Tuesday, 25 February 2014

Metal Hammer Double Page Spread Analysis


The overall tone and connotations that the Metal Hammer magazine has is quite dark and serious is continued from the front cover to this particular double page spread. The use of the dark background and dark colour scheme of black, gold and white suggests this dark rock vibe, giving it a more serious tone. This double page spread contains 3 images although it is still clear which one is the feature photograph as the photograph shows all four members of the band Volbeat and is the largest photo on the page as it takes up over half of the whole double page. The photograph fits in well with the overall denotation as it the colours appear to have been edited to suit the colour scheme of the text and overall layout. The colours of the image are fairly dull and grey so all the colours on the page are rather similar so work well together. On the first double page of the article, besides the feature photograph, two other images have been used to add a little more interest to the page and also could be to show the band in action when they are performing, not just a photo shoot they have done for the purposes of this magazine. Both types of photographs, the ones taken for the magazine and the ones where they are on stage playing, have been used continuously throughout the article so there is an even amount of each type again to show both sides to the band and perhaps to get a look at what the band is really like when they are not on stage.

The main text is in white which stands out well on the dark background, but includes a gold drop cap on each new section of text. The use of the drop cap highlights the start of each new part so gives a slightly neater layout to the page, it also breaks up the text a bit so it is not all one big chunk of text that some readers may find uninteresting to look at and therefore may not show as much of an interest.  The use of a pull quote on each page such as “We turn up to towns where there’s nothing, and then a few thousand people show up” has a similar purpose as the drop cap as it attracts attention and encourages the reader to show an interest in the article as usually the pull quote would be an interesting or comical quote that might persuade the reader to look at the article. In the same way as the contents page and front cover have, in each section designed to stand out to the reader the magazine has used a bold font in white, gold or black with a gold background to for fill the purpose of gaining attention. Throughout the magazine, a  different font has been used for each of the articles this suggests that the magazine is trying to show the individuality of the articles and the artists, this could also indicate that the magazine is implying as each of the articles are different, they are all worth reading and taking an interest in. The overall house style for this article is quite straight forward and not quite how you might expect Metal Hammer to be, compared to the front cover of the magazine, although it does have aspects of eye-catching features, it is not as bright and bold as the front cover as that is persuading the reader to buy the magazine and they do not have the exact same purpose.

The mode of address for the main text of the double page spread appears to be more informative rather than trying to convey a chatty, informal tone with the reader. It does not particularly engage with the reader or treat the reader as a friend this is shown by the overall tone of formal, non-colloquial language throughout the text. The use of language suggests that the magazine, in particular this article, is aimed at an older audience due to the formal tone but also due to some of the blasphemous language used. This article appears to be more aimed at actual fans of the band rather than just the general audience as in the interview with the band it includes stories about them and what they do which some readers, who may not be interested in the band, may find boring or uninteresting.

No comments:

Post a Comment