Research and planning - Metal Hammer

The front page of Metal Hammer shows the main focus of the magazine ‘breaking’ through the front cover. It is devoid of cover lines on the central image and only features some band names at the top of the page. This shows the magazine has a large enough fanbase to not need coverlines to draw in it’s audience, the masthead and front image alone does that. The masthead font and the central image both show rebellion because the masthead appears to have bullet holes and breaks running through the text and the central image depicts the main focus breaking through something. This connotes that the audience are also rebellious and are a niche group. The colour scheme is dark, blacks and reds with very little white, which shows that it isn’t a cheery magazine and doesn’t rely on colour to draw in customers. This means that it’s fanbase only increases through it’s audience talking about it and using the internet to advertise itself.

The contents page of Metal Hammer is quite disorganised. There are pictures placed randomly around a block of text that acts as page markers. The page titles are in a different font to the description, which allows the reader to easily find the article they’re looking for. The disorganised layout shows that readers don’t particularly care about layout or prefer the rebellious nature of the magazine’s front cover to be shown throughout the magazine. The colour scheme of the contents page differs to front page because there is more white than black and red. This shows the text easier. 

Research and planning - Q magazine analysis

The front cover of Q features the focus of their main article in a dress and looking directly at the reader. It is a medium shot so you can see her body language. The colours are soft but eye catching(whites and pinks) with some bolder colours on certain articles to pull in potential readers. This connotes that the readers aren’t rebellious teenagers and are probably more approachable than readers of Kerrang!. The coverlines suggest that the articles range from Indie music to Pop, showing that the magazine caters for a variety of genres. 

The double page spread instantly draws your eyes through the use of the close up on the woman. Her face Is calm and dark, connoting that the article is probably about something serious and is probably personal. The text is basic, small font and black on a white background. The lack of extravagance in the article supports the connotations that it is serious. This is different to the front cover which was very bright and eye-catching. This shows that Q covers all aspects of a singer in an interveiw.

Research and planning - Kerrang front page, contents page and double page spread

The masthead is large and black so it stands out. The font is scratched and looks rebellious, hinting towards the nature of the target audience. It connotes that the magazine is for younger audience who aren’t mainstream-shown by the messy layout of the magazine and the masthead.

The center image is of the main article and the main caption is in bold white letters, connoting that the article may be relating directly to the future of the band. This will draw in fans of the band that may not necessarily be fans of the magazine.

The puffs are also used to draw people in; they give the buyer the chance to display their favorite band anywhere they like. The cover lines display direct links to articles inside the magazine and are used in conjunction with pictures to add more reason for fans to buy the magazine. The colors and the masthead are instantly recognizable to readers and don’t vary much from issue to issue.

This is the contents page from Kerrang. It shows more articles and pictures relating to them so it draws the reader’s eyes to their favorite band.  The largest picture is the main article. Down the side of the pictures are cover lines for other articles. The color scheme is basic black and white with some yellow used on a black square to make it stand out, this seems to be used for article group titles and numbers mostly though. There is also an editor’s note, and an advertisement for a subscription to the magazine.

The double page spread shows a large picture of the celebrity it covers. It is colorful, the colors being red black and white. This draws your attention to the title and in conjunction with the large picture it gives the reader a quick idea of what the article is about. The interview is coloured so that the questions can be easily noticed in the text. The picture is a medium shot, letting you see the man’s body language while also allowing you to view his facial expression.  The mode of address is informal, relating to the niche target audience. 

Main task introduction - Music Magazine

For my main task i have been asked to make my own music magazine. To do this i must first research existing magazines to find what conventions are repeatedly used in music magazines. This will allow me to make my magazine look as realistic as possible while also making it appealing to my target audience, teenagers around the ages of 16-20. my magazine will be one of 3 things, a metal-genre magazine, a rock-genre magazine or a specialist guitar magazine. These 3 magazines have niche audiences so i will have to make it more appealing so the smaller audiences will buy it.

Front cover and contents page of my student magazine

Ok, so here is the title page i did. Picture was taken by me to use in this project.

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

To aid myself in creating this magazine, I did research on what existing magazines use regularly to appeal to their consumer markets. I then took note of these recurring conventions and during the creation of my magazine I added them in. This made my magazine more appealing and more realistic. For student-based magazines, many magazines contained articles about college-based events and goings-on while also providing articles that allowed the reader to combat boredom. To make sure my magazine had both college articles and ‘boredom-busters’ I included pages relating to students such as gift ideas(it was a Christmas themed magazine) and music reviews alongside the college achievements pages.

2.How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Because my brief stated that it should be a student magazine, I made sure that my magazine was more suited for students than adults. Despite it being aimed at students, the articles are also suitable for adults to read and aren’t only interesting for students. To reinforce it being aimed at students I used a picture of two students messing around in the college refectory. I also used a bright colourscheme that was associated with the festive theme(red and green) and also eye-catching and attractive to student readers.

3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

The college would distribute my magazine rather than any official institution. This way the magazine would remain made by the students for the students and would be available at any time students needed something to read in free time. This form of distribution also keeps the magazine unique to the college, no other college would have a student magazine like this one and therefore it would be more pleasurable to read because it is one of a kind and tailored to suit the students locally.

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

my target audience is primarily 16-18 year old college students of any gender. The reason for this is because the articles are more suited toward teenage readers however it is suitable for adults to read if they want to learn about college-related subjects covered in the magazine.

5. How did you attract and address your audience?

I attracted my audience through my choice of colourscheme and my choice of cover image, both of which were chosen by students who answered my questionnaire. These aspects mean it should be eye-catching to students and the simple layout both inside and out should mean they read it without feeling that too much is going on in the pages. The images I chose were faded slightly into the background so the edges of the photos weren’t visible and thus reduced clutter on the page. This also made the pages look more sleek because there were less straight lines.

6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Much of the technology I used in the making of my magazine was new to me so I had to learn how to use them before actually beginning to design my magazine. Photoshop and Indesign proved difficult to use at first but I managed to get the hang of using them and quickly became accustomed to them. I also had to use an iMac which I also had difficulty with at first but quickly learnt how to control properly after a few turns.