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

Definition of a convention is the forms and techniques used by the media to communicate certain ideas or to convey a certain impression. In terms of a magazine these could include use of fonts, camera angles and lighting. Symbolic codes include the language, dress and the choice of the model or models as representatives of the target market for example an issue of ‘Kerrang!’ is highly unlikely to feature a picture of an elderly lady you’d meet in the street.

Traditionally, most magazine front cover would feature the following:

I got inspiration to create a punk/rock music magazine from an old issue of ‘Kerrang!’ that I found on the Internet. The 1980s inspiration came from the famous magazine from the time ‘Zig-Zag’.

The title I have chosen for my own magazine is ‘Riot’, I chose this title firstly because I wanted my magazine to be aimed at a working class group of people and I achieve this by relating my title to the Brixton riots that happened in the early 80s. the sort of people living in Brixton at this time were often suffering high unemployment, low wages, poor housing, and had access to very few basic comforts.

When it comes to choosing the props and costumes on my front cover I was very definite on the impression I wanted to give. For example I have chosen to use no props in my image: I did this to reflect how my target audience don’t have very much. Although neither a prop nor fashion item, I have selected the background carefully: using the backdrop of a brick wall and concrete floor imply the rough kind of area my target market is from. Finally, I chose this particular model as she has a tongue piercing. I asked several people as to what they thought of girls and tongue piercings, on the most part my responses to be fair negative, “slutty and trashy”, but to be honest that is the impression I was looking for when I picked the model that I did. It was traditional for punks and rockers during the 80s to have piercings. The fact my model also had her top buttons on her shirt undone revealing minor cleavage which adds to the “slutty and trashy” look that I was aiming for.

The age of my model also relates back to the age range of my target audience, 16-24years. It is also obvious that my model, and therefore my target audience, have no respect and have some kind of attitude problem, Rebel like even. The image has also been taken at the models eye line which could also relate the reader to her, as they maybe the same height. Finally she is also making direct eye contact with the camera and therefore would draw in the reader, as if to say “hey you! Pick me up and buy me”!

Like most of the things I used on my front cover: the font I chose for my ‘Masthead’ reflects the destroyed and rough working class area in which someone who my magazine is aimed at would live. The font I chose for my ‘Main cover line’ is based on the lettering created by one of the label making machines that were very popular during the late 70s and early 80s: as I enhance a touch of 1980s culture. I applied the 1970s and 80s culture element also to the font used in my ‘Coverline’ titles where I have used a font that regards a remarkable resemblance to the font used on the covers of many of the ‘Sex Pistols’ albums.

Almost every aspect of my front cover relates back to the punk/rock genre that I was aiming for when designing the magazine: from the ‘Sex Pistols’ styled font to the choosing of a model with a piercing on a brick wall backdrop.