Padd Solutions

Kerrang! Magazine: 27th November 2009

The contents page for Kerrang! is split into two halves, a top half and a lower. On the top half there is a large picture of the band, A Day To Remember, pulling an angry but obviously joking pose. There are also two images of pages taken directly from the magazine itself to advertise two articles. At the top left there is a header which states that this is the contents and underneath it there is Issue information and the date it was published. Next to each picture there is a banner with the band names and the page they can be found on.

The bottom half of the page is made up of five columns. The first column contains a picture of the current editor and an editor's letter to the audience explaining what the main article in the magazine is, the interview with 30 Seconds To Mars. At the end of the article there is a scan of her signature to make the magazine feel more personal. The other four columns contain the actual contents information and details what's in the magazine in the order of the pages, as opposed to NME. There are three images placed within the contents which show the free posters that come with the issue. There is also an advertisement at the bottom of the page for a subscription to the magazine, much like NME.

Kerrang! Magazine: 27th November 2009

Kerrang! Magazine is a weekly magazine devoted to rock music, it is designed to appeal to teenagers and young adults. They also have a radio station, a TV channel and their own tour which they invite rock bands to participate in.

The cover image features Jared Leto of the band '30 Seconds To Mars' adopting a tough, offensive stance with his side facing the camera and holding his hands up in an action that looks as though he's punched his hand to threaten the reader. Half of his face has been lit noticeably darker than the other to fit the subheadings of the main cover line which say, "I could be your worst enemy!" and "Jared Leto's dark side exposed!" He is also dressed in black which further connotates that he's dangerous. There are five other, smaller images on the page including two images relating to posters that the magazine is giving away and three images relating to artist interviews. One of these images is of a girl, Hayley Williams of 'Paramore,' which lets you know that this magazine isn't just for boys.

The largest cover line is the one regarding '30 Seconds To Mars' which is presented as the two quotes I've previously mentioned and the band's name slanted across the image with the 'A' of 'MARS' being stylized into the band's logo. The band name is in bright red and sets the magazine cover's colour scheme of red, white and black. The masthead includes the magazine title and a cover line and small picture outlining an exclusive interview with 'Him.' The title, KERRANG!, is in block capitals and uses an exclamation mark for emphasis. The title is onomatopoeic and is meant to imitate the sound of a power chord when played on an electric guitar. which connotates what genre of music the magazine focuses on. The title is also partially shattered which is meant to resemble glass being shattered by loud music, another signifier of the type of music they feature.

There is also a tag on the right side of the magazine with another coverline concerning Zakk Wylde's health scare and a star shaped sticker, commonly associated with competitions, informing us that we can "meet Alice in Chains!" The bar code and issue information is at the bottom right of the magazine as not to disrupt the look of the cover.

The main colour scheme is red, white and black, like NME and proves to be a popular colour theme within music magazines in general. Red connotates passion which can be interpreted as the magazine's passion for music.

NME Magazine: 28th November 2009

Page 1 & 2

The first two pages of the article featuring Florence + The Machine consists of a large photograph taking up the entire first page and spilling out on to the second, a huge title, stating "USA got the love" which refers to her success in the US and is also a reference to her latest single, a cover of 'You Got The Love.' The article itself is presented in three columns on the second page, the first column has been taken up by a portion of the photograph (most magazines usually stick to three columns in conventional articles however the NME is printed on is wider than A4 so this allows more content), and includes a short description of the article to hook the reader and a drop cap to make the article look stylish. The title uses two different fonts, for the word 'USA' it uses huge block capitals to emphasise the global domination of America and how important it is to upcoming musicians, whereas 'got the love' is written in lower case letters and is a stylized, classical font, giving a sense of elegance. Other elements that are present in other pages of the magazine are credits to the writer of the article, the photographer for the photographs featured, a tag at the top of the page informing you on who the article is about, Florence Welch, and the date, an NME logo and the page number at the bottom right of the second page.

The image itself is a long shot of Welch sitting on steps covered with a huge red and white flag (or at least sheets that have been made to look like a flag) which emphasises that she is an English girl climbing the ladder to make it big in America. She is dressed in a black outfit, which reveals her legs, a feature she is now known for, and is wearing black high heel boots which emphasise her fashion. She is staring directly at the camera to engage the audience and make them want to read about her.

Page 3 & 4

The third page features the same four columns I previously mentioned but the first column is a feature about "The Dos and Don'ts of Breaking America," which is presented with black and white writing on a red background to differentiate the insert from the rest of the article (while still being related to the subject matter). With exception to the photographs red, black and white are the only colours within the colour scheme, and even the photos seem to have been shot with a slightly orange hue, due to incandescent lighting. A small photograph and caption is also featured within this section. The second column is simply text from the article but has been partially indented by a large quote from the article to grab your eye, this quote is part of the third column and also indents the fourth column slightly. The third column includes two candid photographs with captions from Welch's travels in New York and a third photograph which features her with fellow Brit who's been successful in America (for her presenting), Alexa Chung.

The fourth page is shortened in height to make room for an advertisement for Bombay Bicycle Club's new album but the two are separated with a bold black line to make sure the reader knows it is not part of the article. The first column is a photograph of Welch stood holding an apple and stood next to shipping box with a US flag printed on it. The connotations of this photograph are that Welch herself is an export being imported to America. The box is actually part of the second column., which apart from that is just text from the article. The third and fourth columns are made up a candid photograph with a caption of Welch in her dressing room and a section at the bottom of the article referring the reader to the NME website to read more about her and get access to exclusive videos.

