Textual analysis of double page spread

This is a double spread from a magazine. One side has an image of a person, whilst the other side is an article about the person in the image.It looks as if it is set in a studio with a white background.
From reading this article, i can tell that it belongs to a hip-hop magazine. I can tell this because the person shown is a famous rapper called GZA. The artist is talking about the hip-hop music he does. I think this is mainly aimed at young people probably between the age of 16-24yrs old. This is because many people between this ae will be familar with with his music and interested in what he has to say, also he is wearing clothing that appears to be bagy connoting that he still has a bit of youth in him even though he is quite old . Gza is wearing baggy trousers and top, an trainers. This type of clothing is what young adults/youths are wearing nowadays, so by him wearing this he is appealing to that audience so tey can realate to him.

Moreover the language used also tells us which age group this article is aimed at, asc there is certain words that young children should not know such as swear words 'shit'. Also there are certain words in this article lets us know that it is aimed at the hip-hop genre For example in hip-hop world there are certain slang phrases that people use for example he said "he ain't my boy" by this he means he is not my friend this connotes that only people that are familar with the hip=hop genre will be able to understand what is meant & be able to relate to what is being said. Also a connection may build up between Gza and the audience.

In the photo the lighting is high key which allows the audience to see ully what he is doing and what he has on.The colours used in the article matches the costume worn by GZA and are very simple, using simple colours allows it to appeal to the targeted audience as it looks a bit childish but serious at the same time. If alot of colourful and bright colours were used than the interview would not look very serious.

The image is a long shot of the artist showing us his full body, connotation is used showin that he is serious an this relates in the interview with him. He is also not smiling and facial expression appears to be dull and serious connoting that he is a serious man.GZA has one arm folded whislt the other is on his chin, this is a pose often used by artists which connotes that he determined and strong .He does not appear to have any props.

The way the double spread is laid out is, with the article on one page and the image on the other, this is good as it makes the interview look less boring and long so therefore the reader will be bothered to read it whereas if it was on two pages the reader may think it is to much to read so therefore becomes less intrested and as the image is on a whole page by itself it allows the photo to be used as a poster.

The style of writing is plain and simple allowing it to be easy to read.In the article there are parts that stand out from the rest of the article for example phrases an interestin parts, this is very effective as it becomes eye-catching and will be the first things that draws the reader attention which will make them read on. I would definatly use this for my double spread magazine as it makes it look more appealing.

Textual Analysis

Here i am analysing a music magazine, using the correct terminology and mise en scene. This is a music magazine trying to promote eminem. We can see him standing strong, facing the camera he looks very serious.

The mise en scene of this music magazine, consists of the following.

Settings

The front cover of this magazine is set in a clear white background. This connotes the importance of the image and the written followed around it. The fact that is set in a grey background allows the pictrure to look clear & ver understanding. Also it allows everything to stand out more. for example The Masthead 'Vibe' Is in red and because the background is white it emphasis the importance of the title and everything else.Denotation is used to show that it is probably in a studio, but the photo is taking infront of a clear grey backgound.

Costumes

Eminem is wearing a silver chain & black vest. His arms are visible so therefore we can see all his tatoos, this is connoting that he is high is status and has alot of money to be doing all of these tatooes, Because he is wearing only a black vest everything else seems to show more & emphasis on the importance of him. The fact that he is only wearing a vest & connotes that he does not have to wear much to show how serious he is and the impotance of him.

NVC{non verbal communication}

Eminems facial expression seems to be strong. He is not smiling this connotes that he does not need to show alot of facial to expression to show what he is all about. He looks very angry & dull and the way he folds his arms connotes that he is a very serious person, and looks like nothing can really mess him about. His whole body language looks very serious, strong and upright connoting that he is trying to seem as if he is high in authority. Eminem is looking straight into the camera.

Props

In the front page of this magazine, the only prop used is the chain that eminem is wearing, connoting that he does not have to have many things with him, to show how important he is. The chain is silver with a cross on it, this may be connotng that he takes his religion seriously & that he does not mind showing it to everyone, as this magazine does attract different kind of people.

