Analysing magazine double page spreads

 This magazine double page spread is from the magazine Billboard which is a pop magazine. The masthead is takes up almost a quarter of the page which may be used to illustrate the importance of this page. The font used is also quite fun which may have been used to attract a younger audience as Dick Debdige says "Youth as Fun". The font also seems futuristic and alongside the main image the page looks like it is meant to be set in the future or maybe used to show the future of the pop industry.

The main image as said above appears to be futuristic. This is because of what the person in the image is wearing. She is wearing what appears to be a metal frame around her neck which may be the photographers interpretation of the future. Also the choice of hairstyle can also be seen as kind of futuristic because of the original shape and design. The photographer has chosen to use a close up of this person possible to show that she is more important than what she is wearing. However the amount of make up used may suggest rebellion which ties in with Hall's theory about youths having a state of "emotional and behavioural upheaval"

The layout is also quite fun as the image is given almost a whole page to itself which suggests that the person in the image is important to the world of pop, and then the text is kept separate on the other page. This may be used to tie in with Hebdige's theory of "youth as fun".

The colours used a predominantly purple but also part of this double page spread includes white and black. The colour purple connotes power, authority and ambition. The colour purple may have been used in this example to suggest that the person in the image is a powerful and authoritative force in the pop industry which may suggest that she is not to be messed with. The colour purple may have also been used to outline peoples ambition to become this person in the magazine and have a career in the pop industry. The colour connotes perfection. It is for this reason that it might have been used to suggest that the person in the image is the perfect pop artist as she may have a good voice and some people may feel she is good looking. Finally the colour black connotes power and elegance which again may be used to suggest that the person in the image is a powerful woman. It may also have been used to show that this person is elegant.

The have used the word fiercely in the masthead to attract people to that story as it is a powerful word which people may want to see what the masthead is talking about. The word creative is also used to suggest that there is something within the story which may attract people as they will want to find out what this new thing is.

This second magazine double page spread is from NME which is a magazine aimed at the indie/alternative genre. The masthead for this double page is unconventional compared to most other magazine spreads because the masthead is in the middle of one of the pages unlike most other magazine double page spreads where the masthead is at the top of the first page. Also in the masthead the word "GOOD" is highlighted in orange. This may be used to show that the word good is the most important piece of information that the masthead includes and possibly the most important word on the page. The colour orange connotes energy and happiness. This may have been used to emphasise what the masthead is saying about the person being in good health because if someone is healthy the should be happy and full of energy.

The main image I'm guessing, is of someone popular in the indie/alternative genre of music. The image shows him holding two drinks one of which is beer or larger this may be used to emphasise the point of the article of this person being back to good health because someone who is unwell is unlikely to be drinking alcohol as it may make him feel even more unwell. This also may be used to show that he is back to his usual "party" lifestyle after a while being out.

The layout of this double page spread is quite formal yet fun on some occasions. The majority of the layout is formal as the story is written in columns as seen on lots of newspapers which may be used to connote that there is some news in the world of the indie genre of music displayed in the articles or it could show that they take their music seriously which will attract an adult market. However the layout is quite fun as they have made a whole page the main image and placed the masthead in the middle of the page rather than at the top. Also under this masthead there is a little bit of information given to the reader. However possibly the most apparent bit of fun with the layout on the double page spread is the way in which they have separated a part of the article from the rest of the whole story. They have done this by putting a box of text in the middle of the article which can clearly be seen as being separate to the rest of the article. This may be used to attract a younger audience because as Hebdige said "Youth as fun."

The colour pallet used includes orange, white, and a brown filter on the image. As said previously the colour orange connotes energy and happiness which may be used to emphasise the point of the person being back to good health. The colour white may be used in a similar way in which the orange has been used as it connotes perfection and some who is in good health is perfectly well. The colour brown connotes stability and masculine qualities  which are important to a man who is in good health as there health will stable and the masculine qualities will be working the their full potential.

The general font used is quite formal which may be used to suggest that NME takes their music  seriously. However at times the change in font size and whether or not parts of it have been made bold make it quite fun and also be used to highlight the importance of parts of the article compared to the whole article.

This is a double page spread from We Love Pop magazine
 one of the leading magazine in the pop music genre. The masthead for this double page spread is unconventional as it takes up half of one of the pages instead of about an eight of the page, they have separated it into two halves through the colours that they have used and instead of a title they have used a quote from the person that the article is based on. The size of the masthead used suggests that this quote is a very important part of the articles as it summarises what the article is based on. Also the fact that they have used a quote instead of a title may be used to show how important Cher Lloyd is to the target audience of the magazine as just a quote about something she has said is enough to attract people to the article. The fact that they have used to colours in the masthead to almost split it into two sections may be used to show that she is a person of mixed personality.

The main image is also unconventional as it is given the whole of the second page to itself so the audience can also use it as a poster which may attract an audience of her fans as they will want to get any kind of Cher Lloyd product that they can find. Also the fact that they have used the magazines logo on the image shows how proud the magazine is to have an exclusive image of her in their magazine. The trousers that she is wearing alongside the masthead's two halves may be used to suggest that she has two different personalities of that people have two contrasting views of her.

The layout of this double page spread is also quite fun because there are different colours used yet the magazine is also made to look like a newspaper article as the text is laid out in columns with black text on a white background  to make it look like a newspaper article which may attract a slightly older audience as they will not see this as kind of "childish".

