Question 1 - Tom's response
- 1. Tom Wakeling Q1. In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge codes and conventions of real media products? Press the play button(slideshare) to play music.
- 2. CONVENTIONS OF A REAL MUSIC MAGAZINE FRONT COVER The masthead of the magazine ties in with conventions of a front cover. It takes up a large proportion of the cover and is clear and bold. It’s also very common for the title to be in red, white or black. This magazine’s title uses red and white, this enables it to stand out. The front cover image is conventional in the sense that is used a close up image. The artists in the image is also making direct eye contact which engages the reader. The image is in black and white which enables the writing/masthead to stand out. Also, the image uses very hard lighting giving the artist a serious appearance. In addition, the cover lines don’t cover the image too much so that the picture isn’t hidden behind the writing, this is a convention of a front cover. The main cover line is larger than the cover other cover lines as it’s the main story in the magazine as well as the article which goes with the image on the front. The cover lines are also in the same colour as the masthead, this is conventional. A pull quote is used and is conventional to give the readers and insight into what the article is about. It’s become conventional to put price and the date/issue number of the magazine on the barcode. The positioning of the barcode is usually in the bottom right/left of the magazine. It’s conventional to use a bar for visual variety as an alternative to normal writing on the front cover’s image. It normally reveals something that’s in the magazine.
- 3. CONVENTIONS AND CHALLENGING CONVENTIONS ON MY FRONT COVER The masthead on my magazine is conventional as it’s bold, and takes up a large proportion of the page. Also, It uses red and white which are conventional on real magazine titles. The main image on the front cover is conventional as it’s a close up picture of the artists which is the main article in the magazine. The artists is also making direct eye contact which invites people into the magazine and is a convention of a front cover. In addition, the artist is pictured in quite light lighting which gives a soft, pretty glamorous look to her, this contrasts from Q’s image of a male artists. Pull quotes are used to give an insight into the articles in the magazine, this is very conventional and similar to ‘Q’s magazine. My magazine includes a bar at the bottoms revealing featured artists in the magazine, this is a common conventional occurrence on front covers. A black circle advertising free posters is conventional amongst magazines as it invites people to buy the magazine as they’re getting something from the magazine rather than just information. Four cover lines are included on the magazine to give some detail of the articles in the magazine. They’re positioned around the face of the artist so that the image doesn’t become hidden by the writing, this is a common convention of magazines. Furthermore, the writing on the magazine is in either white, black or red, these colours coincide with the title and stand out against most backgrounds. The main cover line is in a bold font and in black, this means that is stands out from the rest of the cover lines on the page. Also, it’s in a much larger font which makes it clear that it goes with the image on the front cover. This is a conventional method which most magazines take in relation to the main cover line. Just like most magazine, my magazine has the date of the magazine’s release and the price of the magazine on the barcode. The barcode is also conventionally positioned in the bottoms left corner of the magazine. The pull quote that goes with the main image is at a slight angle to make it stand out as the main magazine’s article.
- 4. CONVENTIONS OF A REAL MUSICA MAGAZINE CONTENTS PAGE The main image on the contents page is conventionally of the same artist that features on the front cover. It’s normally located in the middle or to the side of the page. Also, it is usually framed by the writing so it doesn’t get hidden. On a contents page it’s conventional to have the magazine’s title. This is to ensure the reader is constantly aware of what magazine they’re reading. The contents page will normally have category headings followed by a series of article headings so a reader can quickly see what’s in the issues they’re reading. The article headings are also sometimes followed by a very short summary of what the article is about. The category headings are conventionally bolder and larger than the article headings to break up the different sections of the magazine. Lots of magazines also have a special section of the contents page dedicated to presenting the editors of the magazine. The issue number is normally positioned in the top left hand corner of the page next the main title. The issue number is also commonly with it. Almost all contents pages are entitled ‘contents’ to inform readers exactly where they are. It’s conventional for the title to be in a bold colour and font so it stands out when flicking through pages. Contents pages are usually laid out in three or four columns The category headings and article headings are usually positioned on the left/right of the page so that there’s an open space for images Page numbers are often in a different colour to the article headings to make them stand out.
- 5. CONVENTIONS AND CHALLENGING CONVENTIONS OF MY MUSIC MAGAZINE CONTENTS PAGE The main image on my contents page ties in with conventions as it is of the same artist who is on the front cover. It is also conventionally located just off the middle of the page, it also overlaps the top bar to grab the reader’s attention. my magazine is challenging conventions by not including the magazine’s title, I decided not to include it seemed to look out of place. My contents page included various category heading and article heading which are bolder and in a larger font that the short summaries of the articles, this is a convention as they easily stand out and is visually pleasing. My contents page doesn’t include a date or an issue number as it’s the second page and I don’t feel it’s important to reinforce the date to the reader, this isn’t an important part of the page in my opinion. My contents page is conventional in regards to the tile as it’s bold and clear, this enables it to stand out when the reader is flicking through pages. My contents fit the norm of being laid out in three columns. The category headings are conventionally positioned on the right hand side of the page. My contents page includes a special section dedicated the issue’s editors. This is common it lots of contents pages. The page numbers are in a different colour the article headings so that they stand out, this is conventional of a contents page.
- 6. CONVENTIONS OF A REAL MUSIC MAGAZINE DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD A boarder around the image and the article help to draw the reader’s attention into the image/article. An image on a double page spread usually takes up the whole side of the double page spread, although it is sometimes spread across the entire double page. It’s conventional to use a close up image to show the emotion in the artist’s face which is sometimes spoken about in the article. In addition, it’s conventional to have the image on one side with the artist facing the writing, this gives the impression the artist is looking the article and as a results draws your attention toward the text. The title of the magazine conventionally larger than the article and in a bright colour which enables it to stand out. Double page spreads also conventionally use drop quotes or subheadings to give a brief insight into the article. Almost all articles begin with a drop capital. The article’s writing is written is always written in colour which can be easily read against the background. Also, it’s conventional to split the article into 2-4 columns so that the writing is broken up and doesn’t look as daunting as a black of text
- 7. CONVENTIONS AND CHALLENING CONVENTIONS OF MY MUSIC MAGAZINE DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD My double page spread has a boarder round the image and the text to draw the reader’s attention to the image/text, this is a typical convention of an article and image. The article’s title is conventionally larger than the article and in a bright colour which enables it to stand out. My magazine conventionally uses a drop quote from the artist to give a brief insight into the article. My image fits in with the conventions for a double page spread image. Lost of magazine use a close up image of an artist in order to reveal the emotions which may be(and are in my article) spoken about in the article. The artist faces the article drawing the reader’s attention to the text, this happens because you unconsciously look where the artist is looking. The article starts with a drop capital which almost all magazine articles do. The article’s writing is written in black which means it can be easily read against the background. Also the magazine is split into 3 columns so it doesn’t look as daunting as a block of text.