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QUESTION 1: IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA? EVALUATION HESTER TEASDALE

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Page 1: Evaluation - Question 1

QUESTION 1: IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA?

EVALUATION

HESTER TEASDALE

Page 2: Evaluation - Question 1

All media products across the converging media, from magazines to films, follow the same forms and conventions to create familiarity and recognition. For example, the masthead of popular magazines such as ‘Q’ enables the magazines to have a memorable brand identity that will attract a certain target audience and be repeated throughout most aspects of synergy.

It is important, especially for magazines, from by using the same conventions, an effective house style will be formed to attract a fan base that will instantly recognise the product. The conventions of a magazine, most likely to be repeated will be:

- Masthead - Banner - Strap Line- Puffs/Pugs - Font/Text- Mode of Address - Colour Scheme- Central Image - Secondary Images

- Anchorage- Layout (Grid System)- Type of Photography- Overall House Style

Forms and Conventions

Page 3: Evaluation - Question 1

From this print screen of various music magazine covers, it is evident that the same features and conventions of magazines are repeated throughout these covers. It is obvious ‘VIBE’ has a clear and recognisable house style as the same blue masthead is used, along with similar photography for the central image.

Page 4: Evaluation - Question 1

Similarly, this is a print screen of numerous images of magazine contents pages, the same conventions are clearly used, such as columns, sell-lines, headings, images, captions, logos and the grid system. Each magazine has a certain style they attempt to replicate, so it is important the contents page still follows the house style.

Page 5: Evaluation - Question 1

Furthermore, this print screen of double page spreads shows how music magazine articles all look similar in layout and follow the same conventions, for example the majority contain a headline/title, a stand-first, slugs, drop capitals, pull quotes, columns, captions, images and follow the grid system.

Page 6: Evaluation - Question 1

Brief Analysis of My Front Cover

Anchorage – Hegemonic Values as the story’s about promoting fashion

Bold, memorable Masthead (connotations of music) Classic black slightly sans serif font, the boldness of the edges could almost represent the boldness at the end of a musical note.

Main Copy/Cover lineBold pink – representation of femininity

Slogan to create brand identity which will be recognised across the converging media.

Central Image- Mid Shot - Bright lighting- Striking pose

and facial expression to add interest

- Classic clothing- Attractive model

to entice males (Femme Fatale)

- Direct Mode of Address

- Richard Dyers star theory can be incorporated

Soft puff used to highlight the sell line.

Barcode to follow typical conventions of a magazine

Reasonable price for magazine

Buzz words to draw in target audience – sense of VIP access – creating hierarchy.

Sell line – classic sans serif font to keep with the genre

Strapline to show different artists featured on the magazine, dotted lines are repeated on both the contents and article.

Uses & Gratifications theory can be applied as a fan may buy the magazine for a specific artist

Connotations of colour – playful pink contrast with faded grey creates effect. Stripes represent police tape symbolising rebellion – adding interest.

Sell lines with brief description to give the readers and insight of what stories are featured in the magazine.

Hot pink puff to highlight the importance of the copy it entails.

The fact it’s the 100th issue gives the issue a unique selling point

Sell line – classic sans serif font to keep with the house style of the magazine

Colour scheme of black, white, grey and striking pink. The pink has been replicated from the models lipstick to attract a female audience.

Page 7: Evaluation - Question 1

Brief Analysis of My Double Page Spread

Headline in a classic straight bold font in a large size to make it the most eye catching feature of the page when it is first viewed.

Stand first to provide the readers with a brief introduction on what the article is about and entice the readers with effective adverbs.

Secondary Image of an ‘Album Cover’. Close – up, posed studio shot with black and white editing to give the image a sophisticated look.

Logo and page number - to follow house style, create brand identity and follow the classic conventions of a music magazine.

Columns are used and it follows a grid system to separate the page, make it aesthetically pleasing and help readers to navigate around the page.

Sub headings to highlight and draw attention to the questions. They are pink to match her lips and follow the house style colour scheme.

Caption to inform the readers who it is which quotes from the slug in a vibrant white outline.

Drop Capital to follow convention at the start of the article to inform the readers of where to start reading.

Pull Quote from the interview – giving the readers an insight to the type of text. Vibrant white with black outline – sans serif font matching the stand first.

Main Image-Mid shot, mid angle - Warm lighting to represent her surname ‘Summer’ and create a friendly glowing effect- Direct mode of address; focus on her striking eyes- Serious facial expression to entice audience (Femme Fatale)- Careful Mise-en-scene choices- Classic black dress with modern twist of bracelets and leg on show to create casual yet professional appearance.

