Front Cover

One of the main focal points of my finished front cover is the effects of the masthead. I used a font modifying website called dafont to create the disorientated effect I was looking for. I chose to use a capitalised font to illustrate strength and the emotion excitement; I used this to attract the audience’s attention. The disorientated font used represents high voltage music, and creates the imagery of danger, the font features white decoration which portrays an old and rusty image. The masthead portrays a loud screaming image which could portray the shattering of windows as well as the light shining through the darkness to show hope and happiness. I chose to complete the masthead in a black font to convey a mysterious effect as well as introducing a sex appeal for the magazine which would enhance the audience. The name “REVOLUTION” introduces the idea of the changing music, and that music is revolutionary and comes in different genres, the name Revolution was inspired by clubs within my local home time, however I feel the name portrays the ideology of the magazine and shows that even though the image shows a biased woman’s audience, it relates to different genres of music therefore to a broader audience.

Another main focus from the magazine is the imagery used, the wide shot eye levelled image shows natural imagery and the slight lower angle illustrates a strong dominance, the image portrays independence as she stands alone, and at such a young age, the independence evidences the dominance and creates a strong role model which an audience would be interested in. The positioning of the body being slightly tilted forwards highlights attitude as well as introducing her status within the music industry secondly this establishes a professional approach. The editing of the imagery conveys a contrast of the stereotypical woman, the pale white skin contrasts with the tanned style this emphasises on her unique taste in fashion as well as illustrating her strength and independence. The focus on the long hair imitates volume and the imagery of loud volume music. Lastly the image shows the woman staring directly into the camera, as well as showing a distinctive sex appeal it looks welcoming and inviting for an audience.

“I’M SO NOT CONFIDENT” The anchorage links directly to the imagery portrayed and persuades the audience to read further into the magazine, this is due to the anchorage also acting as a screamer. The black capitalised serif font illustrates mystery, which should enable an audience to want to find out more, and read further more into the magazine. The anchorage is juxtaposition as it contrasts with the image, she stares directly into the camera emphasising confidence, however in reverse the anchorage proves the image to be putting on a brave face and illustrating strength.

The flowers used represent a wild personality to the artist as well as illustrating freedom; the flowers also represent the ideology of a female audience, and giving them the imagery they want. He flowers are used to represent beauty and blossoming, the imagery shows a young girl blossoming into a woman. Another feature of ideology used is the love hearts, increasing the femininity and relating to the target audience.

The flash convention used is portrayed in a circular shape representing the image of a CD, to give the magazine a musical atmosphere, secondly I used a circle shape to represent never ending music and to introduce that genres changed all the time however are inspired by other genres of music. “IMOGEN ROSE” The kicker conveys the same sans serif font as the anchorage, this enables and instant recognition, the graphology looks presentable and professional. Another convention used is the bar code and dateline, emphasising on the professionalism of the magazine. Through institutional terms a company would market “REVOLUTION” due to it conveying different genres of music, therefore attracting a broader market audience rather than a niche market.

Contents Page

The main focal point of the contents page is the imagery used; the wide shot low angled image shows a dominance which creates a direct mode of address, the imagery ensures she is dominate to everything else which stands amongst the page. The strong facial expression illustrates confidence and attitude this is evidence due to artist looking directly into the camera, another effect this has is welcoming the audience into the magazine. The artist looking down at the camera illustrates her status within society, as if she is looking down at the audience. The image used contrasts with the anchorage illustrating a dominant stance where as the text shows her to be “SO NOT CONFIDENT”.

Another main focal point is the mast head featured on the page, the title is small which allows the imagery to be the main attraction and focus, and this highlights the dominant stance as well as making the artist look tall. The disorientated font is repeated from the front page to re in state an instant recognition of the magazine, this ensures a well established audience, and secondly it increases professionalism. The capital letters used attract the reader’s attention and create an exited emotion which portrays the artist’s personality.

The flash used is a repeated imager of a CD portrayed on the front cover of revolution this reinstates the instant recognition which establishes an audience. “IMOGEN POSTER” The flash works as anchorage as it anchors the image to the text, this is an advantage to the magazine as it persuades readers to read the interview as well as to receive a free poster. The capital letters used emphasise on the free gift which will attract a reads attention.
The content text used contrasts against the strong white colour, which allows the black font to stand out and become audience friendly. The content text allows the audience to widen and become broader due to the context in different genres of music. The front page of the image attracts a female audience where as the language of the text used introduces a gender neutral audience.

The velvet leggings worn within the images illustrate the expense and unique fashion Imogen has, the velvet was influenced by the rock band music era, illustrating a strong sex appeal. The use of lace conveys a vintage and unique fashion sense as well as in contrast introducing the sparkly belt is up to date fashion this increases femininity and illustrates that the clash of vintage and modern clothes corresponds to her use of music and lyrics, old fashioned and modern beats are pushed together to create her unique musical style. Lastly the flowered background ensures a strong anchorage between the front page and contents page. The contents page overall interacts a female audience of teenage girls aged 17 plus, however in contrast to the front page introduces a male gender as the text explores different genres of music, and eras.

Double Page Spread

The main focal point of the double page spread is the manipulated imagery. The eye level wide shot was manipulated within the publication photo shop, I used the effects of hard light focus, and the increase of the contrast to create the bold photo. The black and white colour scheme allows the seriousness and the concentration of death to contrast against the white colouring, the purity softens the imagery, and allows it to juxtaposition to create mystery. The imagery alone illustrates a strong dominance, and the artist being stood alone emphasises independence.

