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.
No comments:
Post a Comment