In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real medi...

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In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? by Mind Map: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

1. People featured in my music magazine

1.1. I have used a selection of people within my music magazine of men and women all around the similar age range of my target audience varying from about 19 to 25. This is conventional for music magazines because generally the age group of pop artsists are more likely to be no younger than 19 because it takes a while to become famous within the music industry. I made sure that the peoplefeatured in my music magazine were no older than 35 because most people within the urban/pop genre are no older than this because any older and people are usually interested in different genres of music or the artist is out of date and therefore the target audience changes. I have featured bands and solo artsists because these are the people that are the entertainers which are found within this music genre reflecting artists similar to existing ones such as 'Jessie J', 'Cheryl Cole' and 'Ed Sheeran'. However, I have challenged conventions by only including British artists/bands. I feel by challenging this convention it may make my magazine more attractive for my target audience as my magazine will be sold in the UK therefore fans will feel more connection and willing to support artists and bands from their own country. I understand that a lot of famous artists such as 'Ne-yo' and 'Drake' are mixed race and very popluar within the urban pop industry and therefore I will make sure I still have mixed raced artists within my magazine however, the main focus will be British artists. I have chosen both male and females to be the target audience for my music magazine however, females more predominant target audience and therefore I have reflected this within my magazine by having more females featured in 'Vocal'.

2. Font Choice

2.1. Front Cover

2.1.1. The masthead within my front cover is similar to that of 'Q' because it is a similar font however it is mroe than a one lettered masthead. I chose to use the font 'Vani' for this because I felt similar to 'Q' it creates a higher class better looking magazine. Compared to magazines such as 'Blender' which uses a bubble like font which I feel is more gimmicky and therefore attracts a younger target audience for 'Blender' magazine.I followed conventions by choosing to have my masthead at the top of the page making it easiler to spot by my target audience but also the size is conventional where it is big enough to read from a distance yet there is still enough room on the page to fit leading stories etc. on the front cover. However, I challeged conventions by skewing the first letter of my masthead 'V' I chose to do this because I thought it would attract more readers as it makes the title unique to other music magazines and therefore have another USP reflecting the content of my music magazine My leading story font type for 'Lashes' is also conventional for a music magazine targetted at the same age range as my magazine because it looks more classy and readable for my target audience age range. This is made clear above where you can see my font choice is similar to 'Q's'. My music magazine is also conventional becuase there is a range of about 3 different fonts within my plugs therefore making it more intersting for my audience to read and be attracted to my music magazine in the first place. Again most music magazines I looked at within my research had a range of different fonts within their plugs for example 'Q', 'Vibe', 'Blender' etc. My front cover fonts were all chosen on Adobe InDesign although I did look at different fonts within www.dafont.co.uk I found that editing the 'dafont' fonts didn't always work out to look very effective and professional and therefore I found similar corresponding fonts.

2.2. Double Page Spread

2.3. My DPS is conventional for font choices of a music magazine I chose to use 'Vani' again to follow a styel throughout my magazine making it consistent. I also chose this font because it looks professional as it is easy to read and the letters are all within correct sizing e.g. it doesn't look like a child has written it kind of font. The sub heading for this DPS is at the top left hand page not too big because this is a part of a number of DPS's following the same artist. I chose to make the first name 'italic' and last name in 'bold' following a convention I have seen in a DPS of 'Q' magazine where I thought it looked feminine but different therefore connoting the artists personality.

2.4. Contents Page

2.5. My contents page uses the same 'Vani' font as my front cover masthead but obviously as a different size. I feel this helps bring my magazine together as a whole and make obvious to the reader that this magazine follows a style which is almost a metaphor for my target audiences taste of music where they follow particular 'styles' of music. For the main titles on my contents page I have used the font 'Impact' which I feel grabs the audiences attention because it is bold and therefore stands out on the page and highlights the main stories within my magazine.

