Conventions

By Kyle Whittaker

Conventions in my Music Magazine

Front Cover

House Style: The Masthead in my magazine cover presents the entire house style of my magazine a lot like how the masthead in NME magazine is used. The house style font is chosen and carried through each page in the page numbers and the IMM in the corner of each of them. This gives the audience a sense of order and professionalism.

Masthead

Format: My magazine’s masthead follows the conventional format of having the title on the left in the primary optical area and having additional information to the right of that including price issue number and date, this is sometimes used for the area to present the cover story but also this key information.

Colour: The use of colour in my masthead is very minimal which is conventional of the indie genre. The use of two main colours has been used in a variety of pre-existing indie magazines as shown in the example above. NME uses this simple colour scheme to appeal to it target audience of indie music fans by reflecting the style of the artists, in the same way I have in my magazine masthead.

Band Image: The main image used in my front cover is conventional of the indie genre showing a featured band posing to extenuate their style as musicians. They are posing in a casual style leaning against a wall identifying them as laid back and a little bit anti social being shown the opposite of societies view of the sensible person standing up straight and being seen as a respectable person. They are all looking in different directions showing them as unorganised and being individuals despite being in the same band, this is very conventional of indie bands showing each member differently to show off how unique they are. Other conventional main images are either solo artists or a symbol that connotes a certain band but the most common is the band image as I have used. The setting of the image is also very conventional being different from the mainstream camera shoots most pop artists are used to this image shows the band outside against a brick wall in a slightly amateur style which is conventional of the style to appeal to its target audience.

Camerawork and effects: Another reason my image is conventional is because of the camerawork and effects used in its construction. The low angle shot of the band is something used very often to present them as being more powerful people to look up to and respect for their musical talents which would make the potential reader want to learn more about them and buy the magazine, it is a technique used in the indie genre a lot and is very conventional of band images. The effects used on the image of a black and white filter is also very conventional being well known in the indie genre to present a band differently from the mainstream pop artists to appeal to a wider audience who are looking for an alternative style of music. The example below mine shows an NME magazine with a band image with a faded filter making the band look more moody and emotional than other artists connoting their music as being more meaningful and worth listening to and making the magazine seem worth reading for music fans.

Image

FontThe fonts used in my magazine are all very conventional of the indie genre and of music publications in general. San serif fonts are used mainly to make the reading of the magazine as easy as possible for my target audience reading for leisure. The first font noticed on my magazine cover is the name of the magazine I.M.M presented in a big bold font starting the house style font which is used on every page of the magazine in the page numbers and headings of certain articles. The boldest font being used for the magazine name is very conventional of any magazine as it allows any potential reader’s attention to be instantly drawn to the magazine name and recognise it which would make them want to buy the magazine with any prior knowledge of it if they’re a fan of the indie genre.The cover story of my magazine is made up of two fonts, the first being the font used for the featured band’s name at every mention of them in the serif font which makes it stand out against the variety of other fonts which makes it draw attention to the feature article of the magazine to get the audience interested. The second font is a very plain san serif which helps make the band name stand out even more next to it but also allows it to be very easily read by the potential audience.The cover line above the cover story is set out in a similar way with a bold font introducing other featured bands which are shown in their own individual fonts, this is very conventional of the genre presenting each band in their own fonts to make them stand out against the rest and reflect the band’s image from just their name.

Layout

Rule of thirds: on the front cover of my magazine the rule of thirds technique is used to make certain points stand out in the brain more than others, the top two points focus on the two main members of the featured band in the band image, the lead guitarist and the bass guitarist/vocalist. These focus points are very important to be shown standing out against the rest as the featured band and two main members are conventionally seen as more important than the rest of the items on the cover. The lower two focus points are focusing half on the instruments the band member on the left is holding showing them as a conventional indie band and half on the cover story and band logo making the target audience focus more on the band and giving a clearer idea of what’s going to be inside the magazine.

Route of the eye: the route of the eye shown on my magazine cover crosses every important aspect of the design. Starting in the primary optical area with the magazine name making it the first thing noticed about the magazine it continues to the issue number date and price all important information presented very clearly to the audience. It then goes down across the main image of the featured band taking up most of the cover to the cover story and across to the terminal area after reading the cover story being the last thing seen about the magazine. This method of presenting the magazine is conventional as is shows the most important features very quickly and easily.

