College Magazine Cover Analysis

This magazine cover has a Masthead at the top which goes across to show the audience what this magazine is about clearly. It also has the price and barcode in the bottom left corner, typical of a college magazine. The magazine uses 4 different colours and fonts, which is typical, as it doesn’t make it look too plain or too cluttered. The cover also has an advertisement for paintballing in the top right of the page in the pink splat, which draws the reader’s attention away from the yellow, black and white colour scheme. The main image is a male student who has a book 'Law and Society'. This could be to show that students at this college are not only educated, but educated in more complex subjects. The fact that the model for the magazine is a young, black male and is shown in a positive way, goes against how the media traditionally see young, black males. Another story on the cover of the magazine, the 'Make money on campus' story could show that the producers want to show that their students want to achieve and succeed in terms of money, as well as education.

Analysing Feature Article- Q

This is a feature article from ‘Q’ music magazine. It still has the typical structures of a feature article of a music magazine. It is on a double spread, which is usual for a main story in a music magazine. Being on a double spread allows a larger story, or in this case, one page for a picture and one page for the interview. This article is about Liam Gallagher (formally of Oasis) with his new band Beady Eye who are about to release their debut album. This feature article is very structured and contains 3 columns of text, with clear gutters between them so the audience know when one line ends and the next one starts. The first one and a half columns is information on various things such as ‘Oasis’ and ‘Beady Eye’, with the next part being an interview with the band.

The audience would probably first be drawn to the image used on the right page of the interview of Liam Gallagher. He is standing up straight and looks like a typical man, with a strong stance and a long camouflage jacket on. His outfit suggests the genre of music his music is aimed at. The big army jacket suggests that it is iconic to the indie genre.

The pull quote is probably what the audience would see next, as it is in bold red font next to the picture, so it stands out. The pull quotes are on the page to persuade the audience to read the article, and make them think about why the person interviewed said that. This may make them go on and read the whole interview. The only other thing present on the right hand page is the name of the band being interviewed, ‘Beady Eye’. This informs the audience straight away who the magazine is interviewing.

The huge red drop letter ‘T’ is instantly recognisable to the regular readers of ‘Q’ magazine, as it is present in all of the interviews within the magazine. It stands out ahead of the text, which could just be there to draw the attention of the reader. The interview also has a drop letter ‘S’, which again draws the attention of the audience. Finally, there is a quote at the top of the left page about Oasis splitting up. As this was such a huge piece of news, the audience will be very interested in reading about it, and so this quote will persuade them to carry on reading the rest of the article.

Analysing Feature Article- Matt O'Rourke

This is a feature article from a blog, which could mean that it is an AS college student’s magazine coursework. However it still has all of the major structures of a typical music magazine feature article. It is on a double spread, which is usual for a main story in a music magazine. Being on a double spread allows a larger story, or in this case question and answer session. It also allows there to be a large picture of the star being interviewed, while leave enough white space for the double spread to not look too cluttered.

The feature article has a large, sharp-font title, which automatically draws the attention of the audience to the name, and to see if they know who they are. The sharp font gives a quirky, ‘cool’, feel, so we already know what kind of person Matt O’Rourke is. Also, having a white drop shadow allows the title to stand out from the page, and almost look 3D. The blue lightning strike behind his name also helps the title to stand out.

The next thing that the audience should notice is the picture of Matt O’Rourke with his guitar. This tells the audience what will feature in this double page spread, and gives them the decision of staying on the page and reading, or skipping the interview and going to the next page. The audience may see the pull quote next, which is on top of the photo. The pull quotes are on the page to intrigue the audience into reading the article, and make them think about why the person interviewed said that. In this case “It was all a good experience and a hell of a lot of fun” makes the audience wonder what it is that Matt O’Rourke is talking about when he says this. This may make the audience go on and read the whole interview, making the pull quote a very important part of the feature article.

The pictures along the top of the double page spread inform the audience further of what to expect in this interview. They are close and personal photos of the star which could make the audience believe that he is more of a normal person, and that they can relate themselves to him more. There are a few pictures of him, and a few of his recording studio. This also tells the audience what he does in his spare time.

Finally, the audience would probably read the interview itself. The article has a rough set of gutters, which separates different columns from each other, making it easier for the audience to distinguish where one line stops and the next begins. This is typical of any kind of feature article, and is needed to make the page look neater and clearer.

