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

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

real media products?

Samantha King

Here are just a few elements which make up a magazine.

•Page numbers• Masthead• Fonts• Colour scheme• Style of photography• Writing style• Pull quotes• Cover lines• Barcode

How the magazines I analysed present those elements

My final product Kerrang! magazine

How did the magazine present these elements?How did I present these elements?

As elements of my final product display, I am emulating existing music products, especially Kerrang!

I followed the convention of clashing colours, i.e. Using yellow upon a black background to create a juxtaposition of the colour imagery and therefore resulting in a highly noticeable font style and colour scheme that will stand out to any potential target audience members.

Barcode

As previously mentioned I followed the conventions of existing products, however in this instance I also developed the element of a barcode by imposing a brand name below the bars, which states ‘crank music’.

Header

I also developed the element of a header by the use of different colours which still fitted the rock genre conventions scheme. Rather than opting for the usual yellow and black clashing colours to create contrast and as a result attention for potential consumers, I decided to display my header in a red and white colour scheme, the white is very basic and placed next to the red, it creates a sense of alertness and makes it stand out even more so amongst a very pure and plain colour. I used this warning signal colour to capture the audience’s attention for an offer it was presenting, but opted for the red oppose to the usual yellow and black for a more diverse colour scheme that still is attentive for the consumers to notice the offers/competition.

Footer

I also developed the element of a footer by the use of a red and white colour scheme, the white is very basic and placed next to the red, it creates a sense of alertness and makes it stand out even more so amongst a very pure and plain colour. Furthermore, when placed upon a jet black background this instantly makes it more alarming and is helpful to make a unique selling point stand out, in this case that Crank! Is the UK’s most successful music magazine. Another reason, as previously mentioned, why I opted for the red oppose to the usual yellow and black is to create a more diverse colour scheme that still is attentive for the consumers to notice the offers/competition, rather than covering my entire product in a black and yellow colour scheme.

Masthead

The masthead font style is also emulating that of Kerrang! The destruction aspect of the basic lettering gives the sense of breaking the conventions of society, taking something basic and causing rebel and distress against it. I developed this slightly further than that seen on the front cover of the existing Kerrang! Product by adding a drop shadow to give it more depth creating more of a professional look for my final product cover.

Image dominates masthead

As seen on most magazine, I have decided to cover my masthead slightly with the image on the front of my magazine product. This makes the image dominate of the entire page and stand out to the audience, this is useful for consumer interest, as if you place an inspiration cover artist that have a huge fan base then potential costumers will be attracted to your magazine and take more notice of the contents and features. Also, a reason why mastheads are usually covered by the cover star image is because they are so well known, the entire masthead brand name doesn’t need to be fully revealed to know what brand it is. At a glance, it is most likely you would be able to recognise the magazine brand and the genre of which it is then catered for due to its reputation as a brand.

Contents

As I am emulating existing products, such as Kerrang! I have opted to use yellow and black, amongst others, within my colour scheme. I have used, again, a basic font, then distressed it and added a few blemishes to the style, so it isn’t portrayed to be immaculate, but as being a rebellious style and against the norm. This idea is reflected within my target audience and therefore they can relate to the imperfections and rebellious themes and are engaging with my product.

Photography

I have used a monochromatic tone of black and white shades to adapt to the style of that of Kerrang! This is used to give a visually dynamic look when placed up against colours such as white, red, yellow and blacks. The Rock genre ideology of breaking the conventions of society is reflected within the image as it suggest the flaws of the rebellious mannerisms and imperfections of this stereotype. The fact the images are captured from a live event immediately creates intimacy between the audience and the subject and being a reader of this magazine you then begin to feel involvement with the atmosphere of this image.

Features

I have also adapted this element from that seen in Kerrang! As I thought it added to the effect as a visually dynamic look by placing such colours around a monochromatic toned image. It is also easy to comprehend and notice when flicking through the magazine and therefore may stand out and capture the attention of consumers, giving them an insight as to what is featured within this edition at a glance.

Brand name headline

I have followed the convention of the contrasting colour scheme of yellow being placed above a black background and also introduced the white to add to the visually dynamic look of the entire magazine. By placing such contrasting colours in such a compact area creates a sense of juxtaposition. This creates awareness to the consumers and instantly takes there attention to the lexis of what has been written in such colours. I have chosen to include my brand name within the lettering to unconsciously keep it in the back of the consumers mind and make it more memorable when they look up at glance at the wording.

Contents and page numbers

I have followed the convention of sub headings presented in a yellow font style upon a jet black background to make it stand out and easy to comprehend and thereby unproblematic to navigate my magazine product. I have followed the convention of taking a basic font and causing distress to it, as seen in many other elements of my product, for instance my masthead, to create a house style, in the same way demonstrated by Kerrang! This again reflects my audience further by demonstrating consistent ways on breaking the usual conventions, adding to the sense of rebellious themes.

Subscription offer

I have also emulated a subscription offer as seen in Kerrang! This directly attracts and addresses the audience Kerrang! Is catered for and therefore I wanted to include this within my own product, as I feel as I am imitating elements of Kerrang! To pass the product off as a rock genre music magazine catered for a fairly young audience categorisation of 15-25 year olds. However, I have developed this convention by using a very significant font style. The representation of the text communicates an ambiguous yet mysterious sense, as it is similar to that of newspaper clippings of which are stereotypically used by criminals; this instantly referring to the impression that the product, as well as the audience this magazine is targeted towards, perhaps opts the traits of breaking conventions and rebelling against the expectations of society.