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

2. Throughout the process of making my front cover, contents page
and double page spread I had to consider the conventions that I
would follow and the conventions I would challenge. In relation to
the colour scheme I used the colours red, white, black and grey on
all 3 of my products as it is conventional to have a continuous
colour scheme. This makes the magazine look professional and
connects the products. I chose to use these colours because from
looking into existing Indie Rock products I found that red, white and
black was a popular colour scheme, so I chose to do something
similar by adding the colour grey to make my magazine a bit more
original. The colours are also quite dark which is another
convention of this genre of magazine. I also followed the
convention of having my model (Lucy) on all 3 of my products as
this is seen on many magazines of not only the genre of Indie Rock,
such as ‘Vibe’ and ‘Kerrang!’. This shows her importance in the
magazine as she is the focus on all 3 pages. The fonts I used on my 3
products were also consistent throughout as I used similar fonts
which were all quite bold reinforcing the Indie Rock genre and the
power of the magazine. This is again conventional as it helps to
reinforce the house style. The conventions analysis I did of my 3
products on the following slides shows more conventions that I
decided to follow.

3. Front coverI placed the skyline at the top of the page in the
font ‘Impact’ because it is bold and stands out,
which is conventional of skylines. It is also in a
conventional place making it easily recognisable
to the readers.
I also put the masthead in the top, left corner
because it is conventional to have it in this
position and so readers will automatically know
that this is the name of the magazine. I made
the masthead a bright, red because this is one
of the colours used in my colour scheme and it
is also conventional to have a consistent colour
scheme. The models head covers the masthead
slightly which is another convention that I have
noticed many magazines (such as Kerrang and
NME) follow. This makes my magazine appear
professional and well established.
I placed the date and issue number directly under
the masthead because this is again quite a
conventional place to put them and so people will
expect to find them here which is essential with it
being key information.
I used a mid shot for the main image on my
front cover as it works well with the layout of
the page and is a key convention. I also
followed the convention of having a plain
background because it makes the front cover
look professional and allows the features to be
easily readable. In relation to mise en scene I
also got my model to wear quite stereotypical
Indie Rock clothing so that my genre was
reflected throughout (also conventional). I
positioned my model in a powerful stance and
got her to look into the camera. This is a form of
direct address and has been used to reflect her
dominance and also the nature of Indie Rock.
I used a larger font on the models name than the
pull quote because this is conventional and makes
it stand out from the rest of the text on the page. I
also placed it slightly further to the left which is
again conventional so people will expect to find
the headline here and will know that it
accompanies the main image. I used the colours
white and black on my headline because they are
part of my colour scheme and so fit with the
theme. The outline on the text is not a convention
found on many magazines, however it made the
headline easier read which is effective.
I placed a footer at the bottom of
the page as this is conventional
and gives the reader more
information about who is
featured in the magazine. I used
the font ‘Impact’ on the footer
because it is bold and so stands
out.
I placed the barcode and price (both important
conventions) at the bottom of the page as they
are not a main priority and so don’t need to stand
out however they still need to be on the page.
I included a second image on my magazine front cover which isn’t a
main convention however some magazines such as Kerrang do this to
give the reader a better idea of what is inside the magazine. I chose this
picture of Temples performing live in particular as it is something that
my target audience would be interested in, with Temples being a big
Indie band.
I also followed the convention of having a plug
on the front cover. I placed the plug at the side of
the page because it is conventional and looks
best in this position. I used two quite bold fonts
to make the text stand out and I also placed a red
box behind the word ‘win’ to make it stand out
and appeal to the reader. Conventionally the
plug is used to advertise a freebie or something
and I have followed this convention by
advertising the free Arctic Monkeys poster that is
inside.
I followed the convention of having the features
fall around the model and I also used boxes to
separate the text from the background and to
make it stand out. This was done mainly to
portray Lucy as dominant and important. I also
used features that relate to the genre of my
magazine because this is again conventional .

