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

Rebecca Bailey

• When I participated in creating my own music magazine, I had to research into other well known magazines for guidance. Looking at magazines like ‘Kerrang’ and ‘Rocksound’ it helped to determine what style conventions I would use to make my magazine more attractive to the target audience.

• The front covers of ‘Kerrang’ magazines are mostly very ‘busy’ and full of different conventions which are usually a number of various flashes, plugs and graphic features. Looking at ‘Rocksound’ magazine, they use a style which is both ‘busy’ but also has a strip of articles down the 1st third which to make the magazine look more neat and easier to read the articles on the front cover. When producing my front cover of the magazine I tried to conform to the conventions, as I made my magazine more ‘busy’ using the plug above the main cover image, but I also used the strip down the left side for the articles so they are clear to read and nothing is covering the main cover image. The idea that the front cover is ‘busy’ appeals to the younger generation and the strip is used to make the magazine look neat that then appeal to the older individuals. This therefore helps to target teenagers and young adults. That is how ‘Kerrang’ and ‘Rocksound’ attract the target audience. Magazines like ‘Kerrang’ and ‘Rocksound’ do not have dead space in their front covers as they are usually full with other conventions like graphic features and although my magazine has a bit of space there is not really any dead space in my magazine as the space left by the main cover image I have used a plug to cover the space.

• My first drafts of my music magazine did not conform to the music genre as the draft was plain and the conventions were simple. The house style was plain as the front cover image was a mid shot in the middle of the front cover with the kickers and cover lines placed neatly around the image. I then developed the front cover using the idea of the magazine being ‘busy’ and the idea of the strip used in ‘Rocksound’ I created a new design to the magazine. For the front cover image I started with an individual and ended up using three people as a group as group images are more common on magazines like ‘Kerrang’ and ‘Rocksound’ as most music produced in that music genre are bands. The body language of the individuals is also important as they look relaxed and less serious but you can also interpret what role they all play in the band. This is because the social group that like to pop punk and rock are stereotyped for having low self esteem and being laid back people. Bright colours like red, yellow and blue are used as they stand out but they also make the magazine look colourful as using plain or neutral colours would make the magazine look dull and therefore result in the magazine being dull and boring. I used the plain blue colour behind the front cover image and the white in the strip to help contrast with the bright colours of the red, yellow and blue as well as the black.

• I have used a black tag line underneath the white masthead to make the masthead look larger as well as making the masthead stand out on the front cover. That is essential on a front cover as the masthead is the name of the magazine. At the bottom of the page I have used a selling line at the bottom of the page as that helps to fill up the front cover. Selling lines are also common on ‘Rocksound’ as it usually sells the reader with a free item or the chance to win something. . I have used the red font of the headline to allow the band name to stand out making it clear that it is the main cover story of the magazine, as well as using the quote as the anchorage. The white quote is placed over black boxes so the quote is read clearly over the clothing of the individuals in the front cover image. It also makes the quote look bold. A secondary lead is always present in magazines like ‘Kerrang’ and ‘Rocksound’ which is what I used at the top of the strip. It is clear that the article is a secondary lead as I made the number ‘50’ larger than the other text of the strip and in a different colour to show the importance, and that it is different to the other kickers and cover lines. I used the basic conventions of kickers and cover lines down the strip of articles in the magazine. At the bottom of the strip I used a menu strip which is quite bold and is used to inform the target audience what other bands would be in the magazine. The style of the menu strip is bold like the menu strips that ‘Rocksound’ use. The strip did go well in a way as it kept my magazine tidier but the kickers and cover lines in the strip could have been added to.

