I compared the conventions of my A2 Media Magazine to that of an existing magazine, to show how my magazine makes use of conventions.

1. James Reeson
Comparison of Conventions in print based products
There is a coverline above the masthead. The masthead is the largest
component of text on the front cover, so it can be used to draw
attention to other coverlines. Total Film and my magazine both make
use of this technique to bring increased attention to a coverline that
if placed somewhere else, may not benefit from the same attention
from the reader.
The masthead runs across the top of the magazine, dominating the
top 3 thirds of the page. Blocky sans serif fonts are used with
formatting that increases the attention that it grabs from the human
eye. This is conventional because it tells people the name of the
magazine. This makes size, positioning and formatting vitally
important.
There is a consistent colour scheme that runs across the front cover,
used in the background colour, image colour and font colour. This is
conventional because it helps to create familiarity, and also, because
of the limitation of a massive amount of colour, creates a more
professional and aesthetically pleasing product.
Dominant use is made of the left third of the front cover. Convention
dictates the utilisation of this technique because it creates a layout
that seems more ordered and structured, which aids how
professional it looks. Additionally, there are differences in the colour
of different parts of coverlines to separate and distinguish their
content to the reader.
A seemingly neutral background that opposes in colour to that of the
image is used to make the image jump out at the reader.
Conventionally, research suggested that movie magazines tend to shy
away from just using an image on set, and instead opt for the
approach utilised in the two magazines featured here.
The coverstory is formatted in a font that differs in style to those
used on the rest of the magazine. The reason for this is because the
coverstory, after the masthead, is the most important part of the
magazine. By giving it an identity of its own, the importance is made
clear to the reader. My magazine opted to maintain the sans-serif
font and use a broken style instead, whereas Total Film used a serif
font.
Both magazines make use of ‘buzzwords’ that have the effect of
enticing potentially undecided customers, who don’t know whether
to buy the magazine. In Total Film, the word ‘Essential’ is used, which
indicates that you ‘MUST’ purchase this magazine. My magazine uses
the word ‘Exclusive’ which indicates that my magazine has some kind
of advantage over the competition. This makes my magazine more
attractive over rival products, because people will understand that by
exclusive, it means that they can’t get a similar article elsewhere.
The route of the eye is used to give the layout of the magazine a
sense of order and structure that connotes professionalism and
quality. This is of benefit to the reader. Through the use of the route
of the eye, everything is in a position where it is convenient for them
to see. If a product is convenient, it is more likely to entice them to
buy the product, so the use of the route of the eye is beneficial to the
reader and the producer.