The typography of the text within the interview is also very important, as the makers of the magazine need to ensure that it grabs the attention of the audience, while being easy to read. The size chosen for the font is good, as it is not too big that you don’t get much information on the page, but not too small that the audience has to squint to read it. The small piece of text before the actual interview begins gives the audience a small back story of Matt O’Rourke, and because is not part of the interview, is black with no drop shadow. However, when the interview starts, the text becomes white with a black drop shadow, except the titles, which are the opposite. The text is bolder so it stands out more that the small introduction.

Analysing Contents Page- Q

This is the contents page for the 284^th issue of ‘Q’ magazine.  Unlike the ‘Kerrang!’ contents page, this one has a two page spread, and tells the audience what they can expect to read about when they purchase this magazine. As with all ‘Q’ magazines, they keep to a certain house style, which means that the layout of the page will almost always be the same style as the other ones. As with other ‘Q’ contents pages, it will have the same colours and font style across the page. The writing will always be on the outside of the page rather than the inside. The colour scheme will be the same or similar as the front cover, with the red square and the white ‘Q’ inside it.

The main article is clear as it takes up the most space out of all of the other articles, and has the largest and boldest font. It also has the largest picture and is in the centre of the page. This means that the audience will look straight at the image, and therefore are more likely to read about it. The editor of the magazine chose to put the most famous band, ‘Gorillaz’, as the largest image, as it would have drawn in the largest audience, therefore making them more profit.

The other articles are presented in columns down the side of the two pages, each having numbers next to them to allow the reader to easily find the page where that specific article is. The more famous/well known artists or celebrities have pictures next to the description to give the audience a visual image of the thing that they will be reading about. An example of this is the ‘Wayne Rooney VS Kelly Jones interview, which has a picture underneath it. This tells readers that this article will be about football, without them having to turn to the specific page.

There are no audience contributions on the contents page, such as photos or e-mails. However, the audience would have influenced what are the main stories/articles in the magazine, due to how many records of the certain bands/singers were sold. The more famous bands/singers tend to be earlier on in the magazine, and have bigger pictures, in this case, ‘Gorillaz’. This shows that although they believe they are passive, the audience actually has an active role into who gets put into the magazine.

This contents page doesn’t have an editor’s note, unlike the ‘Kerrang!’ magazine that I also analysed. However, as is common with music magazines such as ‘Q’ or ‘Kerrang!’, it does have a thumbnail of the front cover in the top right corner of the page.

Analsysing Contents Page- Kerrang!

This is the contents page for ‘Kerrang!’ magazine, published on 1/11/08. It consists of just one page which tells the reader what they can expect to read about when they purchase this magazine. However, as with all ‘Kerrang!’ magazines, they keep to a certain house style, and the layout of the page will nearly always be the same or similar, and will have the editor’s note and thumbnail of the cover in the top left corner, as well as 8 or 9 pictures from the most interesting parts of the magazine. As well as this, it will have the writing down the right-hand side of the page.

The colour scheme stays in unity with the front cover, which again stays with the house style of the magazine. The main colours are white, black, red and yellow, other than the pictures. This is the same on the front cover, except there is a lot more yellow on the contents page. The font of the writing will also stay the same for titles, and right-justified cover lines etc., as it does in the contents page.

The images are also very similar on the front cover and the contents page. Most images are a mid-shot, taken from a low angle, which could show that these celebrities are supposed to be seen as superior to us. The main image in the contents page is near the front of the magazine, in this case page 6. This may be so that when readers see the magazine on a shelf, they can flick quickly to page 6, read a small part, and then be more tempted to buy it.

There are no audience contributions on the contents page, such as photos or e-mails. However, the audience would have influenced what are the main stories/articles in the magazine, due to how many records of the certain bands/singers were sold. The more famous bands/singers tend to be earlier on in the magazine, and have bigger pictures, in this case, ‘You Me At Six’. This makes the audience initially passive, but when looked at more detail, you can see that they are active, as they have a subconscious input into who/what is in the magazine.

As is common with ‘Kerrang!’ magazine, there is an editor’s note, which is in the top left corner of the contents page, along with a thumbnail of the front cover. Within the editor’s note, Paul the editor talks about motivation for the week’s magazine, some bands that are featured in the magazines, and some bands that he recommends. As is typical of an editor’s note, he signs it, and states that he is the editor of the magazine.