Contents Page

Images

The images I have used are very similar to the one used on the front cover of the featured band, I have used artist images to present the articles about them in a clearer way showing them as the main points to look out for in this magazine. The image on the left is presenting an unusual artist the type conventional of indie music magazines to cover showing off the conventions of the genre as unusual, different and unique individuals. The image presenting her is using a vintage filter and is in a film strip style border which shows the style as being reflective of an age before digital film giving it a more vintage look fans of the genre enjoy. The camera angle used in this image shows the female artist at a slightly high angle shot as she plays her instrument, this is conventional as showing her as less powerful than other artists playing more on the unique factor making her more appealing to her audience. The instrument in the image used, the double bass, is an instrument used very rarely in the industry which shows instantly the unique artist and appeals to its audience. The setting of a storeroom inside is also conventional being scattered with instruments appealing to music fans and indie genre lovers.The image on the right is showing another artist with an unusual instument, the ukelele, this image presents the male artist as being a confident musician posing with his instument, conventional of the genre. The camera angle uses a slightly low angle shot showing him as being confident in his work and his music and showing him against a grey brick wall in a blue hoody makes him stand out against his background symbolic of the message the magazine is trying to present.

Font

The heading of the contents page uses the return of the house style font in the IMM to create a sense of uniform between the pages, this is conventional of the genre and many magazines in the field and others to create a more professional feel to the publication. The other font used for the contents page is unusual using a combination of different heights in the font along with the curvature of the letters giving it a very unique style this is conventional and reflects the indie genre shown on a page as important as the contents makes it seen by all readers no matter why they bought the magazine.

The menu down the right side of the page also uses the unusual font used in the heading of the page to again create a uniform professional sense and not over clog the page with too many different fonts. The items on the menu are however used in a different more san serif font in bold to make them stand out against the paragraphs of writing on the page and make it quicker and easier to read this is conventional as the smaller fonts on the page aren’t as big and stylistic as the bigger fonts.

The main body copy uses the same font but emboldened as the audience isn’t expected to read it as much as the other main sections of the page. The quotes however are the only part of the body copy shown in a different font to present them as easier to find as they give an insight into the article without finding it in the magazine.

Layout

The main layout to this contents page positions the heading at the top in any conventional way, the main menu of contents to the right column and the main features in the centre of the page in two columns with another underneath. This layout is very similar to the layout presented in NME and other music magazines. The heading at the top of the page welcomes the reader to the magazine’s contents page, the first seen thing is the images and show what the editor thinks will be the most popular features depending on the artists being shown and their predicted popularity with the target audience this makes them very easy to see and gives them a large part of the page to be filled with a brief description of the article and what it is showing hopefully persuading the reader to read that article. The third part of the page is the right contents column which shows the magazine contents in its simplest form showing the main parts of the magazine to make it easier for the reader to navigate around it.

Double Page Spread

ImageThe images I have used for my double page spread are very conventional as they present the band being written about in the style the band is created as. The examples on the left are all from various music magazines mainly in the indie genre, They all present the band/artist in a conventional way. The first shows a band posing in the usual format of four in casual clothes the front man looking unshaven and slightly rebellious. The middle image is of a female artist presented to extenuate the sex appeal in her pose and costume chosen for the article. The bottom image shows a very amateur looking shot of an artist in a casual setting of a pub holding drinks looking very relaxed in the indie style of not caring. My images present my chosen band as a conventional band but with the individuality of each member shown. The largest image shows the band leaning over a balcony all looking into the distance holding their instruments with an inspired/emotional expression each conventional of the style an indie group would want to reflect on their meaningful music they wish to produce. The bottom left image presents the band in an action shot posing with their instruments all three guitarists strumming and the drummer in the back, the conventional place for the drummer. This presents the band as a conventional format in the diamond shape famous from bands such as The Beatles and Queen. The bottom right image is one I’m particularly proud of, showing the bands drummer in his action shot about to hit the drum in an aggressive way with an aggressive expression on his face. The image used low key lighting to show more the angry, aggressive style of the drummer which is very conventional in any genre of music’s band.

FontThe fonts I’ve used for my headline vary from the band font/logo to the san serif headline of the “Exclusive Interview” to the newspaper style layout of the by-line which uses the literary device the rule of three separated by lines to make each part stand out even more. The band name being presented in every part of the magazine in the same font is a convention of many bands/artists not only in magazines but throughout their albums and mentions in many publications. I have followed this convention with this band. The headline being shown in the most easily readable font is a convention of many magazines as shown in 2 out of three of the example articles as the serif headline matches the style of the whole article whereas my article is stylised in a way which can use the san serif font. There is also the IMM logo in the top left corner of the article to again present the house style on all pages of the magazine.

The body copy of my article uses a similar san serif font to the headline conventional in style to many magazine articles in the indie music genre or not. The exception being with serif headlines as a serif font for the body copy would be far too hard to read for a casual magazine this is marketed as. Another convention of my body copy is the kicker used which can be seen in all three of the example articles which gives mine a more professional and conventional look.

Layout

The layout of my double page spread follows the convention for music articles very well. The typical format being an image taking up the whole of or more than one page, a headline on the clear page with the article below it. I have followed this convention as my audience would already be very familiar with it and it is the simplest way of laying my magazine out. The first part of the article which would attract the attention of a reader would be the images on the right as their eyes skip over the article then go back to read the headline and on to read the article this gives the reader a very clear picture of what the article is about and who the featured band are before reading.