Question 1

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

MAGAZINE CONVENTIONS 

FRONT COVER

Masthead and Main Image

Because of the type of magazine and its target audience, my front cover, whilst sticking to many of the conventions of a front cover, such as displaying the date, cost and barcode, tried to challenge these convention at every opportunity. This reflects the need for expression and uniqueness within the target audience. 

For example, the Masthead had the name 'Eclipse' written twice and overlapping in the colours in blue and pink. This is not only stylish but is very original- and stands out from the other magazine mastheads that I looked at which usually are just a block colour. This was done so that the target audience when in a shop would instantly recognise it and if they have never bought it before, would see that it was unique. 

The main image has the same theme. It has two transparent images of the same person. Neither of the images is directly looking at the reader. This was also done deliberately. Most magazines not just music ones but also mainstream fashion magazines have a model/ celebrity on the front cover smiling or looking at the camera. My magazine wanted to offer its target audience a different style of cover to reflect its different contents compared to the more mainstream fashion magazines. 

The masthead helped to create this impression and I deliberately made it lower than other magazines which have the model in front of the masthead. My model's face was obstructed by the masthead so that people would know that the magazine is not just all about the person on the front cover and that the focus of the magazine is not about what your face or body looks like, but how you express yourself through your music and fashion. 

Website

I did not put any details of a website on my magazine cover I did not think a website was necessary, as there are easier and quicker ways of interacting with the readers, for example Instagram and Keek. These things are much more interactive and personal than websites and readers can feel like 'friends' of the magazine on these media products. 

CONTENTS PAGE

I edited the pictures on the contents page with a filter to tie in with the Instagram feel. This gives a theme to the brand of the magazine and keeps the magazine current and on trend. Also it gives the feel that it made by people who are into the same things as the target audience. 

These things help the magazine to have a personal feel and makes the reader think that they are connected to the magazine and 'friends' with it. This increases the chance of reader loyalty. 

The contents page is the same colour as the front page. This is the house style colour and is used in the whole magazine. I did this to make sure that some things were continuous throughout the whole magazine. So even if the reader did not see the front page of Eclipse they could open it anywhere and instantly know what magazine it was. 

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

The double page spread is an interview with Amelia James, the lead singer of an upcoming synthpop band. The language used in the double page spread is laid back and relaxed. This shows that the girl interviewed is down to earth and relatable. She is talking about tattoos and piercings something that the target audience would like to hear about. The questions that I asked her were not generic like in other magazines like "when is the new album out" as fans will probably already know this, or " what's next for you in the future?" as these are not the things that the reader wants to know about. The reader wants to know about real and personal things that they may not already know about. Also I didn't use words like "bootilicious", "swag" and "hip hop royalty" in contrast to the magazines the we wanted to be different to. Words like these often appear in magazines aimed at females only and my target is male and female. Also these words are quite outdated and not really used by the types of groups my magazine is aimed at.  

The main image of this page is in the same style of the front cover. Also it is taken against a brick wall background not in a photo studio and not airbrushed, to show fit the theme of the magazine. The same colours are also used as the front cover and contents page.