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School magazine contents page analysis

Mathead: I made the font orange, because it will give a contrast from the blue background. It also stands out, and orange gives a bright connotation, giving a better impression to the school. It's also the complementary colour of blue, so it goes well together with the blue background. I considered whether I should keep it the same font as the masthead of the front page, but I then thought the masthead of the front page is a much more important masthead than the contents page, because contains our school name, so I made it a different font to give the masthead of the front page more attention. The text is the same as some of the fonts in the front page to give it a relationship. It is all in capital letters to make it stand out, and to make it look like it’s shouting to you. This also relates to the house style of the magazine because even the masthead of the front page is in capital letters.

Image: The left image is of the prefects of our school. They are both smiling and looking smart with their ties, and look like representatives of our school. Their smile would make the newcomers feel more comfortable to enter our school. The head boy is holding a SAT book, making it look like we’re very keen on studying, not only the school curriculum, but outside of the school as well. This will give a good impression to 6th form students because they’re not only interested in school business but exams out of school, activities out of school etc. The light is shining onto him as if the he has a bright future before him. This will attract more people, as people reading this is looking for a bright future. Their shadows are showing behind them as if they’ve left a track before them from their beginning. A trail from before. This shows that there is a history in them becoming a head boy/girl. We took the picture showing the top half of the body, as a medium close up shot to show how neat they look. I didn’t take a photo of their whole body, as their face would look too small.

The picture in the center is of our art teacher, Ms Sarah, holding pieces of paper. I originally wanted to take a photo with her and a piece of artwork, but we couldn’t so next time, I would like to plan it more carefully. It is a close up shot of her with necklaces and earrings, looking nice, and she is smiling so it makes the audience feel comfortable. The white background connotes cleanliness, so it gives a better impression to our school. The way she looks looks slightly cheeky, because the camera angle is slightly above, so I should think about the camera angle more, next time.

The last picture is of our computer lab during a lesson. The boy in front of the picture is smiling once again like the other two images. In the background you can see our teacher Mr Ashley teaching a student, giving a better image, as the audience will think the teachers are very good. We took a picture of them in a computer room because it will show that we’ve got good technology equipment in our school, so people will know immediately, that we’re good quality. The background looks slightly blurred, making the boy in front stand out, and his smile stand out as well. The brown-ish colour this picture has can give a good impression and a bad one. It could give a good impression because it will show how we’re an old school, and we’ve lasted a long time. It could be bad in a way, because it may look like the computers are old and not usable. I would like to think about this for next time.

The images are all in circles, because if it were all in squares, it will look boring and 6th form students (who we’re aiming at) wouldn’t be very interested. It also reminds you of mathematics with many shapes, so it relates to good education.

Layout: On the top left is the picture of the front cover, to re-emphasize it because the top left is usually the first part of a magazine people look at. Underneath that is what people usually don’t really care for. The information about the front page main image is written in tiny letters just in case someone wants to know. I added the editor’s note to make it look like a professional magazine, and make our school look organized and professional as well. The house style again matches with the magazine and the school. I was going to add the website details, but it disappeared when I saved it, so unfortunately it isn’t on the final content page. Next time, I would assure to put it on. On the right, covering two thirds of the page is the contents. I changed the font of the numbers to make it more obvious. I also added a description to each page title, to give people more information if they were interested. I added all of the three pictures underneath in circles, making it look like bubbles, making it look like fun, attracting younger audience. There was a lot of space left in between texts and images, so I’d like to be careful to make it look more balanced and neat next time. The issue date and issue number is once more written on the bottom right, as on the front page again emphasizing the 50th special edition. The page is divided into three columns, with one column containing the editor’s note and front page picture. The more important details are covering two columns, containing the contents. This made it look neat, and because sets of threes are pleasing to the human eye. I also included three pictures, again because it looks better.

Language: I added exclamation marks to attract more people, and the question mark to feel like the magazine is talking to the audience, and giving it a relationship towards the audience. This relates to Blumler and Katz’s theory of identifying with the audience. I used words that attract people, such as “Top” , “Special”, “Success” etc. I also used a hashtag in front of the sentence, 6th form life. This will help attract 6th form students because of the use of hashtags in social media. As this magazine is especially meant for 6th form students, it is perfect for them.

