Evaluation - Point 1

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

My music magazine both challenges and develops conventions of real media products. Despite the lack of availability of professional printers and equipment I still produced my magazine similar to the way that many other music magazine companies would. Having said this I have challenged some aspects of existing magazine products in relation to how I have illustrated them.


Here are the things that I think that I challenged and developed:

- Firstly, I did not use a typical backdrop/background for any of my front covers for RENEGADE. This is challenging conventions because I was creating a 'professional' look without using a white backdrop, instead I used a bright green, green-screen and created my magazine products keeping this colour throughout. I used this because it gives my magazine 'an edgy feel' and is likely to attract people to pick up and buy due to its unique identity, making it stand out from other music magazines within the hip-hop|R&B genre of music.

- Also for my front cover I used a mid shot of my talent looking directly into the camera. I did not ask my talent to provide direct eye contact in every front cover that I produced, however after my audience feedback on this particular topic I found that eye contact was significant - hence I have chosen DRAFT 1 of my front cover production to be my final cut. Direct eye contact makes the reader or passer by feel inclusive, almost as though the magazine is only designed to appeal to the individual observing the front cover. This is something that I learnt when I conducted my research of other existing music magazines.

- For further development of conventions of real media products, I also used a music related title for my magazine. I chose to use the title 'Renegade' as it is unique and easy to remember due to its tuneful nature. The word renegade itself actually has rebellious connotations such as traitor or disloyal. I feel that this is fitting for my magazine because of the reckless associations with the hip-hop music genre and the fact that I have not conformed to the traditional features of magazine style.