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Question 1
- 1. QUESTION 1 IN WHATWAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?
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- 3. FRONT COVER COMPARISON From comparingmy magazine to a published NME front cover, there are some clear similarities between them. Some of these similarities are the use of puffs in dark circles and the main cover line being overlapped on the main image to demonstrate their connection. There is also the similarity of highlighting the key aspects to make them stand out. This suggests that my magazine follows the main conventions of published magazines, however there are some key differences which shows how I have challenged some of these conventions.
- 4. FRONT COVER The mainimage reflects my models personal style and personality because of mise en scene. The style of clothing she is wearing is inspired by indie rock and as my model Kiera is a fan of the genre herself, it allowed me to create a more accurate star image to represent the genre and the magazine. I used a mid-shot which is a key convention of magazine front covers to give her height but not too much to make her look intimidating. I used a white background as it allowed the model to stand out as the main focus and also present the text in a way it can be read easily. She is looking into the camera and uses direct address which is a common convention to help lure in the readers. The masthead used was my personal favourite when choosing a name for the magazine and was popular amongst the target audience. I like that the word voltage represents music and shows the type of the magazine which demonstrates what it is about before reading or looking at anything else. The colour scheme of black, white and red is similar to other magazines of the similar genres and I believe it was a good choice to highlight certain aspects of my magazine. I used a variety of cover lines to promote articles in the magazine; most magazines do this so I followed the conventions in this way. I used buzz words such as ‘exclusive’ and ‘plus’ to capture the audience’s attention and make them feel they are finding out private information that can only be found in this issue. This method is used with real media products which is why I thought it would be an effective way of drawing in my audience.
- 5. CHALLENGING CONVENTIONS I followed mostof the conventions of a published magazine however there were a few things I changed to make it more unique and stand out against these magazines. I didn’t add smaller photos around the page as I wanted the focus to be concentrated on the main image with little distractions and I didn’t want it to look too crowded. I didn’t think it was necessary to add a strap line as I thought it wouldn’t suit the look of the cover and look unappealing which may hinder the interest of my audience. Although I deviated from these conventions I still followed enough for it to be successful. I feel as though not adding these things doesn’t have a negative impact on my magazine.
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- 7. CONTENTS PAGE COMPARISON When comparingmy contents page to a published issue of Q, I could see a few connections to connote I followed the main conventions of a real media product. My masthead is at the top with the magazine name beside it to demonstrate its brand identity. My main image is located in the top right corner and is larger than any other image around the page. I added more images to give an even mix of photos and text as my target audience stated they prefer to see an even mix. I included subheadings for my contents information to make it easier to find what the reader is looking for. It could be argued that my contents page doesn’t come across as completely professional because it doesn’t meet all of the conventions successfully. Although I believe this makes my product unique and introduces new ideas to the production of music magazines.
- 8. CONTENTS PAGE The mastheadfor my contents page is the title of the magazine and title showing its brand identity and that is the contents page. I made each word different colours to make them distinctive to represent the magazine and inform the reader that it is the contents page. I used the same font and colours to keep the magazine looking consistent and fluent to make the audience feel familiar with the magazine. The main image fits in with the colour scheme and is a long shot of model outdoors which shows her outfit and background to conform to conventions in this way. It isn’t that large as I wanted to make sure the information stands out and the page doesn’t look too cramped. The subheadings are larger and in red to catch the eye and make the magazine easier to navigate to find specific sections the reader wants to find. I also made the page numbers next to the content information red to make them noticeable so the readers can find the page they want straight away.
- 9. CHALLENGING CONVENTIONS My main imagedoesn’t use direct address to lure the readers towards it which keeps the focus spread around the page and allows the audiences attention to be drawn to the informative text on the page. It isn't as large as main images used in professional magazines which shows it doesn’t follow the conventions because it doesn’t stand out as much as it would in published magazines. I didn’t use a particular layout that is consistently similar to a particular other magazine as I wanted mine to be unique and set a new standard of music magazines that isn’t like all the others. Despite not following some of these conventions, I don’t think it negatively affected the overall look of my contents page as it still looks professional and official.
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- 11. DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD COMPARISON Whenputting my magazine double page spread next to a Kerrang magazine, there are many noticeable comparisons. Both of these magazines have the main image on one half of the spread with the main article on the other to keep all the main features separate and evenly distributed around the page. I placed a dark block of cover to make the word ‘April’ stand out which was a technique used in this published magazine. Both models are using direct address to engage the audiences attention towards the page which is a key convention used in professional magazines. I also included a pull quote, drop capitals and a smaller image in the corner by the main article. This therefore suggests that I have effectively displayed many conventions of a music magazine in my own product, thus denoting it would be successful if distributed with real media products.
- 12. DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD On mydouble page spread, I have placed a smaller image in the corner that has the same background as the main image on the contents page. This links these two pages and is a technique often used in real life products to show relevance to the rest of the magazine. It is positioned to make it seem like she is looking at the text which encourages the audience to read it. The main image takes up half of the double page spread as that way it doesn’t look too crowded and there isn’t a harsh background making it easier to decipher. The background doesn’t distract from the main article of text which is why I separated this and the main image. Everything on this spread fits in with my colour scheme which I did to show it was an important article and is relevant to the overall magazine. The text is an interview with questions and answers which I differentiated using different colours to make them easier to read and distinguish which presents it in a pleasing way to read and breaks up the large amount of writing. I used a pull quote in the middle of the text to show its relevance to the article and focus the audiences attention towards the article. I also made sure this article was consistent with the colours and fonts used elsewhere in my magazine to keep that fluency. I used two columns when displaying my article on the page to resemble professional newspapers which follows the norms and conventions of realistic media products.
- 13. CHALLENGING CONVENTIONS Some magazines useimages that take up the whole double page spread so I deviated in this way as my main image only took up half of the spread which I thought looked more effective. This would make my magazine stand out against professional magazines as this technique isn’t used as consistently with professional media products. Although I followed the main conventions I changed some of them to suit the style and layout of my overall magazine. One of the conventions I changed was placing the pull quote in the middle of the text rather than by my the main image. Even though professional magazines use the same method as I did, it seems to make the text more relevant to the image if it is placed by it. I didn’t do this as I believed it would not suit the overall look of the magazine and interfere with the text already by the model, so in my case I placed this in the middle of my article as I thought it looked aesthetically pleasing and would draw the readers attention towards that more.
- 14. CONCLUSION Overall I feelI have reached the conventions of a music magazine and that I’ve created a sense of fluency and sustainability throughout. This makes my magazine appear professional and pleasing to read for the audience showing it would be successful. There are some elements of my magazine that challenges the conventions to make it seem unique and stand out in comparison to other music magazines. I have used a consistent colour scheme which makes my magazine aesthetically pleasing to read, connoting it would be popular among my target audience. However, it can be suggested that I haven’t followed all the conventions of a music magazine as most Indie Rock magazines feature males on their magazines. This shows I have rebelled against these regulations as I have used a female model as the main topic of my magazine which denotes my magazine isn’t consistent with the main themes and trends used in real media products.