School magazine front page analysis

Masthead: The text is in blue in a serif font, because it matches the house style of our school. It also gives a formal feel, making the audience think that our school is formal as well. I included the transparent yellow background because yellow is part of the school house colour, and it makes the blue text stand out more. I made it transparent because it will give a connotation of purity, and make it feel like the students in our school are pure as the transparent yellow. The text next to the masthead “ ‘s monthly” was originally diagonal, as you can see in the draft. I originally thought that it will give a less formal feel, so even younger students will be interested in the magazine, because rather than straight squares and rectangles, teenagers prefer a slight messy-ness in the magazine and it could easily inform them about our school as in Blumler and Katz’s theory of the audience being informed and educated by the media.  But as I thought about it more carefully, I thought that the tilt of the text could give a different connotation. The tilt could be like a graph going down; the level of our school going down. This would make people feel slightly uncomfortable to take the magazine, so I made the text straight instead. This text is in a handwritten font, because younger students will be more attracted to it rather than serif font. The text overlaps slightly over the yellow background, because it will then catch people’s eye easily because it isn’t perfectly neat. This will help emphasize the fact that it is handed out every month. I didn’t add a skyline because I thought it would make the masthead look slightly messy, and I had all the information I needed in the triangle puff. The more text there is on top of the image, it looks like he’s not on top of everything, and by adding less text on top of him, I’m giving a connotation of him being on top of the world. This shows how the students in our school are always the top.

Main Image: At first I had hoped to take a photo of our headmaster, Mr Gordon for our front page, but as we couldn’t get the timing right, we took a picture of our teacher, Mr Ashley. We tried to take photos in front of the clock as we planned in the draft because time connotes punctuality and how the students are well behaved, but we couldn’t get the angle right and instead, I used a different background. As I write this now, I think I could’ve used a layering technique and used the same background and cut Mr Ashley into the background. Next time, I would like to consider the layering. The background I used instead, is a wall with water drifting down against it. The lines on the wall looks like a ladder, which shows how the students in our school are always climbing the ladder towards the highest point. Mr Ashley’s face is just above the ladder as if he has already reached the top and he is looking above us, which shows his power. The water connotes cleanliness and how we’re protecting the environment, giving a better impression of the school. But as I analyse it now, I think the encoded message behind the water droplets on the wall could also be misinterpreted as the students going down the ladder, as the water droplets are falling down. This would give a bad impression to the audience, so I should’ve used a different background. Mr Ashley is wearing a blue shirt with a blue check tie, which relate to the masthead because of the same colour. The check relates to mathematical graphs and shapes, which connotes education, and how we’re the best at it. His mode of address is towards the audience, so the audience can relate to the magazine. It would’ve been better if his eyes were widely open, and he had a bigger smile on his face, because it would make the audience feel comfortable, so I would like to consider this next time. His arms that are behind him connotes power and pride and how he’s the top, relating to how our school is on the top.

Anchorage text: Originally, I had no intention of covering the main image with text, but because we changed the main image with Mr Ashley standing in the middle of the page, I decided to cover him with some text, especially the main text; the anchorage text. This will emphasise the the text more, especially with the white text. It is once more in handwritten font to attract younger students who come to our school. White stands out in front of the blue and black background, and once more connotes cleanliness. Once more, as I analyse it the text with a mix of capital letters and smaller-case letters could give a bad impression, especially if they are words said by the headmaster, because it is grammatically wrong. This would make the audience think that our school’s education isn’t a good quality. The text is a well known quote in our school, so it represents our school, attracting more people. The two full-stops show that the quote doesn’t end there and will intrigue people and would make them want to read the rest. The fact that there are speech marks shows immediately that it is a quote said by someone from the school, and before they read the subtext of the anchorage text, they will be interested to know who the quote comes from. The subtext of the anchorage text includes the words “Preaches” “Exclusive” and an exclamation mark. The word Preach, sounds as if the what he said is a life changing quote, as if someone amazing has said the word. The word Exclusive makes the interview sound like the most amazing interview ever, and the exclamation mark emphasizes the whole text. This all helps attract a wider readership. I used this type of language because I am aiming for a high readership, and even I would rather pick up a magazine with interesting languages rather than boring ones.

