1. Evaluation - Question
1
“In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?”
Whilst in the middle of creating my magazine, I always went back to the codes and
conventions of a typical rock magazine. This is so, my final magazine meets the
criteria and expectations of my chosen target audience.

2. Front Cover
Masthead:
I decided to use ‘FUSED’ as my masthead for my Rock magazine,
after carefully taking the feedback from my target audience into
consideration. FUSED has connotations of Rock music. It suggests
that the music is too loud, making the fuse of the guitar break. It
gives a sense of danger and thrill to the audience, making them feel
as though they have now become involved, after reading the
masthead. This would also make them want to buy this magazine.
Header:
By looking at other examples of rock magazines I found that the
header was always above the masthead. So, I followed this up on my
magazine. Through my research I have found that many magazines
use mastheads to grab the reader’s attention through various
techniques. for example, by using upper case letters, making it bold
or use different colours. As you can see from my header, I have used
all uppercase words, in bold and black. I placed the text in the
middle, so that it is clear for the audience to see and read. I used a
yellow banner to make the text stand out. I also used it to carry out
the general house style of the magazine.
Main Image:
The main focus of the front cover, is the model itself. It is a long
shot, which allows the audience to see the model’s clothes and see
what actions she is doing. I specifically instructed my model to
hold the guitar and to do the rock sign with her hands. This is
because while carrying out research into my genre and whilst
looking at different rock magazines, I found that it was associated
with many instruments, the guitar being one of the main ones, and
many models were doing the rock sign, which is why I carried this
out in my magazine. she is looking directly at the audience,
Pull Quote:
I decided to use a pull quote from the artist’’s main interview. This
interests the reader a little bit more, because they are the direct
words from the artist. From my research I found that the use of a
pull quote is very affective, as it makes reader want to buy the
magazine to read the full interview.
Barcode/Date/Issue price:
This is not that important to the target audience, which is why it is
small and placed in the corner, so it is not a distraction and does
not stop the audience from main focal points of the front cover.
However, it is important to the company FUSED, because it informs
them of how many copies of this magazine were sold. Although, this
bit of information is important to the audience, because it informs
the audience of the price of the magazine and informs them of the
date of this issue.
Footer:
I added a footer on my front cover, to give the audience
some extra information. This footer informs the audience
of other artists that are also featured in the magazine. It is
at the bottom of the page, making the target audience daw
to the main elements of the page.
Use Of Flash:
I have used a flash, because it informs the reader of an important
offer or news. This particular flash informs them of the price of the
magazine. it draws the reader’s attention, because it is in red. The
white circle around the red circle arounds the flash to stand out and
attracts the audience.
Left third:
This reveals some of the key parts of the magazine. I have not
added too much information under the main points, because my
front cover would look overloaded. This is because, there would be
too much information for the reader and might distract them from
the main focus. My research into different rock magazines, helped
me with out how to write out the left third. I used the colours red
and blue, because it stands out really well on the grey background.
Background:
I decided to use a grey background, because it suits rock genre
really well. Also, whilst carrying out research into different rock
magazines, I found that most magazines had grey backgrounds.
The colour gray also goes really well with the other colours that I
have used on the front cover, such as, red, yellow, and blue. It’s
a plain background, so the audience are drawn to the artist first
without getting distracted from the background.
The main cover line:
The main cover line of my front cover is the name of the artist NINA.
This is on top of the artist, giving the audience a clear indication of
who the artist on the front cover is. This is one of the main focus
points of the front cover as it is bold and block capital letters. The
text is in Yellow with black outline, which again follows up the
house style of the front cover.
Inserts:
I have used a small fact box, giving the audience some brief information
about the exciting information that they will have a chance to get hold off
about FUSED. I used this idea from a rock magazine.

