Analysing Magazine Cover.

Main Image-Looking at the main image of this music magazine we can identify that the image is full bleed. It covers the whole of the magazine and take up the majority of the space however this doesn't make it look untidy I would say it that it effectively covers all areas of the magazine and it good use of a full bled image. The use of direct address is used as the camera shot. The camera shot that is used here is a mid shot. However the composition is different, the magazine uses a symmetrical composition so the main women in centre front and 2 men behind but either side making it look quite equal and spaced out. Analysing mise-en-scene is one of the easier things to analysis because there is so much going on in the front image regarding facial expression, body language, costume, lighting. Looking at the facial expression it reflects the magazine very well, the magazine isn't too overtop and neither is the facial expression. Whereas in a pop magazine the facial expression would be all bubby and lively because that is what the magazine is but this wouldn't fit the magazine at all. Looking at the body language, starting with the men in the background, although they are standing a bit further back from her you can tell by the stance that they have that they hold quite a protective instinct over her as she is the only female in the group. Moving onto her, her body language isn't too subtle however it is assertive. It confirms her power and authority. Along with her facial expressions, her body language shows a confidence and the fact she is a strong independent women. Looking at costume now, the use of using black costume for all the people in the group, it puts so much more emphasis on Hayley's hair and lipstick, making them stick out. Additionally it sticks to the colour scheme. As we can see from the image it is a studio shot rather than a location shot.

Supporting Images- As you can see from the front cover there is no additional or supporting images. I believe this would take away from the boldness of the main image and distract you from the top and most important story in the magazine. Colour- There is a constant colour scheme mixing with one main colour and shades which is quite simple but by no means least effective. The one main colour that is used throughout the front cover is red, with an additional one off colour of pink used for the title of the band. I think was used to really draw the reader to that specific part of the front cover as to me it is the most important. The use of red is effective because it is a striking colour that stands out compared to the shades that are used. Forwarding onto the shades that have been used which is just a simple black and white.

Masthead- The title is a simple letters NME . I think the significance of this is that is not overthought, its not too complicated, its catchy and simple. Looking at the typography there is use of bold font with red in the infill and a use of a white outline and then a black outline around that to make it stand out that little bit extra. It does not cover much of the magazine, it is centre left so it doesn't sit right on the edge of the page but sort of shifted in an inch or so. To make the main women stand out even more than she does the title is situated behind her but in front of her band mates.

Sell Lines- There seems to be a lot of constancy and equality between the all of the sell lines. There is one sell line however that is more prominent than the others which is the top sell line ‘Professor Jack White 'The reason this is different from the rest because it is bigger and bolder fonts and the fact that it is the only sell line in black, it attracts you more because of its difference. The majority of sell lines are positioned between the top of the main story and the bottom of that story. There are also positioned all on the left The tone of these sell lines is kind of getting straight to the point there isn't much tone in

Typography- The majority of fonts that are used are very bold fonts that are san serif and the majority aren't outlined and just stand out on their own.Additional Features-Banners, Buttons & Other Graphics- There are only two uses of banners and buttons. One is a banner and button which is used to act as another sell line for the magazine but just in another format.Slogan- There isn't a slogan used which I think could be something that could be added because personally I want to know if NME stands for anything or something additional that certifies a magazine confidence like Britain's Best Magazine.Plugs- There isn't any plugs used on the magazine but I think that maybe a good thing because I don't think free gifts or competitions really represent what the magazine is about.Administrative Detail- I cannot see a price or much administrative detail apart from the barcode. I believe this is good idea though because you don't really want anything to distract from the magazine itself.

Main Image- Analysing this image of this front cover we can see that

this image is also full bleed. It also takes up the whole length of the

magazine but leaving a few inches the top and a lot of spare room at

the sides for sell lines and additional things. This image also uses direct

address like a lot of music magazine will. It gives you a sense of

connection toward the artist when they are staring directly into camera.

Differing to the mid-shot we saw in the last front cover, this shot uses a

full length shot. You can see the tips of the artist feet to the top of their

head. The shot is almost symmetrical so if you split it down the middle it

should look basically the same on either side which gives the magazine

a sense of equality.

Now analysing mise-en-scene is going to be a bit harder because there

isn't much going on and the page doesn't look as full as some other

music magazines. The only thing in mise-en-scene that really sticks out

is the prop that the artist is sitting on. His facial expressions are very

bland and expressionless, just like the previous front cover and like I

said previously it wouldn't fit the theme and genre of the magazine if the

artist was all smiling and bubbly and that is probably not the kind of

artist that he is to be all bright and bold. Moving onto body language.

Personally for me I find his body language to be quite intimidating and

aggressive, that is maybe who the artist is or who he wants to portray

but I just think it very forward and looks like he is ready for a fight,

which isn’t the best selling point for the magazine. Looking at his

costume, again mixing with the theme of colours he went with a black

and it also merges well with his facial expressions and body language.

Supporting Images- I think the magazine has a

recurring theme of not using supporting images

because like the previous font cover and like you

will see in the others it takes away from the

boldness of the main image and features.

Colour- This specific magazine likes to stick

to one colour and normally just one shade.