The dotted lines help give the article an effective and easy layout, the dots are repeated on the front cover strap line and the contents page creating continuity of design.

Page 8: Evaluation - Question 1

Brief Analysis of My Contents Page

Masthead/Logo – brand identity which will be recognisable and memorable by an audience.

Issue and date number to follow convention. 100 is pink to draw attention to the unique selling point.

Largest Image-Mid shot, mid angle - Bright lighting to lighten the image and draw attention to her facial expression.- Indirect mode of address to add interest to the star image (Richard Dyer Theory of stars)- Serious facial expression to entice audience (Femme Fatale)- Careful Mise-en-scene choices, guitar to emphasise the importance of music within the magazine- Quirky patterned clothing to add personality.

Image -Mid shot, mid angle - Shaded, dark lighting and editing to create a rock vibe- Direct mode of address to engage the audience - Interesting facial expression – audience want to know his story - Attract females, males want to emulate him - Tattoo’s add to the star image - Guitar emphasising the love for music

Logo and page number - to follow house style, create brand identity and follow the classic conventions of a music magazine.

Image showing a band representing the indie/alternative/rock music genre. Slightly posed wide mid shot in a natural setting showing the stars normality, allowing audience to relate to them.

-Black and white image to fit with the colour scheme- Hard facial expressions to create a sense of rebellion- Added with the smoking pose of a band member, shows individuality and excites the reader.

Large page numbers to support the images to inform the reader what page the stories are on. Hot pink to follow the house style of the magazine.

Headings to section the stories and content of the magazine. White classic serif font on a black strip helps echo a newspaper, highlighting the seriousness of the magazine.

Sell line presenting a whole section on Muse who appeals to both the younger and older generation. Black outlined box to show its difference to the other headings.

Columns are used and a grid system is followed so the page is not cluttered and so a classic, sophisticated style is developed.

‘Every Month’ Editorial section -web address added so readers have access to different ways of viewing – synergy.

Page 9: Evaluation - Question 1

Comparing my work to professional magazine

To show that I have attempted to make my magazine pieces look professional as possible, I will compare my production with a music and fashion magazine and briefly analyse the different conventions displayed in each. Front Cover

My magazine follows typical conventions of a front cover which is evident in comparison with the other two professional magazines. A classic black masthead with an effective font is positioned the same as Vogue as my magazine has elements of fashion emerged in it. It has grey typography for some sell lines the same as Q, creating a professional style. The same varied fonts are used for the anchorage which are replicated in the other pages to make an effective and recognisable house style. The double strap line at the bottom featuring different artists was my original idea which challenges conventions as I haven’t seen it done before and thought it was effective as the uses and gratifications theory could be incorporated, initially widening my fan base.

The genre of this magazine is obvious through the angelic pose and mise-en-scene of the image, the image on my front cover is more rocky and represents a more music theme rather than fashion. This colour scheme holds perfect representations of femininity as they all compliment one another and combine to create a soft, welcoming atmosphere. The magazine is aimed at an older target audience than mine as it is presented in a more subtle and mature way. There is no puffs or pugs on the cover which challenges convention as we expect to see some kind of design on the cover. The house style of vogue is repeated through colour and typography choices, the font is very sans serif showing its aim towards a female target audience.

Q magazine's masthead is one of the most recognisable from all magazines and is iconic as its brand identity. It is situated in the top left hand corner which breaks generic conventions as a stereotypical masthead would spread across the whole top section. The house style colour scheme is red and psychologically red is seen as an extreme colour as it connotes a range of conflicting emotions, from danger to passion. The sell lines and anchorage are more frequent than those on the other covers, covering a more varied genre of music so it is more versatile and will appeal to a wider target audience. The cover/central image is a straight angle conventional mid-shot with personality. His necklace holds indexical codes of fame and fortune, which the general public will idolise.

Page 10: Evaluation - Question 1

Contents Page

My contents page contains all the main conventions that would usually appear combined with an unusual yet effective layout. It is following the house style by including the same colours, font and masthead. The different pictures show a variety of music artists to appeal to a wider target audience. There images are different to that of the other magazines, there are 9 on Q and only 1 featured on Glamour. They are quite dark images showing the serious content of the magazine. There are 2 columns following convention as all contents page follow some form of a grid system to create a certain style and layout to the magazine. The Muse Special edition was included as I found from previous magazines, some have a whole section dedicated to a certain artist/band.

