Magazine Front cover research

 This cover of Kerrang features a member of slipknot. by using a plain light background the focus of the cover is on the band member. the close up shot gives the audience to see in detail the one of the famous masks of metal band Slipknot. The face is pushed behind the text particularly the magazine title, this is to emphasis what the magazine is called so that the audience is aware of its presence. The text used ranges from colours red,white gold and black, these colours stand out the most, more so with the plain white background. Additionally the unique font stye of the bands name "Slipknot" makes it stand out from the rest of the text to help make them known to the audience. The whole dark and light outlook some could argue represents the rock/metal genre and appeals to the teenage metal audience.

The mise en scene for Rolling stone however is different from that of Kerrang. The main feature "Tupac" has been pushed forward, and the title of the magazine pushed to the back, this somewhat unique display puts the focus on Tupac rather than the name of the magazine, an atypical approach to marketing. furthermore the text used is plain and is in small quantity, this helps  not to over encumber the reader with just the front cover. rather, this approach may help entice the reader to look into more detail what little these texts tell us. the use of plain colour and little text somewhat represent the audience of the magazine, an audience that prefers quality over quantity.

As with Rolling Stone, Metal Hammer have also followed the design of placing the magazine name behind the feature. the colour scheme of the front over follows a dark approach using dark,morbid and sorrowful colours. some could argue the colour scheme fits that of the "Metal" genre. there is not much text included, but the minimal text gives an insight as to what famous metal bands will be in the magazine. Furthermore the use of a quotation makes the reader want to know what context the quotation refers to. The offer of a free cd & DVD also makes the reader more inclined to purchase the magazine, a very good marketing technique. The feature looks directly at the camera, almost as though he is looking at the reader, a common mise en scene technique. Though the majority of the cover is dark the feature is well lit up to help him stand out from the rest of the background. again this dark feature and use of flames reach out an represent the teenage metal audience.

NME have also followed a similar approach, the lighting makes the reader focus only on the model in the picutre. the dark background with a lit up face makes the model more prominent in the front cover. the use of yellow and red coloured text makes it stand out in the dark atmosphere of the front cover, a technique used to capture the attention of readers. The name of the magazine as well as the featured band are large and bold as they are the most important part of the magazine. the overlapping of the "reading 2008" and "leeds 2008" stickers show  a rock and carelessness feel to the magazine, whilst still informing the audience. The fact that these stickers not only overlap but all cover part of "new musical express" shows that the magazine is well know and well established just to have "NME" and not the full nam showing. The caption at the top of the magazine makes the reader more inclined to read the magazine, to see what exactly what it entails. These features however are more for a mainstream pop rock-type audience. It represents the genre in the sense that the use of bright text against a dark background reflect the juxtaposed life of a teenager making life decisions. This pop rock magazine gives me a barrier as to how to make my magazine not look like this as it would wrongly portray the metal/rock genre