QUESTION ONEDanielle Hodges

In what ways does your media product use,

develop or challenge forms and conventions

of real media products?

These are a few examples of conventional magazines which I have used as research and inspiration for my own music magazine. The similarities I have created between “Top of the Pops” and “Candy” are: Similar colour themes and house styles, the same amount of cover stories and pictures, a main cover line and the same positioning of the masthead. The slight differences are: The bar code, issue number and price are in a different place, compared to “Top of the Pops” as it is at the bottom of the page. The masthead is regularly large and bold to endorse the music magazine itself, that is why I chose to make “Candy” in capitals and also in bold. Finally there is always a main cover line on the middle right of the page, this notifies the audience what the double page spread includes and also the main headline.

CONVENTIONAL STRUCTURES OF MAGAZINES

Main imageThe model has a direct gaze, so she has eye contact with reader. Also the model is a young teenage girl which represents to my target audience, making the cover more relatable

Price of magazine

Issue number

Bar code

MastheadFollows the house style:Pink, white, and yellowThis shows consistency throughout my cover page. Also these colours are relevant to my target audience, as they are girly and age appropriate. Cover linesThe font used is Berlin Sans FB Demi, which stand out compared to the headlines and pull quotes underneath.

Logo

Cover pictureThese pictures are similar to the age of the target audience and are all female, the reinforces my girly theme and also relates to “Top of The Pops”

Headlines/Pull QuotesThe font used is Cooper BlkltHd BT this differs from the cover lines above slightly, also the colours vary to create contrast in the different subjects and headings.

Main cover lineThis is the main double page spread story of my magazine, it involves a pull quote “Why I love music”. It also has drop shadow effect on the circle which makes it stand out from the background. The font used is ABC Font and the quote is in Andre Light SF. Cover picture and additional cover lineThis is the same font as the cover lines (Berlin Sans FB), I did this to keep the consistency of the magazine. I added a red outline to connote the word “Hot” this is onomatopoeia as this word is

FRONT COVER INSPRIATION This is the “Top of the Pops” magazine I was mostly

trying to remake, I thought this would be most effective as it includes many headings and pictures, also I thought the circular main cover line was really eye catching for the audience. I originally chose the “Top of the Pops” because of how girly and colourful the features were, which I thought was perfect for my target audience (girls aged from 11-15) as it displays pre-teen femininity. I mainly liked the

mature feel of the cover and how popular it currently is with young girls. I would say my magazine itself

doesn’t necessarily challenge any conventional media products, as I believe it mirrors most aspects

in any pre-teen oriented front cover. Due to its celebrity gossip and also boy involved posters and

interviews etc. My main inspiration was from my own personal fondness of these magazines when I was

younger, as I enjoyed the maturity and depth of the reading.

RESEARCH MAGAZINES “TOP OF THE POPS”

CONTENTS PAGE AND ADVERTISEMENTThis is my contents page, I decided to carry on with

my top of the pops theme as I have continued to use examples of contents pages and advertisements from their magazines. Regarding my contents page I have used similar aspects and features from top of the pops, for example the “on the cover” sector, where arrows are used to inform the reader what page each story is on. Also I have used an informal chatty editorial note to the reader (Hey girls!..), this gives my magazine a personal touch also an informality. The columns of page numbers are also alike to top of the pops, as they are simple and correspond with my overall design. Finally the colour scheme used throughout Candy is carried on through the contents as well, as the light pink and the pale yellow are used, this keeps the pages to the same house style. My magazine advertisement is copied from a similar event from top of the pops magazine, I chose to do this ad as it relates to my target audience massively. The bright colours draw attention to the page which make it look more attractive and eye catching, finally the age range for the competition is the same as my target age group of readers. Overall I am using and following normal British music magazine conventions.

RESEARCH MAGAZINES

“TOP OF THE POPS”

DOUBLE PAGE SPREADThis is my double page spread for my magazine, as you can see I have used the inspiration from top of the pops once again. I have decided to do this as I like the style and the layout, also I wanted to keep my magazine constant and professional. I have used the similar spotlight affect on my own magazine by using Photoshop, I wanted to do this as it corresponds with top of the pops double page and also the use of my title, “in the spotlight!”. I have stuck to the similar amount of circular cover lines and also the similar interview questions and style. I have used black this time as a background rather than white as it highlights the spotlight more effectively, however the pink and yellow theme is still in place, (the pink headline and cover lines, and the yellow banner across the pages). Throughout this process my magazine has defiantly stuck to conventional styles of magazines, as it doesn’t massively challenge the ordinary conventions of popular music magazines, as I have used top of the pops as a huge inspiration to help me get towards the look and feel I was striving for.

RESEARCH MAGAZINES “TOP OF THE POPS”