Becca's DPS Article - What did you expect from the Vaccines?

What did you expect from the Vaccines?

Formed in early 2010, the band consists of Justin Young (guitar/vocals; formerly known as acoustic folk artist Jay Jay Pistolet), Arni Hjorvar (bass), Freddie Cowan (guitar) and Pete Robertson (drums). Initially, the band was formed by Young and Cowan in the summer of 2009. After months of attempting to perfect their sound, they uploaded a demo of 'If You Wanna' to YouTube in August 2010. where it received a lot of praise from people, Zane Lowe in particular, who named it as his 'Hottest Record in the World' on the 18^th of August 2010.

After playing their first gig, they embarked on their debut UK tour between September and November 2010, and the publics interest in the band led their first London performance to sell out. The show was awarded 4 out of 5 by The Guardian and described by Clash as 'fantastic, exhilarating and exciting'.

On the 29^th of November 2010, the band released their debut single “Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra)”/ “Blow it Up”, which was limited to 1000 copies and released on Marshall Teller Records. Both Videos for the double a-side were directed by Doug Hart of The Jesus and Mary Chain fame and Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra), reached number 157 in the UK singles chart. Only one minute and 24 seconds long, it was named 'Track of the day' by Q magazine and was well received critically. They recorded their first ever radio session for Marc Riley's BBC 6 Music show in December 2010. Also, they performed live with Jools Holland, the first ever band to do so before releasing a single.

On January the 6^th the Vaccines were placed third in the BBC's sound of 2011 poll and in the same week they appeared on the cover of NME magazine. The band then spent the beginning of the year touring the 2011 NME Awards Tour, supporting Crystal Castles. They also travelled to America for the first time. Having been signed to Columbia Records, the band released their second single “Post Break-Up Sex” on the 24^th of January 2011 where it debuted at number 32 in the UK. It was at this time that the band were nominated for an MTV Award for 'Best New Band of 2011' and a Critics choice Brit Award.

On the 10^th of June, the Vaccines performed as a supporting act for the Arctic Monkeys in a 10,000 capacity tent set up at Don Valley Bowl, Sheffield, playing alongside Dead Sons and Miles Kane. It followed a trip the two bands had made to America together. The Don Valley gig ushered in a summer of festivals around the world; the band claim to have played in 45 regions! In an interview the lead singer Justin Young said he was 'slightly concerned' that they wouldn't go down well on tour, but they did the exact opposite, the crowd took to them brilliantly, and I've heard people say that they preferred the Vaccines' performances somewhat more than Arctic Monkeys'! The Vaccines ended their summer at the Reading and Leeds festivals where they were named by NME magazine as being number 1 band of the weekend. They were joined on stage by the members of the Horrors. This wasn't the first time the Vaccines had collaborated on stage, they have previously been joined by Lyle Preslar of Minor Threat and Paul Thomson of Franz Ferdinand. Under sightly different circumstances the band have also been joined by Kate Moss, who plays drums and guitar with them in a television commercial for Rimmel.

In September 2011, unfortunatly the band were forced to postpone tours to Japan and the USA as well as shows across Europe, after lead vocalist and guitar player Justin Young encountered a reoccurring vocal issue which has resulted in him being operated on 3 times in the space of 9 months.

Wishing Justin a speedy recovery as rumours of album number 2 are around and I personally can't wait to get my hands on it!

Our chosen DPS register - TBC

Our overall register will be sophisticated but entertaining with the use of humour and abbreviations to make articles an easy read. However, there will be use of advanced and sophisticated vocabulary with a large amount of syllables to maintain a respected and professional view of the magazine. We hope to gain a positive reaction from readers and encourage them to want to know more about the bands and music we cover, in order to do this we will use an active and emotive voice. Our articles will be informative and believable with use of quotations and relevant background research.

