Language - The masthead is dominant as it takes roughly up a quarter of the cover, it's centralised which makes the magazine look neat and professional, it's well organised which doesn't confuse the reader as much. I like the way it's not hidden away in the top corner of the page, like many other magazines I've seen, having a sense of originality attracts it's target audeince. The main image is significant to the caption, the caption (title of the band which the image is a summary of their top rated albums) is the second biggest piece of text on the page, it's clever because the first words to catch the person's eye is the title of the magazine and the title of the band the cover image relates to, the viewer reads on below 'Pink Floyd' and is informed and advertised of an interview with the band members. The main image is record covers from Pink Floyd best albums, using an image manipulation program, they've combined them together in an amazing way. This magazine doesn't have a trend for following conventions, the cover doesn't include thumbnail images, although it includes brief introductions of text to show there's other subjects featured within the magazine, I think it was wise not to include thumbnail images and bright text everywhere like a magazine such as Q Magazine, or else it would overwhelm the viewer and confuse them in the sense of not knowing which image is part of the main image (as the main image is made up of lot's of different images from the album covers) because there's no house style, Q magazine can get away with text and images everywhere because it has a house style. But they get away without having a house style in my opinion because the rainbow coloured ray of light included in the main image is only small, the more dominant colours are dark purple, blue and red, these colours could be the house style, although they aren't as obvious and bold as house styles are usually used, these don't make the page seem busy because they're very deep colours. In conclusion, I believe the colours used bring out the melodic drug inspired seventies style of progressive rock music, someone who knows about the band Pink Floyd would be able to relate and see the main image is cleverly put together, but anyone else who is a stranger to Pink Floyd's music then they would see the cover as a pretty load of artwork, so it works best for both worlds. All of the writing colour is in white, this makes it stand out more effectively because all of the background is dark. Also the writing only uses 2 different font types, this helps because it looks as if the text relates to each other and reduce audience confusion. It has a price and bar code, this effects the cover in a good way because it let's the audience know the magazine is official from the cover for retail. The text used on the sub-headings is more appropriate here as it connects with the images colour scheme.
Institution - The institution for this magazine cover is Future Publishing. I know this from the logo situated at the top of the bar code, it looks like this
Ideology - The magazine focuses on established bands with credentials dating back to the 1960s. Indeed, many of the artists who have appeared on its cover are deceased (Jimi Hendrix and Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy featured on early covers, as did bands with deceased members such as Queen and The Who). Acts to have appeared on the front cover 3 times or more to date include Queen, Guns N' Roses, Black Sabbath / Ozzy Osbourne, Bon Jovi, Iron Maiden, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page has been on the cover on his own right 3 times), Metallica, Thin Lizzy, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Genesis, AC/DC, and Mötley Crüe. More recent acts to have been on the cover include The Darkness and Velvet Revolver have been on it twice. Despite the dominating nature of acts undeniably falling into the category of classic rock, the magazine also includes heavy metal, prog rock, blues and grunge acts. Recent[when?] features have included thrash metal band Slayer, and it has reviewed acts as diverse as Porcupine Tree, Buckcherry and Rodrigo Y Gabriela. Monthly updates on 'sleaze' and prog rock releases are a regular feature.
Audience: Since the main music style is rock, the targeted audience are those who are fans of famous rock bands, mainly from the past who were most famous in their time, when rock was considered at it's greatest by many people. Age range from all ages, weather the reader wants to look back and find out more about their favourite bands from their childhood or young people today find it interesting to learn about how it was, and who were in the big picture. This is a very informative magazine and it tells the target audience everything they want to know.