Sell Lines: I didn’t add many sell lines, to the magazine, because I thought it would make the magazine look too messy. The text is in yellow colour, once more, relating to the house style of the school and magazine. It has the same font as the subtext of the anchorage text, to give it a relation, and matches the house style. This can connote how students from our school work as a group, and are always together. The sell lines are on the same level as Mr Ashley’s eye which seems like Mr Ashley himself is saying the words, making more people attracted to the magazine. It is also in three lines, which makes it more memorable.

Triangle Puff: We added the puff to emphasize the fact that it is free! The letters are very big, and it includes three exclamation marks, to catch more people’s eyes. It is in white, to stand out from the orange background. The word “silver” is in a grey colour, making it look like silver. People will notice it more, because they will soon know it is a special edition. It is in a serif font to let people know that we’re formal as well as student-friendly. I chose the orange colour because it is the complementary colour of blue, giving it a relation to the house style. I made it a triangle shape to make it look like it is flipping the page, ( although it is the wrong side of the page ) to make the audience want to flip it themselves.

Generic Conventions: We didn’t add a bar code as it is a free magazine. The dates and issue number is in blue, again relating to the school colour, and I made the text “50th” in a larger font to emphasize once more, that it is a special edition. The text is becoming smaller, as the text goes down, relating to how the level of our school gets better and better.

This prelim task will help me improve the final magazine in many ways. The main parts I need to improve are to have a larger and more obvious masthead, to use more photograph techniques, to use a variety of fonts etc.  

I created this and the contents page as a group work with my group partner, Nach Suphakawanich.

Rolling Stone contents analysis 3

Masthead:  The masthead is separated into two. The first half has the letters, “RS”, an abbreviation of their magazine name, Rolling Stone and the second half is the issue number. They are all in a serif font following the house style of their magazine. The colours also follow their house style with red and black and a white background. The black colour itself gives a dark and scary connotation, but the contrast of white and black gives a formal impression as well. The red colour gives a connotation of power and strength, and the contrast between the white colour makes it look like hell and heaven, which shows good and evil. All of this shows how the masthead gives an impression of battle and enemies. This will attract more men than women, and because of its formality, it will attract a range of people of B to C2 in the demographic model. There are 2 issue numbers because this is a special edition of Hip-Hop. The fact that they have two issue numbers, makes it look like there is much more information that usual, and making people want to buy it more. There is hardly any space between the two issue numbers, with a small slash between them. This makes the issue number look even bigger, making it look like a much bigger number, so it attracts more people. They have kept the font and size the same to give a relation with the two halves of the masthead. But they have used different colours to give it a contrast, and so people will easily notice each difference

There are no skylines above it, making it look neat and clean.

Main Image: There are four main images, all a front cover of the magazine. They all have the same text, and are all relates to Hip-Hop, as it says. They are all covering the masthead with their head or a crown. Three of them are in red, but one in gold, making it stand out from the group, because it isn’t following the house style of the magazine. It could relate to the colour of the crown he is wearing, and the chain he is wearing. This all gives an impression that he is the king of Hip-Hop. This connotes power and fame. Even his lips look gold, relating to the whole impression the cover is giving. Their mode of address is all facing the audience, but all of them look serious, powerful, and scary. It is all in a close up shot to make them look more powerful. The top left image is facing upwards, but looking towards the audience. This shows how he is looking downwards to us, showing how he stand above us and how powerful he is. He looks very proud. You can only see half of his face, because the rest is covered in a shadow. This shows how he may have a dark side in him, relating to fear. He is wearing a jacket, looking very casual, which relates to Blumler Katz’s theory of identifying with the audience, because it shows how anyone can be as powerful as him, even without fortune. The background colour and his clothes are both in black, giving a dark image.The white text and the black colour gives a contrast between them, and making each stand out. The top right image all relates to gold, fame and fortune. The masthead, the crown, the chain all are in gold, and as I said earlier, even parts of his face look gold because of the lighting. All of this shows how he reminds us of how he’s the king of Hip-Hop, and no one can dare reach him. The red background relates to the house style of the magazine, and also gives a connotation of danger. This is his background, so it is as if danger is behind him, and nothing comes in front of him. This again shows how powerful he is. The bottom left picture is a black and white photo. He is wearing a white cloth around his head, tied in a knot, making him look as if he were about to fight in any minute. He is also wearing a chain, but because it is a black and white photo, with the same colour background as his skin, it doesn’t stand out very much, like the other magazines. This shows how he became famous from the dark, and he gradually became famous, even without much money. He isn’t wearing a shirt, which gives a slightly provocative impression, which may attract women as well. The last picture is of Jay-Z, a black man wearing black leather suits. Except the masthead, everything is in black and white, although it isn’t a black and white photo. This shows how he may be giving a message out to the readers about racism. All three images give a dark impression. Three of them are black, wearing chains, and one of them is white, wearing nothing but a jacket. This may again, be a message against racism.

