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

• The magazine I have chosen to create is very unconventional in both design and content. • I have researched and evaluated a number of

magazines of the indie/rock genre to gather an idea of the conventions commonly used within them.

Mid-shot commonly used to depict a certain artist or group.

Traditionally simplistic magazine name and style. Compact in the stereotypical upper left third.

Main cover line linking directly to the main image. Considerably bigger than the rest of the text on the page.

Blue and yellow color scheme running throughout, contrasting with the red text of the magazine title.

Lots of other artists included on the cover

Barcode in conventional lower right third

Quotes from the magazine

Bold white sans serif font standing out from the background and appealing to a younger audience

Puff/Plug highlighting free to appeal to the audience

Draft Copy of Music Magazine

Very few cover lines linking directly to the main image and band

Barcode, date and issue number in conventional lower right third

Main image unconventionally large in comparison to the other aspects of the front cover

Blurred image with light effect very unconventional however goes with the indie genre as it is alternative

Large title with very traditional serif font and red incorporated to match the color scheme

Red, white and black color scheme throughout the text

Distinct red and black color scheme throughout

Mid-shot image in right third

Smaller ‘Q’ font in upper left third

Cover lines in the left third, page numbers in red to stand out against the black cover lines

Smaller image relating to specific page number

Date and website name in upper right third

‘Special’ section in gold writing to show it’s importance and prominence against the rest of the page.

Blue color scheme throughout

Main image a4 size

Cover lines over the page join

Band name

Main text very limited and short

• Through looking at other text I have been able to gather an idea of how my prints relate and differ from other real media texts.

• The main difference I have found is the design of my main image. On all of the front covers I have evaluated the main image has been in focus and close or mid shot. However mine is exposed and a long shot, a completely juxtaposed way of creating and presenting the image. The colors of the main image in other texts are very highlighted, bold and are the main focus of the front cover. I think my image achieves this well, through both vibrant colors used and the alternative nature of the image itself.

• Through looking at the cover lines, and the amount of cover lines on other media texts I was able to realize that my front cover did not have enough cover lines. On my first draft it shows how I only had a main cover line and one other cover line linking directly to the main image. After this analysis I added two more cover lines about items within the magazine, not only linking to the main image.

• My masthead is considerably bigger and longer than other magazines I have evaluated. Usually they are only a couple of letters long whereas mine is two words. However I think this was an interesting aspect of my magazine and set it apart from others on the market.

• My barcode section with issue number and date was almost identical to other media texts’ as this is an aspect that needs to be included and little extra design work can be done to make it any different from others.

• Much like other magazines I have kept a clear color scheme running throughout not only my front cover, but my contents page and double page spread as well.

• The two main images for my contents page is unconventionally small due to the amount of text and the size of text I have included. I think that having more text will give the reader a better insight into what will be included in the magazine. Having the text bigger will make certain focus points in the magazine stand out more and immediately make the reader want to go to these pages.

• Similar to the images I have evaluated on the contents pages mine is a mid shot. By having such an alternative image on the front cover I have chosen more conventional images for the contents page in order to keep some structure to the magazine.

Question 4

• Who would be the audience for your media product?

Effy Stonem

Age: 17Gender: FemaleOccupation: Full Time EducationNationality: EnglishCity: BristolInterest: Effy prefers nothing less than “going out and having a good time with mate”. Her social life is central along with her passion for music and art. Dislikes: Effy dislikes mainstream pop music from bands such as “N-Dubz” and “The Saturdays. She describes them as “a failure to the music industry. She dislikes fake people and girly magazines. Hobbies: Effy enjoys painting and a whole range of arts. She listens to a lot of music and enjoys going to see new and upcoming bands at concerts and festivals.Media Consumed: Effy watches a lot of music channel on television as well as a range of films of different genres. She listens to music in a range of different want, being cd’s to mp3’s. Effy likes to read a lot of music magazines such as Q and NME so she can keep up with all the latest bands. Spare Time: In her spare time Effy enjoys going out with her friends and “having a laugh”. I think Effy would be the ideal reader for my magazine. She enjoys a lot of alternative music and likes to discover new bands, both of which are included in my magazine. Her passion for art will make her appreciate the different styles of images within the magazine, and the information about festivals and gigs in the magazine will appeal to her.

Cullum Cundle

Age: 20Gender: MaleOccupation: Art StudentNationality: EnglishCity: ChesterInterests: Cullum enjoys creating his own alternative art which he plans to sell. “My dream would be to be able to make a living from what I love”. Cullum likes skating and often goes to skating competitions to watch or compete. He listens to a lot of music especially when he is skating, generally rock and metal.Hobbies: Cullum enjoys painting, music and outdoor extreme activities. Media Consumed: Cullum reads a lot of old fashioned books and old magazines his father owned when he was a teenager. He says it gives him “a view into musical history”.