Thursday, 23 October 2014
Textual Analysis of Existing Media Products
Kerrang! Magazine
As you can see on the front cover of Kerrang! magazine, the
masthead is always in the same place, which is just in the centre at the top of
the page going all the way across, with the only major change being the colour
(it's known that yellow and red go well together so this makes sense, plus it's
bright and attractive so its target audience take notice 'right from the off').
The 'broken glass' font of the word 'Kerrang' is known to be iconic, and is
what makes the magazine what it is today, having started in 1981. On this cover
in particular, there are at least 5 fonts used, including in the very middle of
the page ('The Tattoo Issue') in scroll-style, which gives the cover some
uniqueness. The other fonts are used mainly to list who the issue includes, and
this is located in the bottom right corner of the cover. So in this example
there are bands such as: You Me At Six, Linkin Park and Papa Roach, and they
are all in capital letters and end in an exclamation mark to signify their
importance. The other key font is located at the very top of the cover, where
it says 'Warped Tour Special!'. This signifies the importance of the featured
article, and draws its target audience in with ease. The fact that the font is
also in capital letters, implies that the company are 'shouting' towards their
target audience for their attention.
When analyzing the cover in more detail, you can see that
there are seven images on the left hand side of the page, which indicates that
there are posters of those musicians bearing most of their tattoos, hence the
fact that this is a 'tattoo issue' of Kerrang! Underneath these images, there's
a small box which highlights a small interview which has been included. One thing
which is key about the whole cover in general however is the fact that it's
mostly yellow, as it's an attractive, bright colour which will make anything
stand out. The fact that Oli Sykes is the main focal point of the cover in
question, because of his many tattoos, makes the cover stand out more, and also
brings in more varieties of audience for Kerrang! I think that the way that
he's been positioned is very effective, as you can see that his head covers the
main part of the magazine name. Having said that, this doesn't make any effect
on whether people are attracted to the magazine or not, as Kerrang! is a
well-known magazine and has been since the very early eighties anyway.
NME Magazine
On the NME cover, you can clearly see that NME have
maintained their 'trademark' of having the masthead on the left hand side of
the page, which in turn leaves enough space for a large image of a band to be
placed. They have also kept their tradition of making the masthead 'red and
white', as red is scientifically the colour that we all recognize first, with
the white to help us. On this cover, there are only about 4 font sizes that are
used, with "The Wombats" being in the largest font, showing that they
are the most important feature in the magazine. Another one of the main fonts
that are used are to annotate what other bands are featured in the issue of
NME. The white colour really helps as it stands out among everything else
included, including the blue backdrops.
At the very top of the cover, there's the feature about
Glastonbury festival, and the importance of this is shown by using a large,
bold black font, highlighting the headlining acts, and a short headline
underneath showing fans' amazement. The company have chosen to mount it on to a
yellow background, which in turn enables it to stand out among everything else
that's included. I believe that this is also because of the fact that we all
read from left to right, so it makes so much sense in placing it where it is.
At the foot of the front cover, there's a much smaller font which lists some of
the newer bands that are beginning to emerge into the 'indie spotlight'. The
reason that NME have done this in such a small font is because they expect it
to be the last thing that their audience sees on the cover. The other aspect of
the front cover which I think that NME have also done well is placing the
barcode and price tag in the bottom right corner, as that's the part that the
audience pays attention to the least. However, the way that they put '569 UK
GIGS LISTED' in a red font is effective as it stands out, catching their
attention.
Compared to the Kerrang! magazine above, there aren't nearly
as many images included on this cover. However, the way that the three members
of The Wombats are positioned in the centre is effective, as they are each in a
certain pose, which gives the image a lot of interest and attracts a lot of
attention as well. I like the fact that the image of the indie band 'The Cribs'
has been placed at a very 'wonky' and diminishing angle, as it gives the cover
more of a variety, and makes it that little bit more aesthetically pleasing to
look at. It's also got a very fine white border, which also makes it a bit more
attractive, and also enables it to stand out more. The other main difference
between the two covers visually is the variety that the NME cover has with the
colour and shading of the background. The background of this is mainly black
and white.
Match of the Day magazine
Compared to the other two magazine covers that I have
analysed in a lot , the Match of the Day cover is completely different. One of
the main differences is obviously the content, which is football in this case.
Because of this, I have managed to identify a whole range of features on this
front cover which make it stand out from the other two that I have analysed.
One feature which is clear to see on this cover is the type
of font that the magazine has chosen to use, which is 'bold capital letters'.
Football magazines, but Match of the Day in particular, are often associated
with fonts like this because they want to make football sound really exciting
for its audience, which is young children/teenagers. Also with this font style,
it tends to be in different forms of capital letters as well, to add more
variety and make the cover more aesthetically pleasing to the audience. The
other reason that this kind of font tends to be used with sports magazines is
to attract their target audience straight away, and make them pay attention.
And the main reason for all of these features is because of the fact that it's
in an informal style.
The second feature that I have identified on this front
cover is the amount of images that have been used. 'Match of the Day' have been
well known to use a lot of images of footballers to attract their audience,
because the show knows that they know who they are and who they play for. The
way that Cristiano Ronaldo and Wesley Sneijder (at the middle of the cover),
partially cover the Match of the Day logo is very effective, simply because of
the fact that MotD is a well-known TV show and magazine all over Europe at
least, so the magazine's target audience know straight away, before they even
look at the title, what kind of magazine they are buying.
