Double page spread 5

Double page spread 4

double page spread 3

Double page spread 2

Double page spread 1

Textual analysis of Rolling Stones magazine

Textual analysis of Rolling Stones magazine

The Model, Robert Downey JR, has been photographed rather close up. The image includes his face and shoulders. As the photo is close up, we see his facial features and expressions very clearly. From his eyes and slight frown, Robert looks intrigued and quite sad about something.

The main image is usually what will catch the audience’s attention to begin with as it is what takes up the majority of the front cover. If people are curious to find out what has made Robert look intrigued in the photo. They would carry on reading the cover lines. The biggest cover line reads “To Hell and Back with Robert Downey JR.” This cover line will insinuate to the audience that Robert is at a time in his life that has not been easy for him (hence the word ‘Hell’ being written with a capital letter for emphasis). This cover line has clearly linked with the photo as the stubble on Robert’s face could signify the ‘rough’ time that he has been through.

The intrigued look in Robert’s eyes could be because he is looking for somebody to help him, or he’s curious what his life will be like now that he has been to hell and back.

The colours of the text around the sides of the magazine are all substantially plain and dull. This has been done purposefully to create emphasis on the main image. Robert is wearing orange a bright, bold colour that makes him stand out from the text surrounding him.

The masthead ‘RollingStone’ is made up of three colours: Black, grey and white. Although these are rather plain colours, the way that they have been arranged makes it look as though the masthead is in 3D effect, it makes the reader notice which magazine they are looking at, creating a better chance of the name sticking in their head for future purchases.

The layout of the cover lines, masthead and boxed in writing causes no obstruction in the viewing of Robert Downey JR’s face. The text is all neatly placed around Robert so that you can see everything you need to for example facial expressions.

The target audience for this magazine would be an older generation as the price, at £3.50, is quite high for people who are younger and may not earn as much. Also, there is boxed in text that speaks about a campaign which could also be aimed at an older age group who may be more interested, they may also have more of an interest in politics and ‘how the democrats can blow it’.

As we, Robert Downey JR is not the youngest celebrity around and he often appears in films that may appeal to an older generation who would then be encouraged to buy this magazine if they are a fan. Slang terms are usually used amongst teenagers and this magazine speaks rather formally, possibly not attracting the younger audience as much a magazine which uses slang may do.

Contents analysis

Contents Q magazine

Contents analysis Kerrang

Mixmag contents page

Top of the Pops contents page

Textual analysis of Kerrang magazine

Textual analysis of Kerrang magazine

I am going to be analysing the cover of Kerrang magazine. There are many things to look at when analysing a magazine cover firstly the Layout, the colour, the target audience and the main image.

Firstly the layout of this magazine is very busy; there is lots of cover lines surrounding the main image as well as lots of smaller images, each with their own caption or cover line. The main image also has text incorporated into it; this is because it relates to the image itself. The cover also includes lots of colours which also add to the busy affect which this cover produces.

Although the there is only 5 main colours on the page it appears as though there is a lot more because of all the images and the way the text is all around the page. The colours denote the genre of music that this music is about, the genre is rock. The red and the black are very often used by rock bands and artists. The yellow has been chosen because it contrasts with the other colours making the magazine stand out.

The model and the other images that include artists and band are all rock artists and will mainly appeal to a younger audience; this is the main target audience for this magazine. Most of the bands on the front cover include younger people; however there are older bands and band members on there too. This could encourage people of an older age to purchase this magazine as well. The use of colours and the way they contrast on the page is a good indication of the target audience for this magazine. 

The dark and light colours together suggest that this is magazine is for fans of Rock and Alternative Rock, as well as being roughly in their teenage years. The magazine offers 7 posters which are normally associated with teenagers and the sorts of things they put on their wall, this is another indicator of the target audience of this magazine.

The mast head of a magazine is normally the largest and most obvious part of a magazine cover. However this magazine covers part of the mast head with the main image, this could be off putting for non regular buyers of this magazine as they may not be able to see the title of the magazine. The mast head is also surrounded by cover lines, meaning that once again the importance of the title of the magazine is undermined by the sub main cover lines. The cover lines often include two colours this is to highlight the most important part about each article, this is important as the magazine is busy and the reader would not be able to figure this out at a glance if they were not in different colours. 

The magazine uses a lot of rhetorical questions on the cover because they make the audience think about the article for example, ‘What are Paramore shocked at?’ The audience where not thinking this until they were asked the question which encourages them to want to read the article. The cover also uses exclamation marks, these are used to emphasize the importance of this cover line, as well as showing excitement about the article or offer.

I would say the overall style of the Kerrang magazine is very busy and is aimed at teenagers and Rock fans for its target audience. But I do also feel that the older bands could attract an older audience. I think as a whole the magazine cover works well and is very good at communicating its genre and general intentions.

