By Adam Osborne

MEDIA EVALUATION

Q1. IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR

CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?

MAIN COVER

I made sure I had a

really subtle

background in

order to direct all of

the attention to the

information on the

cover such as the

masthead, cover

lines, cover image

and headline.

WAYS IN WHICH MY COVER IS CONVENTIONAL

The cover image relates to the headline – the headline is about

an artist called Ty, and the cover image is Ty. The main purpose

of a headline is to draw an audience in with information they

want to know about – and this is supported with a cover image.

Eye contact – Ty is looking straight at the camera. This is a

generic convention and the reason I followed this convention was

because the use of eye contact on a front cover is a straight

connection with the reader, the page is looking at the audience

and drawing them in.

COMPARING WITH EXISTING MAGAZINES

Here are two already existing

music magazines from a

similar genre, and like my

magazine they both use

medium close up portrait shots

with eye contact to portray the

cover star. I used this with my

magazine because it’s a close

enough shot to recognize the

artist from a distance to draw

people in, but at the same time

enables the reader to get a hint

or possibly be inspire by the

clothes being worn by the

artist.

MASTHEAD

I made sure the masthead covered the whole width of the page like a lot of magazines in this

genre have done. I have done this because it draws the reader in and the brand name is

easily noticeable and recognizable as it’s so apparent. I thought this was especially essential

in my breakthrough magazine as I need to get a brand name out there and he only ay to do

that is promotion, and a big band name on the cover is a great way to self promote.

I have used a different font for the masthead to differentiate it from the rest so it’s really

distinguishable so it almost acts as a logo – this is because whenever the reader sees that

font they then know it’s the brand, which effectively acts as a logo. I also made sure it filled

up a noticeable portion of the page – this makes both the cover image and the brand the two

focuses of the front cover. I think this is crucial in a magazine as the cover draws the

attention from people who want to know about what’s happened to the cover star, and the

masthead or brand name is then remembered and could therefore attract regular customers.

COVER LINES

• My cover lines follow conventional

magazines in the aspect that they are

situated to both the left and right of

the page. I followed this convention

because it means the most attention

is focused on the cover image and you

can see all of him instead of cover

lines being in the way.

• They are aligned with margins so they

look like they have a purpose and

looks better presentable.

• Big artists names are made to stand

our more to pull audiences in and

catch people’s eye.

HEADLINE

• The headline displays the artist’s name, which is linked to the cover image . I have kept this conventional because it’s a tease for the audience – the headline is a cliffhanger and so it makes the reader want to read more, which is what the purpose of a cover is for.

• It’s the second largest writing on the cover as it’s supposed to really grab the attention of the reader – however the brand name and logo is more important as it signifies what the magazine is.

• For my headline I felt the font was essential to get right in order to project the right image, which for my genre, was urban but a very aesthetic look. The font is called “Urban Jungle” and the bottom of the letters are rooftop buildings, which is something you see in big cities, which is also where the rap scene takes place.

• The sub headline below the headline I have kept conventional as it half explains the headline but entices you to read more. An example of an already existing magazine with a headline and sub headline is the “Q” magazine above.

SELLING LINE

• The selling line is conventionally next to the masthead and I have kept this convention

because it’s tells you what sort of magazine you’re looking at. I have tried to be as concise

but informative as possible with my selling line as it’s what a potential customer will see at

a quick glance on a shelf, which is especially vital for my magazine as it’s a new magazine

on the market and not a worldwide famous one with an established fan base.

• I have made it smaller than the masthead to prevent diverting attention away from the

brand name, but kept it next to it so it’s clear to see.

CONTENTS

• The contents is the home page of a

magazine – for this reason I tried to

make my contents page as

stereotypical as Hip-Hop and R&B can

be.

• I have used a Supreme store in London

for the background as the urban

location sets the scene for the focal

point of my magazine.

BACKGROUND

• Supreme is an iconic clothing brand name

for the hip-hop music industry – worn by

the biggest names such as Chris brown,

Kanye West and A$AP Mob (listed in the

contents and pictured). I took the photo

while I was in London. I made supreme

the focal point of the contents as it

symbolizes the hip-hop genre, therefore

for someone reading this magazine knows

it’s conventional.

• Hip-hop is also stereotyped to be in the

streets or street music, and so the

collaboration of Supreme in an urban area

really combines the two aspects together.

• My inspiration for a single column contents was from Mix-mag magazine which shares similar genres to mine. I chose only 1 column as I knew I was using a photo as background – this enabled the background to be more visible as there wouldn’t be as much obstruction from text.

• Something else I took from Mix-mag was the concept of a very brief summary of what is on a particular page. I used a smaller font so it’s easy to distinguish from other pages, and highlighted parts which would really catch a reader’s eye – such as “Alexander Wang”; a well known fashion designer who is popular with this genre of music, A$AP Rocky is known to rap about Wang in his music.

