Q1-In what ways does your media product use, develop or

challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Juwayriyah Bibi

• In my research, I looked into many music magazine covers, contents pages and double page spreads so that I could get a feel of what the general conventions are. During my research looked at different genre magazines so that I knew what the basic conventions were of all typical music magazines. However, I further looked into the conventions of Electro-dance music magazines as this was my chosen genre for my magazine. This research helped me to find out what was necessary to include and what was optional so that when I was creating my own magazine, I needed to consider the style, layout, the images, the fonts, colours and language so that they were suitable to fit in with an electro-dance genre music magazine. Also to fit in with other existing magazines related to y genre. While I was creating my pages, I took inspiration and ideas from various existing magazines as I wanted my magazine to have a range of features.

The front cover

• The typical forms and conventions of a front cover of a music magazine are:

-masthead-coverlines-skyline-barcode, price, date-main image-footer-flash-pull quote

How is my front cover like an existing magazines front cover?

skyl

ine

My FRONT COVER-VividExisting magazine-mixmag

masthead

Main image

coverlinescoverlines

Barcode/ price/ date

Pull “quote”

footer

FLASH FLASH

Flash- there are two on the magazine, one on either side of the magazine. The one that is placed on the left third is an in an arrow and on the CD- “free Mix Cd plus 2 free posters inside”. This is on the left third because it is a freebie for the consumer. It also says “this issue” which suggests that it is only limited in this issue so the consumers will want to buy this magazine so that they do not miss out on their only chance. The second flash is on the right-hand side of the magazine and says “WIN tickets to every dance festivals’. This is placed on the right hand side because it is read after the first flash. I have placed it not in the left third because I thought that a freebie will catch more peoples’ attention rather than to enter a competition and win something. Also it is not something that everyone may get from the magazine as it is only for those who enter to win so i8t is less important than the other flash, which is the reason why is not placed in the left third. Nevertheless, it has been written in a star and the word ‘win;’ has been written in red so that it stands out to the consumer and the audience.

Masthead- The masthead of my magazine is ‘vivid’. It is written in black, yellow and red so that it stands out and cannot be missed. The main colour of the masthead is black but with the effect of the yellow and red behind the black, makes it look highlighted and more vibrant. The colours red and yellow on their own are very bright and colourful colours and so mixing them together brings a more flashy and attractive look. Furthermore the two primary colours mixed together make orange and the pull quote is written in orange font which suggests that the pull quote will complete its function as people will be pulled to look at it. The word vivid connotes a bright and vibrant atmosphere, which links in with the genre of my magazine. Electro dance music is generally played in clubs and on parties, where the atmosphere is both vibrant and bright, so this further explains to the audience that it is a dance genre magazine. The masthead on my magazine is placed on the top left of the magazine, I have placed it here because of the ‘left-third’ feature that many magazines follow. This left third is where all the main, important information is placed in a ‘c’ motion as normally you look at a magazine from the top left to the bottom left following a ‘c’. The font is simple and is the same throughout the pages. I chose this font because I asked 20 people which font they thought was most suitable fort a dance magazine, and out of all of them, this was the chosen one.

Main cover line- it is written in red. It is the artists name ‘Amanda’, people will automatically know the link as it is written next to the main image. The fact that it is in red connotes that it is something that needs to be seen and it the most important thing in this magazine as the magazine is based on this artist. It has been written in the same font type as the masthead to show a link between the both. Although it is not Witten in a start or bubble, the reader will still make first contact with this coverlines because it is in red and is written in large, bubble writing. It is placed on top of the pull quote. This links again back to the image because just by looking at the front cover, they will know that the main artist name is ‘Amanda’ and the pull quote is of what she says. This will attract the audience because they will know that the double age spread will include an interview on the artist so they will want to buy the magazine and read it.

