The document discusses how the author's media product uses and challenges conventions of real magazines. The masthead layout challenges conventions by being vertical on the left side rather than horizontal across the top. While some elements follow conventions, like a consistent color scheme and readable capital letters, other aspects are unique, such as circular shapes around the masthead. The author also discusses layouts and design elements of the cover, contents pages, and spreads, noting how some follow conventions of real magazines while others take unique approaches.

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

2. TITLE LAYOUT:
The masthead for my magazine challenges the conventions of real media products, because the layout of this masthead is
different and unique from other magazines. You would expect the masthead to be going across the magazine at the top of
the image; instead this masthead is going down on the left hand side of this magazine. This is not how a real magazine
would have but I decided to take a different approach and make my magazine very different to the real conventions of
‘normal’ magazines. In addition, by positioning my masthead at the side of my magazine rather than across the top, when it
is in the shop along with the other magazines and if another magazine is on top of this magazine, the masthead would still
be visible to the customers so it is seen easily and clearly. Since the masthead dominates a fraction of the left hand side of
the magazine, it is still dominating from the top to the bottom and this is important because it allows a definite
identification with the audience so that they can familiarize with the name of this magazine, also to make sure it stands out.
In terms of how the masthead was presented was different to the way normal magazines would have it. They do not usually
have ‘circles’ or any other form of shapes around their masthead, whereas mine does, and this goes perfectly well with the
name which also makes it stand out and have its own unique signature whereas other magazines do not have this. So this is
not a usual convention of a real magazine. The naming of the masthead is very different to what people’s expectations
would be, which all the more makes my magazine very unique, so this doesn’t conform to the audience’s expectations.

3. MASTHEAD:
In ways which my masthead does use the usual
conventions of a magazine is that it has one
main color which stands out from the image
and the background to make it bright and
easier for the audience to see. And this is
carried on with the rest of my magazine. The
color scheme is kept consistent throughout the The reason behind me positioning my masthead in a
magazine which is how all magazines should very different manner to the way it is usually done was
have it. because I came across this magazine while researching
The fact that letters inside the circle shapes are rock magazines and have realised that they have their
not in any fancy letters makes it easier for the masthead ‘i-D’ positioned not in the usual way a rock
audience to see as it is not hard to read the magazine would have it. Also, they seem to position
letters. Also, it is in all capital letters so that this their masthead either sideways going down or going
stands out and usually all magazines have their across from the left hand side of the magazine in
masthead in capital letters to show that this is different issues of their magazines. I thought about this
the name of the magazine and it is important and thought this is a new, different and unique idea for
that the audience familiarize with it. It is more my magazine seeing as no other rock magazines have
attention-grabbing rather than lower case. this. It would make my magazine more unique than
others and would also make my magazine more
Another way in which it uses typical recognizable due to this. This was a bold approach
conventions of a real magazine is that the seeing as either the audience could either like or dislike
masthead is on top of my main image and this it but it was a risk worth taking because from the
is how most magazines have it, especially as audience feedback I have gathered they seemed to
this is a new magazine, in time the masthead agree with my idea and liked this new different
could be behind the main image if the approach. It didn’t mean I would be changing my
magazine gets to be well known and successful masthead from going down and going across, it would
with the public. just be going down in all my magazines. So this was not
a usual use of convention for real magazines.

4. MIS-EN-SCENE,
COSTUME AND PROPS:
This magazine is my inspiration of how I
wanted my rock magazine to look like. As
you can see I have applied the similar colour
schemes because it has a very rock-theme to
it. This magazine has been very successful
with the public and they have been
producing more editions and the target
audience seem to like it, so I went with the
similar approach and decided to make my
one like that to. Even though they have their
masthead behind their model I did not want
to do this because this was a new magazine
which had yet to be recognized with the
public.
Furthermore, as you can see their model is wearing full black clothing which is very typical for a rock artist to wear;
however, having a bit of another colour; white, would look more nicer to the whole theme. The colour of their clothes have
been picked out carefully because black and white are a very typical conventions of a rock artist to show heavy metal and
drum, to show the power in their music, and these are a usual outfit for a rock artist to wear. I have gone with the typical
conventions of this because it is very easy to realise when one is into rock music by the clothes they were. These colours
have been contrasted to my whole magazine for the audience to easily see this magazine is a rock genre. In addition, their
model is sat with a neutral look and I decided to portray this on my models face too so this does conform the basic
conventions of a real rock magazine. Half of ‘Led Zeppelin’s’ face is masked with shadow whilst the other half is very clear to
see, even though I found it hard to do this with my model too, I decided to make her look to the right so you can only see
half of her face. As well as this, ‘Led Zeppelin’ is written in a completely different font which hasn’t been used in any other
part of the magazine and the font is very large going across the page, I contrasted this to my magazine as well. This gives it a
different look to it and shows the main story is about him and he is the centre of attention in this magazine. The fact that
Led Zeppelin is being posed by himself without no props also gives off the fact that the whole magazine isn’t just about his
music career but there is more to it, which has been reflected back on to my magazine too, which is what I wanted to show.

