Question 1 slideshare
- 1. QUESTION 1 In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
- 2. The title of the magazine • Most music magazines, such as Kerrang or NME, tend to use large font, and bold text to create their magazine title. It usually bears effects such as crackling or being heavily outlined. However, for my magazine, I went for a more modest look. I chose to place my title at the top centre of the magazine, however, chose white for its colour to contrast with the background. This would keep it bold and eye catching, whilst still looking urban and fresh, which is something I wanted my magazine to emulate.
- 3. Mise-en-Scene of images • I chose to place some of the images in the studio, however the majority were taken outside, against fences, brick walls and trees. I wanted to make my magazine have contrasting images. Some looking shabbier than others, in order to coincide with the story behind the image. For most music magazines, the images are taken in studios or at concerts, however, I wanted a variety of mine, as I thought, not only would it reflect the character’s story, but it would make the magazine more interesting and versatile.
- 4. Costumes and props • I’ve chosen music related props, an acoustic guitar, electric guitar and a microphone. I thought they would keep with the musical theme I wanted to create, yet still looked cool. For example, I chose the electric guitar for Lara as the colour contrasted with the blue outfit, and the audience would know the centre of that story, is the guitar. • For costumes I wanted my characters to look casual and laid back. I didn’t want it to seem like they tried too hard. So jeans, baggy t-shirts, vintage jumpers and worn out shoes are a common theme throughout my magazine. This is fairly similar to magazine’s like Q and NME, however, dissimilar to Rolling Stones, as it seems to be more upmarket than the other magazines, in regards to the way the artists dress.
- 5. People • I wanted a variety of both male and female in the magazine. My intention was to create fairly dishevelled, rebellious looking characters. Izzy was the one that jumped out at me most and that’s why I chose her for my front cover. I decided on Mollie for the contents page, as I felt that she would look cool and add a ‘girlier’ twist, to the indie look of the magazine. • Reece looks really effective for the magazine. His long hair and band tees made him seem perfect to play the role of a rockstar. • The boy band I created were made to look contrasting. One of the boys in vintage, the other smartly dressed and another looking fairly mainstream. I thought their long and dishevelled hair emulated alternative rock and thus was effective for my magazine.
- 6. Title and font style • I’ve chosen only two fonts. Times New Roman and Letter Gothic LTD. The bulk of my magazine is in Times New Roman. I thought it looked effective, was clear and easy to read and it took to the colours and the overall style of the magazine well. • I decided on Letter Gothic to contrast that. I’ve used it for certain features I want to stand out and I thought that it wasn’t too intense and didn’t drown out the other stories, which is a danger when using fonts that are maybe too bold or have an intense effect.
- 7. Written content • I’ve attempted to use language techniques such as alliteration and emotive language to get the attention of my audience. In my attempt to create an interview I have chosen a relatively generic story of a new album release as this is easy to write about and also gives leads onto other stories, such as the collaboration included or a tour. • For my contents page, I have chosen to sum up the story beneath the subtitle as it means the reader is able to decide if they want to read the article and can see what it is about in a short burst.
- 8. Music genre and how your magazine suggests this • The music genre was rock/indie/alternative rock. I felt I have achieved this through my choice of images and stories, as well as the models I have used for my magazine. • By choosing certain stories on my cover and the right looking models I was able to create a common theme that was alternative and indie and avoided looking punk, yet still reflected the idea that was urban music.
- 9. Layout • The layout of my magazine was to look clear and concise, without looking too formal. In punk magazines such as Kerrang, there can be a risk that the layout looks chaotic and is difficult to decipher. However, with mine, I wanted a clear structure that guided the reader and meant that they were able to understand the magazine and which title belonged to which story. • I decided to create a healthy ratio between images and context, as too many images doesn’t tell you enough about the magazine, yet too much text can lead to the reader becoming bored or disinterested
- 10. Theories • Typical magazine genres can strain a person’s creativity, they tend to keep within the social guidelines of that particular genre, using stereotypical iconography along with appealing narratives to the widespread audience. • This makes magazine companies less likely to deviate away from this genre, if they know it works and appeals to a large target audience. • Because of this tyranny of genres, it means that industries can some times become dominated by particular genres without experiment. • I found there were particular conventions when creating my magazine. There didn’t seem to be much variation. It was either a high end glossy mag, a punk magazine with a typical genre or a more childish pop magazine, there seemed to be room on the market for my indie/alternative rock magazine and that is why I created it. • For my magazine, I tried to keep away from too many conventions, I wanted it to be as innovative and creative as possible, yet, I did find myself succumbing to social construct as it would mean my product would sell and would become more appealing to audiences, especially for those who I wished to target.