Pull Quote- “ I cant believe where I am today”. This pull quote is written in orange and is the second largest text on the cover. This makes it stand out and seem like the most important thing about the magazine. The pull quote doesn’t give it all away; because it is like a middle of a sentence and yet needs to be finished off. This means that the reader will know that Amanda will complete her sentence in her interview. However, with the expression on the main images’ face, you can see the link as she looks joyful and excited so the reader can make assumptions and complete the sentence by knowing that she might be talking abut the change to her life in a good, positive way.

Date/Barcode/Price- this is placed in the corner of the magazine and can often be missed. This is unlike other magazines as they try to catch attention by saying how cheap it is. However, this magazine doesn’t go for the cheapness; the consumer will buy it for its quality. Although this can be seen as misleading because the audience will buy without realising how much it costs because it was not noticeable. Also it is not written in the left third so it can often be totally missed out when the reader is looking at the magazine.

Header- in the header, it has been said: “the most exclusive electro-dance music magazine in the uk”. This is suggesting to the audience that if they are interested n dance ,music, then they should buy ‘vivid’ only because it is the best one that they can buy. This sells the magazine as it is like the title of the magazine and will be the first thing that people will read. This is similar to the header that is written on mixmag so it can be there to compare it with other existing, well-known magazines. This makes my magazine look just as popular and successful as ‘mixmag’ is known as the “worlds biggest dance music and clubbing magazine”

FRONT COVER

CONTINUED

Main Image- the image takes up most of the front cover, with her hand held up high. This connotes that she is excited and might look as though she is dancing. This links in with the genre of my magazine which is electro-dance music. The main image is looking very dominant on the page as she has her arms out and making it look as if she is the main aspect on the magazine. The connotation of the image is that she is standing out and trying to catch the consumers attention. Furthermore, the main image is in a way drawing you into the magazine because it looks as though she is dancing and having fun. The main image is wearing black and white as they are two simple, plain colours but when put together, they look sophisticated and have a nice combination. Also her clothing camouflages with the background of the front cover as the background colours are also black and white. Although, the background is black and white and so are her clothes, the main image is still the first thing you look at because of the placing of the image. I have used the rule of thirds when making my magazine so that the face and most of the main image is not totally placed in the centre.

Footer- the footer has: “get closer to your favourite artists through vivid only!”. This is telling the audience that they can get to know their favourite artists through this magazine. I have written the word ‘only’ to brig emphasis that vivid is the only magazine where people will get a real insight to their favourite artists lives. This again links in with the header because it makes my magazine seem the best choice and the most exclusive one out the range. The footer makes it across to the reader that they will get a little bit extra from vivid unlike other magazines. This brings competition and again makes people want to compare it with other existing magazines.

I have put the head of the main image on top of half of ‘I’ and ‘d’ so that the images stands out and makes it look like it is most important and top priority. I got this idea from other magazines and so decided to use it. I think this is a good way to make the image stand out but also to make the masthead be something that the reader reads and gets attracted to. The masthead and the main image are both as important as each other because the masthead is there for the audience and people to recognise the magazine and the main image is there to attract and give an idea as to what the magazine is about.

One of the coverlines on the left third says “a chance to win brand new headphones-enter the competition” which is written in the same font colour as the other coverlines, is there so that when the reader is reading from the left third, they are attracted to it. I have placed it so that it does not stand out so that the reader feels that it is normal to get a lot out of ;vivid’ magazines. This makes the reader want to buy this magazines and other ‘vivid’ magazines as they will think that they will always get the most out of them. Although, it is not in a star or different font colour, it still cannot be missed because it is the second coverlines in the left third of the magazine.

The cover line on the right says “PLUS’ and has other artists’ names. This attracts the audience as one of the artists may be their favourite and so will be interested to buy the magazine. it is not in the left third which again suggests that it is normal that the consumer will get a little bit extra through vivid.

From this magazine I took idea of the name that is written in bold next to the audience so that it is clear that it is the main cover line and also to make it clear as to who the main image is.

From this magazine I took most of the layout design. Also the image at the top in the corner to make it look like there's more in the magazine. However, In this magazine the head of the main image is behind the masthead and so the head is getting cut off rather than the masthead. So I changed it and made it so that the masthead is been cut off not the images’ head.