Textual analysis of Rolling Stones

Textual analysis of Rolling Stones

I am going to be analysing the front cover of the rolling stones magazine. There are many things to look at when analysing a magazine cover firstly the Layout, the colour, the target audience and the main image.

Firstly, the layout, the cover has the mast head running across the top of the page; this means regular customers will see the magazines title straight away. The main cover line is also at the top of the page as this will be the first story the publishers of the magazine will want to the audience to see. The other cover lines are all in on one side of the page this makes for a much organised and very formal.

The target audience of this magazine can be deciphered by looking at all of the things that make up the front cover. For example, as mentioned before the layout of the text and main image is important. In the case of this magazine the well organised cover lines all on one side in a neat list suggest that this magazine is for an older more mature target audience. The main image is a close of Adele’s face, who is a singer whose music appeals to all ages meaning this image will cause the magazine to catch the eyes of people of all ages.

The close up of Adele shows her pouting this and looking at the camera this gives the magazine a friendly and flirtatious feel to it. The pose she is pulling also reflects Adele’s type of music which often involves love between her and her ex partners. Adele is a pop/soul artist which means that this main image will help to encourage people of who like this genre of music to buy the magazine.

This magazine has used its cover lines in a way in which they show the main part of the story in white and a bit of background information in yellow. For example ‘The triumph of Adele’ is one of the main cover lines on this page. Adele is in big bold writing, this is obviously to draw attention to her name and the writing is in white because she is the main point in this story. ‘The triumph’ is written in yellow this is because it is just giving you a rough idea as to what this article is about but it is not as vital as Adele’s name so it is smaller and in a more discrete colour.

Obviously the artist or the song names are deemed most important and the thing the writers want the audience to read first, to try and capture their attention. As well as this the cover lines are no larger than 6 words meaning they are easy to read at a quick glance meaning the target audience will see be able to read them without even intending to, causing people to get drawn into buying the magazine they originally had no intention of purchasing.

The overall style of this magazine is quite formal and mature, which will appeal to an older audience. Although because of the subject topics in the cover lines and the model in the main image, it will still attract a younger audience as well. So this means that it has a wide audience range. The front page is quite neat and there isn’t a lot of text covering the page, although the main image is large and is a very close up shot, this means the cover can look quite busy, but I think this works well along its well organised format. 

Textual analysis of Q magazine

Textual analysis of Q magazine

I am going to be analysing the front cover of Q magazine. I will look at the layout, the colour, the target audience, the main image, cover lines and overall style.

Firstly, I would like to talk about the layout of the front cover. For example the way the Masthead, cover lines and tag lines are all part of the pages layout. As well as the main image these can be used to try and gain the attention of the target audience, which is a key factor when competing for sales against other leading magazines.

The colours are and on the cover are simple but bold, so they are all contrasting making them stand out. However, they all complement each other and work well together making the magazine stand out in front of other magazines of the same genre and target audience.

The target audience for this magazine can be determined by the layout, cover lines and the model. For example, although the colours are bold they are not that bright meaning they are probably intended for an older audience who will appreciate the slightly duller colours. The cover lines talk about stories and artists that will appeal to a range of audiences from teenagers to middle aged men and women. The genre of the music is ‘Alternative Rock’ which is popular across most ages. The ex-band member of Oasis is the model for the main image of the cover; he would be appealing to an older more mature audience. Over all I would say that the target audience of this magazine is older men and women, however I do feel younger people may be interested in the stories as well.

The model is wearing a brown leather jacket and is holding his fist towards the camera, he has a big golden ring, and this could be to show off his wealth or to show his anger or discontent to something. This is backed up by the model quite which is, ‘I don’t like Liam’, the models face is showing a passive aggressive gesture. The leather jacket represents a ‘bad man’ or biker image once again giving the audience a little bit of background information about the model and what the main story could be about. The style of the models outfit is fitting to the stereotyped image that goes with this genre of music.

The cover lines are spread out around the outside of the page, this makes them easy to break down and read. However only three of the cover lines including the main cover line actually tell you what the story inside is about, the others are just the names of artists and bands. This is important because this means we do not learn a lot about what is actually inside the magazine itself. However, this magazine is targeted at fans of this genre of music as well as the particular bands mentioned so the sorts of people that regularly buy this magazine will not be put off by the limit knowledge the cover gives us of the rest of the magazine.

The text itself is quite simple and does not use many large words, this means a few things firstly it is easy for people of all ages and intellectual standings to read and understand. Secondly the cover lines are short and snappy which will keep the buyers attention for longer meaning they will be more likely to be interested in purchasing this magazine.

I would say the overall style of the cover is effective as the colours, image and text are all relevant to the target audience and all work well to present the style and genre of the magazine.

Video evaluation

Magazine cover