1. In what was does your media
product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions
of real media products?
My blog:
http://courtenayjonesa2media.blogspot.co.uk/
You may want to refer to it whilst reading to get a better idea
of the forms and conventions that I have followed.

2. Use
My newspaper uses forms and
conventions of real media
products as I have looked at local
newspapers like ‘ The News’ and I
have taken a look at the layout
that they use on their newspaper.
The Idea of having lines to separate
the different areas of the cover
and inside page is something that
I took into my work. It is almost
like a grid, which allows different
aspects of the newspaper to be
separated, which makes it a lot
easier to read.

3. Here I have cropped two sections of my newspaper cover
and The News’ newspaper front cover. As you can see the
lines that separate the adverts and stories on The News’
cover I have carried through to my own work.

4. I have also use these lines on the inside page to
separate columns.

5. I used the way that they put a advertisement at the bottom of the page on a
thick banner. The boldness of the banner makes my newspaper cover seem
more realistic, as advertisements are part of the layout of the page, without
the advert it would seem empty.

6. These are all advertisements that I have used on my newspaper web pages. They
create a sense of realness as they are all real places an businesses that I have
used.

7. I have kept my newspaper traditional by having a simple colour scheme of
white, blue, light blue and black. The blues in the colour scheme relate to
the local area as Portsmouth is an island so you would say that the blue
represents the sea. I think that having a colour scheme adds to the realistic
feel to my newspaper cover. I didn’t want to over power the cover because
you wouldn't find it on an average newspaper as it wouldn't be easy
enough for the audience to read. If the cover was too busy I think that it
would put people off buying it as it would look more like a magazine and
the seriousness of the new
Light Blue for
advertisements
and a top bar.
Blue for sub Also to back other
headings and some stories.
bold separating
lines.
(Black for lines text and the title)

8. I have followed the colour scheme through to my inside page and my
website pages. This is a good way of creating a sense of fluency across the
pages. However, unlike on the cover page where I have used a darker blue to
create a more serious look, on the inside page I have used a lighter blue to
create a more light hearted feel to the page. On the web pages I felt that I
needed to keep it interesting by keeping the colour darker so this made it
bolder.
(The colour scheme of my front page and my inside page)

9. Just like ‘The News’ would, I have used one main cover image. I have
chosen quite a happy picture that I took at a small gig in Portsmouth.
Originally the image had two people in it, however I cut the other person
out so that I could put text there. I think that having one image works well
because it creates a focal point for the audience and this story can
determine whether a customer would buy the newspaper.
(Both mine and The
News’ covers have
one main Image)

10. I have placed pictures on top of transparent blue backgrounds to create
the same type of look that you would find on a front cover of The News,
as a side advertisement. I cut out an image of a boy that I photographed
around college and I used him to create an advert about South Downs
college. I feel it works really well because it makes the advert stand out
from the rest. The transparent blue that I used here is the one that I took
through t my inside page and website pages.
(I like the technique
and I took it through
to make a larger
advertisement on
other pages)

11. All the fonts that I have used have been inspired by The News. This is
because I have looked at how bold and simple they are, with the intention
to stand out. I tried to find fonts that where similar to these and I think I
did very well with these as they all stand out. I have used more of a toned
down font on my front covers main image as it is a light hearted story
unlike the dramatic tone of the other headline fonts. I wanted this font to
be more sensitive so I chose a feminine font and made it white so that it
would still stand out from its background.
(more dramatic font (I feel the italic font
for a shocking story) looks more sensitive)

12. Develop
I have developed the forms and conventions of real media
products because I have used my own images and developed
them to get the look that I want. I have cut out people in
images that I feel don't fit into my newspaper and used the
extra space to put text there.
(Original image with another band member has been cut out to achieve the desired look)
My flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/67934968@N02/6789166123
/in/set-72157629098451003/

13. I have also developed the forms and conventions of real media
products by using colours to create emotions and moods to my
stories and advertisements. I have used dark colours such as the
darker blue, on my front cover to create a serious mood so that
people know that the news paper is informative. I have used a light
blue on the inside page to create a light hearted feel to the page so
that the audience know that the newspaper isn’t going to just be
about conflicting issues, it will be about light hearted stories too. In
one of my advertisements about a holiday to California I have used a
yellow so that the advert feels ‘sunny’. This will draw people towards
the advert.

14. I think this light colour works well in
relaxing the consumer. It lets them know
that the news isn’t all dark there is a
lighter side.
I feel that the dark blue gives a great
informative feel without being to tedious.

15. I have used fonts to also create good and bad feels to stories. I have used
bold harsh fonts to make the reader feel that the story is important and
serious. I think the font is very important in catching the audiences eyes as it
determines whether they would be interested in buying the paper. I have
used more elegant fonts to give stories a more uplifting feel and I think this
works well as it again shows the lighter and nicer side to the news.

16. I have used an advert which consists of a college student coming out of the
top. You don't normally find this technique on an advert, however I
thought it would make it seem more interesting and it may stand out more
to the consumer. I kept the advert quite plain as he adds an element of
interest and I feel that if I added more then the advert would be too
overpowering.
(He looks happy to be at college
so I think this advert is
successful).

17. Challenge
I don't feel like my work challenges the forms and conventions of a real
media products because it very much uses them. There is only one way in
which I feel that I have challenges them and that's through the images that
I have used. This is because in an everyday newspaper you would find
images of lots of people. I have used limited images of people in my work
and only chosen images from the local area of roads work signs, bins, a
college building and a tree to set the seen of the area. I did use images
with people in on all pages however my images all seem to consist of the
local environment. The audience may want to see more people in the
newspaper so that they could relate to them, however I feel that there
isn’t a need in my work as I think I have provided an adequate amount.