AS EVALUATION - In what ways does your media product use, develop and challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
- 1. A S E VA L U AT I O N IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP AND CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?
- 2. RESEARCH During the research and planning stages of my production, I learnt about forms and conventions of music magazines, and more specifically pop magazines, as this is the existing genre of music magazine that I felt was closest to the genre I wanted to create. Some of the main things I learnt about were: • Images – the types of shot used in different places, shot angles, lighting patterns and techniques, and the models used within the shot including elements of mise-en-scene that they helped to create. • Text – what types of font were used where, how large the typography is in different areas of the magazine, the different colours used for text, and the type of language used. • General structure and composition – where the masthead/heading should go, how many images there should be, which images should have captions, etc.
- 3. HOW I HAVE USED FORMS AND CONVENTIONS AS EVALUTATION
- 4. LAYOUT - COVER When assembling the layout of my magazine, I have stuck to codes and conventions of pop magazines, based on the ones I looked at during the research and planning stages of my production. For instance, when I was constructing my cover, I took inspiration from other magazine covers such as the ones featured to the right. Like all of the examples featured, I placed my masthead in the top fifth portion of the page as I deem this to be a convention of music magazines in general. I decided that the way ‘Pop’ has placed their masthead looks more effective, and so when I created my cover, I used a logo-style masthead and placed it in the top left of the page, like they have. The logo-style also meant that I could turn my masthead into more of a brand, and include the logo on other pages of my magazine, such as my double page spread. If I were to release more editions of this magazine, hopefully my logo would begin to be recognised. Like ‘Essence’ magazine, I included cover lines down one side of my music magazine more heavily than the other side because I felt these cover lines were more effective than the cover lines on the ‘Pop’ magazines, as they make the cover look overcrowded. It also allows for the image to be the main focus of the cover as it doesn’t block out much of it. I used a banner at the top of my music magazine cover, like ‘Essence’ has. I feel that this makes it more interesting and aesthetically pleasing, and it is a more dynamic way to present text, helping to draw the audience’s attention to it. I have also used rotated cover lines like ‘Pop’ magazine has because they look quirky, meaning that my magazine would stand out more on the shelf. It also helps to draw the audience’s gaze, and therefore I chose to adveritse my most interesting and important story with this cover line – Chelsey’s interview.
- 5. LAYOUT – CONTENTS PAGE Like I have with my cover, I have also stuck to a conventional layout with my contents page. I did this because I feel that the conventional layout of pop magazine covers make them very easy for their audience to use, and this is something I wanted to replicate because it would make my magazine more accessible for a wider range of people and would encourage more people to read my magazine, because it is so easy to do so in the way that they choose to. As you can see from the examples to the left, most pop magazines that I know of don’t actually use the word ‘contents’ as their heading, and therefore, neither did I. This is because the word ‘contents’ is too boring and functional, especially when you can get the same effect by using a more dynamic and interesting phrase. I chose to use the phrase “DON’T MISS What’s Inside” because it is still informative in the sense that it is letting the reader know “what’s inside” but it connotes that the page holds information that you need to know, and therefore encourages my audience to read and use it. I also used a variety of different images of different sizes, like I have seen in existing pop magazines. This helps to break up the text of the contents page and draw the audience’s attention to specific articles. I also layered the page number over the top of the image in a large, clear font so that the audience can easily see where they need to flick to in order to read the article that the image is representing.
- 6. LAYOUT – DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD EXAMPLES
- 7. LAYOUT – DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD I have stuck to conventions when creating my double page spread, too. This is because I wanted my music magazine to resemble a traditional pop magazine and be familiar for my audience. I also feel that the traditional layout of pop magazine double page spreads is effective, especially the interview ones that I studied as they put across the information obtained from the interview effectively, whilst maintaining an interesting and dynamic layout that draws the reader in. As you can see from the examples on the previous slide, most interview articles on double page spreads choose to use a pull quote from the article as the heading. The editor generally chooses the most interesting quote because it is the first thing the audience will read on the page, and will determine whether they want to continue reading, or not. This works well for interviews with well-established celebrities, but as Chelsey is an ‘up and coming’ glam pop star, I have decided to also use her name as part of the heading for the article, to introduce her to the audience before they start reading. However, I have included a pull quote to form part of the heading which isn’t quite as big as Chelsey’s name but is bigger than the rest of the text in an attempt to interest my audience in what she’s going to say. I have also chosen the quote that I feel will be most interesting for my audience from the interview, like the pop magazines that already exist do. Another way in which I have used forms of interview double page spreads from pop magazines is by allowing my image to take up a full page. This is an effective way of introducing who Chelsey is to the audience using elements of mise-en-scene which portray the personality I have crafted for her much more quickly than words do. The image also helps to add colour to the pages and break up the text. In addition to the large image, I have also used a small image which is a ‘selfie’ which I asked Chelsey to take of herself in fur, which is considered to be an 80s fashion trend. This is a form of the examples I studied and it helps to add some context to the article and break up the big chunks of text. Furthermore, I have differentiated between the questions the interviewer has asked and Chelsey’s responses through my use of colour. The pink represents the questions asked and the black represents Chelsey’s replies. This is a common technique used because it is simple, yet effective and doesn’t require the addition of any more text. The pink I have used is the same colour as her pink legwarmers featured in the photo, to help me to establish a colour scheme.
