Media Studies A2 evaluation q1

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

2. FRONT COVER I stuck with the common conventions for my
masthead. I had a serif mast head in a stand
out colour which contrasts with the
background of the magazine. I placed the title
on two lines which isn't a common convention
but has been seen used in some regional
magazines. I also followed the convention
of having then name of the region.
I also added a slight glossy sheen to it which
is a common convention of the regional
magazines The Cheshire Magazine and
Kensington and Chelsea Magazine.
I used the convention of airbrushing and
enhancing the model on photoshop. This
is so the cover star looks more appealing
to the audience and more likely to capture
their attention. Because I used a female on
the cover I also followed the convention of
them wearing makeup to also enhance the
aesthetic appeal and attract the female target
prudence of my magazine. I airbrushed the
cover star by smoothing/evening the skin
tone and covering up dark circle and
blemishes.
I also followed the convention of having a
the main image shot in high key lighting. It
was also kept in colour as in other regional
magazines I’ve researched. My media
product is a ‘fashion special’ of a popular
regional lifestyle magazine, which is loosely
based on The Cheshire Magazine and
Kensington and Chelsea Magazine as I like
the style of theirs.
I followed the front cover convention of
having a cover image with a person.
According to Mulvey woman are used
in media for the male gaze and
I stuck with the convention of using
simple serif text with minimal
punctuation but made sure it was still
short sentences that capture the
readers attention and keep them
informed with whats inside the
magazine (uses and gratifications
theory) I stuck with my house them
white font as it’s contrasting, it stands
out against the darker background
and looks professional. I put some of
I also added small subheading below to
give a bit more insight into whats inside
the magazine but I still kept it short to
keep the audience wanting more. This
fits under Roland Barthes: Enigma
Code, which leaves the audience
guessing and makes them want to read
on and find out more. This is a very
common convention of magazines so I
decided to include it.

3. ADIVERTISMENT PAGE
I kept the common convention of
it being an advert for a local
company. This keeps it personal
and useful for the audience. This
links to the uses and
gratifications theory of
gratification surveillance as
the audience is gaining
information.
I stuck with the common
convention of adding an
address of the company so
its easily assessable and
informative for the readers.
High key lighting is used to
shoot the product. This is a
common convention as it
makes the product more
autistically pleasing and detail
can be seen on the image.
The name of the magazine is the
largest font on the page this is a
common convention of regional
magazines. I also chose a font
that contrasts the background
with the colour.
As in many other adverts I
airbrushed and edited the image to
make it more ascetically pleasing to
the audience to draw them in.

4. EDITORIAL PAGE
I stuck with the common convention
of regional magazines of having an
editorial page with text written by
the editor to the readers. This
creates a personal relationship
between the editor and the reader.
(uses and grat). This uses and
conforms to hegemonic norms, so
conforms to my audiences beliefs
making it more relatable to them.
I kept the common conventions of
having a small picture of the editor
and a signature next to it.
I also put social media tags to
connect it to the magazine and
create a wider audience. It will also
help to appeal more to the younger
side of my target audience as
they're statistically more involved
in social media
Lots of regional magazines feature
editorial picks or favourites so I
decided to also include it in my
editorial page.
I used the conventional picture for
my editorial page. This breaks up
the text and makes it more
interesting than just text. It makes it
Large titles are often used in regional
magazines as they attract the
attention of the audience. Using
titles like mine make it seem more
personal to the audience as if its a
‘letter’ just for them. This creates a
personal relationship with the
readership. (uses and gratifications
theory)

5. CONTENTS PAGE
Titles are used to organise the text
neatly it also creates easy guidance
around the page.
More short sentences are used to give
insight and inform the readers (uses
and grat) of what is inside the magazine.
This is a common convention of all
magazines not just regional ones so I
decided to include it in mine.
I also stuck with serif font in black to
contract the white background and stick
with my house theme.
I stuck with the simple lay out of columns
for the text and pictures on a separate part
of the page. This is often used in
regional magazines to keep the page
looking neat and atheistically pleasing for
the reader. It also makes it easier to
navigate.
For the pictures I kept them relevant to the
articles and the text which helps create a
connection. I also added page numbers
on to them to create easy navigation to
the rest of the magazine. This is a common
convention of regional magazines.
I stuck with the common convention of having
the magazines logo at the top of the page to
create brand awareness. It is also the largest
text on the page to attract attention to it.
To fit the house theme of more neutral
colours I used grey for the title
‘inside’ to still contrast the
background but not draw away from
the other text. Using other titles By adding the date and issue number it
keeps the magazine informative for the
readers. This is often used in
magazines.
I also added ‘cover info’ to further the
readerships knowledge. This is
sometimes used in regional magazines
such as Cheshire Magazine but isn't a
very common convention. It is more
often used in fashion magazines.
I also added the magazines website to the
bottom of the page to help the audience
interact with the magazine between issues.
I also added page numbers. This is on every
page and is a common convention to help
people navigate round the magazine.

6. BILLBOARD
Billboards aren't to common for regional magazines so it was hard to
create a billboard mainly based on codes and conventions. I did find
one for The Resident so I used it to help my create it.
As in The Resident I stuck to having a plain
background. This will help to create brand
awareness if people keep seeing it and therefor
will associate the colour to the brand every time
they see it.
This isn't just a common convention of regional
magazines it is a very common convention in most
media productions and advertising.
I also decided to include and follow the
convention of having the information that the
magazine can be found on a variety of different
platforms. This can create a wider audience and
keep readers up to date between issues.
I put the logo as the
biggest font on the page.
This helps to catch
peoples eyes and create
brand awareness as in
the Resident and other
billboards for thousands
of other brands.

7. WEBSITE
I stuck with the common
convention of having the
logo as the largest text on
the page. This is commonly
used in magazine websites
as it attracts peoples
attentions if they recognise
the logo. It also creates
brand awareness.
As in other magazines I
have added pictures with
links to articles this
makes the page
aesthetically pleasing
and interesting to look at.
If the audience is also
attracted to the pictures
there more likely to click
on it and read the article.
Also as in other regional
magazine websites I
added articles below,
including a small
paragraph about it and a
picture.
A social media tag attracts
a younger audience and
keeps the audience
interactive. This is a
common convention of
magazine websites.
I included the common
convention of having a
subscription sign up form
on the Home page to build
a more permanent reader
base. By keeping it simple
it also makes people more
likely to fill it in as it wont
take as long.