The second image features the artist standing alone again, secondly evidencing the independence and dominating representation the magazine wanted to create. The bird’s eye view photography introduces the use of Mise en scene, the pearls wrapped around the artist’s neck portray the effect of elegance and expense as well as the notes splashed around her body, this imitates a strong sex appeal, which is evidenced as the model is lying down. The use of playing cards imitates a game, which illustrates a fun loving personality as well as evidencing the love/ hate, win all or nothing effect. The use of newspapers emphasizes on the black and white colour scheme, as well as enhancing the importance and seriousness. The last factors of Mise en scene used are the flowers around the wrist, these highlight the wild sense of personality and a young artist blossoming into maturity.

Another focal point used within the double page spread is the manipulated masthead; the masthead was created on dafont, the same font which has been used for each individual title creating a house font and instant recognition. The disorientated capitals emphasise excitement and the seriousness of the music magazine. The target audience I feel are students and young adults aged seventeen up to the age of late twenties.

Evaluation

The main task was to create a front page spread, contents page and a double page spread of a music magazine. I will consider the college magazine I created and use the similar media conventions and terminology. I studied different genres and styles of music magazines in order to find an ideal genre to base my music magazine on, overall I tried to base the magazine on different genres therefore a broader audience would be attracted rather than a niche one, however I failed to relate it to different music types as I used one image, and only used one plug and anchorage which related to the individual image used. The only convention which allowed the magazine to attract a different genres’ audience was the masthead “REVOLUTION”. I used Revolution as it relates to the evolution of music, and imitates the fact of music changing all the time through different decades. Overall the magazine was viewed as a pop music magazine. All of the texts and images used had to be original; in advantage this was easy to stereotype the genre. I did the same when choosing the text style within the interview, for example overall I based the magazine on pop music therefore I did the interview upbeat. The graphology stereotypes a typical teenage girl, this was stereotypical however really helped me to create the structure and original writing. For the planning process I analysed a range of different music magazine consisting of different genres, I did this to compare the different styles in pop genre, for example the lexis from a rock genre was different from the text in a pop genre. I found analysing Q magazine to be the most successful analysis as it didn’t target one particular niche market; it targeted a wide range of markets which gave me a range of ideas.

“REVOLUTION” magazine develops the conventions of magazines, due to analysing different magazines including “Rolling stones” I was able to understand the professionalism and realism in creating a magazine, I generally used the typical conventions of a magazine, including a mast head, kicker and teller, anchorage, bar code and date line and lastly a main image to represent a pop music image. I used a basic black and white colour scheme, to convey a mysterious image; the mystery would encourage the audience to read further within the magazine.

The initial idea of the magazine was to attract a neutral gender based audience, and an age group of sixteen years to twenty five. I wanted the magazine to relate to a wide audience interested in different genres, my initial idea was influenced by Q magazine. However in my opinion the finished product targeted a group of pop interested fans due to the lack of imagery and different subjected tellers and kickers. However the results from an audience based fifteen years plus 47% thought the magazine attracted all social groups. The model I used within the images illustrates attitude and dominance; this is shown throw the camera being slight tilted, as well as illustrating a direct mode of address. The slight lower angle illustrates a strong dominance; the image portrays independence as she stands alone. The independence evidences the dominance and creates a strong role model which an audience would be interested in. The positioning of the body being slightly tilted forwards highlights attitude as well as introducing her status within the music industry. I styled the artist in lace and velvet to establish a unique image as well as relating to different music genre eras, this evidences the masthead “Revolution”. The velvet was influenced by the rock band music era, illustrating a strong sex appeal. The use of lace conveys a vintage and unique fashion style as well as in contrast introducing the sparkly belt is up to date fashion this increases femininity and illustrates that the clash of vintage and modern clothes corresponds to her use of music and lyrics. Old fashioned and modern beats are placed together to create her unique musical style. “I’M SO NOT CONFIDENT” I included the lexis “SO” to relate to a teenage/ young adult audience, rather than using taboo language which would introduce a rock related audience.

During the planning process I created a mood board, to show the props used, and the Mise en scene of the images, I used props including pearls to portray elegance, flowers illustrating a wild and free personality, and playing cards influenced by Lady Gaga. One of the main problems I had when creating the magazine was not having detailed or appropriate backgrounds, I used photos from my bedroom however didn’t realise that the background pictures had to be original as well, therefore I disliked all of the photographs taken because of the background pictures. I used photo shop to try and remove the background with the lasso tool; however the finishing product didn’t look professional as it consisted of rough edges. Due to the complication I took different images however took them against floral wallpapered backgrounds, evidencing the wild spirit of the musician. I also researched pop artists within the music industry as well as looking through fashion magazines which consisted of interviews.

I completed various drafts during the planning process, I completed different drafts for the front cover, drafts for the contents page and similar to the double page spread. I feel that this was due to my lack of organisation skills and that my ideas were in the air, I never settled on a complete idea, I changed it constantly, however in advantage I took various images from different angles and different shots, for the final magazine front cover I used a wide shot, eye levelled image which was inviting for the audience. The initial drafts were completely different to my overall finished design, I completely changed both the contents page and the double page spread, and I did this due to the comparison of other music magazines and felt that it didn’t look professional. I changed the ideology of the images as well as the drafts; I wanted the magazine to connote a neutral sex based audience. I should have done this by including photographs with both male and female artists. I also could have done this by using the same artist but a different background as the flowers targeted a strong female audience.

