Production Log

After taking some of the pictures for my I really like some of the ones I took. I decided to take a lot of pictures for the magazines of the people in different positions so I could use the best ones. the best picture I took was of Ben holding a guitar whilst in the air. I thought this was a perfect position and I managed to catch him perfectly without the camera blurring any part of him. as well as taking pictures I also modeled for people in their pictures using my own costume and the costumes which were given to me by others. I really believe I took some very good pictures and that I will achieve a high mark for the photography section of what we are being marked on.

Production Log

Today I took the pictures which I would use to make my front cover, contents page and double page spread. I decided to bring in a leather jacket and skinny jeans which I would use because its a rock magazine and these clothes are often associated with rock music. I used music equipment which was available at the school. These props I used were a guitar amplifier and an electric and acoustic guitar. I used 2 actors today however I will also use another one in the next session. I will use another actor in the next session because I have to use 5 different pictures and I want to use a variety of different artists in the contents page.

Pictures For My Magazine

This I the first set of picture I have taken. They are only of two people at the moment so I will have to take more in the future but for now I am satisfied with pictures that I have. my favorite of these pictures is the one which contains Ben jumping in the air with guitar as I was able to take it while he was in the air. Hopefully I will be able to use a few of the pictures and I will take my next ones in a different setting so I can have a variation of people in the pictures.

Front Cover Analysis

This is the front cover of Kerrang magazine. It has a colour scheme of grey, white and yellow. The yellow and white is also used throughout the magazine. The masthead of the magazine is very large and white. The font used is very rough and gives an effect that makes the letters look like they've been shattered. It also stands out from the rest of the magazine. The colours of the letters stand out against the grey. All the letters are big, and the unique font which is used with every issue of the magazine it makes the font recognisable.

The main cover line stands out from the other words, it has a separate unique font and is almost as big as the masthead's font size. The other words are highlighted in different colours to make them stand out it also gives the magazine its own look which is not common in some other magazines. Highlighting them makes them stand out to the reader so it is clear from the cover what the reader can expect will be inside.

The magazine has cover 3 pictures in total, the main image takes up the majority of the page it is one musician who stands out to people and will be easily recognisable. The guitar makes him look like a rock star along with the costume he is wearing which is a dark, rough looking suit which has not been put on in a very smart way. The makeup and dyed black hair gives him the typical conventions and image which a rock star would have. The other smaller picture shows a band who is featured on the inside of the magazine.

Front Cover Analysis

this is Q magazine, although they don't always do rock in this addition of the magazine they have changed their usual style and created more of a rock vibe to the magazine. the masthead is larger than it usually is on their magazines and they have added an effect where the Q looks like the artist from muse has smashed the masthead with his guitar. the smashed up letter is typical of a rock magazine. Kerrang also use rough and broken looking letters in their mastheads as it created a hard rock look. the colour scheme also consists of basic dark colours. this again is conventional of a rock magazine as the music is often associated with dark meanings so bright colours would not fit in well.


the colours also help to make the image stand out. it gives a very 3D like effect to the magazine and the writing which is either highlighted white or is white, stands out and is easy to read. the Artist who is Matt Bellamy from the rock band Muse, is also represented in a typical rockstar way. he is wearing tight trousers which are common for rockstars to wear along with a very unique looking leather jacket. The electric guitar also helps the audience to instantly recognise him as a rockstar as the guitar is an instrument used in many rock songs and so an audience who didn't recognise the musician would be able to tell it was a rock magazine with a rock star on the front. Matt Bellamy is also well placed on the magazine. He is big but not too big that he takes up almost the entire space of the page with his whole body being shown while leaving enough space for writing.

the words on the side of the magazine are also typical of any magazine. the follow the conventions through using thick letters and standing out against the background. The letters also fit along with colour scheme of white and red as there is a red line beneath them.

Contents Page Analysis

This contents page is by Kerrang. The masthead is big and bold and goes across the page. it stands out with its bright colours and large text. The kerrang logo is written in their rough broken looking font and along the right there is a list of all the things in the contents page.

There is one main image on the front cover of the magazine and a large space for that image. At the bottom there are smaller images which have numbers so people can know which page they can find the information about them on. The main picture of the person stands out because it is much bigger than the others ans the girl is standing against a plane grey background. At the bottom of the page there is a small article which has been signed.

In the corner of the magazine there is an advert and above this is where all the pages are. They are labelled about what is found in them. the labels at the top keep to the main colour scheme of yellow and black. and the background is white so all the writing sticks out. 

