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

Double Page spread

Contents Page

Front Cover page

Analysis of my music magazine

Magazine Cover

Red has been used as the background for '30 greatest hits', as red is a color of love, and in the double page spread I mention how the artist bonds with her sister, as her sister teaches her how to play the guitar. 

The masthead 'swag' is on the left hand side, as the logo 'NME' is also on the left hand side, as the majority of people tend to read from left to right. The white writing of the masthead 'Swag' is on  black background squares that allow the white text to stand out, as it contrasts with the darker background.

The large anchoring image shows the artist who's article is on the double page spread, therefore the front cover links to the contents and double page spread. The shot of the girl is off her looking towards the cover lines, as it refers she is saying look at them, which shows the audience that this music magazine is important. 

The cover lines are in red and black, a part of the colors I chose to use, the drums and her checked shirt are also red, while black is used in the cover lines to make the writing stand out, as black is the darkest color , therefore stands out against a white background.

I also include a quote underneath the cover line 'Musical Festival', I use the quote 'A great time' , this is because this phrase is from the double page spread, therefore the use of  quotes allows the reader to read further, as quotes interest the audience.  

Improvements for my music magazine

I would make sure that their was more than one image, the image that I would have included would have been a  medium close up, as MCU focuses on the subject, therefore my artist would have been the focus of the object, instead of the instruments as show in my music magazine cover.

I would have kept the title plain, rather then adding the grey color to the letter 'W', as the letter 'W' would have stood out more if it was white, as the color white is of purity and innocence, which suggest that the artist of the cover is innocent, this is shown through the double page spread, as she bonds with her sister, also is shown on the contents page as the writings background is also white.

Magazine contents page

The phrase 'GOSHA THIS WEEK' is kept as the masthead, as it's a contents page, therefore  the artist is on the contents page, as the music magazine is revolved on 'Gosha'.

The colors used on the contents page is red, black and white. I use red, as red is a bright, striking - eye - catching color, while black is a dark, sinister color, black is used to suggest that she was secretive off making her album 'Swag', however white is a pure innocent color that refers to her innocence of wearing 'her glasses'.

I include the phrase  'Band Index', as the features displayed are conventionally in a list, therefore it suggests that a contents page is full of articles and interesting news, this indicates that some people will then purchase the magazine if it looks attractable with information. 

The image is off a young girl, therefore it is aimed at females who can take the artist as an inspiration. However to improve, i could have added images on bot female and male, therefore it would have appealed to a wider audience other then girls, 

The image is a medium shot, therefore it is a picture from the waist and up, this shot directs the reader/ viewer to the image of the girl. However, it would have been better if the image was  direct mode of address, this would have meant that the image would have had to be a extreme close up, this would have allowed the audience to feel a connection with the magazine.

Music magazine, Double Page Spread

The phrase that I use ' Some think i'm a show off, but i'm just me', this quote is used as the title, as the double page spread is an article on the artist who holds a microphone, the image off her hand is slanted on the writing 'allowed me', this provides a visual image of Gosha allowing the journalist too visit her debut room- it creates graphology in the readers mind, and wanting to read the third paragraph. 

From my preliminary task, i have gained a better consideration off colours to use - Black, bold font is used, therefore the audience can read the title, The title as a quote is persuasive, as it attracts some to purchase the magazine, as some are interested in an artists life. My presentation, and layout is more effective, then my school magazine, as I never knew were the masthead was, also i never knew of intuitions like Nme and Kerrang, therefore by doing my music magazine, it enabled me to research on institutions.

I've structured the writing in columns, therefore it fits the  conventions of a double  page spread.

To conclude, I created my music magazine cover, contents page and double page spread on Photoshop. This enabled me to experiment with different tools, for example,I used the pen tool on the double page spread, as I needed to erase the background from the artist in the picture. I erased the background as I wanted the double page spread to follow a specific style. I chose to use Lilly Allen's double page spread as a style model for my double page spread, this allowed me to copy some of the conventions used in the double page spread.

