In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?Harry Darling

QUESTION 1

FRONT COVER-CONSTRUCTION

MASTHEAD

MAIN IMAGE

MAIN TAGLINE

SELL LINES

BAR CODE

FEATURES

ANCHOR TEXT

MAIN COVER LINE

MASTHEAD

A common convention to hip-hop magazines is the boldness, positioning and colour of the masthead. They tend to side with a large and bold font which is placed at the top of the magazine. Similarly, it is common to magazines to have the masthead placed in front of the main image, I challenged this convention in order to emphasise the importance of the main image, as the reader should be appealed to by the image and not the brand name (as it is a low rep magazine). The colour is aggressive and vibrant, which grabs the reader’s attention, also red is a common colour for a masthead in this magazine industry.

Other magazines use the same conventions, these are both from XXL magazines:

Main ImageThe conventions concerning the main image of a front over are often obvious and relate to the anchor text. I followed the conventions and produced a medium close-up image which contains a singular person who relates to the main attractive feature of the magazine (anchor text). I challenged the codes and conventions and used an image without direct image of address, this was to emphasise the element of mystery within the story, as the person is clearly not well known, so I aimed to attract an audience based on curiosity and the love of hip-hop in general. A very important factor in the creation of this image is the inclusion of lighting. I used strong lighting on one half of his face, the strong contrasting lighting emphasises the definition within his face.Other examples:

TaglineNormally, in a hip-hop magazine the tagline tends to include intriguing language in order to attract the readers attention, perhaps making it more of a personal and direct message (uses and grats theory). However, my tagline relies on the popularity of the act in question. I purposely did this because it focuses on the potential upcoming prestige of a magazine, attracting readers who wanted a fresh new magazine.

Other magazines tend to use exclusivity in their taglines to attract new readers to fresh content within the industry:

These examples are both taken from the magazine XXL.

FeaturesThe features section tends to give us an overview of the information within

the magazine and who appears in it, thus satisfying out informative and entertainment needs (proposed by the uses and gratifications theory).

In the hip-hop genre, the colour contrast tends to vary and differentiate in order to attract the readers attention and produce clarity. However, I stuck with one colour as the it fully contrasted with the background, therefore producing the same outcome (as the reader’s attention is grabbed and the piece is clear).

However, I did follow the conventions when it came to layout, as I placed the features on the left hand side, this meant the reader knew where to look and their attention is grabbed faster, making them feel more comfortable with the magazine and perhaps more likely to buy it.

The font used is also relatively small, as the features shown aren’t the main selling points, therefore the size of the font represents the importance of the information and how big of a selling point it potentially is.

Here are some examples from XXL magazines:

Anchor TextThe name is used, this purpo-sely entices the fans, and also anchors the text. It is similarly in a

large font, this follows the conventions as it is one of the main selling points, therefore it should take up a large proportion of the page in order to attract the reader’s attention, especially specific groups (such as fans). The usual convention uses bold and vibrant text, however, I decided to use a transparent text with a bold outline, as it outlines the importance and emphasises the image behind.

Other XXL covers have anchor texts that tend to look like this:

Follows conventions Unique, inspiration for my anchor text.

Main cover lineA common convention of (hip-hop) magazines is that the cover line contrasts

with the background, I followed this and therefore the red font stood out from the white background of the image. Similarly, the cover line tends to aim to inform the audience in some way, for example, it usually hints to what is inside the magazine and therefore attracts readers who are interested in the topic. This idea supports the uses and gratifications model, needs and informing the audience. It also can propose hermeneutic questions, as the words “rap game” are not exclusive to anything in particular, and therefore means the audience may be intrigued as to what it is about. Another convention is the positioning of the text, it tends to be close to the anchor text, thus proposing the idea that the two pieces of text are related.

