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

PULSE is the must-buy weekly magazine for every young music fan. As well as having all the latest news and transfer gossip from the Music Charts, PULSE magazine brings you the biggest interviews with the best R&B artists of all time just like CONNECT! Each week, the magazine is crammed full of fun, loads of stuff to impress your mates, plus quizzes, competitions, results, stats and awesome posters with every issue. It's out every week, priced at just £1.99. What are you waiting for? Grab your copy today!

Advertising my Music Magazine

The masthead of my magazine is ‘PULSE’ this is polysemic as it gives the feeling of being alive and new. I chose this name as I believe it creates excitement and relates to music as it can be seen as rhythmic series of beats, waves and vibrations. The masthead is in large bold capital typography enabling it to grab the audiences attention straight away. It follows the colour scheme of blue (associated with depth, expertise, and stability), black (indicating power and strength) and red (giving the connotations associated with energy linking with music.) The masthead has been placed on with dedicated white space around it which illustrates its importance on the page and enables it too stand out.

The image of the pulse next to the masthead enhances the name of my magazine and sends off a positive upbeat impression highlighting the sense of being real and alive.

The music note indicates to the audience it is a music magazine.

The slogan is a memorable phrase which highlights the idea and purpose of the magazine. The use of the short sentences grab the audiences attention creating punch making the point sharp and quickly. I think the slogan goes well with the magazine as it enables the audience to think about the content of music, to feel the joy the music produces and finally to indicate this magazine is a music magazine.

The barcode is a product identifier that helps track sales with products and relationships with customers. I have placed a barcode on my front cover as whilst doing research I noticed they are generally on front covers of magazines therefore, I have followed this reoccurring code and convention.

My Magazine Front

Cover

My Magazine Front

Cover

This image is of the band ‘Connect’. The band features mixed gender meaning their audience would also be of mixed gender. All three of the band members are staring into the camera which draws a connection with them and the reader. They all feature serious facial expressions which make them appear serious as well as attractive. The band have been positioned against a brick wall which highlights a forceful and strong impression. This could be represented through their music. As well as that, it portrays the history of music as R&B music started from the streets. All three of the band are positioned so they look relaxed and comfortable with one another. The clothing they are wearing portray a modern day image. The boy, ‘Joey’ is a good looking, smart attractive male. He holds dominance as he is wearing a black jacket giving him strength and a visible appearance. Joey is positioned in the middle of the two attractive girls standing either side of him, this highlights his appearance and many of the female readers will be attracted to him and his looks. The majority of the target audience would be attracted to this image as they may have an interest or admiration in the band or the music they produce.

At the top of the magazine front cover features skylines. This enables the audience to collect five(which is emphasised through the capital lettering) free posters with every issue. Above this are five small images which are previews of the posters featured inside. This would encourage the target audience to purchase the magazine as they may spot their favourite celebrities and therefore, may want to buy the magazine. The images shown are images I took myself, of mixed gender’s which alternatively would draw both genders into the magazine. I took these photos enabling them too follow the POP style as they all look unique and different stating individuality.

The tagline here states a quote said by the band. It is written in direct speech to the audience drawing them in and creating impact. This audience may wonder why this band feel they are living the dream. The typography here grabs the audiences attention as it appears almost as if one of the band members has handwrote this themselves giving off a personal sensation.

The sell lines state well known POP artists. This stands out as it is in large capital blue typography, This may appeal to the target audience as they may like these artists and the music they produce and look up to them as role-models. It also states the music that relates to the magazine encouraging the audience to purchase the magazine.

This is another example of a sell line this may draw the audience in as they would want too see which artists have the highest ratings and how many sales they got in the year2011, as well as seeing if it is their favourite artists.

My Magazine Front

Cover

This sell line indicates a main story featured in this magazine. It is in large capital pink typography which enables it too stand out against the powerful black background. The audience will be drawn into this as they may be interested in the content of the interview and may be fans of the band therefore want too read the article. The word ‘connect’ is in a different colour and font as it’s the band who are interviewed name and therefore indicates their importance on this page.

This ‘plus box’ will draw in the audience as they may want to see images of their favourite celebrities are children. Some readers may also relate to these images, as well as that it would be fun and engaging for the readers to notice the change in appearance of the featured celebrities.

