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Alex Bowles

Question 1
In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products.
Introduction
When considering whether my products used, developed or challenged forms
and conventions of real media products, I referred back to my ‘conventions’
blog post, where I made a checklist stating what I initially wanted to do and
create following from doing my form and genre research. My decisions were
made from looking at existing media products related to my products, for
example, ‘FourFourTwo’ (global football magazine) and ‘Active’ (regional family
active magazine).
Magazine Front Cover
With my cover page, I decided to follow a lot of conventions because I wanted the audience to recognise its genre and
topic straight away. Firstly, the masthead fits conventions of a typical football magazine, due to its large, bold, san serif
font that appears very clear to the target audience that is generally male when linked to football, as men are
stereotypically more masculine and dominant, therefore the text will relate in this respect. Throughout the products, this
style of text is used, to maintain a brand identity that can be recognised, however, the player used on the front cover
image has his name included in a serif font, subverting typical conventions of this type of magazine, for the purpose of
standing out more over the rest of the text, to attract the attention of the audience and draw them in. Additionally, the
colour scheme used on the cover page, as well as on the rest of the products fits conventions of my chosen genre and
target the audience best, as black, white and blue are associated with Leicester City Football club and are stereotypically
more dominant and masculine, associated with the main male audience of football. The colour scheme however will
not deter other customers that want to read the magazine, because, using the colours associated with the region’s main
team will attract all supporters, no matter the age or gender, especially in today’s society that does not discriminate.
The main image used on the cover page develops conventions slightly, that typically associated with football products,
for the reason that my mid-action shot is not often used in comparison to close-ups of the model, therefore, I wanted
to be different and use an image that was more eye-catching and aesthetically pleasing to the audience, giving them a
clear initial idea of what the magazine involves. The mise-en-scene, including the football related items in the shot are
also conventional in a football image, as well as his determined facial expression. Throughout all the pages of the
magazine and website, the images use a range of shots and props related to conventions of football in order to give
more visual information about the topics discussed.
The cover lines on the cover page fit conventions in terms of them being clear to read and covering topics that are
involved in the magazine and are attractive to the audience, however, I only used them on the left-hand side of the
page, challenging conventions slightly. I did this for the purpose of making my main image stand out more to the
audience, so it would not be overrun by content. The use of first and second person plural pronouns throughout also
fit conventions of most magazines, especially regional ones, which aim to be more personal with the target audience.
The word ‘exclusive’ is also used on the cover page, fitting conventions of most magazines, stating they have something
unique to offer the audience that no one else does. A tagline is positioned above the masthead stating that the magazine
is the no.1 community football magazine in Leicester, which attracts whoever sees this, displaying the quality and trust
that comes along with this statement.
The overall layout of the front cover is very conventional, with the masthead at the top and the image appearing slightly
over the top, as well as the price and barcode appearing at the bottom corner, and a type of puff of Leicester’s stadium.
Magazine Contents Page
The contents page is conventional in many aspects, as I wanted the audience to
recognise and be familiar with the layout, for the purpose of allowing easy navigation
around the magazine and to certain content. A particular aspect, adding page numbers
on images I took from FourFourTwo, the world’s largest football magazine, for the
purpose of using this effective technique that football fans will recognise and including
it on my product. I included an editor’s section on my contents page, which isn’t
typically conventional, however, as my magazine is regional, I wanted to get more
personal with the target audience, for a more trusted and friendly relationship, to build
the reputation of the brand.
Magazine Double Page Spread
My double page spread fits conventions of a typical magazine, starting with the content, which
includes an interview with the main character I focus my products on. An interview is conventional
as it gives the audience a more in-depth exclusive experience with the player, that others would not,
therefore it is a unique selling point (USP) of the products to attract customers. A pull quote is used
to attract the audience to this interview, as well as a large starting letter, which are both conventional
methods magazines use to draw the reader into the content. I used a large image on the left-hand
side of the double page spread of the player the interview is about to counter the quantity of
information on the other page, which is also conventional of a magazine, to appear more visual or at
least 50:50. I stick with conventions by using a heading at the top of the page with the player’s name
and an introduction paragraph below this, outlining what the content is about, for the purpose of
attracting the reader with a recognisable name and a brief summary of what the content is about. A
large letter to start the interview is also used, fitting conventions of magazines again, to attract the
audience to start reading.
Billboard
Overall, my billboard fits conventions, firstly, from the large images of the products (magazine and
website), used as the focus of the billboard to attract the customers to them. Also, the masthead at
the top in large displays the brand clearly to those who see it. Again, social media references and the
website are included towards the bottom of the billboard, giving the ability to the public to interact
online, which are conventional features of a billboard, allowing the audience to active and search
them on social media. The tagline from the magazine is used as the main text on the billboard, as it
is a feature that is most appealing, therefore fitting another convention. ‘Out now!’ fits conventions
also, for the reason that this aspect is the selling point of the billboard, informing the audience that
the magazine is out and that they should buy it. In all, my billboard increased the size of all the
aspects so the audience can see them from far away, which fits conventions of all billboards, or else
it would not be as effective, as well as use a background colour that allows the aspects in front to
stand out through the use of binary opposite colours (e.g. black and white).
Website Home Page
The website in general fits conventions of a typical magazine and media related
website, for the purpose of visually attracting the target audience to the information.
This is from the use of attractive images, colours and clear, large writing that matches
the brand identity. The slideshow and columns of content across the three pages
(Home, Events and About Us) demonstrate the attractiveness of my website through
their organised layout and clear ability to communicate with the combination of text
over the images, for example, the caption text on the slideshow. The navigation bar
positioned at the top of the page, as well as the clear navigation bar, fits conventions,
as they are the first thing that wants to be seen by the visitors of the site, allowing
them to see who the site belongs to, and how to navigate around with ease.
Website Events Page

The events page fits conventions, simply because the content on this page suits
the page’s purpose, by making clear to the audience of what events are held on
what date and what time. The header and footer are still included on this page,
to allow the customer to still navigate around the website, as well as still
displaying the brand logo/masthead.
Website About Us Page
This final page on the website fits conventions also as the information provided on this page
includes the explanation of who the company are, what their intentions are, who is involved in
the making of the products and how to contact them (this page is linked in with the contact us
page on my website). These aspects are displayed effectively, sticking with the use of columns
used throughout the website, as well as the colour scheme and text linked to the brand identity
of ‘Extra-Time’. Lastly, social media links are also included, a typical convention on a website,
especially for my target audience.
Overall, my website was made to be more visually appealing than most, including hover effects,
interactive features, buttons, slideshows etc, because from my experience and research I carried
out, this is conventional of a product aimed at a younger audience, no matter the genre,
therefore, I felt that I needed to make my website as appealing and interactive as possible.

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