Close Connotational Analysis

Here you can see all the conventions I have followed for my front page, contents and double page spread. I followed the conventions because people don't want to be confused by seeing different things in various magazines, it's a way to make the reader comfortable and I think it helps with giving them all the information they need, they know where to look for it.

The title of my magazine is 'Afterlife' it's the title of a popular song by a band that a large majority of target audience would love. I also think 'Afterlife' represents how music will be around forever, for generations it will change and my magazine will not just stick to one particular genre as music is subject to change. All of my images show a young female, there is no props, this is to make sure the reader's focus is on her as she is the magazines main feature and all attention should be on her. The clothes she is wearing change, but not very dramatically, this is to show her style, and also you could connote the genre of music she makes if you had not heard of her band before. The attitude she is showing in most of the pictures her expression is blank or she has a very slight smile, this shows that her image is also important to her as well as the music. The font I used for my masthead is called ______, I used this font because I think it stands out, it easy to read and the way it looks goes with the image of the readers and type of music they like. It is not neat and has parts missing meaning the things included in the magazine will be quite rough around the edges and loud. The placement of it is right at the top at the centre of the page, I did this because it is the first thing people will notice and  if it is on a magazine stand in a shop, my audience will be able to see it above other magazines.

The written content in my magazine very much goes with what my target audience would want, it is written in proper English with little slang but also in a chatty manner. Most is kept short and simple because the readers want to get straight to the point and don't want have to go through a lot of pointless information to get what they want to know. An exception for this is my double page spread, people who are interested in the main feature will want it to give them as much information as possible.

I think the music genre suggested through the style of my magazine is quite clear, I think it screams out rock and metal music will be included. I get this through the dark colours and the title of the magazine, it is not something you would expect a pop magazine to look like. Also the bands included on the front page are all of this genre, making anyone who is interested in this style of music will be instantly attracted to this magazine. Another thing, the fact that there is a competition to win tickets to Download festival gives away the style and Download is very much a festival for rock and metal bands. The bands included on my cover are likely to have played or play there in the future.

My contents page included both features and regulars as most magazines do. Features are things that are not included in the magazine every week, such as interviews with different bands where as regulars are something you would expect in the magazine every week like feedback, news and live reviews. The layout is very simplistic, this is to make sure the audience are not confused by a flood of images and texts. They can simply look at the page and find what they need to find. I have included one image only of my magazines main feature, I did this because as it will be the main thing is this issue of the magazine I think it should have the most space possible.

My double page spread is again quite simple with a plain background so the text and images stand out as this is what the readers want. The two images instantly tell the audience that this is an important feature as does the way the page is layed out as though it is important. Like most double page spreads it follows basic media conventions, it has a kicker to give the reader a preview of what will be included in the article. A drop cap, as I think this shows where you start reading from, in this case, the kicker. It has gutters and body text and pull quotes also.

To conclude, all of the above combine to and overall theme, a dark red is used consistently throughout the magazine as is white, I think this gives it it's own style which people will come to regcognise. All of my work fits together in that it is very simple but not boring, it is not busy and will not confuse my audience. It all comes together well and will fill a gap in the market, although there is some metal and rock magazines out there, there is not as many as there is for pop music. It will give my audiece another insight whilst doing this it will target a specific audience.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Conventions is a widely recognised way of doing something, it’s to do with the content style and form. For example most music magazines have a memorable title which can be easily seen making clear the title of the magazine. Most of the time there is one large main image showing a band or singer, they usually make eye contact to make the audience feel more involved. This is what the main article in the magazine is likely to be about. The contents page will usually have the title ‘contents’, hotspots, quotes and eye catching colours. Magazine conventions don’t exist because people want magazines to all look the same, it is just a basic outline, conventions don’t have to be followed but they usually are as people are used to them. Some magazines are more conventional than others depending on the subject matter and the audience.

The genre of my magazine is rock/metal. I did this because it’s the type of music I would listen to and so I know what the target audience would want. I took influence from magazines such as Kerrang! and Metal Hammer. As you can see from the pictures below my magazine is quite similar in terms of its conventions. The header of my magazine stands out from its background and I have one main image where the person is staring directly into the camera. Metal Hammer had gone against conventions by only including one image on their front page and not much text apart from along the top of the page, which Kerrang! and myself have also done, making it obvious this is a media convention.