The document discusses the typical conventions and layout of music magazine covers, contents pages, and double page spreads. It notes that magazine covers usually feature a main central image with additional smaller images and text around the edges. Contents pages typically have a large central image surrounded by a listing of articles. Double page spreads consist of a full-page main image on one side and accompanying text and possibly smaller images on the other side. The document also examines different shot types used and how they help convey information to the reader.

1. Here I have collected lots of different genres of music magazines. The general conventions of all
music magazines are: the mast head at the top of the page so that the reader can easily see what
magazine it is; the main image is in the centre so that all the attention is on that person and then the
reader knows that the main story of that magazine is going to include that person. The feature
stories, text and smaller images are around the outside of the page so that the attention stays on the
main image; the barcode, issue number, date and price are in a corner at the bottom of the page so
that not much attention is drawn to them and headers and footers are at the bottom and top of the
page to give the reader extra details about what they can expect to read about in that magazine.

2. The main shot type for a front cover of a magazine is a medium close up as it is much better to
position the text around the page with this shot type and also it makes it much clearer who the image
is of. However some magazine like these two below are long shots to show a band or an action which
the person is doing as in the magazine on the right it is of a single person smashing the mast head
with a guitar so a long shot has been used so that you can clearly see what he is doing. Whereas the
magazine on the left is just of a group so a long shot has been used so that you can easily tell that it is
a group/band. I am going to follow the typical conventions of a magazine front cover by having a
medium close up so that the reader can easily tell who the artist is.
On front covers of music magazines there are usually about two images, one main image which takes
up most of the page and a smaller image which tells the reader about a feature story held within the
magazine. Despite this some magazines have many images on the front cover to advertise lots of
different feature stories in the magazine, this is shown in the Top of the Pops magazine. There are lots
of small images on this front cover to give the reader a lot of information on what to expect in that
magazine, without having to read the contents page.

3. Here I have collected six contents pages from
different magazines such as Q, Kerrang and
NME so that I know the types of conventions
that each magazine has as they all share the
same conventions. For example, on a contents
page there is usually one main image that
takes up about half of the page and then the
contents and other text is around the outside
of it. This has been done so that the reader can
easily see what one of the main feature stories
of that magazine is going to be but they have
still kept the contents down the side of the
page so that the reader knows exactly what is
going to be on each page and if a certain page
appeals to the reader then they can go straight
to that page. The main shot type for a contents
page is a medium shot as you can see part of
the person's body but not all of it. The reason
why a medium shot is usually used for a
contents page is because this shot type shows
who the person is and it easily shows to the reader what genre the magazine is due to the clothes that they are wearing.
Despite this some of the magazines shown above have used long shots or close ups. Q magazine have used a long shot as it
is an image of a band so Q want to show to the audience what they are wearing as they are all wearing similar clothes to
reinforce the fact that they are a band. This type of shot has also been used to create effect because they have included
quite a bit of the ground in the image so that the reader knows where it was taken. You can tell that it was taken on a big
field, perhaps in the countryside, because of the thick grass on the floor and the landscape of the city in the background.
This makes the band look quite powerful and successful as it suggests that they have travelled along way to become famous
and they are stood very proud and tall to show how in control they are, which may be inspirational for the reader. A close
up has been used on the Kerrang magazine to create dramatic effect as the person in the image, Slash, is wearing all black
and a black background has been used to match Slash's image and to make him look quite confident and mysterious.

4. In these magazines the modal amount of
images is three, there is one big, main
image and two images for little articles.
The reason why this has been done is
because it keeps all of the attention on
the main image as that is what the
company wants the reader to mainly
read about. The smaller images have
been used so that the reader knows
what is going to be featured in the
magazines without having to read the
article. Also, I think that the articles with
images on them are the ones that will
appeal mostly to the audience as it
doesn't require any reading but if the
reader likes what is in the image then it
may convince the reader to read that
article. When making my contents page I am going to base it upon the contents page shown above for Q
magazine or the Top of the Pops magazine. This is because I like the main image on the Q magazine as it is
the first thing that the reader will seem, therefore it is eye-catching and will draw the reader in. However I
like the layout of the Top of the Pops magazine as it has images scattered about all over the page and it still
has the contents in an organised and simple way. This gives the reader a lot of features to look at so they
have a greater idea of what is to be expected in that magazine. I am going to base my magazine mainly on
the layout of the Top of the Pops magazine but I am going to include a big main image of the main feature
story so that it is clear to the reader what the key features stories are of my magazine. I am not going to
have my title like the one in the Top of the Pops magazine though because I want it to say 'Contents' so that
it is very clear to the audience what page they are on.

5. Here I have collected some double page spreads of different
music magazines. Double page spreads all share the same
conventions because they have a big image that takes up a
full page and the article about the image is on the other
page. Also a lot of double page spreads have a pull quote
from the person in the image instead of a title which could
suggest that the article was an interview of the celebrity or it
may have just been used to show the reader what this article
is about, using their own words. In double page spreads, their
is usually the main image and maybe one small image within
the text to help explain, visually, what is happening. Their
isn't a main shot type for the main image as in these images
their is a close up, a medium shot and a long shot but all of
these shots are posed to make the article look personal to
the reader as the person is looking directly at the
camera/audience and also to show that this image has been
taken, specifically for this article in that magazine. The
smaller images tend to be a close up of someone related to
the person in the main image or of the same person in the
main image, relating to the article. The reason why they have
chosen this shot is because it is a small image so having a
close up makes it easier to see who the image is of.
When making my contents page I am going to have it similar
to the one in the bottom right hand corner as I want the main
image to fill the whole page and I want a pull quote to be the
title across both of the pages. I want to have all the text on
one page with either one or two images within the article to
follow the conventions of most magazine double page
spreads so that the reader can easily find where everything is
on each page, making it a successful and realistic magazine.