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

a) Title, font and style - 'G.L.A.M'

I concluded on the title “G.L.A.M” which stands for “Girls Latest Amazing Music” as this connects with the conventions of any typical magazine, as it is short and a memorable title. Here are some examples of the convention in reality.

It is also placed across the top across the page horizontally, as all magazines do this. I could have tried my mast head vertically to break the forms and conventions of a magazine.
My target audience, who are young, teenage girls, would like this name for my music magazine as the word “Glam” is appealing to the more “girly” girls. It sounds like it could be a fashion magazine. However, when you realise what “G.L.A.M” stands for (Girls Latest Amazing Music) you discover it is actually a gossip style music magazine. I have chosen the colours of pink and black for my title for the whole house style. This is a code and convention of magazines across all genres as the majority of magaiznes consist of a very limited colour paletter, therefore making it easier to navigate and not look too overcrowded. However, music magazines sych as 'Smash Hits' and 'Top of the Pops' subvert this convention as they tend to use a variety of bright colours as their target audience are for young children.

('Smash Hits front cover'http://www.textually.org/ringtonia/archives/images/set2/539216_1.jpg)
('Top of the Pop's front cover https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWpuWASwHTUHUlsYtsOtVqKB4JFIwQaxpBcvmmcLHPhlQvAc7EKRi6m4tnEQoAWlqbM6jrYADKtR7NJ838iVimrLFOPWij3gaVlkuuvIcaAnIvVHiyktdLoxVdDrSgF8I_ivU16WHXNIk/s1600/Untitled-3.jpg)

When seen the colour pink, you stereotypically assume that the product is for females, and this was the effect and technique I was hoping to achieve. I also used a slightly rock style font to give it an edgy look of rebellion so it wasn’t just a completely 'girly' magazine. This is similar to 'KERRANG'S' logo (shown below) as it looks like smashing glass. The 'smashed mirror effect relates to the genre of music and artists featured in this magazine. I asked 30 people aged 14 - 18 to choose which mast head design they liked best out of all my designs and 90% of them chose the one used in my final magazine. This is the main reason of why I concluded on the design. For my anchorage text and cross head I have used serif font. Although this is usually a formal text used, I wanted to break the rule of the codes and convention as I believe it created a more edgy atmosphere when teamed with my mast head.

b) Mis en Scene of Images

On my front cover, for my main image I only had a coloured background as I wanted my main star persona to have the spotlight and be the main focus. I chose my main image and model look straight in to the camera to give a direct mode of address which draws the reader in. I also had a smaller picture of Lady Gaga at the side to show what else featured in this weeks G.LA.M magazine. This follows the convention of the majority of magazines across all genres, as magazines usually have just a plain white or coloured background so it doesn’t distract the audience away from the magazine, with their main image being the largest. I have followed this rule on my contents page too. However, my double page spread does not follow this rule as my main image has a background showing the countryside to portray that they are on a country holiday which is what is read in the article to relate the images with the article itself. I also had three other, separate smaller images on my double page which follows the conventions in magazines, as this lets the audience have a closer look at a celebrity’s private life.

c)Costumes, props and people

For my front page, as my leading image of Amy Winehouse I had to choose a girl who would look good in trying to recreate her style. I chose the person I did as she has long dark hair which I tried to put up in the style similar to Amy’s and dress her in the more “emo” style. I also dressed her in black as it’s a very dark colour, similar to her reputation and personality. I chose a medium shot as it focused completely on her. Although, on my front cover I had her pose smiling and healthy looking as the article was suppose to be about her being happier. The Lady Gaga photo on the front cover was chosen as it looked like a slightly mad pose and this is how she is portrayed in the industry. This was why I also chose just a head shot and also because as it was a much smaller image in comparison to the leading image, it would have been more difficult to see that it was her if it was a long shot. The images of Blake and Amy on my double page spread mainly consisted of long shots and medium shots as this time I wanted the reader to see a whole body shot of them two together. I had them both smiling in all of the photo’s as the article was supposed to be about them back together and how happy they were about it. This time I had has Amy wear a red, blue, white and black to create a bit of colour for her. This also showed a more casual look as the front cover image was a more posed shot. Where as this double page spread images were to show the reality of Amy and her partner on holiday. This is why Blake wore just a plain top and jacket with jeans.
d) Music Genre
My music genre is indie/rock. It immediately suggests this as on my front cover it shows the main article of Amy Winehouse and shows a “Band Index” on the contents page which shows the majority of bands which fit the indie/rock target audience category. The mast head font also gives it that edgy look which appears a little scruffy and untidy which relates to the artists stereotypical appearances.