Subtitle: There is again, the slogan, “All the news that fits”, with the text “News that fits” all in capital letters. This looks as if they deliberately made it in capital letters to make it fit the space in the page. This then will relate to how this quotation is literally fitting in the small space. The larger letters also will attract more people. It is all in a serif font, relating to the house style of the magazine. The colours are also in red white and black relating once again, to the house style. It contains words that will attract audience, such as “Best”, “Greatest” etc. It looks formal, so it will attract adults rather than teenagers.

Layout: The page is divided into three columns and one of them is filled with the contents. The rest are with images. This helps make the page look neat and tidy. Their slogan is on the top left, which is the point where most people look at first, so it will catch the eye. The date and  their magazine name are written once more on the bottom of the page, so people can look at it after looking at the contents. It is also there to remind people that it’s their magazine, just in case anyone forgets.

Website Details and Competitions: The page doesn’t contain any website details, which shows how confident they are in how people will definitely buy their magazine. It also shows how no one can be better than them, so people will want to buy them even more.

Rolling Stone contents analysis 2

Masthead: This issue, once again, doesn’t have their own name “Rolling Stone” as the masthead. Instead, they have “Contents” as their masthead and “Rolling Stone” with the issue date written small as a subheading. The name Rolling Stone is hardly noticeable, which shows how confident they are to know people will buy their issue without emphasizing the issue number or name. It could also mean that they don’t have any competitors who exceed them. This will also make the buyers confident that the magazine is the best, and help them buy it without any hesitation. The masthead of Rolling Stone on the frontpage is usually with red letters with a white outline and black shadow. On the contents page, the letters “Contents” are in white letters, a black shadow, and a red background. It is as if the front page has flipped over. And the word flip over can have meanings of being astounded and to react strongly to something. This could mean that they changed the colour combinations to attract more people, for them to feel something strong from the masthead. The colour red connotes danger, power and strength, so again it is stressing it’s confidence against other magazines. It also is a bright colour, so it’ll attract more people.

Images: The image on the top is a man, possibly a rockstar, who is shaking his head with a microphone in his hand. The colour of his hair and the colour reflected on his arm is red, relating to the house style of the magazine which emphasizes the masthead. The red hair with the yellow light background look as if it were fire, and looks like his hair is on fire. This shows how passionate he is singing because a person on fire could mean his energy is very hot. This makes the audience feel the passion as well, making them want to know more about the picture. But considering him being passionate, his facial expression doesn’t look as passionate as the rest of his body. His face is looking towards his side, trying to avoid contact with the audience. His eyes are closed, and he has a straight face on him. This shows that he is pretending to be confident on the outside to impress his fans, but he has a darker background. This shows depression and darkness, opposing to the rest of himself being red and wild. His hair being dyed to red, and that it is very messy, and by the look of his clothing, it looks like he is a punk singer, and punk often relates to being aggressive and rebellious. This will attract more teenagers because teenagers tend to be rebellious. He’s wearing leather clothes and boots, which makes him look like a tough guy, and powerful, which will attract older men as well, because they will also want to feel powerful and cool as him.

The second image is a black and white photo of a man wearing a hat and sunglasses playing the piano. Firstly, the colour connotes sadness and depression. His sunglasses and hat show that he is trying to hide something behind his eyes from everybody, possibly something dark. He may be trying to hide tears in his eyes by wearing the sunglasses. The light is coming from behind him, and it looks like a dark room, so the only reason he is wearing the sunglasses is that he is hiding something. It is up to the audience to find out what he is hiding, which attracts them more, because they’ll be more interested. Songs played on a piano can often sound quiet and sad, so again it shows all the depression in the photo. The room he’s in is empty, so it shows his isolation, and how he’s alone now. This may be because he lost someone, and he’s staring at the person he has lost. The light is shining from behind which shows he had a light background or past, but in front of him is dark, so there is only a dark future left for him.

