Question 1

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

1) The title of the magazine:

For the masthead of my magazine i chose to use the font "Pirulen" for my magazine title "Valeur". I wanted to use a simple black font that would stand out from the white background. The aim of my magazine was to not fit in with all other music magazines, i wanted mine to be different and that is why i made the magazine font simple to that of a fashion magazine. Although the fonts are very similar, mine is thicker and wider, the "Grazia" font is very spacious between letters.

   

                                       2) Mis-en-scene of images:

I think the mis-en-scene of my image follows the codes and conventions of magazines. Putting the image onto a white background fits in with the image i want to give off to people, that my magazine is sophisticated and classy, i think the pure white background helps to portray this impression. The photo shows the model looking straight at the camera which brings the auidence into the magazine, showing it is directed at them.

                                                        3) Costume and props:
The props for the images are very fashion based, the hair and the makeup of the model is all done to make the model look as best they can. The change of the outfits throughout the magazine also show that this magazine is based on fashion as well as music. I wanted to get an image like the one from "Blender" magazine with Katy Perry on the front, as this magazine is fashion and music based i looked at it for inspiration and my magazine is very similair with the black and pink writing on the pure white background. Although i used the outfit the model wore to match the colour scheme for the magazine, that is why the model is wearing a baby pink and black top, the colours are then incorporated into the scheme as the main colour fonts are black and baby pink although there is some hot pink which was used to brighten up the cover and catch readers attention.

            
                                                               4) People:
I used a young female model as the only model throughout my magazine. There are so many young female artists at the moment such as Katy Perry, Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Adele, these artists all all independent, confident women and i wanted to portray this image within my magazine therefore i used a model who looks very condident, her pose with her hand on her hip, pushing her head up shows she is someone who has confidence and holds her head high, someone who seems to give of the impression she isnt afraid to speak her mind. So many young females read magazines with female artists tthat feature as they look up to them and aspire to be like them, therefore i used a young female model who takes pride in her appearance to appeal to the younger genderation, which in fact is my target audience. The image is to appeal specifically to teenagers who are interested in fashion and music.

                                                         5) Title font and style:
My title is a simple font that is similar to that of a fashion magazine rather than a music magazine, as there titles are more 'funky' they tend to incorporated a bold, stand out font. I feel that the image will appeal to the younger generation, but that the font will appeal to young female adults as it is very classy which will attract older people to think the magazine is appropriate for them as it is a mature cover taht rather then being packed full of writing and full of bright colours, which seems to be more of a theme that would be aimed at a younger generation, such as young teenagers. The title font is in capital letters to make it stand out, it covers the top of the magazine to make readers remember the name. Throughout the magazine a simple "Times New Roman" font is used, as this is easy for people to read. The most important thing is that people will be able to understand to font, as if it is difficult to read, consumers will be put off.

                                                    6) Written content:
The front cover of my magazine includes a quote which refers to the main story in the magazine, this will attract people to want to read more the story therefore they will want to buy the magazine so they can do so. The whole point in adding quotes on the front cover is to tease readers into buying the magazine so they can find out more. By stating that readers can download 10 songs for free, this is a benefit they can get from spending money on the magazine, by getting something that you would usually pay for, for free. This feature is used within a lot of magazines to persuade people to buy it, many magazines use a free gift to make consumers want it for example fashion magazines use free nail varnishes or beauty products to win over consumers.

                                7) Music genre and how your magazine suggest it:
The genre of my magazine is R&B, this is not so obvious through the pictures or style of the magazine but is portrayed through what the magazine includes. On the font cover there includes big R&B artists including Jay-Z, Kanye West, Rihanna, Keri Hilson, Usher and Trey Songz which will show readers the genre of this magazine as these artists are very well known within the R&B industry. Rock magazines tend to show the genre through the outfits of the models including ripped jeans and leather jackets which would suggest a rock magazine and the use of a dark colour scheme.

                                                         8) Layout:
The layout of my magazine is similar to others as the double page spread uses the convential columns used when interviews are presented in magazines. My front cover is also convential as the masthead is placed at the top of the page in the middle with the main image in the middle of the page and the features of the magazine are placed left and right around the image. Even my barcode is convential as that is placed at the bottom right of the page. My contents page is also very similar to other magazines as the contents is listed form top to bottom in the middle of the page.

                                                          9) Contents page:
My contents page is very basic, it does not featuure a letter from the editor of the magazine, which many magazines include. It simple states all the main stories that feature in the magazine, including another image of the model at the bottom of the page, this is to build up the main story which is featured on this model who is pictured.