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

forms and conventions of real media products?

Kabita Nepali

I researched many music magazines similar to my genre of music magazine, here are the screen shots of the front cover of the magazines I analysed;

By researching the different and alternative music magazines this, I was able to figure out the codes and conventions that are mainly used also, the way that the magazine appeals to their target market. It also allowed me to understand what I need to add to my magazine in order to, appeal to my target market. I was able out figure out things like, e.g. front covers usually always have the artist/band in the main image with their name and main headline across the mid-way of the magazine so it becomes easy for the reader to identify who the artist/band is on the main page.Also by having the artist/band look directly at the camera while shooting, it looks like they are looking directly at the reader therefore, this might appeal to the reader to pick up the magazine and look through it to find out information.

For my music magazine I have used the different conventions of a real media product (music magazine) in order to make it seem more professional. I have tried making it seem look recognisable to an actual product in most aspects but, in some places I have tried to make it seem more unique so the magazine can stand out to my target market. I also aimed for the magazine to not be messy and seem simple to follow what it is trying to convey to the reader.

There are many recognisable traits in the way I have structured the different pages of my magazine. Throughout the media product, I have shown synergy between the different pages so, its easy to tell if they are from the same magazine or not.

Here is my front cover:

For my front cover, My masthead uses a format that is used very much in magazines, it is positioned across the top in bold writing, in which captures the readers attention, which ultimately makes my magazine standout and recognisable. I had drawn inspiration of my masthead from real music magazine mastheads (above). I have tried to make my masthead as similar to these mastheads as possible as, it would appear more professional and more recognisable for the readers.My Main image is also has a common used convention of an magazine, as it is a full, dominant image of the main article of the magazine, a picture of what the important and interesting thing might be in the magazine. This would allow the reader to get a hint of what might be inside of the magazine and this may appeal to them to want to look inside of the magazine. Also following the conventions of an real media product, for the image I was using a mid-shot and direct mode of address, which allows the main image to become the main point when the readers view the magazine. Here are examples of magazines similar to my product using this convention of big dominant images:

I have used the convention of colour scheme in my magazine, which is very eye catching and makes the overall the reader understand the colours I have used in the front cover are following a certain colour scheme and by having these colours; Red, yellow, white and Black, it appeals to the consumer more as it shows them what they might expect in the magazine and what type of content is will show inside.

By having variety of fonts I have tried to challenge throughout my magazine which challenges conventions of magazines which contain certain fonts that are carried out throughout the magazine. This way, I thought that it will appeal to my target market well and make it stand out more among the other magazines.

I have developed the costumes used in my music magazine as, the costumes are more colourful then, what you would expect in magazines like Alternative press, here are few examples of costumes in their magazines: when looking at the costumes in these two front covers, you can see that they dress up mainly casual, also dark clothing, therefore, by choosing the costume to be bright and casual I have tried to develop the traditional convention of dark casual clothing especially using mainly male artists/bands , I have used a female artist with fairly bright clothing that seem more warming then wearing dark colours. I thought that it would appeal well to my target audience as they are a niche market and if I had kept most of the conventions the same then they may not find it as appealing.

I have used the conventions of issue number, barcode and price. I have used this convention at the front cover because it makes it easier for the readers that want to check the price, while wanting to know what issue date is. By locating at the front cover, it will make it easier for the readers to purchase the product while learning more about the type of magazine it is.

I have used the convention of Sell lines in my magazine because it would appeal to my target market. I have used mostly informal language so it can feel like the magazine is trying convey interesting information to the reader about what they can checkout through this magazine. I have tried to keep them short and appealing so, the reader doesn’t get bored while reading it, in which they would if the sell lines were too long to capture their attention spam.

I have used the convention of head lines in front of the main image of the artist, also across the mid-way of the magazine. This way it captures the attention of the reader when they look at the front cover. They may be intrigued by the artist on the front page, this could be because they know who it is. I also did this to make my magazine look more professional and clean to my genre.

I have developed the convention of Competitions and Free posters, I did this by making the colours match well with the front cover also by keeping th font colours the same which is different from other magazines that try to keep the colours different. Also by adding these, I would be able to catch the attention of the reader as a teaser into what the magazine might include inside. This could appeal to them as they may be interested in them.

For my contents page, I have tried to use, develop and challenge different forms and conventions of a real magazine to appeal to my target market. I have challenged the convention of issue number along with the details of other medias where, the reader can gain more information from. This was challenging as, most magazines don't usually include issue numbers followed by contact information next to the title of the page, therefore, I felt it was challenging because it is not something that is visibly repetitive when it comes to conventions of contents pages.

