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.