AS MEDIA STUDIES

EVALUATION Question 1

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

Whilst designing my music magazine I chose to abide the forms and conventions of magazines rather than challenging them because they are there for a reason and they are what help bring the magazine together and make it look professional making the audience want to buy it. I looked at many different genres of music magazines and most of them follow similar forms and conventions, in particular I used Vibe magazine which gave inspiration for my own magazine with the layout and presentation. The masthead is an important convention of a magazine and after researching many other Hip-Hop and R&B magazines, I have noticed that their main image covers part of the masthead to make the main image stand out more and draw more attention to the model, which in my research I found that some people only buy magazines depending on the main image. I used this convention for my magazine because my genre was R&B Hip-Hop and I chose to adhere to the conventions of my chosen genre to make it look realistic and professional as I could. I have also used a Striking font for my masthead to make it recognisable and to attract an appropriate audience.

I have used the simple convention date and price to make my magazine look authentic and professional. Almost every magazine has this and is an important part of a magazine so readers know how much the magazine is and whether it is up to date. Some magazines such as Vibe add a Web address so readers can visit their website, I have also added this to my magazine because I thought that it looks authentic and real. I created a barcode on Adobe Fireworks to make my magazine look realistic.

Just like any other magazine I used cover lines to help attract readers and draw attention to the main article. I also included an anchorage which is also a main convention of a magazine, I used the engaging line “Is that Atlanta?” to make it appeal to the audience. I included a strapline at the top of the page which gives the reader a small insight of which artists will be in the magazine.

After looking at other main images of music magazines had used I decided to choose this pose for my model because it makes her look prominent on the page and the eye contact is eye level with the reader looking straight which also engages the reader/audience.

Throughout the production of my contents page i look at contents pages from Vibe magazine to see what sort of layout and information should be included. I have developed my contents page by following the codes and conventions of magazines. The main image of a different artist is dominant and provocative which links well to the genre of hip-hop and R&B, the model is also looking down on the readers which suggests power. Many vibe magazines just have one large main image which covers most of the page and I have decided to adhere to that convention.

On my contents page I have included page numbers and a story line for each to give a small insight of what will be in the magazine. The like many other hip-hop magazines the contents is split into sections so it is easier for the reader find what they want. Another convention that I abided by was the page numbers at the top of the page.

Before creating my double page spread I researched into R&B Hip-Hop magazine double page spread to see what sort of model they have used and what sort of layout they have used. Whilst creating my double page spread I developed codes and conventions by including the name of the artist ‘Atlanta’ in a large prominent font so it stands out on the page. I also included a catching headline ‘Exclusive Interview!’ in a large font across the lines in the middle of the page, this draws the readers attention. Many other music magazines have a one main image on their double page spreads so I have chose to follow that convention using the same model as my front cover, also I included smaller images using same model again across the top of the page like a collage. After looking at other interviews in magazines I noticed that they use a quotation from the answers they are given on the page of the interview, I decided to use this convention on my double page spread because it makes it look authentic and it stands out to the readers and catches their eye because the font is always larger..