Q1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge

forms and conventions of real media products?

AS Media StudiesEvaluation

Cover Page

Masthead

• The masthead is the biggest piece of text on the cover, it is the main eye catching and important part as it is what the readers eyes will be drawn to and if it doesn’t help catch their attention, they wont want to read the magazine.

• Some of the text is obstructed by the artists picture which helps to express the importance of the artist within the magazine.

• The text is in front of a yellow background, this is to help draw attention to the magazines name and help it to stand out. The colour on the magazine also helps to catch the attention of the reader.

• The text itself has a shattered effect on it with a gradient overlay, this will attract the target audience as it is something that will be appealing to their taste and suits the rock genre.

Cover Image• The artist is making eye contact with the

camera lens so it looks like she is looking at the target audience , this helps to draw in the audience in and make a connection with the artist straight away.

• She is also in the centre of the cover page which helps bring all the attention on the artist.

• Lighting has been added to bring put her features more and to giver her an illuminating look.

• The artists name is also directly under her face on top of the photograph to bring attention to her as it is the second thing the reader will usually look at when looking at the image.

• The artist is also wearing dark clothes with a leather jacket, this is a typical style of the target audience and will make the magazine more appealing to them and relatable.

Headline• The artists name is the second

biggest piece of text after the masthead.

• The white text contrasts with the dark image and background making her name stand out more, it also has a worn our, scratched effect to it which suits the rock genre and adds to the overall rock feel to the magazine.

• There is also a subheading underneath it which acts as a pull for the reader to want to read more and find out why exactly she is featured on the cover of the magazine.

• The word ‘chaos’ will stand out to the target audience as it is the type of thing they would be interested in reading about.

Coverlines

• Coverlines are positioned on the side of the cover so it does not obstruct the artists photograph or any other texts.

• Artists name is bigger than the lead in to show the importance of the artist and to make it more eye catching.

• The font used is also appealing for the rock genre and suits the theme.

Selling Line

• The selling line is very important for a magazine as it provides the slogan and creates a link between the phrase and the magazine itself. So when people hear it, they will think about the magazine.

• It is located just below the masthead at the top of the page.

Extra pulls• This can help pull in the audience as is

something extra. They feel like they’re making more of a gain put of purchasing the magazine.

• The number 5 has a blue circle behind it to help exaggerate the number and make it more noticeable.

• The word ‘Amazing’ is also highlighted red to express how good the posters are and make the audience want to have them even more.

• The font itself also ties in with the rock genre and makes the overall look of the magazine more appealing.

Followed conventions• I have included the barcode on the cover

of the magazine as it is something you will generally see on the corner of a magazine so you can purchase it.

• I have also included the price of the magazine. It is a basic font so it doesn’t make the magazine look too crowded with different fonts and I have made it white so it contrasts with the dark background and is easily legible.

Contents Page

Column Layout• There are two sections, the main

column on the right and the featured one on the left.

• The columns are going the right side of the page, with the main headings in bold with a red line underneath it to help it stand out.

• Underneath each title it has a brief sentence on what can be found within the magazine and this helps to bring the target audience in because they can quickly see the articles that will appeal to them.

• Names of some of the artists are highlighted in yellow to help catch the audiences eye.

Page numbers• Page numbers are next to each sentence down

the columns to help navigate the audience to their article of interest.

• I have made them slightly bigger than the descriptions, as well as putting a red line next to to help make them stand out to the audience.

Featured Article• Positioned in the right left corner to help

make it stand out, it has a good portion of the contents page to itself to show its importance.

• The title ‘Tour Life’ lets the audience know straight away what kind of article it will be.

• I have also used a pull quote underneath it from one of the artists to help catch the audiences attention and interest them more.

• The name of the artist is underneath with the page number so the audience can find the article straight away, it is highlighted in yellow to help it stand out against the dark background and catch the audiences attention as naturally their eyeline will drift to the bright colour.

• The main picture on the left has had an effect applied to it to help give it a good rock/mysterious feel, he is also smoking with his tattoos vissible which adds to his overall rock look.

Masthead/title and date• The word ’Contents’ is the largest piece of

text on the page.• the shattered/scratched up effect with the

gradient overlay is the same used for the magazine’s name which is also positioned sideways on the left.

• This adds the magazines own personal feel to the contents page and helps develop the overall look of the magazine.