Front Page Analysis; One of the main focal points of my finished front cover is the effects of the masthead. I used a font modifying website called dafont to create the disorientated effect I was looking for. I chose to use a capitalised font to illustrate strength and the emotion excitement; I used this to attract the audience’s attention. The disorientated font used represents high voltage music, and creates the imagery of danger, the font features white decoration which portrays an old and rusty image. The masthead portrays a loud screaming image which could portray the shattering of windows as well as the light shining through the darkness to show hope and happiness. I chose to complete the masthead in a black font to convey a mysterious effect as well as introducing a sex appeal for the magazine which would enhance the audience. The name “REVOLUTION” introduces the idea of the changing music, and that music is revolutionary and comes in different genres, the name Revolution was inspired by clubs within my local home time, however I feel the name portrays the ideology of the magazine and shows that even though the image shows a biased woman’s audience, it relates to different genres of music therefore to a broader audience.

Another main focus from the magazine is the imagery used, the wide shot eye levelled image shows natural imagery and the slight lower angle illustrates a strong dominance, the image portrays independence as she stands alone, and at such a young age, the independence evidences the dominance and creates a strong role model which an audience would be interested in. The positioning of the body being slightly tilted forwards highlights attitude as well as introducing her status within the music industry secondly this establishes a professional approach. The editing of the imagery conveys a contrast of the stereotypical woman, the pale white skin contrasts with the tanned style this emphasises on her unique taste in fashion as well as illustrating her strength and independence. The focus on the long hair imitates volume and the imagery of loud volume music. Lastly the image shows the woman staring directly into the camera, as well as showing a distinctive sex appeal it looks welcoming and inviting for an audience.

“I’M SO NOT CONFIDENT” The anchorage links directly to the imagery portrayed and persuades the audience to read further into the magazine, this is due to the anchorage also acting as a screamer. The black capitalised serif font illustrates mystery, which should enable an audience to want to find out more, and read further more into the magazine. The anchorage is juxtaposition as it contrasts with the image, she stares directly into the camera emphasising confidence, however in reverse the anchorage proves the image to be putting on a brave face and illustrating strength.

The flowers used represent a wild personality to the artist as well as illustrating freedom; the flowers also represent the ideology of a female audience, and giving them the imagery they want. He flowers are used to represent beauty and blossoming, the imagery shows a young girl blossoming into a woman. Another feature of ideology used is the love hearts, increasing the femininity and relating to the target audience.

The flash convention used is portrayed in a circular shape representing the image of a CD, to give the magazine a musical atmosphere, secondly I used a circle shape to represent never ending music and to introduce that genres changed all the time however are inspired by other genres of music. “IMOGEN ROSE” The kicker conveys the same sans serif font as the anchorage, this enables and instant recognition, the graphology looks presentable and professional. Another convention used is the bar code and dateline, emphasising on the professionalism of the magazine. Through institutional terms a company would market “REVOLUTION” due to it conveying different genres of music, therefore attracting a broader market audience rather than a niche market.

Contents Page Comparison; The main focal point of the contents page is the imagery used; the wide shot low angled image shows a dominance which creates a direct mode of address, the imagery ensures she is dominate to everything else which stands amongst the page. The strong facial expression illustrates confidence and attitude this is evidence due to artist looking directly into the camera, another effect this has is welcoming the audience into the magazine. The artist looking down at the camera illustrates her status within society, as if she is looking down at the audience. The image used contrasts with the anchorage illustrating a dominant stance where as the text shows her to be “SO NOT CONFIDENT”.

Another main focal point is the mast head featured on the page, the title is small which allows the imagery to be the main attraction and focus, and this highlights the dominant stance as well as making the artist look tall. The disorientated font is repeated from the front page to re in state an instant recognition of the magazine, this ensures a well established audience, and secondly it increases professionalism. The capital letters used attract the reader’s attention and create an exited emotion which portrays the artist’s personality.

The flash used is a repeated imager of a CD portrayed on the front cover of revolution this reinstates the instant recognition which establishes an audience. “IMOGEN POSTER” The flash works as anchorage as it anchors the image to the text, this is an advantage to the magazine as it persuades readers to read the interview as well as to receive a free poster. The capital letters used emphasise on the free gift which will attract a reads attention.The content text used contrasts against the strong white colour, which allows the black font to stand out and become audience friendly. The content text allows the audience to widen and become broader due to the context in different genres of music. The front page of the image attracts a female audience where as the language of the text used introduces a gender neutral audience.

The velvet leggings worn within the images illustrate the expense and unique fashion Imogen has, the velvet was influenced by the rock band music era, illustrating a strong sex appeal. The use of lace conveys a vintage and unique fashion sense as well as in contrast introducing the sparkly belt is up to date fashion this increases femininity and illustrates that the clash of vintage and modern clothes corresponds to her use of music and lyrics, old fashioned and modern beats are pushed together to create her unique musical style. Lastly the flowered background ensures a strong anchorage between the front page and contents page. The contents page overall interacts a female audience of teenage girls aged 17 plus, however in contrast to the front page introduces a male gender as the text explores different genres of music, and eras.
My initial first draft was created so that institutions such as NME and The Rolling stones would distribute Revolution magazine, however the results of the magazine poll showed that the magazine targeted more of a female audience therefore an institution which established a niche audience for example “Clash” magazine would distribute Revolution. Only one specific genre of music is conveyed throughout the front page, contents page and double page spread. Due to the magazine including the latest chart hits and news, it would be distributed within larger supermarkets which distribute various niche target audiences as well as advertised within radio stations which establish chart hits for example Viking FM and Galaxy.