Representation: In many other magazines, the cover features a picture of just one artist, this has made the musicians concerned can feel divided. Some insisting that representation is primary, others asserting the importance of visual qualities, the degree of impact, the reproducibility in different formats. Other aspects like strangeness or humour may come into play, and then more mundane issues of clarity, legibility and font size can also factor often to the detriment of representation. Not to mention Egos, so rampant and pervasive in rock’n’roll and hence in the world of album covers – so much so that most album covers feature portraits of the band/performer, in turn telling you little about the music and not a lot about the artistes, barring what they wear and how they do their hair. But in this episode the front cover is a summary of the different album cover artwork pieces, therefore this includes all of the 4 members asthe most famous of their albums were made by all four original members, eventually one of the members (Roger Waters)Had broke off, splitting from his band to go solo, hence the reason of the article, it gives quotations of the different band members point of view.
Here's the contents page
The colour of the font for both the contents pages is black, red and grey. Red is the color of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love. Red is a very emotionally intense color. It enhances human metabolism, increases respiration rate, and raises blood pressure. It has very high visibility, which is why stop signs, stoplights, and fire equipment are usually painted red. In heraldry, red is used to indicate courage. It is a color found in many national flags. This makes it perfect for highlighting key parts of the text, such as the page numbers and the offer to try and get people to subscribe. Black is associated with power, elegance, formality, death, evil, and mystery. Black is a mysterious color associated with fear and the unknown (black holes). It usually has a negative connotation (blacklist, black humor, 'black death'). Black denotes strength and authority; it is considered to be a very formal, elegant, and prestigious color (black tie, black Mercedes). In heraldry, black is the symbol of grief.Black gives the feeling of perspective and depth, but a black background on here diminishes readability of the white writing on the main image, plus the black writing on the red and white background stands out, because black is the boldest colour, as it is the darkest colour of all.
Use of Images
The use of images for both the Classic Rock contents pages represents Classic rockers. On this contents page there's Dave Grohl with a drum kit, the black and white style of the image introduces a culture of 'cool' The drumkit would remind the reader of his previous place in the band Nirvana, as he was the drummer of this amazingly famous band. If they looked him up in the magazine they would be looking to see what he's doing now after the break up of Nirvana from the death of the legendary lead singer, Kurt Cobain. The image's connotation tells the viewer that what made Dave Grohl famous was his skills on a dumkit.
Use of Logo
The two contents pages feature no logos to comment on.
Use of Language to grab attention
The Contents page uses a variety of languages to get the audiences attention. The contents pages uses persuasive language to get their audiences attention. This is achieved by the editor putting words and phrases such as “Get a 12 month magazine subscription for the price of 10.” This attracts the Target Audience because they would be interested in this magazine and they would subscribe because they may find a free gift.
Colour scheme
The colour scheme used with the Classic Rock contents page is basic. This is because the main colour scheme for the font is red title with black writing. This is good for the Target Audience because they could easily distinguish what is title and what is text.
Connotations of picture
Both pictures display freedom and adrenaline because they look manly to the target audience and they would feel the freedom in which the magazine would have to offer.
How would the Audience respond?
The Target Audience would respond well to the whole layout with the pictures. This is because when they would want to see the images then they would want to feel like them when the Target Audience would want to listen to their sophisticated music. This is because they would feel young again due to the image and what is the true meaning of this image.
Here's the double page spread of Classic rock magazine
The title of this double page spread is called “DR. John”. The way in which the title is laid out is that the title takes up ¾ of the page. This is because the Target Audience would want to see what the double page spread is about and they would also want to know who “DR. John” is.
Colour
The colour of this article is mainly black and white but the font used is a small font because there is a lot of information on the page which the editor would want to fit onto the page. The title is underlined in red because that stands out from the rest of the text. The main title is small to start off with but gradually increases size. Also to the right hand side, there is a close up of DR. John looking up in the distance. This would captivate the audience because this would be a unique selling point because the person is looking up.
Why does the Double Page Spread appeal to the audience?
The Double Page Spread appeals to the target audience because they would want to know who DR. John is and they would want to know his career highlights and what he became. Also the image represents hope. This is because the image is looking up into the meaning because it can mean hope sky as if it was asking for hope or forgiveness. This image has a polysemic meaning because it can mean 2 different things as well. They are hope and resemblance.
