Evaluation Question #1. What ways my media product use, develop or challenge forms of conventions of real media products?

 In my JAMZ magazine I featured my artist on the Front Cover, Contents and DP Spread, doing such is important as it matches conventions as seen on existing products, introducing chronology in the product.

Another key thing I did was that I placed my artist's feature story on a pages 7-8, somewhere not too far in the magazine. Doing so enables the reader or audience to identify the artists' story almost instantly. This makes sense because looking at most existing magazines it makes you wonder why is it important and why do they do it? It's because if you feature an artist or band on the front cover of a magazine, as a producer you want to relay that information to the reader immediately, because the eye catching Front Cover already grasped their attention and they (reader) want to find out more information on that artist or band. 

Furthermore, I used not more than 3 different colours or font styles throughout my magazine which were Red, Green and a light blue/violet which you can see on my FC and Contents Page. This again matches conventions of existing products. This is also good because it makes your layout cosistent and looking at most existing music magazines I have found out that they create a ‘house style.’ Every magazine is unique and since various companies produce certain magazines, they give a distinct look to themselves by using specific colour and text.

Continuity is even more prominent when you look at all 3 pages because I have placed my distinctive ‘JAMZ’ logo on the FC as the Masthead; the contents page to the top right and the DP spread to the bottom right, next to the page number.  

 

CONVENTIONS ANALYSIS
(JAMZ MAGAZINE)

Front Cover

 

Contents Page

 

 

DP Spread

 

 

 

 

Contents Page (FINAL)

 

Here I present the final version of my contents page. After carefully reviewing the feedback I received from my peers and teachers I discovered that the images I previously used didn't suit the genre which I was representing. A hip-hop magazine would normally feature 'rap' artists and we know rap artists have been stereotyped to wear hoodies, hats, jewelry etc. Furthermore, I even gave the background a colour scheme to bring some life on the page as the previous one was just plain and boring.

My Remarks from Teachers/Peer Feedback

http://www.educreations.com/lesson/view/jeff-agenor/5011019/?ref=link

After looking at feedback I received from my teacher and peers on my contents page it is clear that this is the main problem area that I need to work on:
-The images, as some of them do not quite fit the genre which I am representing, making the magazine lack continuity.
Now I am ready to produce the final draft for my contents page and what I will be doing is using imagery which suit the genre (hip-hop). To make it more releastic, Instead of having a person holding a guitar and dressed like they're indy/rock stars I would dress my models in the same style of clothing which rappers normally wear.

Peer Feedback

Positives:

• The simplistic design makes it look very professional, it could pass for a real contents page of a music magazine
• The pictures are very striking and suit the page very well
• The text fonts suit the overall design of the contents page, making it look more professional

Improvements:

• There are too many colours used (black, white, yellow, green, red). And a lot of these colours clash with each other, especially the green and red.

Feedback

Claudia Neal:
I really like the colours you have used, the greens and reds stand out well. You have kept it simple but effective. Although to improve I think you could have wrote something under the images, and maybe extended on the other headings, by adding more to it (interviews & posters) Furthermore you could changed some of your images to fit the genre more, for example instaed of having someone playing guitar, have someone rapping into a microphone. Overall i think its a really good contents page and you have created it well.

DP Spread FINAL (Version #4)

After revising my previous draft I thought it would be good if i dimmed the Pound note on the rapper's face as it looked like a piece of cardboard and not money. I also made a few more minor touches like moving text around and re-aligning columns and I also gave the pullquote colour to make the page a bit more interesting. 

Previous draft (#3)