In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media

products? By Poppy Pickering

Conventions Magazine Masthead Cover Lines Barcode Issue Number Price Main image Pull quotes Selling line

Genre The color The moodThe setting The audience

Technical Shot type Lighting

Conventions In my magazine I wanted to try to meet the conventions, instead of subverting them, as pop magazines already attract a large audience, and I think that it would have been too much of a risk, for a genre which has already built such a high reputation from its audience, to change its conventions. I chose the pop genre because I wanted the production of my magazine to be a challenge, but I also believed that it would be something that I would be able to do, as there are so many different styles of pop magazines which have all been successful.

Conventions •

Did you meet these conventions?Magazine ConventionsFront Cover: My Masthead was positioned at the top of my page, like other magazine institutions as it gives it a brand identity. It would be the first thing that the audience would see. However “In The Spotlight” does also break the conventions, because it is in lower case, which does not happen often in magazines, I did this to make my magazine look unique, and for it to stand out against other magazines. Selling lines are positioned at the top of the page, above the Masthead. They use words which will grab the audiences attention. I met this convention, as it has used the word “BEST” which can encourage the audience to buy the magazine. The cover lines are on both sides of the page. In pop magazines they can either be on both sides, or one, Billboard tends to position them to the left of the image. I made sure than my barcode was within the left third of the page. The price and the issue number is always the smallest in a magazine. I did this so that it would not be noticeable to the audience. The price of my magazine suitable for teenagers. I wanted Jess to be an empowering female. I wanted her to show confidence and enthusiasm for her music, rather than her believing that the industry is ran by males, as there are also lots of other successful female artists. This was portrayed in my magazine through the shot type and the size of the image.Double Page Spread: I made sure that my pull quotes stood out. These where conventional for my younger target audience as it breaks up the long columns of text which makes my magazine more fun and exciting for the reader.

Conventions Genre Conventions:On the front cover of my magazine, the clothing that Jess is wearing is a pink top and a leather jacket. This is a fashionable piece of clothing, as the audience idolizes her and would want to see her as having a sense of style, that they would want to follow. However I think that this can subvert the pop genre slightly as they are more associated with rock, and the black usually has negative connotations. Where as her pink top would connote femininity, love and warmth. On my double page spread, Harry is wearing a blue shirt and jeans, the blue connotes confidence suggesting that he has a positive attitude towards his music. The color theme that I have chosen is pink, blue, yellow and grey. Pink, blue and yellow meet the conventions of the pop genre, where as grey subverts it. Grey creates a dull mood. Pink is stereotypically a feminine and youthful color which is used in pop magazines. Also yellow is a happy and energetic color which is used in pop to give the audience pleasure and satisfaction. The front cover shots meet the convention of a pop magazine. I have made it so that it looks like the shot has been taken in New York, as a lot of celebrities live in that area. The shot of the girl was taken in a photography studio, this is normal for an artist who would usually be performing and on stage, surrounded with cameras and lights. Also her job means that she would have to have photos taken of her to share her music with the audience so that they can get to know her. Whereas as Harry is in a park, this location does not particularly meet the convention of the pop genre as it is quite ordinary and boring, where as my audience are fun, loud and exciting characters. The audience- The audience for my magazine are females aged between 13-16. This is conventional as younger teenagers listen to pop. They are experiencers so like to listen to new music and go to concerts. They would like to read a magazine as it features new tours and artists. Pop music music magazines include music which is in the charts.

Conventions Technical Conventions : I have used a medium close up shot of Jess, and a long shot of Harry. A medium close up shot is conventional for a pop magazine because it allows her to be connected with her audience. The long shot shows that he has a lot of power. The light which I used for my photos was high key, I used this to reflect the pop songs upbeat and happy music and to give my audience a high self esteem.

Theoretical Research In my research I applied passive theories to the magazine that I was going to create. I applied the Hierarchy Of Needs and the Uses and Gratifications. My audience will get social interaction from my product. The audience will connect with each other from my magazine, it gives them confidence and something for them to talk about. Personal identity, the medium close up allows us to connect with the artist. Give them knowledge about popular artists. For the hierarchy of needs, they will look to the magazine to satisfy the needs of love/belonging. Also get self esteem, they want to be like Jess and self actualization to inspire the audience to improve themselves.

Similarities and differences

Similarities And Differences • Both of the artists are wearing leather jackets. “Q” uses a leather jacket to enhance the rock theme in the

issue, and it to give off strong connotations of the female. Whereas “In The Spotlight”, the leather jacket was a subversion of the pop genre, it shows to the audience that she is glamorous and has a good sense of style. It could also show how she is strong as well.

• Both of the artists wear makeup, Cheryl’s makeup is bold, her lips are red which has the attention of the audience. It is an attraction on women reinforcing her sexual image. And she has dark eyes I can apply Laura Mulveys male gaze theory, as her looks and provocative pose teases the men. Whereas the make-up used on Jess is natural, it shows how she is empowering because she does not feel the need to wear makeup to fit in with societies version of men's expectations.

• They both feature popular artists on the front cover which allows the audience to identify the genre of the magazine. Q uses artists such as “The Whites Stripes” and “U2” which are both rock bands, and “In The…” uses Taylor Swift.

