This is Question 1 of my AS Media Coursework. In what ways does your media product use, develop and challenge forms and conventions of real media products.

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

2. When I started to make my magazine cover, contents page and double page
spread I conducted research to find out what the generic conventions
were/what the magazine needed in order to look like a typical magazine. Here
are what the generic conventions were for the front cover:
Cover lines
Layering
Puff
Bold masthead/slogan
Date of issue
Issue
number
Barcode
Price
Strip
Similar typography
over front cover
Medium or
medium close up
of model/celebrity
Direct mode of address Maintaining the house style of the
magazine.
Colour theme
maintained

3. • I used a bold masthead at the top of the
magazine so that it stood out. I wanted the
masthead and the artist to be seen best. The
masthead is shown as being big so people can
easily see what the name of the magazine is. it
needed to be especially big as it’s a new
magazine. I used the image of the artist on the
magazine to get the audience’s attention to make
them want to buy the magazine and to appeal to
my target audience which is why I followed these
conventions

4. Generic Conventions for a Contents Page:
Contents page stated at
the top of magazine
Masthead logo
Smaller images which
relate to the magazine
Same colour
theme is used for
the front cover
Advertisement
for a feature in
the magazine
Same font stays
the same
throughout
One main image which
relates to the featured
article
Page numbers to
categories
different stories
Clear layout- easy
to read

5. • I made all the topic numbers clear and added
topic headings so it is easy for my audience to
find the page number and able to read the
story they are interested in. When researching
content pages I tried to follow them as well as
I could make them look like a real magazine
and to appeal to readers who will buy my
magazine.

6. Generic Conventions for a Double Page Spread:
Enlarged artist
name
Attention grabbing headline
Smaller version of masthead
in bottom right corner
Interview of main celebrity
Picture of interviewee 3 or 4 columns of text
Page
numbers
Drop Cap

7. • In my double page spread I followed all the
conventions as well as I could as I wanted it to
look real and I wanted my target audience to
be interested in it.

8. • I decided to use all of the most common
conventions in my magazine cover as I wanted
it to look exactly like a professional magazine
cover. If I went against the generic
conventions of the magazine cover then this
could result in customers not thinking it is very
professional. I followed the generic
conventions so it looked realistic and appeals
to my target audience.
• I followed conventions of a real music
magazine by having the main image directly in
the middle of the magazine. My main image
was a well known Rock artist whose interview
takes place in the magazine. Most magazines
do this as they need to leave room for cover
lines etc.
• The mise-en-scene of the image also follows
the conventions as the shot is a medium close-
up. However, some magazines I looked at went
against the generic conventions and decided to
have long shots of their artists.

9. • The masthead was placed
at the top left of my
magazine and I enlarged it
so that it was the boldest
thing on the page.
• This is because it needs to
be seen first by viewers so
they know what magazine
they are buying.

10. • Magazine’s used to be stacked
over each other on the shelf
meaning, the only part of the
front cover which was seen was
the left hand side, this is the most
important side therefore had the
most important headline on and
the masthead.
• Magazines are no longer stacked
in most shops however, the
convention is still followed.
• This is because we are known to
read from left to right, bottom to
top. Overall, having the most
important parts of the magazine
in the top left hand corner means
they will be read first.

11. Above are some real media products. All of the above have typical generic conventions
such as a masthead, retained colour schemes/fonts and rocky styled mise-en-scene. I
made sure I studied these magazine covers to ensure that I knew the exact style I
needed to pull off a Rock genre music magazine.
I made sure that I made similar mise-en-scene choices to convey the rock genre so that
my magazine looked similar to a typical rock magazine. I copied the idea of having a
leather jacket on my front cover.

12. • The girls in the middle magazine front cover are both wearing
black leather jackets. I used this idea for my cover and took photos
of a girl with a leather jacket on to maintain a rocky look. I put
dark coloured lip stick on my model to give a more edgy look and
to make her look more dangerous and unique. I was going for
poses where my artist had a serious facial expression which also
showed attitude.

13. • The only main difference I can find is that my magazine front cover contains a
main image as well as 3 smaller images of other artist which will feature in
the magazine. The examples of rock magazine I have studied only have a
main image picture and only text about other artists. Although not all the
magazine covers I researched had more than one image like mine I believe
having more than one image on the front cover is more beneficial for the
magazine.
• This is because readers can view who are mainly in the magazine before
having to pick the magazine off the shelf and look at the contents page.
Readers may not like the main artists taking up the whole of the front cover
so won’t decide to purchase the magazine. However, if there are multiple
artists presented then there is more chance of readers liking one of them
and wanting to read about them.
My front cover

14. • Both my front cover and contents page
have multiple pictures on as they are
used to grab reader’s attention to
quickly show them who’s in the
magazine and who the interview’s
about.
• Without any pictures of artists,
readers would be less likely to
purchase the magazine as they
wouldn’t go to the effort to read who
is in the magazine. Readers like to skim
the cover and contents of the
magazine quickly to get a view at how
entertaining the magazine will be for
them.
• With no picture’s then buyers will go
to another magazine which interests
them more instead.