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

Convention 1Masthead

The masthead in my music magazine has 2 different fonts and one of them is serif while the other isn’t. The font that is used for the majority of the masthead

isn’t serif which relates to my research of the empire magazine and its font being quick tall and simple even if the cover lines are very complex serif fonts. The serif

font used in the masthead breaks the masthead into 2 sections of “MUSIC” and “MOTION” this tells readers and people unaware of the magazines genre hybrid. Of being about Music and Motion, which can be a slight enigma code, as it doesn’t specify, which type of media it is about. The purpose of having this is to attract a wider audience that varies in age, interests and ideal magazines that suit/appeal to their lifestyles and aspirations. In addition to this the cover image itself is not overlapping the masthead, which can relate to the colours and the font height. It

gives the masthead a metaphorical bad/evil presence as it’s above the main image. In addition to this the use of a non capitalised “in” which is in a serif sans font makes it stand out as it’s in a larger font size than the other text however it

does still appear smaller. Also the use of the white stroke going around this makes it stand out against the dark background, which makes it important in the

masthead rather than something to fill in the gap.

Convention 2Cover lines

The cover lines on my music magazine are primarily on the left third which is to make the magazine stand out while on sale and it also compliments the main

image by only covering one side of the main image. Also all the cover lines are below the “MUSIC” of the masthead, which can tell the audience a part of the

genre of the cover lines. Also the font of these cover lines are serif but this is not very visible apart from the font used for the main cover lines. The use of the serif is to make the font look imposing and to make it stand out more compared to the dark background of the main image. In addition to this the use of having the font

size vary is to make it look uneven which relates to the masthead having 2 different font sizes. However all of this compared to the Empire cover line only 1 main feature is similar and that is the main cover line. The main cover line for the

empire magazines are aligned to the centre and on the Star Trek issue of the Empire the main cover line is very similar in layout apart from the 2nd line of the title of the film being in the middle. As it has the 2nd part of the title sandwiched between the 1st half of the title and a cover line that expresses and relates to the

main cover line. Also unlike the Empire magazine none of my cover lines are installed/featured in shapes or boxes although the white bold lines of even

length and spacing to give the cover lines a tier themed structure separate them.

Convention 3

Mise-en-scene(Main image)

The conventions of the main image on the front cover compliment each other apart from the use of the B+W, which contradicts the use of colour in a small

space of the main image. The shot type of the main image is a medium/long shot. This is to make the actor/model appear in power and control as well as

representing them as a villain in the film they are starring in. Also the shot type can represent the people who dress in a similar fashion as being imposing but it

can also represent them as important because of the models clothing. The lighting in the main image is high key, which is to illuminate the model and to

create a point of focus on the models necklace that is an enigma code and a part of the costume. The iconography in the photo is primarily the stereotypical

horror shot that appear to has no significance however in my case it’s used to express and enigma code. Also the stereotypical gesture of the actress almost

being savage like is a common element in horror genre films and television programs. The make-up appears primarily focused on the actress’s lips with the red lipstick however not much more make-up is visible because of the black and

white photo. The setting appears to be a stereotypical dark room with one obsolete light source that is often used to illuminate the villains in horror films.

Convention 4Column Structure

The column structure on my double page spread and is very common and stereotypical on my magazine compared to the Empire’s double page spread that

has one column but with small font. The reason my magazine has 2 columns is because of the amount of space and because of the use of questions in my

interview. Therefore in order to keep an acceptable amount of text in my double page spread I need to columns. If this wasn’t my feature article it would most

likely take up less space and the text would be small to show it has less significance than the double page spread that is featured as a cover line on the

front cover.

Convention 5Drop Caps

The drop cap in my double page spread is to give the reader a place to start reading to make sure that they read it in the correct order. Also the use of the

drop cap in the first paragraph can also show the reader to read that first as the paragraph explains the interview and the models/actresses latest piece of work

that is the subject of the interview. I chose not to have a drop cap in my interview because it would appear very similar to the other one and it would cause

confusion as to which paragraph the reader would need to read first. In the Empire double page spread that is about Star Trek the drop cap is used at the

start of the news article as that is where the information about the film and franchise starts therefore it has the most significance and importance on the

double page spread.

