1) In what ways does your media product use, develop

or challenge forms and conventions of real media

products?

How does my magazine look like other magazines in the genre?

• My Magazine looks similar to other magazines which write about the rock / alternative music genre. It follows the “full” look, in which the pages are filled with large stand out pictures, text and articles. This portrays the feel of “rock ‘n’ roll”, which carries themes and imagery of being loud, boisterous and in-your-face.

• An example of this is Kerrang!. They use this style extensively, as they follow many genres, but could label to be in the “hard rock” scene. Their front pages feature large, bright front covers pictures and models, contoured by flashes of text and article baits of what awaits inside. They usually sport bright or contrasting skylights and footers, usually with other feature article within the magazines e.g. Gerard Way from My Chemical Romance – a well-known name from a well-known band, known for singing ability, stage performance and controversy with drug use. His name brings instant attention to the page.

Cover Page

• Another example is NME. Even though they fall into a more general category of music, this allows them to still write about rock, for example Enter Shikari – a rising metal band becoming larger and larger in popularity in recent years, known for they extensive and impressive on stage performance and light shows. They use much more subtle and contemporary look in terms of flashes and taglines, but cover models still portray their genre of music through stance, expression and clothing.

• I have followed these patterns, more similarly to Kerrang! due to my focus on rock and metal.

Contents Page• The contents pages in both magazines usually

have the feature article or double page spread article highlighted or given a larger space. Kerrang! Steers away from the messy look, and lays out the contents page in an organised fashion for ease of use and practicality. NME uses clear and sharp writing and taglines, and continues this within the contents page, creating sectioned areas for the different categories of articles and stories within the magazine. Again, I used this as an example, splitting my actual contents section into 6 separate parts. This allowed me to use the rest of the page for the feature article advertisement, editor notes, and subscription for realism.

Double Page Spread• Both Kerrang and NME mould the look of the

double page spread to the artist that they are writing about. This makes it more about the artist rather than the look of the magazine. I was lucky enough to be able to fit my double page spread into my colour scheme matched by the rest of the pages, which gave it a consistent theme. I stayed close to the conventions set out by the other magazines to create a sense of realism and professionalism, making the read more believable, as it follows similar form as the other magazines.

Here, I separated the page into sections. I picked this picture because I think it shows well the light-hearted “just guys playing in a band” feeling that is delivered by the article. The picture was brightened and had the contrast lowered. This made the two boys in the picture playing pop out from the black background and the dull practice room. The large tagline instantly grabs attention, stark contrast to the back ground,