evaluation question 1
- 1. In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? Emily Sampson
- 2. In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? Cover… My magazine follows codes and conventions in terms of how the masthead is at the top of the page. In a lot of magazines, the image tends to cover parts of the masthead however because this is the first issue of my magazine, to make it easy to identify – I have made sure the image is behind the masthead like the magazine on the right. Another code and convention that I have followed is how I have enlarged one cover line to clearly show it is the main cover line and is linked to the main image. This stands out and attracts the target audience to the specific article. I have used a band for the front cover of my magazine which many magazines do with the person in the middle being in the centre of the cover. This makes it look equal and appealing layout wise. I have used the rule of thirds during the process of laying out my magazine’s front cover to make the layout look professional and for it to look appealing to my target audience. I have traditionally placed my barcode at the bottom right as it is easy to find and also out of the way and not covering anything important.
- 3. Cover Continued… I have challenged codes and conventions in terms of my masthead, as I have used the ‘O’ out of ‘POP’ as a gum bubble. This challenges codes and conventions because other magazines have just used letters. I can allow myself to do so as the letter ‘O’ is a very simple letter and therefore is still easy to read. I have again challenged codes and conventions because I have positioned the date at the right of my masthead, instead of being at the bottom with the barcode. I felt that if the magazines were to be stored upwards, it would be easy to flick through the magazines to find a specific one. I have similarly used a medium long shot of the band like they have to the right. This allows a clear view of the people showing their outfit and not just their face but their body language. Again to follow codes and conventions, I have used many different fonts to make things stand out for example ‘STUCK’ is large and bold whereas the information under the cover line is small as it isn't as important.
- 4. In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? Contents… I have challenged codes and conventions because I have included the name of the magazine to the contents page also. This is branding my magazine because the name of the magazine is becoming more familiar and therefore making the magazine more popular. I have again followed codes and conventions because I have used a lot of pictures on the contents to make it busy and have limited white space which would make the page look sparse. I have used 7 pictures in total, similarly to the contents page on the right that used 8 including the front cover. I have similarly used a block shape to make the note from the interviewer stand out. I have also added a small picture of me to show what I look like following the note I have targeting towards the audience directly. I have added small detail about each article included in my magazine to attract the audience in and make them want to turn the page and read it. I have wrote a small amount which is straight to the point and the most important part of the article.
- 5. Contents Continued… For me to be able to allow the audience to navigate around the magazine, I have put the page number for each article present on the contents page. This follows codes and conventions as other magazines do this also as it makes it more easier for the audience to access a specific article for example one that appeals to them. However to challenge this, ii have put them on each specific article and spread them out, but the contents page to the right put the cover on, and labelled the articles with their pages. Just like how the main cover line is the largest on the front cover of the magazine, I have linked the article on the contents page by putting the main articles image largest compared to the other pictures on the contents page. This shows clearly to the audience reading the magazine which is the main article and is a focal point of the magazine. If I was to compare my contents to the contents on the right, it would be challenging codes and conventions because they have not got one article that is bigger than the others.
- 6. In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? Double page… I have used drop capitals which are a typical convention of a magazine. This allows the magazine to have certain features to make it look more appealing to the audience. I have followed codes and conventions by not putting anything behind the text on my double page spread. This is to allow the reader to easily read the information as because there is quite a lot of information on the page anyway, I wanted to keep it limited and use white space to not make it look too busy. I have similarly placed the image largely on the right hand side of the double page spread. To challenge codes and conventions as I have done a ‘cut line’ which allows the reader to cut the page out and use it as a poster so they could stick it on their wall for example. I have challenged codes and conventions by only using one photo for the double page spread as I think because there is a lot of information for the audience to read, I think by adding more images would make the page look to busy and may make people not want to read it.
- 7. Double Page Continued… To follow codes and conventions, I have made the heading of the double page spread large and bold so that it stands out from the page and is eye catching to the readers. I have also quoted a part of the interview with the band in the heading itself like the double page spread to the right has. A pull quote is typically used to give the reader an insight into what the article has to offer and attract them even more to want to read the article. The double page example to the right does not does this but alternatively highlights key parts of the article.