Deconstruction Of A Magazine Front Cover.

Now that I have looked at the major conventions used on a magazine front cover, I can now look at other magazine front covers and analys them. I have looked at a front cover of a music magazine and deconstructed it, this will help as it is a music magazine and I will be creating a music magazine, therefore this helps with my planning of creating a music magazine. This is the magazine I have looked at and deconstructed:

Font	Bold, bright, clear and understandable. Bright colours are used to get the target audiences attention, bold text is used to make it clear for the target audience to read and more understandable. Also the use of capital letters makes it clear too. The font used is plain, which makes it clear and understandable for the target audience.
Text	Bigger sized letters are used to represent important things, sub-headings are in a smaller font and the quotes that are used are in a lower case text. The text relates to the target audience as young people understand the text, band names are also used to make it more interesting and appealing towards the target audience.
Colour	The colours that have been used on the front cover of this magazine are bright, bold, simple, and basic and create contrast. The colour of the text that has been used are yellow and white which makes it stand out from the background. The colour of the background is blue which makes it more appealing towards a male gender audience.
Body Language/Staging	The body language is still, calm which relates to the type of magazine. The main image of a band is very clear and large which makes the target audience more interested in buying the magazine, the band members seem to be glaring, as if they are looking at the audience this makes it more appealing for the target audience. There has been a close up/mid shot used on the main image.
Framing	The centre images fills most of the page of the magazine, some of it has been cut off where the other images are. The magazine has used extra images rather than one main image to make it more interesting and more appealing towards the target audience.
Lighting	The lighting that has been used is high key lighting, which is lighting that is bright and realistic to the target audience’s eyes. The faces of each band member have been highlighted by the lighting so the target audience will recognise the band; this also makes it more appealing towards the target audience.
Composition: (overall design/layout)	The layout of the magazine front cover is well organized, clear and understandable. The design is simple, noticeable and interesting which makes it more appealing towards the target audience. The colours used relate more towards the male gender audience, therefore the layout which is plain and simple also relates towards the target audience that has been implied with this magazine.

Introduction

For this AS Media Studies course I have been asked to create a magazine which will have; a front page cover, a contents page and a double page spread. I will be using this blog to present my planning of creating this magazine, I will be including images of coursework and notes explaining what those images are.
The first piece of coursework that I have done is my proposal form, this simply explains what magazine I plan to create and what it is going to include:

My idea for the breif will be a music magazine that is based on the charts, downloads and recent music. It will include images of bands, popstars and interviews with them... Which will make it more appealing towards the target audience and encourage them more to buy the magazine. The genre of my magazine will be pop, R'n'B, dance etc. Anything that is included in the charts which could possibly be any type of music really. Target audience would be a teenage audience as the magazine that I am creating is like a teen magazine, teens mainly take an interest in it, it would be appealing to both genders as they both may take an interest in the charts. Major conventions I will use would be;

• Masthead: bright, bold, noticeable. The masthead tends to be at the top left corner as of the way we read automaticaaly from the top left corner and from the way magazines are stacked.
• Essential Information: date, issue number. The date and issue number would tend to be beside the mastheading, which makes it noticeable.
• Main sell-line: enigma code which is a word that has two meanings to it, it teases the target audience and draws the in. Gives the impression of good value, white space may be used to suggest style.
• Sub-heading: this basically explains the enigma code/teaser.
• Sell-lines: barcoades and issue numbers tend to be backgrounded, but also noticeable.
• Colour: the palette is restricted to a few contrasting colours for maxium impact. Magazine companies use attractive colours to encourage the audience to buy the magazine, they also tend to use colours that relate to the target audience.
• Main Image: builds an image/identity for the magazine. Attracts the audience; makes the magazine stand out by using one central image. Using one central image rather than loads of images gets the target audiences attention and makes it more appealing towards them. It gives the magazine a identity, lets the audiences know if the magazine is aimed at a certain gender, creates a greater impact.