Analysis of Double Page Article

The chosen artist used for the double page article is Eminem who’s the ‘biggest rap star in the world’, this suggest that the target audience will be people who are into rap music. The article uses informal language because the magazine isn’t targeted at older people and it uses swear words such as ‘shit’, ‘fucked’ and ‘bullshit’ so you know that the magazine isn’t targeted at anyone below the age of 15. The style of the magazine is young and the words used in the article isn’t complex so the majority of people will understand what is written. The article is about Eminem’s recovery from the downfall of his life which was his drug addiction, failed marriage and the death of his best friends. He talks about his new album ‘Recovery’ and what songs and artists are featured in it and I’m guessing it’s called recovery because it’s the latest album he made since his downfall. Readers of the magazine can relate to his story if they’ve been through the same things as him, also he gives a good message to people that ‘no matter how down you are, it does get better’ as his experienced it and he feel ‘stronger than ever’ now. This will make the readers who are going through the same things that he has been through think more positively and look forward into life. Eminem doesn’t rap to be the best in the world he raps to be the best he can be because he doesn’t believe in being the best; he believes everyone has something they are good at.

Eminem is wearing a white lab coat with a white shirt and a black and white chequered tie on the double page article which is the same as what he was wearing on the front cover, with a dark red velvet curtain covering the whole background, making it feel like his on stage. This time the font is in black with a white background which is opposite compared to the front cover and contents page, however the size and the style of font is still the same, which shows the consistency of the magazine and ties it all together. The article is an interview with Eminem and all the questions which are asked to him are in bold black font so it makes it clear to the reader what his talking about.

The first page of the double article is an image of Eminem standing side ways looking with a direct mode of address at the reader. His holding a flask in one of his hands with smoke coming out and it’s like smoke that will come out if you have shisha or even cannabis which links in because he used to have drugs. It’s like his giving a dirty look at the reader as his got one eye smaller than the other and there’s a quote in bold font on the top left side of the page what he has said on the next page. The second page of the double page article is all text of his interview with no images. Lastly on the third page of the double article it’s an image of Eminem on the left hand side with both his hand over his head with his mouth in an ‘O’ shape. Underneath that image its an upside down image of him pouring some sort of liquid from the bottle but its meant to be a reflection of the image above but its a different. On the right hand side of the page it has the rest of the interview with a quote at the top from the text below. One whole page is taken up by an image of Eminem and another is just all text but the last one has half image and half text. The article addresses the reader as a fan as it mentions things that happened in his past life and vey detailed information about him for example they were describing he was wearing ‘blue and white Nike sneakers, white T-shirt, navy blue gym shorts and a matching navy Kangol baseball cap.’ These are things that some fans actually care about and what to know and it makes it feel like they were there at the interview because they can imagine it in their heads.

Eminem is presented as a smart scientist as his wearing a lab coat with a shirt and ties but with a bit of an edge because of his facial expressions and gesture, by looking at the images used. The same costume is used in the front cover as well as the double paged article and the same type of font is used. The article doesn’t really demand prior knowledge as it tells you in the beginning paragraph information about the past in his life, ‘he has emerged from a personal hell- the drugs, the death of his best friend...’ so you don’t really need to know a lot about his past as it is briefly mentioned, however some other celebrities names have been mentioned that you might need to know so you get who he is talking about.

Analysis of Contents Page

The magazine has used a large image of Eminem on the contents page which is full sized and takes up the whole page, with the contents detail on the right hand side. As the contents page has only one big picture of Eminem on it, the rest of the magazine probably will not have that many images on one page too or even just have one big image on it. Looking at the image of Eminem you can guess that the music genre of the magazine is Hip-hop/R’n’B and Rap. The target audience will be males and females aged 18+ because the magazine doesn’t have any young singers on it so it wouldn’t attract the young audience.

The main colour used is black which is a contrast to the main colour used on the front cover, which is white. The colour black connotes power, elegance and mystery and by looking at the image it seems that Eminem has a lot of power because of his gesture and his facial expression. The use of black makes it seem mysterious and it’s like his a gangster in a dark room waiting for someone like Scarface or God Father. Black denotes strength and authority; his wearing a black tie and it is considered to be a very formal, elegant and prestigious. The font used is quite small and it’s in white to make it stand out from the black background. The title ‘FEATURES’ is in bold font so you know that the page is a contents page. The subheadings are in bold font too but a bit smaller than the title and this is because it makes it easier for the reader to find what’s going to be in the magazine and know where to look for their favourite part, also it’s a quick sum up with five or less word to let you know what’s written below. A different style of font for the subheading has been used on the contents page compared to the front cover but the information on the contents page is the same font. On the front cover Eminem is wearing a lab coat to show that his a scientist but his wearing headphones and holding up music notes to show his experimenting and making music also there’s a micro phone there. It looks like his a wealthy man on the front cover as a scientist but also he looks like his a very wealthy man on the contents page even though he looks like a mafia.

