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

challenge forms and conventions of real; media products?

Hannah Priday

Using and developing Forms and Conventions

Cover

-The artist is the main focus of the magazine which suggests the main story is based around her. She is positioned right in the center so it will be the first thing a reader look see’s when they look at the cover.

-The background is 1 colour so that the writing and Image is more clear. This is a popular technique which is simple but effective when showing the audience information.

-There is nothing in the way of the artists face which makes the focus on her and doesn’t over power the photo.

-The magazine has a masthead to show the name of the magazine which is above the image so it doesn’t take the focus away from the artist.

-She has no direct eye contact with the audience but she is still looking at the camera creating a mysterious indie rock vibe.

-The headline links to the artist, Luna Jay, this gives the audience a visual representation of the artist. The headline shows the main article is about Luna jay, this lets the audience know that she is the main focus and can link the image to the headline.

The font I used for my masthead was only used on my masthead. This is to show that the masthead is like a brand name and it can be associated with alternative.

Also, The blue colour has only been used for the mast head and can be easily seen on the white background. This makes the title stand out more and can be seen clearly. The black box with the white writing also stands out on the white background easily.

It is situated at the top of the page because if it was being sold in a shop the consumer has got to be able to see the magazine title even if the rest of the page was covered with different magazines. This is also following the convention of a normal magazine.

I've decided to have my masthead being the biggest piece of text on my magazine cover to show that it is the most important aspect of the magazine.

Contents

I have decided to include a picture of my front cover on it. This is to tell/show the readers which edition of “alterative” it is each month. It will also emphasises what is on the front of the magazine and where it is in the magazine

When deciding my photo’s for my contents I decided to include another picture of “Luna Jay” to show what page the top interview was on. It was also the bigger picture out the other pictures. This emphasises its importance and to highlight the fact it is the top story and the focus of the cover.

I got the idea of bigger photo and smaller photo’s from various Q contents pages. I also was inspired by the page numbers on the photo’s.

This photo was taken on western super mare beach with some of my friends, posing as the girl group “the pixies”.

This is the ‘features’ part of my magazine contents page. I have used the same font as my cover lines on my magazine cover. This creates a more bold/strong house style, meaning whenever readers see the font it will remind it of “alternative”. I got the inspiration for my contents features from many Q magazines as it is positioned on the left hand side.I also decided to include a “subscribe” box in the contents page to inform readers about the forms of promotions e.g. Facebook and twitter. It also reminds them about subscribing to the monthly subscription package. I was influenced by all the NME magazines.

I thought it was essential to include the masthead of the magazine in the contents page as nearly indie/rock/alternative magazine does it. It provides the link between the cover and the contents page. Having the name of the magazine on the contents page will familiarise the reader from where they have seen it on the cover. It will become a more known piece of text to them.

Article

The Photo of “Luna Jay” is positioned on the left hand side of the page following a normal convention as magazines such as NME and Q. The photo provides eye contact with the audience making a connection with them. Both of these articles images also provide direct eye contact.The image is of Luna jay because she is the focus of the article. As she is an upcoming artist Its important for Luna jay to have as much coverage as possible and for people to know her by not only her music but for herself as well.

She also presents the genre of the music she performs very well. Her facial expression shows a mysterious kind of vibe and makes the reader curious.

I have decided to include Luna Jay’s name on the side of the photo of her to caption the photo and to let everyone know who it is. A text grab was

used to zoom in on the interview and hopefully attract a consumer.

This is the introduction to the article so the readers know who I’m talking to and the setting. I have used this to not just jump into the interview.

Credits and page numbers are essential and common conventions of a music magazine which make the article more professional and authentic.

The blurb is the decider of if the reader will carry on reading or not. It will give the feel of the magazine. It will normally set the scene and give a bit of information of what is going on and what the article is about. I decided to have a black box with white writing because the white writing stands out clearly on the black background. Also, as the actual article background is white the black box may imply it is important and that it is worth reading before reading the article.

I split my article into 4 columns to make it look neater and more authentic. Most magazines use this technique such as kerrang and Q. Having it positioned this way makes it easier to read.

I decided to use a pull quote from my article as my headline as I was influenced by various Q and NME articles. I decided to use that particular quote because it shows the attitude of Luna Jay. It offers a strong visual contrast to the body text and catches the eye of a potential reader who’s skimming or flipping pages. It makes the reader think about what Luna is referring too making them read on.

Challenging forms and conventions

From researching into a wide range of indie/alternative/rock music magazines I don’t think I have challenged any conventions as I have been influenced by a lot of magazines such as Kerrang, NME and Q. I have taken all of their idea’s which have inspired me to come up with my own music magazine. I have followed a lot of standard music magazine forms and conventions such as eye contact in images and an introduction into the article but I have also followed specific indie/rock/alternative conventions such as different types of poses and shades of colour.