Images
There is only one image on the DPS. That takes up the second page of the double page spread. The image is symbolic because it describes how the image is looking up from the camera not directly at it. The Target Audience would only be interested in good looking photos which are high quality and they are not ones who look shabby
Design Features
There is one design features which take shape in this DPS. That is the image. One design feature about the image is that it is black and white. This design feature is good because it makes the photo look old because of this. This is a good feature because it makes the image look old and that would gain more magazine sales.
Logos
There are no logos to comment on.
Quotes
There is one quote on the DPS. That is about DR. John. It highlights his look back on his career in the music industry and what he has done for the company he works for.
Language - It has no banner headline, as the headline isn't page wide, but the reader could presume the second biggest piece of writing is meant to be the headline 'Ozzy'. The largest word should be the masthead, which in this case is 'metal hammer' in blockcapitals with a stylistic font. The masthead is huge and iconic, but the main image over laps the double m in Metal Hammer, the editor only shows a tiny part of the top of the M's, this tells me they think the name's that famous, they can afford to overlap part of it, there again you an just make out the name of the magazine if your new to it. There's 3 different captions underneath the 3 thumbnail images, the act as headlines for the image so we know what the image is about. There is a coverline in the bottom right corner of the cover saying 'stoner heaven' in orange bubble writing, this especially stands out because it's the only piece of orange on the page. The skyline across the top of the page advertises new films out from 2000, I like the way only part of the text within the skyline is bright yellow, and the rest white. The colour contrast acts like a headline in comparison to a caption, as the yellow writing advertises the subject (film report special) While the white writing gives information about the yellow writing by giving examples of the new films (m:1-2, the crow & scream 3) This relates to the audience because the target audience are most likely to be into 'dark' films, since the music featured is a 'dark' genre. It has a deck of three, which is the amount of line most magazines use as the perfect balance between too much writing and too little writing. The brand logo is the magazine's name 'Metal Hammer'. The splash has individual colouring, usually red it used to attract immediate attention, but on this cover the splash is green and bluein the form of our planet with white writing across it to promote the particular aspect of the magazine. The strapline is very important as it sums up the story, in this case it says 'why all the fuss?' It appears with the main headline on here and has the third biggest font on the page, so it's noticed. The main image's colour scheme of black and gold link with the headline and the masthead, this highlights what's the most important parts to read first. The main image is Ozzy Osbourne, the famous lead singer of Black Sabbath, a band who are pro-claimed to be the creaters of metal music through hard rock in the 70's. He is still as successful as a solo artist and has been named the Prince of Darkness, which has come from representation of a crazy character he plays, with his roles comes the image he portrays by sticking his middle finger up, to show off the industry of 'cool', as he is a lead singing rock star, arrogance, confidence, individuality, comedy and outrageousness make him legendary in the eyes of his fans.
The institution for this magazine cover is also Future Publishing, only in the UK is it published by Future Publishing, as in several other countries the magazine is published by different publishers. I know this from the logo attached to the barcode at the bottom corner of the cover.
Ideology - Metal Hammer articles feature both mainstream bands and more unusual acts from the whole spectrum of heavy metal music. It is the largest selling metal music magazine in the UK, currently outselling Kerrang! and NME and is often viewed as the more underground magazine of the three. In Germany, Metal Hammer has been the market leader since it was launched in 1984.
Audience - Focused mainly on fans of metal/rock music, dating from the past greatest rock legends to todays festivals and most popular acts from the heavy metal scene. The age range would be people from 14 years old to those in their late 60's.
Representation - Metal Hammer magazine represents the vast growing culture of metal music. It looks at bands and artists who 'made it' in their lifetime. It also includes updates of newest big festivals and concerts.
Metal Hammer (sometimes MetalHammer) is a monthly heavy metal music magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and in several other countries by different publishers. Metal Hammer articles feature both mainstream bands and more unusual acts from the whole spectrum of heavy metal music. It is the largest selling metal music magazine in the UK, currently outselling Kerrang! and NME and is often viewed as the more underground magazine of the three. In Germany, Metal Hammer has been the market leader since it was launched in 1984.
