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

1 – The Masthead
I chose the title Vexx for my magazine because the word "vex" has connotations of anger and frustration, I decided to add an extra x to make the title memorable and unique. The Text is declining in height to reinforce this (I used serif drawplus to do this), the letter V is therefore the largest and is red to connote the idea of warning and danger which will instinctively give the message to the audience. The colour scheme resembles fire to show the magazine is bold and intense. The magazine Q's masthead is also red:

I think my masthead goes against usual conventions of rock magazines as it is colourful and greater is size, however I still think it is effective as it is snappy, iconic and memorable, also the connotations of the word are very relevant. Overall, my masthead is unconventional, however this makes it unique and eye catching to the reader.

2- Mise-en-scene of images
The pictures within my magazine are conventional of a rock magazine, on my title page there is a male with a chain, an angry facial expression and a backdrop of a cage, these all have connotations of the rock genre. Other rock magazines such as "Q" and "Kerrang!" would similarly opt to chose these images as it would immediately show to the audience that the genre is rock. The pictures within the double page spread show a musician who is serious and talented, this impression is created through his body language, facial expression and costume, typically, magazines would want to portray these values to create an interest of the star so readers are inclined to read the article. The images are quite arty, especially the ones on the double page spread, this is to appeal to the reader and to make the star look iconic. This is typical of a magazine as they are likely to show their interviewee in a positive light so they can convince the audience that they should read the article to find out about this celebrity.

3- Costumes and props
For my front cover, my cover model wore a red shirt and jeans, this is fairly standard clothing however the choice of the colour red is significant because red has connotations of danger and anger, which suitably links in to the rock genre. Another aspect of the front cover is the use of props, as you can see the cover star is holding a chain which links to aggression and violence, you can imagine a hostile dog on the end of the lead! The cover star is sporting a beard which creates the idea that he is unique and an outcast in society. This is typical for a rock magazine as it is usual for cover stars to display characteristics subtly through their choice of clothing and looks, which would lead to the audience finding appeal in the magazine.
For my contents page there is 3 images. The first of which has filters which make the choice of clothing irrelevant and there is no props. The second features a guitar which obviously communicates the values of the rock genre and shows that the subject is a guitarist, she also is wearing a hoodie to create an identity and appeal to the audience.
On the double page spread the choice of clothing is low key and unnoticeable, keeping the reader's attention on the activity the star is doing. The use of drums show he is talented and would appeal to other drummers who want to find an idol. This is conventional of magazines as they are likely to try and make people idolise their interviewees to gain interest.

4- Font and Style
My magazine carries a colour scheme throughout (red, yellow and orange), this is in order to create a house style which can make the magazine have a running theme associated with certain values. In the case of my magazine, the colours evoke the feelings of danger and violence, these feelings are often linked to the colour red, making it highly suitable for my magazine as they fit in closely with the emotions created by the genre of rock. Other magazines in the genre would typically follow this idea, they would use colour to create an emotional response or in order to portray a star in a certain way, for example someone who is mysterious and an outcast is likely to have dark colours in their images. In rock magazines, the artists are often shown to be quite outlandish and loud, therefore the colours would be bright and garish.

5- Written Content
The choice of language within my magazine is typical of a rock magazine. Since the magazine is for adults, the use of vulgar language it is fairly common as it make appeal to this age range. The content is free of jargon and specialist terms to appeal to the target audience and to not intimidate potential fans. The topics are highly relevant to the rock genre, they talk about music, advice and experience. The cover page has written content which is purely factual to provide information to the reader, the content written under 'vexx bumper' is particularly engaging, in order to focus the attention of the reader to this particular article

6- Layout
The layout of my magazine is fairly conventional, I have a cover page which consists of several cover lines and one major cover line which varies in colour to draw the attention of the reader, the masthead is placed at the top, which is typical as it is what people will see sticking out on the shelf. The contents page is also conventional, the articles are on the left in different sections, with the main article having a special box situated elsewhere to highlight its significance. Other magazines would follow these as there really is no reason to stray away from convention, customers know the purpose and function of a contents page so to change it would just create confusion.

Overall
To conclude, I think my magazine is fairly similar to many other magazines of the rock genre. This is to immediately attract the target audience (16 to middle age males) as they will immediately identify the magazine as a rock magazine. The use of colour, font, imagery and language shows the reader exactly what the magazine is consisted of, at the top the line saying "new rock age begins" immediately shows the reader that it's about rock. The image also connotes values of rock, showing the reader once again the genre immediately, the image isn't impeded by the text. The font is quite loud and dramatic, it is also dynamic so it is uncommon and gives the magazine personality and character. The masthead has text which has been altered using a serif application to look unique.