Magazine Front cover

My Music Magazine cover

I kept the original background of my photo, as I added instruments in the background, I put instruments in the background as it's a music magazine, therefore fits the context. I used the colors - White, black and red, as 'NME' uses 3 colors. 

Red has been used as the background for '30 greatest hits', as red is a color of love, and in the double page spread I mention how the artist bonds with her sister, as her sister teaches her how to play the guitar. 

I use a bar code to make it look like a real music magazine, therefore fits the convention, however I also put the price in the corner of the title 'Swag', and the date '10th of July', this indicates the price and date like a normal music magazine. 

The masthead 'swag' is on the left hand side, as the logo 'NME' is also on the left hand side, as the majority of people tend to read from left to right. The white writing of the masthead 'Swag' is on  black background squares that allow the white text to stand out, as it contrasts with the darker background.

The large anchoring image shows the artist who's article is on the double page spread, therefore the front cover links to the contents and double page spread. The shot of the girl is off her looking towards the cover lines, as it refers she is saying look at them, which shows the audience that this music magazine is important. 

The cover lines are in red and black, a part of the colors I chose to use, the drums and her checked shirt are also red, while black is used in the cover lines to make the writing stand out, as black is the darkest color , therefore stands out against a white background.

I also include a quote underneath the cover line 'Musical Festival', I use the quote 'A great time' , this is because this phrase is from the double page spread, therefore the use of  quotes allows the reader to read further, as quotes interest the audience.  

Improvements for my music magazine

I would make sure that their was more than one image, the image that I would have included would have been a  medium close up, as MCU focuses on the subject, therefore my artist would have been the focus of the object, instead of the instruments as show in my music magazine cover.

I would have kept the title plain, rather then adding the grey color to the letter 'W', as the letter 'W' would have stood out more if it was white, as the color white is of purity and innocence, which suggest that the artist of the cover is innocent, this is shown through the double page spread, as she bonds with her sister, also is shown on the contents page as the writings background is also white.

Magazine contents page

The phrase 'GOSHA THIS WEEK' is kept as the masthead, as it's a contents page, therefore  the artist is on the contents page, as the music magazine is revolved on 'Gosha'.

The colors used on the contents page is red, black and white. I use red, as red is a bright, striking - eye - catching color, while black is a dark, sinister color, black is used to suggest that she was secretive off making her album 'Swag', however white is a pure innocent color that refers to her innocence of wearing 'her glasses'.

I include the phrase  'Band Index', as the features displayed are conventionally in a list, therefore it suggests that a contents page is full of articles and interesting news, this indicates that some people will then purchase the magazine if it looks attractable with information. 

The image is off a young girl, therefore it is aimed at females who can take the artist as an inspiration. However to improve, i could have added images on bot female and male, therefore it would have appealed to a wider audience other then girls, 

The image is a medium shot, therefore it is a picture from the waist and up, this shot directs the reader/ viewer to the image of the girl. However, it would have been better if the image was  direct mode of address, this would have meant that the image would have had to be a extreme close up, this would have allowed the audience to feel a connection with the magazine.

Music magazine, Double Page Spread

The phrase that I use ' Some think i'm a show off, but i'm just me', this quote is used as the title, as the double page spread is an article on the artist who holds a microphone, the image off her hand is slanted on the writing 'allowed me', this provides a visual image of Gosha allowing the journalist too visit her debut room- it creates graphology in the readers mind, and wanting to read the third paragraph. 

Black, bold font is used, therefore the audience can read the title, The title as a quote is persuasive, as it attracts some to purchase the magazine, as some are interested in an artists life.

I've structured the writing in columns, therefore it fits the  conventions of a double  page spread.

To conclude, I created my music magazine cover, contents page and double page spread on Photoshop. This enabled me to experiment with different tools, for example,I used the pen tool on the double page spread, as I needed to erase the background from the artist in the picture. I erased the background as I wanted the double page spread to follow a specific style. I chose to use Lilly Allen's double page spread as a style model for my double page spread, this allowed me to copy some of the conventions used in the double page spread.