Language: The masthead is dominant and also takes up roughly
Here's the contents page of this Classic Rock edition
The colour of the font for both the contents pages is black and red. The colours black and red represent masculinity which attracts the Male target audience because when they read this magazine, they feel young again due to the content of the magazine.
Use of Images
The use of images for both the Classic Rock contents pages represents both Classic rockers. On the second page, there is a picture of Ozzy Osborne with a tattoo needle. When you look closely into his eyes then you could see a look of adrenaline which represents a wild look in his eyes.
The second image is slightly different to the first image because that represents this character breaking free. This is because he is wearing leather and he is holding a blunderbuss. To the target audience, this represents freedom because he seems to be breaking free for what he is doing.
Use of Logo
The two contents pages feature no logos to comment on.
Use of Language to grab attention
The Contents page uses a variety of languages to get the audiences attention. The contents pages uses persuasive language to get their audiences attention. This is achieved by the editor putting words and phrases such as “Get a 12 month magazine subscription for the price of 10.” This attracts the Target Audience because they would be interested in this magazine and they would subscribe because they may find a free gift.
Colour scheme
The colour scheme used with the Classic Rock contents page is basic. This is because the main colour scheme for the font is red title with black writing. This is good for the Target Audience because they could easily distinguish what is title and what is text.
Connotations of picture
Both pictures display freedom and adrenaline because they look manly to the target audience and they would feel the freedom in which the magazine would have to offer.
How would the Audience respond?
The Target Audience would respond well to the whole layout with the pictures. This is because when they would want to see the images then they would want to feel like them when the Target Audience would want to listen to their sophisticated music. This is because they would feel young again due to the image and what is the true meaning of this image.
The title is usually the bands name, so the viewer knows what the page spread is about. Though the convention doesn't occur in this case, intead in huge capital letters it says 'scene not heard' and the bands name is in the top edge corners of both pages. This puts across that the magazine presumes the viewer will already know who the band are by their huge appearance. Instead the title focuses on what the story relates to (the bands problems)
Colour
A red and white housestyle is enforced subtly through this double page spread, as the white writing stands out infront of the dark colours of the band members clothes, making the writing readable but not as bold as the red parts of text, red is a colour typically and effectively used to attract attention towards more important words, such as the bands name. I think it was wise not to include 3 of the magazine's house style colours since is would be too busy because the main image has a dark coloured variety of colours because of their clothes, hair and skin.
Use of an image
The image features the band 'Underoath'. The majority of the double page spread being taken up by a low-angle, long shot of the band giving them an image of empowerment connotating importance and strength. This spread's image is individual in comparison to lightning bolts, darkness and face paint, which is featured in many other images in the magazine. There's sunshine and a more relaxed image, which is easy on the eyes and less mysterious than an artist in the dark. Although this image isn't totally warming, as the shot is placed low, near the ground, making dead tree or bush remains visible before the band, perhaps this deathly prop links to the type of music they play (a death metal) It's almost asif this prop camouflages the individual band, with one of the members reaching his hand out to move the twig which blocks his face out the way, this makes the viewer presume he's the lead singer, as in many bands, the lead singer is usually the member who's role is to stand out. On the other hand the band member could be breaking free from the bush infront of him, this could connotate him as the leader trying to break a barrier ( concer an issue) the band is encountering. This raises the issue featured in the story on the page.
Design features
The image has a design feature, as it's in colour, it stands out more and dominates the pages. The high quality suggests Photoshop could've been used and a professional camera. The colour scheme of the double page spread also compliments the nature element running throughout the double page spread. The colours are very deep and neutral such as cream, green and running predominantly through the image, brown. These are all the colours you would find in a countryside landscape in the winter and therefore compliment the idea of the double page spread well.
Logo
No logo's to comment on
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