Codes and Conventions

Codes and Conventions are the styles of a magazine or indeed any other media product that make it definable. The four main focuses of a front cover that are conventional are the style of image, text, colour and layout. NME is an indie/pop magazine aimed at young adults. The magazine has several codes and conventions.

One convention of NME is to have the masthead in the same position every single issue. The masthead occupies the top left hand corner of the front cover in bold writing and vibrant colour (red). This identifies the magazine and is a necessity for every issue.

Another convention that is usually followed by the distributors IPC Media is that the front cover usually contains a lot of text and one large, dominant image. This convention is generally followed by most music magazines. This is because the front cover is the part of the magazine that attracts the consumers. Therefore, it is important for the magazine to get as much information onto the front as possible so that it makes the consumer want to look inside.

Lastly, the colours used on the front of NME can differ. However, generally there is red and white. This is because white is a neutral colour and red stands out on the white background. Also, it is the colours used in the logo.

Looking at the codes and conventions of NME has provided me with some inspiration for my own magazine.

Double Page Spread Analysis

The double page spread is taken from metal magazine Rock Sound. The band featured in the article is British metal core band ‘Bring Me the Horizon’. They are currently signed to Visible Noise Records in the UK, Epitaph Records in the US and Shock Records in Australia; the very fact that the band is big worldwide shows that the magazine has to aim its article at a broad target market. However, metal core is a nice market and fans are usually dedicated and avid followers. The normal metal core fan is between the age of 10 and 30; this is because although metal core has become more popular in recent years, the origins can really only be traced back 30 years or so. In the past, metal core fans were predominantly male. However, in recent years females have embraced the culture. The most stereotypical mannerism of a metal core fan is their hatred for convention and conformity.

The language used in the double page spread is dark, yet revealing. Similarly to the lyrics and music that Bring Me the Horizon creates, there are references to the supernatural “facing up to the demons”. However, what is a complete contrast to their musical style is the revealing attitude that the language and overall article itself creates, “I look back at the person I was and shake my head.” The magazine generally doesn’t hold back on the dark imagery. This is expected because metalheads generally do not hide their opinions or are afraid to use frank language. Moreover, the metal core genre of music is associated with the gothic culture; perhaps one of the reasons for the dark language.

Continuing the dark theme, the colours used on the double page spread are dark and simplistic. The background colour, black, is dominant. Once more, black is a colour that is very much associated with the gothic culture. The dominant black is broken up by two colours; red and black. The red is used in streaks; which could connote blood and suffering. However, the use of the colour white contrasts to both the other colours. White traditionally symbolises hope. Therefore, I feel that colour is used very effectively because it sums up the article itself. The article is about the dark times suffered and the road to greatness that the band is now on. The style of text used also adds to the dark and unforgiving feel of the article itself. The typeface used is sans-serif; which is again has historically been linked to the gothic. This is because the typeface is simple and forthright; this gives off that dark feel.

The double page spread is dominated by one image of the bands front man Oli Sykes; his image takes up half the double page spread. It suggests that he is the main focus of the article. The next thing you notice when you initially look at the double page spread is the bands title. This is done to entice people in to reading the article. Bring Me the Horizon is a huge band at the moment on the metal core scene. This means by putting the bands name at the focus point of the double page spread people who are flicking through are more likely to look in detail at the actual article. The actual article text takes up very little space. It takes just a small proportion of the overall spread.

The kind of tone that the magazine uses when addressing its audience is similar to addressing a friend. I get this feeling from the revealing language used and natural photograph used. The detail which you get out of the article is the kind of detail you would expect to get off a friend. Oli Sykes is revealing a lot about his life and being completely open. This tells me a lot about metal core fans and their bond with the bands they follow. Metal bands seem to have a much closer relationship with their fans than bands from other genres.

The main image on the double page spread is of the bands front man. Dedicated fans would know that Oli Sykes has had a troubled past and the road to his success hasn’t been easy. The shot is low angle, this may connote Sykes’ road to success; always looking to the future and standing up no matter what happens. Fans admire this about him and see him as an inspiration. The magazine has noted this; therefore, it is acceptable and expected that the low angle shot could be used. However, Sykes is not looking at down the lens of the camera. This could connote that he finds it difficult to talk about his past.

The double page spread shares some of its characteristics with the front cover of the magazine. The colours used on the double page spread are similar to the ones used on the front cover; red, black and white is used. Furthermore, the image on the front cover is also of Bring Me the Horizon. Again, Oli Sykes is in the foreground of the image. This supports the suggestion that the article’s chief focus is on the front man.

What is great about this article is that you need no prior knowledge to be able to read and understand the content. The article focuses on three areas of the bands career; the past, the present and the future. Therefore, all you need to know about the band is in the article itself.

Evaluation!!

1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions?

