The layout of the magazine challenges conventions in some ways but follows conventions in others. The double page spread has a unique layout with many small images rather than the typical one large image. The contents page also challenges conventions with its two-color split design. However, the masthead conforms to expectations by being centered with large bold text. The front cover also adheres to conventions with its mid-shot portrait, masthead, subheadings and pull quotes. Overall the magazine both develops new designs while meeting expectations for typical magazine sections.

1. Question 1: In what ways
does your media product
use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of
real media products?

2. MASTHEAD

3. The masthead of my magazine conforms to the expectations of the typical conventions of an R&B
music magazine to some extent as it has the main features that these magazine Mastheads
usually entail. An example of this is the positioning of the Masthead. It is placed directly in the
centre although allowing slight gaps on either side. By positioning my masthead in the
centre, rather than being left or right hand aligned, it permits easier viewing of the text; enabling it
to be more eye-catching as it dominates the page.
When reviewing the name I picked for my magazine (‘SOUND PROOF’), I wanted to make sure
that potential readers would automatically know that the content of the magazine is music based.
This is demonstrated through the word ‘sound’ which instantly highlights a musical sense as it links
in with musical genres (In this case R&B). Through my research I found names as such
appropriate due to other magazines out there such as e.g. vibe, R&B etc whose magazine names
all link in with the theme of music.

4. I decided to keep the text quite plain and easy to read by using a large
bold font presented in capital letters (‘AMERICAN CAPTAIN’).
This again conforms to the expectations of a real R&B magazine as I found through my research
that this was the ideal way it is done.
The pictures to follow also support this.

5. After my masthead was created I decided to turn it into a small logo and place it on every page of the
magazine. It can be found on the front cover, contents page and DPS at the bottom where the page
numbers are. This was done in order to make my magazine look more professional as I found through
research that a lot of magazines like to do this. It also makes the pages look like they a from the same
magazine as there is a sense of consistency and a continues theme running through out.
Although my Masthead conforms to the conventions of a typical R&B magazine, the black rectangular
box the text is placed over slightly challenges these conventions. This is because the majority of
magazines do not have this feature making it rather un-conventional; although I have seen this done
before on one R&B magazine however they do not use this feature on every issue. I decided to add
this feature to make my Masthead stand out a bit more as I felt that it looked drowned out when there
was just the text above the image.

6. MISE-EN-
SCENE/COSTUMES
/PROPS

7. By looking at the main image on the front cover of my magazine it is clear to capture the simplicity
of it. Unlike a lot of other magazines, there is only one main image rather than smaller images
scattered around the page. In doing this, I hoped to portray my magazine as being more
professional and adult as magazines aimed at children and teens are usually the ones filled with
pictures and bright colours, making the page look quite cluttered and targeted at an age group
which need lots of images to grab their attention.
Lots of images
needed to appeal to
a younger target
audience.

8. I instructed my cover artist to wear a bold colour in order to enhance her presence in the picture. In
doing this I was also able to create a colour scheme of red and white using the pipette tool on
Photoshop (this tool allows you to duplicate a colour precisely).
The clothing used on my cover artist on both the front cover and double page spread are both quite
fashion related statement outfits. I conform to the expectations of a music magazine in a sense that
models are usually shown wearing their best and most expensive clothing accompanied by stylish
hair and makeup along with accessories such as chains and watches.
Bold stylish
statement
clothing.
Also, through my research I found that the public are always interested to see what new trends
celebrities are wearing which is why I ensured that my cover artist was dressed in trendy clothes.
This also conforms to the conventions of R&B magazines as the cover artists are usually wears
something like this.

9. In order to conform to the Media ideology that a models features and assets are
portrayed clearer and more honestly in brighter light, I had to adjust the lighting artificially
through Photoshop as my image came out quite dark since there was no natural light
present in the room the picture was taken in. Having the image brighter also helps
promote potential purchases as the cover artists is usually the main attraction and the
reason as to why the target audience will want to buy the magazine, and so having the
image brighter helps to attract more attention as it stands out better than an image in poor
lighting would.

10. However, an aspect that challenges the conventions of a real media product is the microphone placed in my cover
artist’s hand. This is because representations of women in the media tend to revolve around the focus of physical
beauty and exclude other values such as actual talent.
Having a microphone in my cover artists hand goes against these representations and stereotypical views on
women that the media like to portray. I also challenged the conventions of media texts through my cover artist’s
facial expression. This is because women are usually portrayed as being ‘fragile’ ‘soft’ and ‘fragrant’ whereas my
model has quite an arrogant facial expression highlighting a sense of independence and success.
Although, I did however still chose a young and attractive model to be my cover artist in order to conform to social
expectations of women being linked to ‘beauty’ but only to some extent. The microphone also helps to reinforce the
fact that the magazine is music and not fashion based.

11. PEOPLE

12. The male and female models used throughout my magazine are both young and of similar ages in order to
represent my target audience and age group of around 17 plus. I felt that having young people throughout my
magazine would help conform to the conventions in terms of creating a connection and relationship with the
audience as I believe that potential buyers would be able to relate better with people closer in age to them and
that have similar interests, rather than having someone in their thirties of forties that they cannot relate to.
Variety of
Both models genders
are young and present
of similar ages throughout
the magazine
I also tried to conform to the conventions of a real R&B magazine by my making it suitable for both genders as
there is mix throughout. This is shown through the models that feature in my magazine and the subheadings on
the front cover and contents pages which highlight the different genders that can be found within the magazine.

