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

2. Front Cover Evaluation...

3. MASTHEAD: The masthead I have created has a bold red font and black background so that the font stands out a lot more and looks a lot more professional as it falls into the rock genre a lot more clearly and causes the target audience of the magazine to recognise that the magazine is created for them. The bold font used in the masthead gives the magazine a unique image and the font I have used is a recognisable font that the reader will be drawn to easily when looking on the shelf in shops. The masthead is in a different font to the cover lines so that the public are about to recognise the magazine from a far. IMAGE: The image I have included on this page is one I took of a friend, she is also featured on the double page spread of the magazine.The reason in which I used this model on the front cover of the magazine is because it manages to draw in the target audience through the staged pose that the model is holding, which suggests a youthful image for the magazine as well as making the magazine look exciting and fun. It also informs the reader of the main feature of the magazine which will draw in fans of the artist.The mid close-up shot enables the readers attention to focus mainly on the model winking which contributes to attracting the target reader as well as allowing headroom and space for the cover lines on the page. Although the image links to some media conventions of Rock magazines as it sticks to the genre, it is very rare that a female will feature on the front cover on their own, they are more likely to be shown in a band on the front page which doesn’t fall into stereotypical magazines however this image may appeal to a wider audience due to the male gaze theory, Mulvey (1975) (. COVER LINES : The cover lines are very clear for the reader to read as the coverline is in bold bright font and the short explanations placed below allow the reader to find out more about the article. One cover line involves initials of a band’s name to save space on the page. This has been used as the target audience of the magazine would have heard of the band and will be able to understand that the feature is on them. If the reader’s haven’t heard of the band then they may want to find out about them so they will purchase the magazine. The main cover line had to link to the main image as this is a common media convention used in magazines. I have used words in the cover lines that will draw in the audience such as “Exclusive” as this word is commonly used i magazines to fascinate the reader and cause them to wish to find out more. COLOURS: The colours used in the cover lines follow the house style which occurs throughout the magazine which is red and black. These colours are associated with the rock genre and will work towards drawing in the audience. The red and black colours that have been used are very bold and eye catching and these will stand out very much on the shelf. BARCODE/PRICE/DATE/ISSUE NUMBER : I have included a typical magazine conventions by including a barcode, issue number, date and price on the front cover. This is found on all magazines in the market and aren’t the main features on the front cover however they are on there for the reader to recognise the features. These features always need to be shown on the page in order to give information to the reader about how much the magazine costs and when it was published. STRAPLINE: I placed the strapline at the bottom of the page, allowing the reader to see that there is much more featured in the magazine than what is stated in the cover lines. It also draws the reader’s attention towards the bottom of the page causing the reader to scan the whole of the front page and persuading them to purchase the magazine. INSERT: I have included an insert on this page so that the reader’s are more likely to purchase the magazine. It gives the reader something back for purchasing the magazine. In this case “WIN READING TICKETS INSIDE” this benefits the reader and would persuade them to buy the magazine as I have found out that this is something that the target reader is interested in due to the questionnaire I carried out finding that they enjoy attending festivals.

4. List of typical media conventions included: Title at the top representing the brand/company. Cover lines informing the reader of the content. Strapline persuading the reader to read on in the magazine. Barcode, price, date and issue number. Insert and audience interaction. Main image of main feature artist.

5. Challenging conventions: Insert the top of the page. Main image of female on her own rather than with a band.