Continued...

The next thing we did, which I found more interesting, was reviewing and analysing a media text.
In this case it was a magazine cover.

We looked at the different conventions used, and what effect they had on the reader. 

We also looked at the unique selling point (USP) of each magazine, and how that was presented. 
I learnt quite a lot during this lesson. For example, I learnt what a ‘convention’ is. It is a word to describe all the different features and devices used in a media text, and all that we as a viewer expect to see.

 

For example, the USP of this magazine would be that it is aimed at pregnant women specifically.

 

Over the next couple of lessons I started to pick up more key terms and technical vocabulary that I had never come across before. All the conventions of a magazine cover for example, are things like the masthead, the skyline, the byline and the lures/sell lines.

Also, things such as the colour pallet, which I learnt is one of the most important aspects to a magazine cover. It is the thing that draws the chosen target audience in, and sometimes there is one or two ‘splash’ colours on the cover, to enhance the more important parts of the magazine, and to lure the reader in.

Another lure of a magazine cover is the anchorage text. This sits with the main image, and is to lure the reader in to buying the magazine and reading the main story.

After this lesson, I am confident that I will use these conventions to my advantage in my coursework.