Evaluation question #1

My evaluation questions will be answered in a variety of ways. They will sum up my ideas and knowledge. 

 In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions or real media products?

Since the very start of studying media, I have seen magazines in a different way. I look at the front cover and name the terminology I can see. I have looked at many real media products to see a variety of different conventions and how they use them to portray there aim. Like professional magazines, I have included the obvious codes and conventions, to make it look like an actual magazine rather than looking like a poster. 

Front cover

Masthead - I started of by looking at national magazines that appealed to me. I went onto a website called 1001fonts.com and experimented using different fonts in colours and styles that I was going to include in my magazine. I wanted a title that was simple but eye-catching. I wanted a one word masthead so I came up with 'unique' which is self-explanatory as I wanted my magazine to be individual. In addition, my masthead was put in lower case as I though it looked better on my front cover. Originally I had the title behind the head but a new reader wouldn't be able to see what the magazine was called. I wanted it too look very bold, so when creating the masthead I made it the colour I wanted and made it fit across the top of the page so that it is the main focus of the magazine. Another way in which I challenged typical conventions was through the use of fonts. I made my fonts quite similar throughout my contractions and didn't use a lot of variety, like the national magazines I have looked at did use different fonts. 









In comparison to the Billboard magazine, I did attempt to put my masthead down the left hand side of the page, but I don't think it worked well with the design I was aiming for, so I put it at the top. I went for the same sort of style which was very simple but bold. The difference from this existing magazine is that the fonts are slightly different, and the Billboard masthead is all in lower case. Also my masthead it a dark colour against a light background where as the existing magazine used a bright font against a dark background. 

So overall, I looked at existing magazines to identify conventions and then use those as inspiration for my own conventions. I used different sources to help me create my masthead. This involved websites helping me look for different fonts. 



Main Image
I started off with a long shot of my model situated in the middle of my front cover. It didn't look very professional so then I made it to fit over 3/4 of the page, which will help fill in any gaps on the front cover and will draw the reader in. My main image still makes room for cover/sell lines without it looking too overcrowded. This is how I wanted my layout to be, with the cover/sell lines at each side and the main image being the focus.  The mood of my model is relaxed and slightly leaning towards one side which implies that the model feels comfortable. The costume the model is wearing is very simple and quite casual, this links in with my target audience and the way they dress. Also linking in with my design being understandable.

The billboard magazines main image is very bold. The image almost just focuses on the face will a close up shot. His facial expression is almost quite serious. The eye-line match fits really well as his eyes are almost in the center of the front cover, and the shadows on his face are very artistic and blend in well with the background. The masthead doesn't really overtake the main image as it is to the side and with this magazine being quiet popular, the target audience will focus more on the image rather than the masthead.

Main Sell Line
I do admit that my main sell line could stand out more, but you can still see what my main sell line actually is as the artists name is one of the biggest font on the page. I split mine into two part, the main was the artist name 'Rebecca Volt' and then like a cover line above it in a different style of text. I think this makes it look more interesting to read. It says "The journey to my dream" which I thought was quite catchy and it link in with my DPS. I think this was appropriate for my magazine as it is quite inspirational to my target audience. For the artists name I just hose a casual name and then for the surname I thought of something unique, which again links in with my masthead. 

Unlike my magazine, the Billboard magazine doesn't really have much text on its front cover. It only really has one main sell line and then a short column of text above it. The difference here is that i used a bold sentence for my main sell line, where as this one used the artist's name for a main sell line and didn't really include cover lines.

Neither my front cover or the existing cover used additional/secondary images. I looked at a lot of front covers and I didn't really want to include additional images as I was going for the simple layout and having you focus on just the one main image. 



Contents page

Masthead
My masthead is larger than the Q magazine, I thought that having it a bit bigger would make it stand out more. I simply had it in a white font so that it stood out against the dark box behind this. This allow the reader to understand clearly what this page is about. The font is very simple and easy to read just like my front cover masthead. This is the layout/design I was aiming for. I used a backdrop via Photoshop just to make it look a bit more put together.
