3. Genre

3.1. I have followed a style throughout all of my media products therefore showing the fluency of my magazine. The type of techniques I used to link my products together and express my genre is firstly through colour. I used purple tones as a basis for my magazine because I feel that in this day and age purple is a fashionable colour for both men and women reflecting my target audience. But my main choice for choosing purple was to reflect my genre I felt that the colour 'red' would create too much competition between 'Q' and magazine and the colour red may be associated with more wild music such as rock and heavy metal where stereotypical colours used would be black and red. I decided against blue and pink because I felt these colours were too conventional for boys and girls. And colours such as yellow I didnt feel had enough contrast against a white page and therefore choose purple because of trial and error. I have also reflected my genre through the use of people being bands and artists which is typical in pop music to see a range of both bands and artists. The bands are all wearing colour coded and carefully thought out clothing which also reflects the typical pop genre where girls are dressed as fashionable to current trends as possible. My use of language reflects the pop genre for example in my DPS 'Jessica' talks about typical activities that she gets up to that connotes similar activities my target audience would do.

4. Layout

4.1. Front Cover

4.1.1. The layout on my front cover is pretty much a third of text and the rest image showing which is conventional for a music magazine because the main image on the front cover is meant to be seen clearly but at the same time the plugs inform the audience of the key content of the magazine. Similarly to the above 'Vibe' magazine.

4.2. Contents Page

4.2.1. My contents page follows very similar layout to the 'Q' contents page above and therefore fits conventions of a typical music magazine. I have kept to the conventional layout of a music magazine contents page in that the images take up a lot of space compared to text this is useful for readers to get a brief over view of some of the pages in the magazine and draws them in by giving my magazine a chance to show off what it has to offer and what pages they are on to make navigating around my magazine easy.

4.3. Double Page Spread

4.3.1. My double page spread typically follows conventions of a pop music magazine because of it's large image taking over a whole page which is a typical feature for a DPS to draw readers in and make the text more interesting to read. I chose for my music magazine to follow typical conventions in order for it to be successful like other magazines such as 'Q'.

5. The main image on my 'Vocal' magazine front cover is conventional for many similar music magazines. During my research I noticed that many front covers had very simple backgrounds for their main image this is probably so the model on the front cover stanbds out more and so the puffs are easily read on the front cover. Therefore when shooting for my front cover images I decided to shoot in a well lit room, with a big window letting in plenty of light so that detail would show up on my photo. I shot my images against a large plain wall to follow the typical conventions of a music magazine. I have challenged conventions slightly by choosing to edit my image using Adobe Photoshop into black and white tones, this isn't a common effect on music magazines however, I made this decision because I thought it made my image stand out more on the page and emphasise the strong colour saturated tones within the image. Particular magazines which follow similar style photography to my own magazine are in particular 'Vibe' and 'Q' purely because 'Vibe' often uses black and white images which I feel reflects the 'mixed pop' genre of my music magazine and 'Q' which reflects my photography style because it often has close ups of images as chosen shot types, similar to the close up of my image, because the singer takes up the majority of the page and uses eye contact to entise readers in.

6. The costumes and props within my contents page are typically conventional for my pop msuic magazine as she is wearing stereotypical clothing for a girl. The dress I made myself within a recycled art project which I then photographed for this section of my media coursework. I feel the dress is unique because it is handmade which reflects typcial fashion within this genre as singers are constantly looking for new fashiions and ways to stand out from competitors. The chest of drawers is a prop I used in order to make my audience want to read more which similar magazine such as 'Q' magazine use this technique but with the artist sitting on a chair to draw readers in and make the DPS interview seem more personal.

6.1. Contents Page

7. My contents page consists of lots of different images all with conventional props and costumes within them such as a microphone within a gig scene which the microphone is a conventional prop for a music magazine because it is an instrument the artists use to project their voice which is key at gigs and festivals, where my targeta udience can often be found in their spare time. I have an image of a girl band with similar clothing on all wearing lace but just different colour combinations, which is a conventional technique for music magazines such as 'Q' magazine as shown above.

