Q1In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions

of real media products?

Section 2:Print Production

I used a 4 panel layout for my digipak as this is a convention of the medium, for example it can be found in digipak’s such as Katie Melua and The Northerlies. It is an especially effective way to

present the imagery in a minimalistic yet strong layout.

The Layout

Panel 1

Panel 1I decided to use the convention of the natural and handwritten font to enhance the rustic handmade style and atmosphere.This convention can be seen every music video within the genre of Indie-Folk such as, ‘Tired Pony’, ‘Troye Sivan’, and ‘The Native Sibling’. This generic convention of the typography is popular within the genre because it ties into the naturalistic and minimalistic conventions of the genre which was therefore perfect for my prints.Another convention I used in my panel 1 design was the convention of using natural, outside imagery. The imagery of the natural landscape is used in many indie folk bands such as Daughter and Sufjan Stevens. This is, however, developed in my production by using the Beach/sea-side landscape instead of green fields and muted brown forests, the beach is a cold muted blue that is vast and bleak. This development of the convention aids the conveyance of themes and story in my production. I do also go against the convention in the images that I used, it is an image from my video production compared to other Digipaks that use photoshoots.A convention of the medium of Digipaks is to use the Artists name in large writing to fulfil the purpose of the Digipak - as advertisement of the artist and the song itself. This convention id used in our Digipak to draw attention to the artist, for example when consumers are searching for an album in a store, like HMV, the artists name needs to be easy to spot so they can find the album and remember it which fulfils Goodwins theory.

Panel 2 & 3

Panel 2 & 3Inside my CD case, I chose to use a single image that spanned across the whole case, this joint image idea has been used in Album/CDs like The Northerlies and Bill Callahan. This convention is popular however within the indie-folk genre. I use this convention in my design to create an empty atmosphere, there is a lot of negative space in the image showing here as lonely in the 1st third of the image.The convention of nature imagery continues through this design by using the forest location in my image. This convention of the album design is immensely popular within the genre and is also used in the designs for Artists like ‘Subzar' and ‘Bill Callahan’. The lens flare is also a convention of the genre that is used in this design. The lens flare is a sign of the natural ambient light from the sun which goes hand in hand with the organic atmosphere and conventions. The convention is also used in the artwork for albums by Elli Goulding and One Direction.

CD Print

CD PrintI chose to develop the convention of printing an image onto the CD by blending it into the imagery behind the CD. The decision of using this image was made to highlight Olivia's loneliness without Meg. This development of the convention developed the themes of my production.The use of the lens flare in this is also symbolic of natural ambient light and the organic atmosphere of the genre. Examples of this convention being used in other productions is Ellie Goulding and Adoleo.

Panel 4

Panel 2 & 3The main convention of a 4 panel design is the track list displayed on the back or panel 4. I decided that I would follow this convention early on to suit the style of the 4 panel design. However, I did debate whether I should use an insert with the track list and other add-ons on it, however I came to the conclusion that the convention of the track list is a more suited decision for my projectI decided to use the convention of creating a natural handmade atmosphere, and develop it to include how the shots look. This meant I colour graded the image to give the photo a celluloid film look with film grain and grunge. This decision to develop the convention largely changed the look of the image and developed the emotion.The font was also a significant aspect of this design and at first I decided I would challenge the convention of a rustic handwritten font and instead use ‘Porter’ a modern minimalistic font, however this did not fit at all with the overall organic atmosphere and therefore I changed it to Canter

Magazine Advert

Magazine advertOne of the main conventions of the medium of an advert in a magazine is to have the name of the artist in large bold letters at the top of the image, in order to catch the attention of the consumer reading this magazine. Promoting the artist (Natasha North) is the key aim here and using her name in large encourages the audience to buy the album or the single. This convention is one I have specifically chose to use, this is because the name 'Natasha North' dominates the advert, making it impossible not to see when browsing through this magazine. The large typography I have used connotes that there is importance in her name and that it should be read and remembered. This is effective in not only securing the name in their mind but it also makes the artist seem exciting and relevant which creates a need for the consumers to have what the artist is offering, further promoting them.The way I have incorporated the text into the image is another key aspect here, I have included the most important information that is vital for an advert, such as the date of release and the name of the product and brand (Natasha North), but the design of the ad also needs to be bold and memorable to catch the readers attention as they browse through the magazine. That is why I used vibrant colours such as the reds and oranges of autumn. These colours are vibrant and a convention of the medium because it draws the eye and alerts the reader. The main convention of the genre and the medium is the use of the imagery of the artist. This creates a face for the consumer to identify the artists 'brand' as. This is an effective way of creating the image of the brand for the artist, however, I challenged this in my ad; largely due to my artist, Natasha North, being not well known to the public artist, this meant that her image would not have an impact on how the readers viewed this as it would be as recognisable as our performers. Therefore, I decided to use the performers/actors from my music video instead.