Evaluation question 1

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

My media product is a music magazine looking into genres such as: dance, techno, drum and bass, dubstep and hip-hop.

When constructing this magazine I had to consider many elements in which it must contain in order to look proffessional. For example:

•Genre•Photos•Costumes•Themes

I used these standard forms and conventions of real media products in order for it to look professional, however I challenged these real products slightly in order to make it more interesting and appeal to a slightly different audience.

As my magazine is a dance/urban mag it was vital that I studied other similar magazines. To emphasise the genre in this magazine I need to ensure of images and typeface to be of a similar appearance. For example, the font used here is ideal for giving the page that urban finish. This is very much an existing convention that many magazines use. It is also shown very successful, this therefore being why I used this convention.

GenreIn addition to this I have used the

conventions of existing media products by capturing images of

people dancing and clubbing and put it in the magazine. There is

some conventions that is very hard not using for attracting the same

audience, and images such as these attract this specific audience

perfectly. Not only does it exaggerate the genre, but also

emphasizes the sub-genre

I used this rating system which was developed from previous mags in order to help the audience realise it is a music magazine.

Photos

Additionally, I used and manipulated photos to make it appear for an audience with high social class for example using the arty photographs rather than photos of random party party animals to entice a more sophisticated audience. This has challenged the forms and conventions of real media products as they do not usually go about the photos in this way.

Photos

I challenged the basic forms and conventions of similar products by excluding sexually

orientated pictures of men & women and replaced them with many photos of men testosterone fuelled men. To appeal to a

different market, mainly aiming at men. I have also done this by manipulating the images to

make it appear more masculine. For example, I manipulated this photo by making it grayscale, therefore improving the amount of dark colors

and appearing more masculine. This idea although challenges the ideas of similar

products I however kept the colors of the t-shirts as I thought they would stand out

furthermore and add the clubbing/raving appearance, this therefore using and

developing the forms and conventions of real media products.

Costumes

When arranging a meeting with my models, I brought along a few t-shirts. I chosen these specific tees as they seem casual yet effective towards the audience I am hoping to attract. The bright fluorescent colors brilliantly stand out, making the model stand out as a result. I have taken the ideas of bright clothing from previous mags of similar sort.

Genres are not static but shifting and slippery, evolving over time. This therefore being why an individualist approach is possibly a good approach. Media forms if they are to engage the audiences need to use the conventions of the genre but also subtly change them to keep the audience interested.