Contents Page Reviews

Q Magazine January 2006







Language

The left hand side of the conents page has the general house style of "Q" magazine, it has the red highlights on the title of the page as well as the underlining and highlights of the contents themselves. The page contains two main images, they are numbered to show us which page we can find the information. Amost half of the magazine is black and white, this is for the photo, the photo of Cheryl Cole on the right hand side is in black and white because it shows class she is dressed in a sexy fashion and this appeals to men but it also appeals to women because they can get ideas from Cheryl Cole. The photo of Cheryl takes up a large amount of the page, this shows her importance to the issue, this gets people to notice her and want to find out what the fuss is about.

There is a small margin on the left hand side with some information in it, this will be showing whats in the magazine, it's placed on the left third of the page because it's the first place people look when they  begin to read the page, this means the info is there straight away. The house style helps this to work effectively, because it makes the text easy to read.


Institution


The institution for this particular magazine is Q, however the publishing house for Q is Bauer.


Ideology


Q like to make their contents pages attractive but also keep to the traditional house style so it's recognisable and reader- friendly.


Audience


The audience for this contents page will be the same as the whole magazine, generally older people but Q try to bring younger people into their magazine genre, and Q appeals to most people regardless of gender, social class etc...


Representation


Q prides itself on quality, the Q stands for Quality, this is what they try to represent in their magazines, in this contents page we have a clean layout, we also have the image of Cheryl Cole in black and white, this shows class, red is the colour of royalty, this again represents quality standard.


Q Magazine October 2008

Language

The left third of the contents page has the general theme for 'Q' magazine, the red box with the Q logo, all of the main contents are in the left third too, this is conventional as it's the first place, we the reader look when we open the page. we can see that there is a large amount of information on the left hand side, this works well and is layed out so it doesn't look cluttered and untidy. At the top right we can see the domain for the Q website and also the issue number and month the magazine is released. They have featured Oasis in the middle of the margin to the left, this features information about their tracks and other things. This appeals specifically to Oasis fans, but also people who are interested in finding out more. At the bottom third of the page we can see the regular features in the magazine and we can also see the review section of the magazine, the masthead and all of the sub-headings are higlighted and bold in order to make them stand out.

The image is the most dominant part of the contents page and really stands out above all the other information, this is the intention to catch the readers attention and get the message across, the band featured and the Courteeners, a pull quoote has been used "He's just showing off" Liams Fray's mum hits nail on the head. This gets people interested as to what the story is about and makes them want to read on. The band a positioned in the shot to give a dominant look, a low angle shot shows they're high up making them look tall and imposing, being on top of a high hill gives the impression that they are on top of the world and could suggest how they are feeling.

Institution

The institution for the contents page is 'Q', but 'Q' is part of a publishing house called 'Bauer'.

Ideology

'Q' try to keep their contents pages to the traditional colour theme, but they also try to keep the page clean, tidy and filled with quality information, Q stands for quality.

Audience

'Q' appeals mainly to older people, however they try to attract the younger generation by including music that appeals to a younger audience, they also aim to appeal to all audiences regardless of gender and social class.

Representation

'Q' try their best to provide a quality, reader-friendly magazine, this is shown in the contents page, the colour red represents quality and royalty, this is typical of 'Q'.


Metal Hammer July 2007

Language

The house style is the same throughout, the main colours used are black, white and red, these colours work well and allow the reader to see everything quite clearly due to the sharp contrast of the colours. The main featured content is placed in the left third, this is the first place the reader looks when they open the page and ensures all the featured content will be seen. The less important regular material is next to the featured. Below this is a plug for a company who review products, this is an example of synergy, two companies working together to promote one another, the plug keeps to the colour scheme of the house style. Below this is a promotion for two events, again this is an example of synergy.

