1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or change forms and conventions?

Masthead

A very typical masthead on my magazine with a block colour and simple font. So the title of the magazine is easy to read and stands out against the rest of the page. My masthead is similar to that of Kerrang because both magazines have around the same target audience. Both mastheads are at the top of the page and are slightly obscured by the artist’s head. Making the artist seem as if they are more dominant in the magazine.

Artist

Because my magazine is based on independent artists I have conformed to the conventions. This is because the artist that I have chosen is quite young, this would be normal for independent artists as they would want to start off in the music business quite young. I have also been unconventional in using just one artist on the front cover; this is because there would most likely be a band consisting of around 4 members on the front cover of an Indie magazine. However, I think that it works well because I have made sure that the artist is an all rounder, they compose, produce and play all their own music. This would make the audience feel more curious about the artist.

Sell lines

I have developed where the main sell line is placed, it is normally in the top right of the magazine just beneath the mast head. However on my magazine I have placed it at the bottom; it is in the boldest and biggest font though. This is so I could have the sell line bigger as if I had conformed to the convention it would have obstructed the main image. Another convention that I have challenged is the use of a text box displaying many artists. Normally the front cover is full of sell lines however the main point on my front cover is the text box. It allows the reader to see clearly what bands/ artists are in the magazine so would potentially buy it more if it displayed their favourite band.

                                        Contents

On the contents page I have again used most of the conventions however I have challenged the number of images that are normally used. I have only used two which lets the reader see what are the main articles in the magazine; the top pages. One of them is of the artist on the front cover which emphasises how ‘exclusive’ the article is. I have also conformed by having an editor’s letter, this is so the reader can gain a view of what the magazine is about; it makes the magazine seem friendlier as well as exchanges some extra information on the  production of the magazine. In my case it shows how they search for new independent artists and therefore how they came across the artist.

Double Page Spread

I have also challenged the placing of where the double page spread is; instead of being near the middle of the magazine I have placed it closer to the front. This is so that the article can be at the top of the important articles in the magazine. When reader’s read through the contents page it will be the first one that they would see. On the double page spread I have conformed by having one main image and then some smaller images. This is so that people who scan through the magazine will see the images it also breaks up the blocks of texts. Readers who like to read will be positive about the double page where as people who don’t will not be excluded as the images break the text up. I have broke the text up further by using the convention of a question and answer information which creates segments; people who scan the page will be able to read the questions that they want the answer to easily.