• Both of the main images where shot in a photo studio and have been edited onto the background. As it is not a natural atmosphere as it is staged to emphasize her erotic image. And because the image behind the girl is blurred and she appears a lot larger than the city.

Similarities Both of the front covers of the magazines can look rock themed with pop artists. As Cheryl Cole is a pop artist. They both use high key lighting. Both of the issues follow magazine conventions, there layouts seem to work well. They have selling lines above the Masthead, medium close up shots of the artists in the center of the page, which both have eye contact with their audience, and cover lines on both sides of the image. They have similar selling lines, they both use reversed out text and are both UK based magazines. And they also use words, “BIGGEST” and “BEST” which encourages the audience to buy the magazine. Both of the magazines use cover line which promote the articles which are inside the issue, that tempt the audience to buy the magazine. All of the cover lines on both magazines have been capitalized to emphasize their importance.

Differences They use different colors. Q’s is red, In The Spotlight is pink.The magazine attracts different audiences. This magazine particularly attracts a male audience because of how Cheryl is acting. Whereas my magazine attracts a female audience because of its use of pink. My magazine attracts a young audience aged between 13-16 years old. I get the impression that Qs magazine attracts an older audience between 17-25 because of how sexual it appears. The artist on the front of my magazine is younger. The magazines present opposite ideologies, in my magazine on my double page spread, it shows how you need to be in a relationship to be happy, implying that women are helpless without the man. Whereas in Qs magazine it shows how women can be as strong or stronger than the man , as she has achieved success. The masthead “Q” is one letter it is bold and easy to remember. “In The Spotlight” is a longer Masthead. It is positioned in the center. “Q” is positioned to the left. Both of the magazines have a barcode so that the product can be brought. The magazine price is £5.90 which shows that it would be an older audience than mine because they would need to be more sophisticated.

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Similarities and differences

Similarities• • Both of the contents pages are conventional to pop. • Their target audiences are young teenagers, as the magazines, both

use bright and energetic colors. There is pink, yellow and black in both of the magazines. They appeal more to females. As pink connotes femininity and love. The yellow shows that the audiences of the magazines are energetic and creative.

• The both use the subtitle “INSIDE THIS MONTH” which appears modern and youthful. They both use a sans serif font. Shows that both of the magazines are up to date.

• Both create a fun vibe and look funky, they do not say “content page” on.

• Both of the backgrounds are white, as they are both busy magazines.

differences • On my content page there is not as many photos. The

photos that I have used are of the artists that feature in my magazine which have the most important stories. The shots that I have used are medium close ups. Whereas “We love pop” has used a medium shot of the girl band. They also have used props which I have not used in my photos. It uses captions from the artist in blue.

• “We love pop” uses a web address, the masthead, the front cover and a banner of posters on their content page.

Similarities and differences

Both of the content pages have editors letters, to add a personal touch to the magazine so that the audience feel connected. “We Love Pop” persuades the audience that if they read the magazine they will be happy. It uses made up words such as “wowmazing”. Whereas my editors letter is about Jess on the cover page and how she comes across to different audiences.

Similarities and differences

Similarities • Both of the magazine appeal to a similar target audience, “In the Spotlight” is for teenagers 13-16.

“Top Of The Pops” is for 11-15. They are both read mostly by girls. They both create happy and cheerful mood.

• They both use three columns of text. • Both of the articles uses informal language. Top of the pops has used words such as “rebel” and

“annoying”, to connect with the audience with what sort of language they use. • They both use sans serif fonts which are more feminine. • Both of the artists names are capitalized and bold so that the audience knows that he is a celebrity. • They both mention the release of new music. • Both of the artists talk about relationships and girls. • Both of the magazines look fun and exciting. The interview questions and answers are in different

colors. • Both magazines use pull quotes. The “Top Of The Pops” magazine uses the pull quote from the

interview, as a headline. It draws the audience in. “Girls give me a headache” The pull quotes used in my magazine are used to break up the long columns of text, to appeal to my audience, it makes the text more exciting to read. Both of the magazines use pull quotes but in different ways.

• Both in an interview style. • Both use high key lighting.• Both use long shots to show the artists posing. Justin is leaning on a chair, and Harry is leaning on a

tree, these both add a relaxed and informal feel to the interview.

Differences

Their outfits are different, Justin is wearing a black vest with red trousers. The red has a connotation of love which is what the article is talking about. Whereas Harry is wearing a blue shirt and blue jeans, which has connotations of intelligence and confidence. “The Top Of The Pops” they have used an image in the middle of the left page relating to what has been said the in article to break up the text, whereas I haven’t.

Similarities and differences Both magazines use pull quotes. The “Top Of The Pops” magazine uses the pull quote from the interview, as a headline. It draws the audience in. “Girls give me a headache” The pull quotes used in my magazine are used to break up the long columns of text, to appeal to my audience, it makes the text more exciting to read. Both of the magazines use pull quotes but in different ways. The color scheme of the page is red, black and white. Whereas on mine it is pink, blue and yellow. Both of the color schemes match what the artist is wearing. Both of the images take up one page, however mine is on the left and the image of Justin is on the right. They are both directly addressing their audience which makes them want to read the magazine and using eye contact.