Final Front Cover

Double Page Spread Analysis - NME

On this double page the first thing that stands out is the large black masthead which catches the audiences attention. The quote is one which has been pulled from the main body of text and is used specifically to gain audience interest. The font here is made to look like cuttings from a newspaper.

The strapline gives more information on the feature whilst also leaving enough out to make the reader want to carry on with the article. This is in a much smaller and less eyecatching font than the title with Lily Allen's name in a bolded red font to catch the audience's eye. With this being in red it highlights the main topic of this article.

The picture of Lily Allen dominates the right hand side of the double page. The way in which she is looking at the camera represents the masthead directly. The masthead gives an air of confidence and the postitioning of the image connotates this, The way this is done is the way she is staring directly into the camera and the hand positioning gives an impression of uncaring.

The text itself is in small black font which is easily distinguishable from the white background. It is laid out in columns on the page which makes the layout less crowded.

Contents Analysis - Kerrang!

This contents page is structured in a way which makes it easy to decipher and understand in a short glance which is it's aim.

The main colour scheme is white, yellow and black which has connotations of danger and energy which is inkeeping with the genre of the magazine. The use of the solid, white background keeps the layout, which is in theory busy, looking fairly uncomplicated.

Within the layout of the contents page is that of a series of blocked images. Beneath these are short snippets of the features to entice the reader into reading more. This is combined with a quote from an artist in the top right corner which is also used to create reader interest since it usually involves something which is deictic when taken out of context of the article.

The full list of regular features is to the far right of the images and shows all the regular features. Here a fairly simple font is used except this simple font is synonymous with Kerrang magazine and recognized by the regular readers.

The use of the yellow exclamation layered onto the main image with the news of a competition on it is used to create reader interest and make them want to read the magazine. Where it is placed creates a stark contrast between the dark, mainly black, image and the bright yellow of the exclamation bubble draws the readers eye to it.

Images: II

These are the images produced from the photo shoot.

Images

For my images I plan to take some of a fictional band I have created called 'Taboo' whom will be a three-person, all-girl, rock band. For the pictures I intend to have them looking like ''normal'' teenagers as it will inkeep with the article I am going to write which shows them to just be average teenagers who are lucky to make money from what they do with their friends. This will come through in the way I intend to have them looking as if they are just three friends just playing about in front of a camera. Because of this there will be no props or special costumes, they will just be dressed in natural clothing.

For the models I have chosen my three friends: Thoma, Kelly and Dana. Thoma is posing as the singer and bass player of the band, Dana as the drummer and Kellyas the guitarist. This si shown in the way Thoma is going to be in the foreground of the pictures a majority of the time so the focus is on her.

Cover Mock- Up

This is the IT draft for my front cover.

The Contents Page

Features

Your contents will be split into two main sections: regulars and features.Your features section still needs to be selling your magazine- think of it as a more detailed front cover. You need to decide if you are going to focus upon one main artist or if you are going to feature a number of them equally.

In my magazine I will be focussing on a number of different artists on the contents page but with the main image being that of 'Taboo' who are the cover stars and the main feature of the magazine.

Regular Features

You need to come up with a series of regular features that will appear in your magazine that relate directly to your musical genre. Use ones that are common and essential (e.g. reviews), but also try to include any new ones that you can think of that will make your magazine stand out (e.g. Smash Hits! printing of song lyrics is a good example of this).


In my magazine I will include regular reviews of recent gigs by bands fitting to the rock genre of the magazine. I will also use a feature each week to showcase a new band who may just be a small local band whom are gaining popularity which the magazine feature will aid. I will also use a weekly 'quiz' with a member of one of the bands usually featured in the magazine, this will be purely humerous and something for the readers and audience to engage with. I will also do album listings of CD's coming out in the future as well as reviews for the new releases of the week. There will also be a gig listing for across the country as well as free posters in the centre.