Empire - Analysis of Contents page and Double page spread

Empire - Contents and Double page spread analysis 

Empire is a film Magazine, this means that it will have a very small select audience - People interested in films. Also, empire is quite a expensive Magazine, therefore it suggests that the readers are going to be fans of the Magazine. The colour scheme, which can be seen through out the contents and Double page spread, is  clearly: Black, white and red. The red colour has a dramatic contrast against the black and white, this means that what ever is in red stands out and there for emphasis' whatever the red font is. 

In the contents page Matt Smith is the main image - they also keep in with the colour scheme because of black and white effect the editor has done also keeps in with the colour scheme and therefore has a greater visual impact on the audience. The picture will also be one of the main stories in the Magazine. 

The contents page has a large banner going across the top with a white, thinner copy of the letter inside the bold red one. This type of front gives the contents page a old cinema feel and therefore connecting with Magazine's topic and theme. Also, alone the back in very small, yet clean and simple text is the Magazine's logo.The contents each have a small description underneath each page title. This is because the readers will be interested in the articles contents.

The Double page spread is the feature article of the issue. The James Bond images are stacked up in a neat, formal way, that looks fairly modern. The text columns, three on each page, stick to the traditional style and also stick with the colour scheme, the house colours : Black, White and Red, especially on the captions on the photos that are in white. There are also red subheadings to break up the text, though there is lots of it since the audience of the article are going to be very interested in the article not just the photos. 

Cosmopolitan - Analysis of A Double page Spread

Cosmopolitan - Double Page Spread Anaylsis

Cosmopolitan is a womans fashion Magazine. This double page spread shows this instantly with the 2nd page, the very domant images of clothes fill the 2nd page of the double page spread. This is because the target audience of this magazine is Woman interested in clothes, therefore they are more likely to want to look at the clothes that are displayed rather than read the articule about them. This explain the two collums that arn't filled woth lots of text, a pink quote circle breaks up this text as well breaking up the text, making it appear easier to read.

The colour scheme of the Article is: Pink, Black and White. These colours when coupled together give the Articlue a femine but classy and almost sophisticated feel. Thius will draw the targetr audience, woman interested in fashion, to the magazine. To support this theory the font of the title is Serif font. This give the text a more sophisticated look.

Across the top of the Double spread is a banner, this breaks up the layout but also incorporates the Magazinbes name: Cosmopolitan, into the double page spread. Also on the left of the text collums there is a picture of a woman, this picture is very dominant since its the only picture on that page. This suggests that the woman in the photograph is connected to the article the text is. The picture also appears more dominat since most of the omages on the right, the images of clothes, look as if they have been tinted white.

Kerrang - Analysis of Contents Page.

Kerrang - Contents page Analysis



The colour scheme of Kerrang Contents page is black, yellow and white. This colour scheme is used subtley and not too in your face. These colours are neutral and arn't considered either feminine or masculine, this is because the Magazine's Target audience are Rock and heavy metal fans. There are three collums which is a common feature of most Magazine contents pages however the first colloum is bigger then the last two so that there can be a number of pictures. These picture are the Magazine selling point, the biggest picture of Craig Owens is one of the Magazines biggest selling point and probably the main article in the issue. At the top of the contents page there is a banner, the banner shows the words "Contents" in yellow colour and plain simple, bold text. The font is Sans Serif to make the Magazine appear less formal. It also keeps with the colour scheme, since it has a black background.

(TBC)

Girlfriend - Analysis of Magazine Cover.

 Girlfriend - Magazine cover Analysis.

Girlfriend is a Australian teenage girls magazine, because of this there are many notable things about the Magazine cover that have been designed onto this Magazine so that it attracts the Target audience and not just so that it is aesthetically pleasing. 

One of the first noticeable key conventions on this Magazine is the Mast Head (otherwise known as the title.) Mast heads are, more often than not, usually in the Top Right hand corner because people who can read English read from left to right - Australia is a English speaking country, and when a Magazine is in a Magazine stand in a shop, the only thing you can see is the Masthead. The Magazine editor does this purposely so that the customer can see the Magazine title. The colour for the Mast head is hot pink. This suggests that the Magazines for girls since pink is often considered a feminine colour, also from the shade of pink we can further gather that the Magazine is for a younger audience that perhaps older females. If the magazines was for middle aged customers they may have used a soft red or a lighter shade of pink. However, the shade of this colour suggest that there's something a little more adventurous, perhaps even a little bit dangerous that to this Magazine that attracts a younger, teenage audience. The bold sans serif text makes the Mast Head both stand out and appear informal, giving the impression that the Magazine is fun and free of rules that teenage girls might feel suffocated by, providing some form of freedom.

