1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of

real media products? (i.e. of music magazines)

The masthead of my magazine is called Combust and I used the font Kraash which was
downloaded from a website called dafont.com onto Photoshop for my use. This font is bold and the
lettering is hollow which allowed me to gain good contrast from the title and the background image
making the title even bolder. This is a typical convention for all magazines. The best example of this
would be in Clash magazine as they consistently use the same block font that is usefully depicted
in white and contrasts massively with the background image. The title of my magazine is called
Combust, I chose this title as It has two syllables which is consistently used in magazines. An
example of which being I-D magazine or keerang. The meaning of the word combust is to
spontaneously explode involving fire. The imagery of this name is for my magazine to be explosive
and to be unpredictable. This would fit the genre of an indie magazine as the soul purpose of this
genre is to be spontaneous and different. This name fitted for my magazine. My title is placed above
the background layer making it stand out even more, and is also placed at the top of my cover and
contents page. This is a convention for the cover but not so much contents. This is challenging the
convention of magazines. I also tried to make the font fit the genre as the text is very bold an
outgoing but also is not straight in a line and not ever letter is in the same size. I received great
feedback from the use of this font from not only my peers but also from the teachers who
overlooked my coursework.

The graphology of my front cover is not very advanced and is quite simplistic. I used two fonts,
Kraash which is my masthead and also Blackout which is used for my date and issue number and
also headline. These fonts are very similar within their properties as they both contrast very well
with the dark image and also they connote the genre of indie in my cover very well as they are edgy.
The coloyr cheme is mostly monochrome meaning black (which comes from the image) and the
white of the majority of text, mixed in with the costume and complexion of my feature. I used the
white text on top of the bacl image to contrast and help promote awareness of this information on
my cover. This also makes it eye catching. This fits the convention of indie music magazines. I also
used thw white text that is hollowed out again to create a different sort of contrast on my magazine.
Also the white text of the issue number and date which infroms the reader of this information but
the size of this is a lot smaller when compared to masthead and headlines as it is less important to
the audience to now what issue it is but is useful when they may be reffering to others about this
magazine and the issue number will allow the magazines produced by this company to stay
organised. The main topic of my magazine was based on James Taggar and where he was going to
next after being hailed a prodigy at such a young age. I have highlighted this on my cover as a close

up of him is used and also the text reads, James the new me Taggar. I have highlighted this text
so that the audience will understand the foczl point of this months issue which may persudade more
to buy the magazine as it intrigues them or they want the hear more about their favourite
upercoming solo indi artist. This confroms to the conventions of magazines.

The use of the black and white contrast on my cover was the easiest way to highlight certain
elements as the black background was used as a base. An example of this would be in the barcode,
maybe it is not so important on the magazine but the black background allowed it to show up clearly
and allowed me to position it basically where I pleaded within reason. Good examples of this may be
found in magazines such as fantastic man and also loud and quiet.

The sizing of the text was determined on the importance to the audience because they are the only
people I have to impress as they are the consumers. The largest being the masthead Combust then
the headline, then the genre of magazine then the issue number and date. This follows the4
convention for music magazines of this genre. A good example of this being used can be found on a
previous candidates work called jack green;

He has clearly shown that of the importance of the size of texts as the biggest being the names and
headlines whereas the smallest being the price, genre and date. In my magazine I chose the barcode
to be in top right. This would allow a bigger square image to be centred and enough space for my
masthead to flow from left to right. This challenges the conventions I havent really seen it been
done in many music magazines.

My model/music artist was infact my Cousin called Louis Ayre. I styled him in a range of different
backgrounds the two most favourable for the cover was one with a black and one with a white
background. This would make the contrast a lot easier and make things look a lot more professional.
On the magazine I have photographed him wearing different shirts/jackets and also different caps. I
have also utilized the use of props as I took a photo of him about the strike a pool shot and also the
lamppost he is leaning up against in the cover photo. This follows the conventions of magazines as
they each use props also. The clothes that my model wore made him stand out from the background
and also if you placed him in a crowd he wouldve stood out as looking sort of urban indie. But very
classy in choice of shirts. Nothing too outrageous as this would affect the mise en sene of the dark
cover. I learnt this through my research and planning. I think that my model fits my magazine style
very well through his facial features and fashion sense. The genre is connoted through the use of his
image as he fits the indie genre. Here are some examples of images I used throughout my magazine.

Here are the two images that I disputed between

when picking my front cover background as they both
contrast well with the black and white theme. I went
with the top in the end. And I ended up incorporating
the other photo in the other way.

Here is my finished contents page. I used photos from the same photoshoot I took with my cousin also some I took using the school
equipment. I used the same models obviously as the focus of my cover
and double page spread, but also I included another model to add
variation to my contents and create the effect that my magazine has
more than one level even though I am only producing a cover contents
and double page spread. This is a common convention which fits into
my magazines genre. Also I have included photo of my cover and social
media aspects. This again is a popular convention of this genre. The
composition of my contents conforms to the stereotypes as there is
one column and page numbers written at the bottom clearly stating 7.
I have taken a lot of inspiration from tom
browns wave magazine as I like the
colour scheme layout use of images and
also it fits into a similar genre to mine. I
aimed to put my own spin on his
contents. I believe I achieved this in my
contents.

This again is conforming as the contents is on the right hand page but
is also not straight after the cover as adverts will fill up this space as
shown through the page number, of which being the number 7. As I
have talked about earlier I took heavy inspiration from previous
candidates work, this of Tom Browns wave magazine contents. I
liked the idea of the grey background with a few colour contrasts in
between as it adds a professional tone to this content. This fits the
conventions of this magazine as it looks clear and concise. I have also
bracketed the headline text like the magazine that tom brown
produced as I liked the way it added style and sharpness to my fonts
and overall look of my contents. In choosing the fonts I also tried to
use similar ones to toms as I have used a contrast in italic and regular
fonts. The layout is very neat as they all line up. I achieved this by
using the grid tool that can be used on the program Photoshop. I used
this to ensure a neat clean look on my magazine. This is what fits the
convention of the genre of this sort of music magazine. I added a
template around both photos used to put my own spin on town
browns contents. This also fits my genre and the magazine on the
whole as it goes well with fonts and the images used themselves. I
have included a contact details and the cover art n my contents as I
saw this replicated on magazines such as clash and i-D both of which
hold the same genre as mine.

The layout of my double page spread is similar in many ways to the one I found in my research e
which is produced by clash magazine. This is a very popular music magazine and includes many
genres including the one that I am trying to portray in my magazine. I have put my own personal spin
on this layout. The thing I liked about it was the use of images and also the way that the text is
dissected into many equal length columns. I included photos that matched the mise en scene of the
magazine in other pages and also featured loads of different props including different hats and even
a pool table. I have seen this done in many different magazines. The font I picked is very bland and is
the same font that I used in places of my contacts. This all being black to contrast with the white
background with the exception of the credits section which is coloured in a smooth green. I have
picked this as that colour is quite prominent on my double page spread as the green of the
background bush and also the pool table. The masthead is written in similar font to the masthead of
my cover and contents this keeping up with the conventions of this genre as it portrays a sort of
edgy and fun vibe to the audience. I have used the black background on the pull quote to help
emulate this. Also I used another image subliminally as a background to my text which helps to
contrast between the text and background.