Wednesday, 22 October 2014
Analysis of 2 Contents Pages
Kerrang! Magazine - Contents Page
As you can see on the Kerrang! magazine contents page, there are a lot of visual features (pictures), much like the front cover. This attracts their target audience because it helps them identify who each artist/band is. The image of Marilyn Manson is noticeably much bigger than all of the other images, which implies that he is the main feature in this particular issue. Some of the things that are listed in the magazine have little 'icons' which say that they are featured on the front cover, which means that they are the key things in this particular issue. An extra feature which Kerrang! have used is separating the posters from everything else in the magazine, and overlapped each image, which makes the page look more attractive.
Another aspect which makes this contents page more attractive to its audience is how there's a brief introductory paragraph in the bottom left corner from the editor of Kerrang! magazine. This helps the audience know what's in the issue and gives them a 'warm welcome'. Plus, the signature at the bottom gives the magazine a more formal impression. It's also helpful that there's a small photo of the editor just above, as it shows who they are, and the small black border makes them stand out and makes the page just that little bit more attractive.
With each of the headings that are used, that separate all of the information from each other, they are all in the same colour and same font as used on the front cover. Again, this is to go with the colour scheme and to avoid any clashes of style or colour. The block capital letters for each section helps any readers with a visual impairment, by making it easier for them to read and understand more. They are also there because they are part of the style of the magazine itself. As Kerrang! is more of an informal music magazine, compared to something like NME or even Rock Sound, they would naturally appeal primarily to a younger target audience.
At the bottom right hand corner of the contents page, there's a small feature which advertises deliveries of the magazine, and the way it's presented is effective and helpful for the reader as well as being attractive, visual and interesting for the target audience. This is by making the covers of other issues 'overlap'. So like the front cover of Kerrang! magazine, the visuals continue inside as well.
Q Magazine - Contents Page
As you can see on the contents page for 'Q' magazine, compared with the Kerrang! contents page you see above, it's remarkably different in a whole variety of ways. The first thing that's noticeably different about this contents page in particular is the lack of visuals that are included. The only image that's been included is one of James Blunt, implying that he's the main feature in this issue of the magazine. However this is actually very effective because the way that he's been positioned. It's as if he's addressing the target audience directly and convincing them to buy the issue.
Another difference in the way that this is presented is where the contents page is. 'Q' have chosen to have it running down the side of the page, which is suitable in this case because there had to be room to include the image of James Blunt in the first place. Another reason why they have presented it in this way is simply to try and make sure that it's more formalized. It's also helpful that they have made the word 'Contents' appear in capital letters, because they want to try and catch the audience's attention.
As you can see in the image above, main categories have been used to split up the list of new features and usual aspects of the magazine. Plus, they often add a little caption after each feature, as to give the target audience more information into what and/or who the feature is about. If you also notice on the contents page above, you discover that large text is often used for the smaller titles. This is to help the visually impaired audience identify where they are in the magazine. Smaller text is used for the caption, to give you a brief bit of information.
The other aspect of this contents page in particular which I think is impressive, is how there is a small graphic in the bottom right hand corner of the page. This is a visual which tells the reader to turn the page and keep reading on with the magazine, and it can also be interpreted as a 'hookline'. It also saves valuable space for more information, without needing any other writing. This really gets the audience attracted because they would naturally know what the arrow means. But on the other hand, an older member of the 'outside' target audience probably wouldn't know what it meant, or could have trouble seeing it.
As you can see in the image above, main categories have been used to split up the list of new features and usual aspects of the magazine. Plus, they often add a little caption after each feature, as to give the target audience more information into what and/or who the feature is about. If you also notice on the contents page above, you discover that large text is often used for the smaller titles. This is to help the visually impaired audience identify where they are in the magazine. Smaller text is used for the caption, to give you a brief bit of information.
The other aspect of this contents page in particular which I think is impressive, is how there is a small graphic in the bottom right hand corner of the page. This is a visual which tells the reader to turn the page and keep reading on with the magazine, and it can also be interpreted as a 'hookline'. It also saves valuable space for more information, without needing any other writing. This really gets the audience attracted because they would naturally know what the arrow means. But on the other hand, an older member of the 'outside' target audience probably wouldn't know what it meant, or could have trouble seeing it.
Wednesday, 8 October 2014
College Magazine analysis
The masthead line (the header) is in a bold and yellow font, which enables it to stand out and attract its target audience. Furthermore, the student on the front cover is based in the middle. This this is so information can be placed either side of him, which goes by the rule of thirds. The student on the cover is also young looking, which takes into account the target audience of teenagers approaching adulthood (16-19), and the world of work and entrepreneurship The cover uses 3 colours (black, white and yellow), plus a separate colour of pink to make one of the cave-lines stand out, to make it simple for its audience to read, but on the other hand, effective because it attracts them in the first place. The other reason why I think this is effective is because the college take into account the fact that they’re trying to be informal in their approach to the audience, but at the same time, formal when taking into account some of the content being included on the cover. The other aspect which attracts the audience is how the link to the college’s website is placed directly underneath the masthead, taking into account that we read from left to right, and top to bottom. Overall, I believe that this cover in particular is a positive representation of the college, in particular because of the phrase ‘Entrepreneur Motivational Speaker’ being mentioned, which I think helps its audience realise that they will have to work really hard to achieve their dreams. The front cover seems to have its own trademark house style as well, (model/subject placed in the centre, with key information running down either side). This is a simple, yet effective layout, as it’s the person on the cover who captures the attention first.
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