The right hand side of the contents page is mainly made up of pictures, these have page numbers on so that people know where to find them, however, the pictures aren't annotated so the reader would probably have tro be a regular of Metal Hammer to know who the people are or a follower of the Metal genre. there are three plugs one for pagen 24, page 108 and page 78, these catch the readers eye and drag their attention to that element of the magazine. On the right third we have a paragraph from the editor of the magazine, this gets the readers interested and they know that they are having their thoughts listened to by someone.

Institution

The institution for this magazine is 'Metal Hammer' however the publishing house is 'Future PLC', it was founded in 1985, it's a special-interest publisher, this means when they make a magazine, it is focused around a certain target audience such as teenagers who enjoy gaming. they make a wide range of magazines, for example, they publish games magazines such as 'The Official Xbox 360 Magazine' technology magazines such as 'Mac Life' and even sports magazines such as 'What Mountain Bike'.

Ideology

Their ideology as stated on their website is to know their audience and their interests, every thing they make is to be edited to a quality standard and designed with excellence, unrivalled partnerships in every sector in which they operate and they are commited to operating in a way that is socially, ethically and environmentaly responsible.

Audience

The audience that this particular magazine is appealing to is teenagers to young men, aged around 16-25, and people who enjoy metal music. The magazine is also aimed at people who like "Avenged Sevenfold".

Representation
The representation behind the contents page mimics the front page, it represents heavy metal followers and artists, it shows them wearing their chosen clothing and their boyish, intimidating looks.



Task 4: Front Cover Reviews: Metal Hammer Magazine, Decibel Magazine and Q Magazine.

Metal Hammer Magazine Front Cover, July 2010 issue.

Language


When looking at the masthead we can clearly see, the font is fuzzy and graffiti like, we can see this because there are slithers of paint like ink coming from the bottom of the text. This could represent the rebellious nature of the bands in this genre of music.


The splash is very relevant and of great meaning, firstly, the main focus of the image is the four band members themselves, for people who are unaware of 'Avenged Sevenfold' the original number of members was five, this included Jimmy 'The Rev' Sullivan, who passed away December 2009, this was obviously a great shock to the band. We can see that Jimmy's drum is in the centre, this could relate to the importance of him to his band memebers, the graffitti like picture on the wall is Jimmy himself, he has devil like wings, this connotates rebeliousness and also a dark side, this keeps the genre of his music alive, but also shows how he would have had a bit of a dark side, also on the picture we can see black and white rays coming from Jimmy, this again connotates his importance to the band and to his fans. Looking at the four band members, we can see that they are stood somewhat formerly, this shows respect towards their former band member, we can also see that the lead singer is sitting on Jimmy's drum and praying, this again shows respect and lets people know that he will not be forgotten. We can see that the band members are dressed in dark colours, wearing sun glasses and showing tattoo's, this is stereotypical of band members in this genre and resembles rebeliousness, it could also be seen that they are wearing sun glasses to show their emotion. The band are postured to look quite intimidating, this could represent that they are not push overs and don't obey the rules.


The general appearance of the cover is dark and gloomy, we can see that the important props such as jimmy's drum and the graffitti of jimmy on the wall are bright, this shows how he is remembered and how he will live on in their hearts, this also again shows his importance to the band and how he stood out.


As we look at the bottom of the cover we can see the band name in a bold white font, this stands out and attracts the readers attention, notice the angel like wings on the name, this is usually linked to the logo, but on this occasion they are attached to the text, this could be related to the subject of the front cover as jimmy is portrayed with angel wings.


Also at the bottom of the cover, under the band name, we can see the kicker it says "Our first thought was 'it's over'. It isn't. This is how Jimmy will live on." This is expressing the bands thoughts on the situation of Jimmy's death, however, this also foreshadows the ideas from the band to come.


The barcode shows the publisher "Future PLC" logo above it, it's also placed in the bottom left of the magazine, barcodes are generally placed in the bottom right.