The technologies I have learnt from creating Revolution would most definitely by the use of photo shop. Initially I had planned to create the magazine on publisher due to the trouble I had whilst creating my college magazine. I created the college magazine in photo shop however found it difficult due to it being the first time I had used it, I used a simple black and white colour scheme as edited font in paint. However I did create Revolution in photo shop and found some of the editing techniques extremely helpful. I used the lasso tool to subtract the background from an image, I then took images of background including trees and walls, my idea was to place the image on a brick wall, however I didn’t complete the task very well, therefore the body was edgy and didn’t look realistic or professional. I used the transformation tool to change the scale of the image, I used this to set the image as an A4 background as well as set it to the scale I wanted. Thirdly I used the spot healing tool to eliminate the moles on the models chest, I compared the image with and without and chose to use the image without the moles, the spot heeling tool worked really worked really well and allowed the work to look professional. Lastly I used a hard light to create the harsh context between light and dark, creating a dramatic and mysterious image.

However if I was given the opportunity to complete the task again, or improve it I would work on changing the genre slightly. I would do this by adding a range of images on the front of the magazine from different pop genres, for example a rock band costumed in tight jeans and skirts, holding a guitar and cigarette, I think that the imagery would be effective. I focused on the key conventions whilst analysing and creating my own, one of the main features I enjoyed created was a flash. I used a range of kickers, tellers and anchorage.

Mind Map

Hand Drawn Drafts

Photo Images

Rihanna Analysis

I chose to analyse the cover of the Rihanna Russian Roulette cover as the imagery influenced my overall ideas. I wrapped the Artist is chains to illustrate a unique defenceless image, the unique imagery was influenced through the Lady Gaga videos, the models featured within the videos are portrayed in distress, the effect is different to other competing Artists within the music industry however I weakened the distress look and combined a sex appeal look influenced from Rihanna.

The black background allows the imagery to stand out in contrast against the darkness; this ensures that Rihanna is the focal point for the CD cover displaying a direct mode of address. The black background shows emphasis on Rihanna’s facial expression; the harsh facial expression illustrates coldness and adds effect to the album title “Hard” as well as the black creates a sense of decay and death as well as introducing mystery. The mid shot portrays Rihanna’s face lowered where as her eyes are staring s at the camera, the lowered face highlights depression as well as the cold facial expression. The direct eye contact with the camera creates despair this conveys a sex appeal and creates a trust invitation for the audience; this contrasts with the distress imagery portrayed.

A small light is also featured in the top middle of the album cover conveying vertical lines which seem to represent bars. The light could represent a glimmer of hope, however the light is faint and out of focus, this could almost display there being no hope, the imagery illustrates entrapment. This is secondly evidenced by Rihanna being wrapped in barbed wire and chains, showing that she is trapped, one arm is released from the trapped imagery, this could connate that she is breaking free. The barded imagery blocking vertical lines of light represent the imagery of a prison cell, which thirdly evidences her being trapped.

The red font displaying “Russian Roulette” imitates blood; the imagery shows blood dripping from the font which represents danger and again adds effect to the album cover name “Hard”. The effect of blood and the harsh facial expression shows a distraught image which is evidenced by the “R” which is represented in swords. The overall imagery and language illustrates danger. I hope to combine the harsh look with my images to show a unique strength. Rihanna establishes a wide audience, male and female orientated due to her lyrics and strong sex appeal. Rihanna’s lyrics consist of taboo language therefore the target audience would be young, aged 17 plus, as taboo language wouldn’t shock the audience.

Lady Gagas Video

The Lady Gaga videos influenced my overall Music magazine ideas.

ICT Drafts

Mood Board

I laid the basis of my Mood board onto different pieces of newspapers; I did this as a result of the image I Chose to take. I want to place the model I use on newspapers to create a theme of dominance. The newspapers create a serious effect, this illustrates that the Music magazine explores the cultural aspects of music as well as just the genre; this highlights importance and allows the magazine to explore a wide target audience, rather than a niche audience. As well as creating dominance and seriousness, the black and white adds a “sex appeal” image to the publication and illustrates mystery, another feature I want the magazine to explore.

I also used pearls on the mood board, the pearls create sensual emotions to the reader, they provide grace, expense and elegance to the image of the magazine, however in contrast to my initial idea only attract a niche market of a female sex audience. I also used pearls to create the effect of heartache and heartbreak “a pure tear drop in every pearl” Pearls are usually associated with emotion and tears; as well as high class and elegance. I chose pearls in contrast to the theme of female dominance. The pearls will be explored in an interview with the Musical artist, and how she became strong and independent from heartache.

I used different flowers in the mood board to illustrate a wild side to the artist, as well as to show purity and a free sense of spirit. The free spirit emphasises the main theme of the magazine; female dominance which emphasises the difference within woman roles in the music industry, my main influence was artists including Lady Gaga and Rihanna. Secondly the flowers are used to portray nature and a natural beauty, I hope to take images outside with trees or flowers to show freedom, and relate to the 60s “hippy” era.

Playing cards have been used within the mood board to establish a fun and lively well being, the cards have been influenced by Lady Gaga; Poker face. I used playing cards to illustrate the theme of a game, portraying that the artist used within the images is like playing a game, a slight tease. She has attitude and a cheeky sense of humour. The attitude will establish a sex appeal for a male audience, however the plan I want to achieve will attract a female audience due to the imagery, where as the text should make the target audience neutral. I hope that the Magazine establishes dominance and that the images stand out for Independence and unique features. The playing cards are a unique factor, I hope that this will attract a niche audience and be a role model for a female audience. Another factor is within a game you win or gain nothing this illustrates a love/ hate relationship for the model.

Lastly I sprinkled beads on top of the mood board to create a stylish concept to the magazine, introducing fashion and elegance. The beads add to the same effect as the pearls introducing grace and re in acting a woman’s role from the 1950s however the playing cards and use of black to create mystery acts as a juxtaposition; this shows the difference from women's roles then to now,and how much things have changed and the generations which have passed. I also used Money to show expense, I want the money to create the effect of fame and celebrity, hopefully this highlights Independence due to the money being her own, and working her way up from nothing to everything. CDS have also been placed on the mood board to emphasise on musical influences.