The information is put onto the right hand side of the page so it doesn’t get in the way of Eminem’s face. The font is white to contrast the black background and image. Sections of the information has a short subheading  to give a clue of the article might be about, also before every name of what’s going to be in the magazine it has the page number so the reader doesn’t have to flick thorough the whole magazine.

The contents page has five different sections. The first ones called ‘Who’s Got Juice?’ which has a long list of what’s going to be in the magazine; the second is ‘Andre Young Is Still Buzzing’ which is about Dr Dre. The third one is ‘Dying to Live’ which is about Eminem, the fourth is ‘Table for one’, about P-Diddy and the last ones called ‘Hunting Season’ about Mehcad Brooks. This tells me that the magazine has a lot of interviews with Hip-Hop/R’n’B singers but also has interviews with celebrities who aren’t singers such as Mehcad Brooks who is an Actor-Model. There aren’t any promotional features apart form interviews with artists as the contents page is very empty, also the magazine logo hasn’t been placed anywhere on this page for some reason. The brand doesn’t have any franchises promoted on the contents page.  This is probably because they want the contents page to be simple to read and straight to the point and so the reader doesn’t get distracted by other information.

Analysis of a music magazine

This is a Top of the Pops music magazine and by looking at the front cover I can tell that there are posters inside, issues about fashion and clothing’s, discount at a retail shop and gossip about celebs. Top of the Pops magazine is targeted at 11-15 year old girls but some boys do tend to read it too. The interests of the target audience will be celebrities and teen stars that they can try to be like. An image of Cheryl Cole is used for the central image and the magazine is using a direct mode of address. As Cheryl is looking with a direct mode of address, the relationship she wants with the reader is close and personal. The reason an image of Cheryl is used as a central image is because many young girls aspire to be like her as, she’s really pretty and has won the most sexiest woman in the world two times. Also she’s really well known in the UK because she’s in a really popular girl band and she was a judge on the X Factor which is a family reality show so most of the target audience will recognise her.

The anchorage text says ‘Get Cheryl’s life!’ which implies about Cheryl is that people want to be like her and want a life just like hers, but who wouldn’t she’s one of the prettiest woman’s alive, she has a footballer as her husband, she’s in one of the most popular girl and she was a judge on the X Factor. The overall message Cheryl is giving off is welcoming for you to read the magazine. The groups being represented on this magazine is young teen pop stars who are all good looking which will attract most girls’ attention, also they’re all pop singers or actors on the cover so you can tell that the magazine isn’t only about music. The buzz word used on the magazine is ‘JLS EXCLUSIVE!’ which catches the reader’s eye as it’s in capital letters with an exclamation mark, in a box, also it makes the reader want to buy the magazine and read it. In the cover line about JLS, the main thing that stands out is the buzz word as it’s in the centre of the box which makes it a focus point of the cover line.

You can tell that the magazine is a pop magazine because of the design of the title block which has a curved, bright, funky font. By looking at the title of the magazine you can guess the target audience of the magazine is young/teen girls because the font is pink and funky also because it has the word ‘pop’ in it and most teen girls like pop music. The title of the magazine tells me that its image is going to be bright and funky and images of young good looking celebrities is going to be used. The magazine will have lots of pop singers and the style of the magazine will have lots of images and brightly coloured fonts.

The cover lines suggest that the magazine is going to have lots of celebrity secrets, fashion tips, and lots of topless guys and ways to impress them. By looking at the cover lines I can tell the audience the magazine expects to get is, young girls who care about their appearance and like to impress the boys, also girls who want to be up to date with the latest fashion trends and who are interested in celebrities’ lives.

The top of the pops magazine does have a slogan but it’s covered by Cheryl Coles head but the actual slogan says ‘More gossip! More scandal! More you!’ which has a repetition of ‘More’ so it makes it more memorable, stand out and it attracts more readers. As the words, image and title are laid on top of each other it is called superimposition and this is a conventional set up of a music magazine.

The main colours used are blue, pink, white and yellow; they’ve been used because they’re bright, bold and girly colours and they connote happiness, childishness and joy and they all associate with teenage girls. As the colours are bright and bold it makes the magazine more attractive and eye catching. The fonts used are big, bold and brightly coloured which makes it stand out more and makes it more appealing to teenage girls.

The magazine has used bight, bold colours and fonts to make it stand out more also it has used attractive celebrities who will grab the girls attention also some boys.

