THE CONTENTS!

The contents uses certain generic elements to present the reader with an overall view of what the magazine has to offer and attract people to different articles.

The overall mise en scene of the page is dark with highlighted important parts. The main image is of the rockstar is in the middle of the page which shows the rule of thirds technique to attract the audiences eyes here first. He has the 'metal hammer golden gods' logo directly above him at the top of the page. This is an example of anchorage and links to the main cover line which signifies that as the main article. The bright yellow and red colours of the 'golden gods v' text and the bigger, bolder font of the page number signifies importance and therfore directs the readers attention to that article. Other examples of denoted colours used for the audience to encode as important are the bright red and yellow circles located at the corners of the page. they say: 'WHATS ON YOUR FREE CDS? SEE P.24', '2 FREE MAGS' AND 'SUBSCRIBE & GET THREE FREE DVD'S! see p.84'. The free mags text is anchored to pictures of the two free magazines.

The other articles on the contents are in a red border seperate from the main image. The page numbers are in drop capitals and highlighted red to signify attention and the article titles are white and bold to attract attention and the article descriptions are more discreet. The raw rough looking font as seen in the masthead is used for the word 'CONTENTS' as this is part of the house style. The bottom left hand corner of the page is used to show the 'band finder'. the bands and pages they are located on are within a bright red banner which again connote importance and attract the attention of the target audience with the red colour which can be stereotypically decoded as a colour associated with heavy music along with the dark background picture.

Page 2 of the contents uses the same generic elements to appeal to the reader. A red banner again on the left hand side for the 'EDITOR SPEAKS' section is used to get peoples attention as it is an introduction to the magazine. The main pictures on this page are in the middle of the page using the rule of thirds. Corey taylor is represented as the man from the horror film 'the shining' and from this the audience can decode the agression involved within his music. The bands are encoded to be god like mighty beings. For example municipal waste are in a church and the camera angle is a semi low angle shot to represent them as dominant and uses deep depth of field to show their surroundings which are important to represent them as godlike.

METAL HAMMER MAGAZINE

THE COVER!

This magazine is about mainstream heavy metal music but also some underground bands within the metal scene. The target audience are heavy metal fans, young or old and they are positioned to accept a prefferred representation of people in heavy metal bands in a number of ways.

The masthead can afford to be overlapped by some of the mens heads in the main image because the magazine is very popular. It is also written in a big, bold, sharp, banner style which is white so that it stands out from the darker background. The word metal written in the house style which is rough and raw and connotes the agressiveness usually associated with meavy metal music. Pugs are used in the top right hand corner which say 'POP UP COVER!'. This is placed at the top of the cover because it is the first thing the customer will see before purchasing the product along with the masthead. The main cover line is used to anchor the main image which is a crowd of male rockstars posing in an agressive yet fun way. The cover line says 'GOLDEN GODS 2007' This cover links to the splash double page spread about Golden gods.

The mode of adress connoted by the rockstars on the cover is peer to peer because it is like they are our friends and are all having a laugh drinking. They also use stereotypical metal actions and faces such as the devil horns and pointing fingers to relate to the magazines target metal audience. I also think the audience are positioned to accept a preferred meaning of the rockers being god like symbols for the audience to idolise. This is shown in the bottom left hand picture on the cover, as the mans face is shown using a low angle, close up shot to connote his dominance and the main cover line 'GOLDEN GODS 2007' is anchored to the picture.