Lady Gaga Analysis

I chose to analyse the image isolated from the video Bad Romance of the Lady Gaga as the imagery influenced my overall ideas. My overall theme for the music magazine was to show dominance within a woman’s world, I was influenced by Lady Gaga’s unique style in fashion and the strong expressions portrayed in images through videos and in magazines. The models featured within her videos are portrayed in distress; this image shows slight distress through the wide eyed facial expression. The distressed eyes show concentration however also portrays a frightened ideology. The frightened image portrayed shows a sense of weakness and security which is juxtaposition for my theme, however in contrast the outcome of weakness is strength. Strength and the overall in change in woman’s musical roles over the years influenced my work highly, including the factor dominance. Lady Gaga is a confident musical Artist this is shown through her chose of lyrics and obscure fashion.

Lady Gaga’s pale features and the repetition of the colour white could be illustrated as a mental image, the white surroundings portray a mental institution or at least the feel of one, the location around Lady Gaga shows coldness, again highlighting frightened or a crazy image; this factor is also evidenced through her wide eyes. As well as illustrating a frightened image, the wide eyes could relate to the celebrity and fame lifestyle highlighting the use of drugs; this creates a serious effect and shows warning. In contrast white can also be portrayed through purity and innocence. The Juxtaposition is secondly evidenced due to the use of pink; the colour scheme of white and pink illustrate a candy floss image illustrating sweetness as well as the choice of curls, the curls and wide eyes could secondly illustrates bubbles, and represent a bubbly personality. The image highlights numerous contrasts and juxtapositions however rather than being a disadvantage, I feel it’s the image Lady Gaga wants to portray, she’s unique and a mystery. The mysterious personality is shown through choice of facial expression.

The image is a medium close u shot, the close up ensures the audience to establish a clear image of the artist by tightly framing the object this conveys the emotion shown within the shot. The emotion shown is juxtaposition; the main focus is on the extensive wide eyes, which could create a frightened image or in contrast show energy. The main focal point is on Lady Gaga this is highlighted as the background in out of focus where as she is in full focus; video wise this is an establishing shot, it establishes she is the main event. Another feature which stands out is how unrealistic the imagery is, the print screened image looks fake, and airbrushed this could relate to the video being a fantasy, and her dancing in a fantasy world for example in a dream the white colours could signify sleep/dreaming.

Lady Gaga responds to a huge target audience, which due to her uniqueness I find confusing. Initially an artist with a different style and obscure fashion would relate to a small niche audience, an audience which are different themselves for example a band who dressed in black and gothic would relate to the same genre of people. The target audience Lady Gaga inspires would be more a female genre aged 15 plus, however she conveys a distinctive sex appeal which will relate to a male sex orientated audience.

Double Page Spread

Lily Allen; double page spread Analysis; the main focal point of the double page spread is the large image used of Lily Allen the medium long shot shows confidence and a dominate stance. Lily’s hands are placed on her hips this highlights a confident body image, and illustrates that she is in control. The facial position being slight to the left enhances a defence mechanism which is highlighted through the text besides her “People think I’m an attention seeker, But I’m just honest”. The image shows Lily’s tattoo located on her arm, this portrays a rebellious side to Lily and enhances the attitude. The checked shirt stands out against the bland background, illustrating Lily’s vibrant personality, the colour red is associated with danger and loudness, and this conveys Lily’s sharp attitude and loud personality. The rolled up sleeves on the shirt portray the “boyfriend image” and illustrate a laid back, calm but confident image; this is secondly evidenced by the short messy hair it portrays that she is easy going and considers her carer more than her personal appearance.

The white capitalised font stands out in contrast against the black bordering background, the imagery illustrates a newspaper style, where each individual letter duplicates the image of a newspaper, this is a simple effect to use however illustrates professionalism. The capitals used relate to her personality, capital letters show excitement which relates to her fun filled lifestyle, as well as conveying a loud character and bubbly personality. Thirdly they show a powerful perception of Lily, as well as being next to the dominating defensive image.

The text used is simple and limited, which illustrates that within interviews she gets straight to the point, and the text language shows honestly which illustrates her honest and nice personality. This emphasises on that ideology that Lily Allen is a normal person and shouldn’t just be viewed within the star light but as a human being, who can say what she wants regardless of being famous. The quotation subtracted from the interview “People think I’m an attention seeker, But I’m just honest” evidences the defence mechanism, and illustrates she gets to the point and instantly says the truth regardless of what other people think. This illustrates a strong confidence as well as introducing the dominance she portrays.

The magazine will attract a different range of audiences from both sex genders and ages, however Lily Allen’s music relates further to a younger audience due to the taboo language used, the taboo language would shock an older generation where as a younger audience wouldn’t be surprised due to media influences. Lily Allen being young and “sexy” would attract a male audience however her strong and passionate dominance would attract a female’s audience as a role model. The magazine will attract an audience from between the ages 17 and 35.

The main focal point of the second double page spread is the wide shot eye level image; the imagery allows us to see the vocalist in full perspective, looking down away from the camera this is highlighted due to the microphone being taller than what he is, this illustrates a shy image, which allows an audience viewing the magazine to feel emotion for him. The image contrasts with a stereotypical band however the photograph taken could be an establishing shot and shows the band member in action. He’s portrayed in black and white conveying a mysterious effect which also juxtapositions against the shy ideology. The Artist having a strong hold on the microphone portrays seriousness and in effect shows him clutching a dream; the reality of a busy musical lifestyle is portrayed due to the establishing shot used. The busy lifestyle is also evidenced due to the use of numerous images, a wide shot and two medium close up shots are used, the difference in photography structure show the busy levels from different angles, and show a variety for the audience.

