NME analysis

Colour

There are 3 main colours used on the front cover of this magazine. these being red, white and black. The title of the magazine NME is is bold bright red font in the top left corner, tis works well as the title is non obstructive to the magazine however its clear and effective. this magazine conventionally always puts the title in the left corner and is always the same colour so it is easily identifable to its audience. Because of its regularity in its title pictures can cover or obstruct part of it with it still being recognisable. The red used on the title and within the rest of the front page conrast greatly with the black and white and gives them a more eyecatching and bolder look. Within the front page in the images we can see a few vaiours colours like blue and purple but its is mostly following the theme of balck tones, this helps providing consistancy to the page making us feel like it all fits well together and isnt a mis-mash of colours.

Design

The design layout of this its quite a simple but effective piece with the title of the magazine in the top left corner and a large subline across the middle of the page in a smaller white font on a red background with a large black font it is easy to identify what will be in this issue of NME. The images along the top half of the page are arranged in a collage like format, by doing this a feeling of alot of action / stories is connotated to the reader, attracting them further. There is also a pug here advertising a festival line up, this is in a yellow circle, being the only yellow on the page it instantly stands out attracting more hard core music fans who love festivals and are looking for information re-guarding them. The bottom 3rd or so of the page is taken up by a large bold print font bullet pointing names of bands presumably going to be featured in this issue of the magazine, this again will attract the attention of the audience and gives a clear indication of what your going to find inside all at easy access to the consumer. The barcode of the magazine is placed down the right hand side of the screen, they have placed in it a white background section of the magazine, with the black writing co-ordinating with the black on the barcode it is non=obstructive to the overall image of the front page and barley noticeable to the consumer when seeing the design.

Images

The images on the cover is in a collage style effect, it composes a feeling of a busy and packed content inside. Most of the images use dark colours, this combines with the general colour scheme of the magazine using lots of black within their images. The artist are clearly positioned within the collage of ranking their importance, with the most appealing members of the bands placed at the front of the scene and the lower ranking ones further to the back. One of the musicians on the front page has been photo shopped into looking like they are leaning on the subline, this shows a feeling of linking between the musicians and the topic in the magazine, which subconsciously encourages the audience further into being attracted to the magazine.

Pose, style, hair and makeup

The poses used in the magazine create a feeling a of jam packed action and chaos in the magazine. The clothing worn by musicians is of a indie rock style, it is a cheapely easily replicable style which greatly appeals to the audience. 

how are words used on the cover

The title of the magazine is a simple 3 letter word which is in a bright red font. the style and colour of the title is consistent through all issues of the magazine in its position colour and style of it follows conventions of the magazine so the audience can always identify  the magazine.  The strapline is a simple style black and very large taking up a 3rd of the page, this draw attention to the magazine, the strapline clearly suggest what is inside the magazine and instantly attracting the audience. The strapline clearly suggests the contents to the audience at a glance. They are large and clear enough for the audience to identify them from a distance and will easily stand out on a shop shelf in a row of magazines. 

Language 

The language used is simplistic and there is not alot of writing on the front colour. This helps to maximize the attention grabbed by the audience. Simplistic language means that the audience feel at ease with the magazine as this sort of language will appear to practically all the audience it is aimed at. 

Overall impression 

Overall this magazine has an effective front colour, it gives a very clear indication of what is inside and uses lots of pictures to sell this point further, it appeals to the readers interest of the top music for 2010 and will draw them in further. This magazine is not for mass audience it is targeted specifically at the rock and indie market and will not appeal to a pop music genre. 

Kerrang analysis

The second magazine i have chosen to analyse is issue 1295 January edition of kerrang.

Again when studying this magazine you can see clear conventions personal to the magazine and magazines in general such as a title barcodes, prices etc.

Colour

The colours of this copy of kerrang can imply alot about the audience they are trying to capture.The bright blues, white and black are all following the magazines house style of the magazine traditionally. The black and white colours both are used alot, with the title in a black background and the title writing in white it is instantly recognisable. The black colours used in the imagery create a dark Gothic like feel to magazine generally associated to the music genre this magazine is trying to attract. The bright blue is used to highlight around stories or features within the magazine which will interest the reader, the bright eye-catching colour is effective in doing this. Using white for most of the writing provides great contrast with the colours making the writing stand out significantly. However the other dominant colour we find in this front page is a bright pink, this is unusual for a rock magazine, this pink suggest that perhaps the magazine was also trying to aim at a specific target audience this time.

