2. In what ways does your media product, use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? The layout of my media product is very much in keeping with a stereotypical music magazine. The masthead ‘RAW’ is placed at the top and attracts the reader into taking an interest. This convention is common with most music magazines such as RWD and VIBE. The choice of shot I used for the cover I feel challenges the conventions of a real media product, simply because of its angle. Through research I came across mass covers where the artist is slightly looking down at the camera but yet we still remain at eye level . I decided to contrast this totally within my media product and have my model being above the camera . I did this because I felt it went with my theme of ‘up and coming artists’ and this feeling of being on top of the world The features that are placed on either side gives the reader insight into what is inside and even entices them to see what will be said, this is also a very popular convention within real media products, the use of well known musicians mentioned on the cover makes the consumer want to know more. By placing a web address on the front cover it enables people who are more computer friendly to be apart of it online, opening my product up to a wider range of people. This develops the conventions of real media products because it informs the consumer straight away that there is an alternative rather than them having to purchase the media product to find out it is available online. In terms of my colour choice , I looked at a range of magazines and found that with grime , hip hop and rnb, black and white seemed to be popular colours, showing class and even sometimes authority , following this formality I also decided to incorporated another colour, I chose red. I chose this colour because it can be i nterpreted in a number of different ways , but in all cases it always gets noticed . In this this particular formatting I wanted it to be seen as a warning colour, as if I am telling the reader to ‘ look out’ for this up and coming artist. After looking at a series of music magazines I began to look at the reoccurring themes that they consist of. I then began to brainstorm ideas which would be original, yet still in keeping with the conformity of a music magazine.
3. Similar to real media products, I wanted the theme from the front cover to continue through to the contents page, choosing the same reds, blacks and dark purples , that were seen on the front cover, so that the consumer can make that direct correlation between the two. Relating back to the conventions of a real media product, I spilt the contents into two sections , allowing the audience to see straight away what they want to look at and what page it is on. Unlike real media products I decided to make the setting the main picture rather than the artist. I wanted the reader to relate back to the cover and to be reminded of the ‘LDN edition’. The text I used also relates back to the text on the front cover. The block looking font is remote within rnb and grime magazines, tying in with my chosen genre- grime . I decided to develop this idea of shared unity within my media product by naming the contents ‘Whts Rawing’ rather than just the ‘contents’ that is used in many real media products. This language allows the audience to feel more apart of it, using slang to entice a specific age range of people who will be familiar with the slang used.
4. Following the conventions of a real media magazine double page spread proved demanding because of the amount of rules that have to be followed to make it a success product. Whilst still keeping my theme I focused in on the artist mentioned on the front cover which is common within real media magazines. This works as the ‘convincer’ almost, making the consumer buy the magazine based on this article. The heading immediately tells the consumer what is going to be talked about, LDN GRIME, this font then immediately associates to the MJAY and takes the readers eye straight back to the artist. The use of this same colouring within the text allows the reader to know straight away what was said my MJAY because of the colour connection By using other pictures of the artist with his ‘former band’ allow the audience to make a direct correlation to what is being said in the article, almost as if they are looking in his past and now they seeing him as a completely reformed person. Through research I found that consumers enjoy visual aids, to help them associate with what is going on. After looking into this I looked at real music magazines and found that the picture frequently takes up most of the spread and the text tends to be much less in comparison. Another convention that is popular in real media products is the use of quotes above the article to tell the audience a little bit more of what they are reading. I decided not to incorporate this onto my double page and quoted on my front cover instead
5. Developments Final draft First draft The first draft I had done didn’t quite conform to the real magazine standards. As you can see the barcode is at the top and this is not used very often in real media products. This is because it takes away from the audiences attraction to the magazine, because it is at the top of the page. In my final cover I moved the barcode to the bottom of the page and moved my master head up, enabling it to be seen and recognised. By moving my quotes down, across the models frame it makes the audience have a direct correlation to this person and what they have said. By adding a small advertising board at the bottom it makes the page longer and more magazine like rather than a poster, allowing the consumer to identify what my media product is without confusion.
