IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA

PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR

CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS

OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCT?

MASTHEAD OF THE MAGAZINE / LOGOWhile I was thinking about my magazine’s masthead / logo ideas, I was focusing on coming up with a short phrase or a title which would immediately catch reader’s attention. This is how I came up with my own title - ‘Stereo Beat’. This allowed me to shows a clear and direct link to music industry. Although the majority of music magazines has a one word title I decided to make my own more memorable and notable through the design. This can be considered as challenging one of the forms and conventions. I particularly looked at magazines such as ‘Kerrang’ and ‘Q’ which demonstrated quite different but at the same time simplistic styles. The fact that they both represent different music genres encouraged me to combine them together. I wanted my own logo to represent the alternative music and pop music with a touch of rock. Similarly to the ‘Kerrang’ logo I decided to use contrasting and original colours of black and white. I also decided to use a similar font, however with much thinner outline. This was also influenced by the ‘Q’ logo which seems to be much more ‘chic’ or classy. In order to enhance the idea of music even further I decided to apply a vintage vinyl within the middle letter ‘O’. This worked particularly well as it made the logo look much more expressive and communicative. In terms of applying the logo as a masthead of the magazine I had to look at codes and conventions within different music magazines. I found out that magazines such as ‘Q’ or ‘NME’ place the masthead in the left hand corner, as their logo is much shorter and it’s more likely to be less effective when placed within the middle of the page. This differs from my own model which I wanted to be placed directly in the centre of the page, across the top. This convention has been used in variety of other magazines including ‘Kerrang’ or ‘Mojo’. One of the last codes and conventions which I found quite interesting during construction of my magazine is the positioning of the image, either below or on top of the masthead. I found out that this convention depends on how well the magazine is known or how important the cover artist is. After discussing this on my blog I decided to place my cover model on top of the masthead, as I came to a conclusion that I want him to be seen as more important than the masthead. In conclusion, I am quite happy with my logo as I think I managed to reflect the genre of the music within the design. The choice of colours as well as the use of contrast empathized that even more, making the logo / masthead more eye catching for the audience. Besides, this task was a starting point for developing my house style. My aim was to apply the vintage look and simplistic colour scheme to my front cover, contents page and DPS.

Screen shot from my front cover

MISE-EN-SCENE I find images within my final product as very important as this is a characteristic which brings reader’s first reaction before the magazine is even established. It’s a visual way of portraying what a specific product is about. It was vital for me to specifically find the right model that would impulsively reflect the image of a pop star with a subtle touch of a rock star. I think my model reflects these expectations perfectly. I reinforced his image through the costume and props. Focusing on my front cover, I asked the model to wear a red leather jacket. This part of the costume can be already associated with a rock star. Although the red colour makes the image look less ‘sharp’. At the same time the use of red allowed me to work even more on the house style of my magazine, particularly because I manipulated the background of the image by splitting it into two contrasting colours. This allowed me to empathize the planned colour

scheme of my magazine. I also decided to include a jewellery as a prop, which again significantly underlines the model’s original and minimalistic style. At the same time the image composition became less tedious. Another convention which I think is important to mention is the positioning of the model as well as the type of shot. Within my front cover I decided to go with the most traditional perception of front cover photographs. I decided to take a medium close up of the model, with a strong focus on the portrait posture. During this stage I was particularly inspired by one of the Mojo issues which can be seen in the right bottom corner. What I found really important within the positioning of the model’s facial features was the direct eye contact. This can be considered as one of the magazine conventions as this technique allows to bring reader’s / viewer’s attention because they are able to engage with the subject. Another common convention particularly found within the front covers is the use of lighting which influences the appearance of the skin. This is why I found it vital to manipulate the image appropriately. I didn’t want to over edit the image, as the photograph needs to stay natural but spotless. Overall, I think I managed to follow many codes and conventions within my magazine front cover.