Institution


The institution refers to the publisher. The publisher of this particular magazine is Metal Hammer, however the publishing house is 'Future PLC', it was founded in 1985, it's a special-interest publisher, this means when they make a magazine, it is focused around a certain target audience such as teenagers who enjoy gaming. they make a wide range of magazines, for example, they publish games magazines such as 'The Official Xbox 360 Magazine' technology magazines such as 'Mac Life' and even sports magazines such as 'What Mountain Bike'.


Ideology


Their ideology as stated on their website is to know their audience and their interests, every thing they make is to be edited to a quality standard and designed with excellence, unrivalled partnerships in every sector in which they operate and they are commited to operating in a way that is socially, ethically and environmentaly responsible.


Audience


The audience that this particular magazine is appealing to is teenagers to young men, aged around 16-25, and people who enjoy metal music. The magazine is also aimed at people who like "Avenged Sevenfold".


Representation


The representation of this magazine is the stereotypical heavy metal band, they are wearing a style of clothing that is popular to people who follow the metal music scene, three of the band members are wearing sun glasses, this could represent a cool laid back lifestyle amongst the hectic metal scene they are used to, they are positioned quite high up which looks intimidating and could be again representing the stereotypical metal listener.




Decibel Magazine Front Cover Issue, December 2006

Language


When looking at the magazine, we can clearly see that the main attraction in the band "Converge" who are the four subjects on the cover we notice that the band name is in bold white and is almost the same size as the title of the magazine, it's also at the front, unlike the magazine logo which is situated at the back and partly covered up by the lead members head, this is important because it shows the relevance that the band have to the magazine and to the people who are fans or read the magazine. The word "converge" means to come together, and as we can see the bands members are apart, but they are coming together. we notice that at the top of the front cover in bold "FREE!", this is highlighted by the black background contrasting with the orange writing, this catched the readers attention and makes us read on for the offer which is "Escapi music dvd inside" this helps the magazine to sell because people are getting something for "free".


The text is scattered around the page in different places, this is most likely to create space for the splash, that way we can see the four band members, this allows the magazine to sell to a particular audience who are fans of the band or people who are interested in finding out about the band.


The house style is somewhat consistant there is mostly blue, orange and white text on the cover, this looks attractive and is pretty eye-catching so that the reader can clearly see what the text says amongst the dark background. the text above the band name states "HERO WORSHIP" this is in a dark sketchy font, and is placed above the band name this could suggest that hero worship is either fading out, hense the sketchy dark colour, or that the band have hero worshipers.


We can see that the cover is pretty cluttered, there is text around the band members showing whats in the magazine for the reader, this takes the focus away from the band but promotes the mgazine by showing people what they will be reading if they are to buy it.


Institution


"decibel" is the institution for this particular magazine, interestingly "decibel" doesn't have a publishing house, decibel is well respected by the metal listening community and aim to produce the best magazine in it's genre, they don't have many competitors.


Ideology


The ideology of this particular magazine is to advertise the band "Converge" but also to advertise a number of things around the magazine to get the reader interested and create potential buyers. The ideology behind "decibel" itself, is to create the best heavy metal magazine for it's readers.


Audience


The audience of this magazine is those who enjoy metal music and people who have an interest in "Converge", the specific age, probably ranges from around 16-25.


Representation


This is generally a typical representation of a heavy metal band, they are wearing icon tee's which are usually non-brand name, this is typical of the heavy metal listener/performer. Three members out of four have quite long hair, this again is a general style of someone who likes heavy metal, they have tattoo's, this could represent their rebellious nature as people with tattoo's are stereotypical of rebelliousness.




Q Magazine Issue: February 2010

Language


When looking at this magazine cover, we can see that the subject Cheryl Cole is centered, the shot is an eyeline close-up, this particular shot is a close-up in order to show the facial expression of the subject, we can see that the text is spread out around the splash this allows us to see the subject more clearly, this allows us to see the expression she is looking sexy, she has "come to bed eyes" mouth slightly open, tongue out, she is heavily made-up and has bright red lipstick on, the rain on the cover creates a certain mood, she would be wet and wanting to get inside and cosy this appeals very much to men and would provide potential buyers for the magazine "sex sells".


