1. Evaluation Megan Stafford

2. 1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? This is the barcode this convention appears on all magazine covers. My magazine uses this convention to look authentic. Above this I have placed the price which is at ‘£2.99’. A fairly cheap price and it is noticeable. I have placed it in the bottom right hand corner as this is the place where it looked the most appropriate and it helps to make it look more authentic. Similar to my magazine cover this one also has a barcode in the bottom right hand corner. Both of theses titles have exclamation marks, this is so it shouts out to the reader. I have used this purposely as it fits in with the conventions of a rock magazine. But I have challenged the conventions of a rock magazine by using a bright colour instead of dark colours, which usually associated with rock magazines Although the people on the covers are posing in different ways to each other they are both typical poses that appear on rock magazine covers. Looking down and moody, straight-faced and looking straight forward into the camera are typical poses on rock music magazine covers. The clothing of the actor is typical of that genre, this reinforces the conventions of a rock magazine. Both of these covers have placed photos on the front, this is to advertise posters that are on the inside. We have both overlapped the pictures to make it seem more thrown together and fit in with the ‘rock look’. Both of these covers have footers, this one lists specific bands that are in the rest of the magazine and mine lists vaguely what is in the rest of the magazine. I have done this so the cover was not crowded.

3. Similar to my magazine contents page this one has a letter from the editor, this has been included to give the reader an insight as to who is behind putting together the magazine. This helps the reader feel more involved and gives it a personal touch. An image is also included above the writing so it doesn’t remain anonymous and the reader feels more united. This reinforces the conventions of a rock music magazine as they tend to have letters from the editor. The page numbers are listed down the side, this is for neatness. I have challenged the conventions of a rock music magazine here as page listings in rock music magazines tend to be messy, cramped and crazy (as shown in Kerrang! on the right). I have chosen to do it this way instead for a better look. My title here has an exclamation to make it seem as though it is shouting out to you and ‘in your face’. This reinforces the loud stereotype of those who listen to rock music. I have used a brightly coloured font so that it contrasts against the dark background, many rock magazines do this. This is because they stick to the stereotype of darkness usually associated with rock music, but they also a brightly coloured font to contrast. Kerrang! has also done this. Here Kerrang! doesn’t use an exclamation mark, they do this because they don’t want to make the title scream out to the reader, they want it there subtly so the main focus is on the picture at the top. But they have used a yellow font so it is noticeable. At the bottom here I have included a telephone number where you are able to contact the people advertised above. This makes the reader feel more connected to the magazine and feel more involved. It also gives the reader a reason to buy the magazine week after week.

4. This main image takes up all of the page. This is to draw more attention to the band and this image shows their playful side. A main image that takes up a whole page is typical of a music magazine. This pull quote has been used to emphasize this particular part of the interview. The particular words used “I just love dancing and screaming” makes the interview sound more fun. The headline here is in a font that suggests that is it has been spray painted. This suggests rebellion and playfulness. This reinforces the convention of a rock magazine as they always use interesting font. This subheading here is written in red font with a black background box. This is so it stands out against the darkness, but the bands name ‘Rolo Tomassi’ is in white font for extra emphasis. As the title is also white their band name sticks out a lot. This much copy is unusual for a rock music magazine. The interview is quite long and the copy is not broken up into small, easy-to-read sections, which is usual for a rock magazine.

5. Similar to Kerrang!’s double page spread I have used a main image that takes up a whole page. This is so that there is not too much and adds more colour. The image can also be used as a poster. This reinforces the convention of a rock music magazine as they tend to use a full image on a whole page. In Kerrang!’s case they used it to show how playful the band is, but in my case I used it to show serious this interview is. The font I have used here isn’t typical of a rock music magazine. It doesn’t show rebellion, but something a little more serious because of the topic of the article. But I have used an exclamation mark which shouts out to the reader and does reinforce the conventions of a music magazine. I have used a more positive image of the actor in the article for a contrast against the image used on the page to the right. This is to contrast the good times against the bad, this adds more emotion to the article. The actor here is dressed in dark clothing, which is typical of rock music. This again reinforces the conventions of a rock magazine as they are mainly dressed in dark clothing.