My media product both use and challenge the conventions of a real media product, as well as develop them in some areas. When I started thinking of the ideas for the front cover, I was certain of one thing; I wanted to challenge the conventions. This was because I want my magazine to stand out from the other music magazines. My front covers focal point is the image, it is completely dominant. I believe that this is effective because it means that the front cover is rather simplistic and therefore would appeal to my target audience. This alone challenges a real media product because magazines would normally reveal a lot about the content inside through text. The image itself also challenges the conventions of a real media product. The shot is high angle and reveals all of the artists’ body. Again, this challenges the conventions of a media product because the front cover usually depicts a mid-shot. The front cover continues to challenge the conventions of a real media product through the use of different colours to the usual (black, white and red). Radar uses blue, green and black. I think this is effective because the use of different colours is eye-catching and unique, which would attract the target audience. The only convention that my front cover uses is it only uses two different fonts. However, it does feature the artists’ logo which is in two different fonts entirely. Overall, I feel that the front cover definitely achieved my goal of challenging the conventions of a real media product.

In contrast to the front cover, I wanted to stick to the conventions of a real media product on the inside of magazine. The contents page almost entirely follows the conventions. It uses a fairly simplistic listed layout and features several images. Furthermore, the contents page also uses only two fonts. One of the images used depicts the front cover. I feel that this is effective because it is something which is a little different and interesting. I haven’t seen this used very often in music magazines; therefore, it challenges the conventions. Finally and similarly to the contents page, the double page spread mostly follows the conventions of a real media product. One side of the double page spread is taken up by an image, this conforms to the conventions. Moreover, there is a memorable and introductory quote that relates to the featured article.

2) How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My magazine represents the indie rock scene. Indie music has become more main stream since the turn of the millennium as independent artists joined major record labels. The typical indie rock fan can be either male or female; this has led to a blending of gender coded imagery. Male and female indie fans dress similarly and act similarly. Therefore, it is fair to say that my magazine is representative of a wide variety of people from the indie rock scene as a whole. In order to be a representative of this social group I had to ensure that it appealed to both genders and remained neutral in colour, font and language.

My front cover uses neutral colours; blue, green and black are three colours that could appeal to both genders. However, I did not choose colours that were conventional because I feel that indie rock fans are symbolic of free will and distinctiveness. The colours used definitely make the magazine distinctive and by choosing colours that would not be normally used it shows the magazines desire to promote free will and indie rock. This continues on both the contents page and double page spread.

The central image on the front cover is of a male indie artist. The reason why I have chosen a male for the front cover is because it goes against what you’d expect when you actually read the story. The story is hard hitting and very open. Again, the magazine is challenging the conventions. In choosing a male I think it represents indie rock fans because they are not afraid to open up and show emotion; whether they are male or female. The original photograph used is seen on the right.

3) What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

I would like to think that several media institutions may like to distribute my magazine. However, there is one clear obvious candidate, Bauer Media Group. Bauer Media are a large publishing company based in Germany. They currently operate in 15 countries worldwide. The company is owned privately by the Bauer family and on average circulates 38million magazines a week. However, brand reputation is not the factor that attracts me to Bauer Media; I would like to think my magazine could sell itself. What attracts me to Bauer Media are their current media products. The Q and Kerrang! Magazines are two of my favourite magazines and are what provided the inspiration for my own media product.

Another reason that Bauer Media would be suitable for my media product is because of its good advertising reputation. On their website it quotes, “Bauer Media reaches over nineteen million UK adults across multiple media channels.”
My other consideration was IPC Media. Another large publishing and distributing with a good reputation for distributing indie rock magazines such as NME. The only difference is, historically, IPC Media have been reluctant to distribute abroad. When the creator of Loaded magazine gave an exclusive interview saying, “I left because it was just such a struggle with them. They were reluctant to develop it abroad or establish any of the spin-offs they could have done.” This wouldn’t be appropriate for my magazine because I could see my magazine distributed abroad.

4) Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for my media product would be any indie rock fans between the ages of 14-25. Bearing in mind that, nowadays, indie rock is such a main stream genre of music, I feel that I have to keep my magazine fairly neutral and appeal to both males and females.

My particular magazine would appeal to both males and females. It would appeal to males because the feature is focused on a male artist. Likewise, it would appeal to females but for different reasons. The article on ‘Cameron Ebbs’ in my magazine is an interview style article. This would stereotypically appeal more to females than males. Therefore, it is fair to say that my particular product, rather than the brand itself, is aimed more towards females because of the content.

5) How did you attract/address your audience?

Like I have mentioned, I felt as if I had to try and make my magazine appeal to both male and females, whilst maintaining an indie rock feel. My front cover, I feel, does this effectively. I tried to use neutral colours; such as blue, green and black. In doing this I hope that the colours would not put either gender off immediately. Furthermore, I have interestingly shot a high angle shot instead of a mid-shot. In doing this, I hope to entice people and hint that the interview inside is revealing and open. Overall, I feel that the front cover would attract my target audience because of its simplicity, whilst maintaining a certain amount of individuality that I feel mirrors and indie fans personality.

The contents page continues this simplistic feel; using simple colours, fonts and layout. The colour scheme continues on from the front cover. I tried to make the contents page as uncomplicated as possible. This is because I feel that people do not pay a lot of attention to the contents. Instead, they skim the text and look for words which stand out to them. This is why I have put a large quote on the contents page, to try and attract readers to the main feature article.

