AS Media Studies

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

2. Before beginning to construct my magazine I researched into
the common conventions of my magazine genre, particularly
looking at NME. I also looked at other similar magazine such as
Q and KERRANG where I learnt about the main conventions
needed to make my magazine look realistic. These conventions
included masthead, coverlines, pull quote, page number,
barcode etc… The more I looked at different front covers,
contents pages and double page spreads the more I knew how
to apply these conventions on a page. The style and format of
my magazine needed to be consistent throughout in order to
make the genre obvious and represent my audience
accurately.

3. PURPOSES OF EACH PRODUCT
To ensure a product of a magazine looks sophisticated, official and professional the standard
conventions should be used correctly to their full purpose.
The front cover is the most important page of a magazine for a company as it represents the style
and content of the rest of the magazine. The page must look aesthetically pleasing, be easy to
read and stand out against other products. It is the first thing a potential customer will see
therefore advertisement is key via coverlines and puffs to attract them to open the magazine and
read on.
The contents page is the next page which should inform the reader what the magazine contains
by chronologically listing each article. The page should also be easy to read so the reader can
navigate across the page to find the article/s they want to look at. Articles should be again be
advertised e.g. through pictures, linking to a article.
A double page spread is an article spread across two pages which could be an interview, review,
report or advertisement. Standardly, conventions such as pull quotes, images and text are used.

4. CONVENTIONS USED
• Front Cover
Puff
Masthead/logo
Pull Quote
Strapline Barcode – issue date, website address and
price
Slogan
CoverlinesMain coverline/
headline
Issue number
Main image central on the page
Buzz word
Thirds

5. INSPIRATION – FRONT COVER

6. COMPARING FRONT COVERS
Mastheads
My issue of VINYL and this issue of NME are very similar in that style and conventions used are
almost the same. Firstly the standard convention of positioning the masthead in the top left
hand corner of the page has been used, enabling the Z theory to be followed. The masthead as
well as the logo both use a very blocky and bold sans-serif font making it easy to read from a
variety of distances. When choosing possible fonts for my masthead I was inspired by the style
of NME as I really liked the shape of the letters and thought they were effective and confirmed
to their purpose. Unlike NME I wanted to make my masthead look more stylish and quirky to suit
the ‘indie’ persona, therefore I stretched the V to make it more iconic and memorable like a logo
should be. I found my inspiration for this idea from Q magazine’s logo which is simply consists of
a stylish capital q against a red box. I also changed the colour of the V to a dark electric blue
which has obvious connotations of music as well linking in with my colour scheme. The word
VINYL also has connotations of music, mainly older more retro music emphasising that my
magazine includes older indie artists as well as new ones.

7. COMPARING FRONT COVERS
Main Image
The two main images are very similar in the fact that the subject matter is a young teenage girl.
By using a female on the front cover of my magazine subverts the traditional stereotypes of an
indie music magazine. Usually only males feature on the front cover denoting that the
magazine is aimed at men. I found this out after struggling to find a indie magazine on the
internet that had a female as the cover model. The compositions of the models are very similar
as a mid almost close-up shot has been captured, a standard convention of a front cover. Both
images have also been taken from a slightly higher vantage point with the model looking
towards the lens. This creates an intense and intimate relationship between the artist and
reader which is an important way of engaging the reader and catching their eye. Both images
have been captured against a white backdrop making it easy to layer other colours around the
shape of the model, another common convention. However the poses the models are
expressing are very dissimilar. Usually artists would show no obvious facial expression
connoting seriousness. However my artist subverts this idea as she is smiling whilst sticking her
tongue out and winking adding more fun and creating a light-hearted mood. I think this pose is
more appropriate for my age group especially as it connotes Millie is a happy fun person,
making her more interesting to read about.
The mise en scene of the models is very homogeneous as they both wear tartan flannel shirts
in a very untidy scruffy way. Their hair is not perfectly styled and they both wear minimal
make-up.

8. COMPARING FRONT COVERS
Cover Lines
Both VINYL and NME have included a pull quote taken from the double page spread article
about the cover artist. I think this is a very effective and clever convention to include as it gives
the reader a taster of what the article is about, making them want to read it further inside. To
accentuate mine, I highlighted words ‘2015’ and ‘MAKE IT’ against the solid black box
contrasting the bold colours. I think the pull quote I chose is very effective and intriguing,
hopefully making the reader want to read more. NME doesn’t use very many cover lines
especially compared to VINYL, which is fault of that magazine.
Other similar conventions used include a puff used to advertise a competition, cover lines,
barcode and issue information.

