Evaluation Question 1In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge

forms and conventions of real media products?

FRONT COVER

Masthead

Features

Main image

Cover Line

Anchor text tag line

Barcode

Magazine price & website info

MASTHEAD- Large, simple, capital letters, sans serif style, placed under image – shows importance of the artist, contrasting colour to the background.

- Very eye catching = brand awareness (common convention)

Similar mastheads within existing media:

MAIN IMAGE

- Mid shot, using direct mode of address – creates a personal relationship with audience and draws them in (uses & grats).- Single person shot – common convention.- Follows conventional lighting (bright, full face).- Neutral facial expression – not sexualised (challenges male gaze, Mulvey).- Infront of masthead – reflects importance of artist.- Shallow depth of field, blurry background makes the

subject stand out.

Similar conventions within existing media:

FEATURES

- Indie style layout, bold capital letters- Insight into features – informative (uses & grats)- Smaller font than main cover line and it contrasts against the darker background

Similar conventions within existing media:

COVER LINESimilar conventions within existing media:

- Drop text, stands out against background and from other text on the page – emphasies importance of the artist.- Anchors image, main story in this feature- Large, capital letters- Artist’s name – entices fans (common convention)- Enigma (Barthes) ready to bloom how?

HOUSE STYLEThe house style I chose challenged the usual red, white and black colour scheme that ‘typical’ music magazines use. Instead, I opted for softer colours such as white, grey and blue which makes my magazine more unique and stands out because of its different conventions. The colours I’ve used are very gender neutral.

Magazines that challenge the convention:

Magazines that use the convention:

CONTENTS PAGEMasthead

Images

Competition

Social media links

Page number

Issue number

Columns

Headings

MASTHEAD

- Large, bold text. Draws the eye and stands out against background.- Lies at the top of the page, follows conventions.- Upper case lettering, also common convention.\

Common conventions within existing media:

IMAGES- The images that I took are mid shots / close ups so that their body language and facial expressions are still easily visible.- My photos use direct address to create a connection with the reader (uses & grats)- The fact each image has straight edges and aren’t overlapping gives a professional effect.

Existing media using similar conventions:

Numbering

- Large numbers, stands out over coloured images and background- Fits with the house style colour and isn’t too overpowering- Informative of what’s inside (uses & grats)- Convenient – easy to find page- Links with the feature’s articles and images.

Similar conventions within existing media:

Page & issue number

- Informative- Easy to navigate- Professional consistency

Other magazines that use these conventions:

Rows & columns- Simplistic layout – makes it more accessible for audience, easy to find and locate what the individual’s needs are. (cognitive needs)- Using columns on one side of the page and photos on the other was a common convention when I researched existing media, but I chose to put the 3rd image on the other side in order to break up the text, therefore I challenged that convention.

Existing media using columns:

Social media & Competition

As my target audience are young adultsof both genders, I deiced to make anarea for social media on my contents pagewhich is essential for this type of audience. This is a way for the audienceto keep updated between issues. This isreinforced by the competition element ofthe magazine. More people will want to keep updated in order to win. In other magazines I have researched I have often found ‘giveaway’ sections to the magazine which are similar to competitions which is a good way to attract regular readers.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

Main image

Page number

Drop cap

Columns of text

Introductory title

Anchor text

Artist’s name

Direct mode of address

LayoutI used a regular convention for my double page spread of having one page an image and the other side a whole page of text. I did this so the image was the most important part of the page and the reader’s attention is drawn to it. Putting the image so large made it eye catching. However, I also developed normal conventions and overlapped the artist’s elbow onto the text page, this further reinforces the importance of the artist and makes her seem as if she can’t be restricted, this is unique.

Magazines that use this convention:

Image

- I used a mid shot for my double page spread, and when researching I found this to be a common convention. - Direct mode of address is used, creating a personal relationship with the reader (uses & grats) therefore drawing them in.

Existing double page spreads that use direct mode of address:

Text

- I decided to do my text as an interview because I wanted to draw in the fans of the artist as they may be intrigued by what the artist has to say rather than what someone has to say about them. This wasn’t very common in the magazines I researched but I wanted to use it anyway. It’s more common in fashion magazines.- Use of drop cap which is a common convention. It’s eyecatching and different from the rest of the text.- I wrote the text in columns which is another common convention, It helps to keep the text organised and makes it look professional.

Existing double page spread that uses an interview:

Anchor text & artist’s name

- Anchor text takes up about 1/3 of the page – bolder, more eye-catching.- For the artist’s name I used a san serif font which is the boldest on the page and differentiates it from the other text, instantly drawing the audiences eye towards it.- 3 different fonts used for anchor text, splits it up and emphasises importance of each bit.- Anchor text follows an unconventional layout, but is very similar to clash magazine: