AS Media evaluation question 1

Media Evaluation Question 1In what ways does your media product use, challenge or challenge the forms and conventions of existing magazines?

By Daniel Rothery

The Front CoverThe masthead is the most important convention of a front cover. This is the title of the magazine and it needs to stand out, which is something I believe I have done. The colours are bright and they also fit the house style of the magazine. The style of the font also makes the magazine stand out because of the rough edges, this relates to the iconography of rock being rough. The masthead is similar to the Kerrang masthead. I chose the colours black and res because of what the represent; black represents power, something that again is linked to the genre of rock and red represents danger which the music sometimes communicates in rock music.

The header or skyline is the another convention of the front cover . Because of the way a person reads a page, like a ‘Z’, this is one of the first things they see and read. I have used this space to attract my audience by adding a competition that relates to the genre by having rock band Green Day tickets the prize.

The main image I feel breaks the codes and conventions of a rock magazine thus developing them. Conventionally on a rock magazine the model will be either of an all male rock band or a male rock artist. This image is of a female rock star and the make up and the colours of her costume really suite the house style.

The plug is another convention that I have used from existing products, although when I researched the magazines, I found that they were normally at the bottom left hand corner of the front cover. This plug is another way to attract the audience and by advertising the new layout could attract new audiences too, especially for a weekly magazine.

The barcode is another one of the most common features of a music magazine, it is conventionally in the bottom right hand corner of the magazine along with the date and the price. I don’t believe that I have developed or challenged this convention because it is hard to do so.

The tagline that I have used is based on one of war poet Wilfred Owen’s poems, ‘An Anthem for Doomed Youth’. is tag line goes quite well with the iconography and ideology of rock; some of the music is quite rebellious and to go against it saying that you are doomed could make audiences feel brave and rebellious knowing that listening to the music you are "doomed".

For the sell-lines I took inspiration from the existing magazines of ‘Q’ ad ‘NME’. One of there front covers had the sell-line titles in blocks and I feel as though it benefits my magazine. The sell lines also are located in the ‘sweet spot’ of the magazine. The part where the audience’s eyes are fixed most.

The banner is a convention that most existing magazines, when researching, didn’t really have. I have used this to showcase my big interview with the rock star ‘Melony Spikes ‘, my main image model.

The Contents Page The date and the issue number of the magazine are conventionally part of the contents page. I have decided that the magazine should be the 28th issue, this shows that the magazine is in production but is maybe still trying to find the reader loyalty. I have also used the ‘#’ instead of ‘issue number’ because the hashtag is used a lot with modern social media and it also quite short and snappy instead of writing out the words.

Page number for the big interview: when researching existing magazines I found that the main interview with the front cover star is around the end or the middle. This then gives the reader the chance ti read the whole magazine and for it not to be over at the beginning. During the process of making the contents page I had to change the number around because I had totally forgotten about the convention and placed it at page 9, but I altered that so it is on page 37 instead.

Features and regulars:This is the most important convention for a double page spread. Ideas for features and regulars based on other magazines:FeaturesThe main sell-line on my front cover is an interview with my made up character Melony Spikes, so this will be one of my features.Interview with Nickelback, looking back at 19 years in the business and their 20 year anniversary in 2015 (also there will be an interview with lead vocalist Chad Kroeger) 50 new artists and bands touring in 2014 (list of gigs) Interview with Brian May on 'Dark Sided Freddie'Interview with Green Day and how the audience can win tickets to see them live at the O2.

QR code:This was something that wasn’t on most contents pages that I researched, but I got the idea from previous students work and decided that I should use it, this develops the conventions of not only the contents page, but the miniaturisation of the whole magazine. This means that it is more portable for the audience.

The Editors Words: I found this in every magazine contents page that I researched, it allows the editor the chance to express there thoughts on the issue. So this is a convention that I have used and not developed or challenged. I have also added a CG signature to add to the effect

The Subscription box is something that entices reader loyalty. Conventionally this is on the contents page because it catches the readers eye with an offer for a subscription. I have made the subscription price affordable to my target audience of 15-25. They are the people that will be just starting to earn their own money and wanting to buy their own things and a cheaper subscription is a good piece of marketing.

The main/biggest image on the contents page is of the front cover star. The bigger image shows its importance for selling the magazine. Again I have used direct mode of address that is looking directly at the audience. The colours of her costume again suit the colours of a rock star with the pink in there to show that she is still feminine. The colours of the headphones are foreshadowing some of the content from the double page spread interview.

The big bold writing stands out and is easy for the audience to read.

I have decided to use a black background for the numbers because it fits the house style of the magazine.

The Double Page SpreadThis is my double page spread, I feel as though that it is the weakest out of the three and if I were to do it again I would change quite a few things and add some things as well. Such as the justification of the columns, I tried to get them as justified as I could but it didn’t seem to work, probably because I had already written the article and I didn’t want to write it out again. I would also add in some contact details at the bottom of the double page spread, this is something else that is conventional.

Pull quotes:These are very conventional of a double page spread and stand out to the reader. It shows the most important bits of the magazine.

The article itself should be justified into equal columns but as I stated earlier I haven’t done that correctly and is something that I would change if I were to do it again.

The anchorage I have used I was quite happy with. I have used ‘Spiked: Melony has broken onto the music scene and is embarking on a UK tour’. I have used the word Spiked as a play on words between her name ‘Melony Spikes’ and the word Spiked, meaning to pierce or inhale using a sharp point, this meaning the music scene.

The page numbers are very visible and easy to read, this allows the reader to easily navigate around the magazine

I took inspiration for the title from an article in ‘Q’. In fact the whole double page spread is inspired by that article. The whole DPS was red and had a title just like that and I thought that it really stood out and it appealed to me. I also like the idea of the more simple something is the more people will like it and the more effective it becomes.

The star name of ‘Melony Spikes’ is bold because it stands as a sort of motif from the whole magazine. It was written in the same font on the front cover and becomes recognisable with the reader.

The main image uses up a whole page and when researching existing magazines I found that it was very effective, it shows that the whole article is about this person and that they are very dominant. Dominance also is part of the iconography of rock.