In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Masthead
Like many magazines, my front cover includes one of the most important conventions, a masthead. My music magazine is called 'Pop Charts' which I believe sounds effective as it's short, catchy and instantly intrigues/attracts an audience interested in the latest pop music . The genre of my magazine, pop is mentioned in the masthead allowing the audience to identify themselves with the magazine. Originally, I thought of using the letters 'PPC', standing for 'Pop Party Charts' for my masthead although believed it looked and sounded more catchy as it is now . I also found that 'Pop Charts' looked more eye catching as it is spread all along the top third of the cover meanwhile 'PPC' only filled a small section of the top third. My lecturer also agreed that my chosen title suited the layout of my front cover more and stood out well. The colours used in my title have been chosen to look bold and to stand out well against the background colour. Also, I have specifically used quite girly and bright colours as it will be aimed at young teenage girls. The font used also relates well to the pop genre as it looks quite quirky and is easy to understand, which is what teenagers would like.
Images
I have captured various images appropriate for my magazine making sure I have a clear main image, double page spread images and a few for the contents page. The costume that my model is wearing is a multi coloured sequin dress which comes across as very girly and glamorous, which most teenagers aspire to be. I think this is a good outfit choice as it is young looking and very eye catching. I have then curled my models hair to give her a fun look. All images were photographed against a pink background so they could either but edited away from it easily or kept with the pink for a plain but effective background. The background also matches well with the models outfit and makeup therefore they all compliment and match well with each other. I have placed my models n various different positions for the images to show different sides to my models personality and to make the images more interesting to look at. I think the overall body language of my model look happy and proud to be in the magazine which will influence people into reading it.
Banner
Another feature I have included in my magazine is a banner, which is typical for many pop genre magazines, for example 'Top Of The Pops'. On the banner I have included three posters which are included inside the magazine and also artists who are featured inside. I think the posters will attract my audiences eye as young teenagers are typically interested in freebies and collecting posters. Also I think by mentioning extra artists names, this would attract a larger range of people as if an artist you are interested in is mentioned, you would be more likely to want to read the sections about them.
Sell-lines
Sell lines are typically used in magazines to give people an insight to whats inside of the magazine and it almost convinces them to want to read on. I have made sure interesting sell-lines have been included on my front cover so it will instantly attract a large audience. By doing this I have used star power including big pop stars names to intrigue people to find out what is being wrote about them. I have also made sure that the sell lines are bold and stand out well against the background so they are one of the first things the reader looks at. I have also chosen a different font for my sell lines, contrasting against my masthead so that it varies the look of my magazine and separates them apart from each other. I have made sure I used different colours on the text also as my aim is to make the sell lines stand out to their full potential which is hard against certain backgrounds.
Contents layout
The layout of my contents page is spread along one page, unlike some other magazines which may be a double page spread. I have included navigation bars so that its easy for people to read and makes it look appropriately organised. Numbers have then been placed alongside each article so that pages are easy to find and they're also linked to contents page images to give people an insight to what the articles will be about. I have also included an editors note which I have wrote and is commonly used in magazines. This makes the magazine sound more personal and exclusive to the reader as it seems directly written towards the audience.
Pop genre
I have made sure the theme of pop genre for young teenagers sticks throughout my magazine therefore i have made sure the language and text used is appropriate and not too serious. Considering this, i haven't used any bad language or swearing but i have included words such as OMG and WOW which gives a fun appealing element to the magazine. I also believe the bright colours used relate to the genre of pop as it gives opposite connotations to magazines such as NME which go by the colours of red black and white and is targeted towards a slightly older, grown up audience.
Written content
The written content of my magazine is sectioned into columns and written in an interview form on the double page spread. The language used in the interview sounds quite informal and relaxed giving a friendly tone to the young audience. I made sure the magazine wasn't too formal as it wouldn't apply very well to my target audience and may come across too serious and boring.
I have also included various images and pull quotes on my double page spread article which will immediately catch the readers eye giving them an insight to the article. I have used various different quotations spoke by 'Robyn' which are interesting and that people would most likely want to read more about.
Hair/Make-up
I have also used appropriate hair and make-up which would be typically seen in a pop genre. Instead of using very dull an plain colours such as black and grey makeup, I have used a glamorous bright pink/purple eyeshadow instantly appealing to girls and giving the model a more fun look. I have also used a glossy pink lipstick matching with the eyeshadow but also the background of the front cover. The models style of hair is also quite child-like as it's in bouncy curls which young girls often want when going out and making an effort with their appearance. I think that my audience will connect with my model and be inspired by her appearance. I have although made sure that my model isn't wearing too much makeup as my audience group will be just starting to experiment with makeup therefore should still be keeping quite a natural look.