Q1.

In what ways does your media

product use, develop or challenge forms
and conventions of real media products?
The similarities between my magazine and professional
magazine

They both only have

. one main image

The convention of using ears and puffs have

the same purpose to attract the reader to an
important promotion or information about the
magazine.

The main coverlines are similar as they both focus just

on the band name to promote the article. This use of
simplistic coverlines quickly shows the reader who is
the main focus of the magazine.

The magazines use a pull quote from the band to

attract the reader , as they know the band will
have a personal input within the magazine.

The magazine have a three person band

that focuses on the main member then
the other members are in the background

The magazines both have

barcodes
Differences between my magazine and
professional front cover
The backgrounds are different as
the Riff background is plain where
as the MNE background is of a
record studio.
The NME models are male rock
star which is more common in the
genre than females.
The colour scheme of NME is just
red and white , whereas I used
three colours on my front cover.

The position of the cover lines are

different because on Riff I grouped
them together at the bottom.
However, NME put their cover lines
along the sides of the main image.
 How I followed the codes and
conventions of a magazine
The codes and conventions I followed was the
masthead being to the top left corner and the main
cover line focusing on the band that are the main
selling point of the magazine. In addition, I have
used a colour scheme of blue, white, red and purple
to show that the genre is rock. As most rock
magazines use those colours ,therefore this follows
the codes and conventions of rock magazines.
Furthermore, this implies the stereotypical
conventions of a rock magazine. Also, I have
included a main image of a band, which is the focus
of that edition of the magazine. I have used the
bands name Sabah and the rebels as the main
cover line , so the target audience are aware of the
main focus of the magazine as the main article will
be about them. This convention of using the bands
name is very common so the target audience will
know that the magazine is of the music genre. I have
 How I developed the codes and
conventions of a magazine
I have developed the codes and conventions of a
magazine because I have chosen to use a white
background on the main image. However, NME used a
music studio for their background. I found the white
background directed the target audiences focus to the
band. This does not mean I am breaking conventions
however because a background is optional for a picture.
I felt that the page would be too busy with a background
and all the coverlines, so the focus would not be on the
band. The colour scheme I used for RIFF is more varied
than NME. As NME only uses red and white, whereas I
used red, white , purple and blue. The reason I did this
was red and blue are common colours that are used in
rock magazines. Furthermore, purple is a colour that is
stereotypically linked with women. I did this so that the
colour scheme would imply that the magazine was a
rock magazine, but was hoping to attract a female
readership. In addition, I used a female rock band on
my front cover , which does break the codes and
conventions of rock. As rock musicians are generally
male so it is unusual for a female rock band to be the
main focus of a magazine. I wanted to subvert the
Comparison with Draft
I made many changes from my draft
because I felt that it was important to
follow the codes and conventions of rock
more closely. The main difference is that I
was going to use a solo female artist on
the front cover , however I felt that I could
still use the female subversion of the rock
stereotype but use a band instead. Bands
are more common in rock than single
artists so I follow that convention as the
target audience would able to notice the
magazine was of the rock genre more
easily. I did not include a second image
because I felt it would pull focus away
from the main image. I did kept the dark
blue and blue masthead from my draft
because the colours imply the rock genre.
However, I did move the masthead to the
left because I did not look correct in the
certain as it is a short word. I kept the
idea of a pull quote, which I used as the
main coverline, because it is common
The similarities between my
magazine and professional House style with colour
magazine Masthead and date
scheme

Sub-headings

Article titles
With summary and
page numbers

Main image
With article reference

puff
Differences between my magazine
and professional content page
One main image compared
to multiple smaller images

The colour scheme

Social media links

How I followed the codes and
conventions of a magazine
I have followed the conventions and codes of a
magazine content page because I have included
: masthead, contents title , subtitles, rule of
thirds , page numbers and multiple images. I
have used the RIFF masthead to show a house
style. That demonstrates to the audience that
the magazine is well organised. This helps create
a recognisable brand and helps the magazine to
gain a loyal audience. In addition, I have used
the rule of thirds to align the text and the
images, so the images and the main article fell
on the main visual focus points. This meant the
page looks well structured. I have used page
numbers as it is a code of contents pages. They
are important as they guide the audience to the
correct page. The images I have used catch the
audiences attention because they connate the
rock genre. The images are anchored with
articles that are in the contents , this helps to
interest the reader in the article with a visual
link. I continued the colour scheme through ,
which is a code of magazines called a house
How I developed the codes and
conventions of a magazine
I have developed the conventions and codes
of a magazine by including multiple images.
The reason why I did this was because
images attract younger audiences and my
target audience is 18-25. The page is
focused on the pictures, which refer to
articles with page numbers. I included social
media links but NME did not. This is a
development of the conventions because I
decided to include social media for two
reasons. Firstly, social media is a good way
for a new product to increase popularity as
people can share the magazine social media
page with their followers. Secondly, its a
part of everyday life for my target audience
using social media so it directly interests the
reader.
Comparison with Draft
I kept the column for the contents from
my draft because I felt it made the
magazine well structure. This is
appealing to the target audience as the
contents are easy to follow. The images
I used for the final magazine are of solo
artists because I wanted to break the
convention of rock only being a genre
for bands. I wanted to show different
articles through multiple pictures. It
makes the page more visually
appealing to the audience. This is an
improvement I made to the layout of
the contents since the drafts. The
editors letter I decided against putting
it in ,because there was not enough
space. The editors letter is an optional
feature of magazines so I did not feel it
would be take way from the contents.
The colour scheme I kept the same
Similarities between my magazine
and professional front cover
Grab quote

Picture
credit

Drop cap

Main House
image standfirst Headline
style
Differences between my magazine
and professional magazine
Wrap text

Multiple images

Timeline special
feature
How I followed the codes and
conventions of a magazine
I followed the codes and conventions by including
a, standfirst, byline, grab quote, drop cap, a main
image and house style. I have put in the headline
because it is a code of magazine articles and I main
sure that headline was similar to the articles
coverline on the front cover. The coverline is a
rhetorical question which is a good way to make the
audience personally involved with the article. The
standfirst is a summary of what the article will
included which makes the audience more
enthusiastic to read the article. The byline credits
the writer of the article. The main image is a group
image of the band with instruments , which is a
common convention of the rock genre. The grab
quote is large at the top of the page to attract the
audiences attention. The use of a grab quote
appeal to the target audience because it is a honest
view from the artist to their fans. The drop cap is
helpful for the reader to be directed the start of the
article.
How I developed the codes and
conventions of a magazine
I included the Wrap text feature to
incorporate the main image and the
article together visually. This is a
development of the features is
appealing to the audience because
it makes the article look more
visually appealing.
The models in my main image are
female which is not stereotypically
common for the rock genre.
Therefore, this is a subversion of
the conventions of the genre.
Comparison with Draft

The draft is very different from the final product

because I was undecided about the tone of the
article , therefore I was unsure of the features I
wanted to include. This caused me to base my
double page on features of different magazines.
The grab quote idea is still presented because it
creates a relationship between the audience and
the artist that the article is about. The purple colour
was kept because it connotes femininity and the
rock genre, which is the aim of the magazine.