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

My media product follows various real media conventions. This is due to my research of music magazines and how I constructed each individual part of my product. 

FRONT COVER: Each specific part of my front cover was created to follow the codes and conventions of other 'Indie' magazines that are currently on the market such as NME. The presentation of my front cover shows that I have followed these codes and conventions of published magazines. I used publishing conventions such as the bar code, date and issue number.  I chose to use a male model as the Indie style seems to be more appropriate for a male, this would also attract a larger female audience. The results of my questionnaire also influenced the gender of my model. By using an attractive male of the front of my magazine, it would attract the female audience as someone they like the look of and for the male audience, it would be someone they aspire to be like. The outfit of my model is appropriate for the genre of my magazine as is the pose of my model, which is typical of the Indie style. I chose to have the model looking directly at the camera to capture the attention of my target audience. My image follows the conventions of a real media product due to all of these things. The text of my front cover could perhaps challenge the codes and conventions of other magazines on the market as the text I have used is fairly plain in comparison. Although I believe that it does not stray too far from the codes and conventions used in real media products as the texts on some front covers are also simple and plain. The title of my music magazine can be related to magazines such as NME. I chose 'ICM' Indie Culture Music because as I researched into the Independent culture, I discovered that music is a specific aspect of that. The colour scheme I used was due to the results of my questionnaire, I also decided before conducting my questionnaire that due to my research, these colours were particularly popular with the Indie style. The colours that I have used also appeal to both audiences. 

CONTENTS PAGE: The contents page I have created follows codes and conventions in multiple ways. The use of 'Contents' as a heading is a regular feature on most of the music magazines on the market. My use of columns is also used some, although not all, of the media products published. I decided to use them as I think they keep the page in order. Another way in which I followed the codes and conventions of real media products on my contents page is through my use of images, I chose to use the images in a column and number them as I thought it was simple and easy to understand, I also liked this feature when I did my research into music magazines. One feature I did not include in my contents page that I fount in multiple magazines when conducting my was the editorial letter, this is something I thought that would not suit my magazine. The text of my contents page, I would consider to be of average size. I ensured that the coverline or story text was the smallest on the page. 

 

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD: The double page spread I have created follows most of the codes and conventions of a double page spread in a real media product. I decided to have one of my pages an image as the audience are able to use this as a poster if they wish. I also thought that it gave the spread some structure. I stuck with the use of columns as I did in the contents page, in my research I found that columned interviews are extremely popular. I have challenged the codes and conventions in that some magazines use quotes in a larger text around the interview to give the audience a basic idea of the content of the interview. I felt that it was not needed with the image on the right hand page, I felt that the interview with the heading of the artists name and subheading describing the interview was enough to captivate the audience. I chose the particular image for my double page spread as I thought that it was an appropriate image for the genre of music I am trying to represent through my magazine. I wanted the model to have some confidence as the interview was about 'making it' in the music industry. I continued the same colour scheme throughout the front cover, contents page and double page spread as I thought that it was necessary to keep a theme of colours the same in a magazine, I found this was also the case in my research.