1. In what ways does you media
product use, develop or challenge
forms or conventions of real media
products?
I started by researching existing products and analysing the
codes and conventions within rock magazines. These included
recognising why certain fonts, colour schemes, photography and
Codes & Conventions
writing styles as well as other conventions were used to draw in
the target audience of the product and why they would appeal to
them. I used Kerrang!, NME and Rock Sound to investigate
what codes and conventions I should use in my own rock
magazine to create a believable and realistic product.

2. Fonts
I found that all the rock magazines I researched have some form of distressed title font and so I decided
this would be a good place to start in replicating this for ACID magazine.
Although Rock Sound magazine has a slightly
more subdued title than that of Kerrang! and my
own magazine, it still influenced my choices. This
is because the font is subtly distressed. Also, the
body text font is more simple than that of the title
and so I used this technique in my own magazine
The title font for Kerrang! magazine is cracked
and has a distinct rock feel to the font. This is so
that the audience can easily identify the gene of
the magazine. This shows the violent edge of the
genre and shows the hard edge of rock.
The font that I used for the title of my own magazine
is distressed, split and broken which is quite similar
to that of Kerrang! Magazine. I used this particular
font, called Northern Territories, because I felt that
this would draw in my target audience as it clearly
indicates the genre of the magazine from a glance.

3. Colour Scheme
The colour scheme of my magazine features the colours red, black, white and yellow.
This is because in my magazine research I found that these colours were the most
widely used throughout most rock magazines as they often connote certain things to
the audience which helps them to immediately identify the genre.
connotes death, power and formality
connotes blood, passion, violence and rebellion
connotes purity, goodness and positivity
connotes energy, happiness and intellect. However, sometimes
yellow can be a disturbing colour. I used it as a contrast towards
the darker colour scheme
• In my colour scheme I went against some aspects of the normal conventions of rock magazines as black often connotes
formality and correctness, whereas this rock magazine breaks the boundaries and rebels against society as this is appealing
to the target audience as they don‟t want to follow the crowd.
• Black and red were featured heavily in every rock magazine I researched and so I decided this colour scheme would work
for my own magazine to make sure the audience could immediately identify the genre when the magazine reaches the
shelves.
• I used yellow to accent the important selling points of the magazine and the things that the audience would notice the most
while glancing at the cover of the magazine:

4. Front Cover
Photography
The front cover of my magazine is very similar in style to
Kerrang magazine. This is because I felt like Kerrang
represented rock magazines efficiently and so used some of
their conventions in my own magazine. I had one of my main
subjects look menacing towards the camera to better portray
the violent, passionate emotions of the band members which
would appeal to the audience. The image is quite high-key to
connote intensity and it is also high contrast which makes the
image stand out and give the clothing a dark appearance as
fans of the magazine would often wear black to form their own
identity. Having the camera at a slightly low angle makes the
band members appear powerful which would make the
audience idolize them and looking into the camera helps to
create a sense of unity between them and the audience so
they can feel like the audience are personally involved.
Double Page Spread
The photography in magazines such as Kerrang! and NME are often
very high contrast to make the blacks stand out dramatically against
white and lighter colours. I adjusted the contrast for my own photos
in Photoshop to better suit the look of the magazine as the models
were wearing very dark colours. I felt that, compared to Kerrang!
magazine, my own images didn‟t need a higher saturation and more
colours – I think the dark look of the clothing and mise-en-scene
worked with the overall colour scheme. The poses were fairly
relaxed and eye-level with the camera giving the impression that the
audience are their equals. This draws the audience in as they like to
think that they are connected on a personal level to the band.
However, the „photoshoot‟ look of the main image gives the
impression of being serious about their music to the audience so it
appears they have a passion.

5. Writing Style & Cover Lines
From my existing magazine research I found that the articles and cover lines featured in rock magazines
are often very informal and contain words which wouldn‟t normally be used in magazines, such as
profanities and other content which would be inappropriate for children (such as sex or drugs). These
help to make the audience feel free from censoring which often happens in other genres of magazines
such as pop, and so makes them appear more independent against the bigger media.
The words above feature in my double page spread and follows
the conventions of rock magazines by including profanities which
are relevant to the article “not taking anyone‟s s**t” which inspires
the audience to be whoever they want to be and don‟t think of the
consequences. This also links into the rebellious nature of rock
enthusiasts.
Words such as “mosh pits” are specialist terminology/language
which only fans of the genre would understand and are only
relevant to rock fans and so makes the audience feel more
unique.
The language featured on my cover lines and the contents
page of my magazine is also very specialist as only fans of
rock music would know who “Jack” was in All Time Low and
that “American Tragedy” was an album by Hollywood
Undead. This also follows the conventions because the
audience feel like the magazine is talking personally to them.

6. Barcode & Page Numbers
A barcode is another convention for any magazine that is going to be published
and so I placed this one on my front cover smaller enough so that it isn‟t really
noticeable and takes away from the main image but large enough for it to be
scanned.
Also, on my contents page I placed a QR Code which can be scanned by a
smart phone or QR Reader which can unlock extra content online through the
website attached to the magazine. These are fairly new to magazines and let
the audience have a better and more fuller experience while reading about the
bands they love.
Page numbers are something that I placed on all my pages as they are a
convention of magazines as well. I made the text noticeable and highlighted
the page number as well as adding the magazine‟s name as this is often done
in other rock magazines.