EVALUATION QUESTION 1

In what ways does your media product

use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

My product, Surge Magazine, was mainly inspired and influenced by dance and clubbing magazine: I followed most of the codes and conventions which I found from my research into

and other dance music magazines such as and

However, I chose to challenge the stereotype of EDM being a male dominated genre. I chose to use a female DJ for the front cover and in the feature article of my magazine as I feel that the women in the EDM industry do not gain enough recognition.

Front Cover: Masthead

I have followed the codes and conventions of music magazines here as the main image on the cover of the magazine is Superimposed over the masthead. I have noticed that this is a common feature used in magazines, just as it is used in Mixmag above. This superimposition indicates that the brand is well-known and would be recognizable by the public however it is displayed. I wanted my magazine to be represented as a confident and successful brand. Therefore I have conformed to these codes and conventions.

Coverlines

I have followed the codes and conventions here by adding a list of artists in a puff on my front cover. This is also shown on Mixmag’s front cover and Elektro’s cover. This creates a wider audience in which the reader may recognize the other artists and be more likely to buy and read the magazine. This also fully-defines the genre of magazine in which these artists will be heavily featured within the magazine.

Surge Mixmag Elektro

Barcode

I have followed the codes and conventions here by using a barcode within my product, with a website and a price. However I have chosen to place this information below my masthead as opposed to in the bottom left hand corner. This is because I have challenged the codes and conventions by changing the placement of my strapline. Therefore having no room for a barcode in the bottom third of my cover.

Strapline:

I have followed the codes and conventions of using a strapline on my cover. I was inspired by Mixmag’s strapline(above). My strapline is effective and would make the magazine more appealing to the reader as “biggest” is a superlative, and so places my magazine at the top of the hierarchy. It makes the audience feel as if they are getting the best, most exclusive information there is to offer. In Surge magazine however, I placed the strapline at the bottom of the cover, as opposed to the top like Mixmag does, as I feel it suited better here and did not distract the attention away from the headline.

Contents LayoutI followed most of the codes and conventions displayed by Mixmag for my contents page. I used a dark background, as I feel the contents page should be more informative and so the plain background suited the busy content on the page. Like Mixmag, I have used one main image, and others which anchor the titles of the features in the magazine.

I have followed the codes and conventions displayed by Mixmag of placing the page number of the feature that relates to the picture on the page. Due to the target audience being young, pictures would appeal to the audience. Therefore linking the pictures to pages would make the content clearer and allow easy access to the content in the magazine.

MixmagSurge

Puns

I have followed the codes and conventions of using puns in my magazine to appeal to a younger audience and make the experience of reading Surge magazine, more lighthearted and pleasurable. The puns that I have used mostly require a background knowledge of the EDM genre to be understood. Therefore my audience will understand them and feel knowledgeable, this has then resulted in audience gratification. A consumer is more likely to create brand loyalty with a product which gratifies them. Therefore this could result in more sales and loyal consumers.

I have followed the codes and conventions displayed by Mixmag magazine.. I have used sub-sections in my contents page to break up and categorize the text. I feel that this appeals to the young audience as a big group of text may not appear aesthetically pleasing. I have made these sub-section titles in bright colours to connote the rave scene in which the EDM genre in associated with.

SurgeMixmag

Here I have featured other artists’ album covers. These will create a wider audience as the audience would recognize these album covers and then would be more likely to read the material featuring them. This could lead to brand loyalty, where the audience may like the material and continue to buy the magazine. Here I have featured my own album cover which I created using Photoshop, featuring my artist who is the main feature of Surge magazine.

Here I followed the codes and conventions by placing the issue date, and name of the brand at the top of the page by the contents title. I have also used the same font for the name “Surge” wherever it is seen in the magazine. This ensures that the masthead is recognizable wherever it is placed.

I have used page numbers in the bottom left hand corner of the pages, this follows the codes and conventions of most magazines and ensures clear movement around the content.

DPS Layout

I followed the codes and conventions displayed by Mixmag, by using 4 columns in my DPS. Which is unusual, as 3 columns are the generic code and convention followed. I feel by using 4, more copy can be displayed. Due to the audience being mature, I feel they would like to be informed in detail and therefore this would suit the target audience. I used one main image, in which the page could act as a poster page. This follows the codes and conventions that Mixmag have displayed. This may appeal to the younger section within my target audience, who may still cover their walls in posters.

Mixmag

Surge

Main Image My main image uses direct mode of address (eye contact) to draw the reader into the image. I have used Photoshop to add shadowing to one half of her face. This infers that there is another side to Frankie. The readers may see this and read the article to find out more about her. I have used photo manipulation in Photoshop to add an effect behind the model. This effect gives a fire-y/electric look, which links with the genre of music as well as the brand name ‘Surge’ as the effect looks like a ‘surge’ of electricity.

I have followed the codes and conventions by embedding enlarged quotes from my artist amongst the article and main image. This anchors the article and ensures that the reader understands what the article is featuring, in which they will then carry on to read the article.

Quotes

Surge

Mixmag

Here, I have added extra boxes of information about my artist. This follows the codes and conventions of music magazines as more information is provided for the reader. Due to my artist appearing as aspirational, my audience can therefore view exclusive information from this, where they may then purchase the magazine again for more exclusive information. This process is called creating brand loyalty.