One of the other secondary image, is of president Barack Obama with a mode of address, facing down. He has a dark expression on his face, like the other two images. His eyes are closed, and is a close-up shot, which emphasizes how stressed and tired he is. It looks like he is in a deep thought, because of all the difficult problems he is having with politics. In the background is blue half of the American flag. The red half of the flag has been cut off because red connotes power and brightness. It is as if it had been cut off on purpose, to show how Obama looks weak and lost all his brightness. It is blurred, as if Obama doesn’t know what is important to him anymore. As if his country has left him, and is only his past. Like the other two photos, he is facing the left of the page and also looking down. The light -  America - is only in the background and only darkness is facing his future.

All three images relate because they all connote depression and isolation, and their mode of address is towards the left of the page, towards nothing. Which again connotes emptiness and sadness. In every picture, light is only their past, and only darkness is facing them, and all of their eyes are either shut, or covered, which shows how they are avoiding contact, giving a melancholy feel.

Subtitle: Every subtitle has a depressing or dark language in it, such as “hell”, “last”, “darkness”, “invasion”, “dark” etc. This relates to the three images which all give a gloomy feel to the magazine. This could be to attract more people in a way, because people have a dark side to them, that gives them happiness from people’s grief. By looking at the dark words, it could be a way to release their own darkness, and stress. This will help increase the number of audience. The fonts are all in Times New Roman font, which gives a simplicity to the magazine, and helps people focus more on the images and dark words. The more simple it is, it feels colder and sadder. There aren’t any colours except the house style of the magazine, red white and black, which again gives the simplicity and boring feel to it, emphasizing the sadness. The simplicity gives an elegant feel as well, to the magazine. This will attract more adult people and a higher class person. A small percentage of A from the demographic model could buy this magazine, going down to C1.

Website Details and Competitions: The website URL and the name of the magazine are underneath the magazines on the left hand side, which will make the audience automatically see it after looking at all the images, and will be easily remembered. The date of issue is again written on the right hand side of the magazine underneath all the content page numbers. They are trying to emphasize the date, so people will know how knew the magazine, and to help them know that they are catching up with the latest news.

Layout: It is made in two columns, with a slightly bigger one on the right. There are three pictures which grabs people’s attention because sets of three’s are easily identifiable. The website is right underneath the images, so people can look at it immediately. The contents are also divided into three, which again, catches people’s eyes because it is a set of three. The information of the cover is also right at the bottom of the page right underneath the contents, so it doesn’t stand out much, but people will still notice. The images are all on the left, and people usually look at the left side of the page on a magazine first, so the images draw more attention.

Rolling Stone contents analysis 1

Mathead : Unlike other content pages in other magazines, the Rolling Stone magazine doesn’t have their own masthead,“Rolling Stone” on their contents page. Neither do they have an image of the front cover of the magazine, which shows that the Rolling Stone are confident enough to know that their magazine is famous enough that they do not need to emphasize their name as much as other magazines do. Instead, they have a title “RS968” which is the Rolling Stone title and the issue number. This helps the audience to know how recent the issue is, so they know they’re catching up with the recent music news, and could also be that Rolling Stone are bragging about their magazine, and are proud about how many magazines they’ve issued.  The title and issue number are in different colours and fonts, to make the audience notice the difference between them. This helps the audience to understand what each means, and identify it easily. The title is in serif font and are in black bold letters, making it look like a number plate on a sports player’s shirt. This makes Rolling Stone look like a team, and the audience, a member of the team; the people will relate to the Blumler and Katz’s theory of identifying with the media, by feeling like a part of it, as a member of the magazine world. The under-line of RS emphasizes the title, and makes the numbers 968 look like they are covering the line, as if it were more important than the title. This makes people focus more on the issue number, and the colour is the same as the other page numbers on the contents page, which makes us focus on the important page numbers as well. Pink is a girly colour, so if may be attracting more females than males.    

