Q1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or

challenge forms and conventions of real media

products?

Front Cover

The mast head of a font cover must stand out and be completely unique, which is what I have tried to portray by using a bold text that isn't used anywhere else on my front cover, contents or double page spread and putting it in red which is very eye catching but matches the theme of my magazine. Another convention is to have the main image overlapping some of the mast head which is also what I tried to reannact.

The cover lines indicate smaller stories that are included in the

magazine, they are displayed n the front cover in a house style text. I challenged the

conventions by putting a red box around the titles and

giving my cover lines titles. I used text that would fit in

with the theme of my magazine which is rap, and

when taking my surveys red, black and white was the 3 top colours that represented rap

music .

For the main cover line I used a large font that runs right along the font of the magazine to emphasize the text I used black and red text to stand out from the background and it also fits in with my genre. Its a lot bigger than my other cover lines as it matches the main image and should be the main story that catches your eye.

The barcode is usually positioned in the bottom right hand side of the page with the issue number and website but I challenged this convention and just places the barcode by itself and put the date, issue number an website in a more convenient place

I challenge he conventions by putting all he issue and magazine information underneath the mast head instead of with the bar code as I feel its a lot easier to find and noticeable as you are instantly drawn in by the mast head.

The main image must be unique and eye catching but also be able to tell us what genre the magazine is, just from looking at the image it is usually direct adress to encourage the audience to buy the magazine. For the main image I used a black male as they are stereotypically the representation of rap music. I challenge the conventions by making him topless and writing what I believe to be words that relate to the genre.

Contents Page

The layout of a magazine is usually split into 3/4 columns, and I have challenge this by only doing 1 and ½ columns of writing and the rest filled with images.

The word is prominent, it lets people know it’s the contents page and its where they can find more detail on article locations. I put this heading in bold red against a black background to make it stand out and grab the readers attention making it easier to find.

An obvious convention of a contents page is to have page numbers that correspond with the cover lines. For the first number I tried to challenge the convention by making it a larger font than the others.

The column heading help identify what type of article they are. For my magazine I used two; features and regular.

The images on my contents page correspond with my cover lines and also fit in with the genre of my magazine. They are not huge as they are not there to draw all the readers attention but fair amount.

Double Page Spread

A quote from the interview is sometimes presented has the headline, or by the picture and sometimes it is even used in the text to break it up. I followed this convention and used a quote from one of my artists songs to entice and grip the readers .

I also used aquote from one of artists songs in the middle of my text to break it up. It also allows the reader to get an incite into the artist and helps draw them in.

The main image is usually direct address, which entices the reader to read the article as it directly inviting them to read the article. I challenged the conventions by making a mosaic effect of the same image to make it unique and modern it also reflects on what artist in the image is like.

A page number is

included on the double page spread as it corresponds

with the number listed next to the cover line on the

contents page.

Music magazines also include a stand first, which is like an introduction to the celebrity interview. Some people may not know who the artist is just from the image, therefore introducing them would make the readers more familiar which is what I included on my double page spread as Jaxxon is an up and coming rapper not many people will know him.

The text on a double page spread is usually 11pt and usually aerial font. They also include a drop cap which shows the reader where to start reading, the writing is usually split into 2-4 columns to make it appear tidy and easy to follow. For my text I challenge these conventions by using a font which wasn’t usually used but it followed the theme of my magazine and also the text was size 12pt as I felt 11pt was to small.