• The cover date and issue number is positioned on the right so it is easy for the audience to see, it is there so you don’t have to struggle to find the article if needed.

• This is all against a yellow background to show its importance, the name of the magazine and ‘contents’ are the two main things we want to stand out in connection to the magazine itself, so the contrast on the yellow makes it eye catching and the dark effects of the font more appealing.

Editors note• The editors note is to help make a connection

with magazine to the reader.• It is there to personalise the magazine and

helps to create a relaxed atmosphere and hopefully make the reader want to buy it again

• The welcome message is slightly bigger than the text to help bring in your attention.

• The word ‘your’ is also bigger and made bold as it is a perosnalised message, it helps to draw you in and make you feel more connected.

Extra pull• There is also a brief description of what

can be found in the magazine.• The words ‘posters’, ‘stickers’ and ‘facts’

are all highlighted and made bigger as they are the things that will interest the reader.

• The word ‘you’ has also been made different to the rest of the text as it is personalising the reader to what they will find within the magazine.

• The word ‘inside’ has also been highlighted red to catch the attention of the reader and make them want to open the magazine and take a look at what is inside.

Article

Headline

• The name of the article can help to bring the readers attention in as it is a simple but effective phrase, it will make the reader wonder what it is about.

• The headline has the gradient overlay effect which is a common theme throughout the magazine, it ties in well with the rock genre and is appealing for the reader to see.

• There is an index tab at the top of the headline with ‘Static Exclusive’ this helps bring importance to the article, it can only be found in THIS magazine.

Lead in

• The lead in is there to catch the readers attention and make them want to stay and read more.

• I have used a drop cap at the beginning of the lead in to draw attention to the text and help make it stand out.

• The lead in gives importance to the artist and the magazine itself as at the end of the lead in, it makes reference to how STATIC has done the interview on this artist.

Columns for body text• The article is in an interview format,

the text has been divided into three columns to make it look more spaced out and not as cluttered and packed.

• The questions have been made bold to separate them from the artists replies and make it easier to read.

• The page number has also been added directly below this in the right corner of the page, this is to make it easy for the reader to flick through the pages and find this article.

Photoshoot image• The image of the artist immediately

catches the audiences attention as it has a whole page to itself and has the contrast of the dark image and the image in the top right with the blue contrast.

• The images themselves help show the story of the artist, as the main one he is sitting casually with a cigarette in his mouth showing off his guitar, he is also fading into the background which helps give him a mysterious look.

• However the image on the top right he is dressed in a suit and is doing up his tie as well as looking up which helps give him a sophisticated look, in contrast with how he was initially portrayed. The blue filter is applied to help make a contrast with the original image.

Pull quote• The pull quote is positioned in the top

left of the page. This is to bring more attention to it as it is away from the image and the colour of the text contrasts with the dark background.

• The pull quote helps bring a sense of mystery and wonder to the artist, it makes the reader want to find out why people said that about him and what he did to change it.

Challenging conventions-Cover

The majority of the aspects of my magazine has followed general conventions of a music magazine itself as well as the rock genre. However there are some aspects that challenge the conventions. With the main image on the cover page, the artists right eye is covered by her hair, she is still looking at the camera but both eyes are not visible which is what you will usually find with a music magazine. I took the inspiration for this from this rolling stone magazine. As this is a rock magazine the overall look of it is to be dark, it has to follow the ‘rebellious’ nature that the target audience will be drawn to.

Challenging conventions- CONTENTS

There are two main images on the contents page, the things here that challenge normal magazine conventions is the fact that in the first image he is not looking at the camera but is looking at his cigarette , this bring attention to it and suits the nature of the rock genre, there is also a filter applied to it to give it a different look.

Challenging conventions-ArticleI haven’t really broken any conventions with the article. This is because the general conventions of a magazine article works in ways of appeal. I want my article to appeal to an audience and if it was cluttered and everywhere, it would not look appealing to us. I have however used two images on the left of the magazine article which is not generally done.I have also developed my idea for this article from this Q magazine. I wanted one page with the artists image and a pull quote then the next page with the body text of the article.

Developed ideasI got my idea for my contents page layout from this NME magazine. I have used the column side to put the details and used a main image and feature as well as adding other things. I chose to generally follow conventions here as this is what stands out to people and is an effective layout.