TASK 2ANALYSIS OF A SECOND

MUSIC MAGAZINE

FRONT COVER

Main imageThe main image on this magazine is smaller and much less dominant than on the cover of NME. This changes the focus of the front cover from the image to the cover lines. The image is a long shot so we can see the body language of the band to show their closeness to one another. The Mise-en scene of the photo anchors to the genre of music and target audience as the background is pink which is a typical ‘girly’ stereotype. The clothes they are wearing also connote the ‘pop’ stereotype and boy band.

MastheadThe masthead isn’t very bold but the style of font is very distinctive to the magazine and is easily recognisable as it also has an outline that contrasts with both the background and title.

Other imagesThe front cover uses a lot of second images to support the cover lines which implies that the target audience is quite young and prefers picture based magazines.

Name DroppingThe magazine uses name dropping to show who will be featured in the magazine. As it’s in a footer it also gives the cover a fuller feel and a neat finish.

Cover linesThe cover lines are a mix of contrasting colours. The main cover line is on a banner across the main image which implies that what they’ve got to say is more important than their pictures. The other cover lines are also in contrasting boxes which makes the page look busier and more ‘teen friendly’ for the younger target audience.

Use of flashThe use of flashes to advertise features inside makes it stand out. The ‘real-life special’ is in bold to show that this is meant to the focus of the puff.

FRONT COVERMastheadThe masthead is in a similar colour to the background instead of being really bold like the NME magazine. To make the masthead stand out, they have used a white outline around the masthead which contrasts to the pink background. The font is san serif which makes it easier to read and seems less fancy which appeals to the younger target audience. The masthead is also in pink which connotes that the magazine is quite ‘girly’ as the colour pink is stereotypically associated with young girls.

ImagesThere isn’t particularly one main image which the front cover is based around but the image of Shayne Ward catches your attention first as It is anchored with the cover line placed immediately below the masthead. The image is a medium-close up so we focus more on the facial expressions rather than the body language. The other images on the front cover are placed on banners and puffs to anchor them to the different cover lines which makes the cover seem fuller.

Cover linesThe main cover line has a pink drop shadow to tie in with the colour scheme of the magazine and it also gives it a less sophisticated look. This is also linked with the pull quote that is used ‘the truth behind those girlfriend rumours’ which not only implies the ‘childish’ aspect of the magazine as it connotes that the readers have a crush on him. The use of a pull quote also gives an insight to what will be in the magazine in order to attract the readers. The other cover lines use persuasive writing such as ‘you just can’t miss’ to make the reader feel obliged to buy the magazine. The cover lines also don’t follow the usual ‘C’ layout of a magazine which make the cover look more chaotic which suggests that the magazine is full of articles and the reader will be getting their moneys worth.

HeaderThe header of the magazine is filled with small features of the magazine. It is also yellow which contrasts to the pink and makes it stand out more. This also matches the snapshot of McFly’s feature to show that they are the main aspects of this issue and implies that these are what is worth buying the magazine for.

FooterThis acts as a footer to give a clean finish to the edge of the page. However, the way it’s positioned on the page implies that is a page turner and gives the idea that all you have to do is turn the page to find out what the secrets are.

CONTENTS MastheadThe masthead is repeated again but in a different colour to the front cover. This suggests that the masthead on the front cover isn’t generic and fits to the colour scheme of that issue. The masthead it yellow and white which contrasts to the pink of the header and also has a black drop shadow which again differs from the white of the masthead on the cover which gives it a more distinctive look as the main background of the contents is white.

Editor’s noteThe editor’s note is positioned at the top of the page to show that it’s important and should be read first. The language used is quite informal such as ‘tons more’ and colloquial such as when they describe the gossip as ‘hot’. It includes the main features that were on the front cover and these are in bold to make them stand out more with a quick glance at the page. The editor’s note is also on the template of an actual piece of paper that’s been torn out of a notepad to imply that it’s the note from the editor.

List of teamThe left hand side is a list of people on the team of the magazine such as the designer and photographers etc. It is placed on a black banner so it is clearly separate to the information on the contents page which connotes importance. They have also shortened ‘smash hits’ to ‘sh’ which shows familiarity with the audience.

TitleThe title for the contents page is near the bottom of the page so the focus of the readers is on the images above rather than what the magazine contains. The page numbers are also in a darker shade of pink that the article titles so it is easy to differentiate between the two. Again, the articles that were features on the front cover are in bold as these are assumed to be the articles that the readers are most interested in reading.

ImagesThis is one main image but it looks like a couple of images placed onto a background. There is also speech bubbles placed on top to show that the magazine is aimed at a younger audience and gives it a less sophisticated look.

Page numbersThe page numbers are placed on top of the images so we know that they are linked to those articles. They are also in pink to tie in with the colour scheme and contrast the to the white background of the images. The name of the magazine is repeated by the page

number as part of the house style.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

TitleThe title of the article isn’t in a block font, it’s transparent with a white outline around it to make it stand out from the page. It’s in white to contrast with the dark colours of the image. The term ‘boy racers’ is used to connect with the young ‘girly’ target audience. The sub-heading underneath is also quite basic because you can see what the article is about from the amount of photos in the article.

PatternThey have the pattern of a tyre print to anchor to the theme of the article. It also gives a neat finish to the corner of the page.

In bold there is snippets of information about the band at the bottom which makes the article into a small news article of the band as well as informing the readers about what they have done.

CopyThe font is easy on the eye so it’s easier to understand and read. The language is not very sophisticated in order for the younger target audience to be able to understand it such as using shorter sentences with less technical terms. The text also only takes up a small section of the page which leaves the article mainly image based which again makes it easier on the eye and more appropriate for the younger audience.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREADCaptionThe caption/masthead that is used on the contents page is again repeated on the article page to keep the title of the magazine running throughout the magazine. The pink banner at the top of the page is also the same as the contents page so the colour are still contrasting but fitting the generic colour scheme.

ImagesThe images that are used are action shots rather than posed shots like the main image. This is to support what is being said in the article. The photos are also spaced out with a white gap between them so it is easy to distinguish the different photos. On each image, there are quotes referring to who is the image which again is suitable for the younger audience because it gives them less to read in one long article.

Advertisement/ CompetitionThis is positioned in the bottom right corner so it’s the last thing you notice before turning the page so it’s hard to miss it. They have linked the competition to the theme of the article and the people featured in the article as a way of persuading people to take part. It also blends well with the layout of the page as it looks as though it is in it’s own image box as well following the colour scheme of the page unlike NME when the advertisement is in a contrasting colour.

Use of puffThe puff is pink in colour which matches the banner at the top of the page in order to give a clean finish to the page. It also attracts the attention to that particular photo which is also larger than the other second images which connotes it is more important than the others.