This is because the magazine likes

consistency throughout their magazine and

don’t want too many different colours and it

doesn’t look even, it looks odd. The use of

the boldness of the yellow and the shade

black really makes the main colour of yellow

and the prop that the artist stick out, it draws

you toward it and the black really brings this

out.Masthead- Compared with the previous title this

is bold but doesn’t need any outline, it stands out

on its own. It is a bit bigger than the last one and

I think that is because there is less on the page

so it doesn’t need to compete as much to be

seen in on the page so that is why it isn’t

covered with outlines and gimmicks. The artist is

a bit further away in this front cover so the title

isn’t all covered up, only just the end of the title.

Sell Lines- This cover isn’t splattered with

sell lines to try and increase the

magazine sell rate. The major sell line is

the main story which is the artist and that

is situated in on the lower left side.

Additionally the sell line of the main story

is bigger than the majority of sell lines

within the magazine. The other sell lines

aren’t as big and they are as bold. They

are quite bunched together and they are

placed in the centre on the right. They

are harder to reader than the big sell line

because it isn’t as bigger selling point as

the major story in the magazine.

Typography- There are only two different types of font used.

The littler font is using serif and the bolder is sans serif. The

bolder fonts are used for the main sell line and the smaller

serif fonts are used for the description of the story because

it isn’t as major and the main selling point.

Additional Features-

Banners, Buttons and Graphics- There isn’t any use of any type of banner button or graphic on this magazine cover.

Slogan- Unlike the first magazine this one actually has a slogan, which I prefer because it explain what the title NME stands for

and if a magazine didn’t have that it could cause a bit of confusion.

Plugs- This magazine doesn’t use any plugs because I don’t think it reflects what the magazine is about.

Administrative Detail- All administrative detail is positioned out of the way because you don’t want to use valuable front cover

space on things that don’t matter. The barcode is positioned on the lower right side and issue number and price are placed in tiny

font above the title so it is out of the way.

Main Image- Like most music magazines we can see that the main image is

full bleed, it takes up the whole centre of the magazine and that is to make a

statement. That this is main story and it is all about the artist on the front

cover. There is also a use of direct address in the shot. I really like this

within any magazine not just a music magazine. I think it gives a lot of

intensity and a connection to the artist who is on the front cover. Personally

to me, I can feel them trying to engage with me and push their passion onto

me through the pages of the magazine which I think boost the appeal of the

magazine. Being a female artist on the front cover, I would say that a close

up shot is used here. I believe this is to really capture the artist beauty and

her features also with the use of the make-up which I will pick up upon in the

next paragraph.

Now analyzing mise-en-scene. Firstly looking at her facial expression. It is

quite approachable in a sense, with a female artist I think it is key to try and

appeal to the right market and if you have a aggressive female on the front it

wont sell as much as a feminine female would. There isn’t really much to

analyze about her body language because you cannot see it and the parts

you can see is hidden by her hair I can see however that her body language

is very relaxed, it doesn’t seem forced or theatrical, it seems very natural

which I like. Now moving onto costume which I like because like the rest of

the artist, it isn't over the top like her make up, it makes a statement but it

doesn’t look very over powering, it is subtle but bold. As we can tell from the

front cover itself and most covers it is a studio shot rather than location.

Supporting Images- There is no supporting

images on this front cover. I think this front

cover is very filled up already, but right now it

looks very well laid out and maybe

supporting images will just crowd it up and

make it look a bit too full.

Colour- Like most magazine covers there is a use

of one shade and one colour. In this case the

colour that is used is a dark/light pink. This is used

for the littler wording, the subtext. The shade that

is most commonly used in magazine is white and

this is the one that is used throughout the cover.

This is used on the bigger block letters and for the

main story. This also matches the costume of the

artist. The only problem with the positioning and

the shade of text is that in some parts such as the

main story in the lower right corner is that it is hard

to read as it blends with her costume. My critic for

this is to just maybe take into account colour and

positioning at the same time.Masthead- The title of this magazine is ‘Billboard’.

The typography is nice and block bold letters that

you can clearly read it. There isn’t any outline on

the lettering, there is just a infill of read and a

touch of yellow in the centre of the ‘D’ at the end.

This is to give it an artistic touch and not make the

title too bland. I think it is better that there isn’t a

outline, because the title is bold enough as it is,

the outline might make it look a bit tacky. To really

make the artist stick out and because it is a well

known magazine, the title is situated behind the

artist head.

Sell Lines- There is a variety of

sell lines on the front cover

spreading evenly across the left

on the right. There is also an even

distribution between the subtext

that is white and pink and also the

main sell line. The tone is very

snappy, it gets to the point very

quickly. You know what the story

is about so you know what you

are buying. Some sell lines are

bigger than others and buy

reading them, it is based on

selling ability, so what stories are

going to drag you in. The problem

with the smaller stories is that it is

hard to read and that could deter

a person from buying the

magazine because it sort of

Typography- The typography is all fairly the same big block

letters. This makes everything a lot more bolder and in some

cases easier to read. The artists name holds a different font

however, it uses a sort of bubble font. This is to make it unique

and have a bit of individuality because it is the main stories, it

should be bigger, bolder and more different than the other stories

on the page.

Additional Features-

Banners, Buttons and Other Graphics- There is no use of buttons, banners or

graphics that I can see on the front cover.

Slogan- I can see there is a slogan just under the title but it is very small and sort

of unreadable which seems to be a reoccurring comment throughout the

magazine.

Plugs- There is not evidence of any sort of plug on the front cover of this

magazine.

Administrative detail – The only time I condone tiny writing it with the administrative