5. Using Conventions Of Real Media Texts

Conventions of a magazine Front Cover

• Masthead 

• Main Image 

• Headline 

• Pull Quotes 

• Cover Lines

• Date 

• Bar code 

• Price 

• Colour Scheme 

• Banners 

• Anchorage Text 

• Strap line 

• Direct Address 

• Unique Font

• What issue the magazine is 

 With the masthead on my front cover i wanted to make it memorable and unique with the font and also the colours. I feel like i challenged the masthead of usual conventions because of it being a unique name and me using the colour pink but also spelling it like MUZIK instead of MUSIC to make it more modern because of the audience i chose. But i feel in some ways i feel that i followed the conventions because of be erasing the masthead to have the artists in front of the masthead because they are the main focus. On the front cover i used a bright colour scheme to attract the audience which when i did my research most magazine front covers used to suit the genre of music. With the masthead also i learnt that the audience don't generally need to see the masthead because they know already what the magazine is called and are used to the masthead, and this helped me want to make my masthead more unique, bright and colourful. Because of my front cover having to appeal to both genders i used a mixture of colours so it can apply to both male and female audiences but also wanted my magazine to look unisex and to not focus on just females. Another component i used from the conventions of a realistic front cover is a plug, these are usually used to attract the audience more but also to inform them in competitions and prices to be won i used two which had different shaped and colours to contrast on the front cover. I also made my layout typical to a front cover magazine by this i added more cover lines to make it look busy but placed them professionally around the front cover so the audience can still see the main image but still be informed by the cover lines around the image. The cover lines were all also in white and bright colours so they stand out and not clash with the main image so the audience can see them clearly and making it more eye catching but the colours also to stand out and appeal to both audiences (male and female). I also included other typical conventions to make my magazine look even more realistic e.g. Date, Issue, Bar-Code and Price. 

• Title (Usually 'contents page')

• Web Address

• Issue Date 

• Small Images 

• Contact Information 

• Page Numbers and Information included in the different pages

• Captions for images (page numbers) 

• Main Image 

• Smaller titles or Mastheads 

• The name of the magazine (usually in the corner or at the bottom) 

  I also used small images of the artists to show the audience who the magazine is focused on. It helps that the contents page includes the main artists because of the audience wanting to see, but also something for them to get excited about to read. Another component that i used was unusual font to make the contents page look fresh, but also to match the other products and to look professional.  With the contents page images i made them black and white, this is because in colour i thought it would look to busy due to the bright colour scheme, i think it made it look unique because most contents pages don't involve black and white images. Also in two of the images i erased the background to match my front cover, i think this added some texture to it because of it all not being just 'square' and 'blocky', i thought this was effective but it could of been improved due to the outline being messy and UN-neat. With the information included to what is on the different pages, i included 'fashion' and 'tunes' so it can appeal to both audiences more, by having different sections to my magazine i think it made a difference between the others just focusing on the music side and not involving other components. I think i challenged the conventions of a contents page regarding the colour and artists, even though including female artists as the main focus i don't think it helped my magazine to look unisex especially with the colour scheme, (pink, different shades of purple) i think if i used more unisex colours like green or blue it would appeal to both audiences more. Conventions of a Double Page Spread 

• Pull Quote 

• Title/Header 

• Text/Column 

• Continuing the colour scheme 

• Banner

• Page Number

• 'Question and Answer' 

• Main Image 

My Front Cover- Conventions used, developed and challenged on my front coverFor my magazine front cover i included many things. The components i used for my front cover was a masthead, headline, main image, bar code, price and many more. I used a main image on the front cover where the artists where looking at the camera to use a direct address to the audience but also to draw them into 'reading or buying' the magazine. Another component i included was the price, date and bar code which are the main conventions that every front cover had due to them informing the audience about the magazine, i also did this to make my magazine front cover look more realistic. By making a magazine i had to choose a music genre but also what artists i was going to include, I chose house music because it is my favorite type of music and i think it would of helped me in the long run because i know what the artists are like and what they are perceived to be. I think with my main image i challenged the conventions of a front cover due to the fact that i used woman on a house music magazine front cover and most of the industry are male which helped my magazine look unique to the others. By using women on the front cover i think it would appeal to both the genders more than using a male because woman tend to usually be interested in woman artists opposed to men but also i think men would be more open to both sexes on a front cover because its different seeing woman.

Conventions of a Contents PageMy Contents Page- Conventions used, developed and challenged on a Contents Page There are also many conventions to a contents page, these include page numbers, small images and also a contact information. I included all of these things due to wanting to make it look more realistic. On my contents page i used a web address just like my front cover but didn't include it on the double page spread because i didn't think it was a relevant as the other two. I also used a title in a distorted layout due to it being similar to other contents pages as it makes it look more modern and fresh, i also kept in with the colour scheme of my magazine by using purples and faded the colours from dark to light to have a contrast between the other components on the contents page. I also used the colour scheme with the underlines of the titles and also included my masthead at the bottom which is in pink to keep in with the 'theme'. By doing this it made my magazine look professional and clear to the audience that it had a link between all of the products (front cover, double page spread and contents page).

My Double Page Spread- Conventions used, developed or challenged 


The first thing on i used on my double page spread was a main image, this was of the main artists that are included on the contents page and front cover. I used a filter to make the image look bright and in colour. I used a quote from the artists to show the audience a 'snippet' of what they have to say, this is also effective and used with other real magazines because of it being on of the first things the audience reads to carry on looking at the column. I also followed the conventions of using columns in my writing but i feel like i challenged this because of having two paragraphs above as an introduction, in bigger and bold writing. I used a banner in the corner of my double page spread to inform the audience that this 'column' was exclusive to make it more exciting for the audience to read. I also continued the colour scheme that i had used throughout to match it to the other products i had made but also to make it look organised and professional. I think the colour scheme helped because it being about female artists and i think it matched the column instead of using 'boyish' colours. I continued the font throughout all the products to make it look professional but could be improved due to it being to small and difficult to read for the audience. On my double page spread i made changes to make it look realistic. I changed the image filter to colour instead of black and white to add more colour, i included more columns so the reader could engage more, I included a page number and a quote on the image to make it look more appealing. I also made 'DL' in big letters to show the audience who the main focus is but to also make it look more exciting and appealing to read other than a boring title (I included 3 titles). I made my double page spread look more busy and professional even though minor components could be improved. I kept things some components the same like the title, fading from a dark purple to a light so it would make my magazine more unique from other real products. I used a question and answer in my columns because that is what most audiences like to see in a column or double page spread because it is actually what the artists said themselves and not wrote by someone else. I think overall my double page spread was successful but i would have improved more components to make it look better (the main image being myself, the font being to small and thin, the colours used) 

What I would do differently and improve.... 

The first thing that i would change is the models for my magazine, i used myself and it made me conscious of my product but also thinking it looked worse than it did. I would think more about my colour scheme appealing to the genre of the music but especially the audience. Another thing that i would change is the colour on my masthead being pink, i don't think it really helped me choosing a colour scheme because it looked good with girly colours. Another component i would change is the genre being house music, i regret doing this genre because of the conventions and images etc being so hard to apply, i would have chose to do R&B or Pop. I would have changed my font throughout due to it being a problem on the double page spread being difficult to read and i don't think it suited my products. The last thing i would change is the images, i used different filters and colours on the images and it think overall it made my magazine look tacky with the colour scheme and other components.