evaluation part1
TRANSCRIPT
Leanne Westbury
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Conventional puff offers something free to attract the audience. Header
is sometimes used for this
Conventional list of bands to attract the appropriate audience- shows the genre of the magazine
and the type of music the magazine focus’ on
Main image is a mid-shot with the subject showing direct address to draw the audience in and create reader intimacy. Shots on covers
conventionally vary widely therefore this shot could be
considered conventional
I have used an AutoShape to create a strip of colour to background some cover lines and applied a
smudge tool to the end to soften the edge and create an interesting shape. This develops conventions as it is a design element which is
not convention
Barcode conventionally found in the corner of the cover
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
I have applied a gradient to the background in order to add depth and prevent the background from being block white. The gradient on the example magazine is applied from the bottom of whereas it
comes from the right hand corner on my magazine
Cover lines are bold and designed to catch the attention of the
audience by addressing subjects they would be particularly
interested in (e.g. festivals and bands)
Date and price is conventionally found above or below the
masthead in a small font with does not particularly stand out
Masthead is bold and large as is typical of a masthead as it is the
recognisable and defining feature of a magazine. I purposely chose a font that is slightly dishevelled to reflect the attitude of the target audience- young, care-free and
partially rough around the edges
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Instead of using a conventional bullet point I have taken a photo of
a plectrum and resized it in order for it to be an appropriate size
I have used a conventional grab quote on the cover to entice the
audience to want to read on further about the cover star rather
than a typical strapline
Although the puff is conventional from the aspect of offering
something free, it challenges conventions as the background to the text is not a shape as usually found but a series of rectangles used as strips behind the text
The ‘S’ in my masthead is a photo I have taken of guitar lead- this
challenges conventions as mastheads are usually just made up
of text
I have included the web address of the magazine’s website on the cover subtly by positioning it
horizontally on the last letter of the masthead- this is not conventional
of a music magazine
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
The layout conventionally conforms to the rule of thirds. The main image largely
dominates the right two thirds on both covers- leaving the left third free for cover lines. This challenges conventions as the image is usually found in the middle of a
cover. The eye line conventionally falls on the line of the top third.
There is a mixture of fonts which provides variety- some bold and some more sparse.
Majority of fonts are sans serif to connote the colloquial tone of the magazine which would
target the indie-pop sub-culture
The colour scheme of my magazine follows the convention of using only black and white combined with one colour. I used the colour purple as the dark shade is subtle and adds
sophistication to the cover
On my magazine the colloquial tone is created using language such as ‘the new kid
on the block’ and addressing the reader using pronouns such as ‘you’ and ‘your’. This would
target a sub-culture who are more likely to respond to the use of conversational
language. It is conventional to address your audience in the appropriate manner
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
As my magazine is monthly, I have added the text ‘This Month’ next to ‘INSIDE’ to
indicate that it is released monthly. This is conventional as some magazines such as
NME use ‘this week’ on their contents page
Conventional anchoring text indicates the relevance of this image. It is also common
for the size of anchoring text to be very small
Use of subtitles organises page references and provides the reader with ease to find
particular features they want to read.
I have challenged conventions with my subtitles by making the text so large that it goes over the edges of the shape behind- making it blend in with the background.
However, the size, font and contrast between the black and white ensure the
text still stands out
My editor’s letter is in the form of a photo of an actual piece of paper which I have
digitally added text to. It is conventional for an editors letter to be featured on a
contents page however they are not always present. I have developed conventions by using a photo of an actual piece of paper.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
It is conventional for the issue to be dated on the contents page- this usually consists of the month and year but sometimes includes a specific date. I have positioned the date on my cover horizontally, next to the text ‘THIS MONTH’ so the information is clear. I have challenged conventions by positioning it in this way and using a photo of a guitar strap behind it as a background/ design feature
It Is conventional for a contents page to feature a reference to the masthead in
some way- whether it be a small version of it or text in the same font. I have used the
same font for the title ‘INSIDE’ and also used the photo of the guitar lead as the ‘S’ to
create consistency
I have incorporated a background on my contents page which I manipulated first in Photoshop. It appears to be a splatter of
paint and adds interest and texture to the design. This is developing conventions as it is
an original image that I have creatively incorporated
Minimal use of serif font is conventional for magazines such as mine to display an
informal/ colloquial tone
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
The layout conventionally conforms to the rule of thirds in some aspects. The image on the right mainly falls in
the right third however the page reference section and editors letter
fall into two halves rather than three thirds therefore this challenges
conventions
There is a mixture of fonts which provides variety- as there is on the cover. I have used mostly the same fonts as what can be found on the cover in order to create a house
style and prevent the overall product from looking untidy or
unprofessional.
