Evaluation Question 1IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?

What is the purpose of a magazine? A magazine is a publication which is usually printed or can also be published

electronically (online magazine). They are usually published regularly i.e. every month and can cover a wide variety of content including music, film, home and food.

The purpose of a magazine is for entertainment and education and is a way of communicating and providing information to a specific target audience.

There are many different codes and conventions which are used to attract a target audience. These codes and conventions also help the audience to identify the genre of the magazine and make it appealing. In my magazine, I have conformed to most of these conventions, but also broken some of them to give my magazine a unique selling point and make it different and more interesting.

Front Cover ConventionsStrapline

Masthead

Main Cover Line

Cover Lines

Barcode

Price

Date

Web AddressMy Magazine The Source

Magazine

Front CoverAfter researching both ‘The Source’ Magazine and ‘Vibe’ Magazine which both use the genre of Hip-Hop, I found that most magazines of this genre use a close-up photo of an artist with a direct gaze. The expression on their face is usually serious and the reason for this is to draw in the audiences’ attention so that they feel the magazine is directed towards them. I also used this convention in my magazine and took the idea of the hand over the chin as seen on the front cover of ‘The Source’.

Bright colours are usually also used in this genre of magazine which I took on board but I challenged conventions by using the colour pink. This colour is not typically seen within a magazine directed towards this particular target audience but I decided to use it because I think doing something different makes the magazine stand out and different and I believe this will make more people want to read it.

I followed traditional conventions with the placement of my cover lines. I placed them around the face of the main image so it therefore draws attention to it and makes it the main focus of the front cover. I found this convention in both ‘The Source’ magazine and ‘Vibe’ magazine.

On both front covers of the magazines that I looked at, the main cover line was only slightly larger than the rest of the cover lines and was also placed around the image. I didn’t follow this convention and instead I made the main cover line big and placed it over the top of the image as I wanted this to be important and I wanted it to stand out.

I used all capital letters on my front cover, which isn’t always typically seen throughout all music magazines but is a convention of Hip-Hop magazines. I think this represents the genre well and immediately helps the audience to identify the type of magazine it is.

Contents Page Conventions

Title

Chronological Folios

FeaturesPictures

Folio with pictures

My MagazineVibe Magazine

Contents PageFor my magazine, I decided to do it over a double page as I feel this gives more room to include all of the articles as well as pictures. This is different to the two magazines that I analysed, as they only had one page for the contents and only used one picture. I think using more than one picture across the contents page makes it look more interesting.

My magazine conforms to conventions with the articles having chronological folios and a list of features. It has most of the typical contents page conventions with a large title so that it is easily recognisable as the contents page which was also seen on the contents pages of Vibe and The Source magazine.

Both Vibe and The Source didn’t use very bright colours on the contents pages, they were left looking quite simplistic and I have done the opposite to this. I have continued using the bright pink throughout my contents page to make the magazine consistent and make it stand out. Both The Source and Vibe had very colourful front covers and didn’t carry this through to the contents page but I thought that doing this would make the contents page more vibrant and eye-catching.

Both contents pages that I looked at used plain backgrounds for their texts to go over. This is a typical convention of music magazines and white is usually the colour used. This is so the text is easy to read and the audience are able to find which article they wish to read easily. I have conformed to this convention because I believe it makes the page look professional and not too messy.

Double Page Spread Conventions

Title

Drop Caps

ColumnsPull Quote

Main Image

Folios

Stand First

My Magazine Vibe Magazine

Double Page SpreadFor my magazine, I have conformed to conventions by using a main image and a title. This is to attract the audience and to also inform them on what the article is about. For both DPS pages that I analysed (The Source & Vibe), I found that they used the first page as a full main image and the second page as the interview or article. I also used this technique when creating my DPS.

For my main image I decided to use a long shot which is seen in The Source’s DPS but differs from Vibe’s DPS which is a close up. I decided to have my model standing outside against a graffiti wall which I think represents the genre of Hip-Hop well, making the scene look urban. I dressed him in casual clothes as I think this typically seen in this type of music. I made him stand with his hand in his pockets to epitomise the ‘don’t care 'attitude. I also positioned him to be looking away into the distance and to bring the page together I added a pull quote in the direction that he is looking to give the page a focal point.

I have used a drop cap in my article which is also seen in Vibe’s DPS and is a typical convention seen throughout magazines so that the audience know where the article starts. They also stand out and make the page more interesting which draws in attention. I used the same font for the drop cap as the title (as did Vibe magazine) to make it look neat and professional and maintain a consistent style throughout.

I have used columns in my DPS which is a very typical convention seen in magazines. This is so the text is neatly organised and easy to read and so it is more compact. I used this feature to make my magazine look more professional and so the reader could easily follow on the read after each sentence. It is also visually pleasing to the eye.