Evaluation Question 1

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

How I used them…

I designed my logo for my magazine so that it conformed to the normal codes and conventions, as most music magazine have a bold title with sometimes it going slightly behind the main image or another feature. This is normally a sign that the magazine is already well recognised which is why I did it to my magazine, as well it meaning that it is using the conventions. Secondly my music magazine front cover also contains an image which follows the similar layout, shot type and structure of a lot of other music magazines. My front cove has a main headline quote to focus on “I finally got into the charts”, I found included in a lot of music magazines today.  Thirdly my cover uses puff’s such as “Win a £15 iTunes voucher”. In a lot of music magazine today they will have music industry related puffs or festival tickets. My contents page uses the typical feature of “exclusive” text to lure the reader in to the magazine and read further on.  Lots of “DJ” magazines always use the phrase “Exclusive artist”. This then makes the reader feel special that he is finding out about exclusive information. My double page spread uses an eye catching bold font as the main article heading. This is then a direct mode of address to the viewer the article is about a certain genre of music. My front cover, contents page and double page spread all use images relevant to the genre of music. For example the image on the front cover is a artist holding a sub-woofer. A subwoofer is what makes Dubstep and its what emphasises the sounds of Dubstep. Therefore if the reader saw this they would instant know the the magazine is about a bass genre such as drum and bass or Dubstep.

How I challenged the conventions…

My main image overlapped the masthead. This is because the main image appeared stronger and more dominant the masthead itself. The image is a direct mode of address that signifies to the audience the magazine is about Dubstep. Secondly I rotated the “Artist titles and incentives” 180 degrees so they appear down the side of the page. This is a different approach to present text as a lot of music magazines have then cover lines and headlines straight on the page. Therefore it gives the cover visually interesting. Also it also points to the main picture so the viewer’s eyes read the cover line and then their focus is brought to the main picture.

How I developed the conventions.

On my front cover, DPS and contents page I have used different designs throughout. The colour schemes vary a bit but, along it’s the same lines. This makes the magazine more visually interesting and each new page is different and therefore excites the viewer and there’s always something new for the viewer to explore. However I have used the same artist image throughout the magazine as the main article is about that artist. This will intrigue the viewer throughout the magazine leading up to the DPS as the readers will want to read about the artist.