EVALUATION QUESTION 1

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

TITLE OF THE MAGAZINE

Well, the title of my magazine is shown in the top left hand corner of the image about, and is called 'THE DROP'. To a certain percentage of readers the meaning behind this title would be unknown, however to my target audience it is well known. This is because it is the explaination of a certain point in many songs where the music reaches a crescendo or fades out into silence, then the music starts up again suddenly, hence the phrase 'the drop'. This title is short and snappy, making it easy for the reader to process and understand. It is situated at the top of the front cover and is the width of the page. This is very typical of most magazines such as Kerrang and LOOK, and acts as a hook to draw in the reader. This works by attracting their eye to the boldest part of the magazine: the title, then this leads their eye down the whole cover, enabling them to take in all of the information without losing interest.

COSTUMES/PEOPLE

The cover model of my magazine is actually myself, as it was much easier to take photos of myself for the cover, contents and DPS. I could achieve exactly what I wanted without having to direct another model, therefore achieving the best outcome possible. Typically, on the front cover of any magazine, the model featured in the main image would be dressed in something flashy, indication wealth and fame, however on the cover of my magazine the model is wearing a simple grey jumper. This is because I wanted her to appear relaxed and normal, to tie in with the article in the DPS. Because of this the main image on my cover isn't very conventional, compared to the outfits which appear on the cover of most fashion and music magazines, however I can justify this choice because of both my target audience and the message I want to send to the readers.

TITLE FONT AND STYLE
The font that I have used for my masthead is called Bebas Neue and is from http://www.dafont.com/. I wanted to ensure that the font was plain and readable, with no fancy flicks or swirls. Plain fonts are key to the masthead of a magazine, as they ensure that the reader can recognise the name of the magazine straight away, without having to concentrate on deciphering a complicated font. Another font which I have used is called Lead, and was also fount on DaFont. It is the font which I have used for the title of my DPS saying 'SWEET SUCCESS'. This font isn't typically girly or pretty, and fits in well with my genre and mood of the magazine. It has quite a bit of detail on and therefore doesn't follow the conventions of a typical article title, however it is relevant to the article and the magazine's genre.

WRITTEN CONTENT
Another typical convention of most magazines is to have the words 'this week' feature somewhere on the contents page. This occurs in both fashion and music magazines, such as LOOK and NME.

 

 

I chose to incorporate this into my contents page because it made it look more realistic as a magazine, and because it makes the intentions of the page clear: to tell you what is in this week's issue of THE DROP.

MUSIC GENRE

There are a few indications of the genre of my magazine throughout the cover, contents and DPS. An example of this is on the cover, in the short explanatory sentence underneath the main sell line. It reads "Britain's newest edition to the Alternative world...", therefore indicating at a genre. Because the genre of the featured artists is Alternative, this suggests that the whole magazine will be based around this genre. This knowledge helps the reader decide whether or not they will be interested by the content, and whether or not to buy it. Another suggestion of genre is in the DPS article, which mentions an Indie Rock guru. Because this other genre is similar to the first, the reader can now begin to appreciate that the magazine has a specific genre, which could lead to the magazine's reputation.

LAYOUT

One of the sections on the above image shows the bottom section of my contents page. It is the part of the page which informs the reader of the most important parts of the magazine, what they feature and where to find them. Like many magazine contents pages, mine has been split up into four sections, each with a heading; News, Reviews, Up + Coming and Features. This is very similar to the printscreen to the right, which I have taken from an issue of Kerrang. All issues follow this layout for the contents information, therefore making my use of this method conventional to not only magazines in general, but also to music magazines of the same or a similar genre.