Research

1. Research Daniel Ostrowski

2. Masthead is always in the same place and in the same font; only differing when the colours are reversed (black to white and vice versa) depending on the cover image. All the font is in capitals, which ties into the genre: the loudness and brashness of the genre is reflected by capital, authoritive fonts and exclamation marks. Main news stories and main feature bands usually use up this top bar, which quickly gains the reader’s attention. Steady colour scheme: Black, red and white. This fits the genre of music the magazine covers but also stands bolder against the images. This colour scheme doesn’t change each issue; this aids familiarity and brand identity. The layout of the page itself is quite chaotic and looks cluttered, which makes it more appealing to the younger market whilst at the same time fitting in with the genre of music it portrays. This connotation of anarchy and non-conformism also fits into the genre well. The positioning of the band members is also crucial to the selling appeal of the magazine. The dominant band member (in this case Oli Sykes) is placed at the front as he is the figure head of the band, so more people will relate to him than the other members, giving the magazine more appeal. Main cover image is nearly always a band which fits into the magazine’s genre and is always the main feature band. The image also conveys the genre from the tattoos, hairstyles etc. Additional images are used to attract audience’s attention with other bands they may know. “Poster Special!” makes magazine more appealing with use of offers and giveaways. Red arrow backgrounds are dominant to a browsing eye, so the important and key copy lines are places on top of these with intention of standing out to a potential reader browsing through the magazine racks. These arrows are what the designer wants the potential reader to see, so the red arrows are designed specifically to jump off the page at the audience. Barcode, issue number, date and price; all generic conventions of a magazine. Other main ands featured in the magazine are listed here, further making the audience want to read in more.

3. This cover breaks the traditional conventions of a magazine cover. Everything about this cover is to focus the attention on the main image of a VERY famous icon, Freddie Mercury. The lights in the background are faded or merged to give emphasis on the image in front; the stage looks grand but is faded to give further emphasis on the main image. There are no copy lines; so nothing is set out in columns; and even the masthead and title are faded behind the image to put all the reader’s attention on that one powerful image. The single quote on the page reads: “There’s no training to be a rock ‘n’ roll singer. You get trained on the road.” - Freddie Mercury This quote speaks for itself; it means that Freddie Mercury believes that he has been trained and deserves what he now has, which is power and dominance. This sums up his philosophy towards being a rock superstar in one simple sentence. In the context of the background of the image, the drum kit and stage is faded out because at the single moment this image was captured, it was all about the singer Freddie Mercury. This image has been edited to convey to the audience just that, that the background is not important but Mercury himself. The main image is all about the dominance and power of this famous rock star. His legs, arms, face and body are all symmetrical and uniform; but his microphone stand cuts across this to make the image look very asymmetrical. This conveys a breakage of the rules and convention, giving the image a subtly chaotic and anarchic meaning to it. The cutting across also suggests his power and dominance by being able to have complete control on how the image looks. In the context of the image, Freddie Mercury is not looking at the crowd or smiling, he is stood above the crowd looking away from them. This implies that Mercury deserves his fame, and shows it in the way he stands on stage. This particular image is usually called a “power stance.” The only traditional media conventions kept on this magazine cover is the barcode, price, date and issue number. Even these are small in order to keep as much focus on the image as possible.