The contents page

• The typical forms and conventions of a contents page of a music magazine are:

-masthead-main image-headings-subheadings-contents of the magazine-other images-editorial-subscription box -website, date and issue-sell line

From these conventions, I used some of them but not all because I looked at other mixmag contents pages and not all of these conventions were included. For example, there was no editorial on most of the mixmag contents pages nor was there a subscription box.

How is my contents page like an existing magazines contents page?

Main image

Features Features Masthead

Masthead

Title: contents

Other images of artists

Numbers in big and bold at the side of the images to make certain pages stand out.

Bold headingsBold headings

date

date

My contents

page vivid:

Existing magazine-mixmag:

CONTENTS PAGEMasthead- The masthead on my contents page is on the bottom right. This is placed there so that my magazine can stand out and be recognised. Also like many other contents pages, the masthead is there to make sure that my magazine pages look like they belong to each other. On mixmag contents pages the masthead is on top of the page and their website is on the bottom right (next to the page number) however, because my masthead and website belong together, i have put them both at the bottom and have placed the date on top. The masthead needs to stand out to people so that they can know what magazine they are reading.

I have chosen not to include an editorial because I looked at many mixmag contents pages, and none of them had an editorial so I wanted to make my contents page as similar to mixmag as I could. Also i thought that the pictures can do the same job as the editorial; they are there to attract the audience and make the reader want to buy the magazine and read the whole magazine.

Feature/subheadings- I have placed the features and subheading on the left because I have seen many magazines which have the same layout. Also, I have made the subheadings bold and noticeable, so that people are attracted and then want to read all of the features. I have placed the features here because I think that this is the first thing that you would see when you open to the contents page, so it should be attractive and make the reader want to read on.

Many magazines include a website, date and issue number on their contents page so that the reader can know more about the magazine, also so that they are kept up to date with the issues. I have used this convention and put in underneath my masthead on the bottom right. I did this because I thought that the masthead is the most important and significant thing on a magazine as it is how people recognise a magazine, so if I placed the website underneath the masthead, then it wouldn’t be missed either.

Colours- I have kept to the same colour scheme to the front cover which is mostly red and white. I think this is important as it is the house-style of the magazine and a way that the pages seem to belong to each other. Also I think that the colours are vibrant and outstanding on the backgrounds, so it means that my contents page will look like other existing magazine contents.

Images- I have three images on my contents page. The images are there to connote what the genre of the magazine is and who the magazine is about. It also makes clear to the audience as to the language that the double page spread might have. We can see that the model is happy and is standing in an informal pose, this explains that the interview may also be informal and so the reader and audience can feel close to the artist. A typical dance music content page has about 3-4 images on it, so I have followed that and included similar conventions.

Sell line- the sell line is vital on the contents page because it is there to attract the audience and make them want to buy the magazine and read the interview. I have used this convention and placed the sell line on one of the image so that the audience can know the link (that the interview is with the image that I have placed it next to).

I used the rule of thirds because I used it on my front cover so I thought that it would be necessary to keep the positioning consistent. I placed the face of the main, large image on the right side rather than the middle. This consistency will attract my intended audience.

I used this magazine contents page to help me with my layout because I though it was an interesting and attractive layout from a successful magazine- mixmag. From this I challenged some feature such as changing the subheadings so that they stand out more than this magazine contents page

The double page spread (DPS)

• The typical forms and conventions of a DPS of a music magazine are:

-Drop cap-by-line-artist name-pull quote-main image-Introduction-page numbers-housestyle/colour scheme-fonts-language

How is my DPS like an existing magazines DPS?

Introduction

Main image

Masthead

Masthead

My DPS-VividExisting magazine- DPS

Page numbers

Pull quote Pull quote

Other images

Article Article

Drop cap- this is a convention that many magazines have. I have seen a drop cap in all the magazines that I analysed during my research and planning and I think it purpose is there to let the reader know that it is the start of the article. Also it draws you into the rest of the article/interview. The drop cap makes the article seem less formal and by using it right at the start, it sets a close, informal relationship between the reader (audience) and the artist right at the beginning.

