Powerpoint on Question 1

1. Forms and
Conventions
QUESTION 1
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real media products?

2. Masthead
Secondary Lead
Selling Line
Banner
Feature
Article Photo
Headline
Graphic
feature with
Plug
Menu Strip
Bar Code
Date Line
with price
Anchorage
(quote)
Mise-en-scene
Direct mode of
address
Kickers
FRONT COVER

3. The masthead is in
the top left of the
magazine which is an
important
convention on front
covers.
I used the rule of
thirds so that my
eyes were positioned
in the top middle
section of the front
cover.
This is a common
convention seen in
many magazines.
I made sure their was
a flow of text around
the head, but left the
middle section text
free.
This emphasises the
rose, and balances
the colours.
The colours are also
balanced because
there is the use of red
in each section of the
front cover.
The anchorage links to the feature article photo because it was based on a Pop
artist. This refers to breaking “the label: Indie Rock”.

4. My magazine challenges the forms and conventions of real media
products.
One of them being that my bar code is placed in the top left third of the
front cover. This is an unusual place for a bar code on a front cover,
they are usually placed in the bottom left or right, however it works
well with my overall page layout.
My bar code, however, contains the month and year that the magazine
was released, along with the price, which is seen on most bar codes.
As you can see from these bar codes, they are usually placed in the
bottom left or right of the front cover.

5. My magazine uses some forms and conventions
of real media products.
One of the being that the masthead is placed in
the top left of the front cover; it is also the biggest
font on the page. This is seen in almost ALL
magazine front covers.
I made sure there was a balance of text on both sides. This is because the majority
magazines are balanced when it comes to the front cover. I also tried to make the
text flow around the face so that the feature article photo was not disrupted by any
text; almost all magazines never put text over a models face.
Emphasis of Imagine Dragons band merchandise
because of the silver grey plug.

6. I also had colour influence on my front cover.
I used the red colour, from the rose, throughout my magazine. This is
because red is a colour widely associated with Indie Rock. The
repetition of this colour helps maintain the house-style.
The contrast between the red
and the black creates interest.
There is use of alignment the rose and
name ‘Heather Rose’.
I also took the grey/blue
colour for the plug, from
the whites of my eyes.

7. I also used the repetition of the fonts ‘Minion Pro’ and ‘Monotype
Corsiva’ to help maintain the house style.
I made use of space by making sure their was no dead space on
my front cover. It is typical for Indie Magazines such as NME to
have a very busy and cluttered front cover.

8. Leading
Text
Background Photo (I made it black and white so that it suited the genre: Indie Rock)
Dropped
Capital
Section
Header
(Same text as
masthead)
Columns
(With the body
text)
Borders /
Dividers
(I made the top
divider thinner to
show that the
leading text is
relevant to the
article, and the
bottom divider
thicker to show a
definite end to the
article)
DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD
Pop of
Colour
(Same colour
as Rose on
front cover)
Text
flows
around
image

9. My double page spread uses some forms and conventions of real media
products.
One being that the article text flows around the background image.
This is seen on all magazines where the picture is placed over the
article. I also cut out the model from the background so that the text
was written on black paper, but my guitar could still overlap to the
next age.
As you can see from the
magazine on the right, they
have made the next flow
around the model.
Comparing my text flow to
theirs, there is definitely
room for me to improve. The
text is too close to the image,
I needed to increase the gap.

10. Another convention I used were boarders and dividers.
As you can see from the images above, I made my top
divider smaller and the bottom one thicker. This is a
common thing in Q magazine.
It shows a connection from the leading text and the
article, but also balances the page. The thick line at
the bottom balances the big text at the top. Then thin
line at the top balances the lack of text at the bottom.
I also used a dropped capital which is seen on 99% of
all articles. It emphasises the beginning of the article,
and creates a contrast from the rest of the text.

11. Signed Editorial
with photograph
Border / Divider
Main Feature
(I used Photoshop to edit me
in the doorway and window
of the abandoned house)
Pictorial
insets
(I made them black
and white to suit the
genre: Indie Rock,
but also to maintain
the house style and
link to the double
page spread
background photo)
Page numbers
Section Header
Issue and Dateline
Section Headers
Numbered
itemised list
(In chronological order)
There is a clear split between the main features/reviews and the regular
features/editor and win. This helps the page look more organised.
CONTENTS PAGE
Web address

12. The most common convention of a magazines contents page is of
course the pictorial insets. Therefore I had to include at least 3.
They are almost always numbered, and sometimes
named. Therefore, I decided to number and name
all of my pictorial insets. It makes it easier for the
reader to find the page they are looking for.
As you can see from the
image on the right, Q
magazine like to overlap
their pictorial insets.
This is something I
could do in the future to
add flow to the contents
page and make it look
more professional.

13. I also made it easier for the reader to find what
page they are looking for by putting the page
numbers in chronological order underneath each
section header.
This is a key convention found on contents pages
in all magazines.
The images on the left are from my contents
page, and the images of the right are from a Q
magazines contents page. As you can see, I took
inspiration from this contents page when
creating my own.
I also used the
same grey/blue
colour from my eye
to colour the
background of this
box to help the
magazine flow and
maintain the house
style.