textual analysis- front cover of Kerrang

Textual analysis of “Kerrang”.

“Kerrang” was first published on the 6th June 1981, by Beuer consumer media in the United Kingdom. The magazine’s name is onomatopoeic and refers to the sound made when playing a power chord on an electric guitar.

The target audience for “Kerrang” is mainly 12-40 year olds who are interested in Rock music; both males and females read it however. This magazine has a very unique Brand identity as the front cover usually consists of more than one person, pus the Masthead uses a very personal font to the magazine; no other magazine uses font similar to this. The font is very simple block capitals; however, through the letters of “Kerrang” there are slashes, which could suggest smashed glass as music can be so load it may do this.

There is a strap line at the top of the magazine which adds extra information about the magazine and will try to tempt the reader to but it, for example it says, “WIN! Over £1000 for xmas presents!” Also, the coverlines are laid out in a very unique way on the front page of this edition of “Kerrang”, they are all down the middle of the page, separating the five people shown on the front cover. This adds an element of difference and excitement to the magazine as most magazines are not laid out like this. The coverlines are all, similarly to the strapline, trying to tempt you into buying it. “Why 2009 Rocked!” is one of the coverlines, above it there are names of Rock bands which the audience of the magazine will relate to.

Furthermore, in a little circle near the top of the page it says, “massive 88 page issue!” this will therefore interest possible buyers as it states this “Kerrang” is full of information and things of their interest.

Many photographs are used on the front cover of “Kerrang”, this is because people mostly relate to photo’s than words. The shots used for the main pictures on the front cover are mid-shots. These are used so you get a clear image of the person’s body language and facial expressions. Also, the two people on either side of the group are holding out a Christmas cracker and a party blower, this makes the reader feel involved within the picture, especially as the cracker looks like it is being passed to you. This also makes the magazine seem very open and fun- filled. Furthermore, one of the person’s is wearing a mask on his head as he is from “Slipknot”. This is effective as it creates a serious contrast between the cheerful moods of the people on the ends. Three of the people are looking directly into the camera which also helps to make the reader feel involved.

As well as the main image there are three small images at the bottom which have a coverline of “photos of 2009 poster special.” The photographs are then snippets of some of the posters you will get; once again tempting the reader into buying the magazine. There are also pictures of both mean and women, so that both sexes will be interested in buying the magazine. The people within the pictures also look very well dressed and the woman has very lovely make-up and hair to make them look more attractive.

Action Plan for music magazine

Action Plan

Week one:
· Analyse front cover of Kerrang.
· Analyse contents of Kerrang.
· Analyse double page spread of Kerrang.

Week Two:
· Analyse front cover and contents page of Q.

Week Three:
· Analyse front cover of mixmag.
· Target audience questionnaire- pie chart of results

Week Four:
· Begin photo shoot.

Week Five:
· Finish photo shoot.
· Edit photo.

Week Six:
· Mock designs of the front cover based on research
· Mock designs of the contents

Week Seven:
· Mock designs of double page spread.
· Begin final draft of front cover

Week Eight and Week Nine:
· Complete all final designs.

Week Ten:
· Check quality of designs.
· Evaluate final designs
· Evaluation

Final post

I have now completed my student magazine blog, and will be moving on to create my blog about a music magazine.

I feel that i researched into student magazines well and came out with a good range of ideas i could have used on my own student magazine. However, i feel my contents page was not very strong as it seemed a little small and a bit empty.

Evaluation questions

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Before creating my student magazine i looked at many different, already around student magazines. I focused mainly on the front cover and contents page of the magazines as that is what i was designing. I picked out good and bad ideas from these magazines and used some of the good ideas within my own magazine. For example, i used a photo for the background of my front cover. Also the layout of my contents page is in columns, which many of the contents pages are like.

Usually, the front cover of a student magazine, uses vibrant colours to attract your eye, and many pictures, which has the same effect. The contents page are always very packed with information and are very structured and in columns, which is what i have tried to achieve with my own student magazine contents page.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The target audience that i decided to make this magazine for was college students ( 16-18). I tried to put a wide range of topics within the magazine so many different people would be attracted to it; it was meant to be for all types of people. The pictures i have used within my magazine are all relevant to the text they are attached to, also i tried to use pictures that people would be able to relate to, such as realtionships and college work.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

I feel that a company would like to distribute my magazine because it has a very wide audience as it is full of mnay different topics; all topics that the target audience would find interesting. Also, it has a very original layout, with a full picture on the front page, giving it a very different twist to its opposition. Furthermore, this will make it stand out to the audience.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for my student magazine will be college students, age 16-18, and it will be a uni-sex magazine so it will be for both male and female readers.

How did you attract/address your audience?

By having a full picture as the front cover, it makes the magazine stand out and will draw the customers attention to it. Also, the coverlines show some of the things that are within the magazine; the customer may then see these and want to read on. I used coverlines such as "realtionship advice" and "new music", this is because these are very "hot" topics within college students and many studnents will relate to them. Also, on the contents page, i have written up a a short paragraph form the publisher, just saying how they strive to write about things that will be helpful to students. This makes the magazine seem genuine and will make the reader feel that the publisher has taken time to research appropriate topics.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

I have learnt that you can quite effectively create a magazine fornt cover and contents page by using microsoft publisher. Also, you can find much more interesting and eye catching fonts from on the internet, which yopu can then add onto your publisher page. Another piece of software that i have used is Adobe Photoshop to edit my pictures. I used this to mainly change the lighting within the image and the brightness contrast. As well as this i used the magic wand tool to hide any blemishes that where on the skin.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

I feel that i have learnt how to make a project look proffesional and good enough for it to be sold as an actual product that people will buy. I have also learnt that research is the key to having a successful product as it enables you to evaluate already existing products and highlight the good and bad points about them.

contents page second draft

After looking at some already existing contents pages, i have now decided that this is a better contents page. This is because it is a lot more simle and easy to navigate around. Also, it shows a picture of the front cover on it which mnay of the contents pages i have looked at do.

contents page second draft

After looking at some already existing contents pages, i have now decided that this is a better contents page. This is because it is a lot more simle and easy to navigate around. Also, it shows a picture of the front cover on it which mnay of the contents pages i have looked at do.

First draft of contents page

This is my first draft of my contents page. I have used a lot of pictures beacuse they catch the readers eye, and make you read the caption that comes with them.