Kerrang: My Chemical Romance
This is an article taken from Kerrang! Magazine about My Chemical Romance. The dominant image from the article on the left hand page is of Gerard Way, front man of the band. The image is in black and white which gives the readers a sense of familiarity - at the time, the band's main colour scheme was black - reflected in their music - which Kerrang! have tried to reflect in the article's colour scheme. This could also suggest that the photos are exclusive to Kerrang! and almost "top secret." In this particular interview, making readers feel that they are being told exclusive information about the band's upcoming album - especially since the words "World Exclusive" are seen at the top of the page. In addition to the main image, there are three smaller black and white images on the bottom of the pages. Many music fans feel that front men of bands get all the credit and attention; Kerrang! have tried to appeal to those people by adding images of the other band members. Each image has an anchor to tell the readers who is in each photo, if they did not actually know. As in most articles, the anchors used for these images have a comical sense to them which almost lightens the article - especially with the dark colour scheme.
In this instance, the article title is a pull quote from the article- "We're being the best MCR we can be". The pull quote draws readers in as it doesn't give out much information about the article and what it is about. Not only would this draw fans in, but people that are also not too fond of the band - those people would want to read for themselves how the band are being the "best" they can be in order to make judgement - common for music fans to do. Below the pull quote is a strapline; the strapline tells the reader about the article they are about to read without giving out too much information so that people will have to read the full article. In this instance the use of the word "invite", again, appeals to fans as they feel that they are being invited into the studio themselves.
At the start of the main article content, there is a drop-caps. This indicates where the article begins - this quirky feature is found in many magazines - especially music. Along with the pull quote and strapline, this feature draws the reader in. The overall colour scheme of the text is black, white and red; the colours are almost exclusive and a tradition for the band to use/wear, making it almost compulsory for Kerrang! to use those colours in an article about the band. The colours are very bold which easily grab attention of anyone who is flicking through the magazine. The colour scheme would appeal to fans of the band as, again, it gives them a sense of familiarity, but also it draws the article together - using colour images with pink font, at that particular time, wouldn't have suited the band.
.JPG)
.JPG)
This is a double page spread article from Kerrang! Magazine. The article is about Simon Neil from Biffy Clyro. The article title "In conversation with the greatest rockstar in the world today" is referring to a previous magazine in which readers voted Neil the greatest rockstar of 2013. The article is a follow up interview to that particular issue on how Neil felt about that particular article and the title he had been given by readers. The article title is written in a caps font which instantly grabs attention; readers feel that the use of capital letters infers that the article is important and that they need to read it. The font also suggests that those who are unaware of the band/never listened to the band need to know about Simon Neil and his band. Below the article title is a Introduction/strapline about what the article is about - if not made evident in the title. The strapline gives reader an indication about what the article is about; the article title, contrasts with the one in the My Chemical Romance article as it, unusually, is not a pull quote - unusually for Kerrang! not to do. This particular difference, however, leaves the readers wanting to read on as they don't know anything about what the article will be about - pull quotes usually give readers a brief idea of what they are about to read.
In the main body of text, drop-caps have been used on two occasions. The drop-caps indicate where the article starts; in this article, however, the most important part is the interview - the interview section does not feature any drop-caps - the drop-caps have been used to indicate where the article starts -with a brief introduction and where the article ends with two paragraphs to sum up the article. The article is in five columns in a question - answer format in which Simon Neil talks about his title of greatest rockstar, his idols and Biffy Clyro. These questions and answers appeal to fans of the band as they can get to know a man who many readers look up to. They also are able to get an insight of Simon's life outside of the band which makes readers feel closer to him.
The main image is of Simon Neil and is roughly in the middle of the whole article. The text has been justified to fit about the image which gives a more polished look to the article which readers tend to like opposed to a simple block of text - much like the previous My Chemical Romance article. There is also a small image of the front cover of the magazine in which Simon was named the greatest rockstar; Kerrang! have done this so anyone who did not buy that particular issue know what the issue looks like if they wanted to go online to buy it. There is another image of Simon in which a anchor has been used in the typical comical Kerrang! format. The colour scheme consists of black, white and red font. In the image, Simon is wearing mostly black - the colour red which has been mostly used contrasts with the black from his clothes and makes the article stand out. Also, the use of the bright red would appeal to fans of the band as, unlike many My Chemical Romance fans, fans of Biffy Clyro wear brighter colours which Kerrang! have tried to mimic in their article.
This is a double page spread, also from the Kerrang Magazine. It is an interview with LynZ Way from the band Mindless Self Indulgence. The article title is "GET Over IT!" referring to Way's attitude towards her, at the time, recent marriage to Gerard Way and the attention she gained through it. The title of the article, unlike some articles, doesn't give away any information of what the article is about - this feature intrigues the readers, especially considering that the article/interview was the first interview solely focusing on Way herself. The use of the capitol letters for the words "Get" and "It" emphasises on her attitude towards the attention that her husband brings her; however, the cursive text of "Over" emphasizes on the femininity of Way herself. Below the title, there is a strapline/introduction which introduces Way to any readers who do not know who she is, it also mentions and hints at what the article is about. The main article starts with an introduction to the interview, the introduction starts with a Drop Caps - the drop caps indicates where the article starts for the readers, if not made clear in the layout. There is a pull quote where the main image is; the quote lets readers know, if not read the article, what the article is about.