The colour scheme is again the same as the other pages- mostly red and white with black font as well. The fact that I have kept with the same colours on all the pages makes my magazine stick to the real conventions of music magazines and so will attract my intended audience.Housestyle- the housestyle of my DPS is very simple with the same black and white background (as the other pages) and the same font and colours. This is to make the genre more clear to the audience. The simplicity will attract my audience as it is a code of many other music magazines.

Main image- the main image is on the right hand side of the DPS with 3 columns of writing on one side of her (left side) and only one column of writing on the right hand side of my DPS. The image is a long shot of the min artist so that she is seen as the main attention of the magazine also because she is across the page (vertically), it shows that the article is based on her.

Mise-en scene- her dress is very simple and the colours are black and white, this links in with the rest of my magazine, as I have kept the housestyle simple and plain. Her posture and facial expressions explain that she is a happy and outgoing. Also her posture is informal and she is directly making eye-contact with the audience to make it seem like she is inviting them to get closer to her and know her personally.

Page numbers on either sides of the DPS pages. I have put the page numbers next to the masthead on either side so that my magazine can be recognised also to fit in with one of the major conventions of many music magazines.

Pull quote- this is placed on the side of the main image to show that is it quoted from her. This pull quote is necessary for my DPS because I have a lot of columns of writing and so with the short pull quote, people will be interested to read the whole article if they are attracted to the pull quote. I have put the pull quote in blue as well as the artist name to bring links with all of them. By using this convention of writing her name in another font colour is there so that the audience knows who the article is about. Also it is a typical convention of music magazines and also reflects on the genre of my music magazine which is electro dance music.

By line- I have included the by line on the side of the DPS because it is a typical convention of music magazines. The by-line is there to tell who the photographer is, who wrote the article and other contents.

Artists name- this is in another colour so that it stands out to the audience and so that they know who the article is based on. I thought this was important to include because it is a typical convention of electro dance music magazines as well as other genre magazines.

I have used the introduction convention to introduce what the article is about, who is based onLanguage: the language that I have used is informal. I have used words such as “errm” in the middle of her responses. This is to make it look like the audience is talking to her face to face. I have also included “[laughs]” to show that she is friendly and informal. This is a typical convention of music magazine interviews as they are normally willing to tell their fans/audience about their life and answer their questions. I think that magazine interviews are generally written in a ‘chatty’ way to make the audience get into the magazine and feel closer to the artist just by reading the interview.

Fonts- i have used the same font throughout the art5icle so that there is a feel of consistency. Also because DPS’ of existing magazines do not have fancy writing or different fonts, so i kept to the convention and only changed the colour of the text.

I have made sure that all the columns and the writing are in line and are not spilling out of the page. Also I taken all the hyphens out because I have seen that existing magazines do not have hyphenated words.

Housestyle of all 3?

Target audience?

Language, how they address the audience (‘speaks to the audience, informal, friendly, engaging?

How I challenged the conventions

• Many music magazines do not have a long shot of the artist, but I have put a long shot of the artist on my front cover because I think that this is a good way that people can see the Mise-en-scene of the artist. Also, I think that with this long shot, people can see the body language of the artist. The body language shows that she is informal.

• I have also challenged the way I have constructed my masthead. Not many mastheads have other colours behind them; they are normally one bold bright colour.

• I have also included other images such as the CD and many magazines do not include other images apart from the main image. I challenged this convention because I thought it looked more creative to put a CD behind the text that was about a mix CD.

• I made the subheading more like rock genre music magazines such as “kerrang!” rather than dance magazines such as “mixmag” because I thought that rock layouts were more attractive. Also because they are bold and in red.

• I have put my masthead at the bottom of the page in the corner rather than on the top, because I though that when people flick to the next page, they will see the masthead. I also challenged it because I thought that this positioning was better than to place on the top.