Media Task 2-Metal Hammer, front cover.

Typography.

The font styles used across most of the cover of the magazine

is sans serif. This is appealing to the target audience because

it connotes masculinity, as the audience is male leaning.

Using this bold text for the masthead and most of the cover

lines draws the reader’s eye as it is the primary optical area.

Also on the masthead there is red blood coming off of it, this

blood writing some distortion which connotes danger and

threatening to people who do not like the genre of music.

The masthead has a part of the band members heads covering

the title of the magazine signifying that the magazine is well

established and so does not need to display the title

as prominently as readers are already aware of what

magazine it is. The genre being metal/rock needs the

typography to be bold, masculine and threatening and this

was achieved by using the red, blood and sans serif fonts.

With the sans serif fonts of the band names in the left third of

the magazine makes the audience widen because they will

see their favourite band members and want to buy it before

even knowing about what is in the article. The other part of the font is old fashion serif, this is the

‘Bullet for My Valentine’. This appeals to the target audience because there is parts of old horror

and it connotes danger because of the blood and roses coming off it. The blood connotes danger and violence and the spiked roses connotes horror and death.

Colour.

The main colours that have been used on this front cover is; red, black and white. Red connotes

aggression and blood. Also the red contrasts on the black background which fits in with the genre

of music. The only other colour used on the magazine cover is yellow, this stands out against the

colour scheme. This is where it says “2 Free CD’s”, this draws attention to the reader eye’s

because it is the only thing that is yellow it is also the first thing to look at because it is in the

primary optical area in the route of the eye. Yellow also connotes danger. Most of the cover

stories are written in the same colour as the masthead, this connotes danger. This is because red is

the most used colour on the magazine cover so this colour is the most dangerous and this shows

that this is the most important and makes the audience look at the key parts of the magazine first.

Overall the colours that have been used are conventional to the genre of music because red and

black are very masculine colours that show strength and danger, and they will buy this magazine

because those colours are things that they associate with.

Image.

The images used appeal to the target of audience/genre of music because of the celebrities and the

content inside of the magazines. For example some of the artists featured on the front cover on his magazine is;

Motorhead

Bullet For My Valentine

Iron Maiden

Avenged Sevenfold

Metallica

All of these celebrities shown are ones that influence male leaning people around the age of 17.

The one shot type used is a close up, this enables the audience to identify the celebrities easily

rather than a smaller images that they can barely see. The people on the front cover are wearing

dark clothing. This image is conventional for the genre of magazine because the musicians are

pulling faces like they are screaming and this connotes danger and anger and that is what people stereotypically think that all the musicians are like.

Layout

This magazine is fairly ordered and is different to a pop magazine as that is very

cluttered to connote happiness. Whereas this magazine is very ordered and everything is

really in line and ordered. This connotes masculinity as men wouldn’t like everything

cluttered as it would be harder to read as this magazine does not connote happiness. On

this magazine cover the route of the eye is used, drawing the reader across the masthead

which helps them to recognise what the magazine is. This is in the primary optical area.

In the middle of the magazine has; the main image, the main cover story and many

captions and cover lines. This is conventional for a magazine cover because normally

everything that is inside the magazine is in the middle of the magazine and the mast head is at the top.

The masthead is in a very conventional place as it is on the route of the eye, this is because this is

where the audience will look first. The principal of thirds, featuring all four artists faces near

enough in the centre square. This is also conventional because their

faces go through the middle of the route of the eye. The left third is the

most cluttered thing on the front of the magazine, this because it is the

most dominant side of the page. In this left third there is 4 cover lines

also part of the masthead is in the left third too. This is conventional

for a front cover of a magazine because they magazine editors want the

audience to know what the most interesting and main things are

featured inside of the magazine so that they want to read on from their

first glance of the magazine.

Language/mode of address.

The language used on the front of the magazine is very conventional for the genre of music that

the magazine is aimed for, as, under the ‘bullet for my valentine’ it says ‘ready to kill them all’.

The use of the of the word ‘kill’, this connotes anger and violence which fits in with the genre of

music. Most of the language used on the front cover of this magazine fits in with the genre of

music, as if was talking about marriage proposals the target audience wouldn’t read it as it too

girly and not conventional for a metal magazine.

Conventions.

Most of the conventional things have already been mentioned throughout. Such as: The masthead

being red and having blood running down the magazine and also the positioning of the masthead.