“WERE BEING THE BEST MCR WE CAN BE” The capital letters used evidence the seriousness of the interview, and the motivation of the band; it secondly illustrates excitement which instantly attracts the reader’s attention and encourages them to read the interview and further into the magazine, when creating my final piece I will chose to take a quotation from the interview and highlight it in capitals influence from this magazine. The front of the text used is cracked and decayed illustrating the effect and outcome of loud music; this highlights the genre of music and shows an Indie/rock band genre.

The white font of the interview contrasts against the black background, the white text stands out and again immediately attracts the reader’s attention; the text is small and detailed highlighting a typical convention of a double page spread. The text is detailed conveying a serious and busy lifestyle, evidencing the stereotype of a rock/indie band. The repeat use of red adds a flash of colour to the black and white image, introducing a danger or sex appeal image.

The world exclusive banner portrays a repeat use of stars representing the musician’s status within music society, which secondly emphasises a famous lifestyle and stardom which evidences on the “busy” imagery used. The banner located to the right of the double page spread stands out due to the white background, the red used contrasts with the background which establishes an instant recognition mode. The repeat of the colour scheme emphasises on the genre of music as well as the images portrayed, an audience of 16 + and people who enjoy the genre indie/pop music are targeted.

Double Page Spread Analysis; The large serif “A” font stands out amongst the small black font and the black and white imagery and colour scheme. The capitalised A illustrates excitement which emphasises on the busy lifestyle the band in the image lead. The font used within the section changes half way through, the top section of the text is larger than the bottom section, this shows the change in importance, and emphasises on the amount of text which has been displayed, the amount of text illustrates a keen audience who show a strong interest in the band being published.

The large wide shot image displays 5 different images which evidences the busy lifestyles the artists lead. The Mise en scene of “The Independent” newspaper illustrates on the ideology of an intellectual audience this is evidence by the amount of information used within the magazine and the choice of lexis portrayed. The use of black and white imagery creates a mysterious effect, as well as the black creating a serious strong image to an audience. The audience portrayed would be people with a keen interest in that particular genre of music, An audience of eighteen plus.

Contents Page

Drummer Analysis; The main focal point abstracted from the contents page is the title “DRUMMER” the font is portrayed in bold capital letters with a black font inviting the theory of mystery. The capital letters create a sense of excitement as well as instantly catching the attention of the audience. The black font enhances a professional approach as well as illustrating seriousness. The content titles are displayed in a larger font than the tellers located underneath. The kickers are displayed in large bold capital letters again evidencing the effect of excitement. Secondly the capital letters emphasise on the busy lifestyles musicians lead.

The main image used is portrayed a long shot eye level, illustrating realism and introducing a neutral shot. The instruments located within the image show to be more dominated than the artist, which contrasts against the usual layout of an image however an advantage is that imagery exploits the genre of music to the audience and interacts with the rock band image. The photograph is portrayed in a black and white scenario which creates a mysterious effect, the imagery enables an insight of what to expect from the features. Six smaller images are located within the contents page, long shot and low angled images show a direct dominance in each. One of the images is a medium close up shot; this shows detail and is inviting for the audience.

The anchorage “EXCLUSIVE!” is featured in a white font which contrasts against the black and white image is located on top of, the exclamation mark used illustrates the importance of the anchorage and that the magazine wants it to stand out against the other text portrayed, as well as excitement. The repetition of red font is used on the content numbers and on the “features” title, the red indicates a sex appeal image which is evidenced by the rock star band image, which is used through the use of instrument images located on the contents page. The red could also feature danger, which relates to the sex appeal image. The stereo type of men in a band tends to include men been “players” the red could signify the danger of being with a band member.

The images portray men and woman therefore relates to a gender neutral audience, as well as being based on a white background. The background allows the images and text to stand out and to look professional. In my opinion I would say the contents page wouldn’t attract a very high audience due to the limited text and simple layout, the magazine shows simple conventions however the anchorage and text are simple. The contents page would attract an audience of 15 up to 25 years.


NME Analysis; NME (New Musical Express) is a popular well established music magazine company which advertises different genres of music to a wide target population.

One of the main focal points of the magazine are the images used, both images are low angle, long shots, which shows a direct dominance and a superior motive for the images, the low angled shot illustrates strength of the particular artist, in this case Oasis members. Oasis is a popular well known band which is conveyed through the magazine audience having to look up at the photograph’s taken, this portrays their fame and celebrity as well as illustrating a proud image. Both of the images portrayed are active, taken from concerts and recordings, this emphasises on their busy lifestyle. The guitar and sweaty images taken enhance a sexy rock star image which symbolises sex; drugs and rock and roll, this reinstates a sixties era effect which allows a broader target audience.

“...Oasis kicked off their world tour” The sans serif black font illustrates the seriousness of the anchorage and includes an instant recognition for the entire of the magazine. The anchorage anchors the text and imagery to together as well as informing the audience to turn to another page consisting of more information; this conveys the simple structure of the contents page which makes it easy for the audience to understand. Kickers and tellers are used repeatedly on the contents page, the kickers consist of a sans serif capitalised font, where as the tellers consist of a smaller serif font. The capital letters show enthusiasm as well as excitement this will encourage the audience to read them as they stand out amongst the page. The kickers are bordered in a black block illustrating professionalism and seriousness.

