This document discusses how the author's media product uses and challenges conventions of real magazines. The author made several design choices that both follow and break from typical magazine conventions. The title is centered across the page rather than left-aligned. Images on the cover overlap and are shown in different colors, mimicking a style from POP magazine. The written content includes articles about pop stars rather than just interviews. Sections on fashion and real-life stories also expand the focus beyond just music. Overall, the author aimed to create a magazine that represented the pop genre but included a variety of topics to attract a broader audience.

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

2. The Title
On most pop magazines you can see that the masthead is usually on the left hand side of the
page in bold writing. I have conveyed the pop magazine design by using bold writing and a
font that would stand out on the page. Pop magazines have parts of the page that all stand
out and are quit ‘in your face’, however I decided not to have the title smaller and to the left
of the page. I made the decision of putting it in the centre of the page and taking along the
whole width of it. By having the masthead dominating the majority of the page and standing
out means that it is the first thing that the target audience would look at. It looks more like a
fashion magazine or a hip-hop style. This goes against the typical conventions however makes
the page look more mature and less cliché. I decided on calling the magazine ‘UNCUT’
because it means complete. It also seems as if it means that there has been no changes
made. This would make my target audience think that the things included in the magazine
are truthful and interesting. My magazine is aimed at an older more mature audience so they
are not overly interested in reading about gossip that isn’t true, therefore I have chosen this as
the name of my magazine.

3. Mis-en-scene
I’m going to analysis the mis-en-scene of my front cover. I have had to create a double
page spread based around our own made up character. I put the cover line about the
made up character on the high right hand side of the page, in a bold large font. I decided
to do this because that is what the main story is about. Also her name is bigger than the
smaller cover line beneath, briefly explaining what the story is about. I have put this there
because I want it to be the first thing that you look at, as well as the font is in black which is
a bold colour. Additionally in the bottom hand of the page I have put a bright yellow ring
around a story that is included. I seen this on another pop magazine called Billboard. It
makes an important story stand out on the page and also involves the typical conventions
as it is quite funky and stands out on the page. I have placed the image of the model right
in the middle of the page so it is the main thing that you focus on. It also fills up any blank
space on the page making the page look full, however not cluttered. I have put some of
the image over the masthead of the magazine. By doing this it shows that I have
confidence in my magazine because I do not need the whole of the masthead on show at
all time. On my double page spread I have 3 medium close ups. The pictures are all the
same and overlap one another but they are in different colours. I got this idea after seeing
this done in POP magazine. The images were all the same of Jessie J but in different colours
an slightly overlapping one another. This is a typical convention which I think made my
magazine look more professional.

4. Costume and Props
The costume that my model is wearing is simple however represents the theme of my
magazine well. My model is wearing simple flower patterned shorts with a white top and
glitter vans. My magazine is a summer theme therefore I would not want to have a model
on it who is wearing jeans and a jacket as it would not fit in properly. By her wearing the
flowery shorts it represents the summer and the warmth. Her make-up is done simply. She
has lightly put on silver eye-shadow and pink cheek and lips. The makeup again fits in well
with the actual theme of the magazine because it conveys summer. If the model was to
be wearing dark make-up it would not look correct. She has long flowing hair which looks
good in the pictures and when she had wind blowing on her hair it shows how long it is
and makes the images look professional. On the double page spread it is a medium close
up picture so you can really see the detail in her make up and how pretty and simple it
makes her look. Her makeup is not over done because it would make the model look quite
tacky and over done.

5. People
I decided to have a female model for my magazine because of the colours that I have
used. If I were to have a light pink background with girly colours included it would look
strange with a man dressed up on the front. Also the model that I had used fit in with how I
wanted her to. She has pretty simple facial features and the feature that stands out the
most is her hair, therefore she stands out on the page. She is pretty and fits how a typical
model on the front cover would look. She in posing and the image is not candid which is
not what is included on typical pop magazines. This shows that I have followed the typical
conventions of what the model looks like, how she appears to the target audience and
what she is posing like. She is smiling however is also posing. This is part of a typical media
convention as when people are on a front cover they need to look confident and by her
smiling and standing confidently it.

6. Written Content
The written content I decided to include was a written article. I decided to do an
article because it is about an up and coming artist and it would be better for the
audience to find out a bit about the pop star rather than just diving into an interview.
The stories that I wrote about were based around an album and things that she had
been spotted doing. It was also an article because we have made 2 different
magazines, and when we did our survey we got an even amount of results back
based around what content they wanted, an interview or article. In our winter theme
magazine we have an interview instead. Moreover on my contents page I have
included headings on what each story is about. Although my magazine is a pop
magazine, due to my target audience I have included things about fashion and real
life stories. This is again because of the feedback we were given in our survey that we
carried out. I have also included a small advert about subscription in the corner. Most
magazines have adverts included in them therefore to make it more realistic I decided
to include this.

7. Music Genre
I think my magazine represents the pop theme though the over all design and how the
magazine looks. The audience that will read the magazine will know it is a pop
magazine through the content on the front cover. I have included stories about
current pop stars such as Katy Perry and Sam Smith. These are really current and a lot
of people are interested in them. Additionally I have used bubbly fonts that are girly.
By doing this it shows that it is a pop magazine. However my magazine goes against
the typical pop genre magazine as it is not focused around boys and boy bands, it
idolises women and does not show typical gossip stories. Additionally I have included
different sections to my magazine such as Fashion and Real Life Stories. After carrying
out some research and doing some surveys we could clearly see that fashion was a
stand out section that people were interested in being included. Also real life stories
was some feedback we were also given. Our idea was not to base the magazine
around pop music and people in pop completely as our target audience may
become disinterested. Instead we decided that we were going to include different
subjects that could possibly reel in a larger target market.