8. Costumes and Props

8.1. Front Cover

8.2. Costumes and props within my front cover weren't noticeable within my front cover as it is just a close up of my models face. Although I did spend time preparing her image by curling her hair and applying makeup to create a polished look to her face representing a typical pop artists. I found it difficult to create such an effective look as real pop artists because I was unable to access the things they have to play around with image for example hair extensions, professional make up artists. I dressed my front cover artist up in a black dress which is a common outfit you may see my target audience wearing because they enjoy the clubbing experience therefore my magazine suits its target audience and pop genre. I probably challenged conventions slightly here by not involving any obvious props like jewellery or musical instruments I realised that 'Q' is the only magazine who often uses close ups where the artists head takes over the whole magazine cover space. I felt that music instruments would look too much on a front cover and after research I found that it is not conventional to include an artist holding or playing a musical instrument on a front cover of a music magazine. 'Q' being my most predominant magazine influence above you can see how my minimal costume and props is similar to 'Q's' style.

8.3. Double Page Spread

9. Mise--en-scene of my images

9.1. Front Cover

9.2. Contents Page

9.2.1. The main image on my contents page very much reflects the similar colour tones in the main image of the above 'Q' contents page. I achieved this by taking a creative image at a low angle shot and placing my singers in strategic places in order to create a more creative and professionally taken photograph, I took the image where the ceiling was plain and made sure my actors were dressed in dull coloured clothing to reflect a similar representation as in the above 'Q' contents page. I feel this type of image will attract my target audience because during research it became apparent that 'Q' attracted people with a more mixed genre of music for those who have a more sophisticated taste than those who are still young and like to be part of a stereotype to fit in therefore only open to one genre of music because they feel they need to follow their sub genre of music. I wanted to create this sophisticated look within my magazine and therefore followed similar conventions to 'Q'. So, the main image is conventional and includes a female band which is very conventional to a music magazine because bands, artists, singers are what music is about and who my target audience are attracted to. I have also included an image of a male singer at a concert which is also a conventional feature within a music magazine, Similar to 'Q', 'NME' and 'Vibe'. The top right hand image is set in a landscape suggesting the music this artists sings is more peaceful than perhaps an image with drums within the scene, the mise en scene within this particular image is similar to that in the 'Q' contents page opposite. This blend of images helps create the style of a pop genre because they are taken in a variety of different shot types and scenes contrasting the range of music within pop.

9.2.1.1. New node

9.3. Double Page Spread

9.3.1. I decided on the lighting for my DPS after looking at several different DPS's during my research period. After completing an audience questionnaire it became clear that my target audience would prefer to see an artist interview within a DPS therefore I understand that interviews can be personal and so I wanted to create this personal response within my DPS as well as my DPS fitting my pop genre and keeping it professional. I chose to photograph my image on a black stage with lighting coming in from a large window to the top left of the image this way the light impact would be much more striking to the audience looking at the image and I also think this way it looks more professionally taken. I chose to edit this in Adobe photoshop by adding a sepia effect to the image, This effect is also found in magazines such as 'NME' and 'Q', following this convention means that my music magazine is up to date and fashionable there by meaning that people will be more enclined to buy a fashionable magazine and therefore increasing consumer numbers. I chose to have a small table/cabinet within my image to create an image that this was in the artists room meaning that audiences can build up an impression of the artist and her 'home' as well as suggesting to the audience that this is a personal interview. Again 'NME', 'Q' and 'Vibe' often have furniture enabling the actors to be able to relax e.g. sofa to sit on, door to lean on etc. and therefore making the interview look fun. Above are similar music magazine DPS's which include similar lighting, the sepia effect and furniture to represent a room.

10. Written Content

10.1. Within my magazine andmy Double Page Spread especially I have included similar topics for example, drinking, how artists got famous and a bit about their background. I chose to do this because I wanted to follow typical conventions of a music magazine so that my target audience would feel like they have bought what they were expecting, I wanted to meet audience expectations. I have used typical jargon in the music industry for example; 'festivals', 'fans', 'record deal', 'voice', 'chorigrapher' etc. making my magazine further conventional. I have used the explanation mark '!' to grab the audiences attention and as a hyperbole. In particular I used 'Q' magazine as my style model for my text as I wanted to follow the same style they did to attract my audience but use words more genre specific to my pop music magazine.