In what ways does your media product use, develop or

challenge forms and conventions of real media

products?Anna Kelcey

EVALUATION QUESTION 1

FRONT COVER

Strapline

Masthead

Puff

Main Image

Date/Issue Number

Coverlines

Main Coverline

Anchorage Text

Other Images

Barcode

Price

Footer

FRONT COVERFor my main image I used a medium shot, which follows the conventions of music magazines with only one model in the main image. Kerrang also follows this convention. From my research I know that if the main image is a photo of a whole band, it is conventional to use either a medium long shot or a full shot so that all of the models are in the shot. However, if there is only one model, a medium shot is conventional as it fills up more of the white space. I told my model to look directly at the camera, to create direct address, as did the model on the cover of Kerrang, and this is conventional for all magazine genres as it seems a lot more welcoming to the audience. I am following the conventions of a rock magazine, as is Kerrang, because the model in the main image has a stereotypical rocky appearance. In my magazine, my model is wearing quite dark eye makeup, dark colours and has a moody facial expression. For Kerrang, the model has brightly dyed hair and is again wearing quite dark colours. As this is stereotypical, it will make the genre of the magazine obvious and will therefore help to attract the target audience. Both my magazine and Kerrang have used a masthead that follows the conventions of a rock magazine. The names themselves both connote rock music, as Kerrang is an onomatopoeia of the noise an electric guitar makes, and Amplify suggests a very high volume. The fonts used both appear to be broken and suggest destruction, which is a connotation of rock music. The main coverline for both magazines follows the conventions of a rock magazine as it is the biggest coverline on the page and is related to the main image. This is conventional as it makes it extremely noticeable which will help to attract the target audience. Strokes have also been used on both covers to outline the main coverline and make it stand out against the background. My other coverlines also follow conventions as they are placed in the left third of the page which means that when the magazine is stacked on a shelf this information will still be visible. My strapline follows the conventions of a music magazine as it contains the names of more artists that will feature in the magazine, thus helping to attract the target audience. I had not originally planned to use a strapline in my draft, but I later decided to follow these conventions as it would help to attract my target audience. This convention is also followed by Kerrang. A puff has been used on both Kerrang’s cover and my cover, and this is conventional as it increases the focus of the information placed inside. I have followed the conventions of magazines by placing the barcode and the price at the bottom of the page. Kerrang has also followed this convention.

I have challenged the conventions of music magazines by using the background that I have used. Kerrang has followed the conventions of music magazines as they have used a plain white background. This is conventional as it places more of a focus on the model. However I have chosen to challenge this convention as the background for my image seems very abandoned and overgrown, which again suggests destruction which is one of the connotations of rock music. I did this as I felt that this would help to make my genre more obvious, thus attracting more of my target audience. I also developed conventions by placing my model over part of my footer. I did this as I wanted more focus to be on the main image rather than the footer, as the text in the footer only took up a small amount of room. Another way I developed conventions was by placing my date and issue number below the masthead. Kerrang has followed conventions by placing this information next to the barcode. However, as this was the first issue of my magazine, I wanted to make this information more noticeable. Finally, I also challenged the conventions of a music magazine by only having one image on the front cover of my magazine. Kerrang has followed conventions and has several images on the cover. However, I again decided against this as I wanted to place more focus on both the masthead and the main image.

CONTENTS PAGE

Main Heading/Title

Masthead

Caption

Subheadings

Article Titles

Anchorage Text

Main Image

Other Images

Page Numbers

Advertisement

Editorial

Page Number

CONTENTS PAGE

The main heading for my contents page follows the conventions of a magazine as it is extremely bold and easy to read. Kerrang also follows this convention as the title is one of the largest bodies of text on the page. Both covers have also followed conventions by placing the masthead on the contents page near the main title. The repetition of fonts for the masthead helps to create audience recognition which is especially important for my magazine as it is new. My main image follows the conventions of magazines as it is very large in comparison to the other images on the page, which draws attention to it and therefore helps to attract the target audience. The main image in the contents page in Kerrang is also very large compared to the other images, and therefore follows the conventions. My main image is not placed where I had planned to place in on my draft, as I was later inspired by a contents page from Kerrang. My magazine has followed conventions by placing a caption in the main image to tell the audience what the images is of. However Kerrang has challenged conventions by not including a caption. My other images, and the other images in Kerrang, are all a lot smaller and have borders to make them stand out more, which also is conventional. My images are again positioned differently to the draft as I was inspired by the edition of Kerrang. Each image is placed next to a page number which is conventional for all magazines as it allows the reader to navigate through the magazine more easily. Another way that I have followed conventions is by separating my article titles into categories, and giving each category a subheading. This makes the page look more organised and is therefore easier to read. Kerrang has also used subheadings. In my draft I had not planned to use subheadings, so when I later decided to follow conventions and include them, I had to reorganise the positions of my article titles, which is why my final contents page differs from the draft. The anchorage text that myself and Kerrang have used gives more information about some of the articles and is also conventional. Editorial letters are also conventional as they make the magazine seem more personal to the reader and help to attract the target audience. My editorial is in a different position to the one I planned of my draft, as when I moved around the article titles and the images there was no longer space where I had originally planned to place it. Instead I filled up a section of white space at the bottom of the page. Kerrang has also placed an editorial letter on their contents page to conform to the conventions of magazines. I have also followed conventions by placing an advertisement in the bottom right corner of the page, as has Kerrang. Conventionally this is to advertise a subscription for the magazine, and will contain bright colours to draw attention to it.

I have developed conventions by making my main image black and white rather than placing it in colour. I have done this as my model was wearing some bright items if clothing, and so by making it black and white, the colours were a lot darker. Conventionally, darker colours are worn by rock artists as the colour black connotes rock music.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREADMain Heading/Quotation

Anchorage Text

By Line

Drop Cap

Q&A Article

Main Image

Caption

Page Number

MastheadCaption

Main Heading/Title

Anchorage Text

Drop Cap

Main Image

Q&A Article

Quotation

By Line

Page Number

Masthead

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

Conventionally, the main heading of an article is either a quotation from the article or is something that sounds catchy. I have chosen to use a quotation, whereas Kerrang has chosen to use a catchy heading. I chose a quotation as it gives the reader a quick insight into what the article will be like. I used the position that I marked on my draft as it is conventional for the title to be at the top of one of the pages, and in a very large font. I have also used anchorage text below my heading which again is conventional as it provided the reader with more information about what the article is about. Kerrang has also followed this convention. I have conformed to the conventions by including a by line, which informs the reader of who wrote the article, as has Kerrang. It is conventional to use either a question and answer article or a free flowing article, and both my article and Kerrang’s article is a question and answer article. My main image is extremely large, and my model takes up on whole page. The main image used in Kerrang is ever larger. It is conventional for the main image to be extremely large as it is usually the main focal point on the page. It is also conventional for the main image to be accompanied by a caption, which is what Kerrang and I have done. I have followed conventions and placed my masthead next to my page numbers as the page numbers allow the reader to navigate though the magazine more easily, and the masthead is conventionally placed on every page to increase audience recognition.