First finished magazine cover draft

Main Image- Draft

Draft

Analysis of a double page spread

The main image is of Shakira who appears to be in a recording studio, this gives the impression that Shakira is serious about her music career, however she appears relaxed with her feet up which implys she enjoys her work and feels comfortable in the studio. The word "Danger!" is part of the title and it is strategically placed where Shakira's red shoe's are which is an implication of danger. Another image on the spread is one of her looking over her shoulder with her hand coming around her waist as if like a claw which gives Shakira an animalistic impression, also, in quotes it says "I now go after my desires in a predatory way- with teeth and claws", this adds to the animalistic quality about her.

Analysis of a contents page

Q magazine stick with its main theme of red, black and white. The logo of the red and white "Q" is near the top alone with, in black and white, the word "CONTENTS", alone with the date, website and MySpace page.
The page is over taken by the main image which is the band The Courteeners, the connotation behind this is that the main feature in the magazine is the popular band and it is to show off the fact that they have a feature on them. The image of the band is a neutral setting off a hill and field, their costume is simple and casual in monochromatic colours which implys they ahve a relaxed carefree atitude.

Music Magazine Cover Analysis

Q Magazine is one of the UK’s leading music magazines, it was also one of the first UK music magazines to be published. Q also has a music channel on UK TV which proves it’s popularity.

The mast head "Q" is situated on the top left hand corner, the background being red and the letter "Q" in white which contrast with each other. The colour red is also a passionate colour which insinuates a passion for music. The letter could stand for many things, one of them being Quality as in Quality music. In actuality the magazine was first set to be called “Cue” as in “cueing a record” however it was changed to the single letter of “Q” to make it look more prominent on news stands. The type of font an elegant calligraphy giving the notion that the magazine is to a high standard. The mast head is slightly covered by the main image of Lily Allen, this insinuates that the magazine is popular enough to be able to recognise it despite it not being the completely on show.

The main image is of a popular music artist, Lily Allen. Her costume is minimal yet expresses a lot. She is positioned with her back to the camera and looking over her shoulder with a finger at her lips and one hand on her hip and her relaxed yet sensual expression, this gives a sexual impression. The costumes she wears on her lower half are strategically chosen, because she is topless the thick black tights with the hot pants and high heels make her look sexy and powerful, however if she were to not wear the tights she may be considered to look slutty and too revealing. Also the print on the hot pants draw attention to that area on her body. The two puma's in the main image add an exotic element to the cover, these animals are strong feline’s which gives the impression that Lily Allen is a feminine woman yet powerful.

The main cover line is located on the centre of the main image with the words in bold black and white capitals “LILY ALLEN” which lap over her derriere. The whole main cover line is “SEXY BEAST LILY ALLEN & HER WICKED WAYS…”, the colours are black white red and blue, the white red and blue link to the fact that Lily Allen is British and Q is a British magazine. The words “sexy beast” relate to the two puma’s and the sexiness of the main image. The words “& her wicked ways” draws readers in because it would make the readers want to know about why her “ways are wicked”.

The cover lines include the names of big, popular and well known bands in bold black capital letters with a blue arrow pointing towards them on each, this draws attention the big name bands rather than the information of what is inside the magazine about these bands which is in a much smaller font.

Music Magazine cover analysis

Kerrang! is a rock music magazine. The magazines name is onomatopoeic and it refers to the sound made when playing a power chord on an electric guitar

The mast head 'KERRANG!' is situated at the very top of the magazine cover, the black and white monochromatic contrasting colours stand out against each other therefore it would be eye-catching against other magazines on a shop stand, the image has the appearance and effect of cracked glass therefore adding to it's rock theme.

The main image is the famous rock band Green day. The bands hair, make-up and costume harmonise with the mast head with the main colours being black and white. The front man of the band, Billie Joe Armstrong is placed in the middle with the other two band member, Tre Cool and Mike Dirnt placed either side of the front man farther into the background, this ensures the audience knows who the front man and main person of the band is. Billie Joe is dressed in all black with black hair, leather jacket, eyeliner and a pale complexion, this emphasises the fact that this is a rock band, the other two band members are similarly dressed which adds to their rock image again. The band members that are farther in the background have complacent yet confident expressions, however Billie Joe has an arrogant maybe cocky expression, the readers may interpret this as him thinking he knows they are a very popular and successful band.

The cover lines include the names of music artists inside the4 magazine and down the left hand side it has pictures of various artists with a bright red border making it stand out against the black and white theme, above it says 'DOWNLOAD POSTER SPECIAL!'

The main cover line is placed just with the main image in bold white which contrasts with the black of Billie Joe's jacket. The main cover line says 'GREEN DAY' in bold white capitals with 'EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT THE PUNK MEGASTARS!' also in white capitals only much smaller. The word 'YOU' is in italics to emphasise the fact that it is the readers involvement in the magazine which could draw people in because the readers may want to know what other readers asked the band and if their questions have been answered by the band.

Conventions of a Magazine

The mast head is the title of the magazine normally situated near the top of the magazine.
The dateline displays the day month and year the magazine was published, although monthly magazines are published a month before the start date. It is usually placed with the price.
A main image consists of a model, often a celebrity making eye contact with thr camera.
Cover lines tell the reader what is inside the magazine without them having to open the magazine. They are placed around the outer edge of the cover.
The main cover line is a much bigger cover line or the main story which takes up about a quarter of the area.
A selling line is a short, sharp description of the title's main marketing point or perhaps setting out its editorial philosophy.

LIIAR

Language- Media language sends a message to the audience through visuals and sound such as images and video's.
Ideology- Ideology is a set of aims and ideas that directs one's goals, expectations, and actions.
Institution- The orginisation of the magazine.
Audience- The readers/consumers of the product.
Representation- How the ideology of the product is shown.

Music Magazine Brief

Our main task is to create the front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine. All of the images I use will be a mimimum of four original, produced and taken by myself, all text will also original and written by only me.