The colour scheme is also consistent with the cover however I have
incorporated more purple on the contents than what can be found on the cover. This is due to the colour of the background and the adjustment of colour to the image on the right
hand side
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
A colloquial tone is consistent in order to ensure I am addressing
my target audience: a sub-culture who are more likely to respond to
the use of conversational language. Colloquial language can be found in both the editors letter
and in page references
It is conventional to find a ‘subscribe’ section on contents page which offers special offers
and free gifts to anyone who signs up. This sections often features
small images of previous magazine covers- I considered this but
realised it would not work as well due to this being the first issue of
Released
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
It is conventional to find a headline on a double page spread- this may sometimes
just say the artist’s name. My large, ambiguous headline challenges conventions
through the layout of the words- some horizontal, some vertical- and the use of
varying fonts
It is conventional to find a byline when an article is featured in order to credit the
journalist- this is often in small font which does not particularly stand out. My byline
follows these conventions
A conventional standfirst can be found underneath the headline on my double page
spread which indicates the content of the article
A convention that I haven’t incorporated into the article is a crosshead. I did not use a
crosshead as I felt the article was already appropriately organised using paragraphs
Attitude shown by the subject of the main image appears laid back yet intense due to
direct address- this type of pose is conventional of a main image but varies
depending on the story being told my the image
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
I have used a conventional drop-cap. However, after looking at other real media
products I feel using a more interesting font for the drop-cap would be more successful
I have used a conventional grab-quote to break up the text in the article so that it is not one large block of writing. I have used
purple text and large speech marks to indicate that it is a grab-quote. I have
developed conventions by using an unconventional font for the speech marks
Photo credit can be found horizontal to the image. Conventional small and discreet font used for the photo credit as to not distract
from the content.
Font used for the article is Times New Roman. It is conventional to use a small serif
font for the article
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
A link can be found between the colours in the subject’s clothes and the colours used in the design- this creates consistency and links the image well within the piece. The
colours used in the design are minimal and are consistent with the
house style
The tone of the double page spread is created using colloquial language
within the article and the light-hearted headline- ‘Here’s to the lives
of the young and foolish’ which conjures images of a group of people
raising their glasses. It is conventional within a magazine such as mine which aims to connect with
a young audience for a colloquial tone to be used.
The layout follows conventions as it is common to see a double page
spread which is made up of a page containing the article and the
opposite page displaying the main image. The layout of the article is conventional as it is sorted into
three columns- articles of this kind are always split into at least two
columns
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Inspiration
I got the idea of using a large opaque letter behind the text/ content of the double page
spread from this double page spread featuring Lady Gaga in Q Magazine. Q have developed
conventions by creating this design feature- this is not a common convention therefore I am also
developing conventions by doing so.
I was inspired by the editorial letter in NME that featured on page of reviews. A small picture of
the editor is conventionally found with an editor’s letter however using a Polaroid form
and paper clip develops this convention. I decided to use the same format for the picture of my editor. I took a picture of a paperclip and edited it in Photoshop to make It appear to be
actually attached to the paper
This picture of Pete Doherty influenced the shot type I wanted to use for my double page spread.
When I saw this double page spread featuring Friendly Fires from Q magazine I wanted to
combine the shot type with a photo that had a narrative of a police line up. I developed
conventions by combining the two ideas and using paint to create a suitable background.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
‘Indie
’
A particular social group that has developed quickly recently within the younger generation is ‘indie’
which stands for individual. ‘Indies’ are generally associated with indie music and attempting to stand
out from the crowd- whether that be through their attitude, the way they dress or their general
appearance (piercings, unconventional coloured hair, etc) I have attempted to represent this sub-culture by
challenging conventions by using original photos and AutoShapes in a creative way.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
AGE
The people featuring in my magazine range between 16 and 17 years old. Since the target audience of Released
is 16-24 year olds there should be a more varied age range featured in the photos
in order to represent this particular social group.
ETHNCITY
The people featuring in my magazine are all white British. This does not address ethnicity
in the way it should as the social group my magazine
should aim to represent should be of a diverse nature which encourages multiculturalism. This shows I need diversity of
ethnicities photographs instead of just one ethnicity.
GENDER
Diversity in gender is provided with the presence of a photo of a male. This represents social
groups of both females and males and therefore targets
the correct audience as Released aims to appeal to
both genders.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
IPC Media have extensive knowledge on publishing a magazine such as mine due to being the publisher of the music magazine NME. This would be an advantage for my
magazine and I feel IPC Media may benefit from publishing Released as it is aimed at a different demographic (aged 16-24, C2, D, E profile). However, IPC would be unlikely to
publish a magazine so similar to NME due to the possibility of compromising the sales of
their already successful and established magazine.
Also, NME is the only music magazine that IPC publishes, and although it is a successful
magazine, this would mean that they do not have as extensive knowledge on pitching a music magazine to a younger audience as
perhaps other publishing institutions.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Bauer Media are the publishers of a wide variety of magazines- varying from those that
target niche markets such as golfers and gardeners to those that appeal to a wider
audience such as Q and Heat.
I think Bauer Media would be the right publisher for my magazine as their extensive knowledge
regarding pitching to a certain age group/ market would assist in marketing my magazine. Also, they publish a variety of music magazines such as Q, MOJO and KERRANG; proving that
they can successfully market several music magazines designed to target varying
audiences.
Who would the audience be for your media product?
My target audience is both males and females aged 16-24 years old. Since my audience is fairly young they are unlikely to be high earners
due to the fact they are either still in education or currently working their way up in the working world. Taking this into consideration, my magazine is aimed at a C2, D, E profile. The ethnicity my magazine targets is widely varied because it would be distributed in the U.K: a
place where culture is diverse and multiculturalism is prominent. Most of my audience would have an aspirer’s psychographic profile,
however some may be mainstreamers. This is because younger generations tend to aspire for a higher social status and may feel that
conforming in some aspects as reading a magazine like Released may grant such social class.