Textual Anaylsis, Contents Page 2

After looking through Vibe's existing contents pages, I've noticed that on all of them, they   put the letter V in. In this contents page, its only an outline of the letter but it looks as if the lines are holding the ladies legs up. It also makes it more casual and less obvious than some of the others are. The colour stands out as it's white on the darkest part of the background.
   Overall, the  contents page is quite simple but the model, the word contents and the V makes it more interesting.
   A lot of contents pages use a variety of different images to let the readers know what stories are in the magazine. However, in this contents page, there's only one of a lady. Although this doesn't show many visual stories,  they've used a lady in which is wearing heels and an outfit in which shows part of her bum and her legs. With this and the pose/positioning, this could attract people as it's quite 'sexy' looking. There's a contrast between the colours- at the bottom, the ladies hair is dark in  comparison to that background part. This makes her stand out more.

Textual Analysis, Magazine Cover 4

This Q magazine is unlike the other ones and very unique due to the image and the masthead. In the image, the man is using a guitar to look as if he is smashing the masthead. The masthead is cracked, looking as if it's been smashed. This gives the immediate appearance of the man looking to be a 'bad boy' and being rebellious. This gains more interest to the magazine as it isn't a usual thing Q does.

   The first thing that stands out in this cover is the masthead and the red dont around the cover. Red is a powerful colour and brings attention quickly to it.

   The cover line ''Matt Bellamy is out of control'' links to the image and together portrays bad behaviour. Instead of a large cover line ''Matt Bellamy'', it used the band name Muse. This is probably because more people would recognise a band name, rather than one of the people in the bands name so more people are going to gain interest. The cover lines are on each side of the cover page but the main cover lines are on the left. On the right side, the only cover lines are under a subheading 'Plus'.

Textual Analysis- Magazine Cover 3, Q

The main image of this cover page is an iconic sign as it's a photo of well known singer, Madonna. As Madonna is known world wide, people will recognise her, whether they are interested in Q's genre of music or not. This can be an advantage, as people that like Madonna may take interest in it and flick through- This broadens the target audience.
   The overall appearance of the magazine is dark because of the amount and use of the colour black. Madonna is wearing what looks to be a silk gown but due to it being black, along with the background, it doesn't stand out leaving her face and arms stand out more, putting more focus on them because of this. However, this leaves more room to use for cover lines, allowing the cover lines to be easily read also.
   Her make up is simple, meaning the colour of her eyes and her eye make up can be shown better. Her mouth is slightly open and her hands and head have been positioned in a way of making the image look very posed but not too dramatic. The image is a mid shot. Also, as her hair is light, it stands out with the magazine being dark.
   The colour scheme of the cover is black, red and white. Black and white make it easy for people to read it and black links to the genre of music the magazine is portraying but the colour red has connotations of power and danger. This may be seen direct to the article about Madonna as her name is in large, capital, red letters or the music magazine as a whole but as magazines focus on one genre (in most cases), it is most likely portraying the genre overall. Linking to this, the masthead 'Q' is a red box with the letter Q inside in a white font so a lot of Q's colour schemes include the colour red.
   The boxed text (with a background of the union jack) goes with the red and whites on the cover. It also adds to the line underneath the masthead, ''Britain's Best Music Magazine'', making it more obvious and clear at first sight that it's a British magazine. The use of the superlative ''Best'' can be used as a selling point as it's telling the audience that you can't get any better than this, which is why you should buy it. It can also show people that the interest in it is wide across Britain.
   The cover lines in the top right hand corner are all about people in the music industry seen in random places, e.g. the movies. This is more casual stories, rather than big stories about an artist getting an award etc. By seeing an artist/a group, in a random, casual place, it's more likely that the articles will be more homely and show a more personal side to them. On the left, the cover lines are all big names being interviewed. It shows the magazine giving a real side of celebrity life, rather than stories only rumoured to be true. Madonna being the biggest name and the person modelled in the main image, it's most likely her interview/article will be the longest or there will be more about her. The quote underneath her name, 'Stupid Question! Next!' indicates how she responded to the questions, giving a further idea of what kind of questions were in the interview. This also shows that it's going to be an interview. This may be why people would want to read it.
   A big selling point of magazines are freebies. This magazine gives a free 70 page book/magazine of women in music which give big names so people that that they're getting more for their money and also more to read.
   Overall, the positioning of the images and text is constructed in a straight way apat from the two silver/grey boxes. The colour of the boxes is the same as the piece of material used at the top of the hood that Madonna is wearing. These boxes are slighted slightly to give more movement to the page.