The 'Q' magazine's masthead is in a very bold font and all in capital letter. This makes is stand out and i think this magazine uses the same masthead for each of its contents pages. We have both just used the word 'contents' which is just the content inside of the magazine. This magazine have got its icon at the side of it, however i didn't really want to do that as my main title was a longer word. Both contents pages have used bold text against a dark background. 

Essential information 
I have tried to link the contents page in with the front cover so that it all makes sense. To do this i have numbered each piece of writing to a page they would be on. I have included a page number, icons, website and issue date, these are all essential pieces you need to have to make it look professional and organised. I have tried to make them small so that you can focus more on what the contents has to offer but I have made them clear enough to see. 

The 'Q' magazine has layed it out into different parts. This makes it look very neat and tidy. It has also included a issue date, page number and website. We have situated them in similar areas, and I used this as inspiration because I liked the layout and how they looked. Similar to my product, we have both used cover lines to section our page into different parts by putting a different coloured box behind each title. 

Main Image
My main image consists of two images put together. I erased the background so that the models would stand out more and the sot used was a long shot to show the fashion inspiration. I have other additional images so that there is a variety and it looks more interesting. The pose of the models from my main image are quite bohemian and layed back. The pose suggests they are relaxed. I wasn't going to use this as my main image, but then I thought it looks quite good against the background and I wanted to include many different images. Rather than use one main image like the 'norm', I wanted to include smaller additional images together to create a "main image". 

The 'Q' main image is very appealing to me. I like how it is bold and stands out against the smaller text. It is of a band and they are stood in some sort of outdoor area which makes the magazine look quite cool and unique. I didn't really have the facilities to take images outside so i used the studio. However like my contents page, we have both used additional images that are smaller than the main image. I think this gives the magazine more character and lets the audience know what it inside of the magazines. 

Double page spread

Masthead
My masthead is in a totally different font to any other I had used. I really like how it looks and fits across the page, and how the contrast of the colours work. I wanted my masthead to go across the full length of one side of the page so that it leaves room on the other to just focus on the image. I used lower case just because I thought it looked better. It gives a freelance effect to it rather than using a bold font, I wanted to make it to stand out from my introduction section. 

Similar to mine, this masthead cover is just if a name, This name links in with the article on the page. This masthead goes over the middle of the page, but it is closer to the top just like mine. This masthead is in capitals which makes the name really stand out. 





Main image
My main image takes up one full side of the page, the pose kind of links in with the article as they are quite personal and calm. I have used a prop (which was a chair) just to make it look different from other images I have used. I really like how this looks because she is looking to the ground and is sitting in a way that she looks important. Her head is tilted slightly towards the floor, just to change around the poses. It could also represent her vulnerability during her experience (which is in the article).

The existing magazine is very similar to mine. it also has a prop which is a guitar (linking in with the genre of the magazine) and he is looking down. This image is slightly more up-close which may be used to make it fit the page without leaving any gaps. It also emphasizes his passion for guitars as he is holding it carefully. Here I think the main focus is the guitar, and it could link I with the article about music. 

Article/text
By the looks of it, both articles are to do with an artists career and what they have been through. My article is quite personal and goes into detail of experiences my model has had. My article will appeal to older teenagers who are into indie-pop. I have made the first letter of the article larger that the text just to give it more of an effect and make it look professional. In between my article I included a quote which was "you will never make it" and this is one of the main cover lines included in my article as it concluded what point I am trying to get across.

Like my product, the existing magazine has quite a detailed article, and the subheadings make it look more interesting as it separated the text. It has also started off with the first letter being larger, and this is where I got my inspiration. The layout of the article is very similar as it starts at the first quarter of the page to leave room for the masthead. The language used is also similar due to the same type of target audience. 

Overall, these are some of the main inspirations I used to help me create my own conventions that are unique. (Relating to my masthead). My conventions are similar to other existing products but I have chanaged them around to suit my genre and target audience needs and interests. I did use other inspirational products but they have been included elsewhere in my blog and explained in some detail. I am quite pleased how my magazine turned out, even though there are improvements to be made.