Research into language & register of DPS

After looking closely at the register of this double page spread it was apparent that the language is entertaining and almost lyrical, this has been achieved by use of dry humour and wit and makes the article an easy read. Despite the friendly tone of the spread and use of abbreviations there is excessive use of complex sentences such as 'Indeed, while the formula of a concept album... own weight on the album' and advanced vocabulary like 'fruition' and 'rejuvenated' which causes it to feel more formal and sophisticated. there is noticeably use of punctuation such as full stops, comma's, exclamation marks and hyphens, also language techniques like rhetorical questions and alliteration of 'Dangerously Devious Dani' have been incorporated. Quotations and positive representation of Dani's band makes the article believable as well as emotive and active language. Constant mention of the bands song titles and albums is a good source of promotion and informs the readers a great deal. The overall reaction this article achieves is the reaction of surprise and interest, the register has cleverly been adapted to intrigue buyers to the band.

Poppy's similar product research (DPS) - metal hammer issue 212

In this double page spread the image of the subject of the article, Dani Filth, is extremely domineering and capture the attention of readers as it covers a whole side of the double spread. The top of the image has been cropped removing the top of Dani Filth's head. The heavily made up and bloodshot eyes make contact with the reader attracting them to the article. Also the unique and shocking costume and make-up links in well with the headline 'Darkly Devious Dani'. The word 'Devious' appears to have been hand written in blood again referring back to the staged image of Dani eating a brain. The letters 'W' and 'I' have been made into lead capitals and the quote 'I lived in.... stay in' has been pulled as it is probably one of the important facts the article has managed to uncover. The double spread has stuck to three main colours of red, white and black and even though there is alot of white space its simplicity is eye catching and creates more focus onto the image of Dani. The font is sans-serif and the overall registor of the article is formal with use of complex dialect. The byline has been placed in small under the caption in a bold red font. Also, a splash has been used to give the subjects impressions of the 'days specials'. The entire composition of the double page spread has been well thought out to correspond with the content of the article.

Poppy's similar product research (DPS) - Clash (issue 34)

The headlines for this double page spread are simplistic and not very dominating of the article however they are clear and concise. The overal tone of this double page spread is infromal with use of cursing and much addressing of the reader. Yellow fact box's have been placed at the bottom of each section of writing. A large amount of white space creates a sophisticated and clean appearence and it is noticable the images have been overlaped by the text breaking them up. The sans-serif font is in keeping with the modern qualities of the three bands. Quotes have been pulled and placed at the top of each section of the writing. Despite the fact the pages have been sectioned into three the 'baddies' have a whole side of the double page spread drawing slighty more attention to their band and the headline for this side is also slightly bigger. The images apart from the one of the baddies are unstaged which is unsual for a magazine. Bylines have been added for all three sections however it does not state who has taken the photos. Overall this double page is easy to navigate around and gives an impression of raw talent as it has stuck to a simple theme.

Becca's Similar Product Research (DPS) - Mixmag Issue Feb 2009

This double page spread from Mixmag magazine is picture led and the picture is clearly staged and edited. There is a lot of white space and this makes the colours stand out. A byline is used to tell us who wrote the article and who took the photographs. The article starts with a leading capital and its mode of address is formal because of the vocabulary used throughout the article. I personally like the idea of a DPS that is picture led like the Metal Hammer DPS as it gives the reader something to look at instead of just a massive article to read. Also, bright colours appeal to the eye and this is what I liked about the Clash DPS. A white space is a good idea because it makes the black writing clear to read and it looks modern. 

Becca's Similar Product Research (DPS) - Clash Issue 34

All three images are at the top of the DPS but they are cropped as the bottoms of the images are underneath the articles, which is unusual. The images are staged and are edited as the all have a green/yellow tinge to them. There are pull quotes under all three images from the three articles. Underneath them there are bylines which tell us who wrote the articles. The 'Baddies' article starts with a leading capital and also a standing first; which shows the first line is important, in this case it is introducing the audience to the band. For the 'Baddies' article the mode of address is formal because of the vocabulary used such as, 'glorious grotesgues'. Also a little informal because of the language, 'piss-taking'. The other two articles are both formal. There is a great deal of white space on this DPS and this makes the other colours stand out and also makes the articles easy to read.

