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

My media magazine uses the same conventions as a real media magazine. I thought out the title of my magazine very well as I wanted the name to sound good when said. I went for kerplunk as it has the same ‘k’ sound at the start of the word as it does at the end. I also wanted a short snappy title than can be easily read as some names used in media products are too long. Kerplunk is also an unusual name so people are likely to remember it.
When taking my images I decided to take them in a variety of different places such as the beach, the park and in a house to see where I got the best effect. I got my models to pose in a certain way for the pictures and also used props such as guitars to fit the rock genre of my magazine. I also got them pose in front of plain backgrounds otherwise a fussy background would draw the eye away from the main product. I got my models to dress in clothes that matched the colour scheme of my magazine as too much colour can be distracting. I also got them to dress in typical ‘rock star’ clothing including grungy jeans and t-shirts. I wanted my models to look like mainstream artists the regularly appear in magazines. I chose to focus on bands such as paramore and you me at six and try and create a modern rock look.
When it came deciding what font I would use I decided to stick to three fonts, Calibri for small writing, Scratch Punk for main titles and heading and Britannic Bold for important information such as price or issue number. I made my own font for the main title of the magazine as I wanted it to be unique and recognisable on the shelf. I also didn’t want the font to be perfect as its ‘messy’ appearance reflects the attitude of a ‘rocker’. For the colour scheme I chose to stick to three colours so that it didn’t look too much in your face. I chose red and purple because neither colour dominates but together they stand out. They are popular colours that appeal to both sexes.
When I interviewed the feature band I didn’t want to mild down their attitude/language as they shouldn’t be made out to look perfect. I also read some interviews in magazines and they have kept the quotes as the person said them. I also used pull quotes to draw attention to reading the article but also to show the most important parts of the article. The audience will also feel that the band has had a lot of involvement making the magazine. I also used a drop cap to state clearly where the article begins.

My contents page challenges other music magazines as I have designed a new layout and put a large image at the top and the page numbers at the bottom, this could be a new layout that is used throughout magazines. I also stuck to the same font and colour scheme so that my magazine wasn’t too fussy.