.

1. In what ways does your Media product
use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?

2. Front cover - Convergence/Synergy
I used the convention of convergence and synergy, within my magazine. In my front cover I used Twitter, a very
common social media site used to promote music magazines, therefore conforming to the norm of the music
magazine genre. However, instead of using another very common site such as Facebook for the other use of
synergy on the front cover I decided to go with including Tumblr, as it is representative of my target audience
(young people who are interested in alternative music). This would not only make my magazine more original in
its conventions, but would appeal to my target audience more, as they may see Tumblr and therefore be
attracted to the magazine more than a magazine that uses Facebook, for example, as they may be an avid user
of Tumblr and want to read something that endorses some of the themes and culture of the site. According to
adweek.com, Tumblr is the only social media site to have the majority of users under 17 years of age.
IND magazine
Q magazine

3. Front cover/contents page - ‘Star appeal’ (Dyer)
I also used ‘star appeal’ (Dyer) in my front cover similarly to existing magazines like ‘NME’ and ‘Q’ by
conforming to the mid-shot convention that is often seen in music magazines. I did this because it is the easiest
way to include mise-en-scene which helps to show who the ‘stars’ are to the reader. I also did this by using the
artists’ font on the front cover, like ‘NME’ often do. The mise-en-scene was created through the use of costume.
The sunglasses and Fred Perry polo shirt tucked into jeans with a belt is a look that the band member Laurie
has worn before. Laurie has a tattoo sleeve, so I used a fake tattoo sleeve to replicate this piece of mise-en-
scene. The suit blazer is also representative of the other band member, Isaac. Mise-en-scene was also a
convention used in my double paged spread and contents page. In my contents page I decided to replicate the
artist ‘rat boy’ by wearing his trademark skater look whilst wearing a color he is closely associated with, pink.

4. Font cover - Price
I used the convention of the price on my front cover
from other music magazines. £2.99 is the typical price
for most music magazines that come out monthly. For
example NME used to be £2.99 and Q was also around
this price. By making it the same price I know that
people are willing to pay that much for the magazine.
Q magazine
IND magazine

5. Front Cover - Puff promotion
Puff promotion was a convention I challenged on my front cover. I
decided to include two forms of puff promotion, one free mix tape
and one competition. The competition aspect is not often seen on
front covers, and neither is the fact that two methods are used, it is
often just the one. I decided to do this because it is a more interactive
way to give the readers something for free, as opposed to just giving
it away. Although it is not common, ‘NME once did something similar
to this with their front cover, as shown below. I ‘repeated’ this layout
as it takes up a minimal fraction of the front cover, allowing for other
conventions to take center stage.
IND magazine
NME magazine

6. Contents - Subscription box
In my contents page I included a subscription box as most
magazines that are not free include this convention into
their contents pages. This convention was repeated’ (Neale)
from the old ‘NME’ magazine’s contents page, as seen in
the images below. According to Hartley's seven
subjectivities this would appeal to the lower class
individuals in my target audience as they will want to save
money where they can.
IND magazine NME magazine

7. Contents - Editorial
I decided to include an editorial in my contents page in order
to form a ‘personal relationship’ (Katz) between the reader
and the magazine. This is done by all magazines, so I used
this convention in my contents page. I challenged the typical
placement of the editorial (normally right at the beginning of
the magazine before contents) because people tend to ignore
the first couple of pages of a magazine. By placing the
editorial on the contents page it ensures people are going to
acknowledge it and appreciate the attempt to communicate
with the audience.
NME magazine
IND magazine

8. DPS - Structure
My double page spread defied certain
conventions such as the question
answer format of the interview. I
decided to write the interview like an
article, as It read better and was more
exciting than a structured article. By
doing this I ensured the reader felt a
sense of ‘escapism’ whilst reading the
article instead of just a bland
informative article. This does not mean
that the article is fictional though, it
still ‘informs and educates’ (Katz) the
reader. However, I did use
conventions such as a pull quote in
order to entice readers to read the
magazine.
IND magazine
DIY magazine

9. DPS – Tour dates
My double page spread also included a set of tour dates
for the artist being interviewed, which I saw at the back
‘NME’ magazine in the adverts section. I decided to
include this in the double page spread because people
that are reading about the artist are likely to want to go
and see them, thus saving them time on turning to the
back of the magazine.
DIY magazine IND magazine

10. DPS – Color scheme
I ‘repeated’ the black and white color scheme of a double
page spread I saw in ‘NME’ (the vaccines interview used in
planning and research), but added some color by not erasing
the color of the blood and flower. I did this in order to
highlight the key aspects on mise-en-scene in the image. This
also happened to make it easier to read for the reader.
NME magazine IND magazine

11. DPS – Mise-en-scene
In my double page spread I was ‘replicating’ (Neale) one of
their most popular music videos: ‘The Hunter’. In this video
it shows the two band members violently breaking
inanimate objects with weapons like baseball bats. Whilst
doing this they are interacting with a neon, blood like
substance. The flower is included because in the video one
of the members breaks a vase of flowers and then eats it. By
including mise-en-scene in my magazine it enables the
audience to ‘personally identify’ (Katz) with the magazine,
as they may recognize the artist in the magazine and it may
reflect their own music taste.
Slaves – The Hunter
IND magazine

12. Other conventions I ‘repeated’ (Neale) are:
Front cover:
Barcode
Strapline
Short, snappy masthead
Contents page:
Page numbers linking to images
Stories divided into sections
Double page spread:
Drop down capital
Masthead in the corner
Interview format