NME Magazine: 28th November 2009

On the left hand side of the contents page there is a unique to NME feature called 'What's Inside' which alphabetically lists every band that is mentioned within the magazine's articles and a number beside them which correlates to the page they can be found on and there are 65 bands in total listed. Across the bottom of the page is a banner which advertises a subscription to their own magazine which contains two previous magazine cover to try and tempt you.

The contents page actually features very little information about the articles within the magazine but rather just tells you what bands and artists are included in the 'What's Inside' section, however the majority of the page is a low angle photograph from a surprise live gig from Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys. The text is presented like a newspaper article cut out which looks very effective as people usually cut articles out of newspapers when they're important or momentous which suggests to the reader that this is big news. The title of this segment (which fills the majority of the page) is a weekly feature called 'Snapshot.'

NME Magazine: 28th November 2009

NME (New Musical Express) Magazine is a well established, weekly music magazine devoted to Indie music and British culture. They also have a music channel and their own website which is one of the largest music magazine websites on the Internet with it's 3.5million unique visitors per month. It is targeted primarily at students interested in British Indie rock music and the culture that goes with it.

The first thing you notice about any magazine is the cover image. This month's NME features the British indie rock outfit, 'Florence + The Machine,' or as the magazine refers to them, as 'Florence' The article she is featured in is about the lead singer's rising popularity in America so the image includes Florence climbing out of a yellow taxi, a signifier that America is the topic in question as the icon of the yellow taxi is synonymous with America and in particular, New York. She is holding onto the sides of the exit almost as if she is preparing to launch herself from the taxi into America, which is of course, exactly what she is doing. She is also wearing stylish clothes, boots and jewellery which connotates that she is a fashionable, young artist. The only other image on the cover is of another British rock star, Pete Doherty, notorious for his drug usage, with a quote that says "My heart stopped," designed to entice the reader into buying the magazine and finding out why.

The largest cover line is the one regarding Florence which states in bold, bright red writing, 'Florence Takes America,' summing up what the article will be about. The red of the text fits with the red of the NME logo and the red of Florence's hair, something for which she is known for. The masthead includes the bold NME logo, which Florence's head partially obscures, a sign that the logo is iconic enough to be recognised even with a third of it covered up. It also includes a feature on a countdown of NME's 25 best rock stars of the decade and a tag over the left hand corner which informs the reader of their 667 gig listings. Below the logo is the tag line which is simply the explanation of the NME acronym, New Musical Express, and the price. The bar code is placed at the bottom of the cover but high enough so that it doesn't obscure Florence's boots as that would detract from the overall image they're trying to portray of her. At the the bottom of the magazine there are two lines of other music acts that are also featured in the magazine to try and appeal to as many prospective customers as they can.

The colours used for the cover are predominantly red, white, and black, the colours of the NME logo and to match the cover image which is made up of red, white and black. The only other colours are the grey of the sidewalk Florence is stepping onto and the aforementioned yellow of the taxi.

Beneath the bar code (when looking landscape) there is also a very small line of writing which reads, "Driving fast down a one way street, Lord of loving you dance so sweet." This is a lyric from the 1997 song, Electricity by Spiritualized. This line has strong connotations tied to the cover, 'Driving fast' is regarding Florence's travel over to America and making it big in a short space of time and the 'dance so sweet' is a nod to Florence's flamboyant dancing style, something else she is well known for.

Cover Page

• Masthead
• Cover image
• Main cover line
• Cover lines
• Date line
• Issue number
• Selling line
• Cover price
• Bar code
• Colour scheme

Inside

• Contents
• Advertisements
• Regular section
• Features
• 'Next Week'
• Editor's letter
• Competitions
• Subscription offers
• Crosswords/Puzzles
• Title of magazine and page number at bottom of each page

Music Magazine Specific

• Music reviews
• General media reviews (DVD, TV, console games)
• Live gig reviews
• Gig listings
• Artist interviews
• Music news
• Music charts
• Posters
• Music-related classifieds

Contents Page

• Page numbers
• Headings/Subheadings
• Featured images with page numbers within the frame
• Cover stories emphasised
• Magazine cover page alongside Editor's Letter
• Contact information
• Simplistic contents, black writing on white
• Features section
• Regulars section

Double Page Spread

• Full page image with a caption in bottom corner and a quote superimposed on the image
• Large title
• Short description of article
• Drop cap to begin the article
• Small inserts relating to the article
• Other images also have captions and quotes
• Album discography insert
• At the end of the article, the magazine name is credited again and a link to a website is provided for further reading.

LIIAR stands for Language, Ideology, Institutions, Audience and Representation.

Language - Language refers to the terminology we use to deconstruct media texts. In magazines, we use terms such as masthead, cover lines and cover image.

Ideology - Ideologies are the values and beliefs of the magazine, what is important to them and their readers and what message they are trying to convey.

Institutions - Institutions are the companies which create media texts. They control the language, representation and ideology of their magazine.

Audience - Audiences are the general public who consume the media texts and what demographic the magazine is aimed at.

Representation - Representation is how are the groups, issues and individuals portrayed within the magazine.

Preliminary exercise: using DTP and an image manipulation program, produce the of a new school/college magazine, featuring a photograph of a student medium close-up plus some appropriately laid-out text and a masthead. Additionally, you must produce a mock-up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate their grasp of DTP.

Main task: the front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine. All images used must be original, produced by you - minimum of four images.

Presentation of your Work: the presentation of the research, planning and evaluation may take the form of any one or combination of two or more, of the following:

• a presentation using slide show software such as PowerPoint;
• a blog;
• a podcast.