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

Title of the Magazine

For the masthead of my magazine, I chose to use Aharoni font because it is simple yet striking, like the NME masthead font. I decided to keep it very simple also with the black font and not outline or box around it because I thought that it stands out a lot more on the blue background of the sky. I chose black specifically because it seems to be the classic colour to associate with the style of my magazine – indie. However, I did also experiment with using a black font with a white and red

outline and a black box around it, similar to NME’s, but decided that this looked too complicated and that my magazine was too glamorous for this font.

I chose to use a simpler masthead, more like Vibe’s.

On the other hand, I do think that my masthead challenges conventions because of it’s simplicity. Mastheads are usually the centre of attention on the front cover so that audiences can immediately realise and recognise the magazine in a shop. My masthead stands out on the page but does not have any colour to attract the reader. I found that this worked because of the light background and the fact that it is in bold and capital letters. It also makes my magazine have a more glamorous effect than other magazines such as NME and Kerrang. It also makes my masthead more unique and therefore a reader is more likely to remember it.

Mise en Scene of Images

I believe that my photographs follow the rules of conventions because, in the majority of the images, the band is looking directly into the camera, showing that they are intimidating and threatening but also that they do not care what others think. They often pull moody expressions or just look like they cannot be bothered which agrees with the conventions of other indie music magazines. I think that my locations were also suitable for the genre because I took shoots in dark alley ways and the local park. I also chose the lighting carefully. For the first shoot, in the alley, I used low lighting to create an eerie and dangerous sense which agrees with the conventions of indie magazines. The fact that the alley way was dirty and dank also helped to contribute to the style I wanted to portray. Then, in the second shoot, I decided to use a more open location, the local park. I decided upon this because I thought that the images in the alleyway were too dark for my front cover because I wanted it to be brighter so that the main image would be the centre of attention on the front cover. This challenged the conventions of indie magazines. Another reason that I did a second shoot was because I wanted to have a photograph of only Lucy for the front cover because I thought it would be more striking and less distracting to the audience.

Costumes and Props

I think that the costumes and props that were used in the production of my magazine followed the general codes and conventions of music magazines. In both of the shoots, the band wore indie style clothing consisting of skinny jeans, miniskirts with ripped tights, denim jackets and fur. They also have their ears pierced and wore dark eyeliner. Many indie bands have been seen in magazines with these characteristics. Lucy also has her hair cut very short, died red and it is styled in a side parting. This shows that she is rebelling to femininity and that she is very individual and this originality can often be found in music magazines. Alice has her hair tied back scruffily with strands and clumps hanging randomly over her face. This gives off the sense of typical indie style scruffiness and makes it seems as if she cares what other people think even less.

People

The people features in my magazine are quite conventional. This is because they have very original features, particularly Lucy. They have very pronounced cheek bones and either dark or bright hair which is short in all of the images showing their individuality and lack of femininity. However, I have challenged conventions in the way that the band members are quite young, only being seventeen years old whereas most artists featured in music magazines are much older, usually in their mid-twenties or early thirties. Another way in which I have challenged convention with my use of people in my magazine is by using a band consisting of three teenage girls. Most indie bands feature all male bands, usually with at least four members. Therefore, I have challenged conventions in both the amount of people in the band, their age and their gender. However, I do not think that this will be an issue as my magazine is slightly directed to a more female audience and therefore they are more likely to relate to and form a closer relationship with the band and obviously, therefore, the magazine and the institution.

Contents Page

My content page follows conventions of existing music magazines quite religiously, especially NME. For example, there is one image that is the centre of attention which is usually the case in magazines. I have also used some ideas from NME; the band index on the left side of the page and the contents on the opposite side.