9. • Other Comparisons

10. CONVENTIONS USED
• Contents Page
Masthead
Menu of main
articles – main written content
Page numbers
Image captions
Subscription offer advertisement
Social media information
Summary of this issue
Logo
Images
Issue information and website address
Page number
Side Headings

11. INSPIRATION – CONTENTS PAGE

12. COMPARING CONTENTS PAGES
Masthead
Together Q and VINYL have very similar mastheads. The company logo is positioned next to the
word ‘CONTENTS’ with other conventions such as website address, issue number and date
positioned underneath. The typography is similar as another bold sans-serif font has been used,
however in VINYL the words has been made italics and bright red. I did this because I felt when
constructing the contents page the masthead did not stand out as much as it should, therefore I
made these alterations. By adding extra red I was continuing my colour scheme from the front
cover onto the direct next page, making the reader recognise the magazine they are reading.

13. COMPARING CONTENTS PAGES
Main Menu Text
Both my magazine and Q’s challenges the
convention of dividing the page into three columns.
This is a common convention seen on most
contents pages. However instead I divided mine
into two columns, still making the page look
organised, easy to read and navigate around.
I also organised the list of articles in chronological
order under three main side headings; news,
reviews and features. I chose these features after
researching into other contents pages including
NME, Q and KERRANG. I liked the look of white text
backed behind red boxes as it clearly divided up the
sections more clearly. I also added grey
backgrounds to some sections of the page, again to
add clear divided sections.

14. • Other Comparisons

15. CONVENTIONS USED
• Double Page Spread
Logo
Credits
Main article text
Main headline/pull
quote
Page number
Pull quote
Photograph
information
Artist name
Drop Cap
Summary of artist
In relation to article/
kicker
Main image
Columns

16. INSPIRATION – DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

17. COMPARING DOUBLE PAGE SPREADS
Masthead // Pull Quote
To introduce the reader and captivate them to the article I used a pull quote as the masthead of
my spread. The quote taken from the main article is a standard convention of a double page
spread. In resemblance to KERRANG, I rotated the pull quote and added coloured boxes behind
the text to really absorb the reader. I also emphasized the word ‘BIGGEST’ hugely just like
KERRANG emphasized ‘ABSOLUTELY’. This is very effective technique as these words are both
very powerful and important to what the article is about. I also thought it made sense to make
‘BIGGEST’ the largest word on the page, making the masthead shout out to the reader. In the
masthead I have also used all the main colours from my chosen colour scheme.

18. COMPARING DOUBLE PAGE SPREADS
Main Image
The main similarity between these two articles is the main images used. Both individual artist's
are positioned left of the shot allowing the text to be positioned to cover the right. The
background colour behind the singers consist of grey, however mine is far more interesting as it
detailed street art. The model’s poses are very chilled and casual, where they look comfortable
in front of the camera, possibly connoting that they feel comfortable opening up to their fans via
their interview. Both shots are mid- shorts with a lot background space, the image has then
been stretched over two pages. This then makes the spread successfully flow across the two
pages instead of making them look separate.

19. • Other Comparisons

20. HOUSE STYLE
A common form of VINYL is that very relaxed and informal language is used to appeal to my young audience.
However standard and correct English is used to make the product seem official and legitamle. I have used a
consistent colour scheme consisting of mostly red, blue and black with random bursts of other neutral colours such
as white and grey. On the front cover and contents page I also included a dark burgundy shade taken from the
cover models t-shirt she wears in the main image of the front cover. The font style is also very fluent as I have used
very similar or the same font throughout including mostly ‘Microsoft Sans Serif’ and ‘Segeo UI’. I used mostly sans-
serif fonts as these are the easiest to read and a common style used on indie music magazines. Whilst analysing
NME magazine I discovered that bold round fonts are used which is where I gained inspiration for the font of my
masthead. I really like NME’s font therefore I wanted to find one very similar using dafont.com. To make my logo
slightly more quirky and different from others like NME, I deliberately stretched the V and made it a different
colour to make it more prominent and noticeable. I also added a slight dark shadow around the letter to project it
off the page and make it stand out increasingly against the white background. Another common form of this issue
is using the colour red to highlight artist name or important words. For example, on the front cover I used red
boxes positioned behind the text to highlight the exclusive and exciting artists featured inside the magazine.
Following the contents page I used red for the masthead and side headings, then pull quote on double page
spread.
Overall I feel have successfully followed and applied well the conventions of a music magazine. Due to the fluency
of my three products I feel my magazine looks very professional and well-designed.