Kerrang Magazine - Front Cover Analysis

The mast head is at the top of the page in very large and bold font. On shops shelves only the top of the magazine is on display therefore, they want people to be able to identify the name of the magazine. The colour of the mast head is red which stands out from the greyish background and is easy to read. The mast head is slightly over the image. The mast head font is very unique and it will appeal to the reader because it almost looks like broken glass.

The front cover of the magazine consists of three main colours which are black, red and white. However, there is some yellow around the page. The red and the black really stand out on the page against the background. The yellow used adds another touch of colour to the front cover and highlights certain things.

The cover star on the issue is Mikey Chapman who is the lead singer of the rock band named Mallory Knox. He is very known and famous thefore, many people would buy the magazine because he is on the cover. The photo taken is a mid shot, Mikey Chapman is topless and he has water dripping off him. His hair is also wet. The image relates to one of the cover lines on the cover which is 'wash away your sins'. He looks like he has just come out of water and his facial expression is quite serious. His head is slightly down therefore, his eyes are looking up at the viewer. This looks intimidating and he looks confident. He is looking directly st the camera which gives a feel as if he was looking directly at you.

The main cover like is 'rock confessions' and underneath it there are different bands listed. The first band listed is Mallory Knox, the font used is bigger than the rest of the bands listed and this allows the reader to know that this band is the main topic of the issue, however, there are still other famous bands involved.

On the front cover there is also a puff which has 4 small images on it, it also says in bold writing '6 mega posters' this is a pull factor for the audience as they get free posters of the artists they are interested in so they are interested in so they are more likely buy it.

Rocksound Magazine - Double Page Spread Analysis

The colour scheme for the double page spread is mainly black, white and blue. The white writing is easy to read against the black background. The light blue used for the pull out quote and the drop capitals makes them stand out and also appeal to the audience by adding a touch of colour to the page. The colour scheme is very neat and the colours contrast well.

There is use of two drop capitals in the article, the letter 'R' in the word 'Right' which is in bold and very large font. This draws attention to the beginning of the article and makes people want to r we the rest of the word and article. There is another smaller drop capital in the third paragraph of the article, this also draws attention to the paragraph, however, it may show that it does not have as much importance as the first paragraph. The use of a pull quote draws the audience's attention to the centre of the page, the use of big bold don't makes it stand out. The pull quote says 'i went to rehab and I f**king hated myself', this is very shocking which will attract the reader and make them want to find out more about the Oli Sykes and his story. There are 4 columns on the double page spread, the font throughout the article is the same which makes it look organised and put together. Also, it makes it look like there is less writing and the reader is more likely to read the article rather then if it was a big paragraph.

There are two images of Oli Sykes in the middle of the two pages, taking up about 3/4 of the pages. It is two mid shots and they overlap slightly. In the first image his eyes are closed, this can attract the audience because it is something different and it gives an insight that there are deep emotions expressed within the article. The reader can maybe relate or feel sympathy. He looks very peaceful. The second image is a photo of him with his eyes widely open which can show innocence. The two images put together can give an inside and outside view of the rockstar.

Rocksound Magazine - Contents Page Analysis

The Rocksound Magazine contents page is spread over two pages. The mast head is the magazine's name and logo, it's in the colour red which stands out against the cream & grey background and it is bold and bigger than most of the other writing on the pages. On the left side of the first page you can find information about the magazine such as who the publisher is and their phone number.

Underneath the masthead there is like a short article note from the writer of the magazine which is a way of interacting with the reader. It is in standard small, black don't and it is only 4 paragraphs long. Underneath this there is the main image of the contents page. There is an image of the same band that is on the front cover (bring me the horizon) because this is the band that they are mainly focusing on in this issue of the magazine. The image takes up about one third of the page. This image links to the cover of the magazine and informs the reader that this is their main topic. This can influence some people to buy the magazine. 

On the second page of the contents page there are 5 sub-headings: news & regulars, exposure, features, albums and lives. Under each sub heading you find page numbers along side the titles or the articles allocated on those pages. This is very effective because readers can easily find a article which they are interested in reading. The sub headings are in whit and have a red text box around them which makes it appeal to the reader and also makes r easy to ready and stand out. The page numbers are also in red which makes the colour scheme of white, red and black very consistent throughout. The titles of the articles are black and bold and underneath it there is a note about the article, which is in black but it is not bold. Being in bold makes the title stand out more.

On the right hand side there are 3 photos of 3 double page spread articles issued in the magazine that month. This helps the reader have a further knowledge of what is in the magazine.

At the bottom god the first contents page there is a heading saying 'hit us up' in very large red font. Under this heading there are the magazine's different social media networks where they can be addressed and found. It allows the audience to ask questions and give feedback easily.

