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

Masthead

The masthead of my front cover is extremely conventional in size, font, and placement.The masthead is in the largest font size on the front cover which is the same as other rock/indie music magazines such as Kerrang and NME.

Masthead

My masthead is also in a sans serif font which is conventional for the rock/indie genre and is also used in NME and Kerrang. The sans serif font makes the magazine look more masculine which is conventional for the genre as rock magazines generally look more masculine as they are aimed towards males.

Masthead

The masthead is placed at the top and in the centre of the page which is identical to the placement of the Kerrang masthead. The placement of my masthead is conventional as it is on the route of the eye and is the first thing on the page you notice. The head of the model is also placed in front of the masthead which is conventional and is also seen on the Kerrang front cover.

Cover story

The sans serif font used for the cover story is very conventional for rock and indie music magazines as it looks masculine which suits the genre of which the magazine is about. The subheading is also in all capitals which is very conventional and seen on many other rock magazines as it again looks masculine and also angry.

Pull quote

The use of a pull quote is very conventional as it is seen on almost any music magazine. The serif font I used for my pull quote is still conventional as it still looks masculine rather than a very curly and sophisticated font. The font style still suits the genre and is often seen on and inside Kerrangmagazine.

Cover lines

I chose to break conventions for all of the cover lines on my cover as they are often in the same or similar fonts which looks and so they don’t attract much attention and look boring. To make each cover line stand out in different ways, I used different sans serif fonts that catch the eyes more than simple ones. All the fonts, however, suit the rock genre as they look destroyed or eroded which is very conventional along with simple and bold serif fonts.

▪LAYOUT YOOOO

Top banner

The use of the banner above the masthead is conventional and is always above the Kerrang masthead. However, I have chosen to go against conventions and include a cover line here ratherthan more names ofartists as it makes themagazine look like ithas more content init.

Route of the eye

The layout of this magazine cover is conventional for any magazine as it uses the route of the eye. The masthead is placed at the top in the center so is the first thing you notice when you look at it. The head of the girl on the main image also lies on the route of the eye meaning people will recognize her and see her almost instantly which is very conventional for any music magazine. The start of the cover story also falls on the route of the eye which is conventional on most music magazine covers.

Rule of thirds

The magazine cover is also conventional through its layout and the rule of thirds. Many magazines have important aspects of the page falling on the crossovers. The main image falls on two of the crossovers which is usually the case for music magazines. The cover story also falls on a crossover similar to how Kerrang’sdoes.

Left Third

Use of the left third is extremely conventional in any music magazine as that is what is seen when they are on the shelves in shops so this is where content is shown and advertised so I have followed conventions by making good use of the left third of the magazine cover.

Bottom banner

Including a banner at the bottom of the page stating more artists who are featured in the magazine is conventional and often seen on rock/indie magazines.

IMAGES Y0LO L0LZ

Main Image

The main image is conventional for a magazine cover as it is a mid shot which is often used in music magazines so the face and facial expression can clearly be seen. However, I broke conventions by having a background to my image which is effective as it makes the magazine look more ‘grungy’.

Cover lines

The free poster is conventional as it is another mid shot and is against a plain background like the poster of Slash in Kerrang.

The image of Kazza is conventional for a rock magazine as it has a guitar as a prop and is also a low angle which makes the artist look powerful which is conventional for rock magazines and also for rock artists as they look dominant and powerful.

#COLOURZ

House style

The house style of black, white, red and pops of yellow is conventional for the rock genre as they are dark and masculine. They are also conventional for rock/indie music magazines as they are seen in music magazines of that genre such as Kerrang and NME.The white masthead is also conventional as in music magazines it is any colour that will contrast with the background.

LANGUAGE WEWP

Language

The colloquial language is conventional for a rock magazine as they are more informal than other music magazines.Taboo language is also quite conventional for the rock genre and rock music magazines as it shows anger and rebellion.Using words like “killin’” and “cutting-edge” are conventional words as the words are associated with violence and suit the genre as rock is associated with violence.

CONTENTS PAGEEEEEEEE

Typography

All the fonts on the contents page are sans serif which is conventional for rock music magazines as they look simple, modern, and masculine without being over the top. Most of the text is in a similar font so that the page doesn’t look too messy or unprofessional which is conventional as most contents pages use similar fonts throughout.

Images

The main image is conventional for the rock genre as the girls are wearing dark clothes that are associated with the genre. The location is also conventional because it is run down and destroyed and the girls have dark makeup on which rock artists wear. However, I broke conventions by using a clearly posed image of the pair rather than a natural image.

Layout

The masthead and title at the top of the page is conventional for any contents page in a music magazine as it informs the reader of what the page is.The use of columns is also conventional as it is seen in almost every music magazine and makes the page more ordered.

Colours

The house style of black, white, and red has been continued onto the contents page to create a flow and theme throughout the magazine.There is more yellow on this page but there is still sparse amounts so it contrasts with the other colours. Use of yellow on the contents page in sparse amounts is very conventional for rock music magazines.

Language

There is again informal language on the contents page which is conventional for rock music magazines as they aren’t meant to be too serious.

DPS

Typography

The pull quote is in a sans serif font but looks grungy and grimy which is conventional for the rock genre because they are often seen to be grungy.

The feature is in a simple sans serif font along with the rest of the text which makes the page and band look modern which is conventional for rock music magazines as the majority of their text is sans serif.

Images

The image on the right page is a mid shot which is very conventional s0 you can see the bands makeup and facial expressions.

There is also a long shot in the other black and white image so you can see the bands outfit which is conventional for rock music magazines.

Layout

The feature is in columns which is conventional for any music magazine as the text is always in columns.

The page also uses the route of the eye as the two pull quotes, the faces of the girls, the feature, and the smaller image fall on the line which is conventional for music magazines so people see the important aspects of the page first.

Colours

The main colours on this page are red, black, and white, which is conventional for the rock genre as those colours are associated with rock artists as black connotes death and red connotes blood.

Language

Colloquial language is used again on the double page spread and it is definitely informal as they refer to a concert as a ‘gig’. They also use field-specific lexis typical to music which is conventional for rock music magazines as they obviously talk about music in a music magazine.