Becca's Similar Product Research (DPS) - Metal Hammer Issue 212

This double page spread is from the magazine Metal Hammer, Issue 212 and is about Cradle of Filth. Is is picture led and the picture is clearly staged and edited. There is a caption in a black box next to the picture. The article about 'Darkly Devious Dani' is started with a leading capital which makes the beginning of the article clear. There is a byline under the main heading which tells us who wrote the article and who took the picture. The title of the article is in capital letters and all in the same font apart from 'devious' which is artwork/graphic design, the design style matches the meaning of the word as it looks like its scribbled/scratched. The articles mode of address is formal, even though the theme is heavy metal, the writer expects that the reader can cope with big, complicated words, such as 'equilibrium'. At the bottom of the page there is a pull quote, which is a piece of text pulled from the article and made big and bold so that it is known to be an important part of the article. The background is a white brick wall which makes the four colour print of black, red, grey and flesh stand out. 

Becca's Front Cover Analysis - July 2010 issue

The white background makes the pink masthead stand out. Calvin Harris is the artist on the front cover and he will be the main story or the main feature the July edition of the magazine. Calvin is a DJ and in the reflection of his sunglasses are some DJ decks/equipment. He is wearing a yellow t-shirt which stands out and contrasts to the pink, he also has a white blazer on which matches the background. All of the subtitles are pink which match the house style and are on a slant which makes the front cover look more modern and eye catching.

SURVEY RESULTS - Becca

We gave out 20 surveys to a mixture of males and females which were within the target audience/age range and here are our results.

Gender?

Male             12

Female         8

Age?

16                  12

17                  5

18                  1

19                  2

20                  0

Favourite genre of music?

Indie/Alternative               4

Rock                                  1

Dance                                4

R&B                                   8

Other                                  6

Which title is best suited for a teenage music magazine?

Beatz (with headphones around the t)                        16

Beatz (with headphones on the z)                               3

tunez (with headphones around the t)                         1

What colours appeal to teenagers?

Purple                    11

Orange                   11

Pink                         3

What do you look for in a music magazine?

Free poster                                       7

Free CD's                                         1

Well known bands                          11

Up and coming bands                    5

In depth articles/interviews            10

Gig information/ tickets for gigs     10

Which name do you prefer?

Beatz               17

Tunez               3

Which would you rather subscribe to?

Monthly addition                 7

Weekly addition                 6

Fortnightly addition            7

Which font is the most eye catching?

Arial                       3

Heiti SC                7

Baghdad               4

Bell Gothic Std     5

Chalkboard           0

Casual                   2

How much would you pay?

£1.50                     9

£2.00                     8

£2.50                     5

The teenagers that took part in the survey liked a range of different music, such as Indie, Rock, Dance, R&B but we gave the option for them to write any other suggestions, Metal was quite popular and Classical/Acoustic was also, along with Bollywood and Gangster Rap however there was only one vote for each of these and this is why we chose not to use them in our magazine. The title name which was most popular was 'Beatz' with 17 votes and for our masthead we will use Beatz (with the headphones over the t) as this was the most popular to the teens. The colour pink for the house style was not popular at all, purple and orange got the same amount of votes, so we decided to use a different colour for both magazines (Poppy will use purple and I will use orange). Heiti SC and Gothic writing were the most eye catching to the teens so we will use Heiti SC as it got the most votes. The features of the magazine that we offered were all quite popular, well known bands, in depth articles and gigs in particular, so these will be included in the magazines. We haven't yet decided whether the subscription will be monthly weekly or fortnightly as they got the same amount of votes. The cost of the magazine will either be £1.50 or £2.00. 

SURVEY - Becca & Poppy

Gender?

Male

Female

Age?

16

17

18

19

20

Favourite genre of music?

Indie/Alternative

Rock

Dance

R&B

Other - specify .........................................

Which title is best suited for a teenage music magazine?

Beatz (with headphones around the t)

Beatz (with headphones on the z)

tunez (with headphones around the t)

What colours appeal to teenagers?

Purple

Orange

Pink

What do you look for in a music magazine?

Free poster

Free CD's

Well known bands

Up and coming bands

In depth articles/interviews

Gig information/ tickets for gigs

Which name do you prefer?

Beatz

Tunez

Which would you rather subscribe to?

Monthly addition

Weekly addition

Fortnightly addition

Which font is the most eye catching?

Arial

Heiti SC

Baghdad

Bell Gothic Std

Chalkboard

Casual

How much would you pay?

£1.50

£2.00

£2.50