In what ways does your media product use,

develope or challenge forms and conventions of

real media products?

XCLUSIVE front cover

Front coverFor a magazine to be succesfull with their target audience they have to follow the codes and conventions e.g. Placement of images, similar mastheads, sellines and the over all lay out of their magazine.

I have used the same type of shot on my front cover, (known as a mid-shot). Aswell as this the placement on my image is central just like Vibe’s. I felt it was of importance to follow to codes and conventions of a magazine which had the same genre as my magazine for it to be succesful. In copying the layout, I can create a music magazine of this high standard. Another reason why I chose to place my magazine in the centre of the page as it it leaves me with space to add sell lines.

Front coverMy housestyle consists of purple, black and grey. I chose these colours as they are bold and complement eachother. Also because my target audience is females I felt that purple would be appropriate as it has the connotation of ‘girliness’. I used the conventions from this front cover of Vibe. The colour pink also has connotations of girls/females, it is clear to see that in this issue Vibe’s target audience is females. Also my magazine has similarities with the font used on this front cover. It is a bold font that wants to make a statement. RnB artists are known for showing off and being as they say ‘in your face’, so I felt it would appropriate to follow this convetion on my front cover. Lil Wayne outfit also complements the front cover as his jacket contains the same type of pink. However in mine Hannah my model is wearing a blue denim shirt. Even though my magazines house style does not contain blue, they colours till go together.

Front coverThe only way in which I feel my front cover deviates from magazine is that most cover models used in RnB magazines are usually of African American ethinicity where as my model is white, British. I have done purposely as my magazine is a mixture of RnB and Hip-Hop. I would compare my artist to someone like Jessie J who is also produces music which is a mixture of Hip-Hop and RnB. Also it allows me to spread my magazine over a wide audience meaning my magazine will sell efficently.

However, recently Vibe has produced a magazine with a white American Hip-Hop artist called ‘Kesha’. This conveys that RnB and Hip-Hop are generally put together and seen as one genre.

Front PageLike XXL magazine, the main sell line is placed over the picture of the cover model and then there is a either a quote or a statement that is in smaller writting next to the sell line or below it. I specifically followed the codes and conventions of this magazine as I know that its a top selling RnB magazine and laying my main sell line out like this will attract the audience, which also leads into the fact that I wanted my main sell line to make a bold, eye catching statement which it does.

XCLUSIVE Contents

Contents pageMy contents page follows the codes and conventions of the rock magazine ‘Q’. Like ‘Q’ I have included a variety of sub headings for example ‘Features’. I felt it was important for my music magazines contents to include multiple subheadings as it breaks the text down into mini sections for the reader making it look like there is less text then there actually is. My magazine ‘XCLUSIVE’ and ‘Q’s feature sub heading are similar as they both have picked out the unique and new articles for that particular issue. Our contents then include another subheading which consists of the articles and information that is in every issue, the only difference is mine is called ‘Regulars’ and Q’s is called ‘Every Month’.

Contents pageAgain I feel my contents page follows the codes and conventions of the magazine ‘Q’. This time by the layout of the masthead ‘Contents’. Like ‘Q’ I have placed the word contents at the top of the page so that it is clear to see. The difference is that I have used a bold font ‘Impact’.

RnB magazines like ‘Vibe’ and ‘XXL’ set their masthead in creative ways. XXL use the words ‘the A-side’ as their masthead, this is because they concentrate predominantly on RnB and rap music where as my magazine is RnB/Hip-Hop music.

I felt it was important to just have a plain, bold masthead on my contents because I want my sell lines and images to catch the readers full attention.

Contents pageI have chosen to not follow the codes and conventions of an RnB contents as I want my music magazine to be original. Also the fact that my magazine is a mixture of RnB and Hip-Hop means that I have a wider audience to entertain and please which means I have to include a range of different articles and piece of information. This is also why I chose to make my contents a double page spread instead of a singular page. Using a double page spread for my contents page allowed me to add a lot of information as I could without it looking cramped and overloaded with text. I feel my contents follows the codes and conventions of a rock magazine. A good example to show how my music magazine deviates from an RnB contents page is by looking at Vibe’s contents.

XCLUSIVE double pagespreads

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Double page spreadMy first double page spread contains an enlarged image that takes up over half the page. There is also a tag line which says ‘From Nothing To Something’ with my artists name ‘Ella May’ going over it in a font that looks handwritten. There is also an introductory paragraph that gives the readers a brief explanation of what they will be reading in the magazine.

These thing all follow the codes and conventions of a music magazine and are typically used in RnB/Hip-Hop double page spreads. I followed the conventions of this double page spread which is from the magazine Vibe.

The main image on this page creates a bold statement and will definitely capture they eye of the reader. I wanted my first double page spread to do this so I captured my model looking serious. My models pose will incise the reader as it looks like she is looking straight at them, making them feel like the article is personalised for them.

Double page spreadTo ensure my second double page spread (DPS) was just as interesting to the reader as my previous one I followed this double page spread layout containing the singer ‘Solange’. This double page spread is again from the magazine Vibe. I followed the conventions of this specific DPS as I felt it caught the eye and was really interesting to look at as it reflects the different personalities of the artist. As well as this there is a good ratio of pictures to text. In some DPS’s text can overload the page making it look boring at first glance, which will put of the reader.

Using the codes and conventions of a successful DPS will enhance the standard of my own DPS and hopefully will make it more successful.

Double Page SpreadMy third double page spread contains the name for my artists Twitter account. This is typical of many music magazines as magazine companies want their readers to be able to connect with the interviewed artists/celebrities. New media, especially social networking sites are commonly placed at the end of articles, this is because contacting a person via twitter or Facebook is much quicker and easier to send and to be received than email or letter. In doing this they are accommodating for their audiences.

Inputting my artist Ella May’s twitter account will allow my target audience to be able to connect and talk with her in a quick and simple way.

Double page spreadAnother way my DPS’s are typical of an RnB/Hip-Hop magazine is through the use of funny pull quotes.

I have used a pull quote that says ‘Oh sh*t, am I allowed to swear?’. Humour like this and like from the pull quote example will attract the audience as it shows that the magazine is laid back and easy going. Also Hip-Hop/RnB music is quite a fun, loud, happy sound; The pull quotes will reflect the genre of the magazine.

Pull quotes are also one of the first things the audience will see, if they pull quotes are boring and melancholy the chances are the readers wont want to read the article. Making them funny will make them want to read the article to find out what the pull quote is about in full context. This is the main reason why I have typically used funny pull quotes.