Rockstar Magazine - Front Cover Analysis

The mast head is at the top of the page, this is because when magazines are stacked on the shelves they are usually overlapping and only the top can be seen. The mast head is in white which contrast the black background which makes it stand out. The font of the masthead is consistent and bold which makes it appeal to the reader. The fact that the masthead is slightly covered by the image can show that the magazine is well known because they can afford to take the risk of not showing the full name. The magazine will be easily recognised without having the whole name on display.

The front cover has a three colour, colour scheme consisting of mainly black,yellow and red. The colours are nicely distributed around the page to make it look put together and neat. The use of yellow makes the writing stand out especially contrasting with the black background. The colours appeal to the reader and they are very eye-catching because they are bright colours. The bold colours give a very brace and confident look to the magazine and it also looks like and intense and dark magazine which gives an insight of the genre.

The co er stars are a band which is very famous and will attract many people who listen to rock music as they will be easily recognised. The positioning of the 5 cover stars is well thought as the lead singer of the band is situated in the middle of the other band members. 4 of the band members are wearing black which blends in and adds to the black background. The band member in the middle is wearing a dark grey tshirt, this may be because they want him to stand out more and also it will appeal to the audience more as the main singer will be spotted with ease. All of their heads are tilted in a way which makes it look like they are looking directly at you, no matter what angle you are looking at the magazine. This would give the viewers a more personal feel as there would be a sense of eye contact between you and the image. Their facial expressions are very straight-faced and they are not smiling. However, they do not look harsh or unfriendly. Their posture and facial expressions match the genre of the magazine because it is serious and consists of deep emotions. They used a mid shot which allows you to focus more on their facial expressions.

The main cover line on the front cover is placed across the middle/bottom of the image, it is not straight but slightly tilted and it is in yellow and red. The cover line is related to the image as it is about that band. They w is also two other 'plus' cover lines at the bottom of the magazine which give an insight of what else can be found in the magazine. The 'plus' cover lines are much smaller than the 'Bring Me The Horizkn' cover line which takes up a significant amount of the page. The fonts or the cover lines are bold and in caps lock. There are 3 different fonts used.

Photoshop Try Out

This is my first attempt at using photoshop and its layout. I created a new document, added rules at the top, bottom and sides of the A4 page and then added an image of Beyonce. I added two text boxes one for the mast head and one for the other writing at the bottom. I also added a picture of a barcode at the bottom. I played around with the effects and the brightness of the picture using the tools in photoshop.

College Magazine Plan

This is my plan for the layout for my college magazine i will be producing soon as my preliminary task for my course work. 

College Magazine Flat Plan

College Magazine

This college magazine is different to a music magazine for many reasons. The actual image of this college magazine has a different facial expression and a different posture to most covers of music magazines. Music magazines images usually have celebrities which are trying to be intimidating and show that they are better than everyone else, whereas most college magazines are portraying more positive vibe and most people on the cover are smiling.

However, most of the features found on a music magazine are also found on a college magazines, features such as: headmast, bar code, puffs, cover lines etc. Another thing that you can find in the image which are likely to be in both magazines are props. However, in a college magazine you will have props related to college and education such as in this image (books), on the other hand in music magazines you will have different props related to the genre or the artist.

The biggest difference between the two types of magazines are the content and the way things are portrayed.

Media Kit For Vibe Magazine

The media kits of the magazine 'VIBE' give us details about what is the audience which is most likely to read the magazine. It also tells us what races read the magazine the most. This is all shown in percentages.

Next steps

I have chosen Rock as my genre for my music magazines. I will be analysing magazines front covers, contents pages and double page spreads from two different magazines that fit my genre. I will most likely be analysing a Rocksound and Kerrang magazine.

Analysing Contents Page (notes)

We looked at how to analyse a contents page in a music magazines, i have learned what features a contents page has and what terminology to use when analysing it.

Analysing Front Cover

We were looking at analysing a front cover of a magazines and learning new terminology which we can use to address to some of the features on the front cover.

Double Page Spread (Induction)

This is my final double page spread which I had to create as my induction task. The layout of the article, colours, picture and the drop capital were all made on InDesign. The software allows you to create the article exactly how you like. The text was first typed into word and then copied and pasted into the software. This was my first time using InDesign, but it turned out really well and my article was successful.

First week of AS Media

During the first week of my course I have studied how to use InDesign software and how to create a double page spread. This was the first time i was using this software and I had to learn how to use it. It is a very useful and easy to use software, which allows you to really develop the layout of an article the way you want it. During this week we also looked at how to do research for an article and what kind of techniques we should use in our writing in order to engage the audience.

Welcome to my blog.
On my blog I will be posting my AS Media work and I will be tracking my progress throughout the assignment. Hope you enjoy my work. :)

-Larisa