EVALUATION Of My Music Magazine - Question One

By Daniela Zaharieva

In what ways does your media product use,

develop or challenge forms and conventions

of real media products?

Make sure you discuss music magazines specifically. What are theconventions of a music mag? What mags did you look at?

To create the realistic and professional look of a magazine I haveconsidered the usage of the conventions that a normal magazinewould have, which is the masthead, cover lines and the backgroundwhich connects to the topic that is being represented and also to thetarget audience (for the cover of the Magazine Cover). A typicalcontents page is one with a suitable background and space for allimportant details inside the magazine which will attract morereaders. There could also be an editors letter. The DPS seems to beone of the most important as it is about the star of the issue in themagazine. A DPS most commonly used with a photograph on theleft hand side and an interview with the star on the right (or theother way around) I have made it a bit more interesting and addedmore photos to show the variety in the photo shoot….

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

The variety of photos and the layout

created make it more interesting and

it gives a bigger range of images to

the reader of their idol or at least a

star that they are inspired by, or will

be by the interview on the left hand

side of the DPS.

The use of photos on this side of the interview

creates more movement to the DPS. It gives it

a more interesting look as we see the star in action

with modeling and the images are in different sizes

so it does not look too ordered and boring. Also the

different fonts I have used give it a more professional

look and the letter “S” in red is to stand out for the

name of the super star.

The lay out of the

text is very

simple, created into

two columns and

the most important

quotation is in

different font in the

middle so that it

attracts more

attention.

COVER PAGE

The cover page has features which attract

audience very easily. In a way the name of

the magazine “VIVID” and the style of it

contradicts each other as the magazine is “vivid”

with its content and photography, rather than

with colours. The “free download” at the top left

would be one of the first things a customer would

notice, never mind it is not in extra large size of

the font. Also the price of the magazine is very

good as it come with a “free CD”.

This magazine doesn’t only contain the “monthly

horoscope” or “what to do when you’re alone on

valentines day tips”, it is much more than that and

it contains a lot more valuable and worth keeping

articles.

CONTENT PAGE

For the content page I have

also decided to use a double

page spread as this would be

a magazine with a lot of

information, therefore a lot

of pages needed. I have

chosen this exact photo

floats very nicely

throughout the pages and

introduces the style of the

magazine. The website to

the magazine is added as

well, as nowadays some

people find it easier to

subscribe online. Different

fonts are used ones again an

the Bold is used only for the

information which has to

stand out.

Overall, I have made good use of media conventions as I have included all contents of the magazine such as the cover page, contents page and the DPS

Cover-professional photograph/model has eye contact with the buyers/ words to attract attention/name of magazine to introduce its style

Contents-a double page spread as it is more sufficient for this type of magazine/photograph which floats perfectly through the pages and looks professional/magazine name is on the page

DPS-collage of images showing a variety/name of magazine/ layout of text and the content is rather casual, but no taboo language

I have challenged forms and conventions in order to make the media product more outstanding and reliable to any buyer. Also to present skills in different departments such as photography, editing and writing (the interview)