• However to highlight and emphasise key parts in the magazine that will catch people’s eye I have used different sized fonts and colours. For example “Supreme” has been enlarged and coloured in as it’s the background of the contents and also “Ty” has been coloured and enlarged as he’s the main focal point o the magazine.

COLUMNS

PAGE TITLES

• The style of my contents page was simple; I

wanted the brand logo to be there, and I

wanted it to be concise and straight to the

point. This was effective as the the “Supreme”

in the background wasn’t covered and it filled

the gap between the side columns and the

contents columns.

• I felt it was essential to keep the brand name

Bassic the same font as I said previously it

advertises the brand logo.

SIDE COLUMN

• The right side is another column but it’s an information column

rather than a contents column telling the reader where to look

for different stories.

• The introduction to the artist NO1 Drugs is the promotion of a

breakthrough artist in R&B. I included this as it’s an insight to

new and different artists in the genre, and music is a very muhc

exposure necessary industry to ‘get big’ and so the promotion of

a smaller artist would motivate other artists who read Bassic to

pursue what they’re doing.

• Below I have included the 2 main stories which are on the front

cover, which are also in the contents column but I have included

photos to give a further incite to the page.

ARTICLE

MAIN IMAGE[S] [BROKEN CONVENTION]

• Conventionally the main image in the article is the artist on the cover, like I have done with Ty.

• Ty is the photo on the page because the article is all about him, but the Bape shark full zip hoodie is done all the way up covering his face as that’s a style in the rap scene such as Ian Connor [pictured below], but also to insinuate he is a dark horse in the industry – He’s earned enough respect to wear a brand such as Bape (massive in the hip-hop genre) but not expected to do as well as he has done.

• I have made sure he is dressed in stereotypical hip-hop clothing to keep the street feel to the page as there aren’t any more photos on the article page.

• However, a stereotypical music magazine article shows the celebrity's face, and so in the midst of the article I included another medium sized image of the artist to show his face.

• My reasoning for this is on the next slide but a big factor is that I felt as though the faceless photo on my article page is a very aesthetically pleasing graphic, and so it’s eye catchy and interesting to a reader. Furthermore, this slight break in convention gives my magazine individuality, which is essential to do well in an oligopolistic market such as the magazine market.

BROKEN CONVENTIONS

• The only main convention that’s been severely broken is the hiding of the face of the artist on the article page. This is because the hoodie (Bape shark hoodie) is iconic in the genre and has frequently been seen in music videos and photo shoots with the biggest artists in the genre such as Chris brown and A$AP Mob. By breaking this convention I have created a better feel for the hip-hop genre within the magazine.

QUOTES AND FEATURES

• In the top left is interview written in a box so people flicking through the pages of my

magazine know what they’re flicking past by a quick indicator.

• I embedded a quote of Ty’s within the article mass as it breaks the text up, making it more

appealing to read, but also it is a signifier of what to come, almost like a second headline as

people see the quote and thinking ‘I need to read on’ .

• At the bottom of the double page spread are page numbers as this is conventional in every

type of media piece whether it be a magazine, newspaper or brochure. And in the top corners

say ‘interview’ and ‘exclusive’ so people quickly flicking through can see what’s on the page.

• I also included a web address because this leads to more information and makes the readers

feel more involved.

TITLES

• I kept the house style the same for the headline of the article, however I made

the text much larger and bolder so it stands out from the rest.

• The headline for the article has to really stand out to really pull someone in to

read it, “Ty blasts Drake” as definitely enticing in my opinion as when there’s

commotion people want to know about it, and it’s been really emphasized in

my title.

THE ARTICLE

• The writing on the left page is an introduction to

Ty as he’s a new artist and so not everyone may

know him. I split it into 3 columns so it’s easy to

read and adds further individuality to my

magazine, showing my brand goes the extra mile

to find out ‘not to well known’ facts about artists

they love.

• The article I made separate as I felt as though

the introduction was about Ty himself and the

article was more a discussion about something

that’d happened. I made the main article into 3

columns so its easier to read as it breaks up the

text.

FORMS

• The house style on the cover was purple, black white and red, this was because the Bape

jacket was purple with hints of red for the shark and so keeping the house style consistent

meant purple and red. I understand that these two colours don’t always contrast the best

so I kept the red to a minimum on the cover and used white and black. However inside the

magazine I kept with red, black and white as these colours are associated with the hip-

hop genre.

• All of the images used were taken myself, the photo of A$AP Rocky performing live was

when I went to see hi min Birmingham. No animations or videos were included as

magazines are printed so they wouldn’t be suitable.

• I have also taken the fonts into consideration so that they are suitable