Result's of Survey

These servey questions have been done on survey monkey and the people in my class answered the questions.

50% of the people who answered my survey said they buy music magazines and the other 50% said they don't. If I want my music magazine to be popular and make more people buy music magazines, then I need to have something special that features in it. 

Questionnaire

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PWXC5NP

Britney Spears Magazine Analysis

The image has been positioned in the centre of the magazine and it has been cropped to a medium long shot with the camera positioned at a high angle shot because the magazine is aimed at young men so it makes the reader feel that they are positioned on top of her. It also gives Britney a sense of vulnerability. This is a typical type of lad’s magazine.

Britney’s costume is very provocative, as she’s only wearing a bra and boxers with a opened up shirt. The shirt is an intertextual reference to her first music video ‘hit me baby one more time’ because she was wearing a school shirt in the video which was shot in a school and she’s represented as a good, school girl but here her buttons are open which is represented as she’s caught up in between being an adult and a child.

Britney is holding two props, the doll is an intertexual reference to the children TV programme; a tellytubby doll on one hand which represents her as being childish and immature and on the other; she’s got a telephone against her ear, as if she’s talking to her boyfriend late at night, which represents her as being more grown up and more adult like. This also shows that she’s caught up in between adult and child life.

The setting is, Britney lying down on a silk covered bed sheet which connotes her being seductive and rubbing silk across your hand feels smooth and soft. The silk bed sheet is pink and pink is often associated as being feminine colour which represents her childish side, but the colour pink is also associated with love and sex which represents her adult side. 

The main colours used in the picture are pink, black and white. I think these colours were used to help convey the sexual image to the audience as pink is usually associated to love and sex, whereas black is quite mysterious and it’s a dark colour which contrasts with white, which connotes peace and innocent. Her white shirt contrasts with her black bra, which makes her boobs a focus point and it’s in the centre of the cover also, the other focus points have been highlighted by the high key lighting for example her legs, belly face and boobs.

The image of Britney Spears has been positioned in the centre of the magazine and it has been cropped to a medium shot with the camera positioned at a slight low angle shot also her body is facing side ways. This is because the focus point is the upper part of her body. The magazine is a typical young male’s music magazine, a bit like playboy magazine as she’s half naked.

Britney is dressed very provocatively in this image, as she is almost completely naked. She is only covered with a white piece of fabric which is against her breasts and underwear. She is also positioned in a very sexual way, in a tight space and in a curved position. This is appealing to young males as she’s half naked and positioned in a sexual way.

In this image there’s only one prop used which is the white fabric, you cant really tell what it is but it looks like an apron or a bed sheet but it also looks like a white shirt which she was wearing in the previous magazine cover. This is intertexual reference once again as she was wearing a white shirt in her first music video and she’s leaning against one here. As Britney isn’t wearing the shirt in this picture it’s like she has broken free from being a teenager to an adult and it shows off her sexual side to the audience.

The setting used appears to be a very narrow corridor in an empty house with high walls to show she is trapped. The blank setting allows all the attention of the reader to be focused on Britney as there are no distractions. The narrow corridor also enables her to position herself in a sexual way which connects with the sexual/lustful image that is being sent to the reader. The whole setting seems like it’s a very quite and peaceful place as white connotes peace and pure.

The main colour used is white, not including the colour of the text. As the whole background is blank white it allows more focus to be on Britney and as the lighting is quite high-key it makes her body and skin tone stand out. The white background could also be used to show purity as Britney was a virgin at that time.

                                             

This image has been cropped to a close up of Britney Spears’ face, so you can see her facial expression. She looks vulnerable here but not in a sexual way. On this picture you can’t see Britney’s costume or pose as the picture is just focused on her face, the expression on her face makes the reader feel sorry for her.

This image doesn’t have a setting that you can see on the picture because all the attention and focus is meant to go towards Britney’s emotion. The lighting is used to make her emotions stand out more also the black and white makes her emotion look rawer because they are bold tones. Black and white is usually used to signify sadness and tragedy so it makes sense because it was taken when Britney had a fall in her career.

The relationship Britney wants with the audience in this cover is different compared to other covers because in this one it’s like she wants sympathy and maybe respect from audience and in the other ones it was lust and desire. The main cover line on this cover says ‘INSIDE AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY’ and the word tragedy shows that she wants sympathy from the reader and having sympathy for people during tragedies is common. Compared to the anchorage text on the previous magazine covers, Britney wants a close personal relationship with the reader.

Labelling Magazine Cover

Labelled music magazine cover.

Preliminary Task Contents Page

This is the contents page that I made on illustrator.

Preliminary Task Front Cover

This is a magazine cover I made on Illustrator.