Image Analysis

Looking at the magazine cover of NME, we was asked to analysis the main image in detail.

The image shows a band called: 'The XXX'. They are wearing all black and take up most of the cover. As they are wearing such a dark colour, it draws the readers attention directly to them.

I believe the purpose of the image is to attract the reader to the magazine; also advertising the band. This is effective as it is bold on the page, and with the colours used it makes all eyes fall on to the band, rather than around the page.

Size - A4
Type of shot (LS etc.) - Medium shot
Angle - Eye line 
Setting - Grey background (possibly a studio?)
Framing - All in the centre of the image
Colour - Black
Lighting - Back light
Pose - Straight faces, arms by sides 
Composition - Medium shot, three people, grey background
Subject matter, including people - The XXX

Research in Music Magazine Covers.

            Rolling Stones magazine ‘Taylor Swift’ cover

           

• The purpose is to attract readers that enjoy Taylor Swift’s music.
• Her lightly applied makeup and natural wavy hair support the subtitle under her name: ‘Secrets of a good girl’, as it protests her innocence. 
• As she is holding a guitar and her hair looks slightly as if its blowing in the wind, it emphasis’ the style of music Taylor Swift sings, which is country. 
• The camera is at eye line level, and with her giving direct eye contact to the camera, it makes you look directly at her face. 
• The colours used are brown and grey shades, which again supports the style of music she sings, as they are very outdoor colours. 
• Even though she is shown as innocent, she is also showing a very lustful gaze. 
• Lighting - seems to be as if there is a spotlight shown, focusing on the centre of her face, as you can see slight shadows around her cheeks. 
• As it states ‘secrets of a good girl’ this lures the audience in to reading the rest of the magazine, wanting to know more. 
• Little flesh is shown, again keeping her ‘good girl’ image. 

Research on Magazines

For my Music Magazine, I chosen to use the genre of Pop. I have researched various Pop magazines, looking at the different features, colours, lures etc.

These are two examples of the front covers of Top of the Pops magazine, which is extremely popular with young teenage girls and published monthly. It uses cover lines such as: 'In bed with JLS find out why they want a cuddle from you', which instantly shows who the magazine is aimed at as they are a teenage girls heartthrob, with the majority of their fans being of this gender. This will make them want to buy the magazine, as it appeals to them personally. It also uses lures; 'Justin Exclusive! BAD BOY! "No parents, no rules!"', which also targets girls, as likewise to JLS he is a teenage heartthrob, who teenage girls want to know everything about, therefore this will persuade them to read on.

Also, using cover lines such as: 'Justin's Body Hang- Ups!', makes the readers appeal to the magazine more, as you wouldn't think the teenage 'God' Justin Bieber would have any body worries, making them relate back to themselves as most teenage girls have this exact problem.

Top of the Pops contains pages on: Celebrity gossip, chart information, beauty and fashion tips. These are also reinforce who the magazine is aimed at; teenage girls. No pages are directly focused on grabbing the attention of boys. Furthermore, the layout of the magazine is the same every month meaning it is made easy for the readers to find everything as they become familiar with it.

I also looked at another magazine similar to Top of the Pops; Mizz. Mizz is at magazine yet again aimed at teenage girls; usually between the ages of 11 - 14. It comes out every fortnight usually with a freebie. It incorporates pages of fashion, gossip and encourages people to write in about real life events. Also, it talks about how to deal with real life issues such as: puberty and hygiene.

Likewise to Top of the Pops, Mizz uses celebrities on the front cover to capture the readers attention, persuading them to purchase the magazine. For instance; on the cover above Alesha is uses with the cover line: 'Alesha sorts out your problems!'. This makes the reader think maybe she could sort out their problems, making them read on.

Secondly, Mizz uses freebies: 'FREE FANTASTIC GIFT'. As it says FREE, this grabs peoples attention making them want to buy the magazine more in order to get the freebie. These freebies are also often beauty products; relating to the target audience of teenage girls.

However, in the magazine I am going to be creating, I want to create a different type of Pop magazine for more of a wider audience. I'm still going to include some of the articles and popular artists, but make it more classier and aimed at boys as well as girls. Also, I'm going to include listings of clubs and Pop events, which mean it will also be suitable for adults. 

Masthead Research