5. MIS-EN-SCENE:
By looking at the color and contrast of the effect that I have put on my image it shows
the very typical conventions of usual rock magazines. Black and white would instantly
appeal to all rock fans and this is how other successful magazines have it. By looking at
the image it straight away gives off that rock vibe. Usually they wouldn’t have an effect
put on the main image but I have an effect on mine to make it look more dark and
mysterious than usual ones, so it has something different about it. This I done by using
‘tools’ on Photoshop to edit my image. This goes against the usual conventions of a real
media product because they do not usually put an effect on their front cover image, but
I thought it would look better if it had an effect on it which would also make it different
to other rock magazines. When you look at a rock magazine it consists mainly of the
colors black, white with another very bright color which is usually red and this has been
done on my magazine as well so it is easy to tell which genre my magazine is. Usual
models of a real magazine would wear very basic clothing which is either black or white
and my model is wearing mostly black with white too so this conforms the usual
conventions. The model of my image is also wearing black lipstick, this is very
stereotypical as to how rock bands would have it too so this is typical convention is
carried on to my magazine as well. What has been used is that all rock models would
have very neutral faces without showing too much emotion on their faces and this is
how I have chose to make my model look too.
The shot type that I used is a mid-shot and this was because usually all rock magazines
use this shot on their models in most real media products which makes them look
professional and the main idea was for the audience to focus on her facial features
rather than any other part of the magazine.
Sometimes, the model(s) on the front cover are either in a studio posing for the picture
or they are in a different outside location against a wall, etc. My magazine has her
model in a studio posing for the photo and this conforms the conventions of a real
magazine.

6. However, an aspect that challenges the conventions of my music
magazine is that the model is looking away from the camera
whereas, other models would be making direct eye contact. I
have chose to do this because it would make my model look
more sexy and alluring showing that there is more to her than
meets the eye. This would also make it look different to how
other magazines have it.
In a way which differs my magazine to others and does not use
typical conventions of a real magazine is that you see most
magazines have more than one image on their front cover as
well as the main image to show the variety that contains inside,
however, I have differed to it to only have one main image on
my front cover. This shows that the main focus and the main
story is all about her and her life, that is the main focus of the
magazine. This keeps my magazine simple but affective and
professional.
Also, in rock magazines, there is usually a rock band with either
some sort of instruments such as drums or guitars but my image
is only of one model even though she is in a rock band, and the
fact that she has no instrument in her hand shows and tells the
audience that the main focus is on her life only. My model has
been placed in the middle with nothing else around her so this
doesn’t conform usual conventions of a rock magazine.

7. Moreover, the cover lines on my front cover vary as to how usual
magazines would have it. Yet again this adds to the mysteriousness but
this also keeps my magazine simple but affective because it looks
professional with only a few cover lines rather than covering the front
cover up with loads of them.
Other magazines would have loads of cover lines spread across the front
cover to show the variety it consists; however, I could not add too many
cover lines due to the piece of clothing on my model, it wasn’t very clear
to see it so I had to minimalise how many cover lines I had. And the name
of the band covers up most of the magazine because I have made it very
large as this is the cover story of what’s going to be inside.
I decided to make my cover lines three different font because this goes
well together as I have seen whilst researching on other rock magazines.
And making the cover lines red then white then red again makes it look
attractive because most of the magazine is black and white which adds
colour to it. In addition, changing the font size of my cover lines makes it
look more attractive because the main bits are in a bigger size.
I have made the bands name very large on my front cover because this is
the main story that is going to be inside. This is also in red because this is
important than the rest, also because the colour red isn’t used much on
the front cover and red is part of the colour scheme for my magazine. By
making it a different front that isn’t used any where else on the front
cover makes it look very different and interesting. It also conforms with
the genre ‘Rock’.

8. CONTENTS PAGE:
The inspiration of how I was going to layout my
contents page was from this other contents page from
another rock magazine. They had it very simple and
easy for the audience to see the images and read the
text without getting confused. The images were placed
at the sides without it clashing with anything else and
the text in another box. I decided to go with this idea
too seeing as it was easy, simple and wouldn’t confuse
the readers. The images that were set out were clear to
see and it went with the text because it showed what
was going to be inside, I have done this too and this is a
use of real media products because this is what all
magazines should be doing so the audience know
exactly what they are looking at. My images yet again
remained with the effect that I used on the image on
my front cover, I wanted to keep this effect consistent
in all my images because this showed professionalism
and had a real nice look to it.
I had the model who was in my front cover on my contents page too because her story was the main focus of this magazine.
All my models are making direct eye contact with the camera as the way they are on the other magazine and this engages
with the audience immediately and draws them in; this is a form of convention used in real media products. In terms of my
location I have taken these photo’s in a studio rather than an outdoor location because I wanted to keep all the images that I
used consistent in one location showing the background isn’t the main focus, the models are. Moreover, the design that I
used for my masthead on the front cover has been kept consistent onto my contents page because this showed that my
magazine is professional, and the way I had my masthead going down the page has been carried onto my contents page too,
to show that it’s part of the same magazine. All the usual form of conventions you would see on a real media product has
been carried out onto my contents page too because I didn’t want to make my magazine look too different to others, this
layout is very popular because all magazines use it and it is easy to see. I have linked the number of pages at the corner of my
images to lead my audience to the right pages, this has been done on the other magazine too; this reflects back to the typical
conventions. The colour of my background from my front cover has been carried out to my contents page to show consistency
and the colour black shows rock which goes with my genre and this is also my colour-scheme.

