Question 1: In what ways does your media product use,

develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media

products?p

When creating my front cover I initially did some research on existing dance magazines to see what I would have to produce when the finished cover was produced. By doing this I was able to see what conventions I would need to include into my magazine as a whole if I wanted it to be as successful as all the existing magazines. I have included conventions such as:

-Strong eye contact embedded in a strong image.

-Symmetry.

-Interesting Cover Lines.

-Including well known artists on the cover.

-Exclusives.

-Bold Masthead.

-Lures.

-Hooks.

Front cover

Similarities Differences

- Bold masthead. (Clear for the audience to Identify what magazine they are looking at) - Clear cover lines. (Identifiable to the audience what will be included within the magazine) - Eye catching image. (Gives the audience something worth looking at when looking/buying the magazine) - Clear, bold colours. (To catch the audiences eye when looking at magazines)- Cover lines about the model are included on the front cover. (So that the audience have an idea about who the models are if they aren’t already aware)

-Well known magazines have the models head underneath the Masthead. Mine is obviously made up and so the models head should be away from the masthead. (So the audience can clearly read the name of the magazine)-Some magazines make the cover lines overlap the image but to make the image clearer I kept the cover lines away from the image. -Other magazines include smaller images of artists that are also included within the magazine. I didn’t to ensure my front cover wasn’t crowded.

Contents page

When thinking of creating my contents page I had to deconstruct 3 existing contents pages. This was helpful as it helps to give you an idea as to the common forms and conventions of contents pages.Some of the key forms and conventions in the contents pages that I analysed were:

- Clear numbering

- Mixture of images

- Main bits stand out more

- Heading to split the contents up

- Strong image/images

- Variation of page number

- Highlighted text to make it standout

- Clear contents title

- Colour variations

Similarities Differences- Clear title. (To ensure the reader knows they are looking at the contents)- Image of artist featured in the main article. (So the reader knows who to look out for if they are mainly interested in a certain article)- Other images of other artists included within the magazine. (So the reader has a varied choice on what to read about in the magazine)- Clear page numbers. (To show the reader what page to go to when they are looking for a certain piece in the magazine)- Website for the magazine. (So the reader can access all articles online at their own convenience)

- More varied fonts within the contents page. (So the reader has something to place their eyes on instead of looking at the same things)- Some music magazines include unrelated articles such as jewellery and clothes. ( To give the reader more selection on what they want to read about. Also to inform the reader on what some artists are wearing to red carpet occasions) - Some magazines include the images seen on the front cover within the contents page. (To give the reader a sense of familiarity when looking for a certain article)

Double page Spread

As well as the 3 deconstructions of the contents pages, I also did 3 deconstructions of double page spreads before creating my own double page spread. Again this helped me to gain knowledge on the forms and conventions I would have to include in my contents pages. The common forms and conventions I have used are:

- Strong eye catching image.

- Consistent house style.

- Easy for the audience to read.

- Clear questions and answers.

- Clearly displayed artists names.

Similarities Differences-Rule of thirds. (Taking up three quarters of the double page with either an image or the article.

-Strong eye contact with the audience. (Gives the audience a link with them and the artist and so feel more inclined to read the article or buy the magazine in general.)

-Strong eye catching image. (Draws attention from the audience to the magazine which encourages them to buy the magazine.)

-House style. (Consistant colours throughout the magazine to give the reader a recognisable read.)

-Different, varied photo positions. (different poses to ensure a unique style for a magazine that people can relate to. )

-I have given my article more room due to the fact my double page images are smaller and less space consuming than other images.

-My artists names are clearly displayed next to them unlike some articles which assume you know who the artists are.

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