RMT essay

In media texts, conventions play an important role in allowing the audience to be able to recognise the genre of the text. Conventions can also be broken as a response to the predictability of use of these elements in a genre, or to stand out from other products of the genre, potentially developing the genre further.

In AS, my brief was to create a music magazine focusing on a genre of our choice. To complete this successfully, I had to identify conventions in magazines related to the genre of my chosen genre (rock music) as well as the conventions of magazine design. This research was essential to the creation of my final outcome, as it allowed me to recognise the elements which are used to make my publication recognisable as part of it’s genre, and how conventions such as boosts/cover lines help to gain interest from an audience. For instance, looking at ‘Classic rock’ and ‘Rocksound’ Magazines helped me to identify the conventional colour schemes of rock magazines (both used gold, red, black and white.) as well as the type of shots used for the images and the sorts of costumes/props which are used. While my magazine took heavy influence from these publications, I did however break some conventions to add a personalised touch to my project. For example, rather than focusing on an established artist, my cover focused on an upcoming indie artist, as well as the use of diamond graphics (boosts, bullet points etc.) as a unique theme of my publication.

In my year 13 film promotion excercise, I made a horror movie trailer/poster/magazine. In order to do this I had to investigate conventions of horror and it’s many sub-genres, such as stock characters/situations, weapons and costumes and setting. I also investigated trailer structures and promotion methods.

For this trailer, we based the included elements of existing horror films to create a product that is instantly recognisable as part of that genre. However, our trailers carry our own personal representations of these concepts, and the settings reflect those of our everyday lives. A general audience have not necessarily explored London themselves, and our edgy unsettling representation of the area subverts the false reality which is often presented in existing films.

Through my research into the conventions of media texts, I have developed as a media producer, as I am now able to understand why these elements are conventions of their respective genres, and what the intended meanings/responses from the audience are. I am now a able to implement this knowledge into my own projects to create an identifiable or unique take on an existing genre.

Research and planning essay

How have you developed in your Research & Planning skills across the 2 years?

For the first project at the beginning of the year, we were se the task of creating a College Magazine, which we delved straight into the development without any research/planning on existing magazines/their conventions beforehand. Going in blind to creating this product allowed for a level of creativity, as I had the freedom to implement elements of my choice, rather than restricting myself to conventional design choices. However, this limited knowledge of conventions resulted in an unprofessional final outcome, and if I had a wider knowledge of conventions I would have been able to include elements I was previously unaware of the importance of.

For my second project/The main project of the year, I designed and produced a new music magazine called 'Rockstop' for the Rock music genre aimed at a target audience of white males aged 25-45. Throughout the course of this project, I developed skills in the use of conventions/Iconography to create a visually appealing product, and to allow the audience to recognise the genre of the publication.

At the beginning of this project, I had a limited knowledge of the conventions of magazines and their significance to producing an effective design. However, as I began to examine existing Music/rock magazines, I began to recognise the conventions of the genre, and magazines in genre, as well as how Imagery, Graphics and wording is used to attract my target audience to my product. This included using striking dominant images, intriguing/persuasive writing in boosts/cover lines and use of colour schemes and textures associated with the genre of the publication, based on existing products. To research the conventions of my chosen genre (rock music) I picked up a range of Rock music magazines such as UNCUT, Rocksound and NME, as well as a range of covers found on the internet such as a cover of classic rock, which my final outcome was heavily inspired by. This research helped me to establish my colour scheme of predominantly gold, black and white, as well as the type of shot and props used for my dominant image, as these closely resembled many of these products, allowing for a consumer to identify this product as part of the rock genre. While this product was still heavily influenced by existing products, overall this outcome had a higher level of creativity due to the freedom to choose the genre of music, mainly based on personal tastes, and our improved knowledge of InDesign/Photoshop and magazine conventions allowed for a much more unique and developed product.

For my second year, I developed a Film trailer, poster and magazine as part of the horror genre. By the beginning of this year, I already had a wide knowledge of the conventions of magazines, as well as how camera, editing, sound and mise-en-scene are used, which allowed us to have an idea of the aim of our projects, and implement the skills we have gained at a much more professional level. Overall, we have a much deeper focus on our research and planning, and developed final products influenced by the horror genre, rather than recreating an existing product with our own personal changes, as we are developing a trailer based on an unused film script rather than recreating an existing film. While you could argue that our creativity is still restricted by the script and horror conventions, in our case we altered the unconventional inclusion of a male victim and instead gave the story our own twist, by replacing this character with a more conventional female victim.

In comparison to our music magazine, there has been a much higher level of planning for our horror project, as we were required to gain permission to, and visit our filming locations, while for my magazine I only took a few shots, which were mainly taken very local to where I live. I have also viewed a wide range of horror films/trailers which I have paid much more focus to the complete product, rather than the focus on design choices when I examined my music magazines. While in our last year, I learnt why conventions are used, however this year I have looked much closer at the origins and developments of these conventions over time, and the deeper meanings/connotations of their use.

Overall, I have drastically improved as a Post-Modern Media Producer, as I am no longer simply a consumer of media products, as I have gained the ability to understand the uses of codes and conventions on a much deeper level, and am now able to implement these skills and ideas into my own works. As well as this my views on what makes something creative have been altered, as I am now aware that the act of production in its self is creative, despite being restricted to a set of conventions/inspiration from existing products, as whatever we produce is our personal take on the subject matter.

500 word essay on creativity

The development of technology over time has played an important role in the ability to produce and market media products. Nowadays, our smartphones have the ability to shoot and edit high quality video and produce and edit soundtracks. Modern internet capabilities allow for uploading videos through video hosting sites such as YouTube, and market products through social networking sites. this also allows for a new level of interactivity with the audience, as they are given the freedom to share their opinions and fan-made projects based on an existing product. Nowadays, consumers are no longer restricted to blindly consuming products, as the internet gives individuals the ability to become their own producers, using the software which is made accessible through modern technology. This process was much more difficult and costly in the past, as video cameras weren’t as widely available, and platforms such as YouTube were not available to host your content on.


Creativity is the act of producing something new or reinterpreting an existing concept. Some may argue that it is not creative to create a piece of media based on an existing text, however what makes A project creative, is how the creator applies their own personal take on an existing subject matter. The same applies to our horror trailers, as while we are restricted to the horror genre, and will predominantly be focusing on implementing codes and conventions of horror in correlation to real media texts, our trailers will carry and portray our own personalised take on the genre through how we as an audience have interpreted these conventions, and inclusion of locations which reflect our urban London lives, through imagery of London’s edgier qualities, something a general audience may not have necessarily experienced, which may have also been ignored in representations of London in other existing media texts. (Typically by those who haven’t truly expierienced London life.)


For something to lack creativity is to directly copy the form and structure of an existing product. This perception of creativity suggests that our AS Media magazine covers were not creative products, due to our very direct inspiration from a small selection of magazines. However a level of creativity was still applied to these products as we were given the ability to choose the musical genre, (generally based on personal taste) and we also produced original imagery, publication name and interviews, albeit based on conventions of existing products.

Throughout my time studying media studies, I have greatly developed from a consumer who experimented with producing media products for fun, to someone who understands and recognises the conventions of media products and how they are used to target specific demographics. I have also gained skills in a wide range of digital software such as Adobe photoshop to enhance and adjust photos and graphics, As well as Adobe Indesign, which allows me to create professional magazine pages. This year, I have also learnt how to edit videos and sound using Apple Final Cut Pro, which I will make use of in my final trailer.