Question 1:In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

MastheadMy masthead follows the typical conventions of real magazines well and doesn’t challenge or break them. It stretches the entire width of the page which is a very typical feature of real products. I used the masthead from the ‘Kerrang’ magazine (a very popular rock magazine) for inspiration, and tried to imitate the distorted and eroded nature in my own. I therefore made the font large and bold to illustrate the power and dominance that is usually associated with rock music, and chose a yellow pigmentation to portray danger. I also added the eroded effect to portray the metal image of the rock genre.

Main imagesMy main images again use the typical conventions well as I have a few different shot distances, and they also fit within the mise en scene of the magazine. I also edited the images to allow this, for example, I edited my main image on the cover to greyscale to show the dark nature of rock, and also to allow the colour of my cover lines and other conventions to stand out considerably. Overall, my images tie In nicely with the genre the magazine is related to.

Cover linesMy cover lines again use the typical conventions of media products through the fact that they are positioned in the left third and right third, with the main cover line being positioned over my main image in larger text, which draws attention to it and shows clearly that it links to the main article in the issue. They also fit in with the colour scheme of my magazine which helps my product use the three colour palette rule well. Furthermore, the cover lines are short sentences, which allow them to get to the point and draw the readers attention, persuading them to buy the issue.

Text on double page spreadThe text on my double page spread challenges the conventions of existing media products and is in the form of a question and answer interview. The reason it challenges is due to the fact that I have alternated the position of the image and text, with the image usually being in the left third. I have however used features that do tie in with typical features of a magazine, for example the addition of a drop cap and also a pull quote. This is used to attract the readers attention and entice them to read the article to found out why the quote is used. Furthermore, the colours of the text again follow my colour palette.

Colour scheme The typical colour conventions of a magazine are to have a three colour palette, which my product uses very well. The colours I have used are red, black and yellow, with white text also being used on my double page spread. The colours I have used also fit in with the genre of rock music and also help produce my mise en scene. The yellow colour portrays danger which clearly ties in with the stereotypical view of rock, red portrays violence which again fits in with the genre, and black portrays power and dominance which is commonly associated with the genre of music and people involved in it.

Strapline/sloganMy strapline follows the conventions of typical media products as it is positioned at the top of the page and is aimed to grab attention and help sell the magazine. The colours used also fit my colour palette again which ties in with the three colour rule. It is also memorable due to the repetition of ‘music’ and hyberboleis also used with ‘live the music’ to attract the reader further as it exaggerates the pint and portrays the idea that they can live it.