Decisions of language and register of my double page spread

For my magazine I will have to choose a register that appeals to my target audience of older teenagers. I will use an informal tone with colloquialisms and slang that teenagers use. I will use a variety of sentences such as simple, compound and complex to break up the pace of the article. I wouldn't use only simple sentences because it could sound patronising and the reader wouldn't enjoy the article as much. I will use technical language that links to the dubstep genre, as I am presuming that people who want to buy or have bought a dubstep magazine will understand this language. The sentences will be more active than passive so it keeps readers interested and maintains a fairly quick pace. I will use quotes from the artist I'm interviewing to make the article sound believable. I'm expecting the reader to be pleased by the article.  

Similar Product research contents page analysis "Q"

This “Q” contents page is well laid out with titles for the different types of features. It follows the house style of red, white and black. The top banner is black which makes the white writing really stand out. The “Q” logo is in the top left corner which again follows the house style. The red banners for the different features make them really easy to distinguish between. There is not many images as the page is more text based, what images there are though are linked with the text. The page is packed with text and images so there isn't any significant amounts of white space. Next to each of the features is a page number so people can easily navigate through the magazine finding the pages they want straight away. There are more than 25 features shown so my magazine will need many features as well. In the top corner there is the issue number, date and a website address. This issue has a special features box containing articles all bout one band. I could put something like this in my magazine to try and break up just a list of features.      

Similar product research front cover analysis "Q"

On this “Q” front cover it has an image of The Kings of Leon breaking through glass coming towards the reader. This gives a feel of destruction and chaos which is associated with rock music. The banner at the side of the page has a white background which makes the text stand out more. The house style is red and white which is used throughout the cover with red writing and white backgrounds. At the bottom of the page there is a pull quote from an article inside the magazine which gains the readers interest. The cover isn't drenched in colour so it doesn't look too busy and overwhelming, colour is only used on parts where it needs to catch the readers attention. Another bands name is mentioned on the cover so the reader knows what else is in magazine. At the bottom corner of the page there is the price, issue number and bar code.

DPS Language Analysis

 The DPS that we did our analysation on was Metal Hammer, this typical rock/metal magazine is ultimately targeted to a young audience, however the DPS was targeted at a higher educated mature audience.

This formal piece of writing is ideal for this type of audience because they are expecting a higher formality of text. 'Indeed, while the formula of a concept album', this example shows how much etiquette has been placed in this article. Another part to this article is how difficult the writing is, for example, 'Preconceived' and 'Fruition' these words are difficult to pronounce, this shows how difficult the writers have made this, this is suitable for there target audience. This is weird because Metal Hammer usually target this magazine at a younger teenage audience instead of a sophisticated audience. In this article we have found evidence of alliteration, 'Darkly Devious Dani', this a great example for alliteration since this is the main title of the article. i Another feature to this article is the grammar, the whole article is grammatically correct, 'Dani is exhibiting more than a few stereotypical female tendencies himself;' this shows that the whole article is showing perfect grammar.

Similar Product Research DPS

 This double page spread is very image led. The image is large and takes up most of the double page, this attracts the reader and makes them want to read on. At the left side of the page there is a large pull quote written in capitals wrapped around the image. Underneath the quote there is a banner containing the title of the article. Banners are usually at the bottom of the page but this one is raised a bit to break the background colours. The actual article starts with leading caps and a standfirst in capital letters, in this case it makes the name of the band stand out. At the bottom right of the page is the byline which states who wrote the article and took the photo. In the top right corner there is a caption describing the article. The colour scheme of the page is predominantly black and white with parts of red. These colours match the house style of the magazine. There is a lot of white space which stops the page from looking too busy. At the top of the left page there is a news banner which says what page it is.     

Initial ideas and changes

I have decided to base my magazine on the Dubstep music style. The magazine will be called “The Drop”. I’ve called it this because it’s a term used in Dubstep, so people will instantly recognize it if they like Dubstep.  The title will droop down so it looks like it’s dropping to tie in with the name. The magazine will be targeted at teenagers so the features will need to connect with them. The colour scheme will be blue and black to give it an electronic look. The cover will feature a photo of a Dubstep artist along with tag lines stating what features will be in the magazine. For my double page spread I will do an interview with a popular artist. The issue will be an Autumn edition. My contents page will look busy and will be packed with features and a variety of pictures. It will follow the house style, having the title in the top corner with the same blue and black colour scheme.

Survey and survey analysis

Survey

Gender;

Male [ ]

Female [ ]

Age;

12-14 [ ]

15-18 [ ]

18-20 [ ]

20+ [ ]

Favourite music genre;

Rock [ ]

Dance [ ]

Dubstep [ ]

R&B [ ]

Indie [ ]

Preferred colour scheme;

Blue & Black [ ]

Red & Black [ ]

Blue & Red [ ]

Green & Yellow [ ]

Purple & Blue [ ]

How regular should the magazine be;

Weekly [ ]

Fortnight [ ]

Monthly [ ]

Seasonally [ ]

How often do you buy magazines

Regularly [ ]

Every now and then [ ]

Rarely [ ]

Never [ ]

How much do you spend on magazines;

£1.00-£2.00 [ ]

£2.00-£3.00 [ ]

£3.00-£4.00 [ ]

£4.00-£5.00 [ ]

£5.00+ [ ]

What would you like for the double page spread;

Interview with popular artist [ ]

Interview with upcoming artist [ ]

Reviews [ ]

Games/Puzzles [ ]

Would you rather buy a cheaper magazine with no extras e.g CD, or more expensive with extras;

Without extras [ ]

With extras [ ]


The results of the survey show that most of the of the people that that took part in it were between 15 and 18 and the most popular music choices were rock and dubstep. Most people don't buy magazines that often and when they do, they normally go for cheaper ones without extras. The double page spread that people wanted to see most was the interview with a popluar artist and their preferred edition would be a christmas one.