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Evaluation: Question One.In What Ways Does Your Media Product

Use, Develop or Challenge Forms and Conventions Of Real Media Products?

+ Product Use of Conventions!‘Front Cover’

Here I thought I would use a conventional central set out for the middle of my magazine, I used a picture that stood on the right hand side of the front page and then created an anchorage text down the left hand side of the magazine this is a very conventional feature. I Also wanted to create a sense of feeling with the anchorage text in the picture, the way she held herself and looked into towards her guitar.

Here I have used a conventional feature of a music magazine as they usually tend to place a banner across the top that intrigues the audience to want to read more, i feel that this banner helps my magazine to look more like a music magazine than a lifestyle magazine, as having done GCSE media and creating a lifestyle magazine it was difficult to steer away from the features conventionally used.

At the bottom of my magazine I placed two text box of ‘puffs’ in which contained information of the content and prizes to be found in my magazine, here is usually where you find the advertisements to catch the eye of the customer! I decided that what customers look for in a magazine is value and what they are getting for their money, and well, is it enough? So i therefore decided to give away conventional prizes of a music magazine, Cds, Posters, and chance to win tour tickets and VIP trips! I also wanted to use up and coming music artist on my front cover to intrigue the customer to read more and buy the magazine!

+Product Use of Conventions!

‘Contents Page’

Here is a conventional feature of every magazine, we place a paragraph of writing from the editing chief/team of the magazine to show our feelings or give an inspirational speech to give the customers a good feeling whilst reading the magazine, although here in my music magazine I have decided to give ‘wanna be’ musicians a speech that encourages them to take a chance at every opportunity they get, I feel this in most cases is a must have conventional feature in every music magazine.

Down the right hand side of the contents page is the conventional place to put a advertisement banner, you will find it in most music magazines. I therefore choose to place a advertisement of an opening of a retail shop that also linked to the music magazine so that it wasn't totally irrelevant and random.

Down the left hand side of my contents page I have placed the contents of my music magazine, this is the conventional place to put the page numbers and headlines to interviews, stories etc. As its the first place the customer looks and it also makes it easier for them to see where things are, I also used anchorage images to encourage the customers to read more.

+Product Use of Conventions!

‘Double Page Spread’

At the top left hand side of the magazine between a section of the banner you conventionally find that on a interview double page spread the topic and in this case ‘Rhianna black’ is placed between the banner as a kind of ‘signature’ to show what is being spoke about.

A conventional feature to ‘any’ magazine, but in this case a music magazine is that at somewhere on the double page spread we are to find a introduction and title, conventionally we are to find it at the top left hand side as it is then the first thing we find to attract our attention.

Every double page spread interview of a ‘celebrity/musician needs one main feature and that would be the interview itself, this is conventional found on the right hand side of the double page spread after a large image of the main topic be it a band or solo artist. I have conventionally used a column set up to neatly present my interview in a simple way so that it is manageably easy to read.

A minor conventional feature of a music magazine is that there may be puff photos around the edge of the double page spread interview and that between or around the photos may be anchorage texts that give you a little incite into what is in the interview itself that should hopefully make you want to read more, I used mine on the right hand side of the main image to make the readers aware of theperson beinginterviewed.

+Development of Conventions!

‘Front Page’ ‘Contents Page’

‘Double Page Spread’

Here I tried to create a unconventional feature with my masthead although it didn't quite work out how I had planned and therefore I had to develop my ideas into better conventional ideas. I felt like my original idea hadn't worked out at its best and so i then decided to change it into a more symbolic masthead but with the same meaning.

Within my contents page I decided to use a conventional advertisement banner down the right hand side of my contents page but with a twist, conventionally the advertisement within this banner do not usually have anything to do with the magazine or the company behind it, its usually from an outside source for example advertising tours, festivals, music channels and bands etc. So i chose to develop my advertisement banner by challenging the content of it and choose to combine my magazine company and an advertisement together by producing and opening retail statement for a shop of my magazine that would sell Cd’s DVD's etc.

On my double page spread I decided that I would use all conventions of a music magazine double page spread set up, but develop them in a sense of moving them around and changing direction and the feeling or meaning the give the reader. I gave every last detail a different place as to what it should conventionally have but by keeping them made it look different although simple and conventional but with difference.

+Challenging Conventions!

‘Front Page’In my original plan for my front cover I

choose to try and challenge the conventions of a front cover to a music magazine, I wanted to create a sense of edge and

difference in my title, I therefore planned to place it down the left hand side of my

magazine, although I found a slight problem with it as when I placed on the photo that I had specifically chosen to use, the two did not match quite as I had planned, the title and the picture sempt to fit to completely

different genres of music for example the title represented a hip hop/rap music convention

where as the picture represented a more acoustic scene. So I therefore choose to

change my title into a more symbolic image without changing the behind meaning of it as

the magazine still holds ‘FreshBeatz’!

Conventional images of a music magazine are usually very rock and role genre looking, where as I have tried to create a more softer genre of music within my image, I placed an overlay on the top of the image that created an old looking effect so the we could tell it was a more softer meaningful type of music, like acoustic.

For my front page I tried to keep it very conventional as my first attempt to try and challenge the conventions of a music magazine didn’t work out quite as planned although I do feel my image and anchorage texts are a little more unconventional.

+Challenging Conventions!

‘Contents Page’

Although my contents page isn't very unconventional I do believe that on a conventional contents page there is a little more detail and therefore my contents page doesn't particularly challenge conventions other than retaining detail about the headlines placed in the boxes on the page and instead replaced with more images to help give clues.

It may not be classed as a unconventional feature of a contents page although through my research I never found an example of a background image of Cd’s and therefore it may be seen as an unusual feature, I used it because I felt it gave a meaning to the magazine and that it was full of good music, both old and new. It also shows parts of the Cd’s that may be a recognisable brand name, and may then intrigue the readers to want to know more.

+Challenging Conventions!

‘Double Page Spread’

Conventions of a double page spread of a music magazine interview spread, lay quite simple they conventionally have the picture, masthead and introductory paragraph at the left hand side of the music magazine, and the interview on the right hand side of the magazine with any anchorage text and images that may fit into the interview itself. Although I therefore tried to challenge conventions of a music magazine by placing my main image, just right of the centre and put my interview down the left hand side of the image below my masthead and introductory paragraph. I also then placed four images on the right hand edge of my double page spread as ‘anchorage’ images and placed them with texts that also stood as ‘anchorage text’ as it links into the interview and the story behind it.

+Conclusion to my Evaluation!

‘Front Page’ ‘Contents Page’

‘Double Page Spread’

In conclusion to my front cover and how conventional or unconventional it may be I found several different problems all in which lead me to my final piece, it made me create something different and out of my comfort zone and even though that was difficult I tried my best to find unconventional features within research and apply them to my work, all in all I find my front cover to be a quite a conventional front covering page and that only certain elements of it to be unconventional but not enough to make the whole thing an unconventional piece of work as much as I had of liked it to be!

I tried to keep my contents page as conventional as possible as I feel that when a contents page is pushed out of its comfort zone it can be a very risky business and that it then may become very difficult in that to understand and read, although I did try to only create snappy headlines in which to place within my contents page and not to give away too much information about what the magazine contained and therefore I feel my contents page is a very successful conventional contents page.

On the other hand my double page spread I would like to say carries some very unconventional features although with all the same conventional features of a music magazine just developed in a more unconventional manor. I feel my double page spread is simple and easy to read and understand even though elements of it aren't in an expected conventional place for example the picture. Although I do feel that the left hand side in the top corner is very conventional as it has a very simple and convention masthead an introductory paragraph and banner.