Question 3 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions or real media products?

Every piece of media text follows simple guidelines that allow it to be designed and produced in a way that decoders will be familiar with. Media products are put into categories that a target audience will easily recognise due to the similar use of key elements and techniques used by the encoder. These categories are related to as genres. For example, T.V murder dramas will often have similar settings and storylines that have elements that have been used before. This is an example of intertextuality – links have been made from previous media texts to produce a new one. Music magazines follow the same pattern. All music magazines will use the same techniques and include the key concepts that encoders use to fully represent what they want to their target audience.

Many music magazines are focused specifically around one type/genre of music. The encoder will use this genre and design sections of the magazine based on what a decoder would expect to see in that particular magazine.

Numerous music magazines will include a story about a well-known musician, whether it’s about their music or something interesting having happened in their personal life. I have taken this and used it in my magazine – forming an interview with a singer.

Music magazine often have a tag line next to or beneath their title, stating they are a popular magazine or have won some kind of award. I have also used this element on my magazine front cover. This will represent the magazine’s status and popularity to the decoder, allowing them to understand the success of the magazine they will potentially be purchasing.

Another element of magazine design I have used on the font cover is having an offer for the decoder to have an opportunity to see a singer live in concert. This is placed at the bottom of the front cover to take the decoder’s attention as they look down it.

Every magazine, whether music or fashion, will include a barcode on the front or back cover. I included a barcode at the bottom of the front cover. I chose this position because it does not interfere with the main cover image or overall design of the cover, but still completed the look of the magazine.
The masthead for Key Change is placed at the top of the front cover, as with most music magazines. This is so that it’s the first thing the consumer sees when looking at the front cover, drawing their attention to the remainder of the cover.

I have also included the price and issue date on the top left hand corner of the front cover. Most magazines put the issue date and price on the front cover so it is easy for the consumer to see when they are viewing it.
tuart Hall’s Encoding and Decoding Model states that a decoder can decode a piece of media text. They can either have a preferred/dominant reading, negotiated reading or an oppositional reading. A preferred reading, where the decoder fully understands the decoder’s code and accepts the message, is the reading I wanted the decoders to take from my magazine.

As Modes of Address are also an important part of the encoder’s responsibilities, I made sure the signs and the way I wrote in various sections of the magazine communicated in the most suitable way for my target audience. As my magazine would be read by late teenage to young adult years, anchorage was not as important as it would have been if my media product was aimed at a younger audience. Some images included text underneath e.g. quotes from an interview, but most of my images spoke for themselves and would allow the decoder to read and understand the connotations within the images. Language used in the introduction to the interview was not simple, nor heavily complicated, as my target audience is a well educated young woman.

My media product remained within the usual guidelines of magazine design and followed the principles of the Encoder/Decoder Model. The choices I made with regards to images, text and other signs were made based on my target audience and the way in which I wanted them to read my magazine. All these signs went through a mediation process to make sure they represented exactly what I wanted to the target audience. Intertextuality was a large part of the design process, as I wanted my target audience to feel familiar with the overall magazine layout.