Q's contents page is spread over two pages rather than just the one. This is to make it seem aesthetically pleasing to the readers and spread the information so it would be easy to navigate. The house style is seen as the headings of the features are red, like the masthead and strap line. Signifiers like exclusive! signify that readers will be getting inside gossip about the issue, which will urge them to buy it. there are nine images displayed on the contents, fitting in with the magazines varied genre and un-specificity. The contents is split up into categories under sub-titles. The fact that there is a section on regulars creates the impression that there are loyal readers and that Q have their own 'fan base' as they will feel comfortable and recognise the things that are displayed under certain categories like that, creating a sense of community The language and format remains indirect, strengthening the sophistication and class of the target audience, as the magazine is well respected and feels obliged to create a serious and important style to the magazine.

This fashion magazine’s contents page challenges generic conventions in some ways such as only displaying one large image only gives the readers a brief insight as to what will appear on the magazine although one long, classy image does give a fashion style. Furthermore, there is only one column displayed with 2 sub title sections providing a lot of content and detail underneath. It does display all the classic conventions such as the date, masthead/logo and the fact that it follows a grid system. The same colour red, orange and yellow colour scheme is used for the masthead, headings and clothing, this has been done purposely to connote happiness and positivity, and create a warm welcoming page.

Page 11: Evaluation - Question 1

Double Page Spread

I had inspiration from the article on the right and attempted to emulate it in a way that deemed fit for my target audience and genre of magazine. I did this as I found the layout extremely effective and thought the style would go with my other production pieces. The image was taken specifically to represent her surname ‘Summer’ so I had studio lighting to create a warm glow. The headings (questions) colour was took from her lips, as I did for the front cover as the warm pink further contributed to the glowing, friendly aspect of the interview. I have changed the line sectioner from the Jessie J article by replacing it with dots and have repeated this on my other 2 pages contributing to my magazine’s house style. I have also added a pull quote positioned on the picture to follow conventions of a double page spread, along with the columns and drop capital. Overall, I believe out of all my pages, this appears the most professional.

There are certain elements used that follow convention, such as the headline and typeface which is in a straight block black font stating who the interview is about and is in a classic Times New Roman red font, again following its house style and colour scheme of the memorable red, white and black. The title entices you as the readers have been presented with a rebellious character and wants to find out what she has been doing, it is intriguing and interesting. The sub heading does not follow convention as it is simply in the same font as everything else, with no introduction which could be quite deceiving. The Q reader could argue that they are more advanced and mature and don't need and 'cues' as to what the article is about, they like to get down to business and explore the articles quickly and efficiently. The layout is seen as a grid system with columns to section the article, creating an easier layout than if the information was just being thrown on the page in different sections. In the central image, she is attractive yet depressed, adding interest to why, the audience want to know her story (Todorov & Propp)

This is the image of a double page spread from a fashion magazine which I emulated as I thought it looked like it could appear in a music magazine. The image is an intense close-up of an admirable celebrity giving direct mode of address to attract and entice the audience. It follows typical generic article conventions, with the use of the drop capital, columns, image, headline and the stand first. The slanted secondary image is effective as it shows a different persona to the artist, the glory and fame, adding to her star image. The headings are in orange which is a similar colour to the lips and combines well with the brown fur coat, there is no other colour to clash with it and so it’s effective. Overall, the whole style and mise-en-scene of the page helps create a well structured, non-cluttered interview which readers will find pleasing to view as well as read.

Page 12: Evaluation - Question 1

Following and Challenging Conventions

I followed typical conventions of a magazine when producing my own work to attempt to make it look professional by including different features that appear on already selling magazines. By placing certain aspects of a magazine (e.g. Masthead) in a conventional place (Top centre) intentionally makes it LOOK like a real magazine which was the initial production task. It was important that by using the same conventions through all my pages, an effective house style was formed to attract my fan base that will instantly recognise the product.

The specific style decision of including a double strap line at the bottom featuring different artists was my original idea which challenged conventions, as I haven’t seen it used before and thought it was effective as the uses and gratifications theory could be incorporated, initially widening my target audience as various genres of music were included. In addition, the striped effect represents police tape, symbolising rebellion, contrasting to the pink feminine colour scheme. The central image on the front cover was done purposely to add character and style to the magazine, the fierceness and direct mode of address was intended to engage and entice the youth target audience as it gave a fresh style that the audience may emulate.

To improve, I would have altered the position of the central image on the front cover as there is quite a wide space of white space below the main copy, which I could have replaced with another sell-line or maybe a secondary image to add further interest.