Jack Collier: January 2013

Thursday, 31 January 2013

Mrs D

Well done Jack, you have completed your research before your deadline.

Your analysis is thorough and you have learnt lots in preperation for construction. Your initial ideas look good - although I would reconsider the age range and be a bit more focussed. You also need to have a think about what other contents you are going to offer. Keep up the good work.

Proposal Ideas: Ideas I learnt from the research on Kerrang! to be Included on my Magazine

My magazine should use bright colours such as reds and yellows, on dark backgrounds like grey and whit to make it stand out
Use a very noticeable/rememberable font for the magazine name.
It shall be called Rock Legends
Sell for one pound forty nine
Shall use 'The Defiled' as the main article feature (providing the photos are ok)
Shall be aimed at 12 to 25 year olds
Aimed mainly at males
Shall be available in all super markets
Will have other mini feature articles promoted on the cover as well as the main one
It shall cover genre's such as Rock and Metal and Punk

Wednesday, 30 January 2013

Kerrang! magazine double page spread analysis 3 (1st draft)

The double page spread of the magazine uses pull quotes, these are used to make the statement from the article stand out and makes people want to read the whole article. Also by picking out the quote with words like, "and so are you", it connects the readers by involving/including them in the statement that was said, so they connect with the band more.

The pictures used in the article are full band photos of all band members together, its a medium close up. Andy Biersack is in the centre as he is the vocalist so he is the centre of attention for all the audiences, and also this is done because he was the only one featured on the front cover which links the cover and main article of the double page spread together. This is also done to give the audiences an image of Andy Biersack being the 'Band Leader'. The colours used also are very dark which relates the double page spread to the cover and also represents the dark gothic look again, which symbolises black veil brides' style and genre of music they compose.

The colour has a bit of variety as it reinforces the look and that the band doesn't always conform to what is normally expected by viewers of them. For example the black print on white on the cover, This article however has white printed writing on a very dark grey/black background colour. There is also red used within the article at certain parts as a highlight colour so it gains viewers attention as it stands out a lot on black, it also could symbolise blood which links with Black veil brides' gothic look yet again.

Kerrang! contents page analysis 3 (1st draft)

The contents page has a layout design of two main columns, one wide and oner narrower than the first. The larger column is mostly filed up with the advertisement for the competition to meet the band All Time Low, this is done to suggest you get lots for your money and is advertising the band a lot too. The reason for this is that they want to heavily promote their competition to get as many entries as possible.

There are a lot of different contents page references in the smaller column on the right side of the page. Most of them have little descriptions to help inform readers whats on the pages and what they are about. The presentation of this is the same format as all the other Kerrang! magazine contents pages so readers are familiar with it and know how and were to look for the page they
want to read.

Also the colouring of the font is black and yellow. This symbolises danger which stands out to younger audiences as it represents dangerous and rebellious living styles which links very strongly to the whole rock 'n' roll living style, scene, and general attitude towards everything.

Kerrang! cover analysis 3 (1st draft)

The magazine is called "Kerrang!", the exclamation mark makes the title of the magazine stand out more and gives it a more energetic feel which makes it relates to the target audience more and suggests a more youth orientated feel.

The main picture used if of Andy Biersack of Black Veil Brides. It is a mid shot of him with a direct address used too, this makes him look like he is looking at the viewers of the magazine, this gains peoples attention as it connects the target audience with the person on the magazine cover more.

Andy Biersack is wearing black which makes him blend in with the dark background of the magazine cover, this gives it more of a dark and gothic feel, which relates to Black Veil Brides musical style and overall band image. The main colours for the writing around this is yellow and white as it makes the titles stand out from the black background behind it. This draws peoples attention more to the writing as it stands out to people, which makes them more likely to notice it and read it.

The language used on the magazines cover uses words like "hottest" which are the sorts of phrases that younger audiences would use which shows they are aiming it at their target markets specifically and makes it more exclusive.

The language used on the certain other parts of the cover are aimed directly at the target audience. For example, "How can rock save your life...", by doing this and aiming it at the audiences and using words like "your" it includes them with the articles and stories within the magazine and makes them want to read more about the quote mentioned and the feel more connected overall with the articles and magazine.