                                 

Main Image: The main image is a black and white photo of two men, one caucasian and one negro. The caucasian man is wearing white clothes and the negro man is wearing black clothes. This may seem to connote the racism between them and it could be shown as a serious photo, but as they are dancing together and both of them are standing side by side, it could mean there is more equality between them. The photo was taken in 1967, which is after the two world wars and way after slavery, so the main image can further emphasize equality. They are both dancing and snapping their fingers, and there are drums in the background which connote a lively and fun feel, and because of the contrast of the negro man’s black face and his white teeth, his smile looks very big making the audience want to smile as well. The photo was taken sometime ago during a talk show and wasn’t taken for a magazine, so the quality isn’t the best, which gives a relaxing feel to the audience, making us blend into the lively feel. The picture is giving us a natural feel, instead of a fake, unnatural feel. The facial expression of the caucasian man is also relaxed, which again gives a relaxing feel. This relates to Blumler and Katz’s theory of the audience identifying with the media by feeling happy and lively as well, like the image. Their mode of address is towards each other’s feet, which again helps us realise that they are dancing,and having a good time. The light is shining in front of them, with the shadow behind them, which shows that they’ve got a bright future waiting before them, and the dark past has already left us all. The light is shining on the caucasian man’s hair making it look like silver hair, connoting elderly people and ageing. On the other hand, the negro man’s hair is pure black, giving a contrast between them. This attracts a larger range of people to buy the magazine, because even elder people feel like they’re right for the magazine.

Secondary image: Unlike the main image, this picture is a modern picture taken recently, in colour. The contrast between the two images are very big, because while  the main image has a relaxed feel, with the two men dancing slowly, the secondary image has a more aggressive feel. Beyonce is known for her girl- power songs, so in the photo she is possibly singing one of them. Her hair is very messy, and the black background emphasizes it more because of the colour contrast. Her mouth is wide open, singing very passionately. Her eyes are closed which again, shows her passion and she is clutching on to her microphone. This all shows how aggressive and powerful the secondary image looks. The photo of her is in a monochromatic colour, all in brown. Her hair, skin tone, clothes and accessories are all brown, which relate to the simplicity from the main image. Although they both convey very different messages, they are related in some ways. Neither of the photos were taken for the magazine, but were taken when they were dancing / singing. This again, shows how easy going the whole page looks, which may relate to Blumler and Katz’s theory of the audience identifying themselves through the photos, because it will make the audience relaxed, reading this magazine as well. The mode of address of everyone is either toward each other’s feet, or closed.This shows for both photos, that they are very passionate for their music, and they are having fun of their own.This drags the audience into the music, which relates to Blumler and Katz’s theory of escapism.

Subtitles: The main title Johnny Be Good is based upon a song title “Johnny B Goode” by Chuck Berry, another negro man, who was famous and popular at the time the photo was taken.This title is there to attract more people, including fans of Chuck Berry. The title can be understood literally, as the caucasian man in the photo is a TV host named Johnny. In the description underneath, it says the page is about Johnny Carson’s career, so with a title like this, it could mean Johnny Carson had done something bad when he was younger.It could also be meant to emphasize the photo above, because both the man in the picture and Chuck Berry are black, again relating to racism and equality. The subtitle “Money Honey” attracts people with the use of rhyming words, and the use of the word money. People are always chasing after money, and if there is the word money, people would think that by reading it, they will also be able to earn a lot of money. The quotation above the secondary image, “All the News That Fits” makes it seem like the magazine is flooding with news, and that there are so many interesting articles to read on it, attracting more people. The fact that it has speechmarks, attracts them even more because it sounds like a slogan as well.

Layout: It is in three columns with the black and white photo and subtitle with the description, covering two thirds of the page. This shows immediately what the magazine is making us focus on. The top of the left column includes the title and the secondary image with a subtitle and description.  We normally tend to look at the left side of a page first when we read, so we would easily focus on the main title and the coloured image, because colour is more eye catching. On the bottom left is the contents of important pages. Although this is the main point of the page, it isn’t as important as the other pictures, so it is written in smaller letters and in a small column. On the very bottom of the page is the information of the cover photo, written very small, because it isn’t very important. The whole page is divided and made small/big to grab attention of as many people as possible.

