The document discusses how the author's media product, a rock music magazine called "Gravity", both uses conventions of real rock magazines and challenges some conventions. Some ways it follows conventions are using close-up images of bands, a consistent color scheme, and repeating main images on inside pages. Some ways it challenges conventions are having the price on the left side rather than top, and using younger band members than typical magazines. The author aims to appeal to a teenage audience through their magazine's visual style and choice of bands featured.

1. In What Ways Does Your Media Product Use, Develop or Challenge Forms and Conventions of Real Media Products? By Dominika Kalafutova

2. My target audience is teenagers aged between 15-19 years old with a slight bias towards females in the way my magazine is written. Because usually the rock magazines are aimed more for men than for women. However, I don’t think that the unconventional choice of people in relation to existing magazines, wont be issue. Only one of my images shows direct address and it’s the girl. This mean when the model is looking at the audience it conveys their attitude. Bar code is on the front of the bottom right hand cover page which is conventional. Price is on the front of the bottom left-hand cover page which is quite unconventional as the price is usually on the top next to masthead.

3. By using teenagers on my front cover page of the magazine where there is one boy- the singer and two girls- playing on guitar and drums, the audience will be able to relate and aspire to be like them; the target audience are more likely to be interested in a teenage band than a middle-aged band. The majority of my images follow the conventions of magazines by displaying the bad, rebel, and not really serious rock band. This is portrayed by their mode of address. Also, there is a close up of them so it makes you feel as you’re closer to them throughout the magazine. As you can see the models which are on the front cover page are unconventional as they’re young and not as extreme in their appearance as some bands featured in rock magazines such as: ‘Kerrang’ or ‘NME’.

4. In the magazine you can see the yellow puff which is conventional as we expect it to be there. I used it at my magazine to make it look more professional. I also was trying to make it look like it’s a real rock magazine. The majority of the image of six men, follow the conventions of magazines by displaying the band as serious. Also, they are directly looking at the camera in most of the photos . Also, you can see that at my front cover page. Bar code is small and in the conventional place because it’s not important as other features which are on the cover page. As you can see at my magazine, the bar code is nearly same size as this one . By using a picture of men in their twenties , it tells us a lot about the band on the front cover page of the magazine and about what genre of their music is.

5. What I have used to make my product more professional? Another way to reflect real media products is by having other headlines aside it. Real music magazines suggest their genre by the mise-en-scene of their images and the bands included. However, my magazines follows the codes and conventions. The reason why I think that is because as you can see, the mise-en-scene of my images are on the white background and close up of the models in both magazines ‘Kerrang! And mine ‘Gravity’

6. As you can see in the ‘Kerrang’ magazines the models are wearing the black clothes to bring attention to the audience also to make them stand out better from the white background, and masthead has got the bold big white writing in the black box. My front cover follows layout conventions by having the masthead at the top of the page, a list of bands down, the left- hand side and on the right-hand side the subtitle of the T.R.B- the rock band. I think that my front cover page reflects real media products as it has three main images conveying the main headline.

7. I think that the arrangement of the photos, use of quirky fonts would appeal to the teenage audience more than a unformed layout. I think that my double spread page articles reflects real media products as there is a bold writing: ‘T.R.B.’ where I used my creativity and made it on one side of page to make it look unique. Headlines are creative and eye catching. As you can see my contents page contains elements that follow the codes and conventions of existing magazines. I think that my contents page with my double spread page reflects real media products as it follows a consistent colour scheme- red, black, white and yellow and are the same as my front cover . Also, the main images are repeated but in different positions.

8. As masthead of magazine I used ‘Gravity’ where as you can see I’d manipulated by using Photoshop. I decided to use only two colours : red and black on the magazine as these colours seem to be the classic colours associated with the rock music which is the genre of my magazine. I feel that my masthead will appeal more to teenage audience because of its visual impact. And also ‘Gravity’ means that is pure, strong, it will pull the people in it. As masthead of magazine is ‘KERRANG!’ where as you can see they only have used two colours :white and black. I think that masthead is conventional in the sense that it has the largest front size on the page, and it’s bold and stand out. I think that there are some similarities in the tense that this masthead has got bold writing, and has exclamations mark