Media Coursework

3. One way I followed conventions of a real music magazine was the main image. Although it is placed directly in
the middle of the magazine, some magazine have done this, and often makes more space for writing/cover
lines. The mise-en-scene of the image also follows the conventions as the shot is a medium long shot. I think
the picture helps the magazine give it a professional feel as the models head is slightly behind the masthead-(
which a lot of magazines do, to create space/fill space in) and also portrays my genre well.
My cover lines weren't based on any main magazine, but I have seen lots of cover lines based like this on
other magazines. Again, as I wanted my magazine to have a minimalistic yet rock vibe. I chose a simple
font, and just altered some colours to stand out and brighten up the page and use a drop shadow as if they
are coming out of the page. I challenged this form as I only have a limited amount of writing, which most
magazines have a lot more.
The colour scheme of the front cover follows the rock music scene as it has a mix of dark and bright colours to
contrast on the page, this is very similar to Kerrangs house style.
I challenged a magazine convention by not including a puff. I did this as I thought the puffs make the magazine
front cover look unprofessional, and it is also not always on rock music magazines.
Another convention I challenged was having smaller images around the main magazine image. I did this as I
did not want to much space being taken by other minor images which would result in a cluttered magazine
page.

5. My contents page challenges the conventions by having a dark background on the contents page, as most
have a lighter background to make the text stand out further.
I have utilised the conventions by having an image larger than the other to take up a proportion of the page.
This is done in most magazines as it is either the main article or one that will draw the most attention to
potential readers.
A way I have deviated from a normal design is having a large contents title. Most music magazines have a
small title and the rest is mostly other images and text.
Another way a challenged the conventions is having a lot of article information. Most magazines are quite
minimal with the amount of article information but the contents page I produced challenged that and drove
away from normal conventions.
Two conventions that I stuck to was having a column layout and category headings. I did this so as the reader
would find it easier to locate the article they want to read and also so the contents page looks more
professional and has a clear layout.
Another convention I have stuck to throughout all my pages is a house style and colour scheme. I have do this
so all the sample pages look the same and the target audience knows the magazines distinctive house style to
be able to recognise the magazine.

7. Ways in which I utilised the conventions on the double page spread were including a pull quote, headline,
stand first and a drop cap. These are all essential for a magazine double page spread as they make it look
professional and entices the reader to read the article form reading the pull quote it gets them interested.
Also the headline and stand first give an indication on what and who the article is about and some contextual
information.
I challenged the conventions by having different coloured text on the Q and A. This is challenging the
conventions as it is normal in magazines for the writing to be black and the rest of the article is different
colours but I have challenged this so I can make it stand out further and look more fitting with the house style.
I followed one convention by having one image take up a whole page. I did this so everyone knows it is a
double page spread and so there is not loads of free space needing to be used up. I also did this so the reader
will know who the article is about and maybe recognises them in future issues.
I also followed four other double page spread conventions by having the website address, issue information,
magazine logo and page number. I did this so it looks like a professional magazine article and also tells the
reader some other key information they may want to know or require.
The image for my double page spread is appropriate for the article as it is the artist in question. It is also
appropriate as it has a rock music vibe form the clothes, instrument, artist hairstyle and colour scheme. This is
all the mise en scene of the double page spread image.