The front cover relates to the genre of music because of the typography used and images used,

this is done through the use of dark and dangerous colours such as blacks and reds (this is also

conventional because men do not like bright colours). The main conventional thing on the front

cover of the magazine is the language/mode of address, this is the main reason why people who

like the genre of music would pick up the magazine, as because if the magazine was writing about

pink fluffy slippers, people who like metal/rock would not be interested to read what is inside and probably would not pick it up.

Media Task 2-Metal Hammer, double page spread.

Typography.

The first piece of typography that stands

out the most is the ‘scene not heard’,

this is in a sans serif font. But all of the

font styles used across most of the

double page spread of the magazine is

sans serif. This is appealing to the target

audience because it connotes

masculinity and like all the others, is

easier to read. The stand first is in the

same font/text as the headline, this is

conventional because the stand first is a

line after the headline giving more information and it wouldn’t be so conventional for men if they

both were different, and also curly writing wouldn’t fit in with the genre of magazine as it would

look weird next to a massive bold statement. Also in the article there is two massive lettering

before both of the two paragraphs. These are both in red, which continues the theme of red and danger, which is conventional.

Colour.

The main colours that have been used on this front cover is; red and white. Red connotes

aggression and blood. This is also very cognitional because the front cover, context page and

double page spread all fit together with the colour scheme. Most of the first letter in the article are

written in the same colour as the masthead on the front cover, this connotes danger. This is

because red is the most used colour on the magazine cover so this colour is the most dangerous

and this shows that this is the most important and makes the audience look at the key parts of the

article first because it is bold and the biggest part of the sentence/paragraph. Overall the colours

that have been used are conventional to the genre of music because red, white and black are very

masculine colours that show strength and danger, and they will buy this magazine because those

colours are things that the audience/reader associate with.

Image.

All of these celebrities shown are ones that influence male leaning people around the age of 17.

The one shot type used is a mid-shot, this enables the audience to identify the celebrities easily

(as well as the clothes they are wearing because they look up to these people) rather than a

smaller images that they can barely see. All of people on this double page spread are wearing

dark green or dark brown clothing. The clothing that the band members are wearing are all

conventional for the genre of magazine/music as stereotypically the audience are seen to always

wear dark clothing and nothing bright. This image is conventional for the genre of magazine

because the musicians are pulling stern faces and this connotes masculinity and power and that is

what people stereotypically think that all the musicians are like.

Layout

The same as the other two this double page spread is very conventional

when it comes to layout. As it uses the principals of thirds like all the

others have done. In the left third is the massive sans serif font, this is

conventional because it is the first thing that the reader will look at

because it is the most noticeable thing about the double page spread.

Then on the rest of the thirds it is the article and the picture of the band

Mastodon. This is conventional because the producers want the reader

to read the sans serif headline first and if it wasn't in the left third this wouldn't happen.

Also this double page spread uses the route of the eye. This is used

because the first thing (used in the primary optical area) that the

audience will see is all six band member faces and what they are wearing, this is conventional

because the readers can see who they are about to read about and helps to know what they look

like is they have never seen the band before. The next thing that they see is the massive, bold,

sans serif article headline. This is conventional because after the audience have established who

they are reading about they will then now what the article is about and what the band is going to

be talking about. This magazine double page spread is fairly ordered and is different to a pop

magazine as that is very cluttered to connote happiness but this is not like a pop magazine so it is

conventional. Whereas this magazine is very ordered and everything is really in line and connotes

masculinity, and also with it being very ordered it will attract the male leaning audience better

because it is easier on the eye and a lot easier to read.

Language/mode of address.

The language used on this double spread of the magazine is very conventional for the genre of

music that the magazine is aimed for, as, the main sans serif font says ‘scene not heard’ this is a

play on words. This is conventional because it relates to the facts inside the article and the image background as it is a ‘scene’.

Conventions.

The double page spread of metal hammer is very conventional for the genre of magazine/music.

Most of the conventional things have already been mentioned throughout. Such as: the

typography, imaging and theme of the colours. The double page spread relates to the genre of

music because of the typography used and images used, this is done through the use of dark and

masculine colours such as blacks, whites and reds (this is also conventional because men do not

like bright colours and curly fonts and a cluttered magazine). The main conventional thing on the

front cover of the magazine is the colours used and the theme of sans serif writing. The use of the

sans serif writing is the main convention because if there was curly writing used it wouldn’t fit in

with the genre of magazine as it would look weird next to a massive bold statement and also the

main article is in sans serif. Also the theme of the colour used is conventional because if the page

was filled with pinks and purples it would connote happiness and girly things rather than danger

and masculinity a metal magazine is supposed to. The use of black connotes death, the use of red

connotes danger and the use of white shows strength. All of these colours together connote masculinity.