Design

The design of the magazine is a pretty standard layout for a issue of kerrang, the page is covered mostly by a large dominating picture, a close up of a music artist. Everything else is them placed on top of this background image being careful not to obstruct the facial features of the image, signifying that this image is of some importance to the up selling of the magazine.The bright blue and pink lettering placed on top of the image allows it to be recognised easily. A pug at the top left hand side of the magazine again draws in the audience with its design as its not following the conventional squares and box set like layout of the magazine, this can cause excitement within the audience and attract them furthers.

Most of the font used is bold easy to read times new roman like font, this simple font works best in advertising whats in the magazine. However the magazine title is a large paint flick / broken up effect, this makes the title of the magazine look busy and interesting suggesting the magazine is similar inside, along with the exclamation Mark at the end suggesting it is really exciting and appealing greatly to the audience.

Images

The main image is starring that of Ville Valo from the most successful band HIM.This image is quite a powerful one, the skin complexion of the musician is a very pale tone, contracting greatly with the bright colours and black on the page, this image doesn't appear to be using alot of makeup suggesting this musician is all about raw talent. This allows the audience to believe that they can live up to this and that its good to be yourself. In the top right hand corner we have a small picture of the 'Rev' from avenged sevenfold, reading the bar along the top we can see that this is paying tribute to the death of the drummer. the image is a small close up of the musicians face, this allows the readers to exert some sympathy while at the same time allowing it not to ruin the overall excitement mood the magazine creates. There is a medium shot along the left hand side of the magazine of a singer from bullet for my valentine, this image shows a feeling of action and excitement as the singer is in a recording studio, this pose suggest the singer is looking forward to doing this, encouraging the reader to purchase the magazine to have a look at the rest of the images. The poster images finally in the bottom left corner of the page are very successful, these are all bands which shall be appearing in the kerrang tour of 2010, this obviously attracts the readers of kerrangs attention and is encouraging them that they have to buy the magazine as it has lots of information about the tour inside. the images all contract with each other greatly, two being black and white, dark and mysterious, while the other two are very colourful and chaotic, suggesting that the tour is going to have a mixture of music which all the readers love and will all want to read more about.

Pose, Style, Hair and make up

The pose of the main image in this front page its quite an intimidating image, the close up of the face reveals a very pale complexion contrasting with a outfit worn by the artist. The picture has been taken at a slightly up tilted image, this give us a feeling of being lower than him, this creates a powerful feel and that Ville valo has a element of control over us. this makes us feel drawn to the image despite its intimidating look. It is a very effective pose, with little makeup visible ts gives an impression of raw control and power strengthening the meaning of the image more so. This represents the target audience to be those who wish to follow the words and music of this musician. This main image and pose. is going for a more Gothic like target audience. In two of the smaller picture we can see that they are again attracting a Gothic like audience, the dark, secluded poses combined with heavy makeup suggest they are aiming at a particularly small target audience with these poses. The other 3 main images on the front page are very colourful and energetic, with the poses being busy crowded seeming, these busy poses combined with the Gothic ones suggest that there is alot going on within the covers of the magazine. All these poses are very appealing to the wide target audience they are aiming for.

How are words used on the cover

The title of the magazine is used in a very effective way, it follows its conventions that it always does with the same instantly recognisable title. Its broken chaotic effect grabs the readers attention while the exclamation causes excitement within the audience. The strapline will appear to be then 3 letter word 'HIM', this strapline links with the main image, signalling that this is going to be the main story inside, promoting it further. The caption 'inside Ville Valo's secret world' appeals to the audience as the life of their favourite celebrities appeals to their human inquisitive nature thus being a good story to promote on the front page. Glancing at the front page quickly it is easy enough to identify the contents of the magazine, with a poster special clearly advertised in a bright blue box with pictures. Bright blue is used to promote the bands inside so they are clearly visible. a reader can quickly glance at the front page and establish if they would wish to purchase it for the contents. The size and design of the words used are easy enough to see at a distance and promoted in such a way so as to stand out along a magazine shelf.

