We looked into further detail at the conventions of music magazines belonging to various genres. The four magazines I analysed were Drummer, mixmag, Vive Le Rock and Terrorizer. Belong is my analysis of the magazines.
Analyse the Codes and Conventions of four music magazine covers.
Victoria Perry
From studying mixmag, Drummer, Vive Le Rock and Terrorizer I have been able to analyse the various conventions and features of a music magazine.
The first comparison I made was comparing the technical aspects of the four magazines.
The first magazine mixmag is a dance and clubbing magazine targeted towards older teens that are able to go to clubs. The magazine uses one main image of a young man, supposedly a DJ. The camera angle is a straight on mid-shot. This enables the audience to see the image in more detail and look further at the boy’s appearance and the colours used. The image also presents the DJ as he would be in a club. He is stood confidently, but relaxed and in some ways this is how he would be stood behind the decks at a club. The colours around the main image are a mix of red, purple, yellow and lighter versions of purple and red. This indicates the magazine title being ‘mixmag’. I also think that because the magazine is aimed at people who go to clubs and are into dance music the blur of colours symbolises the loud music and mix of sounds and lighting that you would be familiar with inside a club. The colours are bright and bold and stand out from the plain grey background. This again represents the club itself with a dark atmosphere and the only source of lighting the bright strobe lights.
The ripped off corner of the magazine cover shows similarities to that of a flyer. Flyers are usually to inform and advertise an event. The front of the magazine cover says ‘AMSTERDAM DANCE EVENT’. Therefore the ripped corner affect may be to represent the advertising side of the magazine.
In comparison the magazine Vive Le Rock has different technical aspects. Compared to ‘mixmag’, Vive Le Rock uses a high angle shot to capture the seven featured people on the cover. The high angle shot also allows the audience to understand the dress sense of the characters and their individual images, it also gives a sense of power to the audience as the reader is looking down on the image of the band. Due to the image being in black and white you cannot analyse the lighting of the magazine cover. The whole magazine is framed by a thick, black border. I think this is used to generate a better understanding of the genre of the magazine being punk and rock ‘n’ roll. It also gives a sense that the magazine contains everything you need to know about the band and the featured articles.
The third magazine I compared for technical aspects was Drummer. This magazine has a specific audience of people interested in drumming. The image used is at a slight low angle. This could show the power and profession of the drummer featured on the front cover compared to the reader. This particular angle also shows what the drummer is wearing and the fact he is positioned behind a drum set. The lighting is mainly on the drummer’s face which in depth shows his facial expression.
This magazine also features another smaller image on the right hand side. The image is very small and is framed by a thin white line that joins to make a square box. The image itself is dark and the main focus is the hands of the man. This image shows the dark side to the magazine.
The final magazine I compared was Terrorizer. The magazine cover used one main picture of a band member and then 3 smaller images positioned both at the top of the magazine page and to the left hand side. The main image dominates the page and due to the straight on close up the image is shown in great detail. The main image is dark and due to the clothing of the man in the image everything seems like a black silhouette. The surrounding colours are contrasting due to the light greys. This makes the main image more appealing to the audience as in a way it seems as if the artist is peering out of the page. This image is framed by text and cover lines which again highlights that the main image is the most important feature of the magazine. Similarly to Drummer magazine the main source of lighting is on the face of the artist. This shows the facial expression and facial features in more detail.
From analysing the technical features of the four magazines I have learnt that when one image dominants the page, usually the lighting is on their face to highlight their facial expressions in more depth. This is a feature I could imitate on my own magazine. I have also pinpointed that the magazines usually use alternate colours for the cover lines and head line to show a contrast from the image. If smaller images are used they usually surround the main image and are in another colour to highlight them or if not they blend in with the surrounding background. These features I have analysed could be important when designing and creating my own magazine.
The next focus point of the four magazines was the symbolic view points. Each of the four magazines used this convention differently.
Mixmag positioned the main image to symbolise his position of a DJ. By placing his arms around his neck, this showed how usually a set of headphones would be in place, which emphasises the genre of the magazine to be dance music. The clothes that the DJ is wearing are relaxed and stereotypical of a DJ. The plain background and clothing used on the DJ show how the DJ is relaxed and chilled back. The music speaks for him and his personality. From this I learnt that attention to detail can play an important role in emphasising the genre of my magazine.
For the Vive Le Rock magazine many symbolic qualities are used. The magazine uses one main image which is stretched across the whole magazine cover. The image is in black and white which could indicate the band is old fashioned. The band members are dressed in clothing typical of the 60s era. The use of black and white could reinforce this by showing the underlying message. The black and white image makes the red text stand out more. This could show that the image isn’t as significant as the text and cover lines. From this I have learnt that even though a image plays a largely important role when creating a magazine cover, sometimes the cover lines are equally important therefore when designing my own magazine I need to pay attention to the image and text.