Lighting

The lighting used is high key, connoting that the front cover image and writing is important. The editor focuses on three main colours red, black, and grey. This is so that the page does not look to fussy and that the targeted audience will be able to fully understand what is showing and happening in the magazine.These colours are very simple and matches the clothing of Eminem.

The editors of this magazine are very smart as they made all the good and intresting bits bigger and used different type of writing to represent different things, They used a very large font to show the name of the magazine, then a slightly smaller font to say who the image is of. This is very effective as this is what the targeted audience will be seeing first and if they see catchy fonts, phrases it will attract them to the magazine.

Introduction Main Task

For this task, I have been asked to produce a front cover & contents page for a music magazine, and also a double page spread.

evaluation

Foundation portfolio preliminary task written evaluation
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products.
My college magazine uses the normal rules to make it recognisable to my targeted audience. I put the title of the magazine in the top & made it stand out so it does catch the attention of my audience. Having the masthead at the top of the page is a convention and I used this because I noticed the magazines with the masthead there got buyers as it is easy to catch reader’s attention. My magazine does follow the typical conventions, as it has the main title at the top, images around the page, slogans in order for the magazine to be noticeable . From my textual analysis i saw that the magazine, i analysed also put the masthead at the top & made it big and bold in order for it to stand out, that is why i decided also to do that. I used images and slogans to advertise this product because when i did my audience research a majority of people i asked said that they wounld like to see these in the mgazine,and that is what attracts them to it.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?
My media product is aimed at college studects or teachers so therefore i used as student that attends this school. I used a girl that was reading a college handout, i wanted it to look as realistic as possible so i told her to not show alot of facial expresion, so that the targeted audience would now that the magazine is serious.
I only used three main colours which were white, black and red, i did this because i wanted it to attract both genders (male&female). i knew that these colours will appeal to each gender, so therefore both genders will eqwually want to read it. When i looked at other magazines i noticed that they too, do not use alot of colours, i think they did this so that the magazine would not look to confusing & choatic.
The model for my magazine dressed in dark colours so that it would not clash with the theme of my magazine. I included props & costumes for mymagazine. I made sure that i took the pictures by red lockers as i knew that would match with theme of my college magazine.
The colours, props, costumes all appeal to college students & teachers which is why i decided to use those. I also used the same to do my cotents page so that my audience knows that everything is linked together.

How did you attract/address your audience?
I put the masthead at the top and made it stand out the most so that my targeted audience will know that, that is the title. I put slogans and catchy phrases to attract them because when i did my audience research this was one of the best ways they suested attracts them to magazines. I also used phraseds suh as 'free ballpen worth £9.99' and 'win an I-pod touch' i used this to persuade my audience as i know that they will like to get something free and seen as an i-pod ouch is one of the most wanted items for young people means that i they were to see that, then they will want to read the college magazine.
I used standard english as i wanted my magazine to attract teachers as well as pupils. I did not use street slang because not everybody will understand what is meant & that will mean that my magazine does not appeal to everybody which is not fair. By using standard english, it enables me to be more clear in attractin people and allows me to appeals to everyone.
Choosing the right kind of fonts for magazines means that it will atract the targeted market and would appeal to a certain group.It is not just about recognisability, its also about choosing the right font that communicates the right message to the everyone.
My photo used, is a student from the college, i used this to attract my audience because when i asked what attracts then to magazines some said images, so i thought that if i used somebody of the similar age it will be more appealing.

what have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I have learnt that for a photograph to come out ok, the background must not have much sunlight as this will affect the way the photo will come out, as it will have shades of the ligt shining through. The bakground should also not be dark because that will make the the photo come out dull and not allow the photo to stand out.
I used photoshop to make my college magazine. I used this because it allows me change colors, hue, saturation, brightness, contrast and retouch images, airbrush people to make clearer skin and remove blemishes. By using the magnetic lasso tool it allows me to draw around my photo deleting the parts that is not need. or example my image for my contents page was taking in a classroom with people standing behind her but with this tool it allowed me to cut them out. I also used some tool to make the font stand out more and cut out unneccessary things such as the writing on the lockers in the front cover.

