Main Image: The main image is a two person shot, although

the man with the guitar is the main focus over the man on
the drums due to him being closer to the camera. The shot
itself is medium, where the instruments and the outfit of
the model is clearly displayed to the viewer. The props used
in this main image denote the genre of the magazine rock
as this electric guitar and drum kit symbolises that- in
addition the fact theyre wearing black stereotypically is
associated with this particular genre. The facial expressions
of the models are serious and the image if as if its taken in
action as it doesnt seem like theyre posing. The models
used here can be used to attract the target audience for
this particular issue - which is to the fans of Royal Blood or
bands/artists similar to their style. Also the main image over
laps the masthead which is a sign that this magazine is
well known and acknowledged as they can do this.
Masthead: The masthead follows the conventions of being positioned at
the top and being bold and dominate to the cover. The masthead has an
effect whereby theres an impressed that its been cracked and it has a
shattered effect this is associated with a rock genre as the intensity of
some types of rock is depicted to shatter and crack things and this effect
has been bought upon the masthead. So the masthead is given a rock
look which clearly would appeal to those who are in favour of rock. The
masthead appears to pop out at you due to the slight shadowing and the
black border around areas of the letters this enhances the rock theme
and makes it stand out further. Punctuation is used in the masthead !
this can be associated with the rock genre as the music itself is quite
exclaiming so theres that connotation there.
Colour Scheme: The colour scheme for this
magazine appears to be: yellow, black, white
and red. This choice of colour is very effective
as each colour contrasts each other so that
they all stand out from one another. Also
these colours symbolise the rock genre
perfectly Red connotation of danger and
gore, black can symbolise death and
darkness, yellow the colour of caution and
alarm and white juxtaposes the rest and
implies purity. All the meanings of these
colours relate to rock music concepts.
Generally each colour is used an equal
amount which makes the cover look
appealing and displays balance which avoids
visual confusion.
Skyline: This area contains two cover lines which lure the
viewer into reading the magazine. Two images are also used
in association with each cover line within as viewers could
recognise the person in the image and immediately want to
read onto this story. Its effective that theyve included all
this in the skyline as it could potentially be the first thing the
viewer see from afar or if the rest of the magazine is
obscured. The text to these cover line pull the audience in
as the adjectives huge and essential creates an effect
whereby the magazine is hyped and makes you feel like you
read to read it.
Anchorage Text: Royal blood
positioned under the head of
one of the members this is so
the audience immediately know
who the main attraction is and
the purpose for him being on
the cover. The font itself is clear
and bold it is also bordered with
black and shadowed with red
to make it pop out further. The
text is parallel to each other and
straight which is a connotation
to say that the magazine gets
Layout: The order of elements presented on this cover goes: skyline,
masthead, main image, anchorage text which is surrounded by cover
lines and then in the final section are lures and the barcode. This cover
follows the chronological order set by convention and the order of the
features presence makes sense. The rule of thirds convention isnt being
applied on the cover but I think thats dismissible due to the genre of the
magazine rock a connotation of spontaneous and not following the
rules like not following the rule of thirds.
Font: Text size on the cover goes in an order which creates contrast
big text next to small text- this gives a clear demonstration to the main
features and main attractions to the magazine and the extra
information. Theres a variety of different fonts used on this cover and
this is to distinguish to different areas and topics of the content of the
magazine. The font types juxtapose each other as it varies between
narrow like text to wider fonts this creates a sense of chaos with all
these different fonts going on you could say this relates to the genre
rock as it can be quite frantic also.
Pugs: There are many on this cover, one being the 6
awesome posters situated in the left bottom corner the
magazine shows the posters available to draw in the
audience. In addition the poster pictures are borders to
make them stand out even more. Another lure is located
under the masthead win a signed BVB guitar once again
the magazine is offering an opportunity to win something
which would instantly persuade the audience in particular
BVB fans- to purchase this magazine. This competition is
advertised in a circle to make it stand out from the other
contents on the magazine.
Main Cover line: Underneath the anchorage text, a place of
convenience. Each line of the cover line contains a word which
immediately creates hype about the story secret, phenomenon and
Revealed each these words create a semantic field of mystery which
makes this such an effective cover line. However it doesnt stand out as
a main cover line as it has the same appearance of the others the
white backing and the black bold text. So immediately an improvement
to the magazine would be to highlight the cover line more so it can be
acknowledged as the main attraction to the particular issue.
Barcode/issue number/date: It is in the
footer region which follows the convention
so barcodes are usually located here.