Unit 14 - Magazine Codes and Conventions Evaluation

Unit 14 – Magazine Codes and Conventions Evaluation

In this evaluation, I will mention all of the essential information of the codes and conventions of physical and digital magazines; what their purposes are and who the target audience is aimed towards. There are many magazines with different purposes directed towards differing audiences. One genre of magazine I will analyze is the film category. Films and television magazines are intended to inform its reading audience of new, trending films and TV shows. Specifically, you may read articles of upcoming movies, what’s currently showing in the cinemas, reviews of films and interviews with cast and crew. If it’s centered around television, they tend to list weekly showings of TV shows on certain channels at specific times of the day; so people can take note of that and possibly watch the programming when it starts. The way these types of magazines are designed is very colorful, with plenty of images spread in various pages above and under long written articles. 



On this cover, there are many editing factors to consider regarding the front cover of this magazine. Particularly, the color scheme relates to the main subject of the cover. The subject of the magazine being War for The Planet of The Apes; the bluish color possibly is meant to represent the tone that this film holds, as the main tagline is 'This Means War!' It can also relate to the Game of Thrones headline at the top. The entire cover gives a wintry impression, as snow is visible. The use of other colors has been done to highlight other subjects part of the magazine issue, to promote them on the magazine. One example being the red paragraphs that speak of Dunkirk and Baby Driver, as the two of them will have had major releases.

Readers consume magazines differently today, some still purchase physical magazines, while others may find it easier to buy digital magazines online. There multiple technical factors to consider when thinking of buying or distributing a magazine. As a buyer, you may prefer to purchase physical magazines, as it may be simpler than paying for an online magazine, as you may not receive the digital download for your purchase. Although, you might think getting magazines digitally will be more ideal than physical copies, as you could still read them at any time on your phone or any other device you are reading on; and physical magazines have a limited supply in some shops. If you are thinking of publishing and distributing your own magazine, perhaps it is easier to publish them online in a digital format, as that might be the best format for yourself to use and reduce printing costs of physical magazines. Magazines are read by many different groups of people with their own personal preferences; whether they prefer the classic physical format over the digital, or are leaning to digital magazines as it may be perfect for them to read when they're out and about. They follow magazines of their favorite subject and hobby, be it: sport, cooking, vehicles, film and TV, games and technology. Any subject can be the basis for a magazine, depending on what publishers intend to revolve their magazines around.

That is my entire research on the codes and conventions of physical and digital magazines. I understand the purposes they hold for audiences, and the type of genres they look for. Thus, I conclude my evaluation.

By Aidan Stephenson