The Cover Line is also in the same Hot pink as the Mast Head, drawing attention to the fact that this story is the main cover line. The font of the main cover line stays the same apart from one word, "magic". Written in the same style font as other areas of the Magazine, this part of the cover line appears to be almost hand written and emphasis' the puff ( An emotive word to attract a reader.) intriguing the reader in to wondering what the main cover line means. There's only one other cover line, though its not the main cover story, its a subject many girls will be interested in. "How to tell a friend you like him like that" the main reason for this cover line to be in hot pink is because pink is the colour almost always associated with love, affection and passion. Making the word "him" appear bold brings attention to the story and emphasis just who the reader will be asking. The words "him" in bold will also make the reader want to read the cover line because boys are a topic that girls are often gossiping about. Other cover lines are written in the bold Sans Serif font that the Mast Head is written in though not in the same hot pink, however two of three remaining cover lines I haven't discussed yet both also have the same font as the word "magic" in the main cover line. This type of font makes the text look almost hand written and very informal and personal. This can be connected with the Magazines title. " Girlfriend" Is not just a word for a girl who's going out with a boy. Its also a word that girls tend to call their best friends. This font on the cover lines makes the reader think of the Magazine as a friend and be more influenced to by a informal magazine that they will be able to relate to. 

The Feature Article Photograph, shows Emma Watson, dressed in fashionable clothes and make up. Emma Watson, is not only the Main Article in this Magazine, she's also a huge fashion and idol to teenage girls. Any Emma Watson fans, or even Harry Potter fans will be instantly drawn to this Magazine to read the interview by her and become informed in how she is after finishing the Harry Potter films. Because Emma Watson played a major role in the Harry Potter film series, the cover line can be connected with Emma Watson because of the word "magic". 

Many of the plugs ( Short snippets of information about story's inside the Magazine without too much detail.) are light up by bright yellow lines or in "Emma Watson all grown up." a star. The word "gasp!" is in the font that looks hand written and is also high lighted by a bright yellow line, drawing attention to the plug beneath it followed by a few quotes.The word gasp is also a puff. Since a gasp is a noise or reaction that some one will do to something shocking, Which is why it is increases the effect the quotes from the short story's from people have on the audience.  The other is about hair tutorials. The last Plug I want to talk about is the bright yellow colour that's in a star. The shape can be connected with something far away and out of reach, like a celebrity- which is probably why we call them stars. The fact that this stair is next to the Emma Watson plug shows how the editor is making the connection. Since Emma Watson is a celebrity so they put a star next to her name so that the audience make the connection and know that theres a story about a celebrity in there.

First Media Post: Key Media Concepts

Target Audience:

The Group of people the media product is aimed at. The target audience can be put in to categories: Age, Gender, etc. This will help the company sell they're product efficiently.

-The Primary audience are the main people the product is aimed at for example a newly developed brand of nappies the primary audience would be parents with babies. 

- A product may also have a wide audience where different types of people are attracted to the product, this means that the product is more likely to sell if there are more people who may buy it.

Genres:

A genre is the French word for type and is a term used to describe any category that a media product may be categorised into. The terms for genre vary depending on the area of media you are covering or looking at, For example both comedy and romance are genres used in the film industry and R&B and indie are terms used for certain genres in the music industry. The genre of a media product is often a huge factor in deciding what type of Target audience a product has. For example, a Romantic Comedy film is more likely teen-aged girls than its is a group of teen-aged boys.

Conventions:

Conventions are the key features of a genre. They often are what let people instantly know that this genre is this genre. Here's a few examples:

Romance films will often have things like:

• A boy meets Girl situation.
• A series of obstacles they have to over come.
• Contain's Love scene or hints at a Love scene.
• Happy ending or Tragedy

Action films will often contain things like:

• Dramatic effects: Explosions
• A Hero Vs Villain scenario  
• A love interest
• Car Chases
• Fighting

These elements of a genre help the audience recognize the genre without being told what it is.

Codes(Symbolic & Technical):

Similar to Conventions, Codes are a way of conveying media meaning without using words. 

-The props, costume and editing are all symbolic codes. For example, to convey that its Christmas or Halloween to an Audience with out actually telling them it is you would place a Christmas tree or a Jack-O-Lantern  in the scene. A costume can change the setting, and let the audience know the films in the past, present or future.

-The lighting is also another way you can subtly put codes in a film. A Horror films lighting is often very dark, shadowy and Un-natural lighting. Where-as a Romance is a lot more softer. Candle light dinners, Sun sets etc.