FRONT COVER In what ways does my product use, develop or challenge other media products? The Masthead… I have followed the convention of having a masthead which is clear and also bold. I have done this to allow the brand to stand out clearly to the audience. It is also important to follow this so that the title is prominent as it is key to selling the product as if the audience do not know or remember what the magazine is called then it is more likely that they won’t re-buy it. I have used my research of other magazine covers to realise that this is important An example is the ‘NME’ masthead as it is large font and bold as well as being in capital letters, allowing for it to be prominent. This shows how my product follows the stereotypical conventions of other products which are similar. Splash Image… My product follows the conventions of a typical magazine as I decided to use the method of studio shooting when taking images for my main splash image as it looks professional. This is proven as I found in my research that many other magazines also use studio based imagery for their front covers. I followed this convention because it allowed me to use the white background which made my model clear. This can be seen in the images shown as in both cases (my product and NME’s) the model is primary focus which is what is needed on a cover.
Transcript
FRONT COVER
In what ways does my product use, develop or challenge other media products?
The Masthead…
I have followed the convention of having a masthead which is clear and also bold. I have done this to allow the brand to stand out clearly to the audience. It is also important to follow this so that the title is prominent as it is key to selling the product as if the audience do not know or remember what the magazine is called then it is more likely that they won’t re-buy it. I have used my research of other magazine covers to realise that this is important An example is the ‘NME’ masthead as it is large font and bold as well as being in capital letters, allowing for it to be prominent. This shows how my product follows the stereotypical conventions of other products which are similar.
Splash Image…
My product follows the conventions of a typical magazine as I decided to use the method of studio shooting when taking images for my main splash image as it looks professional. This is proven as I found in my research that many other magazines also use studio based imagery for their front covers. I followed this convention because it allowed me to use the white background which made my model clear. This can be seen in the images shown as in both cases (my product and NME’s) the model is primary focus which is what is needed on a cover.
Barcode+Date+Price…
My product follows the conventions of a typical music magazine by including a barcode and a date. These 2 features, however very small are key for production and audience sale. They allow the product to be scanned and also allow for the reader to understand if they are purchasing the correct issue for them. These features are cooperated in every production magazine, from NME to Mojo. This detail is something which was discovered in my research as a key point to include. This is a clear example of how I followed the conventions that must be included. I have also used the code of positioning as I have positioned the date and
FRONT COVER
title at opposite sides of the title so it does not look as cramped. This allows the eye to be drawn to it and is referred to as a pug.
Pull Quotes…
My product uses this convention as an incentive to draw in the audience and to entice them to read the story inside, such as any other pull quote. In my research I found that all of the magazines I looked at had these on the cover and they were all linked to the inside story and added personality too. Therefore I knew it must be a feature of my product as it is a key convention of the genre of music magazines.
Sectioning of layout…
In order to create my product effectively I had to plan the layout before. From my research I discovered that the use of sections is effective as it allows all of the information to be sectioned out carefully. I used columns in my layout as in previously analysed covers I noticed that the use of these allowed the eye to be attracted to them clearly. I think that my product has developed this convention well.
Splash image via studio shot…
I have developed this as I found that some magazines only show one main splash image on their front cover so that it does not detract attention from their main body. I decided to support this. I have developed this convention as it is not a stereotypical rule that all music genre magazines use, only some choose too, as shown in the images here…
WHY SO FEW CHALLENGES?On my front cover I have followed many of the conventions commonly known of in the genre of magazine that I’m studying. I have decided not to challenge many of the conventions on my cover as I think it is important to keep as many of the conventions the same as possible to fit in with the genre specifications.