We can see that the cover is very much cluttered with text around the border areas, this is typical of magazines and allows people to see what;s inside the magazine without opening the cover, this helps them to be able to buy the magazine without opening it to look for what to expect. The text on the top half, right hand side is in bold and different colours, this attracts the readers eyes and shows the importance of what it says. The left hand side of the magazine shows the "Q" logo at the top and has information regarding bands and events in text on the left side, the reader looks at the left side of the magazine first, this is why the important text is placed here.


What strikes us is the text towards the bottom, we can see "3 words... CHERYL COLE  R O C K S"
This is an exclamation and doesn't let the reader argue with what the magazine says, the text is centred and includes; italic, bold and capital spaced letters, this emphasises the importance of the text.


We can see towards the middle right of the cover a plug, this is circular and is advertising something about John Lennon inside the magazine, this will potentially persuade Lennon or Beatles fans to buy the magazine to find out the "untold stories and unseen pics".


Overall, the magazine is quite dark, and it's focussed around the splash, this is a typical convention of a magazine, the use of colours keeps to the house style of the magazine.


Institution


The institution for this particular magazine is "Q" however the publishing house is Bauer, which was created in 1986 with means to keep older music alive, they aim to set a superb standard of quality and the name "Q" stands for quality.


Ideology


The ideology behind this particular magazine is to entice people, especially males into buying the magazine, this is done by placing an attractive celebrity such as Cheryl Cole in this case on the front cover as we can see. The magazine also includes multiple pieces of information about various other bands etc... This helps to sell the magazine too.


Audience


The audience for this magazine is mainly males, however women would find this magazine appealing too. Probably around the age of 16-40, "Q" tend to aim for the older age, but they also try and get the younger generation involved. 


Representation


This magazine represents how females want to see themselves, most women would like to say they were as talented or as beautiful as Cheryl Cole, she is a role model for young women, but this also represents what most men want in a woman, very attractive and a strong will.

Music genre

The music genre I have chosen to represent in my music magazine is alternative rock music, I have chosen this because I feel that the music in this genre appeals to a wide variety of audiences, this means a magazine in this genre would do very well because so many people will be interested in reading it. The quality of the music in this genre is excellent and the bands whom play this genre of music are usually liked by most people

Music Magazine LIIAR Breif

Language
The language relates to a number of elements, camera angle, camera position, camera distance, it also relates to what is placed in and around the magazine, the splash, masthead, kicker, plug etc... the house style of the magazine is also very important, if for example a magazine has a specific colour scheme, it would usually stick to that scheme because the readers can easily recognise the magazine in a shop. These are all important and make up the magazine, helping it to appeal to readers.

Institution
Institution refers to the publisher of the magazine, for example "Metal Hammer" is published by "Future PLC" this is known as a publishing house which creates as many magazines in as many genres to appeal to multiple audiences, this generates more income for the company.

Ideology
Ideology refers to the values of the company or the morals that they wish to follow, the company will try to keep to these standards in order to keep readers happy. The morals of "Future PLC" for example, are to know the interests of their audience and to design magazines to a quality standard.

Audience
Audience refers to the people who the magazine is aimed at, this can relate to age, gender, social class or interests etc... 'metal hammer" for example would be aimed at people around 16-25, majority a male audience, and people who enjoy metal music.

Representation
Representation refers to what the music magazine is trying to put across to the audience, this is mainly portrayed on the front cover of a music magazine, if for example, Cheryl Cole was on the front cover of a magazine, we know that the particular issue of the magazine will be aimed at people who enjoy pop music and are interested in Cheryl Cole, the front cover usually represents what will be on the double page spread inside the magazine.

Music Magazine Breif

The main task we have been given is to create a front page, contents page and a double page spread for a new music magazine, must have a minimum of four images, all images and text have to be created by ourselves. We are to evaluate three front covers, three contents pages and three double page spreads, in media terms.