Conventions: the expected format of a media text or the
widely recognised way of doing things in a particular genre.
From this definition I could initially see that my magazine’s appearance would ultimately reflect the genre and would need to be planned carefully. For the codes and conventions themselves, I found that these are all things that ultimately influence the consumer’s desire to pick up your magazine and where therefore extremely important.
From this definition I could initially see that my magazine’s appearance would ultimately reflect the genre and would need to be planned carefully. For the codes and conventions themselves, I found that these are all things that ultimately influence the consumer’s desire to pick up your magazine and where therefore extremely important.
Front Cover:
Looking now to my own media products in comparison with real examples, I can see that there have been cases where I have used, developed and even challenged conventions.
To begin, for my front cover's main image I made sure to use a bold, striking photograph that maintained eye contact, as seen in 'Q' magazine, in order to attract the audience. As I have seen this kind of image used in many professional magazines, I did not want to challenge this by using a main image without eye contact particularly on the front cover, as this has already shown to be successful with real media products as it immediately engages your readers.
In terms of my header, it is apparent that I have not included some sort of logo in the style of 'Q' for my own cover, however, I made sure to create an attractive title that could be used throughout the magazine and would become a recognised logo in itself, therefore developing a previous convention. Furthermore, as a recurring theme with 'Q', there have been many examples where this logo has been placed behind parts of the main image due to the fact that it's already extremely recognisable. I have arguably challenged this convention by placing the masthead/logo on top of my main image as my magazine is not established enough to have this recognisable status.
Coverlines and the main artist feature have been placed in similar positions compared to a real cover, down the left side and in the bottom centre of the page, showing I have used a typical convention that would be easy for readers to follow due to the simplicity of the layout. Other than the barcode, tagline, and 'puff' on my front cover, which I have slightly challenged by placing them in dissimilar areas of the page compared to the real product, I feel it was necessary to position them as shown due to the appropriateness of my layout.
Contents Page:
Moving on to my contents page, I can see the many similarities in conventions also. Starting with the text boxes themselves, I have used the typical convention of placing an enlarged page number next to the article in a simple and easy to read, black text. The highlights of purple colour on my contents page reflect the red used on the real media product, which advertise particular articles and maintain the interest throughout.
In terms of the main image, I wanted to create an image that would fill the whole page so that I could place layers of text over the top. Looking at the professional example, I can see that this may challenge typical conventions as only a smaller image has been used on the right hand side of the page. However, as for the models themselves, they have been shown to use the same facial expression that looks into the distance, portraying the similar artists with a background in music just in different ways.
In my media product I made sure to include a message/letter from the editor in order to create a personal feel that would appeal to my target audience. Although this convention has not been used on the real media product, showing it is not always used and therefore suggesting I have challenged this convention by its inclusion, I had seen previous examples whilst researching other magazines which gave me confidence in writing my own.
Although it is less visible in the professional contents page, contact information and smaller details have been placed at the bottom of the page in a similar layout to mine at the top of the page.
Double Page Spread:
Lastly, for my double page spread, you can see that I have taken a lot of inspiration from this real media product in particular. For the main image, I made sure to place a medium close up shot image so that it would take up a whole page and therefore promotes the artist themselves, making the consumer want to read on. Despite their different expressions as well as the colouring effects, I feel the idea behind using such a large image shows I have definitely developed this convention rather than challenge it.
Furthermore, the title of the page has been similarly placed (on opposite pages) above the main article in a bold and easy to read font. Perhaps my favourite aspect of my double page spread is the short introduction underneath the title that gives a brief explanatory sentence about the artist that will interest readers and also create a nice mise-en-scene that is easy to look at. The text itself I placed into three columns instead of writing it all out in one paragraph, therefore possibly challenging this example of a magazine convention. However, I felt this worked well with the question and answer style interview in the sense that readers could easily navigate through the article rather than read a whole block of overwhelming text.
Smaller details of my swirl decorations are also apparent in this real media product with the 'WOMEN WHO ROCK 2012' tab, highlighting a specific convention that completes the page and adds a sense of wholeness to the overall double page spread.
To conclude, due to the fact that my magazine is un-established, I decided not to challenge the basic conventions of media products, as I had to ensure I could appeal to a wide audience within my genre. Therefore, I stuck to the well known ideas of a magazine cover when it came to making my own and included coverlines with bright colours to stand out against other magazines and a bold main image with eye contact.
Furthermore, the title of the page has been similarly placed (on opposite pages) above the main article in a bold and easy to read font. Perhaps my favourite aspect of my double page spread is the short introduction underneath the title that gives a brief explanatory sentence about the artist that will interest readers and also create a nice mise-en-scene that is easy to look at. The text itself I placed into three columns instead of writing it all out in one paragraph, therefore possibly challenging this example of a magazine convention. However, I felt this worked well with the question and answer style interview in the sense that readers could easily navigate through the article rather than read a whole block of overwhelming text.
Smaller details of my swirl decorations are also apparent in this real media product with the 'WOMEN WHO ROCK 2012' tab, highlighting a specific convention that completes the page and adds a sense of wholeness to the overall double page spread.
To conclude, due to the fact that my magazine is un-established, I decided not to challenge the basic conventions of media products, as I had to ensure I could appeal to a wide audience within my genre. Therefore, I stuck to the well known ideas of a magazine cover when it came to making my own and included coverlines with bright colours to stand out against other magazines and a bold main image with eye contact.
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