Kerrang! double page spread analysis 2 (1st draft)

The article only takes up one page of the double page spread, it uses three columns. This is because there is a large picture on the other page which is needed as it grabs people attention as it is a unique, 'abstract style', picture of Biffy Clyro, it represents all of them mixing their talents together as it includes all their faces in on picture, so by making it big it makes people notice it and look at it, which may further more lead them to read the article.

In the article itself, it uses a pull quote, which it a lot bigger than the rest of the article. This is done so it grabs peoples attention when looking at the page, then if the quote interests them they are more likely to read the whole article. It says, "I would black out and not remember things...", by making it quite a serious and personal quote to one of the band members, Ben Johnston, it makes people connect with it and feel sympathy so they want to read more into the story were the quote came from as they are interested.

There is a pattern in the background which is in a celtic styled pattern. This matches the main font for the titles in the article. This is done as it relates to the band as they are scottish and stick very heavily to their scottish roots within their music. By representing scotland and the band with these celtic 'swirls' it indicates to people who may not know much about Biffy Clyro that they are scottish.

The colours used in the article are mainly black writing on a white background. This makes the writing stand out to people and makes it easy to read. By not having 'fancy' and complex colour schemes it means readers can concentrate more on what is being said and the stories of the article, they pay more attention to the details of the articles. Also the use of white, and black especially, symbolises sadness which helps portray the image and overall all message given off by the article as Biffy Clyro are talking about very sad and personal experiences that have happened to them and what they have been through recently.

Kerrang! magazine contents analysis 2 (1st draft)

There aren't many pictures featured on the contents page, there are only two, one of the editor, and one of Metallica. This is done because they need a lot of room for saying whats on all the pages. This pages mainly focusses on information and informing readers so they have almost half the page taken up by including the contents.

There is also over half the page taken up by advertising their Kerrang! competition that was mentioned briefly on the front cover. This is done because they want as many people to enter as possible as it means they get more money out of selling the magazine. By having it take up the most space on the page it makes people notice it instantly when they look at the page so it increases the chance s of people entering the competition as they notice it on the page and read it.

The colours of the writing used grab peoples attention too. The headings used on the page descriptions are yellow with a black background, this makes it instantly noticeable for the same reasons as it being used on the front cover, it symbolises danger and therefor it stands out a lot on the page to readers who glance over the page and makes them more inclined to read what the headings are showing.

Kerrang! magazine cover analysis 2 (1st draft)

The picture on the front cover is a mid shot of Simon Neil from Biffy Clyro. Direct address is used in this photo as he is looking out and when people look at the cover it looks like he is looking at them. This makes people connect with the magazine and the person on the cover and gains their attention as they feel like they are physically being looked at so they will notice the magazine more and therefore will read whats on it.

They also advertise the competition thats inside the magazine, on the front cover. They use the colours such as white writing on a red background, and yellow writing with a black outline. These colours are used as they symbolise danger and warning. These colours grad peoples attention as they stand out and naturally people notice them for what they symbolise.

Also the writing for the "WIN!" is given a much larger size than the rest of the writing in the circle. This, along with use of the exclamation mark at the end and the capital letters it is written in make it very noticeable to people and it stands out on the front cover. This is done as they want to get peoples attention to advertise their competition inside.

The biggest bits of writing on the front cover are the Kerrang! logo at the top and the title of the main article inside. The logo of Kerrang! is big as they need people to know who they are as there is a lot of competition of similar music magazines. The reason for the large font for Biffy Clyro's band name is that they need people to know who is featured in the main article as this is one of the main incentive to buying the magazine, so they use a large font to make it noticeable, along with bright colours like red and yellow.

Kerrang! magazine double page spread analysis (1st draft)

The double page spread keeps up the same colour consistency as the front cover. This is so people can tell that this article is the one they have seen on the front cover without even reading any of it. The colours have the same effect as the front cover which is that they symbolise danger and warning, therefore the grab peoples attention. This makes people want to read the article to see what its about as it is clearly advertised by using colours that stand out.

In the 2013 new music in numbers section, the numbers used for stats are in a bigger font to the actual writing explaining what the numbers are. This is done as the numbers are large so people are drawn to them as they want to know what they are for. By using red as the colour of these numbers it also helps it stand out to people as it symbolises danger and warning so people notice it almost instantly.

