Evaluation-Conventions

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of

real media products?

Throughout the process of making my front cover, contents page and double page spread I had to consider the conventions that I would follow and the conventions I would challenge. In relation to the colour scheme I used the colours red, white, black and grey on all 3 of my products as it is conventional to have a continuous colour scheme. This makes the magazine look professional and connects the products. I chose to use these colours because from looking into existing Indie Rock products I found that red, white and black was a popular colour scheme, so I chose to do something similar by adding the colour grey to make my magazine a bit more original. The colours are also quite dark which is another convention of this genre of magazine. I also followed the convention of having my model (Lucy) on all 3 of my products as this is seen on many magazines of not only the genre of Indie Rock, such as ‘Vibe’ and ‘Kerrang!’. This shows her importance in the magazine as she is the focus on all 3 pages. The fonts I used on my 3 products were also consistent throughout as I used similar fonts which were all quite bold reinforcing the Indie Rock genre and the power of the magazine. This is again conventional as it helps to reinforce the house style. The conventions analysis I did of my 3 products on the following slides shows more conventions that I decided to follow.

Front coverI placed the skyline at the top of the page in the font ‘Impact’ because it is bold and stands out, which is conventional of skylines. It is also in a conventional place making it easily recognisable to the readers.

I also put the masthead in the top, left corner because it is conventional to have it in this position and so readers will automatically know that this is the name of the magazine. I made the masthead a bright, red because this is one of the colours used in my colour scheme and it is also conventional to have a consistent colour scheme. The models head covers the masthead slightly which is another convention that I have noticed many magazines (such as Kerrang and NME) follow. This makes my magazine appear professional and well established.

I placed the date and issue number directly under the masthead because this is again quite a conventional place to put them and so people will expect to find them here which is essential with it being key information.

I used a mid shot for the main image on my front cover as it works well with the layout of the page and is a key convention. I also followed the convention of having a plain background because it makes the front cover look professional and allows the features to be easily readable. In relation to mise en scene I also got my model to wear quite stereotypical Indie Rock clothing so that my genre was reflected throughout (also conventional). I positioned my model in a powerful stance and got her to look into the camera. This is a form of direct address and has been used to reflect her dominance and also the nature of Indie Rock.

I used a larger font on the models name than the pull quote because this is conventional and makes it stand out from the rest of the text on the page. I also placed it slightly further to the left which is again conventional so people will expect to find the headline here and will know that it accompanies the main image. I used the colours white and black on my headline because they are part of my colour scheme and so fit with the theme. The outline on the text is not a convention found on many magazines, however it made the headline easier read which is effective.

I placed a footer at the bottom of the page as this is conventional and gives the reader more information about who is featured in the magazine. I used the font ‘Impact’ on the footer because it is bold and so stands out.

I placed the barcode and price (both important conventions) at the bottom of the page as they are not a main priority and so don’t need to stand out however they still need to be on the page.

I included a second image on my magazine front cover which isn’t a main convention however some magazines such as Kerrang do this to give the reader a better idea of what is inside the magazine. I chose this picture of Temples performing live in particular as it is something that my target audience would be interested in, with Temples being a big Indie band.

I also followed the convention of having a plug on the front cover. I placed the plug at the side of the page because it is conventional and looks best in this position. I used two quite bold fonts to make the text stand out and I also placed a red box behind the word ‘win’ to make it stand out and appeal to the reader. Conventionally the plug is used to advertise a freebie or something and I have followed this convention by advertising the free Arctic Monkeys poster that is inside.

I followed the convention of having the features fall around the model and I also used boxes to separate the text from the background and to make it stand out. This was done mainly to portray Lucy as dominant and important. I also used features that relate to the genre of my magazine because this is again conventional .

Contents page

I have separated the features section from the regular section which is a key convention of magazine contents pages and can be seen on magazines such as Q. I followed this convention because it makes it easier for the reader to locate what they are looking for and gives the page a professional appearance.

I also followed the convention of having a subscribe box on the contents page, like used on NME. This makes the magazine appear professional. The colour yellow isn’t part of my colour scheme and so it is not conventional to use this however it makes the text stand out and so I thought that it looked effective, encouraging readers to subscribe.

I put the title ‘Contents’ at the top of the page in a large, bold and attractive font because it is conventional of contents pages and so is familiar to readers. I chose the bold, white font to make it stand out against the black and grey banner.

I included a review box on my contents page because although not all magazines use this convention I thought that it would be useful to include as it is likely that this style of magazine would have quite a lot of reviews inside and so it is useful for ease of access.

I used a large, mid shot image of my main subject which is not conventional however I wanted a large amount of the attention to be on Lucy because she is the main focus in the magazine. The mise en scene used in the photo is very conventional as it connotates the Indie Rock genre. This will hopefully attract my target audience.

I included the issue number, date and website on the corner of my contents page as these are all very important conventions, allowing the reader to know key information about the magazine. However because these things aren’t the main priority I have placed them in a smaller, less bold font.

I also included some smaller photos that relate to the subheadings: New Albums and Live. I used 3 album cover photos and a picture of Temples performing live. Its not very conventional to have album covers on a contents page however I believe that it links well with the feature and so chose to use them anyway. I chose these specific albums because they all relate to the Indie Rock genre and so it is conventional

I have followed the convention of having a short caption below the sub-heading because it gives the reader a small amount of information about the feature, hopefully encouraging them to go and read the article. I have used a bolder text on the subheadings than the captions which is another convention noticeable on many magazines. This allows the sub-heading to stand out more and separates the caption from the sub-heading. In addition to this I have also used a different colour on the page numbers, which is a convention found on ‘Q’ magazine, to make them stand out from the rest of the text so that the articles are easy to locate. These conventions all help to make my magazine look realistic.