- 8. COVER IMAGE I have used the forms and conventions of music magazine cover images to produce the image on mine. Through research I found that generally, cover photos for music magazines are close up, bold and exciting and I feel that these factors help to make them effective. When I was planning the photo shoot for my cover photo, I planned to take a variety of close up shots where I changed the mise-en-scene, rather than the type of shot and the shot angle (the close ups also tend to be at eye level so that the model looks like they are looking out at the audience) in order to achieve different effects. I feel that the image I have created is effective because it is striking and bold thanks to the close up nature of it, and the elements of mise-en- scene such as Chelsey’s heavy eye and lip makeup, 80s style costume and unusual hairstyle help to make my audience interested, and place the image in the right genre and time period. Furthermore, her intense look encourages my audience to lock onto her eyes and be seduced somewhat into buying my music magazine.
- 9. LANGUAGE AND TONE From reading and researching pop magazines, I have found that in general, they have a chatty and informal tone which makes them fun and easy to read. I want my magazine to be fun and easy to read too, and so I tried to replicate the chatty tone and specific language type. The main method I used to create a chatty tone within my magazine was writing the way I speak to friends and peers because the way I speak to these people is casual. This was particularly relevant when I was writing the article for my double page spread, as I chose to do an interview which in terms of a magazine is a transcription of words that were actually said. To replicate the speech of a young person I have used slang words such as “cool” and also few fillers such as “erm” to give the audience the impression that the speech had to be thought about before it was said, just like in real life. However, I didn’t include too many fillers so that my text still flowed and made easy reading, as from studying transcripts in English I have found that spontaneous speech can be difficult to read when it’s written down due to the amount of pauses, fillers and hedges.
- 10. HOW I HAVE DEVELOPED FORMS AND CONVENTIONS AS EVALUATION
- 11. NAME The name of ‘Pop’ magazine inspired my choice of name because it is clear to the audience what the magazine is based around, allowing them to make a judgement about whether they are interested in it or not before picking it up. This is useful because their target audience will hopefully be able to recognise that they might be interested in it as soon as they see it. I developed the name to fit my music magazine, as it is aimed at a more specific audience. I think it is beneficial to have such an obvious, explicit title for me as it will allow me to attract the right audience immediately, and it informs people of what exactly I am trying to achieve. I also feel that the name ‘Glam Pop’ is catchy because each word only has one syllable. This will hopefully help people to remember the name and look for the magazine to buy again.
- 12. GENRE I have had to develop most of the forms and conventions of pop magazines in order for them to fit my genre which is slightly more specific – glam pop rather than just pop. For instance, I have developed the convention of using pop stars as an endorsement, as I have used glam pop stars specifically in order to appeal to my target audience.
- 13. HOW I HAVE CHALLENGED FORMS AND CONVENTIONS AS EVALUATION
- 14. BACKGROUND - COVER The background I used on my cover challenges forms and conventions of pop magazines because it is so busy and bright, whereas usually, pop magazines have a fairly plain background – normally a block colour. I chose to challenge this convention because I felt that by doing so, I would create a more fun and eye-catching product which was particularly important for me as the genre of my music magazine is associated with energy and fun and I wanted to remind my audience of these positive connotations. My background choice has also helped me to set my magazine in the 80s, as it features a dance floor with black and white disco tiles – something that was more common and popular during the 1980s than it is today. This gives my magazine a retro feel for the younger end of my target audience and a nostalgic element for the older end. This is something that regular pop magazines don’t have to do, which could be one of the reasons why they have such bland backgrounds.
- 15. SIDEWAYS COVER LINE The sideways cover line that I have used on the cover of my magazine not only challenges conventions of pop magazines, but magazines in general as usually, cover lines are straight, flat and not rotated. This is because it can be said that rotating a cover line makes it harder to read, especially when it is on the shelf in the shop. I decided to rotate the cover line that advertises my double page spread because I thought that it would draw my audience’s attention towards it as it is presented so unusually and hopefully encourage them to read the article once they have realised what the cover line said. To make it easier to read, I have made this cover line larger than all the rest, but this will also help to draw my audience’s attention towards it.
- 16. LAYOUT – CONTENTS PAGE Although I have used some conventions of a pop magazine contents page, as I have described earlier, I have also challenged some. For example, in my contents page I have not included an image of my cover, explaining where the cover line articles are within the magazine because I feel that this is a waste of space that could be better used. Especially as my music magazine doesn’t have many cover lines because I didn’t want to distract from the powerful image I feel I have created. Instead, I have advertised the articles from my cover in my list of articles (because my cover has already drawn attention to them) and using small images with page numbers layered over the top. Furthermore, I have not included a page number on my contents page because I think that this is unnecessary, as my audience can find it as soon as they open the magazine, and they don’t need to know the page number of the contents page in order to flick through the magazine and find a specific page number because the rest of the inside pages of my magazine, including my double page spread, would have page numbers. Having a page number on my contents page would have detracted from the overall design.