media

2. Q1. IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR
CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA
PRODUCTS?
My magazine mainly focuses on mainstream conventions found in most music
magazines, and it takes inspiration from more than one magazine. These include
Rolling Stone, NME and Kerrang. Although my magazine’s genre relates most to
Rolling Stone, so I think that would have the most impact on my creating of
Zephyr. This is through numerous conventions, but the main ones being the
genre of chart music and also the style of how it looks.

3. The conventions that Rolling Stone
follow include a large masthead, a
cover image with eye contact and
many subheadings. With this, Rolling
Stone maintains a classic, smooth
and professional look and this
heightens the genre it supports, and
its obvious from the fame and success
of the magazine company that this
style and look works well.
Because I wanted my magazine to be
stylish like Rolling Stone, I tried to
keep my palette simple and clear like
it, and font styles quite similar and
crisp.
ROLLING STONE

4. I used a large masthead
of the title ‘Zephyr’
which is at the top of the
page, and this is
conventional as most
mastheads are
positioned there, usually
on the left side (mine is
on the right), but the
size is usual to most
magazines, and the
colour of black – a solid
simple colour.
HOW MY MAGAZINE
FOLLOWS
CONVENTIONS
I also have eye
contact between the
model and the reader,
and many magazine’s
opt to do this if they
have a model for the
cover, as it creates a
relation to the reader
and draw into the
magazine. There is
emotion there if the
eyes are focused.
Another convention I
have chosen to follow
is the excess of cover-
lines, these are
spread throughout
each side of the
cover’s pages,
and relate to different
topics told inside the
magazine. I match the
colours of them to the
title so the look is
cleaner, and they are
clear to see and read.
The whole magazine
is quite conventional,
through themes and
style, so this may
mean that my
intentions were for the
magazine to look like
a professional and
successful magazine,
as it looks fairly
similar to successful
ones in the market,
like Rolling Stone and
NME.

5. CONVENTIONS OF GENRE
My magazine follows the conventions of its
genre by maintaining a style that is similar to
the music of electronica and dreampop. The
background is airy and light with colour, and
this infuses with the airy and relaxing sound
of the genre of music.
The model is also in companion with the
genre by looking quite mysterious, and not
necessarily showing any emotion. And many
models in accordance with this music genre
apply that similar style, with an element of
drawing you in without meaning to.
In addition, the articles advertised on the
front cover are relating to bands and artists
who perform in a similar genre of music. And
news and topics which may also be related
by being interesting and informed within the
community.