AS MEDIA COURSEWORK EVALUATION

Elliot Ball

Question 1

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

FRONT COVER

By abbreviating my masthead I have used the media forms and conventions of NME magazine. By abbreviating my masthead I am appealing to my target demographic of people in their early 20’s. Abbreviations are becoming a common part of the British language and culture because of social networking influences. I decided to call my magazine 'AMP' as because it is a music magazine, an amplifier shortened to amp is a very fundamental piece of technology required in making Indie/ Alternative music. Also My magazine is named 'AMP' as it is an acronym with an underlying musical context. By using this convention of a real media product I have made my magazine easier to share on social networking sites such as twitter as few characters are used in the name. I have used the conventions of real media products by having a bright coloured font so that my magazine stands out on the page and catches the eye of the consumer.

FRONT COVER ANALYSISMy front cover uses, develops and challenges media forms and conventions of real media products in various ways. One of the key uses of media forms and conventions was to have my masthead at the top right of the page. However unlike on my front cover the example front cover has the logo in front of their main image, on my magazine it is situated next to it. This is an example of my magazine challenging media forms and conventions. Another way my magazine challenges the forms and conventions of real media products is by having the person on my main image facing away from the camera, this is going against the media forms and conventions as by having the person facing away it is less personal to the person reading the magazine. However having the person facing away can be quite intriguing for the consumer as it creates mystery as to what the person is looking at. The main image on my magazine is also a homage to the Bruce Springsteen born to run image, which is an iconic image in my chosen genre. I have used the forms and conventions of real media products on my front cover by having the masthead logo abbreviated and at the top right of the page. I have abbreviated it as It takes up less space and is easier to see on the shelf. I have placed my masthead at the top left of my page as we read from the top and left this makes my masthead the first thing the reader will read and acknowledge. I have used the conventions of real media products by having my writing staggered, I have done this because we read from left to right. I have used the media convention of having a selling line at the bottom of my front cover I have done this as it lets the consumer know what the features of the magazines are without them having to pick it up.I have used the media convention of having a Buzz word ‘SPECIAL EDITION’ this attracts the consumer and makes them think that the magazine is rare and therefore the consumer will want to purchase it more.

CONTENTS PAGE

CONTENTS PAGE ANALYSIS• I have used and developed many conventions of real media products on my front cover. I have positioned my magazines masthead at

the top centre of my page I have done this as it captures the attention of the reader and is the first thing they will read. It also informs the consumer that it is the contents page. Another way I have used the forms and conventions of real media products is by using a band index. I have done this as it allows the consumer to quickly look for their favourite band and see on which page they are featured, this saves time as consumers wont have to look through the whole magazine to find the favourite band. I have put my band index into alphabetical order is it makes looking for your favourite band even easier. Another way I have included the forms and conventions of real media products in my contents page is by having the date of the issue at the bottom of the page, however unlike most media products I have put the date at the bottom of the page rather than the top, I have done this to save space in order to fit all of my content on the page. I have used the forms and conventions of real media products in my contents page by having the main story of my magazine in the centre of the page, I have also included a picture and a paragraph from the article to act as a taster for the consumer, and it clearly shows that the article is the main feature of the magazine. In my contents page I have three subheadings ‘NEWS’, ‘REVIEWS’ and ‘FEATURES’ this is a very common feature and convention of real media products as it neatly organises all of the information on the page and makes it easy for the consumer to access the information they are looking for. I have used the convention of real media products of keeping the magazines colour scheme consistent throughout the contents page this is good for the aesthetic purposes of the page. On my contents page I have included an advert for subscription to the magazine. This is a very common feature of real media products as it is a way of getting more business for your magazine as by having an advert for subscription on your contents page the consumer gets to see all of the contents your magazine includes and if they like what they see they may want to subscribe, therefore putting an advert for subscription on the contents page seems logical

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD ANALYSIS• One way I have used the forms and conventions of real media products is by using pull quotes, a pull quote is a quote from the article

that is enlarged and bolded or moved to make it stand out to the consumer, this is done to gain their interest in the article. Another media form and convention I have used is putting the article into columns, I have done this because it makes the article seem less daunting to read and by spacing the article out you make it easier to read as the text is all cluttered. Like the example real music magazine I am using I have bolded the questions from the interviewer so the reader can locate the questions easily and pick out the bits of the interview they want to read. Again like my example double page spread I have positioned the main image of the article on the left, I have done this as we read from left to right so the reader will look at the picture before they read the article. Unlike the conventions and forms of real media products I have placed my pull quote on the left side of the page for the same reasons I have put the picture there, I want it to be the first thing the reader picks up on. My magazine goes against the forms and conventions of real media products by having a title to the interview, my example article doesn’t, I have used a title as it is easy to spot when flicking through the magazine to find what they are looking for. I have used the media convention of page numbers in my magazine, this is a convention of music magazines as it makes the contents page useful, as without page numbers the contents page wouldn’t work