Media Task 2-Metal Hammer, content page

Typography.

The main titles of what is inside of the magazine are in quite an old school

gothic text. The genre being metal/rock needs the typography to be bold,

masculine and threatening and this was achieved by using the bold and

unique fonts which connotes masculinity. Also it keeps the front cover and

the context page in the same theme, as it still brings in the masculine

conventions the front cover did. Most of the other fonts under the titles and

the column from the editor are all in sans serif, this makes the text easier to

read and people will read more of it because it is not a difficult text to read. The use of both of the

two different text together brings in the masculine and angry theme because, they are not all curly

and girly, and they are plain and bold which fits in with the genre. These fonts connotes

masculinity, and gives off that they can escape if they are having a bad day and forget about

everything, and read about their favourite bands. At the bottom right corner of the context page

there is the signature of the editor, this shows that the editor cares about his readers and what

content he puts inside of the magazine, which would make the audience want to read on because

of the dedication. Also because it is in hand written text it looks real and better than just a printed

name.

Colour.

The main colours that have been used on this content page is; red, black and white. Red connotes

aggression and blood. Also the red contrasts on the black background, which fits in with the genre

of music. These are a good choice of colours as it fits in with the theme of the conventional front

cover of the magazine and the colour theme stays the same all throughout. Overall the colours

that have been used are conventional to the genre of magazine because red and black are very

masculine colours that show power and danger, and they will buy this magazine because those colours are things that they associate with.

Image.

The images used appeal to the target of audience/genre of music because of the celebrities and the

content inside of the magazines shown on the front of the context page. As some of the artists featured on the context page is:

Avenged sevenfold

Aerosmith

Five finger death punch

Accept

The images used in the context page fits in with the genre of magazine as most of the people

featured on the page have tattoos, wearing dark clothing and all doing intimidating poses. These

images are conventional for the genre of magazine when the musicians are pulling these faces it

connotes danger and anger and that is what people stereotypically think that all the musicians are

like. Also the image background of the main part of what is in the magazine looks like an old

scribe which fits in with the old school gothic typography. The image of the woman at the bottom

of the page is doing a ‘rock and roll’ hand gesture, this is conventional because for one the male

leaning audience will want to read on as they have chosen an attractive woman to be a part of the

context page and also, using the hand as it is shows that the genre of music is rock.

Layout

The layout of the context page is conventional as it is still very

ordered like the front cover which is conventional as it is not a pop

magazine which is very cluttered and harder to read and understand.

Whereas this magazine is very ordered and everything is really in line

and ordered. This connotes masculinity as men wouldn’t like

everything cluttered as it would be harder to read as this magazine does not connote happiness like a pop magazine would.

The principal of thirds, is used on this context

page as most of the main stories in the

magazine is on the left third and this is where

people will look the most, so this is in a

conventional place. All of the images are placed

together in the context page are all in the same

place, this is conventional because it draws the

reader attention to the images as all the colours and imaging are all together and is easy on the eye.

The route of the eye is used on this page as; at the top of the context page

there is the ‘metal hammer context’ this is conventional because the ‘metal hammer’ is the same logo as the masthead from the front cover.

Language/mode of address.

The language used on the context page of the magazine is very conventional for the genre of

music that the magazine is aimed for, as, in some of the text under the gothic typography, it says

‘you’ve got your ticket’, this is conventional because even though some people might of not gone

to concert they are trying to give the reader a front row seat of what happened at download. Also

it says ‘as I lay here dying’, this connotes danger and death. This is conventional because seeing

the cover story will make them want to read on about people danger. This fits in with the target audience because the sense of danger is what society thinks people who listen to metal is like.

Conventions.

The context page of metal hammer is very conventional for the genre of magazine/music. Most of

the conventional things have already been mentioned throughout. Such as: the context page being

very ordered which makes it easier to read. Also using the principle of thirds and all the

typography. The context page relates to the genre of music because of the typography used and

images used, this is done through the use of dark and dangerous colours such as blacks and reds

(this is also conventional because men do not like bright colours) and also the old school gothic

writing used. The main conventional thing on the front cover of the magazine is the

language/mode of address; this is the main reason why people who like the genre of music would

pick up the magazine. This helps the editors to reach viewers as if their content on the context

page was girly things and not about metal/rock music, the audience wouldn’t relate and wouldn’t

want to read it.