3. Contents
Page:
Masthead:
The masthead CONTENTS is in the same font, size and
colours as the masthead for my front cover. I decided to
do this, because I wanted to carry out a house style for
my magazine and I also saw this being carried out in other
different magazines. Also, so the reader is aware that they
are still reading through a FUSED magazine. Whilst
researching into the different rock magazines, I found that
‘contents’ was always at the top of the page, which is why
I decided to place my masthead at the top, and so I am
following the conventions of a typical rock magazine..
This also makes it crystal clear to the reader that they
have now turned on to the contents page.
Image:
This is the main image of my contents page, and is one of
the main focus of the page. The colours of their clothing -
bold and dark - are colours often associated with rock.
Jewellery is also related to rock. I have carried out this
convention on my magazine, as you can see my female
model is wearing bracelets of different colours. I have
added a small information box at the bottom, which informs
the reader of who they are and the page number to read
more about them. I have used a pull quote from the
interview, this is so it interests the reader to read the full
interview. I used the idea of adding a small description box
from a music magazine. So I have followed the conventions
of a typical music magazine.
More images:
I have used a couple of more images of artists who are also
featured in my magazine on my contents page. I decided to
use more than one images of different artists, because
whilst carrying out research into different magazines, I
found that there were lots of images of different artists used
on the contents page. This makes the contents page look
more exciting for the reader to read. I have added the artists
names and page numbers next to it, so the reader can turn
to that particular page to read more about the artist.
Date:
I have added the date just beneath the masthead. Many
magazines tend to include the date on the contents page,
and so I have followed up this convention by including it on
my contents page. The date keeps the reader up to date with
the latest issue of the FUSED magazine.
Editorial:
Most contents pages use editors note,
so I have followed this convention of a
typical magazine, by adding it to my
magazine.
Subscribe:
This small section informs the
reader of what they will recieve,
such as, offers if they
subscribe to FUSED magazine.
this makes the audience feel
more involved.
Every Month:
I decided to add this section on my magazine to keep the
reader up to date with FUSED mail. And to inform them of
how many crosswords they get involved with every
month, How many subscriptions they receive every
month, how many people take part in their competitions
every month. This information is useful, as it suggests
that FUSED magazine is very popular.
Sub-headings:
My subheadings under the heading FEATURES are in a
black banner with white text in front. The text is in bold and
capital locks, this is so the subheadings stand out. I have
included the page numbers, so the readers know the exact
page to turn to. Underneath the subheadings, I have
included a little description about what they will read about
on that page.
Heading:
FEATURES is the biggest heading on my contents page. I
have used a bright red banner with white text in front,
because the colour white stands out really well when
contrasted with red. The heading is in capital letters, to
further gain the reader’s attention and to highlight the
importance of this section.

4. Double Page Spread
Main Image:
This is a medium shot of the artist. This
Allows the reader to see half of her clothes,
some of her body language and facial
expressions. She is wearing red and black
colour clothing. These colours relate to rock
as they are bold and connotes danger. she
is doing the rock sign with her hands again
on the double page spread, to further follow
up the rock chick look on the artist. She is
wearing a bright red lipstick, to further
highlight that she is dangerous, powerful
and dominant. Her hair are open which are
made to look scruffy and messy, which adds
to the rock look. My research helped me to
decide how I would want my model to pose
for the double page spread. I found that on
many rock magazine double spreads, there
were mostly medium angle shots of the
artists. This is why I decided to use a
medium shot. Also, because it is a different
Drop cap:
This drop cap is 3 lines down. It is in light blue
and bold. The use of a drop cap draws the
reader’s attention towards the interview. This
does not confuse the reader, as it makes it clear
of where the article starts from.
Masthead:
THE ARRIVAL OF THE WRECKING masthead
helps to suggest what the interview with the
artist will be about. THE WRECKING is the name
of the latest music album released by the artist.
This is also bigger, so when the reader turns to
this page their eyes are firstly drawn to THE
WRECKING, then the image of the artist. I have
used a combination of orange and red for the
masthead, because they are fierce colours, and
which also relate to the artist's personality,
connoting that she is fiesty. The colour red used
for the masthead stands out and it also matches
the artist’s clothing, because she is dressed
partially in red.
Website:
I decided to include a website address,
because I saw this on many double page
spreads. So I have adhered to the
conventions of a magazine. This would also
make the reader more involved as they
would be interested to read more interviews
of different artists.
Stand first/Pull quote:
This is a small introduction which briefly
informs the reader of what the article is
about. This further interests the reader to
read the full article. I have used a direct
quote from the interview, which is in red, to
make it noticeable for the reader.
Article:
The artist often uses the word ‘you’,
which is a direct address to the reader,
making them feel more involved in the
interview. The article takes up most of
the page and it has been split up into
three equal sections. The text uses a
colour scheme of blue and black, the
questions being in blue and the
answers being in black.I have done
this so the article appears clear for the
reader to follow. I have used a bit of
red in the article to highlight some key
words and to also grab the reader’s
Housestyle:
I have carried out a house style throughout my
magazine. My research into the house style of
different double page spreads helped me with
carrying out a house style for my magazine. I
have used the same background on all my
pages. I have also used the same font style and
colours for my masthead. I have done this so the
reader is aware that they are still reading a
FUSED magazine.
Caption:
This caption refers to
the artist, suggesting
her personality. The
word ‘reckless’,
suggests that she acts
in a way which shows
that she does not care
about danger and is not
afraid of the
consequences of her
actions.