In what way does your media product use, develop or change forms and conventions of real media products?

The media product I chose to create was a music magazine, that is specifically for the Pop genre. I chose this for my media product, because a magazine has the most conventions and a clearer division of genres than any other form of media like Television and Radio. 

My magazine uses most of the general conventions of a real media product, mainly the layout of the magazine and the colours used within the product. I have used a clear layout for my media product, which would be seen on an already existing magazine for this specific genre.

When designing my product I didn't want my cover lines to detract from the main cover image and vice versa. So I placed them around the main image, positioning the cover lines almost like a frame for the main image, just like you would see on a real media product.This then keeps the central image as the main focal point of the Front Cover which I need, because the model is going to be the main article of the magazine. Within the cover lines I have also used jargon, which would entice my audience, because they will understand the anchorage straight away, in contrast to other consumers who would brush it off instantly due to them not understanding it.

The colour scheme of my magazine is something else I have kept to a generic convention of a pop genre magazine. I have decided to keep my magazine to colours that will catch the attention of my demographic straight away when its on a shelf. I have also decided to keep to colours that will contrast and juxtapose each other but not look too harsh so that it deters my demographic away.

I have kept the masthead bold but simple in contrast to the rest of my front cover. However, I had matched the masthead of my magazine to the main article cover line 'Arianne Brown Exclusive Interview' so that it is noticeable that its the main story of that weeks issue. I decided to keep that cover line as it is, because I like how it can attract attention, due to it being so bold but without being so out there and loud. 

I have kept the image as a mid shot that has a neutral camera angle, meaning that the model is eye level with the reader. I have done this to give the magazine a more personal feel between the magazine itself and its readers. It makes the demographic feel like the magazine is cutting corners and is directly speaking to them, especially the artist that is on the cover. This is also shown through the Double Page Spread article of the magazine.

For my Double Page Spread article, I decided to create an interview for a music artist. This again links to the idea of the artist cutting corners and directly speaking to their intended demographic, especially those who listen to their music and understand their very own jargon, like if the artist mentions a song they have on a previous album. I also decided to create an interview, because personally I think it flows better in a magazine, especially if the person being interviewed has just brought out a new addition to their body of work. Also, my demographic tend to read more interview articles because they are generally shorter than normal articles that take forever to read, which will deter my demographic's attention if it involves too much reading. Alongside this thought,  I decided to use the three column rule in the actual article section, so that it nicely breaks down the article with the help of the pull quote in the centre, but keeps it looking clean and sophisticated. 

Similar to the Front Cover, I decided to use a Mid Long Shot of the main image of the article on the left hand page. This was to show that I know how to vary my shots within my magazine, which would be using the forms of real media products that I have seen in the past when researching into magazines.

I started to develop and change the forms of real media products when I decided that I was going to use the same colour throughout my Double Page Spread. I decided to do this, because normally Double Page Spread articles have at least two main colours that correlate with the rest of the magazine running through it, but I wanted to change that slightly and only have one colour. This is, because my model already had a pink skirt on in the image and I think it is enough colour to balance out the lilac to not make it look so overpowering and washed out.

The last main convention I used for my Double Page Spread was the album cover in the bottom right hand corner of the article. I decided to do this, because I think it gives the article a more professional look and to make it seem as if my model was an artist in the music industry. I really like this touch, because I believe it makes the article a bit more believable to the consumer.


My Contents Page is also another product where I have used forms of conventions that already exist within real media products.

I, again decided to keep the layout of the contents page simple and realistic for a pop magazine aimed at teenage girls between 13-18. I have easily sectioned off each portion of the magazine with a different category. This way my readers will be able to instantly find what they are looking for when they turn to the contents page. I've further helped this by highlighting certain things that different articles have in common, for instance this issue its boys, which includes posters of different male celebrities, articles and interviews on them etc. I have also added a range of images that correlate to the article description, helping to fill out any empty gaps I had on the page previous. I think this breaks up the amount of text I have on the page, helping to balance out the text to image ratio.