13. WRITTEN
CONTENT

14. The written content of my magazine mainly conforms to the standard ‘feature’ article/DPS of an R&B
magazine. This is because of the techniques used such as pull quotes which are important as they are
usually there to draw the readers in and make them want to find out more. In order for this to happen, the pull
quote must be eye-catching which is why I decided to use a pull quote that emphasises passion, dedication
and creativity.
Pull quotes are
commonly used in R&B
magazines.
I also decided to make the first word of the pull quote red (‘SONG’) to grab the reader’s attention as all the
other text is in black, making it stand out more. The word ‘SONG’ is again bold and red to highlight to the
audience exactly what the article is about; something music related. I also used the word ‘R&B’ numerous
times in my front cover to make it obvious to any potential buyers what the genre of the magazine is.

15. I made my interview a question an answer type interview in the hope of keeping my target audience on their
toes and interested, as they can never be sure as to what questions have been asked, making them more
eager to know what new gossip they could potentially uncover about an artist. I used this form of interview
rather that the standard article as I find these can be quite long, tedious and uninteresting for the audience.
Having only 6 questions helps keep things realistic as it highlights the busy schedules of artists who
probably would not have time to answer loads of in depth questions for an interview.
As well as this, I also conform to the conventions of a real media product by making some of my article
questions personal. On the contents page (and on the front cover briefly) I give a short overview on what the
article is about, some of which is on personal life. I also talk about ‘shocking celebrity stories’ that have been
shared exclusively with sound proof magazine. I used this technique as many members of the public are
very interested in celebrities personal life and media products like to use this to their advantage by using
heading such as the one used which was: ‘behind the mic’ with Maria pearl. This will again help to spark the
reader’s attention and cause them to be interested in reading on. This also makes the article appeal more to
the audience.
I tried to link my subheading ‘A HISTORY OF R&B’ to
the research I carried out on my blog concerning the
chosen genre as through my research, I found that
R&B is a genre that is constantly evolving and I tried
to demonstrate that through the subheading. I then go
on to leave a brief overview on what the article is
about on my contents page by saying ‘go back in time
with sound proof and find out about the continuous
evolution of one of the most popular genres of all time
– Rhythm and Blues’ this further demonstrates me
linking my research back to my magazine.

16. I also tried to use relevant topics on the front cover of my magazine such as
the ‘DESTINY’S CHILD REUNION’ as I found through research that
magazines only really talk about recent topics that everybody is talking
about. This again is another technique that media texts use to try and draw
in more readers so I did this in order to conform to these conventions.
I included a section on winning something for free
(in this case a chance to win tickets to the Brit
awards and to see Rihanna) as people are always
looking for ways to save money and never want to
miss out on an opportunity where they can win
something they couldn’t usually afford or be in the
presence of celebrities. This again was done to
catch the eye of the reader and make them want to
find out more.
The written content of my magazine also helps
follow the typical conventions through its neat
columns. This makes the article look more
professional and makes it easier for the
audience to read. I used a font of around 11/12
to keep the professional look but to ensure that
the article is readable and not too small.

17. MUSIC
GENRE

18. I believe that my music magazine easily conforms to the ways in which the R&B genre is represented. This is
suggested through many features, one of which is the facial expression of my cover artist. As mentioned
earlier, the model on my front cover has a sense of arrogance across her face which I found to be a
stereotypical feature of real R&B magazine covers with both male and female artists
R&B artists are mainly singers which is why I decided to include a microphone on my front cover as it is
extremely common, recognisable and can be easily linked with the R&B genre as R&B artists are not
usually associated with any form of instrument but mainly their voice e.g. Beyonce, Chris Brown etc.
I believe that using a common piece of musical equipment helps to develop the conventions as it is
expected however; it also challenges the conventions as I did not come across an R&B magazine where
the cover artist was holding or linked to any form of musical instrument or musical equipment such as a
microphone.

19. The genre of my magazine is also presented through the singers, rappers and concerts mentioned
on the front cover and contents page, as the artists mentioned all fall into the category of R&B. The
genre of the magazine is also furthered by me mentioning R&B numerous times on the front cover
and once or twice on the contents page and DPS, in order to let the audience know exactly what
the genre is.

20. LAYOUT

21. I believe that the majority of the layout in my magazine challenges the forms and conventions of a real music magazine
due to numerous reasons.
The first reason is because of the layout of my double page spread. Through my research, I found that double page
spreads usually have the picture of the artist on one side and the text on the other. I decided to challenge this
convention as I found it extremely ‘safe’ and wanted to challenge myself, enhance my Photoshop skills by adding lots of
smaller images to the top of the page and excite the reader by having a unique layout.
Altogether my double page spread consists of 7 images; one main image and 6 smaller images. DPS’s never usually
have more than two or three images and I have only seen one R&B DPS that had a similar layout to mine. This is why I
believe to have challenged the conventions greatly as far as my double page spread is concerned.

22. My contents page also does not conform to the conventions of a typical music
magazine as the page is split in half and consists of two different colours; grey
and white. I decided to keep the left hand side of the page grey to match the
background colour of the front cover and double page spread. In doing this, I
hoped to create a sense of continuity and make it obvious that they were a part
of the same magazine.
I then decided to keep the other side of the contents page white to give the
page some more structure and life rather than having one plain colour. I also did
this to show creativity and originality as I had never seen this done on an R&B
contents page before. However, features such as the ‘CONTENTS PAGE’ text
conform to the forms and conventions of a real media product as it is placed in
large bold fonts at the top which is what is usually found in R&B magazines.
I also added the ‘ON THE COVER’ section at the
bottom to make my magazine look more professional
as I thought it was a unique feature to include that not
many music magazines have.
My front cover also conforms to the conventions of a
real magazine as it has the standard features such
as: a mid shot, direct eye contact with the
camera, large masthead at the top of the page, bold
subheading and pull quotes to draw the reader’s in.
The text works around the main image and has been
set out neat and tidily in order to make sure that my
cover artist is not completely covered by loads of text.