Textual Analysis- Magazine Cover 2, NME

Due to the background being white and the main colour being red, the fonts stand out immediately. Connotations of the colour red are danger, power and determination. These all link well to the pose and camera angle of the main image- the two men are standing back to back, with a straight, well posture. The camera is also at a low angle, making the two men higher and look more powerful.

   The masthead, 'NME' uses various techniques to make it stand out more. The initial red is bold and again, connotes power. The letters are bordered individually using the colour white. This separates the letters but lastly, the masthead as whole is bordered with a thick black lining. The masthead is the main thing you'll see when magazine are on a stand so it's important for it too be bold and eye-catching. The black border also allows it too stand out from the red strip across the top. 

 This makes it stand out from the red skyline behind it.

This magazine cover uses a skyline at the top of the cover in which it uses the colours white and yellow. The white links to the background and the yellow is the same as the font in the boxed text. 

The image is positioned on the cover to the right, leaving space on the left. This is where the cover lines are placed- the red and black is clear on the white background and is easy to read.

The main cover line is over the main image and is bigger than all the rest.

Underneath the masthead, there's text on a circle (boxed text). This stands out from the other cover lines.

Textual Analysis- Contents Page 1

This contents page is well laid out due to the neat rows and columns.
   The title 'Contents' is in a black box in a bold, yellow font. As yellow is a bright colour, it automatically stands out and makes it easy to identify the page when flicking through. Still in the black box but underneath the title, the issue number and cover date is in a smaller, white font. This makes it easy to see and read but not as obvious as the title.
   There's a wide variety of images on the page- including bands, single artists and albums.The photos are all fairly posed with a range of angles and positions- The photo of William Control uses a low angle. This makes the two people seem more powerful and how they're looking down on us. This angle is also used on the photo of  Machine Head. All the images (excluding the photo of the album) are iconic signs so the readers will be immediately able to recognise them. Helping this, the page number to the article is on the photo so if a reader is interested in the article, they will be able to find it easily. The largest photo is the one of You Me At Six. This could indicate that the article realting to them is expected the most interest.
    It's easy to see what's on offer to read as there's a column especially for this. Too make it easier to see what's what, the subheadings are in a yellow font inside black boxes. This is alike to the title.
   Underneath the title, there's a quote from Machine Head. This links to what the article is about and will make people look further at what it is.

Textual Analysis- Magazine Cover 1, Billboard

                       

Billboards (a way of marketing, an advert posted onto a board) are used to attract the attention of passersby to try sell something. A lot of billboards try use simple backgrounds, images and fonts so it isn’t overloaded with information as this could put people off from reading them or stopping to see what it’s about.

   The magazine, Billboard’ does just this with its simple codes and conventions- appropriate to its name. The background only uses black- however, the colour fades as it drops down and simple fonts are used through to make it clear and easy to read. To make the magazine stand out, bold features are used to grab to attention of consumers. These are things such as the letter ‘D’ being filled with the colour yellow/green. This colour is nowhere else on the cover, meaning it doesn't link to any other part but by doing this, it makes the masthead stand out- in which is one of the most important needs when making a good magazine. Due to the masthead being simple and hidden behind parts of the models hair, techniques like this is more important. The overall appearance of the cover is brighter due to this- more colourful and less plain.