The word choice as well in the article helps gain readers attention as well. It has a little circle which says "HEY! NEW BANDS!" by using "HEY!' it gets the readers attention as it is almost like someone calling out for them, also having it in capital letters and exclamation marks gains peoples attention as it makes it seem like it is being shouted if someone was to be saying it out loud, this would gain peoples attention so it is done so it has the same or similar effects on people when they read it.

Kerrang! magazine research/product placement

Targeted readers are teenagers into 'alternative' music such as metal, rock, and punk.
It was first published on June the 6th, 1981, with Angus Young on the cover.
At the time of Nu metal being around a lot as a genre, sales rose. This lasted from late 1990's to adbout 2003. After this sales decreased.
It is a weekly magazine priced at £2.20 as it is a good price for the audience then.
It is distributed to most shops such as corner shops and smaller high street shops, and most of the big supermarkets.
The circulation of the magazine is 42,077 issues, this is the number of copies they distribute on average for every issue.
Single copy subscriptions sales are 5,523 (5,062 in the u.k and the republic of ireland), results from a suvey conducted from the 1st of July to 31st of December, 2008.
It has been published in the past in coutries such as spain, germany, and released monthly in australia due to the large competition of free, local music publications/magazines.
Kerrang! overtook NME as the number one rock magazine in the u.k.
Posters are included in every issue, usually about five to ten of them.
These posters vary in size from A4 and A3 size.
Sometimes other free gifts are given out with the magazines such as CD's, sticker sheets, buttons and badges.
Scratch cards are also sometimes placed inside, however these arent directly from Kerrang!.
It was read by 386,000 adults, this was found out by a survey that ended in June 2012.

Monday, 28 January 2013

Kerrang! magazine contents page analysis (1st draft)

The contents page mostly uses the same colours that are featured on the front cover of the magazine, this shows consistency in the magazines form and colour style. these colours serve the same purpose as the use of them on the front cover, for symbolising danger and gaining peoples attention. By gaining peoples attention people will read into what is featured in the magazine and are more likely to read the articles.

There aren't many pictures featured in the contents of the magazine, the biggest picture featured is the picture of the guitar prize which they are giving away in a competition. This is done to draw attention to it as it is a very big prize to be giving away so seeing as its big and valuable people will want to know more about it and how they can win it. This helps promote the competition overall they are running more, as not only does it have the largest picture feature on the whole contents page but it also takes up the most page space.

At the bottom of the contents page there is a message from the editor included which addresses the audience of the magazine and tells them what has been going on in the Kerrang! office and what to expect from the content of the magazine. By using a larger bold font at the start of his message were it says "HELLO, READERS" in capitals it gets readers attention and makes them want to read what the editor has said as it is addressed to them. They feel connected to the magazine by it being aimed specifically at them.

Kerrang! magazine cover analysis (1st draft)

There are many different people included on the Kerrang! magazine cover. This is done as there are many different new bands that are being announced in this issue. By having all the people looking out it looks like they are making eye contact with the people looking at the magazine. This connects viewers more as they feel they are being looked at by people which gains there attention they immediately look at the magazine and see whats on it and included inside. This may mean they buy it.

The main colours Kerrang! use on their magazine cover fo this issue is red, white, yellow and black. Primarily they are grouped together as white writing on a red background, and black writing on a yellow background. This is done as it symbolises danger, for example warning road signs are usually red with white writing, and police tape at crime scenes is usually yellow with black writing. By using these colours on the magazine, they have similiar effects to what police tape and road signs have on people which is to gain peoples attention. By drawing attention to the whole magazine people are more liable to buy it as it gains the viewers attention so they look at it to see what the writing says.

The cover not only promotes the main article on the inside, but also other parts to the magazine such as the free posters on the inside. They clearly label them using the colours black, yellow and red, which stand all out. They make the font for the '10' much bigger than the rest of the writing that promotes the posters to make this the part that especially stands out to the audiences. This makes it seem that magazine is a lot better value for money than it seems as these are free gifts included inside the magazine.

The language used on the front cover grabs peoples attention as it includes people who are viewing the magazine. It says "chosen by paramore, biffy, all time low...and you!" by doing this it immediately connects the viewer with the magazine and by using other famous band, "paramore, biffy, all time low", it makes the audience of the magazine connect and relate to the famous bands which means that people will want to read the magazine as they want to see the article in which this is specified.