I changed the font of  my dps, as the 'pristina' font looks more elegant, and suits the audience of girls.

Ideas and thought processes for my magazine cover

First of all, I clicked some photos for my music magazine. The photos I took included a blue electronic guitar, as I wanted the front cover to include an instrument object.

My pictures that I took were from a peer. I wanted her to wear something that was either red and black, as my chosen colors to use in the magazine were red, black and white, as my chosen institution 'NME' also uses 3 colors.

Process of my Music Magazine cover

This is the original photo I took.

First of all, I started with getting the image sorted, therefore I erased some of the background from the left. I made her face a little lighter from her cheek, as it was a black shade.

In the blank/ white space, I added the cover-lines their, therefore the left hand side did not look blank, also 'NME'  add the features of their magazine in a style down, on the left hand side, therefore it is clearer to read.

I made a rounded circle for my sell line '30 greatest hits', I located in  a circular shape as it provides encouragement for the reader to look beyond the magazine cover, it allows the reader to view the other features used to make the magazine sell. The red circle, contrasts with the black background, as red is bright compared to the dark color, it attracts the readers attention.





Firstly, I chose to draw out a elipse tool, this allowed me to get a base for my sell lone, I then filled the color red, as i wanted it to fit the colors I chose (red, black and white), I chose red, as my background on the top, right hand side was black, therefore needed a bright color. I then chose the stroke to be black, therefore black and red made a good color combination, as it was  contrast of a dark and bright color, which fitted well together.

A change that I made

To conclude, this is my music magazine cover.




















Process of my contents page


The original photo that I took for my contents page.

I eliminated the right hand side, this was so that her face and Gosha holding the guitar was noticed, as it's a music contents page.

Photoshop wasn't used on this image, as I wanted the image to be natural.

For my masthead of the contents page, I used the font 'Eras Medium ITC', this gave my contents page a bold look, because the letters are in capitals. I chose red font and black font, as red and black go together as a good color combination. I chose to do red for the lexis 'Gosha', as the 'Band Index' is in a black font, therefore red was needed to contrast on the  left hand side, therefore it will catch the readers attention.

For my cover lines, I used the font called 'Stencil std', this was so that the cover lines would stand out i a bold font, the font of the cover lines is in capitals, therefore follows the conventions of a magazine contents page.

The point of using ' stencil std', is because it's a font that imitates cut out stencils, therefore it commands attention. The font ' stencil std' was founded by Gerry Powell in 1937.

I used a rectangle background behind the text, as the background was of the artists image, therefore the black text was camouflaging with the black background, therefore the white rectangle was used to make the black text stand out.

My cover line is black and white, therefore the contrast allows the cover line to stand out, as black and white are a good combination. White suggests  purity and innocence, while black suggests a sinister, dark color. The shape of the cover line was a  rectangle, then I used the eraser tool to make a circle, therefore it looks like the letter 'c'.

To conclude, this is my contents page.


















Process of My Double page Spread

This is the original photo.

I used the pen tool to get rid off the background because the background of the image I took didn't have anything to do with music.

In order to get rid off the background, I used the pen tool which allowed me to draw a path, then allowed anchor point adjustments that allows you to get rid of the part you don't want. every time I clicked, I created  a anchor point. To make a straight line, I held down shift, and then I moved the mouse, and clicked on the screen, therefore created a straight line with the last anchor point.

I used the font 'OCR A extended' for my text on the double page spread. I used this font because it gave the dps a professional look.  The 'OCR A extended font' was founded because there was a need for a font that could be recognized by both  - computers and humans. By using the 'OCR A extended' font, meant using simple, thick strokes to form the text. The font is mono spaced, which means that the font has a fixed width, therefore it's easier for the reader to read the text. The font was released in 1968, and commissioned by American National Standards (some background info).

I used three text boxes in order to make an article on the artist 'Gosha'. I kept extended my paragraphs, therefore I left the background plain so my writing was visible, as black and white are part of my colors I chose.

To conclude, this is my double page spread.