The next magazine, ‘Drummer’ uses a dominating image as the main focus point. However the image varies as some parts are in focus whilst other parts such as the drum sticks appear blurry. This could indicate the main genre of the magazine is drumming however the magazine also features other articles which are of larger interest to the reader. The use of the drum sticks reinforces the point of the magazine. The picture of the drummer is covered in various areas by text, similarly to Vive Le Rock magazine this could indicate the importance of the inside content over the image.
The body language of the drummer in the main image is relaxed and his facial expression is fairly relaxed and kind looking. The magazine also features 12 pages of tuition about drumming, therefore the expression of the drummer could show that the magazine allows you to learn new tracks and drum pieces at your own pace in a relaxed style. A cross or plus symbol is used a numerous amount of times towards the bottom of the magazine cover. This could indicate that there is ongoing exciting content that is never ending.
Terrorizer is written in a font that uses a jagged and rocky edging. This is a clear indication that the magazine genre is Rock. The use of a dark blue and grey house style gives a sense of mystery. This could indicate more about the magazine itself. The background of the magazine cover is similar to a sky setting. The blend of blue, grey and white represents a sky showing the magazine could be out of this world with new information and articles that haven’t been released anywhere else. Towards the bottom left hand corner of the magazine, lists of bands are separated by small, brown skull symbols. Again this is reinforcing the genre of the magazine to the audience. The colour brown is contrasting to the black, blues and whites used.
The last convention I analysed was the written aspects of the magazine covers.
With mixmag, the use of mix in the magazine name indicates what the magazine is about. DJ’s mix discs and the magazine is focusing on dance music. The biggest cover line on the magazine is about a dance event in Amsterdam again this is reinforcing the purpose of the magazine which is allowing people information about upcoming events to do with clubbing and dancing. The magazine uses a persistent theme of both capital letters and lower case letters. For the main cover lines capital letters are used to make the information stand out more. The smaller details are in lower case. Small tricks are used to show the humour of the magazine. Again as the main feature of the magazine is about the Amsterdam event other written elements reinforce this such as ‘Dutch courage’. This is presenting alcohol which links into clubbing. Superlatives are used as a persuasive technique. Worlds such as ‘biggest’ show that this magazine is bigger and better than other magazines in the dance genre, therefore the reader will be persuaded to buy it. Personal pronouns are also used to make the magazine more attractive to the reader and seem as if it is personally approaching the target audience.
The written elements of Vive Le Rock include persuasive techniques such as ‘Free CD’ This persuades the reader to buy the magazine as even though the cost of the CD is probably included within total magazine cost, the reader still believes they are getting a good deal.
The use of ‘exclusive’ also makes the magazine stand out from others as the reader will be easily persuaded as again like the free CD attraction, the reader thinks they are getting something special or a ‘one-off’ included.
Another written feature I analysed was the use of an outline of the words ‘2-TONE PAST’. No other text on the page apart from the title uses a thick outline. This reinforces the ‘2’ as the text is bolder. The use of red also emphasises the genre as stereotypically red and black are the colours of rock ‘n’ roll.
Drummer constantly uses capital letters within the headlines and cover lines. The text is also written in white to stand out against the darker background. The only writing in a different colour are the words ‘THE UK’S BEST VALUE’. This is a similar persuasive technique to the other magazines as it uses a comparative. ‘Best’ makes Drummer magazine stand out from the other magazines in this genre.
Terrorizer uses the same persuasive techniques by using words such as ‘exclusive’ and ‘unreleased’ which have the same result on the audience.
Overall by studying ‘mixmag’, ‘Drummer’, ‘Vive Le Rock’ and ‘Terrorizer’ I have analysed the technical, symbolic and written codes and conventions.
From this task I have learnt that these conventions play a major role in the creation of a music magazine. Underlined messages can be extracted from various symbolic features. The written conventions also have a large role in persuading your audience to buy your magazine which is one of the main factors I need to consider when designing my magazine.
I have also learnt that colours, icons and captions need more attention than I originally thought.
The genre of the magazine needs to be clearly portrayed from first glance and the magazine and this can be emphasises through these three conventions.
Well done Vicky – you have analysed the covers in detail and thought really hard about why they have been created in that way. You have clearly learnt a lot about how to create your own cover and you will be able to think about the effect of all these codes and conventions on the reader.
Overall by studying ‘mixmag’, ‘Drummer’, ‘Vive Le Rock’ and ‘Terrorizer’ I have analysed the technical, symbolic and written codes and conventions.
From this task I have learnt that these conventions play a major role in the creation of a music magazine. Underlined messages can be extracted from various symbolic features. The written conventions also have a large role in persuading your audience to buy your magazine which is one of the main factors I need to consider when designing my magazine.
I have also learnt that colours, icons and captions need more attention than I originally thought.
The genre of the magazine needs to be clearly portrayed from first glance and the magazine and this can be emphasises through these three conventions.