Audience feedback
I posted my maazine on my facebook and asked people what they thought. There were strengths and weaknesses pointed out.
Strengths Suggested

• The colours are very good as it attracts both male and females, it allows everyone to be equal.
• There are no spelling mistakes & the language used is straightforwar which means it is easy to understand
• The fact that it offers a free pen and a chance to win an i-pod attracts people to see what is inside of it.
• The front cover is not to much, there is not alot of things oing on so it does not confuse them.
• It looks very realistic
• The contents page use the same colours as the front cover which suggests that i am focusin on three main colours

Weaknesses suggested

• More images are needed on the contents page, as it looks slightly boring
• Photo needs airbrusing.

college magazine content page & front cover

possible images for college magazine front cover

This image is also very good, and is a medium close up shot. The image looks very appealing & is another Picture which looks like it will catch the audiences attention. The main focus of the image is of the girl concentrating on her work, this is fascinating.


This image would also be very good to use, however it does not look like it is a medium close up. But if I were to use it, it is because the image shows that the girl is interested & participant in class work. It also looks like it would be suitable for a college magazine front cover.

I also really like this image, but I would not use it as a front cover because it is not a medium close up. If possible I would like to use this image in the magazine, as it suggest that this girl works hard & does work. The props used was the white board, I decides to take this picture it looks appropriate for a college magazine.

I think that this is also a very good image for my front cover. It looks very straight to the point & looks like the girl looks interested in what she is doing. The image is a medium close up image, which is what we were asked to use. the props used was the booklet & the table. I used these because it adds interest to the image. I made sure the girl was dressed appropriatly so it does not cause any offence or attract readers for the wrong reasons. It also fits the criteria that we were meant to follow. I intend to use this one aswell.

This is definatly an image I would like to use for my college magazines front cover. The image looks very interesting & looks like it will catch peoples attention due to it is very clear & looks straight forward, not alot of things are going on, which makes me think that if people were to see this they will like to see more. The image suggests alot about what to inspect in the magazine. It also fits the criteria that we were meant to use.I intend to use this Image.

I think that this is the first image that i would possibly use as a front cover magazine, this is because the image is very clear, and links in with school. Also the girl in the picture looks interested & looks like it will catch the readers attention. I used a booklet to make the image look more college based. However this image has problem, the top of the image has been cut off, which does not make the image look good enough.

This images looks abit better than the first one, as the girl in the image looks more enthusiastic & the picture is much more clearer. However I still would not like to use this image as the environment does not look very college based & does not show any interest.

This is the first picture I took. I would definatly not use this image as my front cover because the environment were the image was took looks very dull & boring. The image also does not show any excitement or looks like it would catch readers attention.

I used a Canon Eos 400d digital camera to take these images, that i may use for my college magazine front cover. I got pemission from my teacher to use this under supervison for health & safety reasons.

drafts

I will like my college magazine front cover to look like this. I intend to use this as it looks appealing and looks college based.

In order to produce my college magazine, i drew some drafts of how i would like the magazine to look like

Audience Research

An equal amount of people I asked said they would like to find gossip and pictures in their college magazine this was these were the highest two voted for therefore I would defiantly need to include those into my magazine.
Also an equal of amount of people said they would like to find news/info and music in their magazines therefore, I would also need to take these into consideration. Then they felt that games/sport and advice is also god. So I now know that when making my magazine I would first take into consideration the points that have the highest votes then work myself down.

The majority of people I asked said they would only pay £1-£2 for a college magazine therefore I know that if I wore to sell my magazine I would need to put it in that price range. Also a small amount said they would pay £2-£3, so I think that I should average the price. Nobody said they would pay more than £3, therefore I know that if I wore to sell my magazine I should not sell it for more than £3 or nobody will buy it.

The majority of people I asked said they would buy a college magazine, which is very good, however only one person said they would not and when I asked why, he said that it was a waste of money and not some magazines jus show the same thing over and over again and that gets on his nerves. Therefore I know that I need to make sure there is not a lot of repetition in my magazine.

The majority of people I asked said they read college magazines weekly. Therefore I need to take this into consideration when making my own. I should not overload my magazine with a lot of information, so it leaves people wanting to see another issue. Moreover one person said they read magazines daily and another said they read it monthly.