I linked some of my images to real life POP artists featured in magazines to see how the mise-en-scene and camera angles compared. Overall, I found them quite similar.

EminemJustin Beiber

Rihanna Ramones

My Magazine

Contents Page

The text has been split up into three columns that follow the general principles of a contents page. It enables the text to be easier to read and keeps the audiences attention drawn to the page. The headings, ‘we love POP’ and ‘Featuring’ have are placed above the three columns in a small modern font, they differ to the other font indicating to the reader that this is information text.

This is an image of a music artist who is popular within the POP industry. She is positioned with her arms folded giving her attitude which links to the R&B industry.Here the front cover of this

magazine is presented along with arrows giving the precise page numbers. This is effective as it indicates to the audience where the story advertised on the front cover lies in the magazine. It also enables the reader to find the pages easier and highlights they are the main stories as they were included on the front cover.

This masthead is positioned at the top of the page printed in large bold capital font stating, ‘contents.’ The masthead stands out being black however, blends in well with the rest of the page.

Here the date, page number and name of the magazine has been presented this follows the usual format of Contents pages.

This follows the modern day methods of networking which a large variety of the young people use and interact with.

These images are joined to the arrow stating, ‘childhood photos of your favourite stars.’ The images gives the readers a sneak preview of what they expect to see when they visit the page. The photos differ as one shows an POP star as a child wearing school uniform, the other is an individual wearing fancy dress and the final one is a young boy wearing sun glasses. At this point the reader would be drawn into the magazine as they would want to as to who the celebrity is and it would also bring fun and entertainment to the page.

My Magazine

Double-Page Spread

The text has been split up into separate columns which follow the general principles of a double page spread; it enables the text to be more enjoyable to read and keeps the audience attracted to the article.

The quote here has been positioned so it sits at the top of the page, this grabs the audiences attention straight away as it is one of the main focuses whilst viewing the page as a whole. The quote is in large bold blue typography, enabling it too be eye-catching towards the readers. The colour blue follows the colour scheme of PULSE as blue is a vital colour. The quote will also encourage readers to acknowledge this text as it is a quote featured within the article. Readers will also want to know where connect are performing which may inspire them to purchase tickets!

I think this section of my double-page is very effective. This is because the audience have been drawn in especially through the word ‘you’. This is followed by a heading, ‘your questions’ which involves the audience in stating they have asked these questions to the band individually. This may draw in the reader as the questions asked may have been something the reader may have wanted to know about the band.

This tells the reader to visit Facebook/Twitter if they have their own questions. This highlights the magazine is open to a wide range of audiences and illustrates PULSES professional aspect. This draws the audience into the page as well as involving them in the action, The colours presented contrast to the rest of the page enabling them this section to stand out and illustrates its significance on the page as well as enhance the importance of the readers questions.

The drop caps at the start of the text is very effective as it stands out and brings the reader’s attention towards the upcoming text.

My Magazine

Double-Page SpreadThe masthead sits at the top of the page in large capital bold typography. ‘ Connect’ is in black giving the connotations of power and dominance. The masthead features dedicated white space around enabling the title to stand out demonstrating its importance as its the group who are interviewed name.

Illustrating this page belongs to PULSE magazine.

This image is of a member of the group ‘Joey’ playing the drums. This represents the genre of the music. The colour green links to the title, ‘Meet’ as well as whenever Joeys speaks his name is written in green typography.

The page number follows the codes and conventions of general double-page spreads.

This is another image of the band connect the image illustrates a fun, lively active atmosphere. This may inspire some readers.

The clear long shot image shown on the left hand page features the group ‘Connect’ which draws the audience’s attention in closer especially as they are looking straight into the camera. This draws a connection with themselves and the reader. All three of the individuals shown feature serious facial expressions which makes them look serious as well as attractive. Although the image appears very plain and simple it holds a great effect. Overall, the picture has published so the majority of the image is in a faint yellow colour. This gives the connotations of creativity and intellectual energy. The two girls feature bright red lips this being the only bright colour featured on the image, the red gives the connotations of sexuality, passion which may bring attract some readers to the article. The male featured has his top of which enables him to look masculine and dominates the image which again brings in the reader.