Language

The language used on the magazine is very simplistic and common. Its mealy stating the names of the bands with a brief bit of promotion as to what they are going to be talking about in the magazine. The 'common' like language used on the front of the magazine appeals to their target audience of a rock genre around a teenage and young adult age range.

Overall impression - how effective is the front cover

Overall the magazine is incredibly effective as it give a very clear indication of the content of the magazine. It is designed to appeal to the rock genre, aiming and a teenage and young adult target audience, it is not to appeal to a mass audience it is a very specific audience. Its content is of a very specific group, targeting the interests of the audience perfectly, keen to explore the inside life of celebrities they idolise and whats new within their band.

Analysing magazine front covers

Analyzing Rocksound

On first impressions Rocksound comes across as a typical rock magazine, this can be seen by some of the conventions followed in the magazine, titles, band along top or bottom of the page, straplines and barcodes all being some of the conventions often seen through most magazines.

Colour schemes

The colours on the magazine, all dark neutral colours are typical of those found on a variety of rock music magazines. The colours connote the rock vibe as all darker colours are associated with it with a more authentic music sound. Bright colours are then added on in test of parts of the magazine that they really want to advertise. Yellow is used for this because its a bright eye catching colour which draws the audiences attention well. White is used for the title and subheading of the magazine clear against the dark background contrasting calm and anger of the dark and light colours.

Design

The title along the top of the magazine is in a convention style to that magazine, this allows readers to recognise the magazine even when images are covering some of the title the audience can still recognise the magazine. The strapline has a glass break effect, this broken up effect follows the subheading caption of 'We predict a riot' this again follows the rock conventions as it is a band along the top of the magazine. The fonts are mainly dark and white colours following the dark colour scheme. The font is neat clear easy to read font, doing this allows the readers to clearly access the information available, all the colours and font style tie in very well with the general design of the magazine.

Image

The image on the cover is of a rock band, the image is corresponding with the 'we predict a riot' with band members brandishing chains baseball bats and bricks. Its a medium / log shot of the whole band dominating most of the page. The image connotes a feeling of chaos and destruction within the magazine which appeal to a rock genre as this is what we come to expect from rock stars. The musicians in the picture are also wearing back colours fitting in well with the rock style and fashioning skinny jeans the popular trend f people who enjoy this music genre, this allows the audience to relate to the members of the band on the front page and allows them to believe they can be like them. one member of the band s wearing red and black checks breaking he conventions of the page and making him stand out while another member has white hair, this suggest these two are trying to make a impact against the others, perhaps they are the main singers of the band?

We can also 3 small images along the top bar of the magazine, these although small appeal to be following the dark colours of the magazine.

Pose, Style, Hair and makeup.

The pose of the main image is following the riot theme of the subheading with members of the band brandishing various objects. The hair styles of the band are typical 'emo hair styles' allowing many readers to associate it with it, the hair styles and clothing are easily accessible by the audience giving them a chance to feel like they can follow their style and lifestyle. their features are simply outlined, using little make up in picture giving them a genuine look allowing everyone to associate with them attracting the target audience.

How are words used on the cover.

The title and strapline are both white, making them stand out on the dark background. The strapline broken glass effect suggests a mad packed contents within the magazine. There is a large variety of bands names listed on the front cover this combined with the strapline attract the audience as there is a variety of bands which all appeal to the interest of the audience, and it gives a clear description of some of the bands you are going to find in the magazine. The strapline and title is big enough to read from a distance catching the audiences attention while the listing of bands within the magazine is of a clear easy to read font. This along with the few splurges of colour allow the audiences attention to be grabbed when viewing on a shelf.

Language

The language is very simple, mostly simply stating names of bands this works well because it gives the audience enough detail about what they are interested in.

Overall Impression

Overall this is a very effective magazine cover, its busy and exciting yet maintains a feeling of similarity showing typical magazine conventions and styles. The layout and images used are all appealing to the audience and allow them to engage well between the audience and magazine. It gives a clear detail of whats inside and connotes what to expect through imagery. It is designed to appeal to a rock / emo genre, it clearly represents the target audience and the bands listed and imagery used suggest it to be aimed at a teen and young adult audience. This will not appeal to a audience like R'n'B, rap or pop as none of the music artists listed are of this genre, the colours and style are not appealing to this type of audience it appeals to the total opposite, in fact this type of look is w=one which will repel a certain audience. It is a smaller target audience definatly not a mass audience target.