Fonts: As I said earlier, the title has two fonts, emphasizing each for different meanings. The two main subtitles are also in serif font making it look more elegant, attracting more adults, but the contents section, is in bold sans serif font. This makes it look more unimportant, and helps the two subtitles grab more attention. The information about the cover photo is all in sans serif font because it isn’t about the contents of the magazine, but the front page, and is again, unimportant. The colour is also mainly black and white, excluding the numbers 968 and the page numbers. This shows that this magazine is made for people around B to C2 from the demographic model.

Website Details and Competitions: There is a website URL near the bottom of the left hand side of the page. It is also written in blue, which has no relation to the other colours in the page, which shows how it is standing out, for people to go to their website more often. It is also in italic, which again shows how it is trying to attract itself. It is right underneath the contents, so people who have finished reading the contents will automatically see the website, so everyone’s eye will catch it.

Media Studies Analysis 3

I analysed three magazine covers, all from Rolling Stone to compare the difference between them. They all had similarities between them, but all of them convey different meanings. 

The top magazine cover connotes fame and fortune, because of his chains and his expensive-looking leopard style shirt. It also gives a slightly provocative connotation because he is showing his chest. The left magazine cover gives a much more powerful feel than the top magazine. Although they are both men, and both give a powerful feel, this magazine is much darker and not provocative at all. He shows his pride through the photo. This is the only magazine cover among the three with him underneath the masthead, while the other two are covering half of the masthead. This could mean that he is not a show-off and he keeps his fame and fortune to himself, unlike the top magazine. The right magazine is of a woman, and it is very provocative. It is seductive, with her cheeky grin. This shows how women are made to be starred at, and unlike the other two magazines, she doesn't show her coolness. She gives more of her feminine side. 

All three magazines are similar in a way, for they all connote power in their own way. It could be power in money, fame or even feminism, but they do relate in a way. 

Media Studies Analysis 2

XXL Jay-Z cover. Hip-Hop connection 50 Cent cover.

Organisations : XXL is published by Townsquare Media and was originally founded in 1997. It has introduced projects including tour programmes, mixtapes, and DVDs. They also have a website that provides daily HipHop news, original content and content from the magazine.The target audience for XXL magazine is 78% male readers, from around 18-30 years old, 44.7%, college buyers, and 67% African Americans. XXL is the NO.1 most influential brand in rap media, and is NO.1 selling ABC audited music publication sold worldwide.

                       Hip-Hop Connection, under the editorship of Chris Hunt, published its first issue in July 1988. In 2009 the magazine published its final and 232nd issue. The target audience for Hip-Hop magazine are young adults mainly male.

Front Cover

Masthead: The masthead XXL is white in block capitals with a red background which makes the letters in white stand out, emphasizing its name “XXL”. The masthead HipHop is also in block capitals but in red. Both of these magazine’s masthead connote a dangerous, powerful feel, because of its red colour. This also relates to the target audience who are mostly male readers, ageing from 18 - 30 years old, because men at that age want to feel strong and fearless, therefore the masthead will attract them to the magazine.

               

Main Image: The main image of XXL is Jay-Z, who is a rapper and a HipHop dancer, fitting very much to the magazine. He is one of the most successful Hip-Hop artists in the world, and has many many fans. Therefore, the audience will be able to relate to him from the Blumler and Katz theory, by being informed and educated about Hip-Hop and rapping, and also entertain themselves.

                   He is dressed in black from top to bottom, with a coat covering himself, and a white background with white buildings with Jay-Z towering them all. His black clothing connotes a firm and tough feel, his cape-like coat connotes a heroic feel, and his hands clutching his belt, gives a fearless impression. He is covered in pitch black clothes, with no jewelry or any silver, showing that although he is rich and famous now, he came from a poor and tough background, stating the fact that anyone can be rich or famous even if you come from a poor lifestyle. He claims in his lyrics that when he was younger, he shot his older brother in the shoulder for stealing his jewelry, which may also be why he has no jewelry on him. The shot is a low angle long shot because it emphasizes his how big he has become over the years, and again, giving it a heroic image.

                   His mode of address is looking towards the sky but with his shades on, as if he were hiding something behind them; possibly his tough past. He is looking at the sky to state the fact that the “Sky is the limit”. He has a straight face on him, making himself look fearless.