   The main image is an iconic sign, using a photograph of singer, Lily Allen. Billboard covers a variety of different genres of music so by looking at this photo, it would be difficult to identify which one it was due to the more casual clothing. The photo has been taken at a medium close up, allowing you to see the top of her head down to just below her shoulders- this also allows it to focus more on her facial features and expressions. The image doesn't include much colour- linking to the magazine itself- but as there are various features on her face that are enhanced making them darker (dark brown hair and eyes) it brings them out more. Apart from a small section of a white top and her white headband, you can’t see any other pieces of clothing or jewellery- as all the clothing you can see is white, this could connote a sense of purity within the models appearance and behaviour. As well as this, an ‘angel like’ personality.

   The main cover line is also in a white font about the singer. As it’s bigger, the font is a lot bolder so it stands out more. The description tells how she deals with the paparazzi- this could indicate and imply that the way she deals with the paparazzi could be in a well mannered behaviour and better than how other people do. Linking to this, the clothing that she is wearing has class and the makeup looks natural. What you can see, she’s only wearing a small amount of makeup, using eyeliner to enhance the dark colours in her eyes. It seems that by this, she could be represented as a good role model.

   The positioning of the camera allows the photo to show most of her face but her head is still slightly angled to one side, making the right part of her face more visible- more of the right side is also shown due to hair covering a lot of the left side of her face. Her facial expression looks serious, without being dramatic. Her eyes look directly into the lens so it makes the photo overall communicate better with the reader.

   The masthead is white against dark grey so there’s a big contrast between the two, making the masthead stand out more. However, a lot of the masthead is cover by the main image. Billboard tends to do this a lot.

   The pink cover lines are powerful as they stand out well against the light parts of the background. On the left side of the cover, the cover lines are white and the descriptions are pink. On the right side of the cover, the cover lines are pink and the descriptions are white. All the pink writing is the same size font and all the white writing (regarding these cover lines) are too. This is unusual as the cover line is normally bigger but this shows a difference but makes it more interesting.

   At the bottom left hand corner (in a smaller font) there’s the date line, two websites and the price of the magazine. By adding the website, it allows it to become easier for readers to get more involved in the magazine as they can have a interactive online website that can read further articles and see what else is on offer. There are also 3 different prices, for 3 different currencies. This means that the magazine is popular outside of the UK, making it seem as if it’s a better magazine that a wider population like.

   Underneath the masthead, there’s a selling line but due to it being covered by the model’s head, you can’t read what it says, only the word ‘Experience’- in which is also cut off at the end. As it’s only this one word, it may seem pointless for including it but as the magazine do this a lot and add selling points, it’s a feature that is see as a must.

Secondary images of music magazines

Today I used the internet to get secondary images of magazines created for colleges. I spot differences between them and them labelled them to identify the codes and conventions. By doing this, as well as helping me notice things about the covers, it also allows me to see what works most successful in a magazine. I think by comparing them, you choose which elements you like better and what makes them better.

Evaluation

In the process of making my magazine cover, I learned new skills in Photoshop such as changing the colour of the photo, shadowing and highlighting the colours to make them brighter or darker, cropping the image, adding text and drawing on to the photo. I found out what looked good, what didn’t and how to improve them.

The audience of my magazine would be college students, from 16-19 from both genders and ethnic groups. I used only a few cover lines but the cover stories give a range of different interests from needing help with courses, coursework/homework and revision to helping with planning college parties and other social events. Overall, it doesn’t focus on one subject or one event but many different one’s so it will appeal to more people in the college and get a wider target audience. Although the magazine isn’t designed for parents and may not interest them, they can use it to know dates for upcoming events. I didn’t include a price on my cover page because it would be a free magazine.

The cover of the magazine has an image of a boy against a brick wall. This image doesn’t show a big population of the college or link to an event that has happened but the boy looks quite trendy and cool so instead, he could be representing the college rather than showing people what’s in it.

Before I started, I knew how to use the digital cameras but hadn’t used Photoshop or the Mac’s so I had to learn and experiment with different things as I went along. Because of this, my skills have developed and for the next project I do, I will know what to do better and how Photoshop works.

In conclusion, I would rate my overall success to be good, as I have learnt a lot of new skills on Photoshop/the Mac’s. If I were to do this again, I’d take more images at the beginning as this would of saved time, as I had to redo them.