Evaluation - Question 1

In what way does your media product use, develop, and challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

I began by analysing popular indie music magazines to gain an understanding of the forms and conventions used. Throughout creating my final pieces I have used many conventions set by current magazines.

Front Cover - For my main image I feel have have challenged a convention by using a black and white image. This is because most music magazines encorperate bright colours to draw a viewers eye to the magazine. I chose to challenge this convention as I feel that the effect created by the shine from the sunglasses, lipgloss, hair and jewellery would sufice to gain a readers attention. It could be argued that I have challenged another convention by having the main model in sunglasses. This is because many current magazine have their models looking directly at the camera which creates the effect of the model looking at the audience. I say 'it could be argued that' as if closely looked at the models eye on show is looking towards the camera. This NME cover clearly demonstrates the concept of the model looking directly into the camera and communicating with NME's target audience. I feel that i have followed in the convention of

masthead location as many magazine locate their mastheads in the top left hand corner of the page. This can once again be seen by comparing to the NME cover. Another convention that I have challenged is that I haven't used a pug on my front cover which appears on many other magazines. As demonstrated on the NME magazine below the masthead. I challenged this convention as the pug that I thought about using did not look suitable on the page so I decided against using it. The convention that most of the information on the front page is located down the left hand third is also used in my piece. This is because had I challenged this conevention, the side on display in shops would look very dull and wouldn't attract potiential buyers. This would not have been beneficial. I also used a banner which are also very common on music magazines as shown on the KERRANG magazine. Banners can be used to give details on competetions etc but I chose to use it to give the viewer more of an insight to the magazine by displaying featuring bands. Finally, I followed the more obvious conventions of adding a barcode, price and date which are all used by magazines. In main, for my front cover I have both followed and challenged conventions. I feel that I decided to keep the most important conventions such as the left-hand third convention as they have proved to be successful in the past and challenged conventions such as pugs as they can sometimes look out of place.

Contents Page - From looking at my contents page it can already be seen that the colour scheme matches the front cover which allows the reader to link each page and helps the magazine flow. This is a common convention used by many magazine to have this effect. Another convention I have used is by putting the word contents into a separate box as can be seen in the KERRANG contents also. My contents page also features an editors note and a subscription offer which are both very common in popular music magazines. The KERRANG contents to the right demonstrates both of these conventions in use. Another convention I have followed is that I have divided my stories into sections; News, Features and Reviews. This technique is commonly used in many magazines as it enables the reader to gain a further insight into what the featured pages will be about. This also adds to the simplicity of the page for readers to use which is ideally what readers want from a contents page. In my subscription box I have included a smaller version of my front cover. This adds to the professional feel of the magazine and can also be seen in the KERRANG contents. The information regarding featuring bands has their relative page numbers next to them which is a obviously technique used by magazines to help readers easily navigate through the magazine. I have also included photos with page numbers that using the same models I used on the front page. Had we been able to see the Kerrang front cover, the pictures on the contents would of most probably linked to the images on the front cover. My contents follows most conventions without challenging any. I chose to follow conventions as contents pages need to be kept simple as there main purpose is to navigate and readers do not want to be confused.

Double Page Spread - Once again the same colour scheme has been used which links the pages and makes the magazine flow. I chose to use a photo as the background for the page as the colours matched and the photo was unique. The KERRANG double page below also uses a photo as the background and a similar colour scheme throughout. I have emphasised the word 'EXCLUSIVE' which is also very common in magazines as it can give a magazine an edge on competitors. It could be argued that I have challenged a convention by not using additional photos but I felt that any other photos I had taken wouldn't have suited the page. The text on the page is arranged in 2 columns with questions and answers in different colours. Many magazines use interviews as they allow a reader to gain a feel for the artists personality. It is also very common to see different font colours for questions and answers. Finally, I followed the convention of not having text across the middle of the page due to the difficulties that it can create for the reader and I have also included page numbers which are very common. I have again chose to challenge very little as it is clear that magazines are successful and challenging them may have an adverse effect on my product.