Here are a few more examples to support my analysis and construction:

House StyleThe colour scheme I chose for the front cover of my magazine was relatively typical one

for a hip-hop magazine. As I followed the conventions, a black/red/white colour scheme allowed a great contrast between different features, therefore making different parts of the image more distinguishable. The image which I chose both supported the traditional Mise en scene within a hip-hop magazine. The model featured wears a white shirt, which challenges the norm as it tends to feature the darker colours of black and grey, however, the image was tinted through the use of lighting, creating prominent shadows and creating a darker and more common atmosphere. To highlight the key features of the magazine, I tended to use red as it contrasts with both the white in the image and the black of the background, this as a result captures the eye and the attention of the reader. The additional colours used to make up the colour scheme were used in other parts of the cover; I used this as it was a common convention within the magazine industry.

Here are some examples showing the style used in XXL magazines:

CONTENTS PAGE-CONSTRUCTION

Main image

Quote

Masthead

Features

Numbering

FeaturesCover story/feature title is bold and contrasting, thus drawing attention. Maintained font size,

more appealing and structured layout, easier to read, perhaps less educated or less inclined to read audiences. The ordered structure its layed out in enables the reader to be able to locate different featured in different parts of the magazine, making it more approachable and easier to read.

A very short overview of the information displayed within the feature is a quick snippet for the reader to decided whether or not they want to directly visit the page, satisfies our needs which is proposed in the uses and gratifications theory. Their informative needs which are perhaps fulfilled by the feature entice the reader, making them visit the page they wish to read.

I followed conventions with the positioning of the features, commonly found on the left-hand side of the page, located my features in a similar position so magazine readers will know where to read and feel at home with the article.

Perhaps a mistake of mine would be the colour scheme of the features, maintaining a bold yet quite bland colour of black mostly throughout could have been improved if I injected a dash of colour to attract the reader’s attention. XXL and other hip-hop magazines tend to use different colours in their scheme of features:

Here we see more text is used as an overview to target more dedicated and informed hip-hop audiences.

Masthead

I didn't use a masthead which distinguished this contents page as one of Connect’s. I could have abbreviated the brand name and put it on the page to increase brand awareness. However, the title of “contents” is obviously a common theme to most magazines, but I used a different structure of the letters in order to gain reader’s attention. I used this house style to provide a clear theme throughout the whole magazine and create consistency.

I got the idea from an example in XXL:

However, the conventional way tends to look a little more like this.

NumberingObviously, the page numbers need to stand out as they are a key

piece of information for the reader. Therefore, both my magazine and the conventions tend to have the numbers in a bold font. Similarly, the clarity of the page numbers makes the magazine easily navigable and user friendly, especially to the younger audiences. The whole idea of a contents page and use of the page numbers is effectively a shortcut in order for the reader to find what they’re looking for.

Here we see the conventions of the magazine tend to highlight only one of the page numbers with a larger font, hinting at exclusivity to the feature.

It’s clear I used bold and large fonts to show exclusivity for all of the numbers and the features they represent, catering for a wider target audience.

QuoteThe conventions for a quote on a contents pagetend to be based around the positioning and it’s relation to the image. In

that sense, I’ve followed conventions as magazines usually base the quote regularly close and have a relation to the image, my quote does both of these and it is a quote from a person in the main image. Similarly, I've used a contrasting colour to the background, alerting the reader to the fact it may be an important piece of information or an insight for what the rest of the article may be about; this is similar to other magazines. However, the only aspect which is unique is the fact the quote fades into the background a little, and is also partly behind the main image, this was against the conventions but was effective as it highlighted the importance of the image and the needs it satisfied in the process (entertain-uses and grats theory).

Main ImageAppeals to the eye, perhaps aimed at the female readership-

satisfies our needs for entertainment (uses and grats theory). Image is large and located relatively central-catching the eye of the reader and emphasises the importance, aiming at fans or potential readers. Image doesn’t overlap with numbering or columns, forms clarity and separation. However, the shadows overlap with the columns, thus hinting and, image is related to text? Makes reader want to read the text if entertained by image. Similarly, image relates to the quote, shown through image covering part- against conventions, quote tends to be separated for clarity, however I did the opposite to establish a relationship and enforce the house style.