• When I began to work on my Contents page I kept the house style consistent and used the same colours as I had used on the front cover: red, yellow, blue, white and black. This is so that the contents look like it is part of the same magazine. As well as that I used a smaller strip as the contents menu down the left third of the page. I also used the red banner and white text at the top of the page with the masthead and just above the contents menu to make the contents menu clear. I also played with the text on box effect with black and white for the sections in the contents menu to separate each section. This makes the contents easier for the target audience to read or if they are looking for a specific article. I used three various images all set differently for different articles. The main image signifies the main article of the magazine and the individuals are set out with a funny pose and different body positions. This gives the impression that they are up for a laugh, they aren’t too serious. The second image is of another individual in an outgoing pose which is a bit smaller than the main image as the article it relates to is not as important as the main story of the magazine. The third image is one I took at a concert I went to. Each image has a white box with a red page number and black text in to direct you to which page of the magazine the story is in. In the top left corner of the page is the editors’ letter which is essential as all magazines have one on their contents page. That gave me a lot of dead space on the page which needed filling up as to fit in with the conventions of a rock/pop punk magazine, it needed to look full, so I added in another red banner at the bottom of the page to be used as the subscription box with the image of my front cover. Above the red banner I used a black box across the page with white text that I used to state an outrageous quote of a celebrity. This type of convention is familiar in the contents pages of ‘Kerrang’ magazines. Although some space is empty, the magazine looks full and the space is used carefully.

• Like the contents page, I used the same conventions as the front cover for instance the colours: red, black, blue, white and yellow. The left hand side of the double page spread I used as an enlarged image of the band in a different position as the images for the front page spread and the contents page. At the top of the page I used a red box with white font for the masthead and smaller black text underneath to signify it is an interview. The headline of the double page spread I used the blue and red colours to bold and stand out. When writing the article, I went for a question and answer interview but I also used the conventions that made the article more realistic and emotive. In the introduction, I used to comparison of the band with a great well known band to imply that they are just as good. Through the use of question I used in the introduction to include the audience in the article. Along with that I used a story to address the scenario of the start of the interview. In the middle of the interview, I added a black bordered box with a large red quote in, which was taken from the interview. This draws the readers into the interview as it is bold and it is an eye catching quote. At the end of the interview I used a black box with yellow text to imply the importance of the text. Although it is small text like the interview and is not bold, the contrast of colours helps to signify that the text is just important. Although some space is empty, the white space is used for impact of the enlarged image and the interview.

• The principles of design have been considered when producing my final draft. The 6 key principles are: emphasis, contrast, balance, alignment, repetition and flow. Visual hierarchy is used for the emphasis of splitting the information into the most important. I have used this on my front cover page as the primary information is incorporated into the main headline and anchorage. The second important information (the secondary lead), I shown through the use of enlargement of text as it makes the text stand out more from the tertiary information. A visual hierarchy occurs on my contents page as well, due to the addition of the images which makes that content more important than the text which does not have an image to link to. The front cover image is the main focal point of the magazine as it links to the main headline and the position of the individuals in the image like the direct mode of address interacts with the reader. I have used the colour yellow for text which emphasises the importance of the text.

• Contrast in my music magazine is shown through the size of the text, the images and the colour. When looking at my front cover, the headline has the second largest text on the cover and has an image included with it. Boxes around the text are also used to emphasise the headline. It then contrasts with the kickers and cover lines as they are smaller text, different colours and are organised with no image associated with them.

• Balance is used to ensure that the magazine does not look messy and cramped. On my double page spread, there is a balance of one page being an image and the other page being the article. As well as the article, white space is used to ensure that the page is not full of text. If there is more text than images, the reader can become bored and will not be attracted to reading that article. The contents page is balanced with various images as well as the contents text.

• Alignment connects different elements together. The black circle on the front cover aligns with the yellow plug, making the text stand out from the kickers and cover lines. Images are connected to different texts on the contents page as well as the front cover image linking with the headline and anchorage. Repetition also occurs as the black circle with the plug off the front cover is also repeated on the contents page which emphasises the importance. The different use of fonts also creates the effect of the visual hierarchy (how important the kickers and cover lines are).

• Flow is how the magazine will meet the eye of the target audience. On my front cover, I used the rule of thirds by adding the first third for the kickers and cover lines and the other two thirds were available for my headline, front cover image and anchorage as well as a plug. It indicates the importance of the text. As well on the contents page, I used the rule of thirds to set out the design for the page. The first third I used for my contents text which has a black stroke box around to separate from the rest of the page. The two thirds free, I used to add images and the plug as well. I used the rule of thirds as naturally, a person reads from left to right.