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

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

In order to appeal to my target audience I have used a variety codes and conventions which some are similar and different to other magazines such as jazz wise and downbeat. A common convention that most magazines use is a masthead. This is places at the top of the magazine (rule of thirds) and is commonly the first part of the magazine the reader will notice. It therefore has to be appealing and enticing to the audience, as this is the thing that will lure them into buying the magazine to read inside. The masthead also has the job of portraying the genre of the magazine. It can do this is many ways such as placing the genre in the title name itself Jazzwise or by suggesting it with connotations of the word Downbeat- these are also known as grab words. When placing a masthead on every issue it becomes a convention in order to give a brand to the magazine thereby making it more familiar to the audience and readers.When looking at my magazine I believe that my masthead follows this convention because I have placed it at the top of the magazine (following the rule of thirds) and it is also the biggest text on my front cover. Other music magazines will also state which issue the magazine is in the masthead. I have also followed this convention as I have placed it just below the title of the magazine, making it clear to the readers, which it is. As well as this there is another key feature that most music magazines use; a main cover line. This usually states the artist shown on the front page also featured inside the magazine. The main cover line should be in the second largest font on the front cover for it to be conventional. This is so it is noticeable and you are able to relate the text to the main image without having to look inside. It also helps persuade the target audience to buy the magazine if they practically like that artist or celebrity and show an interest towards them. Most magazines will also follow conventions by having other cover lines. These can be either presented in smaller texts or in puffs at the side of the page. These are seen as less important but do also play a part by encouraging the audience to buy the magazine as they usually include grab words such as Win and News which intrigues the reader even more. On my front cover I have decided to use 2 other cover lines. This goes against most conventions of a music magazine, as they would usually have about four smaller cover lines placed on either side of the cover. However, I have decided to go with two because when doing my research into jazz magazines most front covers have very little and only a main image. I have decided to stick with this layout rather than more clustered one so that it fits my genre and looks more professional and appealing. It is also a convention to have a colour scheme for a music magazine as the colours will indicate the genre and also be part of the house style, creating a brand for the magazine, which becomes recognisable. I decided to challenge this convention slightly by using an art deco theme for mu house style rather than certain colours. I decided to this so it would be different to audiences and appeal to more people giving my magazine a wider target audience, as it is different to most music magazines. Each magazine also has a main image. My magazine follows a few of the conventions that a music magazine does. It does not however follow the rule of thirds like most music magazines. This is because rather than have my artist look at the audience he is turned away and the key feature of the magazine is the saxophone, which is clearly visible. Although the artist is my main feature I decided to make the saxophone more of an attraction point so that it reinforces my genre of jazz. However, it does follow the conventions of jazz magazine, as most tend to use musicians, which are looking away from the audience as if they were in deep thought.

There are many ways my contents page follows the codes and conventions of a magazine such as Jazz wise in order to appeal to the target audience. To begin, both magazine contents include the masthead of the magazine. This is done to remind the reader what magazine it is and which they are reading, as well as becoming recognisable to the audience making it a brand to the magazine. I followed this code as my masthead is placed at the very top of my contents page before anything else so that the audience are clearly able to see the title of the magazine grabbing the readers attention. I have also paced the page title contents at the top of the page, following the rule of thirds as this is another common convention that most magazines follow so that the reader who has bought the magazine is familiarised to the magazine. For my main image I have decided to use someone who was not on my front cover page. This is because I decided to challenge the conventions and only place one image on the contents so that I was able to follow my house style of an art deco theme. The main image however, still presents the genre of jazz because of the instrument; violin. The shot I have used is a long shot, meaning the whole of artist in placed in the shot so you are able to see what they are wearing along with their facial expression so that the reader is able to recognise the artist in some way. It is also a convention to have an editors letter on the contents page, however I have not followed this convention because most jazz magazines I researched into did not follow this convention. Also containing page names and page numbers, this is a common convention, as it will help the reader navigate through the magazine. The page name and description will give the reader a bit of an idea of what to expect from each page of the magazine. There is also usually a small description or summary about the story on that certain page to give an insight about the page without having to go to it to find out. I have decided to follow this to attract the reader into wanting to read each article and to go to that certain page in the magazine. Each contents page also has subheadings as it helps organise the page names and numbers under different categories so that it is easy for the audience to find what they're looking for or what they're interested in and go straight to that certain article in the magazine. It also helps give the contents page a more professional layout as everything is in order and is easy to find. Most magazines will follow the same order for each issue to that it becomes a house style and is recognisable for the audience when they go to open the magazine. As well as this on a contents page you commonly will see a subscription part where it gives you the details of where to find out more about the magazine or parts inside online E media. It allows people to know where to find them if there are questions or if they are just interested in recent updates. Although, in most jazz magazines this is uncommon as the target audience is usually aimed for an older audience where they may not be interested in social media sights. I have decided to place them in my magazine to attract a younger audience as well an older one, as this generation is known for being online. It will also help spread word of my magazine as it is easy for things to get spread across the internet, therefore helping my marketing for the magazine. I have also included the issue number and date on my contents page, as it is a convention most magazines use to reinsure the audience that the magazine is updated and the current issue that is released.

There are many ways my double page spread follows the codes and conventions of a magazine such as downbeat in order to appeal to the target audience. To begin, each magazine has a main image. For my magazine I have used a medium long shot however, for a double page spread, there is no convention as to shot types as most double page spreads are artistic and do not have a certain convention that magazine must follow. However, most magazine decided to have their main image on the left page however my image is placed on the right, as is the example of the jazz magazine given. The main text is usually based around the main imagine as the image acts a key feature, however I have split the text and image onto two different pages but connected them with my theme and colour scheme. The artist himself works as synergy as you can say they are branding each other. I have decided to follow rule of thirds and place my columns into three, as this is a common convention that most magazines use. Following rule of thirds also makes my magazine appear more professional as the layout is more structured and appealing to the reader. If a magazine were to use a similar layout each time for their double page spread it would become a house style for the magazine, giving it a brand and become recognisable for the reader each time they buy that magazine. Another common convention of magazine double page spreads is to have page numbers so that it will help the reader navigate around the magazine and find the pages they are looking for. Commonly, next to the page number tends to be the masthead of the magazine. This is done on most magazines in order to remind the reader what magazine they are reading. Elements such as headings and subheadings are essential on a music magazine as it is a common convention for them to have. This is because they help persuade the audience into reading the article on the double page spread and grab their attention so that they dont just skim past it. The heading will usually be in the biggest font, proposing to the audience that it is important therefore engaging their attention to the article. The subheading is there to interest the audience and tell them a little more abut the article, enticing them even more to read on.