“THIS WEEK” The title for the contents page is shown in a large bold capitalised font, which illustrates excitement for the reader encouraging them to find out what’s in this week’s issue. The sans serif font used reflects the seriousness of the font used, and creates a professional approach. The imagery and font are placed on a white background, increasing the target audience of the magazine as the colour used is gender neutral, the white could secondly illustrate innocence which contrasts with the black and red font used also. The red contrast illustrates a sex imagery which again evidences the imagery of the rock star; red can also be used to signify danger. The white, red and black colour scheme illustrates an instant recognition for the entire of the magazine.

The advertisement featured in the bottom middle of the contents page portrays a bright yellow capitalised font; the yellow introduces excitement and instantly stands out within the page, the yellow contrasts with the background it has been placed on, which emphasises it being an advertisement or a flash. The NME magazine stands out to a wide audience due to its advertisement in different genres of music, initially music magazines target a niche market where as NME has something to offer every genre of audience. The feature of Oasis broadens the target audience as they attract old, young, female and male orientated audiences, the magazine would attract an audience of 15 years plus.




Q Analysis; The main focal point abstracted from the Q contents page is the imagery used. The image of four men casually dressed standing against a scenic background is portrayed, the low angle long shot introduces a direct mode of address which highlights the dominance as the audience seem to be looking up at the artists. The image portrays a scraggy jagged look, which creates a certain edge and highlights a sexy rock star kind of image which imitates a sex appeal however the scenic background of hills and green land contrasts with the rock star image and shows a calming image. The four men are shown standing straight with their hands in their pockets and looking straight into the camera at an eye level, this exploits the genre of music through looking “cool” and professional.

“THE COURTENEERS” illustrated in black sans serif font highlights the seriousness of the anchorage and shows that it wants to catch the audience’s attention. The convention portrays an informative style to the magazine as it gives the page number to turn to, in order to read more information on the specific band. The Tellers portrayed within the magazine contents page are featured in bold capitals which exploits the genre rock/indie music. The capitals highlight the excitement and busy lifestyle of the band, as well as attracting the reader’s attention. The tellers are conveyed in a small serif font, the small font illustrates that their not as important however convey more information therefore have to be smaller. The image is based on a white background which allows it to attract a gender neutral audience.

The second image portrayed on the contents page shows an eye level long shot, contrasts with the original idea of a long shot as the man within the image isn’t dominate however the large feature stood next to him does portray dominance as it stands out from the man. The man within the image “NICK CAVE” is portrayed in a suit to establish a smart and older image in contrast to the young and hip image featured above. The red numbering illustrated underneath and on the sub titles could emphasise a sense of danger or warning however in this particular magazine I feel it illustrates a sex appeal, this is evidenced by the main image and their casual confident look. The red font also allows an instant recognition for the entire of the magazine.

“OASIS SPECIAL!” illustrated in a capitalised gold font, due to the different colour this stands out amongst the page, the gold font portrays quality, royalty and importance emphasising on the fame and popularity of Oasis. The Oasis special segment is segmented off in colour and bordered; this ensures it stands out amongst the other features listed within the contents page. The magazine series number, date and website of Q are listed in the top right hand of the magazine establishing that Q is a well known establishment. Due to the magazine specialising in different genres of music, it will encourage a wider range of audience including male and female genres aged 17 plus.

Front Cover

The NME (New Musical Express) is a popular well established music magazine company which advertises different genres of music to a wide target population.

The main focus point of the NME magazine is the image of Beth Ditto naked, which is portrayed as a wide shot, including eye level references however with a slight low angle. The slight low angle encourages a strong persevere and illustrates attitude and strength. The naked imagery and strong make up contrasts with the usual representation of woman; women are usually; or in the past have been portrayed with elegance, they have not been represented as a dominant figure or as a publicised role model this emphasises confidence and attitude, which allows the genre of indie/rock music to stand out.

Confidence is highlighted repeatedly the language “KISS MY ASS” and the red nail varnish show attitude, and connote a strong attitude, an attitude with the magazine want to convey. The attitude also reflects the audience targeted, the harsh language lexis and colloquial terms highlight a younger audience, where taboo language doesn’t take offence and is used in ordinary everyday language; in my opinion I would say the audience would be aged seventeen up to thirty.

The harsh make up, lipstick marks and tattoos on Beth Dittos body attract an instant sex appeal, as well as a cheeky and flirty approach. This attracts a neutral sex audience, as the dominance and attitude attract a woman as well as the confidence which contrasts with the size 0 theory, woman will see Beth as a role model.

The bright orange background enhances a warm image and encourages the audience to read the magazine, the bright orange encourages the type of audience the magazine wish to attract; for example the orange want a lively and excited audience, this also highlights the type of music which the magazine advertises, the genre is expressed through the vibrant colours and attitude from the illustrations.




Q magazine is an established popular institution; the Q magazine logo is portrayed in a bold red square the simplicity of the Logo makes it stand out and because the magazine is a well known institution it turns it into so much more then what it actually is, additionally the red logo will stand out amongst any background. Two factors which highlight the popularity of the magazine are firstly the large image of Madonna which slightly covers the Q Logo, and secondly the “bumper issues” information which also covers the logo. The covering up of the label establishes the popularity and shows that an audience already knows the features of the magazine; this enables the magazine to be creative and to do whatever they want as an established audience has already been created.

Madonna has been used as Qs main imagery, the image is a close up medium shot, the imagery uses wide eyes which encourages a sex appeal which is appealing for the audience as well as looking friendly, this shows the audience a warmth to the magazine, and encourages them to read the magazine further. The medium shot shows Madonna looking directly at the reader which again enhances the sex appeal, however in contrast the picture isn’t to seductive therefore welcomes a larger niche of market. Madonna isn’t a new member within the music industry; she is mature and sexy which will encourage a larger audience. In my opinion I would say that the magazine would target an audience of 18 to 45 year olds, which for a music magazine is extremely large.

