1. QUESTION 1
In what ways does your media product
use, develop, or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?
2. Title
For my music magazine I took inspiration from Kerrang's title font. What I like about
Kerrang's title font was that it has the edgy look. The edgy look I think is strongly associated
with the rock/hardcore genre of music. This edgy, bold worn look is common with the
magazines written for the rock and hardcore genre. Other magazines who use bold writing
is magazines such a Big Cheese, Front and Rock sound. What was common which wasn't
common in Kerrang but in the other magazines I found out on every issue they published
the font colour was different which could mean they don't have a set colour scheme they
just choose their colours based on the image or the mood they are trying to go for whereas
Kerrang tend to stick to their iconic black. For my magazine I chose to do red and white
because red is a bold colour and would make my magazine stand out more in comparison
to Kerrang. I like Kerrang's explanation mark as it makes it look like the magazine is
something to shout/talk about. I was influenced for my font type by a band font too. The
hardcore band Terror influence me because it was a popular font in the hardcore scene. The
font I like a varsity font and is usually associated with hardcore music.
4. In my images for the main article I took
inspiration from magazines already
out there but also the poses which are
typical of the hardcore audience. The
hardcore poses tend to have a hard/
tough look about them (see image on
the right). In my main shoots I didn't
have any props because after looking t
other magazines they didn't have
props so I chose to stick to this
convention. To give my image the
more professional look I also chose to
do the shoot in a studio using my dslr
to capture the images but also the
image on the left which was feature in
Kerrang was also shot in a studio. I
used artificial lighting from the lights
in the studio which helped greatly as
the studio was quite ark. For my front
cover I think it does give off a more
edgy genre and shows off what kind of
music magazine this one is. I think this
because of the costume worn by my
model but also the moody look my
model has on his face which is typical
for the 'rockstar' look. The image on
the double page spread shows off the
anger in the model which represents
the type of music hardcore/ rock is.
5. For my contents page I used 5 images. The
five images chosen I think all reflected my
music genre. There was only two images
which wasn’t taken in a studio and that
because I wanted a mix of locations rather
than all studio images as that wouldn't be
conventional to real media products. My
image shows off my music genre because
of the serious poses my models are doing.
All but one image isn't serious and that was
because I wanted to include the male gaze.
By making my model smile it makes her
appealing to men. Also all the models are
looking into the camera giving the audience
a sense that the models are looking at you
and are drawing you in. The models have
an alternative look about them too such as
brightly coloured hair, rebellious poses,
body modifications, piercings and tattoos
all of these are common in my target
audience. I have numbered the images so
they relate to the 'This week' bit so it
makes it easier for my audience to find
6. The costume I chose for my model was clothing which is popular in the
hardcore/rock music scene. The t-shirt I made my model wear is by a popular
clothing line called Life Long which is a small label. Black skinny jeans which is
popular in this crowd of people but also fashionable in mainstream crowds too.
A parka/trench coat is popular this season but the dark colours is something
which is typical in this genre of music. Lastly a beanie was chosen because a lot
of young people are wearing them or bobble hats. These make my model
fashionable in this music scene and appeal to my target audience.
7. Language
The language I use in my product was colloquial
language I chose to do this because it was for
an age group which I fit into so it would have
to be language that everyone can read. When
writing my magazine I used language which
was directed to my audience by using words
such as you. another way I made it more
direct was using the word us because it shows
a connection between the company and the
reader.
8. I think overall my front cover has turned out very well. I have kept to the conventions of a typical music
magazine by the layout of it such as having a main image, a barcode and a main text all of these things make
my music magazine realistic. The use of different fonts on the front cover is also something which is common
in magazines. An example of this is the Big Cheese magazine on the left of mine which has 4 different fonts. I
have also kept to a three colour scheme consisting of red, white and black and Big Cheeses is red, yellow and
white which matches the striking background of the main image. Usually the colours chosen for the
magazine relate to the image. This is something I went against as the colours my model was wearing are
quite dark and I wanted my magazine to stand out, by doing dark colours it wouldn’t have stood out hense
why I chose a bright red.
9. Overall I’m pleased with my contents page. I have used the conventions of music magazines of
naming the page ‘contents’ so it clarifies to the reader what page they are reading. I have also
used the convention of numbering the images with the side bar to show the reader which page
to flick to for each story. Something which influenced me strongly in my contents page was
Kerrang’s contents page. What I liked about Kerrang’s contents page is the images they show in
small boxes which act like previews of what images will be on the article but also they draw you
into reading that article this is something I used in my music magazine as I thought it looked
quite effective when trying to appeal to your target audience.
10. Overall I like my double page spread. It works with my front cover as the colours are the same
but also the writing is the same giving the audience a connection between the two. I stuck to
conventions for my music magazine. I used a pull quote to draw people into reading my
article with a pull quote which makes you want to know more but to make it more appealing I
combined two colours together and used red to show the main words in the pull quote again
to make me want to read the article. I used a drop capital as that was something which was
typical in all music magazines which I think gives it a more professional look. Lastly I have
sectioned my article in columns which is another typical thing of music magazines. Overall I
am happy with all three of my products and I believe they all work well together.
