This document discusses the conventions and forms used in the student's media magazine project. It begins by outlining the purpose and typical elements of magazines. It then examines the conventions used on the front cover, contents page, and double page spread of the student's magazine, comparing them to conventions in similar magazines. The student both conforms to and challenges some conventions - using a pink color on the front cover and including multiple pictures on the contents page to make their magazine stand out.

1. Evaluation Question 1
IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE,
DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF
REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?

2. What is the purpose of a magazine?
 A magazine is a publication which is usually printed or can also be published electronically
(online magazine). They are usually published regularly i.e. every month and can cover a
wide variety of content including music, film, home and food.
 The purpose of a magazine is for entertainment and education and is a way of
communicating and providing information to a specific target audience.
 There are many different codes and conventions which are used to attract a target
audience. These codes and conventions also help the audience to identify the genre of the
magazine and make it appealing. In my magazine, I have conformed to most of these
conventions, but also broken some of them to give my magazine a unique selling point
and make it different and more interesting.

3. Front Cover Conventions
Strapline
Masthead
Main Cover Line
Cover Lines
Barcode
Price
Date
Web Address
My Magazine The Source Magazine

4. Front Cover
After researching both ‘The Source’ Magazine and
‘Vibe’ Magazine which both use the genre of Hip-Hop, I
found that most magazines of this genre use a close-up
photo of an artist with a direct gaze. The expression on
their face is usually serious and the reason for this is to
draw in the audiences’ attention so that they feel the
magazine is directed towards them. I also used this
convention in my magazine and took the idea of the
hand over the chin as seen on the front cover of ‘The
Source’.
Bright colours are usually also used in this
genre of magazine which I took on board
but I challenged conventions by using the
colour pink. This colour is not typically
seen within a magazine directed towards
this particular target audience but I
decided to use it because I think doing
something different makes the magazine
stand out and different and I believe this
will make more people want to read it.
I followed traditional conventions with the
placement of my cover lines. I placed them around
the face of the main image so it therefore draws
attention to it and makes it the main focus of the
front cover. I found this convention in both ‘The
Source’ magazine and ‘Vibe’ magazine.
On both front covers of the magazines
that I looked at, the main cover line
was only slightly larger than the rest of
the cover lines and was also placed
around the image. I didn’t follow this
convention and instead I made the
main cover line big and placed it over
the top of the image as I wanted this
to be important and I wanted it to
stand out.
I used all capital letters on my front cover, which
isn’t always typically seen throughout all music
magazines but is a convention of Hip-Hop
magazines. I think this represents the genre well
and immediately helps the audience to identify the
type of magazine it is.

5. Contents Page Conventions
Title
Chronological Folios
Features
Pictures
Folio with pictures
My Magazine
Vibe Magazine

6. Contents Page
For my magazine, I decided to do it over
a double page as I feel this gives more
room to include all of the articles as well
as pictures. This is different to the two
magazines that I analysed, as they only
had one page for the contents and only
used one picture. I think using more than
one picture across the contents page
makes it look more interesting.
My magazine conforms to
conventions with the articles having
chronological folios and a list of
features. It has most of the typical
contents page conventions with a
large title so that it is easily
recognisable as the contents page
which was also seen on the
contents pages of Vibe and The
Source magazine.
Both Vibe and The Source didn’t use very
bright colours on the contents pages, they
were left looking quite simplistic and I have
done the opposite to this. I have continued
using the bright pink throughout my contents
page to make the magazine consistent and
make it stand out. Both The Source and Vibe
had very colourful front covers and didn’t
carry this through to the contents page but I
thought that doing this would make the
contents page more vibrant and eye-
catching.
Both contents pages that I looked at used plain
backgrounds for their texts to go over. This is a
typical convention of music magazines and
white is usually the colour used. This is so the
text is easy to read and the audience are able to
find which article they wish to read easily. I have
conformed to this convention because I believe
it makes the page look professional and not too
messy.

7. Double Page Spread Conventions
Title
Drop Caps
Columns
Pull Quote
Main Image
Folios
Stand FirstMy Magazine Vibe Magazine

8. Double Page Spread
For my magazine, I have conformed to
conventions by using a main image and
a title. This is to attract the audience
and to also inform them on what the
article is about. For both DPS pages that
I analysed (The Source & Vibe), I found
that they used the first page as a full
main image and the second page as the
interview or article. I also used this
technique when creating my DPS.
For my main image I decided to use a long
shot which is seen in The Source’s DPS but
differs from Vibe’s DPS which is a close up.
I decided to have my model standing
outside against a graffiti wall which I think
represents the genre of Hip-Hop well,
making the scene look urban. I dressed
him in casual clothes as I think this
typically seen in this type of music. I made
him stand with his hand in his pockets to
epitomise the ‘don’t care 'attitude. I also
positioned him to be looking away into
the distance and to bring the page
together I added a pull quote in the
direction that he is looking to give the
page a focal point.
I have used a drop cap in my article which
is also seen in Vibe’s DPS and is a typical
convention seen throughout magazines so
that the audience know where the article
starts. They also stand out and make the
page more interesting which draws in
attention. I used the same font for the
drop cap as the title (as did Vibe
magazine) to make it look neat and
professional and maintain a consistent
style throughout.
I have used columns in my DPS which is a very typical
convention seen in magazines. This is so the text is
neatly organised and easy to read and so it is more
compact. I used this feature to make my magazine look
more professional and so the reader could easily follow
on the read after each sentence. It is also visually
pleasing to the eye.