QUESTION 1IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?

MASTHEAD

My inspiration for my own Masthead was from a example Masthead I found on Pinterest, although it isn't from an existing magazine product it served as my inspiration because it looked very unique compared to the other mastheads on the site. The font I used was called Distortion Dos Analogue, I thought it fit very well with the title Blurred Reality, the font it’s self looks Blurred and distorted. I felt it was important to design it this way because the Masthead is one of the biggest items on my front page and will most likely be one of the first things a reader will see and acts as a staple for the entire magazine and therefore must be catchy and memorable.

Blurred Reality

DOMINANT IMAGE (FRONT COVER)

The importance of having an attractive dominant image was vital for my entire layout of the magazine since it will influence readers whether or not to buy it. I decided to use a Mid shot at Eye level of my models to give the illusion that the models were looking directly at the reader, I also used pink gel to give the entire picture including the models a pink tint. NME did a similar job with their issue with The Smiths on the front cover, they also did a Mid shot with a pink tint. I used the tint for two reasons one, it fits in nicely with the overall colour scheme and two, it makes the entire front page more attractive to the reader making them want to buy it.

SELL LINES

The Sell Lines appear on both sides of my page, I used Coolvertica font because it is very simplistic which I thought would be appropriate for the sell lines, I took inspiration from NME and their sell lines, they use two different colour one for the bands name and another for extra information so I decided to replicate that by using Pink and White to fit the colour scheme. I also positioned mine at the bottom of the page.

BACKGROUND

Deciding on a background was easy, I needed one that both fit the colour scheme of my magazine as well as the tint that was present on the models. I used a pink background for my Front Cover, a purple background for my Contents page and a swirly pattern for my Double Page spread.

BARCODE

In my barcode I included basic information like Issue Number, the barcode itself, the price as well as my institution Bauer Media. I wanted to keep it as small as I could to avoid it taking up to much space like the barcodes on Kerrang which are pushed to the corner and are barely visible. Instead on my magazine I choose to place mine vertically on the side.

CONTENT'S PAGE

For my Contents I took direct inspiration from how Kerrang does the layout of theirs. Instead I added my own spin on it so it fit my theme. By comparing the two side by side it helps me realise how professional it looks compared with a published piece.

DOMINANT IMAGE (CONTENTS PAGE)

For my dominant image on my contents page I wanted it to be less serious than the Front Cover to contrast how the reader may of interpreted the band based on one picture. The image on the contents page is still at eye level but is now a Full shot displaying their full bodies, this image also removes the tint to make it look more casual

SUB IMAGES

I didn't’t put much focus on my Sub Images compared to other existing magazines. My Sub images are pictures from a 1975 concert which I took myself. I've used them as Pluff to fill space on the page, they are proposed a free posters which is an extra convention used by many magazines to tempt readers to buy the magazine.

SUBSCRIPTION BOX

Not all contents pages have a subscription box but some do. I choose to add it to mine because you don’t see many and it would add to the number of things that make my page unique. NME uses a subscription box so I took inspiration from that.

COLOUR SCHEME

My colour scheme was one of the main features that truly makes me magazine unique to the others. I based my colour scheme on was Aqua and Pink scheme, although I toned it down in some areas the background and title really stand out due to their brightness and attractiveness.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

For my Double Page Spread I took inspiration from Kerrang and added my own twist to make it look unique and different in certain aspects. This included changing the font, the article and adding my own masthead to make it look more Indie instead of Rock.

PAGE NUMBERS

The page numbers changed a lot through out but I decided to copy off the inspiration for my Double Page Spread from Kerrang. I made it slightly bigger to make it look more attractive but other than that it’s the same.

WEBSITE LINK

I copied the website to look like how it looks from the Kerrang Double Page Spread I took inspiration from but making it look slightly bigger and changing it to fit my colour scheme.

HEADER

I tried hard to replicate the style of the Header and subheadings used in the Kerrang Double Page spread, I changed the colours as I have done for several other features I have replicated. I have also changed the text within to be more catchy and to influence the reader to look at the article below.

DOMINANT IMAGE (DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD)

The image I've used for the Double Page Spread is similar to the one used in my Contents Page but with a pink tint again. It is a full shot at eye level except one of the models isn’t looking directly to the camera but instead off to the side to give the effect that the page may delve into some serious topics since she looks fed up, the other modlel retains a serious look whilst facing the camera.