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

My magazine can be easily recognised as a real magazine as there are many features on the cover which are also on a magazine which is on sale in shops, such as KERRANG. In the picture, I have taken my magazine cover and labelled all of the key conventions which make it recognisable as a magazine, for example, it has a masthead of the title of the magazine so my audience will know what they are buying, and the simpleness yet the large feminine white bold text will be recognised each time they buy the magazine. There is also many magazine conventions to make it clear that it is a magazine, such as a strap line, main image, cover lines, bar codes and the address. 

My magazine is aimed at a 'feminine Rock' genre, the way I have tied this genre in with the layout and the presentation of my cover is by being influenced by other rock magazines, which are recognisably very busy on the page, have a frequent set of colours throughout, usually with some brighter colours to make some of

the key cover lines on the cover stand out more than the rest of the magazine, helping to catch the audiences eye increasing sales, I have done much the same as this, automatically getting a 'rock' theme to the magazine itself.
My magazine cover is also very busy on the page however I didn't want it to look 'too' crowded, and so with some of the cover lines and splashes I angled them so that it made it more interesting to look at rather than just a lot of writing on a page, this also gives the magazine an edgy feel, much like my audience themselves, relating the magazine to my sub-genre of feminine rock.


The colour theme is very edgy, as red and pink are usually colours that clash against each other and so using them together has challenged original colour themes and I have done this because it could connote the rebellious audience, as 'feminine' and 'rock' aren't things which are usually associated with each other and can be frowned upon by frequent mainstream rock fans, however this magazine is aimed at women who are quite glamorous and like mainstream things, however they also have a unique edge which is linked to rock music, style and attitude. The attitude in itself can be seen through the main image on the magazine cover, as although the model looks very glamorous with red lipstick, this also contrast with the colour of the writing on the page, however it also connotes sexiness and devilish, proving to the audience that rock can be linked to mysteriousness; and the model also has a dark black star on her face which, along with her facial expression (which is very similar to most other rock artists on magazine covers) gives of a very rock-chick vibe, possibly suggesting the model doesn't care she is unique and goes against the original trends, which again can relate to my audience,  hence making this magazine recognisable to be sub-genre in a subtle yet unique way.


On most magazine covers the masthead is positioned behind the main image, however as shown in the 'classic rock' cover, the masthead has been put in front which makes the title of the magazine stand out a lot more suggesting it is possibly more important or influential that the image. As in most magazines, the masthead is positioned behind the image, I have decided to do this with my cover, mostly because it increases the likeliness of it looking like a proper magazine cover, but also because in all feminine magazines such as cosmopolitan or sugar, they position their covers in this way and these are the magazines that my mainstream yet edgy audience will be used to, hence it will sway them to this magazine. Likewise, my image is a medium close up, which is very common in many magazines, however with rock magazines images can be very different and unique, so really anything goes, however I have decided to take this shot because it shows power for the female in the image, as she is standing very confidently yet moody and this connotes power in a very subtle way, this can be linked to my audience as although the women my magazine is targeting at are quite mainstream, they are also very bold with their feelings and attitudes to what they like and enjoy doing, hence relating to the powerful aspect, as it's putting this group of people above everybody else, especially men who may not believe females are strong or in any way related to rock. The bold writing throughout my cover also does this, making it very bold and clear to the audience, this also related to rock artists as a lot of rock music is quite bold and loud, and so this relates to the cover itself.