Question 1 of the evaluation of my final magazine for Media Studies.

2. My own magazine cover
(Amped)
Case study magazine
cover (Kerrang!)
Case study magazine
cover (Rock Sound)

3.  On the front cover of my magazine, there are many similarities to my case study
magazines which were Kerrang! and Rock Sound. Firstly, on my front cover, there
are a few similarities with the other magazines I’ve looked at. The cover star is in
front of the masthead, which makes the audience focus on the cover star and the
contents more than the actual name of the magazine which can be good but also
bad because the audience might not look at the name at all or isn’t able to read it.
However, once my magazine becomes more well-known, I can easily do this and it
won’t be a problem. Also, there is a puff on the right side of the cover, similarly to
both of my case study magazines which gains the attention of the person looking
at it and it makes them want to read the magazine. Lastly, the barcode is placed
on the bottom right side of the page as there is no other shapes on that side. This
makes the magazine cover look balanced as there is a puff on the upper left and
the barcode is in the bottom right. The connotations of all the front covers are
seriousness and a sense of stardom as the cover stars have serious facial
expressions and are looking down on the person who is looking at the front covers.

4.  There are also some differences. There aren’t any more images on the front cover
apart from the cover star’s photo, unlike on Kerrang!’s and Rock Sound’s front
covers that I have studied. The text in the puff is not rotated in any direction,
which is different from the two front covers, but it could’ve been as it catches the
eye. However, I wanted to make it look more unique. The cover star isn’t wearing
formal clothing as it makes him seem ‘cool’ and friendly which appeals to the
audience through the photography of the magazine. There is no skyline on
baseline as it would’ve made my magazine cover look really packed and I didn’t
want that. I didn’t use neither black nor white backgrounds for the cover photo
which are very serious and formal colours, instead I have used a purple-
undertone blue because my magazine isn’t just about the rock genre. The colour
scheme is very different because my magazine is a mixture of rock and electronic
music.

5. My own magazine
contents page (Amped)
Case study magazine
contents page
(Kerrang!)
Case study magazine
contents page (Rock
Sound)

6.  The similarities between the three contents pages include the fact that the
content pages’ background is white as it makes the images and text stand out as
well as going with any colour, whether that’s blue or green. There is also a letter
from the editor on my contents page similarly to Kerrang!’s one. The contents are
organised into different topic and features, such as news. There are photos of
different artists who are in the magazine. Another similarity is the moody
lighting of the images on my magazine’s contents pages, much like the photos in
my case study magazine contents pages. The moody lighting connotes the rock
genre and seriousness. Even though the magazine addresses readers casually, I
still wanted some seriousness in it, so I put images in it that have moody lighting.

7.  However, there are differences too. My magazine’s contents page is double,
meaning there are two pages of contents, unlike in Kerrang! and Rock Sound.
This is because I wanted my magazine to be different and there are more contents
in my magazine. A letter from the reader can be found on the second page, unlike
in my case study magazines. I chose to do this because it shows the readers that
the creators of the magazine care about what they have to say and they have a
voice in this magazine. It also creates a sense of community. Amped, my magazine
has a different layout for the contents pages because the photos and the text are
arranged differently, making it look a bit more unique. It is arranged differently
as on my magazine, most of the text is at the lower region of both pages whereas
in Kerrang! and Rock Sound, the contents are either on the right or left side of
the page.

8. My own magazine
double page spread
(Amped)
Case study
magazine
double page
spread
(Kerrang!)
Case study magazine
double page spread
(Rock Sound)

9.  Similarities between my own double page spread and my case studies’ ones are
that there is a large title for the article and everything is laid out around it. This
is similar to Kerrang!’s double page spread article. I’ve done this because I think
it looks very aesthetically pleasing and it catches the reader’s eyes and lets them
know what the article is about. There is a quote from the artist outside the
article’s text, next to the photo of them. I’ve followed this convention as it can
make the reader more curious about the artist and make them read the article. I
have used drop caps as they are conventional to every music magazine, regardless
of the genre of music they write about. The name of the artist is placed near
where the artist is standing in the photo. This is to tell the audience the name of
the artist(s). The connotations of the photo that is on the double page spread of
my own magazine and one of my case study magazines (Kerrang!) is the same:
rock is a serious genre and rock artists are very thoughtful, however Rock Sound
had a different approach that I liked but I didn’t use. The band members are
smiling and jumping on the photo. My magazine’s photo for the double page
spread is the opposite of this.

10.  The differences include the photo being of the article’s star is only on one side of
the double pages and it doesn’t take most of the space unlike in the magazines
I’ve looked at. The colour scheme is entirely different from Kerrang!’s and Rock
Sound’s DPS. Red, white and black are the colours that symbolise rock usually,
but the blue in my magazine symbolises both genres as it is quite a genre neutral
colour in my opinion. This is because my magazine has its own house style.
Lastly, the star of the article is not in black, white or grey clothing which most
rock artists wear usually. He is in a blue t-shirt with white dots on it, similar to
the background colour. This connotes that he is unique and not like other artists.
The language used in the magazine for the journalism part of it is quite casual
and direct, making the magazine seem very friendly to the readers. The purpose
of this language is to make the audience feel like they are ‘talking’ to a friend
which can persuade them to become a regular reader.