Question 1

IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP AND CHALLENGE
FORMS & CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?
The product I have created is a new music magazine. The
forms (building blocks) I used, include graphics, text and
images.
The conventions of a music magazine cover
include:
- image of an artist or a band at the center
- eye contact from artist
- headline (main feature)
- cover lines (includes what’s inside the magazine)
- text fits around the edges
- name of the magazine on the front cover
(masthead)
- portrait
- date line
- pull quotes
- selling lines
I did not challenge the conventions of a music magazine because I felt following them would
allow me to create the best magazine I could as it would be more obvious as to what I had
created and avoid looking very amateur.

IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP AND
CHALLENGE FORMS & CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?
The masthead, a convention
that features in most
magazines.
I chose to have my artist giving eye contact
Because I felt this would encourage people to
read the magazine by communicating with them.
This is a popular convention of a magazine.
For example, both these magazines have a masthead and
Have the artist giving eye contact:

Masthead:
The masthead is the biggest bit of text
on my cover and fills the whole top part
of my cover page. Unlike magazines like
NME and Q which has created a brand
that has a masthead not filling the whole
top of their page.
I chose the name Platform because my
magazine will be an all genre magazine and
focus on chart music, I feel it reflects all music
and doesn’t limit itself to one genre.
Also, my magazine will be a platform for
music, so I like how the name can link to the
function of the actual magazine.
I used the font, Death Star, and added a shadow effect around it to force it to stand out so it
was clear to the reader.

Cover photo:
The artist is placed at the center of the page, with a white
background.
The artist is making eye contact with the reader in order to
make a connection with the audience.
Headline:
The headline is the main feature and
is the second largest text on the cover.
I made the text close together, by
decreasing the line spacing between
the surname and the forename.
This made the headline look more
grouped together and made it look
more interesting than if it just had one
font and was on a single line.
The lead in lets the audience know why the
artist is featuring in the magazine. I made sure
I didn’t give too much away in order to ensure
my audience still wanted to find out more and
buy the magazine.

Cover lines:
Cover lines are other features in your magazine. They are
smaller than the headline because they aren’t the main
feature and are usually place around the artist’s photo to
prevent covering the main selling point of the issue.
I added a stroke to the word “exclusive’’ to ensure it stood
out. This is because the fact it is exclusive is good
because the reader can’t get it anywhere else making it a
going point to make as the magazine offers something
others can’t.

Editor’s letter. This is a
personal touch and
allows the reader to
know a little more about
the editor, and their
views.
Pull quote from
the main feature
to attract the
reader.
A common
convention in all
magazines.
Categories to make it
easier for the reader
to find what they’re
looking for.
Page numbers are a
vital convention of a
content page as it’s
purpose is to guide the
readers to each page.
Underneath each page
content is an
introduction to what
the article is about.
This intrigues the
reader, encouraging
them to read on.

One of my magazine
features is the Platform’s
Monthly Top 100. This took
inspiration from Billboard
magazine.

The body text is split over three
columns to divide the text
equally across the page. This is
a common convention of a
magazine article.
Another common convention of
a magazine is to have the artist
photo on one side of the double
page spread and the article
writing on the other. I did this in
my draft but then added a box
of information about the artist
on the photo side, not only to
improve the way it looked to
avoid the second page looking
empty but also I think it’s a
good and interesting feature to
include and gives an easy read
and introduction of the artist to
the reader.
I did my article in question and answer format because
I feel this is the most enjoyable way to read about
someone’s life and provides a personal touch, allowing
the audience to really feel a connection with artist
rather than someone who knows little about the artist
writing about them as an outsider.

Developing ideas
I took inspiration from Q
magazine, specifically their Ed
Sheeran issue.
I first took inspiration from the
magazine in that I liked the
photography and how the artist
was holding a guitar.
I also liked how the headline and
artist’s name took a more rounded
approach in that the headline was
central compared to the cover
lines which were placed at the
start of the cover image. This
forces the headline to stand out.

Both follow the conventions of a
music magazine.
This issue of Vibe magazine
also inspired me. I liked how it
had a white background and
orange writing.
The vibe magazine has the
same colour scheme all the
way through, the masthead is
the same colour as some of the
cover lines.
My magazine’s masthead is
completely separate from the
cover’s content.
This is because I wanted the
masthead to be the same on
every issue (if it was a being
released every month) to
really create a brand. I feel on the Vibe magazine, the masthead is not the thing that stands out
most and I think it’s important so the target audience are aware who make the magazine.
Therefore, I made the masthead orange and created a blue issue featuring an acoustic artist. I
made the stroke around the ‘free’ orange so there was a little hint of orange to tie the
masthead’s colour in.

Developing ideas
My contents page was inspired by two
magazines.

On this Q magazine, I
liked how the featuring
artist took up most of
the content page.
I also liked how the
text was to the left of
the artist and the
column headings and
the numbers were the
same colour.
My text follows the same
scheme in that the page
numbers and the column
headings are the same
colour.
My artist photography is
the focal point of the
content page, like in the Q
magazine content page.

Another magazine
that inspired my
content page was
Billboard magazine.
A sense of identity in
the content page. I
was inspired by this
because I want my
magazine to be a
strong and well
known brand, and by
having it at the top of
the page it really
emphasizes this.
I also liked the idea of having extra photos which included what was
on the inside of the magazine. I wanted to have a very clean and
tidy content page, which is why I have a white background, so I felt
just one extra photo was appropriate.

I like how this magazine has both text and
photos on both sides of the page, which
creates a full looking magazine.
I like how it has a strip of information,
which is similar to what I added to my
magazine.
Both these magazines have sloped
headlines, which in my opinion, creates a
fun effect, and makes my very organised
and clean magazine have a fun edge to it.

Again this has a sloped headline, but it was
the text in this magazine that inspired me,
as I too have a question and answer article.
I like how the questions stand out from the
answers, they have put a white highlight
over the questions.
Keeping to my theme, I made the questions
bold and made them orange. This makes it
easier for the readers to understand the
article as they know what the artist is
answering easily.

Challenging ideas
I chose to have a conventional
magazine to appeal to a mainstream
audience as my magazine is a multi-
genre magazine.
By going against the conventions you
may exclude people as they could think
the magazine is too out there for them
as it attracts a more unique audience.

This is an example of an unconventional magazine
cover. Firstly, the masthead is horizontal rather than
straight across the top of the page. This is unusual as
most magazines don’t do this.
Also, there are no cover lines, just the headline,
which tells the audience nothing about what else is in
the magazine. There is no bar code or price on the
cover, making this a very bare magazine cover.
Equally, this is an
unconventional magazine
cover because it has no
cover lines, nor does it give
us an insight to who this
person on the cover is, or
why they are on it.
Usually magazine covers let
the audience know a little bit
about what is in the
magazine to intrigue them.

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