Here are some other examples (of XXL contents pages), thus enforcing whether or not I followed or challenged the conventions:

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD-CONSTRUCTION

Main Image

Pull Quote

Music Icon

Columns

Dropcap

Anchor text/Quote

Signature- Recognisable

LayoutText

TextCommon conventions within text, colours are contrasting, bold and vibrant. In

Q&A, subheadings/questions are in blue, contrasts with background and catches attention, encourages reader to read on and therefore fulfil their informative needs (uses and grats theory), rest is in black, easy and relatable for past texts, reader feels comfortable with it.

Other magazines have used the same as I have, conventions follow as this:

Here is my magazine in comparison to others.

However, the conventions are varied as some use block text with no variation of font.

Music IconThe “MTV-Music Television” icon is used in my magazine to emphasise the prestige of the

magazine, and its backing, thus making people’s perspective and (first impressions) of a new magazine much more positive, increasing the chances of the readership being a loyal one.

As you can see, both magazines locate the image near the text, making it more noticeable to the audience and therefore more prominent on the page-increases popularity.

I took this idea from an issue of XXL:

SignatureThe signature of “Danny V” is used to fulfil two objectives-to signpost the end of the article, almost a

sign off, and also to produce brand awareness, people see the artist’s name/signature and think higher of the magazine company.

This is a unique feature which I have not seen in this hip-hop magazine industry, I believe challenging the conventions was still worthwhile as it produces brand awareness for the magazine and is useful for a new magazine looking for a loyal consumer base.

ImagesOne image uses direct mode of address, this promotes a

personal connection and makes it more relatable, audience and artist connect. Forms personal relationships (uses and grats theory). However, other main image doesn’t use direct mode of address, this promotes mystery for the artist and puts questions into the audience’s head, making them want to read the article. Similarly, the medium close up camera angle is used, this creates a personal view (relates back to personal connections of the uses and gratifications theory). The other main image uses a long shot, this is to emphasise the artist’s surroundings (of a train station) which emphasises how relatable the artist is and gains more popularity.

Other examples follow:

Anchor Text/QuoteAnchor text doesn’t relate to the actual artist being interviewed-challenges conventions, I did this as the information in the text (what the artist is talking about) would attract the reader’s attention more than the

artist’s name (as he is an unknown and upcoming artist). The inclusion of key words such as “Eminem” would aim at Eminem fans, fulfilling entertainment and informative purposes. The font is bold and contrasting- and gives us an insight as to what the article is about, allowing readers who are interested to quickly tell whether or not they want to read it.

Here is an example from XXL magazine:

DropcapThe dropcap usually is a introduction to the article, which includes a small paragraph of text

explaining what is in the article. Similarly, aims to grab your attention, so they reader pays attention to text and entices them to read the rest of the article.

Other magazines use these conventions, like mine does:

Pull QuoteServes purpose of enticing the reader. Similar to the dropcap in a sense that it

is an insight as to what the rest of the article is about. Creates engagement and forms personal relationships between the reader and the artist (once again supports the personal idea of the uses and grats theory).

Here are other examples (from XXL) which use these conventions:

ColumnsThe article is arrange neatly in two columns, small number of columns, makes the reader

think there is less to read, more attractive for the readership. Similarly, is smaller than the large titles, informs us of what the artist is discussing (uses and grats theory).

This is common to most magazines, as the idea behind it remains the same in the entire magazine industry:

LayoutI challenged the conventions of having the image on the left hand side of the page and the text on the right. I did the opposite, this was because the most important part of the article was the text and headings and the image was only a secondary viewing. Also, an

entire page (the right hand side) was taken up by the main image, creating continuity throughout the page as it was the background. Also, the neatly positioned columns have been located in a position based on the importance within the text, e.g. No vitally crucial information is placed somewhere where it is unclear, like in the fold of the page.

Magazines that follow the common conventions that my magazine has also follow/challenged are shown here: