Rolling Stone Cover Analysis

Rolling Stone magazine is liscensed to Wenner Media LLC whom also own editorials such as US Weekly and Men's Journal. The circulation of the magazine is 1.4 million anually and first started in November 1967. The institution is commercial and uses advertisements to aid it in making profits.

The cover has all the conventions of a music magazine, including the image. The masthead is mainly covered by the main image which shows us that it is a well known institution and recognisable in it's style which hasn't seemed to change since it's beginings, making it a trademark of sorts for the magazine.

The main image is a long shot of Lady Gaga which is blended into the pink background. The connotation of pink is femininity. The pose which Lady Gaga is in makes her seem both dominant and untouchable. Paired with the connotations of pink this gives the impression of a strong female figure. However, Lady Gaga's lack of clothes make the cover become dominated by sexual tendancies.

The coverlines are all in white fonts, big enough to be easily read but not big enough to take any attention away from the main image. The main image gives credit to the model: Lady Gaga. The language used within these coverlines is to tease the audience and entice them to buy the magazine and read the article itself. This is achieved by using the names of big celebrities.

Kerrang Magazine Analysis.

Kerrang magazine is licensed to 'Bauer Media.' It's audience is that of a working class background with an interest in rock music. We know this because the cover price is £2.20 which is cheap for a magazine of it's type. We can also tell that the main audience is men by the language used in the coverlines.

Kerrang is the leading music weekly with over 60,000 sales a week. This is represented with the masthead where the main image overlaps it in places. This shows us that the institution is known well enough to not have to show the whole masthead.

The masthead itself is in a bold, block font which is easily recognisable. This is made to look cracked, like a sheet of glass which reflects the genre of the magazine.

The tagline of the magazine is in the same space as the masthead. The tagline is effectively placed over the title but differentiated with a different color and font. This sums up the genre of the magazine in the words ''Life is loud'' which is inkeeping with the cracked effect of the masthead which now gives the ideology that it could be broken through overly loud music.

The colors used throughout the splash are variations of red and yellow. These convey the idea of sex, danger, violence and destruction which mirrors the main coverline ''Sex, Drugs, Violence.''

The main image of the artist represents the ideology of the band. Each one of them is dressed like a gang member of sorts and made to look rough and fearsome. The front members of the band are also using props in the form of weapons like a gang member would carry. This once again carries on what seems to be an ongoing theme of danger, which is reflected by the coverline ''The world's most dangerous band.''

The other coverlines, also in variants of red and yellow, are all placed to be seen but not take any focus away from the main image. These use the names of well known acts in the rock genre to grab the audiences attention. Beneath the names are then tiny snippet of the feature with them mentioned which entices the audience further.

The banners across the top and bottom of the splash are filled with yet more names of well-known rock artists to rouse the audience even more. The colour yellow is used here as a way of being eyecatching amongst the dark image and masthead.

Music Magazine Conventions.

Music magazines, along with every other genre of magazine, have their own codes and conventions used for their splashes. These are things we take for granted on the cover and are usually always similar, if not the same.

Within the main image of a music magazine there are usually clear similarities. The image is of the person mentioned in the main coverline. Within this shot can be one face or four/five if a band is featured, however they are all focusing on the camera. Another thing sometimes used in music magazine images is the use of instruments or props along with the artist.

The masthead of a music magazine is alike to every other in the way that it appears in the top left hand corner. This can sometimes be covered in part by the main image which shows that the institution is a well recognised one.

The main coverline on a music magazine is mostly the name of the fatured band or artist from the main image. This is usually followed by a smaller coverline often paraphrasing quotes from the interview or article.

The coverlines of the music magazines are usually around the main image but not so much as to detract from it. These coverlines use a lexis of words to do with artists and bands.

Conventions of magazines.

A masthead is a normal occurrence on a magazine splash. These are usually in a specific typeface and very rarely change, especially not with every issue like everything else on the splash. This is because the style and typeface is significant and representative to the magazine and it's institution. The positioning of the mast head doesn't change either, it stays in the top left corner since this is the part usually visible to consumers in a shop.

The main image of the magazine splash is nearly always a shot of a person. These are centred in the middle of the splash but usually form the background of the magazine splash often too. The eyes of the model are usually central to the image and the face is in close up. The style and nature of the shot differs with the genre of the magazine, however, but is made this way to reflect both the institution and audience.

Coverlines are usually distributed around the main image but placed strategically as not to detract from the image. They are usually in smaller but still clear and concise enough to be read easily. The language used within these coverlines reflects the magazine and institution. For example: a fashion magazine would use language within a lexical field of clothes and style. A music magazine would use lexical fields around artists and bands, however, still differing with the genre of music the specific magazine is centred around. Or a women's magazine would usually have shock coverlines to entice their consumers.

Inkeeping with coverlines, there is also usually a main coverline. This has the same features of a usual coverline however, this one is very large, usually taking up about a quarter of the whole splash area. This is in a large and bold font to grab the attention of the consumer. This is usually where the main headline or article is featured as a way to encourage consumers to actually buy the magazine.

A selling line is also seen on most splashes. This is a short and snappy description of the magazine's main selling point. These, like everything else are different for each magazine in terms of language used.

A bar code is also seen on all magazine front covers, and regardless of the institution it is the same, standard bar code used by retailers.

Datelines are used on splashes. These give the month, year or issue number of the magazine, a month in advance though because magazines hit the news-stands the month before the cover date. Datelines are usually displayed with or near the cover-price of the magazine.

Model credit for the main image is only sometimes given on a splash. This depends on both the genre of the magazine and also whom the model is. If the model is a famous celebrity, for example Bill Kaulitz or Eminem, then his name would be given on the cover either in the main cover line or a smaller cover line, however if the model is merely an average woman (as seen on many women's magazines such as Take A Break or Bella) then model credit isn't usually given.

LIIAR

Language - this is the key language used in media. (Terminology.)

Instituion - this is the company who produce the media. How are they portrayed?

Ideology - these are ideas shown through the magazine.

Audience - this is the consumers of the magazine. How are they represented?

Representation - these are connotations of the magazine's focus shown through the full splash.

Main Task Brief

The main task is the front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine. All images and text used must be original, produced by you - minmum of four images.

Evaluation

For the preliminary task for the foundation portfolio in media the brief specified the production of a college magazine splash. This was accompanied by research into existing college magazine splashes and their conventions as well as mock ups of both the front cover and a contents page as well.

Firstly I had to research into existing college splashes. This involved recognising the codes and conventions carried throughout each choice. It was clear to me from the beginning that the main image played an important focus on the splash as a whole. The representation of the main images model was of critical importance. Each main image I looked at had the same aura: calm and enjoyable. This was reflecting the ideology of the college to the audience – something which I had to do. The next thing which became apparent was the language used in the coverlines. This was brief enough to give insight but vague enough to entice the reader. I also very quickly realized the type of coverlines I would have to use – I would have to showcase the students and colleges strong points upon the front cover as, again, this draws in the audience.

I had already specified the genre in which my magazine would appear. Next I had to allocate my target audience. Since this magazine splash was for a college magazine the age group would target mainly 16-19 year olds. My target audience would also be of mixed genders and social classes. This means I would have to create a universal magazine to stretch to acknowledge each segment of my market. These would all affect my decisions as I made my magazine splash.

To start the production of the splash itself I first had to organize myself a set, model and props. For this I decided upon a light, bright space with a neutral cream backdrop. I felt this highlighted the model well and also represented the classroom environment. Next came the props. These came in the form of a table with a notebook and my model holding a pen. Again, this was representative of the working college environment. In the medium close up of the model I posed her looking directly at the camera with a hint of a smile. However, the way she is posed also gives the impression she has just quickly looked up from her work for the shot. The ideology and symbolism behind this is to sell the college lifestyle of working hard. This is altering the mindset of the consumer making them think: ‘I have to go there,’ after seeing the students and atmosphere.

After taking the image I then had to edit it. Upon doing this I realized there were certain areas of the picture I wanted to crop out of shot, such as the unnecessary background. Then I sharpened the image to define the models features before accenting the highlights in a brighter light and making the shadows darker. This was to try and imitate the really bright strip lights in a college classroom. This tampered with the representation shown in the image: she was no longer sat near a cream wall but instead it created the atmosphere of a classroom. Next I faded the edges slightly to blend it with the background of the splash for stylistic purposes.

Next I moved onto appropriately laying out my masthead. This was done in a new layer using a bold text in a stylistic and recognisable font. This was changed in colour to stand out amongst the background it was placed upon but also fit in with the purple and white color scheme, the same one as used by the college. I then added a sell line directly below the masthead. This, too, was in the chosen colour scheme carried throughout of white and purple. And whilst it is still readable it is unobtrusive on the masthead since it is in a smaller font.

I then moved on to the main cover line. This was layered across the bottom third of the main image and in a large and bold text. This diverts the attention to the words. The colour scheme used here is once more adhering to the overall colour scheme of the splash.

Once I had the main sell line and masthead in place I moved onto the finer details. The dateline was layered below the masthead in small but legible font in white. This was to detract attention from it and let the focus be on the rest of the page. The rest of the coverlines are true to the usual connotations of splash coverlines whereby they give enough information to tease but not enough to give everything away, this makes the target consumer more interested. My coverlines are as in a mid-sized bold black font which is easily readable. These are staggered down the edge of my model in my picture. This is usually where the coverlines are seen on existing magazines.

Throughout the process of producing my college magazine I encountered a couple of minor problems. The first one I had was with the image on the splash. I couldn’t get the contrast right after altering the high and low lights at first however, after a few attempts with different settings I resolved this. I also had trouble with the masthead/ sell lines and getting them to fit the colour scheme but still contrast with the image they are layered on enough for them to be visible. However, after experimenting with different colour combinations and line thicknesses and such I overcame this and the headings were visible.

College Magazine Cover

This is my finished college magazine cover.

DTP Drafts.

These are the mock ups of both my front cover and contents pages using DTP.