Question 1 Evaluation

Front Cover

In my music magazine I have adhered to certain conventions to make it very clear that it is a Vintage Rock magazine. For example my masthead is covering 1/5th of the page, it is written in a very scratchy, blocky and bold font this is very stereotypical of a rock magazine.

My model is looking directly into the camera and is the biggest feature on the front cover so the most attention is drawn to her. She holds her head up with her hand and had a cheeky look because of her smile, this supports Laura Mulvey's theory about male gaze. The look she gives also supports Dyer because she was told to look like this showing that 'A star is an image, not a real person'. The model is wearing dark clothes which is very stereotypical, however the colours are also slightly faded which strikes as a more vintage look.

As my model is of a younger age that will attract a younger audience, however in order to reach my double target audience age range I have also included the name of an older famous band. This ensures there will be something for my older target audience to read and make them want to buy my magazine. This supports Hodge and Kress theory as there are thing added to the magazine by the producer to make the reader want to buy the magazine. At the top of my magazine there is a opaque banner contain social media links which again targets a younger audience as young adults are stereotyped to always be on social media. They include names for Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat.


Most of the colours on the magazine are very dark and some are faded this makes the magazine very clearly a vintage rock magazine. However I have added a bright yellow colour to magazine to make certain parts stand out.

I have also manipulated some of the conventions on my music magazine for example my models make up was not as heavy as what you may see on other rock magazines, however I feel having the make up slightly less heavy helps keep a more of a vintage feel to my model. The hair on my model is very different to what you may see on a rock artist however it had a very classic feel which again brings a vintage feel to the model. This again supports Dyers theory because her make up and hair was done this way to make it less rock like and more vintage and she would not always have her hair and make up this way on a daily basis.

The puff on my magazine does not contain the conventional inside feature but advertises a free download. My puff is also opaque which creates synergy with the banner at the top of the front cover.

Another convention which I challenged was the positioning of my pug usually they are at the top of the front cover however on mine it is at the bottom. It does still contain the price and the date which typical of a pug.

Contents Page

My contents page has also adhered to many conventions, these conventions i have adhered to make it evident that my magazine is a vintage rock magazine. There are 3 columns on my contents page and it is very typical of a music magazine to have columns on it, I also have 15 stories on the contents page.

Adding an editors section for my readers is also very commonly seen on music magazines so this also adheres to conventions of a music magazine to clarify the meaning of the magazine.



The colours and fonts have a very clear synergy with the front cover as the 2 banners at the top and bottom are in the same deep red on the front cover and the page numbers of each story are also in the same deep red colours. The same scratchy font which is used on my masthead is used for the heading of my contents page creating very clear synergy.

The model in the bottom right of my contents page has he neck very on show which could support Mulvey's theory of male gaze as she is showing a lot of skin and holding her neck seductively. However it also disproves Mulvey's as a tattoo is not a stereotypical part of an attractive woman. However the use of the tattoos is very stereotypical of a rock artist ask they are always pictured with tattoos or piercing but 'stereotypes are not simple' as Perkins said.

I have also manipulated some of these conventions for example my contents page isn't as busy as an average rock magazine I have done this to ensure that the rock theme does not drown out the vintage element of the magazine too much.

Advertising a gig and festival into my magazine keeps a younger theme running throughout as festivals are aims for younger people. How ever in my gig guide in my bottom banner I have included older bands such as Fleetwood Mac and The Rolling Stones. I have found it difficult to meet the demands of both of my target audience and I believe that the difficulty I've had supports Julian McDougall's theory that 'In the online age it is getting harder to identify a stable media audience.

The use of add social media in my top banner incorporates an area for something a younger target audience may be interested in.




The use of the splatters on the edges and coming off the title also keeps the young theme going but also adds a rock element at the same time as they are black.

Double Page Spread

On my DPS I have also adhered to many conventions to make it clear that it is a vintage rock magazine. I have kept 3 column of text which is usual of any DPS. There is a total of 4 different pull quotes 3 of them on a deep red background which is very synergetic with the colours on my front cover and contents page. The scratchy edges on the sides of the puff add a rock look and the deep red adds a vintage feel. 

The drop capital at the beginning of my article covers three lines and follows the convention of a usual magazine.  

 There are many dark colour on my DPS, all the font is black, the deep red puffs are dark and the models clothing is also very dark, this makes it very obvious that there the magazine is a vintage rock magazine. 

My model gives a slightly seductive look in the smaller photo as she looks over her shoulder towards the camera. This supports Mulvey's theory of male gaze as it look like she does this to grab male attention. 

Some conventions I have manipulated are the fact that the contents page isn't as busy as a typical rock magazine, the reason I have done this is to ensure that the vintage look of this magazine doesn't get lost in all of the rock looks that are featured. 

I have only put text on one side of my DPS because my target audience research told me that my target audience did not want too much text so I have tried to keep the amount of text to a minimum. 

A convention that I have challenged is that I have included an image in the centre line of the magazine so it will be were the fold is and this breaks conventions as it os rarely see on any magazine .