9. CONTENTS PAGE 2:
Seeing as my images and ‘Features’ had taken up all my space
on the first page of my ‘Contents’ I had decided to do a double
page contents so I could add the ‘Regulars’. A lot of magazines
do this whether they are a rock magazine or not, so this is a
convention of a real media product too. I decided to add one
large image of my main model used on my front cover and
contents page, to use her again on the second page of my
contents. Yet again I had used the same effect which I had used
throughout all my images which has been done on Photoshop
by using ‘Tools’. This was a great way to give off that rock vibe
and it engages with the rock fans seeing as ‘Black and White’
are very popular with rock fans. Keeping this effect on-going
represents professionalism of the magazine and shows the
consistency and has a nice, different look to it than other
magazines do. I went with my colour-scheme of writing in
white and keeping the heading in red. I decided to place the
writing over the models hair because it complimented the
white against the black and made it easier for it to stand out
and be readable making it eye-catching. I didn’t want to write
too much because I already had too much contents on the first
contents page, I also didn’t want to go over the models hair
because it wouldn’t look nice. Furthermore, having an ‘Editors
Letter’ is important for all magazines to consist because this
shows that the editor has played a great interest to write a
note for the audience so this is a real convention of how it is
done on a real media product. Having the editors signature at
after the note keeps it professional as all editors do this.

10. DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD LAYOUT:
Looking at my double page spread, I wanted to have one main image of my model enlarged on the first page to show that the article
was going to be all about her. This is a form of conventions that is used in real media products as a lot of magazines tend to go with
this layout. I have used the same effect that I used on my previous models on my contents page and front cover on my double-page
spread. This showed the consistency and it would have a nice impact on the images because it was all different. Having put
‘Pull/Grab Quotes’ on top of my image is a key part to the double-page spread because it sparks an interest with the audience and
engages them while they get interested and persuaded to read the full article. This technique is used in real media products too. I
have placed this pull/grab quote on top of my models hair because I have done this on my contents page and my front cover so I
thought by doing this on my double-page spread would show that I have kept this consistent. Furthermore, the make-up on my
models face which wasn’t so visible until now, symbolises rock very perfectly as she has black kohl around her eyes to show the
shadowy effect that most rock artists do; so the make-up style is a very typical convention which has been portrayed in my magazine
too. I used a close-up mid shot so that only from her shoulder-length is visible because the main focus is her facial expression. The
type of shots have been also fairly consistent throughout my magazine. Moreover, the colour scheme has been kept consistent so
that the audience can familiarize with this, this is also a typical convention of a rock magazine because they are all dark, brooding
colours which represent heavy metal music. The background is yet again black because black is a main colour of my magazine; which
is also a main colour of rock which a lot of rock artists/fans use to show their differences from other genres. Having put my models
name at the top shows that the article is about her and this conforms real media products to show the audience what the
article/text may be about.

11. WRITTEN CONTEXT:
In terms of written context of my magazine, the fonts that I
used was kept consistent throughout all the pages including
the front cover. I didn’t want the fonts to be too fancy
because it was a rock magazine and having the wrong fonts
wouldn’t go well. I wanted a font that was readable and
didn’t clash with the rest of the magazine but which also
had a edgy rock vibe to it. I didn’t want the font to be too
informal or too formal because my target audience
wouldn’t approve of it. I chose ‘Impact’ for my main
headings, subheadings and numbers. For the text I chose
‘Francois One’ because it was easy to read which also
blended in well with my images and colours.
Having kept my subheadings in capital letters rather than
lower case made it easier for the audience to see this first
than the rest of the text. It was clear and would grab the
readers attention first, this is used in other real media
products too. Having small summaries of what will consist
inside the magazine is a form of convention used in real
media products as they all do this.
The written content in my DPS is essentially conforming to
the standard ‘Question and Answer’ article, this is used in
many magazines as this is easy to read and gives the fans an
insight of how rock artists live. The language used isn’t too
informal or too formal, it’s just about right for my target
audience. In addition, another technique which is used
daily in magazines has been used in my article. Having it
split into two coloumns makes the text much more
organized and clear for the reader to see. To follow this up,
the size 11 is used, this is again following up the standard
conventions of how all magazines have it.