1. EVALUATION: Q1 - In what ways
does your media product; use,
develope and challenge
conventions of real media
products?

2. Whilst researching for my media magazine, I analysed Q, Rolling
Stone and KERRANG! magazine, each of these had their own
conventions; some of which I have used and other I have
challenged and developed. My music magazine tends to follow
and develop conventions of Q and Rolling Stone, challenging the
conventions of KERRANG! My magazine uses many conventions
that Q magazine does; its issued monthly, costs £3.50 per issue
and features similarly delivered content.

3. • Front cover points:
• 1) I have used a common convention of magazine when
placing stevie between the title layer and other text layers.
• 2) I have challenged a convention by filling up most of my
front cover - not leaving a lot of white space.
• 3) I have used a common convention when placing my issue
number - keeping it smaller because of the higher price.
• 4) I decided to only use three colours - this follows
conventions of higher end music magazine like mine.
• 5) I have used involved graphics and vectors made in
photoshop. This is a common convention of higher end music
magazines.
• 6) I have challenged/developed a convention by having the
main image (stevie) to the side of the front cover - not in the
middle.

4. Taking a look at the front cover it’s clear that the target audience of
the magazine is in the A to C1 socio economical category - due to its
higher production and edit quality - much like Q and rolling stone
magazine. A general music magazine conventions I have used on the
front cover is having Stevie looking directly at the camera, this is
used to involve and drawn in the audience of the magazine - making
the reader feel more connected to the band/artist in question. As
mentioned in point 6, I have challenged a composition convention on
the front cover; placing Stevie to the right of the page, this is
unconventional however I think that this unorthodox layout will
differentiate the magazine from others next to it on the shelf -
attracting more attention and enticing potential buyers. I haven’t
featured any other images on the front cover however I have made
vector graphics in photoshop which help emphasize certain plugs on
the front cover, the use of graphics follow conventions set by Q and
rolling stone magazine but challenge conventions set by KERRANG!
magazine which uses lots of sub images on the front cover. The
effect of this is that KERRANG! has a messy front cover, appealing to
its target audience who are into the rock genre which has
connotations of being messy and reckless whereas Q and Rolling
stone choose to have minimal front covers much like mine which
appeal to more sophisticated readers. Often on Q and rolling stone
the model will have a white or plain coloured background, this is
because it implies that the models don’t need anything other then
themselves to be assertive - I have used this convention to
emphasize the status and power of my magazine. One area where
my magazine challenges conventions of Q magazine but conforms to
KERRANG! and Rolling Stone magazine is with the masthead. My
masthead stretches across the width of the front cover and it placed
behind the image of Stevie. This shows integration and connection
with the band/artist, which sells the magazine because it makes the
reader believe that the magazine is close with the artist/band in
question and will therefore have insider knowledge on them.

5. 1) Displaying issue number and a website address is a
common convention of Q magazine. I have developed this in
my magazine
2) I have developed the convention modular theme for
contents pages by having each block attached to a different
side of the page - this is because it is quirky an
d adds a ‘new fashionable’ twist to the magazine.
3) I used a common convention when laying out my
‘featured’ contents grid.
4) I have used a third of the page to feature the interview
with Stevie. Its common to have a large feature
module, however this tends to be smaller then a third of the
page. Therefore I have developed this convention.
5) I have featured an information strip at the bottom of the
page - this is a common convention of fashion magazines
and is less commonly found in music magazines.
6) As on the front cover I have challenged a convention
when composing the image of Will. I aimed to make him
look quirky therefore told him to look away from the
camera (and page)
I have used more conventions then challenged on my
contents pages. It is a common convention to adopt a
modular style layout for contents pages, this is because it
makes the page easy to read and is usually the most
appropriate way of displaying the information. I have
developed this modular theme by using modules that are
attached to different sides of the page, this strengthens the
house style of my magazine as its an unorthodox and a
statement feature that you would tend to find in a fashion
magazine. KERRANG! has a very messy contents page, which
is unconventional amongst mainstream music
magazines, this style would have confused my target
audience and devalued my magazine so I decide to
challenge this convention and create a contents page based
on Rolling Stone and Q magazine, developing them with
ONE magazines house style.

6. Double Page Spread
• I have used more conventions then challenged on my contents
pages. It is a common convention to adopt a modular style layout
for contents pages, this is because it makes the page easy to read
and is usually the most appropriate way of displaying the
information. I have developed this modular theme by using
modules that are attached to different sides of the page, this
strengthens the house style of my magazine as its an unorthodox
and a statement feature that you would tend to find in a fashion
magazine. KERRANG! has a very messy contents page, which is
unconventional amongst mainstream music magazines, this style
would have confused my target audience and devalued my
magazine so I decide to challenge this convention and create a
contents page based on Rolling Stone and Q magazine, developing
them with ONE magazines house style.

7. 2) I have challenged
conventions of music
magazines by having a
text layer behind the
main model - filling
over half the page. This
is a feature that I
included because it
was statement,
unorthodox and I did
not want to magazine
to be looked over by
the target audience.
3) I chose to include a
small ‘photoshoped by
ed lee’ text layer, this
small print text can be
found in other
magazines as a way of
promoting and giving
due credit editors of
the image. This is a
common convention of
higher end music
magazines so I chose
to imitate it.
1) I have used a common convention by featuring headers,
and footers. This adds plausibility to the magazine and is t
that is included in higher value magazines.
5) Using a bold
font next to a
skinny or normal
font is a common
convention of
drawing attention
to the the text in
question. I have
used this on
Stevies name to
emphasise the
interview.
6) For the
interview I have
used two
colours, a purple
for the questions
and a black for the
answers, this is a
common
convention for
separating the
questions from the
answers in written
interviews.
4) I have used rule of thirds to highlight the interview with Stevie and
to catch his eye line. This is a theory used when designing magazines
to draw attention to certain parts of the page.