4. Contents page
I have separated the features section from the
regular section which is a key convention of
magazine contents pages and can be seen on
magazines such as Q. I followed this
convention because it makes it easier for the
reader to locate what they are looking for and
gives the page a professional appearance.
I also followed the convention of having a subscribe box on the
contents page, like used on NME. This makes the magazine appear
professional. The colour yellow isn’t part of my colour scheme and
so it is not conventional to use this however it makes the text
stand out and so I thought that it looked effective, encouraging
readers to subscribe.
I put the title ‘Contents’ at the top of
the page in a large, bold and attractive
font because it is conventional of
contents pages and so is familiar to
readers. I chose the bold, white font to
make it stand out against the black and
grey banner.
I included a review box on my contents
page because although not all magazines
use this convention I thought that it
would be useful to include as it is likely
that this style of magazine would have
quite a lot of reviews inside and so it is
useful for ease of access.
I used a large, mid shot image of my main
subject which is not conventional however
I wanted a large amount of the attention
to be on Lucy because she is the main
focus in the magazine. The mise en scene
used in the photo is very conventional as it
connotates the Indie Rock genre. This will
hopefully attract my target audience.
I included the issue number, date and
website on the corner of my contents
page as these are all very important
conventions, allowing the reader to
know key information about the
magazine. However because these
things aren’t the main priority I have
placed them in a smaller, less bold
font.
I also included some smaller photos that
relate to the subheadings: New Albums and
Live. I used 3 album cover photos and a
picture of Temples performing live. Its not
very conventional to have album covers on a
contents page however I believe that it links
well with the feature and so chose to use
them anyway. I chose these specific albums
because they all relate to the Indie Rock
genre and so it is conventional
I have followed the convention of having a short
caption below the sub-heading because it gives
the reader a small amount of information about
the feature, hopefully encouraging them to go
and read the article. I have used a bolder text on
the subheadings than the captions which is
another convention noticeable on many
magazines. This allows the sub-heading to stand
out more and separates the caption from the
sub-heading. In addition to this I have also used
a different colour on the page numbers, which is
a convention found on ‘Q’ magazine, to make
them stand out from the rest of the text so that
the articles are easy to locate. These
conventions all help to make my magazine look
realistic.
I have placed a banner at the bottom
of the page which advertises the
magazines Facebook and Twitter
pages, which is another convention of
contents pages as they usually contain
an advertisement of the magazine in
some way.

5. Double page spread
I have used a large, mid shot
of my model, that covers
half of my double page
spread because this is very
conventional of magazines
such as Q. I did this to show
her dominance and portray
how important she is. I also
followed the convention of
having the background of
the photo flow onto the next
page because it makes it
look more professional and
natural. In relation to mise
en scene I got my model to
wear the same costume that
she is wearing on my front
cover because it links the
pages together and allows
the reader to identify the
feature easily. This is again
quite conventional and
creates continuity. I also got
my model to look into the
camera while standing in a
powerful position to
connotate her power and
dominance. This is
reinforced by how she is
taking up an entire page,
which is again conventional.
I placed the date and page numbers in the bottom
corners of the pages because this is conventional and so
were the readers expect to find them. This will allow
them to find the feature easily when flicking through the
pages. I have used a small and less bold font on this text
because although they are important conventions to
include, they are less important than the rest of the text
and so don’t need to stand out as much.
I followed the convention of using
columns on my article because it
gives a professional appearance
and I thought using 3 columns was
particularly effective because it
establishes a familiar layout. I
chose to use the colour black on
this text as it made the article look
simple yet sophisticated.
I used two pull quotes which I
emboldened and made slightly
larger because this another
convention I have noticed on
many magazines such as Q. This
draws the reader to them and
makes them want to reader
further into the story.
I decided to include
a drop cap as this
adds a professional
element to the page
and again is a key
convention.
I decided to place Lucy’s
name in a large and
bright text to draw the
reader to it immediately.
This isn’t particularly
conventional however I
wanted to reinforce
Lucy’s dominance by
covering the page in
things that portray her. I
used the red colour
because it creates
continuity in the colour
scheme (which is
conventional) and also
makes it stand out the
most on the page. I also
decided to cover part of
the text with the image
of Lucy because,
although this is not
conventional, it again
reinforces her
dominance and makes
her come across as a
huge Indie Rock star
because she is
recognisable without her
entire name being
present.

