Front page

I like my front page as I think the colours compliment eachother and the items that I want to stand out do. I like the elipses as a way to add splashes of colours ancd clarity to the text. I like the effects that have been added to the title including, drop shadows and bevels as I feel that it makes it more eye catching and confident, which music magazines should be. Originally I wanted to used black and red for the title, but as I was using this image, I took the blue from her top and edited it.
Although there are a lot of fonts used, I feel they are used effectively, as the fonts in the elipses reflect the fonts the bands use and the font in the strapline compliements the title. After trial and error the other fonts and fonts colour were found.
My image was orignally on a brick background, but I cut my model out and blurred the edges to stop her from looking too obviously out of place. I didn't want her to look jagged and have rough edges so I think the blurring was a really significant thing to do.

Changes to picture

To improve the picture, I first cut the model out and cleared the background. Then as it looked jagged, I blurred the edges to make it look a little more natural. I then enhanced the colour by slightly reducing the brightness and streghtening the contrast. I think that this adds an air of mystery and is slightly more seductive than it was originally. Also, she stands out so much mroe on the white background.

Final Photos

I took a final selection of photos, using a female model. I dressed her in an outfit that i thought appropriate for my magazine and also did her make up and hair to fit.
I like these photos as she is photogenic and I like the overall look.
However, I am not massively keen on the bricks so I will edit the background and perhaps make it white.

More Practice Photos

After dressing and styling my model I took various photos to decide what sort of position I would like him in as some of the positions I had liked before were a bit too feminine. Although these pictures are roughly what I am looking for, the model needs more make up and a better lighting so more photos will need to be taken.

Magazine covers

After taking my first practice photos I decided to look at various rock magazine covers to have a better idea of what to include in my picture. Most models are expressionless and usually are in a relaxed pose.
Also, the artists are usually centred and in the centre of the cover opposed to at a side, although this is not always the case.

Manipulted Fonts

After choosing the fonts which I thought were most suitable, I decided to manipulate my favourites to see what effects I could create. Out of these, my favourite is the top one as it is striking and the colour is subtle. Although it could change depending on my photo, for now this would be the one I would use.

Fonts

I downloaded and trialed various fonts of which I could use for my title. A few of the fonts would not be suitable or I don't particularly like, although there are a lot which would work.

Names for my magazine

To decide on a name for my magazine, I researched various song names or albums from rock music. I chose the ones I thought were a possibility which were:

• Rebound
• Ricochet
• Conflict
• Mishap
• Scream
• Tension
• Unholy Confessions
• Volume
• Liberate
• Thrash
• Distortion
• Massacre
• Detach
• Death Magnetic
• Killadelphia
• Appetite for destruction

From these, I chose Detach as it was the most popular out of the selection. Also, it had the impact that I wanted and wasn't too long so was therefore easier to remember and hopefully memorable.

Practice photos

I decided I wanted my model to wear simple clothing which would fit the rock genre. I dressed my model in a plain white baggy top, tight fitting jeans and a leather jacket. I then added her jewellery and make up. I took a series of different photos to decided what sort of position I wanted my model to be in.

Also, I would not put a window or obvious backgrounds behind my model but instead plain white or perhaps brick.

Magazine Analysis

Kerrang! Analysis

General

On the publisher's website it states that they reach over 19,000 UK adults across mutli media channels. 'Individually minded, independant of thought and musically experienced, an audience defined by attitude, passion and loyalty. It is published weekly as it needs to keep the readers interested and it's total circulation dales are 52272 (50128 in the UK and Ireland).

Front Cover

The name of the magazine uses onomatopeia as it supposed to represent the chord of an electric guitar. The title is broken and is in sections to look as though guitar strings are running through it. It looks like shattered glass and this is immediately eye-catching. It insinutates that it is the best guide for gigs in the united kingdom with the strapline 'The UK's biggest Gig guide'. This would only be appealing to someone interested in this particular style of music.

A medium close-up of 'Dave Grohl' is used as there is an exclusive interview with him inside the magazine. This would automatically attract his fans to the magazine. He is looking directly at the camera, smiling, inticising the reader. Due to this smile, you are lead to believe that he is slightly suspicious and you want to know why, hence you would buy the magazine. The clothes he is wearing are not apparent but you can see that it is black, which is no uncommon of Kerrang! as often the artists are from the heavy rock genre.

We can see other features in the magazine by the pictures that are on the cover too, such as free posters. 'Green Day' are on the front and they are quite famous, along with 'Rock Legends' which suggests that they are particularly good as well, and very popular. These are on the front cover as a new reader would need to be impressed from first glance, or would simply ignore it.

The cover lines tells you that the magazine has exclusive interviews and pictures that have never been seen before. This is more attractive to buyers, especially fans who would want to see these.

A competition also makes it appealing to a reader as it is free equipment, which they wouldn't want to miss out on.

The title is bold and in your face, as it looks like shattered glass. All of the fonts fit well with the title. The colour scheme consists of yellow and white on a black background, making the words stand out even more. The fonts themselves could be related to rock as they are jerky and bold.

The interview inside has been advertised more on the frotn cover by the fact that quotes have been taken from it. 'Incredible' is used, making it sound like it can't be missed and exciting.

A lot of Kerrang! magazines fit the same sort of layout. Black is always common on it and it usually has quotes and competitions like this issue. It always has a lot of information about upcoming or recent gigs and there are always a lot of photos.

Inside

Out of the 63 pages in this magazine, 22 of them are adverts. The categories these adverts fit in are :

Music

Technology

Clothes

Jewellery

Beauty products

A future edition

These adverts give us an insight to the target audience. Beauty products and jewellery shows us that females are targeted, while technology hints at the younger generations. The clothes are often worn by famous bands or artists, to make them more desirable to the reader. These clothes also reflect the younger target audience, as they are more likely to be worn by this generation. The same goes for the jewellery, as it is very much worn but the younger generation's idols.

Articles and Features

Competitions

News

Posters

Features

Live Reviews

Famous Last Words

Gig Guides

Album Reviews

There are 12 double page spreads in the magazine and they contain; exclusive interviews and gig reviews. They also contain information about recent gigs for artists.