                   The background is white buildings and the sky, making the black Jay-Z stand out. The white colour can also relate to the fact that Jay-Z is a black man living in a white country, making him look as if he were standing towards racism.

                   The main image of Hip-Hop is a black and white shot of 50Cent, a rapper, again relating to the magazine. He is topless, and is showing his abs, looking very strong. It is shot at a low angle making him look big and powerful, and towering above us.Unlike the XXL magazine, Hip-Hop is giving a darker connotation because it has a dark background emphasizing on the main image, and because it is a shadowy image. The dark background colour is also emphasizing the fact about 50Cent’s tough life he had before fame and fortune, for he was shot 9 times, and survived. The first 12 pages of the magazine is about him, so the main image is helping us to be informed and educated relating to the Blumler and Katz theory.  His body is shining because of the camera angle, which connotes shining metal, as if he were made of steel. His fists are been hidden which connotes a threatening image, for we can’t see what he may be holding. He may be holding a weapon. His crucifix chain connotes death and being on top of the world because a cross at a church is always on top of the church roof. His hat shows as if that is the only weapon he needs to defend himself.

                    His mode of address is looking behind his back, or possibly his past tough life, or his enemies who shot him. He is looking back, which can also mean that he has regrets about his past.

                  The secondary image underneath him are of other rappers or Hip-Hop dancers. They all look serious and scary, pointing their fingers towards us as if they are talking directly to us, which relates to the Blumler and Katz’s theory of the audience identifying with the image. They are in an arrow shape, and are all overlapping, as if they are blocking 50Cent from his enemies. They all have chains and some have bandanas and shades covering their face as if they were criminals, giving a frightening image.

Layout: The XXL magazine has 3 columns which are skyline and masthead on top, sell lines in the middle, and anchorage text on the bottom. Both the masthead and the anchorage text are in large fonts, making us focus on both of them at once. They are also both on the left side of the page, and is easier to focus on it.

            The Hip-Hop magazine also has 3 columns with the skyline and masthead on top, sell lines in the middle, and a secondary image on the bottom. The masthead has the largest text, making it very obvious.

Layering: The XXL magazine has around 4 layerings, including the background of the sky, the buildings, Jay-Z and the masthead and sell lines. The image of Jay-Z is covering a bit of the masthead XXL, showing how big and powerful Jay-Z is.

              The Hip-Hop magazine has 4 layerings, including the black background, 50Cent, the secondary image of rappers and Hip-Hoppers, and the masthead and sell lines. The black background is emphasizing everything on the page, and once more, the main image is covering a bit of the masthead, HipHop.

Fonts: Both magazines use sans serif font, but in XXL, the letters “Jay-Z” are in italic, making it stand out, and most of the letters are capital letters. Bald letters connote a tough feel, like a tough guy, relating to the main images of both Jay-Z and 50 cent.

Sell Lines: Both magazines have information about the main images, and both include famous names such as Beyonce, and Papoose.

Languages: The XXL magazine include languages such as “14 albums deep” which is an unusual phrase to use, as if Jay-Z were in a pool of fame. There are questions that are interacting with the audience, which relate to Blumler and Katz’s theory of identifying ourselves. The Hip-Hop magazine include languages that intrigue the audience, such as “FREE!” with the exclamation mark, and “New York Special” and “2pac magazine” in white. the colour white with the black background is standing out very much, and catching people’s eyes. The colour white also relate to heaven and death, again relating to 50Cent’s background. It includes quotes from other rappers which attract the audience and fans.

Media Studies Analysis 1

Rolling Stone magazine analysis
- Kurt Cobain main image

In this course I decided to analyse music magazines, mainly Rolling Stone.
I usually don't read many magazines, but because I love listening to all sorts
of music, I thought this is my chance to expand my knowledge on music
magazines.

Rolling Stone is an American magazine that focuses on music culture, politics
and popular news. It was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner,
and is still published frequently.
Not only does it cover recent popular music, but a wider range of people,
including The Beatles, Nirvana, Jim Morrison etc.

Here is an analysis of a Rolling Stone magazine with a main image of Kurt
Cobain, a former band member of Nirvana.

Generic Codes and Conventions of a magazine.

Generic Codes and Conventions of a magazine.

Please click the hyperlink below to preview the presentation.

Prezi Presentation