Media AS Media Production November 2011Hannah Penton

Front Cover Magazine 1

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The masthead denotes a broken ‘Q’ with chunks breaking away from it. The burst

pieces are a result of the swinging guitar that the image is capturing. Also this image

connotes the iconic rock and roll which is the magazine is known for.

The masthead has also gone along with the convention of a magazine where is normally

placed in the top left.

The lead article re-establishes the main image of the artist smashing

his guitar against the masthead. By stating he is ‘out of control’.

This magazine is a subscriber only, suggesting that they are wanting to appeal to a specific target audience and a certain type of music fan will

buy this magazine.

The main image focuses solely on the artist being

centre and medium close up. His expression connotes

aggressiveness and intention of smashing the guitar

against something.

The front cover has very little on it in terms of pull quotes and cover lines.

This keeps the focus on the artist being featured. Otherwise known a

poster style.

The skyline on the magazine denotes a bold printed slogan with a black on white effect

– this makes it prominent on the front cover for the readers to identify.

This type of magazine is seen as quite masculine with the smashing of the

masthead and the aggression on the cover artist.

The cover is consistent in its use of colour – it has a red, black and white theme. These are used in the masthead and lead article; then complimented in the styling of the artist.

Media AS Media Production November 2011Hannah Penton

Contents Magazine 1

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The contents page is quite simplistic as they only have a few pictures and limited writing.

However the pictures that are shown are noticeable with their corresponding page numbers, this helps the readers to quickly identify where they will be situated. The

largest image being that of the lead artist from the front cover. The artist is dressed in smart

and rocker clothes connoting that he is important and stylish with the shine on the

jackets could symbolise that of lights on stage where he is always performing on.

The layout of the contents page and the list of the articles featured

inside are situated on the left third. This is important because

subconsciously readers will look to the left of pages when flicking

through- so by positioning the list of pages on the left readers will

become more aware of what they see and then pick up of particular

pages of interesting articles.

The lead image of the artist on the front over connotes a

complete opposite to how he is captured in the contents, this

suggest that he has control and the magazine will show that there may be another side of

him that the readers don’t know – this can attract readers

to find out more.

The skyline illiterates what magazine is called. This will go

along with the forms and conventions of the layout in every

addition of the magazine

Media AS Media Production November 2011Hannah Penton

Double Page Spread Magazine 1

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With this double page spread there isn’t one lead image. By using

various articles the readers can pick and choose with ones they find more

appealing.

The tone and register of the descriptive

language used compliments the style of the magazine. E.g.

“heavy” and “madness” all

symbolise the feeling of rock. As it is denoted in bold these appeals

to the magazines target audience

because it blatantly seen.

The skyline provided extra information about

what is coming up in the next few pages – this helps to give the

readers a preview and makes it easier to

navigate if they are looking for something

specific to read. By using pictures it makes

the skyline more noticeable and alluring.

The DPS is consistent in its layout and design with the Contents page, these include the use of red banners and black coloured font as it is easier to read on top of the white background.

The images uses caption the help the readers understand what is going on – and what the camera has captured in

that moment.

Media AS Media Production November 2011Hannah Penton

Front Cover Magazine 2

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As the magazine is well known, despite the fact the

main image is covering part of the masthead, the most regular buyers are

able to distinguish that it is NME.

The main image and the masthead, lead article as well as the cover lines all coincide with each other

as they all denote a yellow, red and white theme. However the colouring connotes

hotness or fire possibly suggesting that the

contents of the magazine has hot topics inside it,

this could attract readers.

The lead article is a direct quote from the artist- in addition the main

image shows the artist wearing black gloves which can be a

connotation of what a criminal might wear when committing a crime. These then illiterates the quote that the artist said about

being able to get someone ‘killed’.

Denoted on the front cover is a medium close up of the artist

holding a flare. She has a surly expression on her face which can be

connoted as dominance.

The front cover of this particular magazine uses of surveillance and

information suggested by ‘Bulmer & Katz’ – the readers are able to learn about how

the cover artist is known globally. Therefore creating curiosity for the

readers.

The type of artists that are identified of the front cover (MIA/Rolling Stones) showed what particular audience the magazine are wanting the focus on e.g. Pop/Rock

Media AS Media Production November 2011Hannah Penton

Contents Magazine 2

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The pictures used in this contents emphasis the theme of a music

magazine. The images denoted are those of a musician and his piano, a

mosh pit at a concert and other individuals that have something in

common with music. It is effective that the main stories have been made prominent by making then enlarged along with the page numbers

they are situated on. The connotation of this may show that the most interesting and important stories that the magazine

thinks will then appeal to potential readers.

The font used is black and bold on top of a white background this makes it easier to read and the writing becomes more perceptible.

The idea of a contents page is to help the reader navigate the magazine. Therefore to help achieve this NME has made the contents page clear and easy to use.

The images used denote particularly attractive, up to date and popular artists, this helps magazine be a

magnet for specific readers they are aim towards, this then make readers

appreciate the magazine more.

Under the main images there is a direct quote

form the artist. This gives the readers a preview of

what they can look forward to reading

inside.

Media AS Media Production November 2011Hannah Penton

Double Page Spread Magazine 2

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The layout and design of the article is simply set out making it

easy to read and it more attractive for readers – this will keep their attention for longer.

The columns are laid out in two blocks on the bottom of the right

page. They are quite short because they don’t want to bore the readers

with lots of writing, making them lose interest.

The writing used it quite informal which is good because they don’t

want to confuse the readers or make them feel inferior. The writing is also popular to how the target audience

may speak.

The standfirst is introduced in a full on description on how the interview

took place and how the meeting started out. It is a personal

expression of what M.I.A looks like and the first impressions that

journalist see’s. Yet this helps the readers to create an image of how

the interview looked like.

The headline used is a direct quote from the singer positioned in the main image. The font used is continuous from the front over.

This is consistent with the house style of the magazine.The lead image is consistent in the colouring and style. This is an additional photo from the same photo shoot

shown on the font cover. The artist is position in a way that

shows she in charge and rebellious. This is a

representation of her image in music and how provocative

she can be.

The magazine has used some Photoshop effects – for instance the use of multiply in the Pull quote allows the reader to see another image behind it but still able to read the quote. The connotation of

this may seem that the imagery of the artist in the photo is like she doesn’t want to be seen what she is doing because it could be frowned upon or provocation (also stated in the standfirst) – therefore she

is hiding behind the writing.

The highlighted colour in the standfirst correlates with the colouring of the

house style in the imagery, this helps to pull together the theme of the article.

The colours red, yellow and purple denoted all symbolise that of fire and heat. Also purple symbolises wealth,

which can be related back to the quote M.I.A said on the font cover about how ‘rich’ she is now.