Double page spread analysis 1

Double page spread analysis

Main Image: There is a picture in the background that looks like a piece of art. This photo may be a picture taken in a museum, and it shows its formality. The colour of the picture in the background, and the colour of his clothes are matching, which makes him also look like part of the museum, maybe as a sculpture or another kind of piece of art. This shows how he is representing art, and representing music; he is an artist. This connotes how big and famous he has become. His unique hair style, and the way his mode of address is not directly at us, also makes him look like a piece of art. His mode of address it toward the title and the article below it, which makes it look like he is reading about himself. He is reading his tough past. The article is a dark article, and it isn’t very bright, so it relates to the dark and plain image. Although he is a rich man, he isn’t showing it by wearing gold and silver. He is wearing a dark leather jacket which isn’t reflecting any light, which relates to how the article also doesn’t reflect light at all. He looks like he is a part of the background painting as well. A if he is there for people to stare at. This can connote how his life is exposed to everyone and how he doesn’t have any privacy. The whole image gives a sentimental feel. You can see by his expression that it isn’t a happy article, and makes the audience feel sorry for him. It is all in a monochromatic colour which makes it stand out.

Title: It is in a black serif font which gives a formal impression but on the other hand, the name “WEEKND” is informal. People who don’t know that the man in the image is called “Weeknd” will think it is a spelling mistake, therefore it looks informal. This is what I thought the first time I saw the title. I also thought it could mean that Weeknd has taken E. As if he has taken the drug, ecstasy, also known as “E”. This will make sense because he has created songs about drugs, and the way he is sitting in a mysterious place, looking towards the middle of nowhere looks as if he has taken drugs. He has taken “E”. After I heard that “Weeknd” is his name, I thought the title could mean two things. Are we ready for the weekend? or are we ready to listen to “Weeknd” ? The title gives a double meaning, which attracts the audience.

Standfirst: It has the same font as the title, and the language they use helps to attract more people. The sentence, “From broke to homeless” makes the audience feel like they have a chance as well. It gives them hope. This standfirst will make the audience think that the article below, is about how anyone can become rich and famous even though they start from a rough beginning. The sentence, “most unlikely pop superstar” how different he is from everyone, and once again, shows how everyone can do the same, if they tried. The Byline is in a different font but centre aligned like the rest of the title, and is very obcvious. People will notice it easily.

Drop Cap / Kicker : The drop cap and the kicker are all in the same font and the kicker will attract people immediately. It also finishes in one line. “This is the year of the weeknd” It is a statement, as if there is no question about it. It is all in capital letters which will catch the eye. The drop cap fits in a square, making it look neater.

Article: It is all about Weeknd’s road to success, and it includes many quotes said by Weeknd himself. This will link to Blumler and Katz’s theory of the magazine identifying with the audience, because it’s as if he is talking to his fans.  All the quotes he is saying are very powerful. Such as “ I don’t know if I’m on top of the world. But I’m on top of my game.”, “ At one point, I didn’t care, now I want as many people to hear my music as possible”, “Taylor Swift’s audience can listen to me but so can the street kids. I want to touch it all”, etc. One of them is written as a puff in the middle of the alley of the article, as a pull quote. Because it is in the middle of the article, and it stands out so people will notice it easily and will make them want to read it even more.

Captions: The caption on the image of Weeknd is another pullquote from the article, saying “Year of the Weeknd. I’m on top of my game for sure”. The title, Year of the Weeknd gives a weird feeling because it is as if the coming weekend is going to be the best weekend of the year, and therefore attract more people. Once more, it is like a double meaning. It is in white so it doesn’t really stand out from the background, but you can still notice it. It connotes a hidden feel, as if Weeknd himself was trying to hide something from us.

Generic Conventions: The masthead is on the left bottom side to remind us that it is their magazine, and next to it is the URL of their magazine so people will be interested to go to their website. The page number and the masthead, website are all on the left bottom side so it doesn’t stand out, but it is noticeable.