In terms of the contents page I selected variety of different shots. I’ve been carefully choosing images from different settings such as concerts (some of the images can be seen on the side). I’ve been also working on additional shots which would suit different features that I have already planned before. I set up a photo shot in a studio with professional photographic background and lighting. My aim was create variety of different shots and photographs which I could then match with different features in a form of a photo collage, as this is one of the conventions I saw in studied magazines. During my construction process I found out that the images within the photo collage didn’t match really well. This made the entire contents page look amateur. The collage composition made the images look less professional. At this point I really wanted to focus on improving this element of my page. I done further research which allowed me to apply one image to my contents. This is one of the conventions which I tried to develop. I looked at magazines such as Mojo or Q which clearly applied it to their own product, (the images can be seen on the side). From the studio photo shot I chose an image of the artist with a microphone. The pose as well as the contrasting appearance (which I reinforced by applying black and white filter) suited the contents page perfectly. One of the other things I noticed in other magazines was that the image was cropped directly around the figure. Using Photoshop I did the same thing. I found it quite easy as the original photograph was taken on a white coloured background. Comparing to the photograph which I chose for my

CONTENTS PAGE / DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

my double page spread I decided to leave the original background which has a delicate shadow. I particularly left it as it was affecting the mood of the overall composition. Besides, what I found on other DPS’s was that the images were reflecting the mood as well as the character of the artists. I used technique through the right choice of props including guitar and the headphones which symbolised the artist's interests that he talks about within the interview. The dark and contrasting costume helped me to empathize this effect even more. The overall image looks quite professional.

FONT & STYLE Already during my research and planning I thought a lot about typography and how it effects the audience. My aim was to find readable font designs which would effectively make the text stand out within the rest of the page composition. I also wanted it to be easy to read, although through the choice of font I also wanted to reinforce the house style of my magazine. I wanted to create quite vintage effect which would be contrasted with strong and expressive black and white images. In terms of my front cover I found a lot of problems with the font design I have chosen as the ‘Aristotle Punk’ font wasn’t available on InDesign meaning I had to use Photoshop in order to apply it. Another problem which I found was that it wasn’t very easy to read, particularly from the distance. This was due to the letter fillings. I tried to challenge this convention by removing the fillings. However, if I could choose the font again I would chose a different one. In order to underline the cover stories as well as the titles within my double page spread, contents page and front cover I used a technique of creating a coloured shape behind the text. This creates contrasting effect allowing a certain phrase or title to stand out. This is partly how I constructed my logo. Furthermore, within my double page spread and contents page I used ‘Impact’ font which worked really well for bringing up pull out quotes and headings. Besides from that I also applied a font called ‘Bebas Neuve’ to my contents page as well as the double page spread. This allowed me to underline the style of my magazine throughout different pages. Another font which I used within all three pages was the ‘Aristotle Punk’ font which is the most significant one as this is the style that people would automatically associate with my magazine. Overall, I think I managed to show codes and conventions associated with typography and style as I spent a lot of time changing and making sure every text element suits and reflects it’s meaning. This is all because I looked at many other magazines, each representing a different style.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD-WRITTEN TEXT I personally think the written content within the magazine is very important. My aim was to ensure that I used appropriate language suitable for my target audience of 18+. However, I found it fairly easy to write as I am almost in the same target age group. I knew what to talk about and how to make the interview interesting. However, I didn’t specifically look a lot of interviews within my research. In order to make it even stronger I decided to look specifically at introductions written from the journalist perspective. This is a convention which I particularly found within online interviews in the Guardian music section. I can consider that as challenging the convention of a hard copy magazine, however I used the introduction to set a scene. I think this is effective as it reinforced people’s first reactions about the artist, especially I made the description very positive and exciting. As this was an interview the text didn’t see very formal. It was enjoyable to read as the responds were humorous and intelligent. I am really happy with the final outcome of the written part of my double page spread as I think it sounds professional and skilled.

Another convention which I particularly focused on was the use of equal, justified paragraphs that allowed my text to be easily readable. Looking back at magazines such as ‘Q’ I also decided to include block quote within the middle of the A4 text. This worked particularly well as the block quote stood out within the entire composition bringing focus of the audience. Within the left facing page I used a callout as a exploratory label for the illustration. This can be seen in most of the magazines as it informs the reader even more about the image e.g. ; where and when it was taken. This can be particularly relevant when showing images from the past, as the people might not be aware of artist appearance. Furthermore, in stead of a drop cap I decided to apply a large, red ‘J’ letter within the background of the text. I was significantly inspired by the double page spread design in Q magazine (look at screen shots)