2. In what ways does your media
product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real
media products?
3.
4. Within my planning process I has to make decisions to make my final products
suitable for the purpose and audience that it is intented for. Because of this I have
to follow many of the normal media conventions, this included; Header, Splash
Image and Plugs. Magazine have these conventions to make sure that the
audience will buy their magazine
CONVENTION - the ‘rules’ that are generally understood and accepted when
producing a media text in a particular genre
The conventions I have considered are:
• Style of photography
• Writing style
• Pull quotes
• Cover lines
• Page numbers
• Masthead
• Fonts
• Colour scheme
5. Page Numbers
I have included page numbers on my double page spread only. I decided to only partially follow this convention to
make sure that the look of the pages were correct. However I still needed to include some page numbers so that the
readers know what page to go to when following the contents page. The way I have presented this is very clear and
away from the main article. I have done this so that it is clear to see and won’t be confused with the other part of the
article. This will be consistent across my magazine. However I have not put the page number on the contents page
because people don’t need to know the page number for it. There is also no page number on the double page
spread with the picture. This is because people might want to use the image as a poster. It would also not fit well
with the black and white image which it holds. This is a normal convention though
The page numbers in different magazine can vary. Not only in the font of the numbers but also in the style which
they are presented. Each different page number shown below has a different background which ranges from a circle
to just a plain line. This helps present the font in the style of the magazine which then reflects the genre and
audience.
6. Masthead
The masthead is key convention in every magazine. Which is why I have included it. As the usual convention is
seen in practically every magazine, I have followed the usual of keeping the masthead to the top left hand corner.
This normality is used to catch the eye of the reader straight away as they look to the top left first. I have made my
mast head and my date has in the same space so that the space around the bar code wouldn’t look to crowded
and eye catching because I wanted to make the splash image the main focus of the front cover. I have also done
another masthead stereotype of overlapping the masthead and the splash Image, I have done thins to make it
look more professional and also to save space on the cover for other things like the cover lines
Many magazines in different genres also have the colour red in their mastheads. So, I decided to go against the
norm and make it much more monochrome. This will make it stand out in the mind of my audience and allows
then to remember the classic black title that otherwise wouldn’t get used. The use of having too many red titles
would make my audience get confused between different brands
7. Fonts
For my fonts I have used Myriad Pro for practically the whole of my magazine. However
I have also distorted the fonts and stretched them so that they will seem different but
still similar. The font has also correlated with the colour scheme through out my
magazine. The usual convention of text is so be made so that it stands out from the
rest of the magazine. However my choice to make the font the same throughout the
magazine was to make sure that there was a familiarity for the readers so that they
would recognise and learn to love the magazine.
Magazine have a large range in font with many using different styles and also the use
of italics and bolding. These allow the author of the article and the editor to give off
different feels depending on if the article is serious or much more relaxed. However
unlike most magazines I have used the same font throughout my magazine, only
changing the height and the space between the letters. This managed to give off the
effect that they were different fonts when in reality they were all the same.
8. Colour Scheme
The colour scheme is primarily made of three colours; White, Black and Red. I have chosen these colours because
they make the magazine look professional. The red symbolises the passion that people have but it also adds the
colour to the magazine. I have chosen the black and white as standard colours because they can stand out again
the red easily an I can see that they look good together. These three colours are also good for colour blind people
as they don’t clash and are of the format that people can understand. The red and white colour scheme is widely
used and is a main theme of the magazine ‘Q’ which I have heavily based my magazine off.
With other rock magazines a main theme within them is either Red or Black, one of the colours having the main
page consumption. In the case of the main colour being black (which is the case with KERRANG!) they have also
added yellow as some colour and also to make the connection of being dangerous. I have not that much colour
within my magazine, with the main being the red and also the main image on the contents being pink and purple.
9. Pull Quotes
As a magazine pull quotes are found everywhere. They are used to drag people into the magazine and interest
them in the article. They are used also in the actual articles to make people read them more. I have also used a
pull quote in my double page spread. I have made the quote different from the article by using the graphic which
separates the quote from the rest of the article. It is also separated by the text being in a larger font and it being
italicised. This has helped the quote being popping out against the rest of the article. The quote also has the use
of alliteration with ‘AVICHI’ and ‘AMAZING’ this not only is a standard form in journalism but is helps the quote to
stick in the readers head, making the article memorable.
In other magazines the main articles pull quote is above the article as a title or heading, but in other normal
articles the pull quotes are in the middle of the article which is what I went with. This is because I had a different
title I wanted to use for the article. So in some ways I have gone against the normal conventions which magazine
normally have
