Media evaluationBy Amber Bell

Question 1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop and challenge the forms and conventions of real media product?

Using conventionsI have used typical conventions of the magazine by making sure I include a lot of the different features that magazines in the current market have. I have included a front cover, contents and double page spread which all magazine have and whilst creating these I used my existing knowledge and research to make sure I stuck to the conventions of existing magazines

Using conventions – front coverI made sure that the cover image was a mid shot, this is often used in existing magazines and I also made sure it was the largest picture on the page so that It stood out.

Using conventions – front coverI also made sure that I had a masthead located at the top of the page and I had it in the top corner like ‘Q’ magazine as I felt it would be most noticed here. I also made sure that the tagline of the magazine was located underneath the masthead

Using conventions – front coverI also made sure that the coverlines were located together, this makes them easier to locate and read instead of being scattered.

Using conventions – front coverI added in a quote from the artist, this is very common and is used in a lot of music magazines. I felt this was a necessity and the front cover wouldn’t be complete without it.

Using conventions – front coverI also added in a banner across the top of the page, this is also common in music magazines to advertise a specific part or offer within the magazine.

Using conventions – front coverI also added in a section that advertises a specific offer or event, it is like the banner however it is usually added within a circle shape.

Using conventions – front coverI also made sure that I added in the barcode and price, I made sure that the price was small and located near the barcode which was also alongside the date of the issue.

Using conventions – contentsI made sure that contents was written and visible at the top of the page.

Using conventions – contentsI made sure that there was one main image on the contents page. I t was slightly smaller than other magazines however it was still larger than the rest of the images

Using conventions – contentsI used sub-sections for the contents page, this I very common in magazines as it makes the contents page easier to skim through

Using conventions – contentsI made sure that I had page numbers attached to the smaller pictures as they are there as a visual aid to the article titles.

Using conventions – contentsI made sure that I had page numbers attached to the smaller pictures as they are there as a visual aid to the article titles.

Using conventions – contentsI also added in an editors note, I made it shorter than typical magazines however it is long enough for enough detail to be added.

Using conventions – double page spreadThe title of the article is clear and located at the top of the page. This makes it so that It is one of the first things the reader looks at.

Using conventions – double page spreadI made sure that the main image took up almost half of the double page spread as I felt this is exactly what existing magazines persist to do.

Using conventions – double page spreadI added in some smaller images as this is also very common in double page spreads; they are there to shows other emotions of the artists or other members of the band.

Using conventions – double page spreadI made sure that the interview/article was written in column format as this is how most articles are written as it is easier for the reader to follow.

Using conventions – double page spreadI made sure that I included the CD that the artist has made into the article and a sentence to say when there CD/Tour is out.

Using conventions – double page spreadI also added in a ‘further listening section. This is very popular in magazines such as Q which is why I decided to include it in my own magazine.

Using conventions – double page spreadI made sure that I added in a quote from the artists as this is a very common feature to include on double page spreads.

Using conventions I made sure that all of the pages had the same colour scheme as I felt this made the pages flow better and this was also something that all music magazines did to make their product flow better.

Developing conventionsOn a few of my pages I have managed to take an idea or conventions from a magazine and develop it or change it slightly (without loosing the concept) I feel as though this makes the magazine more individual rather than an existing magazine clone.

Developing conventions – front coverI took the idea of having a shape containing an offer, however instead of using the circle shape like most magazines I went for the star as I felt this was more fitting with my genre and the fun front cover I was trying to create.

Developing conventions – front coverI also went against using a simple and clean font for the masthead, I felt the graffiti font fit in better with my genre as I didn’t want it too harsh and bold and I wanted to have a hip hop twist on the R&B classic.

Developing conventions – front coverI also decided to take the banner idea but I made it stretch further as I felt that way I would be able to advertise more.

Developing conventions – front coverEven though I included the barcode, date and price I went against hiding it in the bottom corner and put it at the top of the page

Developing conventions – contents pageI did add in an editors note however I added it within a sticky note and made it shorter than existing magazines

Developing conventions – contents pageI also made sure that there were sections on the page however I made the boxes very prominent compared to existing magazines.

Developing conventions – double page spreadI developed the conventions of double page spread as I went for an interview rather than an article; these are not as common in music magazines.

Developing conventions – double page spreadEven though I used the further listening section I developed it by adding in descriptions of the CDs rather than just a picture and rating.

Challenging conventionsI went for some maybe controversial decisions when creating this magazine as I wanted a quirky and fresh spin on existing magazines. I made some decisions that went against typical conventions but I am still happy with the outcome of the magazine.

challenging conventions – front coverI went against having the coverlines just layered on top of the background; I decided to add in the iPod so that that particular cover line stood out; I preferred to do this than just enlarge the coverline as I feel this is done too often.

challenging conventions – front cover

I also decided to make my background one solid colour, this is not common as major magazines have access to photography studios so they can make a professional background where as I took my images in my house so a solid colour background replaced our wall colour.

challenging conventions – contents I added in the main image that was there solely for entertainment as it wasn’t linked to any of the articles this rarely happens however I felt it fit in really well with the genre.

challenging conventions – contents I also added in a ‘picture of the week’ I have never seen this in music magazines however I felt as though it was a good feature that would get the readers involved in the magazine

challenging conventions – contents I also added in a large picture of a vinyl. The articles are usually listed in boxes however I wanted to go against those conventions as I felt this was quirky and new but it still worked well.

challenging conventions – contents I went against putting the subscription information on the front page as I felt it was better on the contents page

challenging conventions – contents Finally I wanted to add something fresh and new to the contents page, this is why I added the QR code onto the contents page as this merged different forms of media together which shows that my company can cross media converge with other companies

challenging conventions – double page spreadThe main thing on the double page spread was the background, I wanted to go against the traditional background and add something in that linked to my genre which is why I added in the brick wall with the graffiti.

challenging conventions – double page spreadI also wanted the actual interview to fit in with the rest of the page which is why I went against the white background and went for the paper and tape.

Conclusion Through creating this magazine I was

able to use the traditional conventions of magazines that I had researched, develop their existing ideas to make them fit in with my magazine and I also went against them all together. Through doing this I feel I have been able to create a magazine that will fit in the market but it still has a new twist.