Lastly, the double page spread. I have chosen to take up an entire A4 side of the double page spread with one image. The image again is enticing and I hope that it would start people assessing and guessing as to the content of the article itself. The article itself is done in an interview style. This is quite unusual for an indie rock magazine. However, I feel that promoting an article which is slightly different from the customary could be a stand-out point and become an advantage.

6) What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

On the course of creating my final media product I have mainly used two completely new technologies. Firstly, Adobe Photoshop, which at first I struggled with. This is evident looking at my preliminary task which looks untidy and uncreative. However, in the preliminary task I did learn how to use the main tools like free transform. In doing this, my confidence started to develop and by the time I came to do my main task I was a lot more comfortable using Photoshop. Whilst doing my main task I had to create a logo. It turned out to be the most time consuming task of the whole production. However, without Photoshop’s copy merged and drop shadow options it would have taken me far longer to achieve the same result. Another layer which took some consideration was the large image on the double page spread. I used filter gallery to choose my favourite effect and apply it. Therefore, a task which I thought would take a while actually was rather stress-free.

The other technology I learnt how to use was Adobe InDesign. By using InDesign I could convert my work to a PDF file. Moreover, I learnt how to apply bleed marks. This allowed me to give my work that extra professional look that certainly Microsoft Publisher and perhaps Adobe Photoshop could not.


7) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

The preliminary task was rather basic. I used one font, two colours and a very simple layout. Overall, it didn’t take long to construct. I did not know how to free transform, drop shadow, emboss or bevel. Therefore, the outcome didn’t look very professional; instead it looked cheap and rushed.

However, developing to the full product I learned new skills and this aided my understanding of key conventions and codes. By using Photoshop with more experience the outcome of my final product was very good. It looked professional and well thought out.

Double Page Spread - Main Task

Again, my double page spread is mostly conventional. I have taken up a whole side of the double page spread with one image. I have filtered this image to manipulate it. The double page spread focuses on the troubled year of an indie artist 'Cameron Ebbs', it is done in a interview format. The quote "I'm back, and this time for good!" draws attention to the page. I have used blue again to continue the theme from the contents.

Contents Page - Main Task

The contents page is more conventional than my front cover. The reason that I kept simple and straightforward was because I feel that people skim read the contents and only take note of the information that stands out. I have kept the same colour scheme and included an eye catching quote to entice consumers into reading the main feature double page spread.

Front Cover

I decided before I started creating my front cover that I wanted it to be more unconventional than conventional. My front cover uses an unusual colour scheme of blue, green and black. Although at first this sounds absurd, I believe it works and from the feedback I have been given other people believe so to. The reason why I chose to use an unconventional colour scheme is because I wanted to the front cover to be representative of the indie rock scene. One of the reasons I have chosen blue is because it connotes sea and sky; lyrics written by indie artists are quite often focused on the natural elements of the world around them. Green is also a natural colour. It is also symbolic of growth and freshness; I feel that those two words sum up the indie rock scene in recent years.

The logo itself took some time to develop. I have used The Great Thunder typeface as the basis. However, I have used a drop shadow to make it jump out at the consumer. Furthermore, I have taken on the idea that the word ‘radar’ is a palindrome. I used this to my advantage and made both R’s in ‘radar’ capital letters to create a logo. I then experimented with several different colours. I felt that blue suited the logo best. To finish the logo off I placed an image of electronic radar inside the D of ‘radar’. Not only does this look effective, it also denotes the idea that the magazine is always looking for new talent.

The main image is of a male indie artist sitting in the snow, looking deep in thought. I wanted to make the image on the front cover relate directly to the article on the double page spread. I have chosen to place the subject in the snow because snow connotes freshness and a new start. The article is all about the artist in discussion making a new start and moving on from his troubled past. Furthermore, the name of the artist’s new album is ‘Footsteps in the Snow’, by using the snow I have also related it to the album. The photograph could even be used as album art. I have used a high angle shot supposed to the conventional mid-shot. The fact that you can see all of his body suggests that the article is going to be completely open and reveal everything. The fact that it is a high angle shot also connotes that the subject of the article is under scrutiny, under pressure and has something to prove. This is actually very accurate to the article itself.
The fonts used on the front cover are simplistic, yet professional. I have chosen to use Myriad Pro. The reason why I chose to use this font is because it is kind on the eye, professional and compliments the text.

The layout is very simplistic, this was intentional. The reason why I chose to use a very simple layout with one image and minimal text is because I wanted to reflect the article on the double page spread. The layout is very straightforward and blunt. This is mirrored on the double page spread where ‘Cameron Ebbs’ reflects on his past in a very serious, straight and blunt way.

Preliminary Task

This is my finished preliminary task. I have chosen to use red and blue because they are the traditional colours of Smithdon High School. I have used one font throughout berlin sans.




















This is the mock up of my preliminary contents page i have continued the blue and red colour scheme. I have also used a simple layout. This is because the magazine would have to appeal to a younger market too.