Textual Analysis - Vive Le Rock

The clothing of the models in the photo on the front cover have connotations of femininity as the person on the far right is wearing flowery leggings, the fishnet jumper of the person on the left and the top worn by the person in the middle.
The leather jacket of the subject on the left has connotations of punk. The studs and style of the jacket has connotations of alternative fashion and statement of rebellion.
The haircuts are very alternative and make a statement of punk. This creates the idea that the magazine is quite alternative and appealing to a certain style of person.
The neon text of 'Vive Le Rock' and 'u.k' 82 punk!' has connotations of retro and appears quite outdated compared to modern magazines.
The red background has connotations of danger and anger. It creates a contrast against the neon colours and the pale faces of the models.
The chains on the clothing of the models have connotations of punishment and being chained up and again a sign of rebellion.
The text at the top 'rock n roll' etc. appears quite retro and stylized.
Overuse of exclamation marks like on 'anarchy!!!' makes it bold and expressive.
The models body language of the crossed arms and blank faces have connotations of disinterest. The facial expressions of the squinted eyes is quite threatening. The piercings and haircuts also help create this image.
The text in the center has connotations of paint as the way its splattered. It creates the idea of graffiti and spray paint.
The dark black at the bottom of the magazine and the red colours has connotations of depression and solemn mood.

Textual Analysis

The black background of the Metal Hammer magazine makes the magazine quite dark in colour, this connotes a depressive mood. It immediately tells the reader its an alternative magazine. The colours of red and silver also have an impact on this.
The chains in the title draw up connotations of punishment, pain and being chained up. This fits in with the genre of metal music which is normally quite brutal and harsh to listen to.
The screaming facial expression of the bald headed man shows anger and pain. The overall image of the magazine is appealing to the dark and alternative themes of metal music.
The fonts used fit in with the style of the magazine. The red font of the title 'out of the asylum!' has connotations of blood and danger. The silver font of 'disturbed' has connotations of cold and metallic.
The image of the monster in the bottom left makes the reader think of horror and gore. The connotations of horror and gore is that its usually disgusting or repulsive.
The piercings and tattoos have connotations of body modifications and alternative fashion. There is a certain stereotype associated with people who have piercings and tattoos.
The mohawk of the man in the back is usually associated with punk. Connotations of punk is anarchy, angst and alternative.

Introduction and Aims

The concept of my magazine is a punk magazine.  I want to report about punk bands and the underground music scene. The themes revolving punk music are typically protest, politics and social strife. I want my magazine to be about the music but also include and interpret these themes.

The genre is punk and specifically crust punk. Anarcho punk influences crust punk and bands often use screechy and sometimes screamed vocals.  Therefore I will be appealing to the ‘alternative’ sector of society. There is a market for metal and rock, however I want to focus directly on punk music as there are not as many magazines for the particular genre of crust punk. Rather than a magazine appealing to general rock or metal I wish to make the magazine very specific. 

The audience of my magazine will be teenagers to young adult. I want my demographic to be relatively wide. The specific age range I want to appeal to with my magazine is 16-25. I want to appeal to the older audience so will aim to make the magazine look professional and for an older audience. I want to appeal to both male and female so will make the magazine gender neutral. 

I don't want my magazine to be particularly glossy as it needs to be affordable to the target market. Also glossy and clean cut would not fit in with the punk image. The magazine will have a more rough appearance. 

I found my inspiration for my magazine through researching punk and the different genres of punk. One of the bands I wish to feature is The Drones. The band perform a really good live set and I hope to photograph their gig for my feature. Also to interview them for a feature section of my magazine introducing them to the reader. 

The settings I will use for my shoot will be run down places and 'grimy' locations as Crust punk is associated with free living or squatting. I will use the fashion of punks and punk style to dress my models. Punk style is typically black clothing, denim, sewn on patches, metal studs and spikes. The lighting used will be quite harsh to accentuate the model and the clothing.  Hairstyles I will use will be mohawks and extreme hair to fit in with the fashion. I will use heavy make up on the models as well. An idea I have is to use political slogans within the shots to convey the themes and topics of crust punk.

The colour scheme I plan to use will revolve around the colours black, blue, white and red. These are the colours that are commonly used in current punk and metal magazines. The colours need to bring out connotations of angst and pain. I will use bold red titles to achieve this. Also silver and white fonts with the connotations of metallic and cold. 

Name ideas I have had are Distress and a big C for the crust in crust punk. The name of the magazine needs to make it obvious to the reader that its a punk magazine. Names of crust punk bands are dirt, disfear and doom. I want my name to revolve around this theme.