In this instance, the article title is a pull quote from the article- "We're being the best MCR we can be". The pull quote draws readers in as it doesn't give out much information about the article and what it is about. Not only would this draw fans in, but people that are also not too fond of the band - those people would want to read for themselves how the band are being the "best" they can be in order to make judgement - common for music fans to do. Below the pull quote is a strapline; the strapline tells the reader about the article they are about to read without giving out too much information so that people will have to read the full article. In this instance the use of the word "invite", again, appeals to fans as they feel that they are being invited into the studio themselves.
At the start of the main article content, there is a drop-caps. This indicates where the article begins - this quirky feature is found in many magazines - especially music. Along with the pull quote and strapline, this feature draws the reader in. The overall colour scheme of the text is black, white and red; the colours are almost exclusive and a tradition for the band to use/wear, making it almost compulsory for Kerrang! to use those colours in an article about the band. The colours are very bold which easily grab attention of anyone who is flicking through the magazine. The colour scheme would appeal to fans of the band as, again, it gives them a sense of familiarity, but also it draws the article together - using colour images with pink font, at that particular time, wouldn't have suited the band.
In the main body of text, drop-caps have been used on two occasions. The drop-caps indicate where the article starts; in this article, however, the most important part is the interview - the interview section does not feature any drop-caps - the drop-caps have been used to indicate where the article starts -with a brief introduction and where the article ends with two paragraphs to sum up the article. The article is in five columns in a question - answer format in which Simon Neil talks about his title of greatest rockstar, his idols and Biffy Clyro. These questions and answers appeal to fans of the band as they can get to know a man who many readers look up to. They also are able to get an insight of Simon's life outside of the band which makes readers feel closer to him.
The main image is of Simon Neil and is roughly in the middle of the whole article. The text has been justified to fit about the image which gives a more polished look to the article which readers tend to like opposed to a simple block of text - much like the previous My Chemical Romance article. There is also a small image of the front cover of the magazine in which Simon was named the greatest rockstar; Kerrang! have done this so anyone who did not buy that particular issue know what the issue looks like if they wanted to go online to buy it. There is another image of Simon in which a anchor has been used in the typical comical Kerrang! format. The colour scheme consists of black, white and red font. In the image, Simon is wearing mostly black - the colour red which has been mostly used contrasts with the black from his clothes and makes the article stand out. Also, the use of the bright red would appeal to fans of the band as, unlike many My Chemical Romance fans, fans of Biffy Clyro wear brighter colours which Kerrang! have tried to mimic in their article.
This is a double page spread, also from the Kerrang Magazine. It is an interview with LynZ Way from the band Mindless Self Indulgence. The article title is "GET Over IT!" referring to Way's attitude towards her, at the time, recent marriage to Gerard Way and the attention she gained through it. The title of the article, unlike some articles, doesn't give away any information of what the article is about - this feature intrigues the readers, especially considering that the article/interview was the first interview solely focusing on Way herself. The use of the capitol letters for the words "Get" and "It" emphasises on her attitude towards the attention that her husband brings her; however, the cursive text of "Over" emphasizes on the femininity of Way herself. Below the title, there is a strapline/introduction which introduces Way to any readers who do not know who she is, it also mentions and hints at what the article is about. The main article starts with an introduction to the interview, the introduction starts with a Drop Caps - the drop caps indicates where the article starts for the readers, if not made clear in the layout. There is a pull quote where the main image is; the quote lets readers know, if not read the article, what the article is about.
The main image is of LynZ herself in black and white. The image takes up the whole right side of the page, this gives readers an incite onto who Way is (in the interview) and also puts a face to the name. The black and white image contrasts with the plain white background, it also reflects Way's onstage outfits - usually consisting of mostly black and white clothing. There is no anchor to the image as the article makes it clear who the image is of. Also, Kerrang add a comical touch to most anchors on photos; however, this article is quite a serious article, meaning that Kerrang can't add in a comical anchor. The colour scheme of the article is black white and red - like the previous article on Simon Neil; as mentioned above with the main image, the colours reflect the colours that Way wears onstage. The use of red can be linked with Way's frequent use of wearing red lipstick - shown in the pull quote of the article as the background of it is a red lipstick mark.
For my magazine, I think I am going to base my double page spread on the layout shown in the third double page spread of LynZWay. I have chosen this layout as it is more feminine than the My Chemical Romance article; additionally, my article is going to be an interview with Dannika from Evarose - with my friends posing in photos as Dannika.
Abbie, you have produced three detailed deconstructions, showing your awareness of the key features and conventions of double page spreads, as well as discussing linguistic features, use of colours, fonts etc. You have correctly used relevant terminology throughout, and have discussed how the composition / features of the double page spreads have been designed appeal to the reader. Excellent work!
ReplyDelete