MAGAZINE ANALYSISEllie Barter

THE IMAGE

The image has been placed on one page so that the target audience have to focus on it. The main focus of the image is the woman however there is small focus on the object she is sitting on as the colours match with her hair and skin tone to create consistency. The image does overlap onto the next page so that the audience are made fully aware that the image is the main focus of this dps.

The heading is split into two main parts, the large ‘USA’ in the background and the ‘got the love’ above the article. The USA is in serif font so that it is bold but it is also almost transparent to match the background which connotes that it is not as important as the image, especially as the image has been layered in front of it so it cuts some of the words out. The ‘got the love’ is written in a sans-serif font to possibly connote handwriting to make the article seem more personal to the reader. The contrast between the two fonts (and also colour as ‘got the love’ is black) highlights the heading and makes it stand out more against the rest of the page.

HEADING

DROP CAP A drop cap has been used in this dps, this is a common convention of

magazines and is commonly used. This has been done to attract the readers’ attention away from the image and towards the article as even though the main image is the main focus, the article needs to be recognised as well. The font for the drop cap is different than the rest of the article, this has been done to draw attention to the drop cap and thus the article.

Quotes have been used in the article however they have not been enlarged. It is a common convention of magazines to use quotes from the person they have interviewed and then put the quotes in a bigger font so that they stand out and attract the audience’s attention however this has not been done here. This may be because the main image and the headline are enough to attract the audience anyway as she is a popular musician and the target audience would be fans of hers.

QUOTES

COLUMNS Columns have been used to break up the article and therefore

make it more visually appealing to the audience as big chunks of text would disinterest the reader and make them not want to read it. Columns are a common convention of magazines as they allow for more room for images and they make the page look more professional. It also makes the article much easier to read as the information is spaced out.

A By Line has been used directly underneath the heading so that the audience do not have to look far to find out who the article was written by. The By Line has been added so that the reader can identify who wrote it and possibly look up more of their work if they enjoyed this article.

BY LINE

COLOUR SCHEME The colour scheme of this double page spread is red, white, grey and black. This has

been used to match the main image as she is dressed in black and her hair is red therefore the object she is sitting on has red on it and the writing is black. The white has been used to contrast the other dark colours and make them stand out more and a grey background has been used to connote that magazine is not ‘perfect’ enough for a white background which suggests that it is kind of grungy and therefore matches the overall rock genre the magazine has.

The layout of this magazine has been done to make sure that the majority of the focus goes onto the main image as this will attract the audience more than the article will as the audience will most likely recognise her as she is a famous musician, this has been reinforced by the fact the image overlaps onto the second page whereas the article remains in one corner of the page. The heading covers both pages however it has been overlapped by the image which suggests that it is not as important as the image.

LAYOUT

MAIN IMAGE The main image in this TV listing covers the whole double page,

this has been done so that the image can be more dramatic as there is a dramatic setting and the 3 main characters of the show. The image is also this big to draw attention from the secondary images which are also important but not as important as the main image.

Multiple secondary images have been used, for example the one in the puff on the left page shows two other characters, most likely less important ones as they are not featured in the main image. The other images across the bottom of the two pages show pictures of the cast and have some information about them, this makes it easier for the reader to distinguish who is who and without images this would be much more difficult.

SECONDARY IMAGES

HEADING The heading ‘Blood brothers’ has been split into two. Blood is in

bold and italics to highlight that the TV show is about vampires and therefore blood is involved and ‘brothers’ is in a thin font to suggest that the reader (if they do not already know) that the show involves a family of vampires. It is a common convention of magazines to use a pun in their heading and they have in this case as it a clever use of words to suggest that context of the show.

Page numbers have been added at the very bottom of the page of the first page and in a very small font, this is so they do not draw attention away from the article and the images. The name of the magazine has also been included next to the page numbers, it is a common convention to add the magazine name onto the page to reinforce the name so that it becomes well known.

PAGE NUMBERS/MAGAZINE NAME

QUOTES A quote has been used on the second page over the main image

which gives the general overview of the plot of the show. It has been highlighted with a red background and white writing so that it stands out against the main image and attracts the audiences attention. The quote has been used to entice the audience into reading the rest of the article if they were not already going to.

Columns have been used in this double page spread so that the information looks more organised and the dps looks more professional. The use of columns also makes the page look more visually appealing and makes the audience more likely to read it. The columns also allow for more space on the page for the various puffs.

COLUMNS

BY LINE A By Line has been added just above the puff on the second page,

it has been highlighted with a white background and has black writing so that it stands out against the background. The writing is very small so that it does not take attention away from the article or the main image. It has been added so that those who created the article are credited and so the audience can find some of their previous work if they enjoyed their work.

A sub heading has been added to this dps, which is a common convention of magazines. This subheading gives the general overview of the TV show so the reader can decide whether they want to read the rest of the article or not. ‘new supernatural romance’ is in bold to highlight the TV show genre so the reader know generally what it is going to be like.

SUB HEADING

PUFFS Multiple puffs have been used in this double spread, the first is the

image in the corner of the first page with the image and some writing in it. This has been used to highlight that this image relates to the article, it has a relatively thick white border around it to contrast the dark background and make it stand out more. The second puff is the one at the bottom of the page with the multiple pictures, this has been done to make it seem like a second article as it is giving separate information that relates to the main article. It has a thin white border around it again to contrast the dark background and make it stand out, and to differentiate between the main image. The other puffs are used to highlight the quotes and the by line.

COLOUR SCHEME The colour scheme of this double page spread his red, white and yellow. Red has been

used in the woman’s dress and to highlight the quote, it also has connotations of blood and romance which links to the plot of the show. White has been used to highlight the by line and for the article as the background is very dark, this contrast makes the article stand out more and therefore makes it easier for the audience to read and it catches their attention better. Yellow has been used in one of the puffs and for the names of the actors in the show, yellow has been used as it is highly different from red and white and the dark colours of the background, therefore making it stand out more as it contrasts them.

The layout of this double page has been done to focus purely on the main image as it covers the whole double page, the article covers about half of the first page and the title covers the rest of the majority of that page, this suggests that even though they are both important, they are not as important as the main image as this is the thing that will attract the audience’s attention most. The puff at the bottom of the page acts as like a separate mini article for the reader however it is only small and therefore of little significance.

Layout