I have used the convention of layout of the contents page, to make it seem more professional this way it will appeal more to my target audience. I also took inspiration from ‘Q’s contents page (below), I thought it fitted well with the format of my magazine; It seemed very clean and easy to follow. I have analysed lots of contents page beforehand for research and planning for my magazine, this way found that most contents page from my genre tend to use simple conventions to draw in attention and appeal to its market. Here is an example of an analysis I did before; it was very simple and eye catching.

Heading-The heading contents is located in the top left corner followed by the date of the issue. The heading is in red, which is the same colour for font used mostly in this page. The font looks very simple but, very bold so, it catches the yes of the reader so they know what page this is.

Issue number-By having the issue number at the top suggests that this is a big magazine company since it lets the reader know what time this magazine is issued and mostly , ‘Q’ always has its issue numbers in noticeable places so the reader can check what date it is and can also look it up online if they wanted to.

Page numbers- The page numbers are in red where as the text is in black, this suggests that the numbers have a significant role in this page and the red suggests danger and passion where as the black suggests power.

The main image-The image is a long shot of a man. The image is not in colour therefore, makes the text stand out against the light background. The man is positioned the camera while facing away from it. This breaks the usual magazine convention of direct mode of address where the person looks towards the camera. This makes the magazine seem different and interesting to the readers.

The layout-The layout is set very clean and understandable so it can be easily read by the readers which like this genre of magazine.

The colour scheme of this magazine is the main three ‘Q’ colours, which are Red, black and white. These colours are very eye catching and will most likely catch the attention of young adults and teenagers that prefer this type of genre of magazine.

I have used the synergy between colours used throughout the magazine, this way it makes it easier for the reader to understand the connection and synergy between the magazine pages, since they are of the same colour scheme and ultimately makes it all link in and seem professional.

I have developed by adding subscription advertisement which included more information in the writing, I made it seem easier for the target market to purchase this magazine by adding information such as a code for free delivery for the ones that order for the first time, this would allow the magazine to become more appealing to the target market and make it seem like the magazine is trying to help the consumer to purchase the item more easily.

I have challenged the convention by having images that don’t look very professional. This was done intentionally as, I wanted to be portrayed in the way this way of it being raw and very comfortable to look at unlike the professional taken photos used in magazine. I have also tried to avoid the usual performance images that some magazines have, here are few examples; I avoided adding any performance images because I wanted to show more of a studio side then live this fitted well with my magazine’s concept, Alternative, and by focusing on that and using these images, I thought it went well and did portray well too.

I have used the convention of using columns to structure the sections of my magazine’s contents, this way the headings and the text content all can be appealing and easy to follow for my target market. Also by having the umbers in different colour to the texts, it makes it more appealing to the target market, as it can catch their attention and view the magazine in a professional form.

I have developed the text sizes, although they are all the same I have stretched the texts so they could fill up the columns more and fit the colour shapes more. This way, it makes the magazine more aesthetically appealing and makes it more eye catching as the texts are seen to be in different sizes but, they are actually the same size therefore, makes it easier for viewers to read and follow along with the structure of the texts and its contents.

I have used the form of using informal language throughout the magazine. This way the reader feels more included in the texts and feel as if the magazine is talking to them in a friendly manner. This way it should appeal to the target market. By using informal language, it can also mean that it would make my magazine seem more casual and easy to read for most ages, which can be good because my target audience may very more then what my target market originally are.

Here is myDouble page Spread:

I have challenged the conventions of having an image that has mode of address present, my image doesn’t meaning that the artist in my image is not looking directly at the camera in which they would be expected to if following general conventions of double page spreads, there is usually a dominate picture of the artist looking at the camera spread throughout the pages following other small images too if necessary.

I have used the convention of pull quote from the main image to show that this is the main part of the page and the magazine it self. IT makes my magazine seem more professional because it has a sort of narrative that it follows especially, in the interview in right section of the magazine. It is very easy to understand and enjoyable since the questions asked will be interesting for the reader.

I have developed the convention of keeping the columns and texts to a minimal. I did this because I didn’t want to have too much writing and also wanted have much space between the different columns and the sections of texts. I thought this way it would make the double page spread look more appealing to the target market also, while making it easier for them to read the content and understand it.

I have used the colour scheme visible in this page, in order to make the page seem more professional and also so make the magazine stand out and show synergy throughout the pages.

I used the conventions of labelling page numbers in the corners of the magazine pages. This is helpful because it makes the magazine seem more professional and easy for the reader to locate from the contents page. This also makes the magazine appeal more because it looks alike to a real magazine layout, which would ultimately appeal to the target market as, it would be easy to understand and follow through.

I have also used an artificial lighting in the image, that is aimed towards the artist as through showing that they are the main subject of this page, this also makes the readers’ attention instantly go towards them when looking through the page. Which is good since, the content may appeal to them and since the artist’s image may catch their attention they may go ahead and be interested in what the content is conveying through texts.