the centre of the cover page which
helps bring all the attention on the artist.
• Lighting has been added to bring put her features
more and to giver her an illuminating look.
• The artists name is also directly under her face on
top of the photograph to bring attention to her as
it is the second thing the reader will usually look at
when looking at the image.
• The artist is also wearing dark clothes with a
leather jacket, this is a typical style of the target
audience and will make the magazine more
appealing to them and relatable.

5. Headline
• The artists name is the second biggest
piece of text after the masthead.
• The white text contrasts with the dark
image and background making her
name stand out more, it also has a worn
our, scratched effect to it which suits
the rock genre and adds to the overall
rock feel to the magazine.
• There is also a subheading underneath
it which acts as a pull for the reader to
want to read more and find out why
exactly she is featured on the cover of
the magazine.
• The word ‘chaos’ will stand out to the
target audience as it is the type of thing
they would be interested in reading
about.

6. Coverlines
• Coverlines are positioned on the side of the
cover so it does not obstruct the artists
photograph or any other texts.
• Artists name is bigger than the lead in to show
the importance of the artist and to make it more
eye catching.
• The font used is also appealing for the rock
genre and suits the theme.

7. Selling Line
• The selling line is very important for a
magazine as it provides the slogan and
creates a link between the phrase and the
magazine itself. So when people hear it,
they will think about the magazine.
• It is located just below the masthead at the
top of the page.

8. Extra pulls
• This can help pull in the audience as is
something extra.They feel like they’re making
more of a gain put of purchasing the magazine.
• The number 5 has a blue circle behind it to help
exaggerate the number and make it more
noticeable.
• The word ‘Amazing’ is also highlighted red to
express how good the posters are and make the
audience want to have them even more.
• The font itself also ties in with the rock genre
and makes the overall look of the magazine
more appealing.

9. Followed conventions
• I have included the barcode on the cover of the
magazine as it is something you will generally see
on the corner of a magazine so you can purchase
it.
• I have also included the price of the magazine. It is
a basic font so it doesn’t make the magazine look
too crowded with different fonts and I have made
it white so it contrasts with the dark background
and is easily legible.

10. Contents Page

11. Column Layout
• There are two sections, the main column on
the right and the featured one on the left.
• The columns are going the right side of the
page, with the main headings in bold with a
red line underneath it to help it stand out.
• Underneath each title it has a brief sentence
on what can be found within the magazine
and this helps to bring the target audience in
because they can quickly see the articles that
will appeal to them.
• Names of some of the artists are highlighted
in yellow to help catch the audiences eye.

12. Page numbers
• Page numbers are next to each sentence down the
columns to help navigate the audience to their article of
interest.
• I have made them slightly bigger than the descriptions, as
well as putting a red line next to to help make them stand
out to the audience.

13. Featured Article
• Positioned in the right left corner to help make it
stand out, it has a good portion of the contents
page to itself to show its importance.
• The title ‘Tour Life’ lets the audience know straight
away what kind of article it will be.
• I have also used a pull quote underneath it from
one of the artists to help catch the audiences
attention and interest them more.
• The name of the artist is underneath with the page
number so the audience can find the article
straight away, it is highlighted in yellow to help it
stand out against the dark background and catch
the audiences attention as naturally their eyeline
will drift to the bright colour.
• The main picture on the left has had an effect
applied to it to help give it a good rock/mysterious
feel, he is also smoking with his tattoos vissible
which adds to his overall rock look.

14. Masthead/title and date
• The word ’Contents’ is the largest piece of text on the
page.
• the shattered/scratched up effect with the gradient
overlay is the same used for the magazine’s name which
is also positioned sideways on the left.
• This adds the magazines own personal feel to the
contents page and helps develop the overall look of the
magazine.
• The cover date and issue number is positioned on the
right so it is easy for the audience to see, it is there so
you don’t have to struggle to find the article if needed.
• This is all against a yellow background to show its
importance, the name of the magazine and ‘contents’
are the two main things we want to stand out in
connection to the magazine itself, so the contrast on the
yellow makes it eye catching and the dark effects of the
font more appealing.

