1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of

real media products? (i.e. of music magazines)

The masthead of my magazine is called “Combust” and I used the font “Kraash” which was downloaded from a website called dafont.com onto Photoshop for my use. This font is bold and the lettering is hollow which allowed me to gain good contrast from the title and the background image making the title even bolder. This is a typical convention for all magazines. The best example of this would be in “Clash magazine” as they consistently use the same block font that is usefully depicted in white and contrasts massively with the background image. The title of my magazine is called “Combust”, I chose this title as It has two syllables which is consistently used in magazines. An example of which being “I-D” magazine or “keerang”. The meaning of the word combust is to spontaneously explode involving fire. The imagery of this name is for my magazine to be explosive and to be unpredictable. This would fit the genre of an indie magazine as the soul purpose of this genre is to be spontaneous and different. This name fitted for my magazine. My title is placed above the background layer making it stand out even more, and is also placed at the top of my cover and contents page. This is a convention for the cover but not so much contents. This is challenging the convention of magazines. I also tried to make the font fit the genre as the text is very bold an outgoing but also is not straight in a line and not ever letter is in the same size. I received great feedback from the use of this font from not only my peers but also from the teachers who overlooked my coursework.

The graphology of my front cover is not very advanced and is quite simplistic. I used two fonts,

“Kraash” which is my masthead and also “Blackout” which is used for my date and issue number and

also headline. These fonts are very similar within their properties as they both contrast very well

with the dark image and also they connote the genre of indie in my cover very well as they are edgy.

The coloyr cheme is mostly monochrome meaning black (which comes from the image) and the

white of the majority of text, mixed in with the costume and complexion of my feature. I used the

white text on top of the bacl image to contrast and help promote awareness of this information on

my cover. This also makes it eye catching. This fits the convention of indie music magazines. I also

used thw white text that is hollowed out again to create a different sort of contrast on my magazine.

Also the white text of the issue number and date which infroms the reader of this information but

the size of this is a lot smaller when compared to masthead and headlines as it is less important to

the audience to now what issue it is but is useful when they may be reffering to others about this

magazine and the issue number will allow the magazines produced by this company to stay

organised. The main topic of my magazine was based on Jmaes Taggar and where he was goin next

after being hailed a prodigy at such a young age. I have highlighted this on my cover as a close up of

him is used and also the text reads, “James ‘the new me’ Taggar”. I have highlighted this text so that

the audience will understand the foczl point of this months issue which may persudade more to buy

the magazine as it intrigues them or they want the hear more about their favourite upercoming solo

indi artist. This confroms to the conventions of magazines.

The use of the black and white contrast on my cover was the easiest way to highlight certain

elements as the black background was used as a base. An example of this would be in the barcode,

maybe it is not so important on the magazine but the black background allowed it to show up clearly

and allowed me to position it basically where I pleaded within reason. Good examples of this may be

found in magazines such as fantastic man and also loud and quiet.

The sizing of the text was determined on the importance to the audience because they are the only

people I have to impress as they are the consumers. The largest being the masthead “Combust” then

the headline, then the genre of magazine then the issue number and date. This follows the4

convention for music magazines of this genre. A good example of this being used can be found on a

previous candidates work called jack green;

He has clearly shown that of the importance of the size of texts as the biggest being the names and

headlines whereas the smallest being the price, genre and date. In my magazine I chose the barcode

to be in top right. This would allow a bigger square image to be centred and enough space for my

masthead to flow from left to right. This challenges the conventions I haven’t really seen it been

done in many music magazines.

My model/music artist was infact my Cousin called Louis Ayre. I styled him in a range of different

backgrounds the two most favourable for the cover was one with a black and one with a white

background. This would make the contrast a lot easier and make things look a lot more professional.

On the magazine I have photographed him wearing different shirts/jackets and also different caps. I

have also utilized the use of props as I took a photo of him about the strike a pool shot and also the

lamppost he is leaning up against in the cover photo. This follows the conventions of magazines as

they each use props also. The clothes that my model wore made him stand out from the background

and also if you placed him in a crowd he would’ve stood out as looking sort of urban indie. But very

classy in choice of shirts. Nothing too outrageous as this would affect the mise en sene of the dark

cover. I learnt this through my research and planning. I think that my model fits my magazine style

very well through his facial features and fashion sense. The genre is connoted through the use of his

image as he fits the indie genre. Here are some examples of images I used throughout my magazine.

Here are the two images that I disputed between

when picking my front cover background as they both

contrast well with the black and white theme. I went

with the top in the end.

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Here is my finished contents page. I used photos from the same photo-

shoot I took with my cousin also some I took using the school

equipment. I used the same models obviously as the focus of my cover

and double page spread, but also I included another model to add

variation to my contents and create the effect that my magazine has

more than one level even though I am only producing a cover contents

and double page spread. This is a common convention which fits into

my magazines genre. Also I have included photo of my cover and social

media aspects. This again is a popular convention of this genre. The

composition of my contents conforms to the stereotypes as there is

one column and page numbers written at the bottom clearly stating 7.

This again is conforming as the contents is on the right hand page but

is also not straight after the cover as adverts will fill up this space as

shown through the page number, of which being the number 7. I have

included the title of the magazine in the masthead of my contents this

challenges this genre as normally it only says contents in the

masthead, whereas I have included both in my contents. As I have

talked about earlier I took heavy inspiration from previous candidates

work, this of Tom Browns “wave” magazine contents. I liked the idea

of the grey background with a few colour contrasts in between as it

adds a professional tone to this content. This fits the conventions of

this magazine as it looks clear and concise. I have also bracketed the

headline text like the magazine that tom brown produced as I liked the

way it added style and sharpness to my fonts and overall look of my

contents. In choosing the fonts I also tried to use similar ones to toms

as I have used a contrast in italic and regular fonts. The layout is very

neat as they all line up. I achieved this by using the grid tool that can

be used on the program Photoshop. I used this to ensure a neat clean

look on my magazine. This is what fits the convention of the genre of

this sort of music magazine. I added a template around both photos

used to put my own spin on town browns contents. This also fits my

genre and the magazine on the whole as it goes well with fonts and

the images used themselves. I have included a contact details and the

cover art n my contents as I saw this replicated on magazines such as

clash and i-D both of which hold the same genre as mine.

I have taken a lot of inspiration from tom browns wave magazine as I like the colour scheme layout use of images and also it fits into a similar genre to mine. I aimed to put my own spin on his contents. I believe I achieved this in my contents.

The layout of my double page spread is similar in many ways to the one I found in my research e

which is produced by clash magazine. This is a very popular music magazine and includes many

genres including the one that I am trying to portray in my magazine. I have put my own personal spin

on this layout. The thing I liked about it was the use of images and also the way that the text is

dissected into many equal length columns. Also I like the way that the text started in the top right on

the left hand page and reads down then goes from bottom left all the way across to the right until

the article is finished. I thin k that this challenges the way in which the magazines are created in this

genre as it is rarely done. I included photos that matched the mis3e en scene of the magazine in

other pages and also featured loads of different props including different hats and even a pool table.

I have seen this done in many different magazines. The font I picked is very bland and is the same

font that I used in places of my contacts. This all being black to contrast with the white background

with the exception of the credits section which is coloured in a smooth green. I have picked this as

that colour is quite prominent on my double page spread as the green of the background bush and

also the pool table. The masthead is written in similar font to the masthead of my cover and

contents this keeping up with the conventions of this genre as it portrays a sort of edgy and fun vibe

to the audience.