Kamran's Foundation portfolio: January 2010

Friday 15 January 2010

Evaluation and Analysis of my Music Magazine

Music magazine evaluation

View more presentations from guest88f4b0.

Thursday 14 January 2010

Magazine feedback from the audience

Progression throughout making my magazine

Front Cover

Contents Page

Double Page Spread

Edits

Edited Photographs to be used within the Music Magazine

Pictures taken for possible use in magazine

Double page spread of Kerrang!

Kerrang Issue 1288 November 21st 2009, Pages 40-41

The background of the double page spread is a photograph of Chester Bennington, the lead singer for the well known rap-metal band Linkin Park. The photograph is a medium long-shot of Chester sat against some cupboards alone, looking directly into the camera. This creates a sense of isolation and the fact that he is lonely, trying to connect with the reader by looking out at them. The picture is edited using a vignette effect making the photo darker at the edges which isolates the subject into a smaller frame. This makes him seem helpless and trapped inside a prison, making people feel sorry for him but it may also connate that he is a prisoner as the article looks how he had broken the law through mainly drug abuse. He is wearing black, white and grey which are dull simple colours giving a depressed theme of emotion to the picture with no vibrant colours present to counter the disheartened effect that is given. The background of the photograph itself is a plain cream set of cupboards which makes him appear to be in a house. This gives the impression that he is living alone reinforcing the sense of isolation, also the cupboard which Chester is leaning upon is wearing away while the others are fine, reflecting how his life is terrible compared to others. It is appropriate to give this sense of depression and loneliness as the article is focused on his “horrible existence” (as Chester says), Kerrang interview him he goes on to say how he wanted to kill himself showing a depressive topic to the article.

The layout of the article is based around the subject of the photograph. The main title is placed at the top left hand corner making it the first thing to be seen on the page. It is in a large bold font which stands out from the rest of the text which therefore attracts the reader to find out what the article is all about. There are two fonts used within the title which puts emphasis on the words with the larger font. This makes it stand out to the reader and allows it to be easily memorable as it catches the reader’s attention. The smaller font used within the title is grey while the larger font is white, this again shows how to make certain parts more memorable through the use of colour.

Just below the main title is a patterned red circle within a thin red ring outlining it. Within the circle is a taster of what the article is about, this gives the reader the main parts of the article without revealing too much. This entices the reader as the graphics attract them and the simple message informs them about the most appealing parts of the article.

The text for the article is presented on the page in columns which are located down the sides of the double-page. This means that the text is not covering the main focus of the photograph but is merged around it. The colour of the text is white which contrasts with the black effect of the vignette making it more visible and easy to read. At the beginning of each main paragraph the first two words are red which creates a break from the set layout of plain white text, and links to the red circle under the main title. During the text there is a break where an important quote is displayed in the same font layout as the main title which breaks away from the set text and attracts the reader making that quotation memorable. At the end of the article is a patterned red box, which links to the circle in appearance, with what his band, Linkin Park, are up to now. This gives the reader something else to know and gives the band publicity especially as the red box attracts the reader. Quotations that are in larger fonts, or extra information that may be appealing to the reader, are usually in capital letters which makes it stand out from the rest of the text.

The overall layout of the double page spread consists of simple bland dull colours which represent the theme and emotion of the article, while the white and red colour of the text gives a professional and more formal appearance. The change in font and text size provides an escape from the set layout keeping the reader enticed and the red shapes that contain some simple information provide an extra read for the readers who want to find out more. Along the top of the page is a red line which creates a border and a line on which the author’s and photographer’s name’s are using the red and grey colour scheme. In the top right hand corner along the red line is the band’s new album name ‘Dead by Sunrise’ in a red font that is larger than the font of the text. The gaze of the article touches on marriage and family but focuses mainly on educating the audience about drug abuse. It is also informative about the band but only as extra information. The real focus of the article is mainly on Chester’s life and how he was affected by drugs and the impact on him and his family, as the reader is informed about his divorce but then the fact that he has a new wife who broughts him happiness from his fall.

Kerrang and NME front cover analysis

Kerrang! was first published on 6th June 1981, edited by Geoff Barton. Rock magazines have been popular in the media since fanzines began off a trend from enthusiastic fans writing their own articles and handing them out for free at gigs. Kerrang! promotes grunge bands, metal bands, and all bands within a genre of rock. Such bands as Nirvana, Metallica, Fall out boy and Slipknot have all featured on the front cover, or within, Kerrang! The magazine is sold at a price of £2.20 in the UK and is found in most convenience shops. It is publish by Bauer Consumer Media in the UK, who are a large German publishing company based in Hamburg. They own 80 media brands overall and operate in 15 different countries. Other magazines that are published by Bauer Media are; Heat, Q, FHM, and Grazia. Kerrang! also use other forms of media such as; Kerrang! TV, Kerrang! Radio, a clothing line and their own website (www.Kerrang.com).

This issue of Kerrang! sees the popular metalcore band ‘Avenged Sevenfold’ dominating the front cover represented as a typical street-gang. The lead singer of the band (Matthew Charles Sanders A.K.A. M.Shadows) holding a metal chain wearing tinted sunglasses baring his teeth, appearing to be screaming or malevolently laughing. The rest of the band are circled behind him holding weapons or in a serious pose. Mainly wearing black gives a mysterious and sinister feeling to the magazine. This is linked with the type of music that they are well-known for, as metal is a scary type of music, black gives a sense of fear. The Kerrang! logo is situated behind the band’s heads making the figures more dominant then the magazine itself. Pictures of other bands and information within the magazine is near the bottom of the magazine scattered around the base of the picture. A colour scheme of white, red, yellow and black is used on the front cover of the magazine, this links in with the colours of the background and remains looking professional.

NME has been published weekly since March 1952, being the first british paper to include a singles chart which featured in the 14th November 1952 edition. NME have expanded in the media with; NME TV, NME Radio, their website (www.NME.com) and NME album of the year. It is published by IPCmedia who are the leading publishing brand in the UK, publishing 80 magazines with NME being their only music magazine. They have a wide variety of magazine genres which allows them to appeal to many different personalities within the general public. NME informs its’ readers of tour dates, music news and also includes interviews form bands within the genre that it represents. It costs £2.20 in the UK and can be found in most convenience stores.

This issue of NME introduces the new band ‘The Gossip’ to publicity, promoting their attitude towards life and genre of music. The picture of the band dominates most of the background, hiding half of the magazine’s name showing the power they have even when they’re not in control. Direct eye-contact from the members make a bond between them and the reader. Pictures and information about other bands are placed down the left hand side of the front cover, and the band’s name is almost central in the largest font on the page. This makes the band seem important and stand out from the rest of the page. The magazine seems to promote sex and being rebellious as beneath the title it mentions these issues relating to the band’s success. Yellow, red, black and white are the colours used for the colour scheme which makes it appealing yet still professional.