Convention 6Colour Scheme (House style)

The colour scheme and house style in my magazine is primarily black and white, grey, dark red and a dark rouge purple that stands out. The use of the black and whites is to relate to the feature article and main cover line that tells the target

audience that the main film shown in the magazine is Horror. This can also been seen by the primary colour scheme of the main photos through out the magazine.

The grey is mainly used to go behind small font text that is mainly serif sans to make it stand out. The empire magazine that has a double page spread about Star

Trek uses colours that relate to the film franchise and the colours seen in the main image. The use of the dark red colour relates to the stereotypical feature in

horror films of blood. This relates to the main images used and to the feature article used in my magazine. Also the use of the red can be used to represent the

male audience of my target audience and the stereotypical thought/idea that they don’t mind blood etc.

Convention 7Kicker

The kicker on my front cover of my hybrid genre magazine tells the audience exactly what the magazine and what genres of articles etc. They can expect to

find on a daily basis. In addition to this the kicker uses alliteration and repetition to make it stand out to the bleak cover lines on my front cover. This compared to the empire front cover that has the kicker is quite similar however it’s placement on the page is on the right third rather than the left third as a cover line is in its place therefore the audience will be able to see it on shelves and are then more

likely to read it. This compared to the Empire magazine, which has the kicker on the right side of the page below the masthead. This is because the front cover of the empire magazine always shows and tells the audience that it is about films.

This is because of the conventions they used and where they are used. Also they often have well known actors/actresses in film costume on the front, which tells the audience that the feature article will be about this. My magazines use of the

kicker is understandable and allows the audience to read about what my magazine is about.

Convention 8Division of contents page

My contents page has two different lists; one is to list the regulars while the other list has the features. Each list a title in large serif sans font with a dark

purple underline that spans each title to make it stand out more against the black and white background images. In addition to this the purple relates to the model gender in the magazine. The use of having the features come first in the contents

page is to make them more important and to be in the middle of the magazine also all of the text is aligned to the left and the features are inline with the models

eye level. Also the models eye gaze is pointed towards the features rather than the regulars, which shows that they are important compared to the regulars also the eye gaze will draw the audiences view to the new uncommon features in the

magazine rather than the conventions and pages that are seen every issue. The use of having the masthead at the top as well as the contents page title sticks

with the convention and stereotypical use of having them at the top of the page. The Empire magazine contents page has two pages that the page listing

continues onto. The listings are aligned away from the spine and have bold red page numbers. All of the lists/puffs on my contents page are aligned to the left

hand side and are all evenly spaced.

Convention 9Pull Quote

The pull quote in my double page spread is inserting in between my two columns of text. The quote is font size 16, which is considerably larger than the feature

article text. The pull quote is roughly a third down the page. The use of having it on the same page as the feature article is to give a little insight about a piece of the article. If it were on the other page it could be seen as a quote from the film

that is featured on the double page spread. The use of having the red border around the pull quote is to make it stand out more against the grey background.

In addition to this the use of my other house style makes the magazine more appealing to both genders of my target audience.

Convention 10White Space(Grey Space)

The use of having no white space or background in my music magazine relates to the overall theme of the contents in my hybrid genre magazine. The grey

background behind the body text makes the white font stand out and easier to read. In addition to this the colour relates to the genre of film that the feature

article is about as well as the main images. The grey stand out as it had a solid fill to it rather than a texture fill. This is to make the body text stand out more to

make it seem separated from the main image as the main image about the film whereas the feature article is about the actress’s role and thoughts about her time to produce the film. This separated them as an almost before and after

effect in the magazine. This supports the use of the solid fill grey space behind the white text.