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

MAGAZINE – USING, DEVELOPING AND CHALLENGING ‘EMPIRE’ MAGAZINE

Big chunky masthead

Similarcolours

Same shot types

Foll

USE

- I decided to base my magazine front cover on the successful film magazine, Empire. I began with both choices of magazine using bold mastheads centred at the top of the page in a big, chunky font.- Both magazines stick to a colour scheme with their writing and their pictures, Empire uses dark colourson the photo and their writing, whereas Showreel(mine) uses lighter colours, but both follow the three colour rule. I decided to use a lighter one in order to follow the natural daylight in my photo.- Both magazines use subtitles surrounding the articles in their magazine, also with similar positioning down the sides of the photo.- I liked the shot type of a medium close up being used in Empire's photo, as I liked the way you could see the detailing on the model's face, I have chosen to use the same shot type as it also shows the detail on mine, even though the model is looking in a different direction to the camera.- With Showreel, I have followed the typical codes and conventions of a magazine by using a barcode, date and issue number, a slogan, a masthead and coverlines.

DEVELOP

More coverlines

Not looking at camera

Light background

- On my magazine I have decided to add more coverlines than Empire has, this is because I thought having a white background would make my magazine look bare. Also, I have gone for a simplistic method on my poster and want there to be a noticeable difference between the two.- My colour scheme is lighter, as the one Empire has used is for Harry Potter which is a dramatic film and therefore seeks to create tension. On my front cover my model is not in character, on the photo he looks lighthearted whereas his character is represented quite darkly in the trailer.- Although I have used the same shot type as Empire, my model is not looking at the camera.- I find my magazine to be more simplistic than Empire, even though there is more text. I think this is because of the colour scheme empire have used and the way that there character is wearing fake blood, making it look like there is more going on. It is also less cluttered around the masthead, as items such as release dates, issue numbers and barcodes are placed at the bottom.

CHALLENGE

High key lighting on photo

Different facial expressions

Different background for photo

- Although both magazines follow a similar colour structure, I feel that mine sticks to the same colours more. I like this as it makes the magazine look clearer, and I find it to be similar to my foundation portfolio.- The photo on my magazine looks less dramatic and intense, due to the high key lighting and model's facial expression.- The background my photo is against is a white brick wall as opposed to a studio. This is in keeping with the conventions of a social realism film, as it supports the idea of an urban film being filmed in a real life environment.