Q1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

The front cover uses a lot of conventions of real music magazines. The first one to name is the limited colour scheme. This is really important as a too colourful front cover would distract the audience and the magazine would appear unprofessional.For this front cover the colours used for the mast head and the cover lines are adjusted with the colours of the main image: black, white, red and brown. The colour of the mast head is the same red as the one of the body of the guitar as well as the brown of the “Hot” and “Plus” are a variation of the wooden head of the guitar. This gives the front cover a structured and clear appearance. The colours red and brown highlight the most important parts of the text which are the main heading and the headline which announces the cover lines.

Another typical technique which is used on the front cover of the LIVE! magazine is the overlapping main image in front of the masthead. Placing the image above the text creates a connection between the label and its contents. It shows that they are not separated but belong together. Another effect of this technique is that the audience is under the impression of being the first priority of the magazine. To inform the reader is more important that advertising the own brand. This attracts a larger readership as this magazine promises to fulfil their desire for the latest news in the music world rather than promoting itself and making money. A lot of magazines like Q or NME use this especially when the main image is related to a sensational or outstanding story. This is also true for the LIVE! magazine. The image and the main heading announce a brand new artist which no one should miss out on. The power and speciality of the new artist is emphasised by the images position in front of the usual standards.

The last convention to mention out of the variety which are used to create a proper front cover for a music magazine is the freebie on the bottom line of the magazine. This is a great way to draw in the audience because they feel they are gaining out something out of purchasing the magazine. It also makes the company different and unique compared to other competitors as this magazine offers free big posters of famous celebrities you cannot get anywhere else. This is therefore the Unique Selling Point of the magazine.

The next page to take a closer look at is the contents page.The most relevant aspect is the mast head. It is on top of the page and spread over the whole width parallel to the mast head on the front cover. It is important to link the front cover and the contents page to show the structure and order of the magazine. It is not a mess with random pages put together but created with logic and system. The big letters make it easy for the reader to identify this page as the contents and also connects the text column on the right hand side with the images on the left hand side of the page. The red bar which highlights the mast head also includes the issue number and the cover date. This again is part of the clear structure and serious appearance of the magazine.

CONNECTION

Secondly there is the column on the right hand side. A contents page has to be appealing to the audience which is often solved by using a lot of pictures. Too much text would repel especially younger readers but just using images looks dilettantish and unprofessional. To create an attractive page you have to find a perfect balance between the amount of text and images. Therefore a structured text column on the right is a nice way of solving this task. Divided into four headlines which are all supported by sub headings and page numbers it is easy to orient oneself.

A third feature on this page is the plug in the right corner. This stands out on the contents page in order to draw in the audience’s attention to the upcoming music festival. The signalling colour yellow which is nowhere else used on this page proclaims that the magazine offers the chance to win tickets for the promoted festival. The plug has a similar function to the freebie on the front cover. They both help the company to separate from other music magazines and provide something special and unique.

The main image takes up half of the double spread page. The image frames a female artist which has already been shown on the front cover. This time tough the shot used is a Close Up rather than a Long Shot. This is due to the fact that there is now an article revealing a lot more about the artist than the headline on the front cover. Simultaneously the close shot reveals a lot more of the woman’s emotions and facial expressions than the main image on the front of the magazine. So the main image serves to state the fact that this page provides a lot of new information which match with the reader’s expectations.

As there are two pages which present together one article it is necessary to link them and create a smooth connection between them. This is done in two steps. The first one is to use the main image as the background for the written text. There are no spaces, it all fits together. The second step is to create and emphasise a relationship between text and image. Letting the written words wander around the shoulder of the artist leads to the desired effect. Now image and article are linked and their affiliation becomes obvious.

Also the structure of the article has to be considered. As it is a text which appears in a magazine and not in a book the text has to be split up in columns. It makes it easier to read as the amount of text seems more spread. Also the use of paragraphs makes it more appealing for the audience to start reading the article. The first look tells them that it is logical structured. Without any columns or paragraphs to organise the information the reader would be overwhelmed and rather repelled than attracted.

Introduction