This pie chart show that an equal amount of people I asked prefer dark (black, blue, green, brown, red) and bright (neon colours) colours. Therefore I would use this information and apply it when making my own magazine. I would apply both colours when doing my own. Not a lot of people said they like light colours such as yellow, pink as they feel it looks quite boring. They said that dark colours should be used for the important writing e.g. the information, whilst bright colours should be used throughout it.

This pie chart shows me that the majority of people I asked said images and slogans are what attract them to a college magazine. This helps me with my magazine, as now I know what attracts people. So I would use these findings on my magazine so people would be attracted to it. Also more people said they prefer colours to font therefore I know that in my magazine I would also make colours an important aspect on it.

My first pie chart is very basic. It shows me that I asked an equal amount of people the following question. Also it allows me to see what each gender thinks.

I gave out questionnaires to try and find out what people think about college magazines. I would use this information when planning to make my magazine.I asked 20 people. 10 from each gender and they all said they read Magazines all the people I asked were 16 years old or above

Questionnaire

Questionnaire
I will be constructing a questionnaire for my media work. And I would be grateful if you could answer the following questions for me. Could you please tick which ever answer applies to you
1. What gender are you?
Male
Female

2. What age group do you fall into?
Under 10s
10-15
16+

3. Would you read a college magazine?
Yes
No

4. If yes what attracts you to the college magazine?
Colours
Images
Slogans
Font

5. What colours do you prefer?
Dark
Light
Bright
Other____________________________________

6. How often do you read college magazine?
Daily
Weekly
Monthly

7. Would you be willing to pay for a college magazine?
Yes
No

8. How much are you willing to pay?
£1-£2
£2-£3
£3+

9. What kind of things would you like to find in a college magazine?
Gossip
News on everything
Pictures
Advice tips
Games/sports
music

Textual Analysis

First I analysed a college magazine using the correct terminology & mise en scene.

This is a college magazine front cover, trying to promote the college & show the things that go on there. This front cover shows a girl holding a science beaker, which automatically makes the audience know that this is a college that does science.

The mise en scene of this college magazine consists of the following

Setting:
The setting of the advert looks like a laboratory. There is a white board at the back with chemical bonding drawings on it. There is also a basket with chemicals inside which also suggests that it is set in a lab. Denotation is used to show that it is a lab, it is very obvious that it is a scientific place. All of the writing is set out in a particular way to show the importance of the lab.

Costumes:
A pair of scientific goggles and the girls clothing which consists of a pink vest and a black cardigan are the only costumes being worn in this front cover. The clothing is very plain and straight forward. The clothing indicates that the advert has got something to do with science. The goggles suggests that an experiment will be taking place, the clothing connotation is used to get the audiences attention and maybe they would want to join it as it looks very interesting.

NVC-non-verbal communication:
The body language is very strong and upright, connoting that this student, is interested in what she is doing and looks like she would like everything to come out accurate. The way she gazes at the test tube indicated that she wants to find out more. She does not stare directly into the camera but looks like she is aware that the photo is being taken. The girls’ facial expression looks very fascinating. This connotes that she is very fascinated in what she is doing or about to do.

The lighting:
The lighting of this front cover is low key meaning that the lighting has been made to be shadowy in places that are not very important. However in over places such as the name of the college, the details of the college and the image of the girl are high key this is to show that these are the important bits in which the audiences needs to focus on everything else is there just to add effect. The low key lightening is mostly coming from the back which makes the writing and image show more, this connotes the importance of them. Moreover the lighting is warm. This connotes that the college is a warm place to study.

Props:
The props used in this front cover are the test tube beaker and the chemicals in the basket. The props are used to show that experiments take place at this college. The props are used to connote the things that go on and suggest that if the audience come here then they will be doing experiments etc.

Anchorage:
The ‘Beloit’ font used is very big and bold, this is used to catch the readers attention. The Title sits on top of a low key background which makes it stand out and show more. The font looks very serious & modern, this may be used to connote that the college is a professional school and serious work goes on there. The title anchorage is the biggest indicating that this is the most important thing for someone to look at.

Introduction

I will be using this blog to submit my coursework. The first part of my coursework is the introductory part, for which i am creating a college magazine front page& contents page.