Question 1 for my AS media coursework

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

2. One way that my media product conforms to the conventions of music magazines is the
title. The picture above shows the title of my magazine. I have chosen to use a bold
font, which stretches from one edge of the page to the other. This is a convention which
the majority of magazines I looked at such as Kerrang and Rock Sound do. I have also
included part of the logo within the title, which is the stars surrounding the name. This
challenges magazine conventions as the logo (shown below) is usually featured on the
front cover. I chose not to include the logo as it would be featured elsewhere in the
magazine and also because I felt it would make the front cover appear cluttered. A final
way in which my title conforms to other magazines is that I have used a contrasting red
and white colour scheme for it. My title does not conform as I chose to use more than
one word for my title. This may have been a risky choice as it isn’t as catchy as other
magazine names such as Kerrang or abbreviated names such as NME.

3. This look is concidered to be a popular style with young people and it also places my model into a particular style of
music. The use of a small font for the interview conforms to typical music magazines as it allowed me to fit more text
on the page, which allowed for a longer interview. Finally by keeping my colour scheme to a minimum of three colours,
I have conformed to the conventions of real media products as they generally keep to the same three or four colours,
as shown by the research pages on my blogs. One aspect which challenged the conventions of media products is by
using unconventional means of creating the product. I decided to try using lipstick to create the world help and the
scanned the image in. I chose to do this as it once again adds to the femininity of the page and also adds texture to the
page.
The mise en scene of the double
page spread conforms to the
conventions of real media
products. Using a black background
ensured that the image of my
model and the text stood out. I
chose to use the pink and white to
feminize the page as black can be
seen as a harsh masculine colour,
by using these paler more feminine
colour it allows the page to fit with
a more girly style which is
something I was aiming for when
creating this double page spread.
The costume which my model is
wearing conforms to other
magazines as many females wear
plaid shirts and denim shorts
during photoshoots.

4. My contents page conforms to the
conventions of other media products as
I used one main image with smaller
ones across the page. I chose to do this
because it allows the page to look more
professional. However I developed this
by only using three images which take
up the majority of the space on the
page. I made this decision as it creates
a more minimalistic look while taking
up room on the page. Another way in
which my contents page conforms to
real media products is by using a
minimal colour scheme which runs
throughout the magazine, this is the
black red and white. I chose this colour
scheme as they contrast and stand out
against each other. By keeping to these
three colours I have created a brand
image. By using page numbers next to
articles this conforms to the majority of
magazines as this is needed to show
readers were articles are.

5. Another way that I conformed to the conventions was by using
different people on my three pages. I did this as I magazines
tend to feature multiple artists which provides readers with
more content. I also chose to do this as repetitive images of the
same artist would make the magazine appear quiet boring. I
also chose to use my model as my main image and use her on
every page. However unlike most music magazines I did not use
an image of her as my main image on the contents page. I
chose to do this as I felt I had stronger more prominent images
of other people, so chose the strongest image for the main
image.