Media studies, covers, contents, spreds 4

Media, Magazine Analysis

Metal Hammer: Iron Maiden, Final Frontier 3D cover

The obvious draw of this cover is that it is 3D when looked at by one person and when observed will produce the 3D effect.

The use of a brand on the cover (Iron Maidens Album the Final Frontier) it allows people who are interested in the band and the album to see that the magazine is related to Iron Maiden.

The 3D effect will also separate it from the other magazines it is competing with.

The mast head is the mast head used in ever other issue of Metal Hammer keeping it in line with the theme generated by further issues.

This is Eddie, Iron Maiden’s mascot, as is the bands name is printed in the bands font. This would attract readers that normally do not pick up Metal Hammer magazine but are interested in Iron Maiden or the music normally offered by this magazine *Iron Maiden are a Classic Metal band, Metal Hammer usually deals with extremely heavy band like Rolo Tommasi/Slipknot.

The other topic on this front page is the Sonisphere event in Poland although it doesn’t really stand out on the page. The Sonisphere Poland was a once in a lifetime meeting of four iconic bands which many people will want to read up on as they did not see the show

The addition of a free mouse mat will also attract people to the magazine who lack in mouse mats, the mouse mat also has the cover image on it. (not in 3D however)

Rolling Stone: Michael Jackson

The mast head for the magazine is covered by Michael Jackson to show how much off a star he was. It may also show his superiority and that the magazine is nothing compared to his greatness

The Black background with a white floor is an iconic Michael Jackson image. The out that he is wearing is aswell is taken from the smooth criminal dance from his Tour/Film, This Is It.

The magazine also has a subheading above the mast head which gives non readers of this magazine a reason to purchase it since it is a commemorative issue.

I very like the black and white background idea, it gives the magazine a sense of perspective that Michael Jackson is dancing in the spotlight.

KISS Magazine

The title of the magazine also is the logo of the band, KISS, those with the interest of the band will instantly recognise the logo and be interested and want to pick up the magazine.

While the magazine may not have a free gift it does have a sort inspiration to join, with the quote “join KISS psycho circus!” which was the group of followers KISS had when they were making there Psycho Circus album.

The medium close shots of KISS on the cover make them seem like a group since KISS at the time of making Psycho Circus had just regrouped from a band break up, the close up is used to show that the group are back together and will attract new fans and reclaim the older fans who they lost prior to the break up.

I personally do not like the layout of this magazine I think that the layout is far to cluttered but organised. A magazine is ethier cluttered or organised it cannot be both since it over laps certain features.

Q: Muse Vs U2 Glastonbury

This is the logo of the Q. It is a simple but easily recognisable and can be reused in many of the merchandise.

The long shot of Muse with a white flooring is used to show that the band are in the spotlight while the use of the blue resembles them to a boxing ring with U2 being on the other side.

A very noteworthy feature the addition of a double cover situation with Muse on one side and U2 on the other side. This allows for a mixed fan base. Although this is a subscriber edition of the magazine Q magazine made three different covers for this issue with one of U2, one of Muse and this subscriber edition with each cover on each side. This is a great way to attract different audiences to the magazine with different bands, people will pick there favourite band on the front of the magazine.

Q: The Beatles Limited Edition

While I have just analysed a Q magazine I am analysing this Limited Edition Q magazine to show how a magazine franchise can be expanded other than the simple monthly/bimonthly edition

The recolouring of the logo for the magazine allows the readers to see it will still be off the same quality of the magazine they trust to read but it will be a similar special edition, the recolouring of gold aswell also offers a note of specialness with it also.

The medium-long shots of The Beatles adds a sense of age that they may have been in the spotlight nearly 40 years ago but they still hold they are still superior to other bands considering there age which may also relate to the picture being in black and white. (other than it being a old famous photo)

The splash of “The Beatles, Band of the Century” is another reason to make people pick up the magazine since it will make people who do not know who “The Beatles” are pick up the magazine in curiosity to find out about the so called band of the century.

NME:Lily Allen, Double Page Spread

I like the large image that takes up the page. It allows writing to be placed on the page and have it instantly known that it is about the person who is in the picture.

I like the font used for the quote that Lily Allen is saying. It looks archaistic which I can imagine lily Allen being like in her ways on life.

I would say that this double page spread is a solid example of how a simple double page layout could be done

Prog Rock :Porcupine Tree, Inside Cover

Similar to the the previous double spread this one uses a image to take up on of the pages thus rendering writing on the image to a minimum while this allows the image to dominate it means all the writing must be smaller and is difficult to clash with the image.

I like the idea of putting a title on the page to give the reader a clear indication of what they are reading. When reading magazines personally I skip over bands/parts I don’t like by simply reading the titles

The use of a sub heading is a great idea to readers into the generally swing on the article before reading it

I am not really a fan of the black and white colour scheme displayed on the page since it makes the image look bland. Although this is the bands image it doesn’t give the page that much variety and probably wouldn’t stand out.

Kerrang: My Chemical Romance, Double Page SpreadI really like the

font the heading is in, it makes the heading stand out on the page and is in the magazines colours I would attempt a similar effect with my magazine.

The pictures on this spread are very well placed in my opinion the large picture of the singer of “My Chemical Romance covers a good chunk of the page similar to the Lily Allen magazine and the film real type slide showing the other members of the band and the band in the recording studio are of great effect.

The white strip down the page is a awesome feature that I will defiantly use on my magazine. The content is also different to what is on the main article which provides a easy segmentation from the main article.

Total Drummer: Contents

While I appreciate the audience for this magazine the subheading on this contents stands out far more than the title which is the word contents

The features column is very well laid out since it has all the important pages clearly displayed

The layout of the page is clear and resembles the audience of the magazine.

I particularly like the pictures with the page number they on on the right hand side it is a nice touch that allows people to find what they want quickly

The contents for “Rock Sound has many rock bands pictures shown down the side with a page number highlighted in larger characters so that people search for a specific article can find what they are looking for, this was also found on the previous contents page and is well worth considering for my magazine

Shows the magazine and the date of the magazine clearly. I do not see much point in this, since it would mean that collectors of the magazine would have to scour opening each magazine to order them, although it does the give the contents a sort of title which makes it look professional.

I like the segmenting between the different articles with a banner. The banner is a excellent colour that has great synergy with the print colour. I would highly consider this for my contents page

Albeit a small feature the use of the website at the bottom of the page (I own this magazine edition myself it is their) in a sort of footer place is a useful way of attracting people to the website with addition features on the magazine topics. A simple feature which is a cheap and effective way of advertising the website.

Rock Sound: : Green Day, , Contents Page Page