I have placed a banner at the bottom of the page which advertises the magazines Facebook and Twitter pages, which is another convention of contents pages as they usually contain an advertisement of the magazine in some way.

Double page spreadI have used a large, mid shot of my model, that covers half of my double page spread because this is very conventional of magazines such as Q. I did this to show her dominance and portray how important she is. I also followed the convention of having the background of the photo flow onto the next page because it makes it look more professional and natural. In relation to mise en scene I got my model to wear the same costume that she is wearing on my front cover because it links the pages together and allows the reader to identify the feature easily. This is again quite conventional and creates continuity. I also got my model to look into the camera while standing in a powerful position to connotate her power and dominance. This is reinforced by how she is taking up an entire page, which is again conventional.

I placed the date and page numbers in the bottom corners of the pages because this is conventional and so were the readers expect to find them. This will allow them to find the feature easily when flicking through the pages. I have used a small and less bold font on this text because although they are important conventions to include, they are less important than the rest of the text and so don’t need to stand out as much.

I followed the convention of using columns on my article because it gives a professional appearance and I thought using 3 columns was particularly effective because it establishes a familiar layout. I chose to use the colour black on this text as it made the article look simple yet sophisticated.

I used two pull quotes which I emboldened and made slightly larger because this another convention I have noticed on many magazines such as Q. This draws the reader to them and makes them want to reader further into the story.

I decided to include a drop cap as this adds a professional element to the page and again is a key convention.

I decided to place Lucy’s name in a large and bright text to draw the reader to it immediately. This isn’t particularly conventional however I wanted to reinforce Lucy’s dominance by covering the page in things that portray her. I used the red colour because it creates continuity in the colour scheme (which is conventional) and also makes it stand out the most on the page. I also decided to cover part of the text with the image of Lucy because, although this is not conventional, it again reinforces her dominance and makes her come across as a huge Indie Rock star because she is recognisable without her entire name being present.

Front cover conventions…

Comparing conventions with existing magazines

A major convention of magazine front covers is a skyline. These are 2 skylines taken from the magazines Kerrang and NME in comparison to my own skyline. Skylines generally advertise things that can be won in the magazine. On my skyline I chose to advertise the chance to win free tickets similar to the Kerrang skyline. This is because my target market would be interested in going to live gigs, especially festivals such as Leeds and Reading because this is a major festival for the Indie Rock genre of music. I found that many skylines used a bold text that stands out to make it identifiable and so I did this on my skyline by using the font ‘Impact’. I chose to use the majority of the colours in my colour scheme to make this feature stand out as much as possible.

My magazine:

Kerrang:

NME:

Another convention of magazine front covers is having the models head cover part of the masthead. Kerrang and NME are examples of magazines that do this quite frequently. On the majority of examples the model only covers one letter of the masthead however I chose to have mine covering two letters, similarly to Kerrang. This was to highlight how important Lucy is on the page. The use of this convention on my magazine makes my front cover look well established and professional.

My magazine:

Kerrang:

NME:

Comparing conventions with existing magazines

Another convention that I followed was having boxes around my features. Kerrang and NME are again examples of magazines that do this often. I followed this convention to make my features stand out more. I, similarly to Kerrang, used more than one colour on several of my boxes to make the features appear more interesting. I chose to use the colours red, white and black on my boxes as they are all colours that I have used in my colour scheme and so fit well with the theme. I generally used one colour behind the name of the band/artist and another colour for the rest of the text, this was to make the band/artist stand out from the text.

My magazine:

NME:

Kerrang:

Comparing conventions with existing magazines

Another important convention of magazine front covers is a plug. My plug is comparable with both Q and Kerrang’s plugs. On my plug, like on Kerrang's plug, I have decided to advertise the opportunity to win a prize (in my case a free AM poster). This is because many Indie Rock fans like to decorate their bedrooms etc in band posters and the Arctic Monkeys are a famous Indie Rock band and so it is likely that my target audience would like this. I have used the circular style on my plug which is a convention present on many magazines front covers because I liked the style of this. I also chose to use all of the colours in my colour scheme on my plug because this is a convention often used on magazines such as Q, NME and Kerrang. This allows it to stand out on the page.

My magazine:

Q:

Kerrang:

Comparing conventions with existing magazines

Another convention used on many magazines is having a smaller, second image on the front cover Page. I have compared my use of this with Kerrang and NME which both do this on a regular basis. My second image is of Temples performing live which is similar to NME which also often uses gig photos as smaller photos on the front cover. I chose to follow this convention because it allows the audience to see what else is in the magazine other than Lucy’s exclusive interview. I also chose to use a border like on other magazines because it separates the main image from the minor image. I also think it makes the photo look more professional and authorised.

My magazine:

NME:

Kerrang:

Comparing conventions with existing magazines

A footer is also another convention that is often used on magazines. I have compared the footer that I have come up with examples from Kerrang magazine. I chose to put a list of several Indie Rock bands on my footer because it allows my audience to see what other bands, which they will stereotypically like, are featured in the magazine. I also chose to use a bold and bright text on the word ‘Plus!’ so that the readers are drawn to it, which is also conventional.

My magazine:

Kerrang:

Comparing conventions with existing magazines