4. Once again there is a very regular colour scheme, not venturing further than yellow, black and white. These colours are the traditional colour of caution signs, so the subconscious connotation of that furthers the meaning of the genre; a little bit of chaos, anarchy etc. The editor’s note is a regular feature of most magazines, but occurs in different places in each magazine. This one is placed at the front as the editor gives information and discusses topics that are in the magazine later on, so it makes sense for it to be there. This page differs to the cover page as it is very uniform and ordered (with columns etc.), not chaotic and cluttered. This contrast gives the magazine as a whole an appeal to both the younger and more abstract generation and also the older and more ordered audience. The contents are categorized, which is a welcome contrast to the cluttered, busy page. It gives the page a subtle hint of organization which catches the audience’s attention but also gives some functionality, making it easier for the reader to find what he or she wants. All the images on the page are of iconic people, for example: Head (Ex-guitarist from popular nu-metal band KoRn), Travis Barker (Drummer for well known pop-punk bands Blink-182/+44), James Hetfield (Front man of manically popular thrash metal band Metallica) etc. This gives the page such a fantastic appeal because of the sheer amount or extremely popular people portrayed on there; it makes the audience want to find out what is being said about them. This red escapes the regular colour scheme of the page, so stands out almost immediately. And with good reason; the text on top of it is promotional, which the designers would want the reader to notice fairly easily. The main features of the magazine are listed with pictures, so these are the ones that get noticed first. There may be important information or promotions near these pages, as well as advertisements, as these are usually the places in the magazine where the reader flicks to first. The images also give the audience an insight into what the features have on them, and if they like the images they’re more likely to go to the pages.

5. The main image on the page is one of power and energy. It encapsulates everything about the genre: the energy, the passion and the connection between the music and the audience. The magazine has a new editor from the other analysed contents page therefore the layout of the page has completely changed. It is much more ordered and less cluttered than the previous issues. The two smaller images just subtlety hint at the content of the magazine, and it works at drawing the reader in by being placed on top of the main feature of the page, the image. The contents themselves are no longer completely in page order, but are now ordered in terms of what type of feature they are. This means that the reader can flick to what they want to read more easily instead of going through page after page just to find a gig review for example. All of the text on the page is in Sans Serif fonts. This symbolises freshness, youthfulness and non-formality – all of which are associated with the genre of the magazine. As on the other contents page, the red background makes any text on it stand off the page dramatically. This promotional advert has stayed regular even with a new editor, simply because of the fact that it works. The images embedded in the contents columns are further hinting at what is inside the pages of the magazine, making it more attractive to the reader and making them want to read further if they see a figure they recognise.

6. The title and head of the page is a regular thing each issue, obviously with the content changing. Readers of this magazine know that the “K” system works in the same way as the “Stars” system; 5 “K’s” for brilliant, 1 or 0 “K’s” for rubbish. The red of the “K” rating stands out on the page which instantly draws the reader to it. If it a high “K” rating, the audience is much more likely to read about it. Several images dominate this double page spread to give the reader a real sense of what is being said in the review. It shows the stars in action, and gives the reader an idea of what it was like to be there. The captions underneath the images also give the page an entertainment factor by being funny. This piece relates the band to the audience, showing a contrast between what it was like to be in the audience itself (the actual review), then what it was like to be on the stage. It gives a feeling of being addressed directly by the guitarist of the band. The actual text uses powerfully descriptive vocabulary to fully show the reader what it was like to be at the concert itself. Words such as “Gravitational pull…capable of liquefying human organs,” really capture the essence of the band and hand it to the reader making the reader very involved in the magazine.

7. The use of a rock cliché, “What’s my age again?” instantly captures the reader by use of this familiar saying. The yellow jumps off the page above the dark background so this is the first thing being looked at. The text just below this further engrosses the reader into the feature by hinting at what the main text has in store for him/her. The band name, “Municipal Waste,” is also in yellow, so further stands out to show who the feature is actually talking about. The quote, “Municipal Waste is for the children!” is a powerful statement from one of the band members, by showing the reader that they really mean something by playing in their band. Also, the majority of the magazine’s readers are children themselves, so this quote really involves them in the band as it is like they are being directly addressed. The images once again dominate both pages, and are there simply to aid in understanding what the text is saying. The are happy, humorous images which is similar to what the text is saying, so a reader looking through this article will simply gain a better understanding of the text by looking at these pictures also. The second page of text is mostly about what the band’s morals are and what their music stands for. This feature becomes classed as a promotional from this page also, as it very subtly talks about the work he does for children and the festivals he organises etc. This promotes both the band and the band’s work whilst giving insight into their lives at the same time. The first page of text gives insight to the reader of the typical lifestyle that the band lives through. This engages the reader because most would want to know about this and some may even dream about living like they do, so reading about it will interest them.