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

Question 1

I have included a slideshow to clearly show my points, I will indicate a number in my answer and that will symbolise the page number of the presentation.

For my magazine design, I decided to do a multi-genre themed genre as there aren't many of them on them market at the moment, I based the design and theme of my magazine on 'Q' magazine as they tend to feature a range of different artists. [1 + 2]On my front cover I made sure that my masthead was clearly centred at the top of my page, as this would make sure that my audience would be able to indicate that it was a magazine. I made it white so it would stand out a lot more. I then made sure that my picture on the front cover was straight in the centre of the page, this way my magazine would have a main sell, this would also make my magazine follow the same forms and conventions of a real media product. To identify my main sell, I placed a bar across the picture, stating what it was and what would be in the magazine. I made sure that the masthead's font was sans serif this way it would connote professionalism and make my magazine seem more like a real magazine. I made the mise-en-scene of my magazine to be very natural looking, including the front cover image, this way the whole natural theme, with the colours and the background image would be a nice woodsy, warm looking theme, I also chose the colours red and green to make the magazine connote unisex, I wanted my magazine to be aimed at both boys and girls and by using these colours I made my magazine be able to do so. [3+4] I followed this colour theme into the contents page. I included a message from the editor, as when I did my research I found that most of the magazines had this on their contents pages, this way my magazine would also follow the forms and conventions of other magazines like it. I also included images of what else would be in my magazine down the right hand side of my contents page, as this again made my magazine look more real and more professional. [5+6]On my double page spread, I made sure I included at least two images of my main sell as double page spreads all tended to have more than one picture. I also made sure that my double page spread was in column form as many other magazines did this also. To make my magazine look more sophisticated I added a blown up quote on on of the pages from the interview, I did this as I thought it would make my magazine stand out and be more appealing to my audience.

Finished Products

Production Update - Comments Recieved

Over the weekend I made sure that I was able to get people's comments on my magazine. I tagged people who I thought would be interested in my magazine's genre and I made sure they tried to give a bit more detail than just one word responses. A few of my friends comments were quite useful and they stated what they liked about the magazine. Luckily, the people who commented didnt say many bad things about my magazine. One person wasnt sure about the colour scheme on my front cover as she didnt think it went very well, but then she stated that the colour scheme flowed through out the magazine and changed her mind when she saw the rest of the magazine. A lot of people liked the way my double page spread looked and how I made it look more professional by adding the giant quote on the right hand side. Also they liked the fact that it was quite a simple layout and it was too croweded, I liked this as I thought it connoted sophistication and I'm glad my audience picked up on this. My audience also liked the way my double page spread was laid out and they thought that the picture sizes were good and worked well with the page. One of my targeted audience said that they liked the way I had used the space to draw the eye to the interviewee, I never thought of it this way but I think that this adds more effect to my magazine and makes my magazine seem more real.

I have posted a picture of what my friends said about my magazine here.

Production Update

I gave myself a week to try and finish my magazine's double page spread. I finished this a lot quicker than I originally thought. I tried to follow my first draft outline, even though I did say that I wanted to try and make it like an old movie themed photo shoot and layout, this was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. Also it didnt really fit in with the rest of the magazine, it was a bit random and didnt flow as well as I think it does now. From my research I noticed how many magazines' double page spreads writing is in a few columns, normally with more than one picture. I tried to follow through on this, as I believe that this connoted proffesionalism and it made my double page spread seem and look more realistic.

I now want to try and get my audiences opinion on how they think the magazine looks. To do this I have posted pictures of my front cover, contents page and double page spread on my facebook site. I have done this so people are able to see what I've done and whether or not my target audience like the ideas that I have done, whether they like the changes or whether they think it is completely wrong! By getting their comments I can quickly make changes before the final deadline.