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

Lorna Keaton

THE TITLE OF THE MAGAZINEFor my masthead I chose to use ‘Helvetica’ bold as my font. I highlighted the O and G in red, which is short for the title of my magazine. Throughout my magazine I have used the theme red and black as doing my research I found these colours were typical in magazines such as ‘VIBE’. Also the colours are associated with R&B/Hip-hop, so I stuck to this convention. An example of this would be the title of ‘XXL’, its bold and big, similar to the title of my magazine however the only difference is mines black and red.

However one feature that could go against the convention of magazines would be not having a background behind the masthead. I think my masthead works though as it’s still eye catching and bold.

MIS-EN-SCENE OF IMAGESMost of my pictures follow the conventions of a magazine, especially considering the genre of my magazine. Examples of this would be the pictures of my contents page, I decided to change the mis-en-scene in one of my photos. This was because I wanted an exotic background to portray and celebrity feel to the picture. I edited it on Adobe Photoshop to ensure it looks perfect and adequate for my magazine. Furthermore my images follow the conventions of the images as they women in the magazine look sexy, seductive and independent. These are portrayed by there direct mode of address and position; they’re all mostly looking directly at the camera (audience) and have a feminine stance. All of these features are represented and inflicted in magazines that consist of the same genre, such as ‘VIBE’.

COSTUMES AND PROPSThe costumes and props used throughout my magazine are mainly conventional. The reason for this is because of my front cover and double page spread, as the model is wearing a designer jumper and leggings. Generally women in R&B/Hip-Hop magazines are wearing little clothing to convey them as seductive. Although I haven't followed this convention it still looks relatively good as the posture of both girls portray them to be independent women.

However the costume on my context page is conventional as the model is wearing swimwear. This portrays her as sexy and is similar to the women models in ‘VIBE’ magazines. In addition to this most of the props are glamorous, such as the earrings and sunglasses. The props represent the girls to be middle-class and glamorous, likewise with magazines such as ‘XXL’ and ‘VIBE’.

PEOPLEThe people featured in my magazine are quite unconventional, as they are young. However despite this they’re similar to the conventions of how women are represented. On the other hand usually magazines don’t usually consist of just women, they have a mix of both male and female. In addition to this the main model on the front cover is usually on the double page spread, this goes against the conventions of magazine. Although I chose to do this I still believe it’s effective and works well, also in relation to real magazines, many music ones do have women featured throughout the magazine. My target audience may appeal to this and the models throughout the magazine aren’t promiscuous and set a good example to the younger generation. Not only would does it interest females but males too, as the people in the magazine are good looking therefore interesting male attention. In addition to this I believe I chose the people appropriately as if it was middle-aged or elderly women, I think the audience would be less likely to read or be attracted to magazine.

TITLE FONT AND STYLE

WRITTEN CONTENT

MUSIC GENRE AND HOW YOUR MAGAZINE SUGGESTS IT

The two main genres my magazine is influenced and based on in R&B and Hip-Hop. This is made clear by the use of images, props and style used. An example of this would be my logo, as the star and writing reflect my genre. My magazine used most conventions of a magazine, however just developed ideas in different ways. I wanted my magazine to reflect my genre but also look sophisticated, so I made the titles and colour scheme all the same so it all fit together nicely, but still represented my genre. In addition to this my mis-en-scene helped develop these ideas through my images. They look sophisticated, but still represent and show the audience my music genre. To show my music genre I had to create an exotic and celebrity like background that suggested the female model was classy, glamorous and seductive. Also real magazines such as ‘VIBE’ show the music genre by using mis-en-scene through their images. Therefor I believe my magazine follows the convetions.

LAYOUT

CONTENTS PAGE