Analysing Magazine Cover- Empire

Content Code

The masthead is in its famous red colour and quirky font, which attracts the audience, as they recognise the house style. The ‘P’ of ‘Empire’ is being covered by the Joker’s head, but the audience still realise that the magazine is called ‘Empire’, which shows how popular and well known the magazine is. Heath Ledger as The Joker is the cover star. As he is a well-known and well acclaimed actor, this may promote the magazine and make it more appealing to the target audience. His posture suggests quirkiness, which leaves the audience guessing what kind of person he is, which could intrigue them, causing them to buy the magazine. His costume goes with the strange and psychotic character of the Joker, and makes him easily recognisable to an audience. The Tag Line appeals directly to the audience, as ‘World Exclusive’ gives the audience the idea that they are part of a niche, select group who are the first people to get a preview the character of The Joker before anyone else does. The contrast of the bright white and blue light around the bat symbol, and the darkness of The Joker’s cell could represent the binary opposition of Good vs. Evil. This allows the audience to assume that Batman will be the hero and manage to defeat The Joker is some way. The Batman symbol being at the top of the page makes it look as if it is in the sky, superior to The Joker, which could connote that Batman will always be above watching and waiting to be needed.

Technical Code

Shot Distance- Mid-Long shot which gets the whole of ‘The Joker’ in the picture, as well as some of the background of his jail cell. The producers probably put the whole of ‘The Joker’ in so that the audience could see the whole of his quirky costume, including his strange chequered socks.

Camera Angle- The camera angle is slightly low, looking up at ‘The Joker’ sitting down; as he has to slightly look down to see into the camera. The producers probably did this to show that he is a superior figure and that maybe he has power?

Focal Depth- ‘The Joker’ is in focus, whereas the cell is slightly in a more shallow focus, to make him stand out more from the background.

Typography- The left-justified cover lines are in a strange font, which shows the strangeness of The Joker. However, it could also represent the rebellious behaviour of The Joker, as it is not a conventional left-justified cover that you would see on a typical magazine cover. In a way, it is almost a special edition magazine cover, and is almost as if The Joker himself has scrawled over the page. The right-justified cover lines give the audience an insight to what will be in the magazine, which may also help to promote the magazine, therefore making the company more profit. The Coen brothers’ interview is plastered near the middle of the magazine in a bright green circle which stands out and tempts the audience to buy the magazine so that they can read this interview. Any of the target audience who like the Coen brothers or their films may be more likely to purchase the magazine, therefore making more profit for the company.

Cropping- The producers of the magazine chose to cut a picture straight from the film that they are advertising, ‘The Dark Knight’, rather than taking a photo of The Joker in a studio. This gives the magazine a more sincere and dark look, which goes with the theme of darkness or evil which is associated with the Joker.

Analysing Magazine Cover- Rolling Stone

Content code

Recent photo of the band connotes that they are fresh and still out there producing music. The surprised look on Anthony’s face shows that he doesn’t take anything too seriously, however Flea, the notoriously clownish bassist is doing a handstand and being held up by the other member of the band, which connotes that he enjoys life to the full and looks to mess around and have fun all the time. The less ‘sensible members of the band are shirtless, showing off their crazy tattoos, which shows possible past stories of their lives together. Chad, the drummer is holding Flea’s leg up to show he is used to Flea’s behaviour now after being in the band for so long. However, the newest member of the band, Josh is more tucked away in the corner, which could show he is less confident than the others as he may not be used to ‘crazy’ photo-shoots.

Technical Code

Shot Distance- Mid-long shot which gets the entire band in the shot, other than the bottom of Chad’s feet.

Camera Angle- Straight on, which shows no inferiority or superiority?

Focal Depth-As it is a portrait of the band, whole image is in focus.

Film Stock- Quite grainy which could show that they are not normal or ‘smooth’ people, they stand out and want to be noticed?

Typography- The masthead of the magazine, ‘Rolling Stone’ is in the same font, colour and roughly the same size as usual. This creates a home style which will attract the audience, as they will associate the magazine to the masthead every time they see it. The Strap line across the top is the same font as the left-justified cover lines, which again creates a house style, and makes the magazine look less tacky as they have only used 4 fonts on the whole page. The left-justified cover lines give an insight of what the viewer will expect to read within the magazine. They also use a rhetorical question; ‘Is the S.E.C covering up wall street crimes?’. This makes the reader inquisitive and wanting to read on, which may persuade them further to buy the magazine. The main cover line is in a different font, a stranger font which could connote the strangeness of the band? The magazine gives the audience an insight to the type of band that ‘Red Hot Chili Peppers’ are by describing them as an ‘unstoppable groove’. There are 4 font colours, mainly red, black and grey, with ‘Matt Taibbi’ in yellow to stand out from the rest of the words. The date and price of the magazine are in a smaller font in the top right corner, so the audience know which edition and how much it is, but it is taking all of their attention away from the main image.