Contents Page Analysis

This is a Metal Hammer contents page. The masthead is in an old styled font which was commonly used on the album artwork of early metal bands and is still used today by some bands with an old metal vibe. It stands out as it is black against a white background. and the logo of the magazine is used above it in the font which they have throughout the magazine making it more recognisable. There are two columns, on one there are the pages which contain things which are specially featured in the magazine and in the other there is the things which are usually featured in the magazine.

There are a lot of pictures on the page and buy each picture there is the page number to where you can find the page with the artist on. there is also another picture which has reviews written on it. Some of the pictures are much larger than others and stand out more so readers can see them. they are also the most popular musicians who the buyers of the magazine will want to read about the most.

The page also gives a little bit of information about what is on each page which is conventional of all styles of magazines. The colour scheme is black and red. Both these colours connote bad and evil things and this style of music is often associated with darkness and some bands try to appear as evil with their image and lyrics in the music.

Production Log

Now that I have finished my research and planning I have an idea of what I want my pages to look like. There would be three pages in my project. I will first make a front cover to my magazine where I will try to follow the regular conventions of a rock magazine as much as possible while still being able to make the magazine suitable for my target audience of teenagers and young adults ages 15 to 21. I will be using Photoshop to make my pages and hopefully I will find it easy to use.

Analysis of Artists

This is a picture of the alternative/ punk rock band Green Day, they are in the same genre which I will be using in my magazine. The costume they are wearing is generally the same and typical of the rock genre. The colours are all very dark and they are wearing shirts and suit although these don't look smart, there is a very rough image given from the band. For my pictures I am aiming use the same kind of image in my pictures.

This picture is also of a rock band who would be the kind of band to go onto my magazine, they have their instruments with them which is usually seen in pictures of magazines. I will also use this by putting the band members in my music magazine with their instruments. I will use a range of different instruments with different people although all of them will fine into the rock genre. I will use acoustic guitars which are typical or a rock genre as well as electric guitars and electric basses. the costume which muse are wearing is also different to what green day were wearing, their costume is much more smart than Green Day's however it is also very unique and not what is normally seen being worn by someone in the rock genre. smart clothes can sometimes be seen but the clothes they are wearing have very unique designs. Although this is not a convention it be a good idea to use this as it will give the band a very unique look which will stand out and be recognisable.

Title Block Analysis

This is a title block for NME music magazine which also writes about the same genre which I am using for my magazine. The letters are large and stand out against the pictures used in the magazine and with a colour scheme of red, white and black which is typical for the genre. The title block is also easy to recognise by others. Its short name is easy to remember and this makes it recognisable.

This title block is of kerrang magazine, this is also the same genre which I will be using for my magazine. It has typical conventions other title block in the rock and metal genre. The words are large and stand out the font is also very unique. the broken rough look gives it a dangerous and this suits the vibe of the music as it rock and metal are usually associated with this kind of look.

This title block is from Q magazine which writes about alternative rock and indie rock although it does also talk about pop which I will not use for my magazine but it uses a very recognisable title block and has a good design which is typical of the alternative rock genre like the one which has been used in the NME magazine its simplicity and colour make it easy to remember and stand out against the other magazines.

Analysis of a Double Page Spread

This is a double spread front Kerrang magazine who target the same audience as my magazine. There are some very clear conventions present in this magazine. to begin with there is one main image of one artist who is posing on the left page. Next to him there is a large title which has letters in different font sizes and colours. The font is highlighted and takes up more than one third of the page. 

The main article is an interview with artist. The things the interviewer says are highlighted so they stand out making it easy for the reader to understand who is saying what. There are three columns of text which I have seen used a lot in double page spreads and the first letter in the article is larger than all the rest which is something I have also seen commonly used in double page spread magazines.  

The background of the double page spread has a grey image with white dots around the edges and these are some white dots in the middle around the words. This makes the magazine background look less plane. I believe that this effect is very good and the magazine would be less professional without it. 

I will definitely try to use some of these conventions in my magazine although I want my magazine to be different so I will try also break some of the conventions of the magazine as I want it to be unlike other magazines.

Reader Profiles

Distortion reader profile- Distortion is for teenagers aged 13-19, it also may have smaller audiences a few years above or below these ages. As well as having an online website it has a magazine which has all the information teens want to know about their favourite bands. It’s for teenagers who love going to gigs and seeing their favourite bands perform and go to lots of gigs, the target audience is both male and female and teens who are really into their music and want to hear the new releases of every band they like as well as knowing all the information they can about their favourite bands and artists.