The colour scheme mainly consists of black and red, the black adds mystery to the magazine where as the red could be represented as a sex symbol or in fact danger. Capital letters are used on the anchorage “MADONNA” the large red font corresponds with the picture and anchors readers to go straight to the Madonna page, this is an advantage for Q magazine, as the storyline will get them hooked which will encourage them to read and buy the magazine. Q magazine also features cover lines again in the red font, the red font enhances an instant recognition for readers as the Q logo which is surrounded by the red square.

The Ideology of the magazine is based around differential music genres, therefore will have a large target audience, due to the different types of music genres Q relates to it will be able to attract more than a niche market and may in fact have the largest target audience than any other music magazine. Another convention in which the magazine contains is a bar code and date however in contrast to a usual magazine the bar code features next to Madonna’s head. This gives the magazine a unique quality. However when making my own magazine I will keep the bar code in the bottom right as it will not be a established magazine.

Front Cover

The Clash magazine front cover consists of many music magazine conventions; however Clash magazine concludes fashion as well as music therefore the language terminology should be differential. The masthead is portrayed in a bold white text against a black background which also overlaps the main image convention of Duffy. The black background adds mystery to the magazine as well as illustrating professionalism. The large white font of “Clash” enables the mast head to stand out against the black. This will instantly attract an audience’s attention. A colour scheme of black, white and pink have been used as well as introducing kickers in a pale yellow; the pink background enhances femininity and additionally would attract a female audience.

The magazine consists of numerous subheadings and kickers. The main kicker overlaps the imagery of the celebrity Duffy and immediately wants to kick the audience into finding that page and to read it. The kicker is in a larger font than any of the subheadings enhancing its importance to the magazine and main imagery. “The new first lady of soul Duffy” holds down the image, the anchorage enhances the large picture of Duffy, and keeps the readers hooked. Imagery of stars are elaborated around the anchorage enhancing Duffys new found stardom and illustrating the importance of Duffy, the overall image and anchorage acts as an advertisement for Duffy, and as being new to the music industry will attract many audiences which don’t know a great deal of information about her. Numerous sub headings are located to the top of the magazine consisting of differential coloured fonts, either a soft yellow or white. Both colours stand out against the black background, and are soft on the eye therefore this will encourage the audience to continue reading. The tellers underneath the sub headings are portrayed in a small white font; an advantage of the text is that it is portrayed in note form therefore this encourages the reader to look further into the magazine. The mast head “Clash” is illustrated in a huge white almost cartoon like font, the masthead stands alone which could represent that the magazine isn’t a strong institution as of yet.

The main image of Duffy almost fills up the entire of the magazine cover, the imagery used is large and eye-catching which makes it appealing for the target audience. The picture used is a medium close up in effect this highlights seriousness, Duffys eyes are directly looking into the camera enhancing a warm view to the readers of Clash magazine, the images shows that she is dominant of the magazine which highlights confidence. The highlighted confidence could also be in effect due to sex appeal, this would target a larger niche market including a higher percentage of men.

Front Cover

The Rolling Stones is a popular magazine company conveying differential music genres, this particular issue illustrates Lady Gaga, an American recording artist who continues to outshine her own potential weekly. The Rolling Stones popularity is showed whilst the Masthead is covered up, this illustrates that the magazine is a well known institution, another factor which highlights the popularity is the choice of pink background on the magazine. Rolling stones usually attracts both sex genres of audience however the pink background introduces a female audience this emphasises the popularity of the Rolling Stones magazine, and that the institution no longer need to attract a certain audience as past magazines have achieved this already, and now have a strong repetitive established audience. However in contrast the lack of clothing on Lady Gaga attracts sex appeal which seeks the attention of a male audience, in my opinion I feel that the clothing and pink cancel one another out to seek both sex genres.

Kickers and Tellers are used repeatedly throughout the cover of the magazine; the kickers are portrayed in a white font which contrasts against the pink background, additionally they are capitalised and in a bold font which instantly seeks the attention of the audience which encourages them to turn into the magazine. However in contrast the tellers are portrayed in a larger font then the kickers which are unusual as usually the kickers are bigger. This relates back to the point I made earlier, where the magazine doesn’t need to include all the typical magazine conventions as it is already a popular and established magazine.

“The rise of Lady Gaga” holds down the image of Lady Gaga also known as anchorage, this enables the audience to know that the feature story will be about Lady Gaga, the lack of clothing and bubbles surrounding her show a controversial image which contradicts The Rolling Stones traditional music genre. The bubbles illustrate her personality, and shows that she is different from other Artists as her videos have already established this. The large image of her anchors the kicker and shows that she is dominant to the audience, I feel that this issue of the magazine will attract a differential niche market then what the other Rolling Stones magazines have as well as the usual established audience.

As well as the mast head being covered the price of the magazine is located in a different place to the usual conventions, usually the price and date of a magazine would be located next to the bar code, usually bottom right of the magazine. However on this issue of The Rolling Stones the price is located at the top of the magazine in almost an unreadable text. The text is white which stands out against the pink background but in contrast is extremely small which makes it almost unreadable for the audience. This could be due to the institution and the establishment, due to it attracting a niche market the audience will know what the existing price is therefore don’t need to look for it, as well as an advantage it can be clearly seen at the top of the magazine.

Through analysing this magazine I have chosen not to use a coloured background which could only relate to a male or female audience due to the fact that music magazines only attract a niche market therefore I would be weakening the target audience, my first initial plan was to use a pink background and a female artist however I have come to the conclusion that it will only attract a female audience, and also finding colours that interact with pink would be extremely hard. Secondly I will hopefully include a wider application of media terminology where as I found there wasn’t much to analyse.