Conventions of a metal magazine!

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products – PAGE LAYOUT, DESIGN,

GENRE, MODE OF ADRESS

Annotated magazine ages to show conventionsmind maps of conventions

Word cloud

Comparing

magazines with my own

Front coverAggressive, masculine fonts, which reflects distortion, gore, and

blood

Minimalistic colour scheme to appeal to

the predominately male audience

Violently worded pull quote under the short and brief cover story

A sample of the posters at the bottom of the

page

Front coverA number of bands

written in a similar font to their logo’s to make them more individual

and recognisable

Barcodes placed in the terminal area

Close up of the scary, gory, grim-looking model to show the detail and to

enhance the ugliness

The majority of the cover lines are placed in

the left third

Front coverWell known genre

specific bands across a banner at the top

Masthead placed at the top of the page

Use of numbers to show there is a lot of

content

Small, brief cover lines placed around the hotspots of the

image

My front cover is conventional since it involves a range of different features similar to other metal magazines such as Kerrang, Metal Hammer and Terrorizer.

The layout is moderately cluttered which is conventional to the genre as it implies chaos, violence and mess. It includes a large masthead written in font which

implies the sense of distortion and violence which is appealing to the target audience. The features of the cover are all placed accordingly to the photograph, but mostly on the left third. These include a short pull quote related to the cover story, a preview of the posters at the bottom of the page, the barcode placed in the terminal area of the route of the eye and the logo’s of a number of genre-specific bands placed in the left

third and in the top banner to briefly indicate the content of the magazine.The colour scheme is limited and consists mainly of black, whites, reds and yellows which is appealing to the predominantly male audience.The photograph displays conventions since I have edited it to be black and

white, which keeps the colour scheme as minimalistic and therefore as masculine as possible. I have used various make up products to create a very disturbing and scary looking model and therefore took the photograph in a close up to enhance the detail

of the model.The mode of address is conventional from the use of colloquial language to address

the audience. For example, I used the phrase “Most Brutal Bands” to suggest the bands were very heavy and violent which would be appealing. I also connoted this

violence in the pull quote beneath the cover story, the line “We’re all at war with each other” suggests the band are quite aggressive, like the majority of metal bands, so this

would also be appealing.

Contents pageIssue number

and date placed near the heading

Competition previews

Contents split up using

headings

Contents page

One larger image placed in the top left

third

Large heading to clearly state this page

is the contents

Minimalistic colour scheme including

mainly black, white, yellow and red

Editorial section at the bottom of the page with a casual photograph of the editor in a casual

environment

Contents pageMain text and

contents information placed in the right

third

Subscription information in the

terminal area

Page numbers written in a larger, bolder font placed in front of the

brief description

Very short and brief description of the

content of the page

The layout of my contents page is conventional since the heading is at the top of the page, and is also the largest, boldest and most prominent so the reader will immediately recognise the page as the contents. The issue number and date of the magazine release is also placed

above the heading which is conventional since these features appear in every magazine.Most of the text is on the right third of the page and is broken up using headings, which separate the content of the magazine but also make it look more appealing. There is one

main photograph to the left as well as a section on a competition, this is conventional since the main photograph indicates one of the main features in the magazine. The photograph is

edited to look distorted which connotes a loud noise such an electric guitar, which is evidently one of the props used. This makes the artist look appealing the reader so they would be

interested in reading the feature. It is conventional to advertise a subscription of the magazine so I included mine by placing it in the terminal area. This makes it noticeable in

terms of the route of the eye because it is the last thing the reader would see when scanning the page. But since the subscription is not the main feature or the most interesting part of the page, it is kept out of the way of the rest of the content. An editorial section is almost always included on the contents page and so since I created the magazine, I wrote a brief round up of the contents of the issue and also used a casual photograph of my self. I placed this at the bottom of the page which is where it is conventionally placed since it is out of the way of the

main focuses of the pageI also kept the colour scheme consistent by including mainly black, white, yellow and red,

much like the front cover and the double page spread. This links all the pages together and carries on the masculine theme throughout. Minimalistic colour scheme including mainly

black, white, yellow and red.

Double page spread

Stand first at the top of the right third above the

body copy

One photograph which is the main focus and takes up two thirds of

the page

Similar colour scheme to the contents page and cover, simplistic to appeal to the masculine target audience

Body copy on the right

third of the page

Body copy arranged in columns to break up the text and make it look more appealing

Double page spread

Small pull quote placed within the text which stands out and entices the audience

to read the rest of the article

Large headline placed on the left third, over

the top of a dead zone of

the photograph

The artists are standing in a casual pose,

wearing stereotypical

metal fan clothing which the audience

could relate to

Small, highlighted caption with the name of the

band/artist at the side of the photograph

Double page spread

The body copy is written in small, sans-serif font so it’s easy to

read, and is in a contrasting colour to the background

Body copy starts with

a kicker the same colour of the stand

first

The photograph is taken in a medium close-up, which is close enough to show the emotion on the artist’s face but is far away enough to see the body language

too.

Play on words to make the heading seem more witty to appeal to the

target audience

My double page spread is conventional since it portrays all of the main features of the real media products.

The majority of the page is dominated by an edited, sepia toned, mid-shot of my model, which creates an eerie, old, vintage effect. I placed the

standfirst in the right third, above the body copy which consists of small, sans serif font which contrasts against the light background. There is also a pull quote within the body copy in a larger font which attracts attention to the audience and also breaks up the text to make it look more appealing. The large headline which

is placed over the dead zone of the photograph is also conventional, as well as the small, highlighted caption to indicate the name of the artist at the side. I also

placed a smaller version of the masthead in the top left corner to link it to the rest of the magazine.

The main colour scheme consists of red, black and white, this is conventional since they connote blood, gore, death and violence. The simplicity

is very masculine which appeals to the audience.The mode of address conveys a witty persona similar to the majority of the target audience. The heading “Stanhope or No Hope?” is a clever play on words which

would stand out be appealing to the audience. Also, by using the term “the young Chuck Norris of metal” in the standfirst, I am relating to the audience by

mentioning the name of a character the audience would be familiar with.