Evaluation question 1

Question 1: In What Ways Does Your Media Product Use, Develop or Challenge Forms and Conventions of Real Media Products?

I have taken 9 screen grabs of my products and I have also taken 9 screen grabs of similar things in Kerrang and Q (which are the two magazines that have been my inpiration for my coursework). Below the two images I will state the number of the image I am talking about, I will talk about my image first and then talk about the corresponding image from Kerrang and Q.

1. The facial expressions is what stands out the most, which highlights their individuality. This is not necessarily a convention but it is used well in magazines.This is what Kerrang do on a regular basis and I have adopted this idea from them but I have made it my own by using a high angled shot so the band members are looking up at the camera. In Kerrang it is not commonly seen to have a high angled shot as the front over, Kerrang generally uses low angled shots or medium close ups.




2. The title for my music magazine is "High Voltage". I chose the title High Voltage because, like Kerrang, it is related to electric instruments and therefore relates back to "rock" and "punk". On Kerrang's front cover the title is usually obstructed up by the main image. This is not a problem as Kerrang is well known by the look and style of the magazine so it does not deminish the image of the magazine.




3. The selling on my magazine is above the masthead. This is a convention of Kerrang's as they too have the selling line (or what else is in the issue) above the masthead. Kerrang's is separated by stars and mine are separated by lightening bolts to continue the theme of the magazine and to also relate back to the title.




4. Text is often used on the front to give the audience an insight into what is in the issue. This can be done in a numbewr of ways; saying who else will be featured in the issue or a quote from something within the issue. I have used a direct quote from the interview and, like Q have done, I have colour coded it so it stands out more.




5. In Q it is more conventional to have a bigger image on the contents page whereas in Kerrang it is more conventional to have several little images. I have chosen to follow the conventions of Q for this.




6. It varies from double page to double page but it is fairly conventional to have one large image on one page and the text on the other side of the page with the title at the top connecting the two pages. Q and Kerrang both use this technique and so have I.




7. The text I have done is all on the other side of the page to the picture and it is colour coded; the questions in red and the answers in black. This is a convention from Kerrang as the text is on one page and it is also colour coded.




8. This is an image taken from the contents page and I have adpoted the style of Q for this. Kerrang uses many small images for its contents page but Q uses a larger image and then a few smaller one. This, I feel, is more effective and draws the attention to the most important things in the issue.




9. This is the title of the double page spread. It is very large which helps it stand out and it joins the two pages together. Kerrang do this well and have done so for many years e.g. panic at the disco double page spread, fall out boy double page spread etc.

Overall these few examples demonstrates that overall my magazine is very conventional. However this is not a bad thing as the conventions have been proven to be successful and I believe that by following and adapting them I've created my best possible result.