What i learned about conventions in magazines and film

Conventions in Magazines:

Masthead - The name of the magazine displayed in the typeface in which it is designed. This is the visual branding of the title and is usually done in a unique typeface to be very recognizable.

Selling/Tag line - Short, sharp description of the title's main marketing point ('The world's No 1 magazine for young women') or perhaps setting out its editorial philosophy.

Dateline - Month and year of publication, often with the price. Note that a monthly magazine usually hits the news-stands the month before the cover date.

Main image - In fashion magazines usually it is used in a classic way, the face is big enough to make an impact on the news-stand, with the model making full eye-contact.

Main cover line - This is very large - taking up about a quarter of the cover area. Usually it is positioned in such a way so it shows up clearly.

Cover lines - There can be several cover lines, which are distributed around the main image without detracting from it too much.

Model credit - It is not unusual for such a credit to appear on the cover.

Left third - In western countries, the left third of the cover is vital for selling the issue in shops where the magazine is not shown full-frontage. The title must be easily recognizable in a display of dozens of competitors. The start of the masthead is important here.

Bar code - Standard bar code used by retailers

Table of contents – this is always the first page of the magazine. Table of contents can be laid out on one page, two page spread, or on two pages intersected with advertising. Ad pages are almost always on the right. Advertisers prefer the right hand side of the magazine because is is more visible than the left hand pages. Table of contents can be designed with or without the images but is is important to distinct the TOC elements so that the reader can understand what is page number, what is the headline of the topic and what is a short description of the topic if you want to include it. Good typographic choice and skill is crucial here.

Layout – set out in columns, usually 3 or 4

One main image – relating to a feature article

Other smaller images

Page numbers - on the images which anchor to the written contents

Top of the page – name of magazine, issue date and the word "contents"

Subscription and contact information

Editor’s Letter – sometimes appears on the top, left hand side of page

An image of the front cover of the magazine

Colours – contents page use the same, simple colour scheme as the front cover

Contents is divided into categories and headings used to identify each.

Main categories – features and regulars: first line – page number, 1or 2 words which could be the artist’s name or title to intrigue the reader in bold type and often capitals, (12 or 13pt)

Sublines - give more specific detail about what the articles are about, smaller font

Photography – is credited for the front cover, and there are interesting and varied photographs

Bottom – page number, magazine title, issue date, often web address

Usually 1 or 2 pages

Headline It is the most important element of a magazine layout design. It can be of various sizes, but should be set in a size bigger than the other text elements in the page. A headline should be interesting, meaningful and compelling enough as it increases the chances of an article to be read.

Introductory Paragraph Also known as "intro" "kicker", "deck" or "stand-first", an introductory paragraph is the main piece of content that introduces a reader to an article. It carries forward what a headline has succeeded in doing - catching the attention of a reader. It connects a reader to the main article, taking forward a reader's journey into the midst of the article. It sets the tone of the article for a reader and sometimes, also summarizes the entire article. In terms of font size, it should be smaller than the font size of the headline of an article. But, it should be slightly bigger or at least a little bolder than the rest of the article.

Body / Body Text / Body Copy This is a more lengthy and detailed part of a magazine article when compared to the introductory paragraph of the heading / headline of an article. A well-written body copy keeps a reader engaged to an article for the most part, generally till the end of the article. When one begins to design the magazine layout template, they should begin with designing the body copy of an article, because that takes maximum space, running into multiple paragraphs. It is important that you set the right margins in terms of columns and rows to improve readability. A key point to note here is that you should be consistent with the length of the body copy for all the articles in the magazine.

Bylines It is important that you acknowledge the person and the team which has worked on an article. Usually, the author's name is written under the headline of the article, which is also known as the byline. It can be written in the same font size as that of the body copy.

Sub-headline / Subhead These are used to break an article into various sections or compartments, indicating what the next set of paragraphs is going to talk about. It can be written in the same font in which the body copy is written, but it should stand out from the body copy at the same time. Hence, you can keep it "bold" so that it looks like a mini-heading or headline. An important thing to bear in mind is that you should not place subheads below an image or a quote in an article.

Pull Quotes These usually provide a different dimension to an article in a magazine, making it look more interesting. Quotes aid in conveying your story to a reader, and if coupled with images, become potent. You can either have a quote verbatim from a portion of the body copy, or you could perhaps summarize a few points of the body copy in different words and have them as a quote or an excerpt. Ideally, the quotes or excerpts or blurbs should be in a font that is different from the font in which the body copy has been written.

Captions for Images These should be written in a way that they complement the image being used in an article. A caption should describe an image and should ideally be placed immediately below the image. The font size for image captions can be the same as that of the font in which the body copy has been written or slightly smaller than that.

Section Head / Running Head Every magazine article does not need a running head, but some do. These are usually placed at the top of every page of a magazine and aid readers in navigating through an article easily. A running head should be designed creatively so that it looks good, because it is present on almost all pages of the magazine and a reader sees it every now and then. So, it has to be visually attractive.

Folio It should be designed in such a way that you do not annoy a reader who looks into it on almost every page of a magazine. It is a way of arranging sheets of papers in your magazine, by folding them in a certain manner. You should tread with caution especially when you have many pages in your magazine containing full bleed images. A reader could be annoyed if you place folios on those pages.

Box Copy / Panel Such boxes contain important facts related to the topic of the article that a reader should know while reading a magazine article. These could be statistics or dates or anything factual in nature which is important to know and short in length. Such data is placed in a box to catch the attention of a reader. A box can have a dedicated heading as well.

Conventions in Films:

Film Opening

A title sequence (also called an opening sequence, intro or film opening) is the method by which films or television programmes present their title and key production and cast members, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound.

Definition:

In a motion picture, television program or video game, the opening credits or opening titles are shown at the very beginning and list the most important members of the production. They are now usually shown as text superimposed on a blank screen or static pictures, or sometimes on top of action in the show. There may or may not be accompanying music. When opening credits are built into a separate sequence of their own, the correct term is title sequence (such as the familiar James Bond and Pink Panther title sequences).

A title sequence (also called an opening sequence or intro) is the method by which films or television programs present their title, key production and cast members, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound. It typically includes (or begins) the text of the opening credits, and helps establish the setting and tone of the program. It may consist of live action, animation, music, still images, and/or graphics.

studio logo/name, vanity card*-There may be a vanity card which is an animation sequence of the studio name and logo, used to brand the what they produce ,

production's company and director's name: "in association with" or "A (studio name) production." "a film by (name)" "a (name) film"

Starring principal actors and Film title (reversible=could be the other way around)

Other featuring actors and Casting/by - casting director

Music - composed/original score by

Production Designer - set, costumes, hair, makeup, sound recording, visual effects

Editor,

Director of Photography

Producer/produced by/executive producer/co-producer - Often next-to-last opening credit, just before the director

Based on - book/play/tv series/film. Written by

Director

What I gathered from this:

The conventions in films and magazines are vary important in not only helping you structure your media product but also in signaling to the consumer what every part of the product means as they are likely to be familiar with these conventions on an at least subconscious level.