6. Front cover conventions…

7. Comparing conventions with existing
magazines
A major convention of magazine front
covers is a skyline. These are 2 skylines
taken from the magazines Kerrang and
NME in comparison to my own skyline.
Skylines generally advertise things that
can be won in the magazine. On my
skyline I chose to advertise the chance
to win free tickets similar to the Kerrang
skyline. This is because my target
market would be interested in going to
live gigs, especially festivals such as
Leeds and Reading because this is a
major festival for the Indie Rock genre
of music. I found that many skylines
used a bold text that stands out to
make it identifiable and so I did this on
my skyline by using the font ‘Impact’. I
chose to use the majority of the colours
in my colour scheme to make this
feature stand out as much as possible.
My magazine:
Kerrang:
NME:

8. Another convention of magazine front
covers is having the models head cover
part of the masthead. Kerrang and NME
are examples of magazines that do this
quite frequently. On the majority of
examples the model only covers one
letter of the masthead however I chose
to have mine covering two letters,
similarly to Kerrang. This was to
highlight how important Lucy is on the
page. The use of this convention on my
magazine makes my front cover look
well established and professional.
My magazine:
Kerrang:
NME:
Comparing conventions with existing
magazines

9. Another convention that I followed was
having boxes around my features.
Kerrang and NME are again examples of
magazines that do this often. I followed
this convention to make my features
stand out more. I, similarly to Kerrang,
used more than one colour on several
of my boxes to make the features
appear more interesting. I chose to use
the colours red, white and black on my
boxes as they are all colours that I have
used in my colour scheme and so fit
well with the theme. I generally used
one colour behind the name of the
band/artist and another colour for the
rest of the text, this was to make the
band/artist stand out from the text.
My magazine:
NME:
Kerrang:
Comparing conventions with existing
magazines

10. Another important convention of
magazine front covers is a plug. My plug
is comparable with both Q and
Kerrang’s plugs. On my plug, like on
Kerrang's plug, I have decided to
advertise the opportunity to win a prize
(in my case a free AM poster). This is
because many Indie Rock fans like to
decorate their bedrooms etc in band
posters and the Arctic Monkeys are a
famous Indie Rock band and so it is
likely that my target audience would
like this. I have used the circular style
on my plug which is a convention
present on many magazines front
covers because I liked the style of this. I
also chose to use all of the colours in
my colour scheme on my plug because
this is a convention often used on
magazines such as Q, NME and
Kerrang. This allows it to stand out on
the page.
My magazine:
Q:
Kerrang:
Comparing conventions with existing
magazines

11. Another convention used on many
magazines is having a smaller, second
image on the front cover Page. I have
compared my use of this with Kerrang
and NME which both do this on a
regular basis. My second image is of
Temples performing live which is similar
to NME which also often uses gig
photos as smaller photos on the front
cover. I chose to follow this convention
because it allows the audience to see
what else is in the magazine other than
Lucy’s exclusive interview. I also chose
to use a border like on other magazines
because it separates the main image
from the minor image. I also think it
makes the photo look more
professional and authorised.
My magazine:
NME:
Kerrang:
Comparing conventions with existing
magazines

12. A footer is also another
convention that is often used on
magazines. I have compared the
footer that I have come up with
examples from Kerrang
magazine. I chose to put a list of
several Indie Rock bands on my
footer because it allows my
audience to see what other
bands, which they will
stereotypically like, are featured
in the magazine. I also chose to
use a bold and bright text on the
word ‘Plus!’ so that the readers
are drawn to it, which is also
conventional.
My magazine:
Kerrang:
Comparing conventions with existing
magazines