15. Editors note
• The editors note is to help make a connection with
magazine to the reader.
• It is there to personalise the magazine and helps to
create a relaxed atmosphere and hopefully make the
reader want to buy it again
• The welcome message is slightly bigger than the text to
help bring in your attention.
• The word ‘your’ is also bigger and made bold as it is a
perosnalised message, it helps to draw you in and make
you feel more connected.

16. Extra pull
• There is also a brief description of what can be
found in the magazine.
• The words ‘posters’, ‘stickers’ and ‘facts’ are all
highlighted and made bigger as they are the
things that will interest the reader.
• The word ‘you’ has also been made different to
the rest of the text as it is personalising the reader
to what they will find within the magazine.
• The word ‘inside’ has also been highlighted red to
catch the attention of the reader and make them
want to open the magazine and take a look at
what is inside.

17. Article

18. Headline
• The name of the article can help to bring the readers
attention in as it is a simple but effective phrase, it will
make the reader wonder what it is about.
• The headline has the gradient overlay effect which is a
common theme throughout the magazine, it ties in well
with the rock genre and is appealing for the reader to see.
• There is an index tab at the top of the headline with ‘Static
Exclusive’ this helps bring importance to the article, it can
only be found inTHIS magazine.

19. Lead in
• The lead in is there to catch the readers attention and make
them want to stay and read more.
• I have used a drop cap at the beginning of the lead in to draw
attention to the text and help make it stand out.
• The lead in gives importance to the artist and the magazine
itself as at the end of the lead in, it makes reference to how
STATIC has done the interview on this artist.

20. Columns for body text
• The article is in an interview format, the text
has been divided into three columns to make
it look more spaced out and not as cluttered
and packed.
• The questions have been made bold to
separate them from the artists replies and
make it easier to read.
• The page number has also been
added directly below this in the
right corner of the page, this is to
make it easy for the reader to
flick through the pages and find
this article.

21. Photoshoot image
• The image of the artist immediately catches the
audiences attention as it has a whole page to
itself and has the contrast of the dark image
and the image in the top right with the blue
contrast.
• The images themselves help show the story of
the artist, as the main one he is sitting casually
with a cigarette in his mouth showing off his
guitar, he is also fading into the background
which helps give him a mysterious look.
• However the image on the top right he is
dressed in a suit and is doing up his tie as well as
looking up which helps give him a sophisticated
look, in contrast with how he was initially
portrayed.The blue filter is applied to help
make a contrast with the original image.

22. Pull quote
• The pull quote is positioned in the top left of
the page.This is to bring more attention to it
as it is away from the image and the colour of
the text contrasts with the dark background.
• The pull quote helps bring a sense of mystery
and wonder to the artist, it makes the reader
want to find out why people said that about
him and what he did to change it.

23. Challenging conventions-Cover
The majority of the aspects of my magazine has followed general conventions of a
music magazine itself as well as the rock genre. However there are some aspects
that challenge the conventions. With the main image on the cover page, the artists
right eye is covered by her hair, she is still looking at the camera but both eyes are
not visible which is what you will usually find with a music magazine. I took the
inspiration for this from this rolling stone magazine. As this is a rock magazine the
overall look of it is to be dark, it has to follow the ‘rebellious’ nature that the target
audience will be drawn to.

24. Challenging conventions-
CONTENTS
There are two main images on the contents page, the things
here that challenge normal magazine conventions is the fact
that in the first image he is not looking at the camera but is
looking at his cigarette , this bring attention to it and suits the
nature of the rock genre, there is also a filter applied to it to
give it a different look.

25. Challenging conventions-Article
I haven’t really broken any conventions with the article.This is because the general
conventions of a magazine article works in ways of appeal. I want my article to appeal
to an audience and if it was cluttered and everywhere, it would not look appealing to
us. I have however used two images on the left of the magazine article which is not
generally done.
I have also developed my idea for this article from this Q magazine. I wanted one
page with the artists image and a pull quote then the next page with the body text of
the article.

26. Developed ideas
I got my idea for my contents page layout from this
NME magazine. I have used the column side to put the
details and used a main image and feature as well as
adding other things. I chose to generally follow
conventions here as this is what stands out to people
and is an effective layout.