Bisma AkhtarAS Media Studies

CourseworkPrint Production (Unit G3231)

Front cover Front cover analysisanalysis

This magazine is a metal rock magazine and you can see this because the colour scheme is mainly black with red.

The logo of the magazine is big and red and in capitals this shows how important it is and makes it stand out.. However the main image is on top of the title, this shows that its is recognisable even if you can’t see part of it.

There is a graphic feature- a yellow circle that says ‘WORLD EXCLUSIVE’ the yellow colour is in contrast to the black writing and makes it stand out more and ‘world exclusive’ sounds like this is an important issue because it relates to the whole world.

The main headline/buzz word ‘’the black parade is dead’ is familiar to My Chemical Romance fans as it is the name of their album and there is the band name and main picture next to it in case people are not familiar.

The sell line ‘THE SECRET LIFE OF PATRICK STUMP’ sound appealing especially to his fans as they want to know his secret life and what he does. this magazine looks as if its main target audience are 16-29 year old males because of the images and conventions. e.g’stadium busters’

The magazine also includes a free CD with it which is a common merchandise that is given away in music magazines.

The sell lines/ names of the bands inside the issue are bold white and red and on red or white solid blocks. (anchorage text)

There is a barcode, price, issue, date released

The only bad point for this front cover is that there is a lot of empty space on the bottom left.

Conventions in music magazine:-title- the word ‘KERRANG!’ represents loud music/sound, the explanation mark emphasises it and the title looks as if it is cracked from the loudness.

-the main image has to layers; one guy with the white hood is at the front and in front of the title too. And two guys wearing black at the back, behind the title. Shows that the guy in white is important and the main person- the white hood goes with the main heading and background colour of the logo.

-price, barcode, issue at the bottom right side.

-main headline name of the band featuring in the main image, then a puff ‘unfold the puzzle of life..’ this makes people want to read the magazine and on his hand there is some writing this looks like he was figuring out something( puzzle) looks a but mysterious too.

-free merchandise

-3 small images to show reader what is inside the magazine/what its about

-‘PLUS!’- attracts the reader because its big and bold and is eye-catching. it shows other features inside the magazine

-at the top there is some white text in black background telling us about the magazine and what is inside

-The title is in a unusual font and its ‘RockHard’ some letters point left and it looks like sharp nails/knives. (violent ) so this is heavy rock/metal magazine. Its Red with white and black outer glow and its slightly curved. it is eye catching and draws people in as it’s the only red thing there.

- The people in the main image are giving strong poses tells us that they are important and high ranked rockstars.

-the main image is of four people with crazy hair painted faces, this is a unique fashion style representing experienced rock stars, you can tell they are experienced rockstars because they look very confident and their image is kind of like classic rock style.

This can give the audience various views on the rock band, some may think it is cool and unique and others might think it is stupid and disgusting.

-There is no barcode,price,issue number- this could be a one-off magazine or it could be free with some product

-main heading is orange/yellow ‘KISS we love them loud’ – links with the image and title of magazine as they all represent loud rock music.

-- list of other artists are below the main heading

-Only one puff on the side

-The title of this magazine is really eye catching, bright and bold. In the ‘E’ there is the website of the magazine, this is good because people can get updates on their favourite bands.

-there is a graphic feature- the name of the band in the main image.

-The main image is on top of the title and it’s a picture of five guys with similar style, they are all wearing a black top- shows they are in control. kind of same colour scheme as the background.

-- the sell lines are not lined up together

-Includes free posters

-Has barcode, price

-buzz word' EXTREME’

-the magazine represents hard rock and metal because it says this under ‘EXTREME’

Analysis of a similar magazinename- MOJO- the title is big, black, bold and clear. There is a main image

covering half of the lettersConnotations of title- MOJO sounds like a classical rock name or a name of an

animal (monkey) its also is eye catching because it is black and the background is grey.

Target audience- images in front cover suggest that its target audience is aged 20-around 40 because the images are of middle aged people.

Publishers- the magazine is published by Bauer and is sold in corner shops How long has it been running- since 1993How often is it published- monthlyTypical features – some information on bands, in nearly all their magazines

they give free CD Promotional strategies-it has a free CD with this issue, a website where you

can order past issues if you have missed them, buy other items on their websites such as tickets, t-shirts etc.. You can also sign up to their newsletter

Audience research

Questionnaire

Questionnaire results 1.What is your gender? Male [] Female[]

2.how old are you?15-17 []18-20 []21+ []

3.what genre of music do you prefer?Hip- Hop []RnB []Rock []Pop []Other_______________

As seen from the graphs, there are more Males who took the questionnaire.

There are more people aged 15-17 compared to 18-20 and none were 21+

More people prefer Rock music

4.do you buy music magazines? Yes [] No[]

If yes, which ones?MOJO []NME[]HIPHOP[]Rolling stones []Other_______________

5. how much are you willing to pay for a music magazine? (pounds)1-2 []2-3[]3-4[]4+ []

Only a few people buy music magazines

NME is the popular music magazine my target audience buy

Most people will prefer to pay 1-2 pounds

6.what kind of features would you like to see in a music magazine?Fashion/trends []Gadgets []Gossip/interviews []Photo’s []Events/concerts []Other_______________

7. What Freebies would you like to get in a music magazine?CD []Jewellery []t-shirt []posters[]wrist bands[]

8. would you take part in any competitions?Yes []No[]

Most people would like to see Gossip/interviews in their magazine and only 1 person will like to see gadgets.

T-shirts and CD’s are what most people wanted as Freebies.

Lots of people want to take part in competitions

9. What are your hobbies?( you can tick more than one)Sport []Listening to music []Reading/drawing/painting []Computer games []Shopping []Other___________

10. Do you spend a lot of time on the internet? if yes which websites? Yes [] No []

MySpace[]Face book []Freeonlinegames []Bebo []FlixterOther_________

Most people’s hobby is listening to music

A lot of my target audience spend time on the internet , mostly Face book and MySpace

11. Do you ever go to concerts?

Yes []

Frequently []

Rarely []

Sometimes []

No []

12. Did you enjoy filling out this questionnaire?

Yes []

No []

Majority of the people don't go to concerts

Most of them enjoyed filling in the questionnaire.

These are some sketches I did of my front cover so I could see which design/ arrangement my magazine front cover should be. In the end I decided to do one like the second design because it had lots of conventions of a real magazine and I liked the idea.

Possible titles

Silicon

Steel

mercury

BlueBerrie

BlueBerry

WhilbarW

KNUCKLEBACK

iSANITY

Rocco

Organisation of actors,locations,costumes or props

For my main image and article I wanted to do a indie rock band so I decided to take pictures of a band together playing music and just posing for the camera. i first wrote down what I needed, then I wrote who would fit into it. I asked two people for each role so just in case one doesn’t show up I have a back up.

I gave them all a slip for them to remember where and when it is

Pictures I took

Drafts of main article/interview questions and answers

Screen Shot (we used Photoshop for editing)

Sellines

Includes:

TOOLBOX

POST RATED

GENE BILLARD

SKYE FURY

CODED

*this is my final front cover- this image is blurry because I previewed image then print screen