The colour pallet used include pink, yellow, and white. The colour pink connotes feminine qualities which suggests that the magazine article is based at a female audience and also Cher Lloyd is popular with a female audience. The colour yellow connotes happiness which is something often associated with the young also as Hebdige says "Youth as Fun". The colour white as connotes purity which is often associated with young girls.

Creating a Pinterest For Inspiration

http://uk.pinterest.com/jamiekalicki/image-inspiration/

Primary and Secondary Audience Research

These results show that 60% of the people asked the questionnaire were male and 40% were female. This means that the results of the survey will be biased towards male preferences which means that if I used these results fully that the final product will probably aimed at a male audience.

These results show that 100% of the people asked the survey were aged between 0-18 years old. This is because I posted my questionnaire on Facebook which meant that my Facebook friends could do the survey and those friends are aged between 0-18yrs. This will mean that the results of my survey will be biased for an audience of people aged between 0-18 years old. However this may be good because the primary audience for my music magazine will be young people of this age.

These results show that 50% of the people asked had an approximate household income of $0-$24,999, 40% had an approximate household income of $25,000-$49,999 and the remaining 10% of people had an approximate household income of $50,000-$74,999. These results show that the majority of the people asked to complete the survey were on a fairly low average household income which means they will have a lower amount of disposable income so they are less likely to purchase music magazines.

These results show that 100% of the people who completed the survey were of a White/ Caucasian ethnicity. This is because the majority of my peers and friends are of this ethnicity. These will make my results biased to the preferences of this ethnicity. For example people of the White/ Caucasian are less likely to prefer rap music compared to other genres.

These results show that 100% of the people who completed my survey are heterosexual. These will make my results biased to a heterosexual audience. However this may be good because the primary audience for most music magazines are heterosexual with the exception of a small minority.

These results show that 80% of the people asked the survey enjoyed reading music magazines and only 20% of the didn't enjoy reading them. This means that the majority of young people enjoy reading music magazines which means that I should base my music magazine at a young audience.

These results show that the majority of people read music magazines once a week with 50% of the people asked. this suggests that my music magazine should be released on a weekly basis in order to attract the majority of the target audience to my magazine.

These results show that 50% of the people asked like Pop music which is the majority of people. this suggests that my music magazine should be aimed at young people and should be in the genre of Pop music as this will attract the majority of the target audience of young, heterosexual people. however the least popular genres were classical and heavy metal so my magazine should not be in these genres.

These results show that the majority of people purchase a music magazine on a weekly basis with 40% of people asked. this is more evidence to suggest that my music magazine should be released on a weekly basis.

These results show that 80% of people asked would pay between £1-£3 for a music magazine which suggests that my magazine should be priced at around £2-£2.50.

Secondary Research 
“Any media text is created for a particular audience and will usually appeal most to this particular target audience” (Hall and Holmes, 1998).  Alongside my primary target audience this theory quote suggests that I should create a magazine that would appeal to one target audience. The majority of the audience surveyed wanted a magazine in the pop genre which suggests I should make this magazine and make these people my target audience. 

The mass audience according to my survey wanted pop magazines. The media theorist Marxist would argue that a mass audience is generally made up of working class people. Almost all of the people who I surveyed were in this social class which suggests that I should use a mass audience strategy when making my magazine.

My audience is British meaning that they should prefer a British style magazine however as Kissinger said in 2011 "globalisation is really another name for the dominant role of the United states". This means that I should probably target both the British and American side of the music industry as this would appeal to the most people. 

The NRS model is one of the most common ways of identifying a target audience based on social grade. My target audience would fit into social grades C1-E, so I should include articles, features and content which should appeal to people in the lower middle class down to those at lowest level of subsistence.

The "hypodemic needle model" states that "audiences were passive and could simply be injected with messages created by media producers." However research suggests that audience views media products in one of three different ways. Firstly, they could view it as the media producer intended them to see it. The second way of viewing is where the audience rejects the intended meaning and receive a completely different meaning. The final way in which they could view a media product is by basically accepting the meaning but interpreting it to suit their own position.

This means that I have to be careful when producing my magazine if I wanted to keep the target audience as wide as possible. I don't want my audience to miss interpret features and content that I include in my magazine. For example, if I used an image which is too revealing it may be miss interpreted by some members of the audience and may put them off from viewing my media product. One such audience would be towards the younger end of my target audience.

Audience members may choose to consumer media text for a number of possible reasons. Firstly they could chose it for diversion, so that they can escape for everyday problems which will allow them to relax, release stress and fill excess time. Secondly they could chose a particular media text because of their own personal relationships. This is where they use the media for emotional and other interactions, almost like a substitution for soap operas. Another possible reason is because of personal identity, as they want to construct their own identity from character included in media texts, as well as learning behaviour and values. Finally they could use media text for surveillance, where they are trying to gather information. Texts that are good for this include the news, educational material, weather and more. This is called the Uses and Gratification theory.

When producing my magazine I will have to take these reasons into consideration so that what I include may appeal to all of these people.

Pop contents page analysis

Billboard Magazine

The masthead of this magazine contents page is quite formal as it actually uses the word "contents" and the font uses is quite formal. This may be used to suggest that this magazine is serious about their music which will appeal to an audience that is also serious about their music. Also the masthead is conventional in size as it uses around an eighth of the page.

The main image is conventional for a music magazine contents page as it is clear there is only one main image and the person that the image is of is an important person to the music industry. This person is also not the only important part of the image. This can be seen because he is standing to the side of the image rather than in the centre unlike most other images that are included in music magazine contents pages because generally the person is the most important part of the image. This is unconventional because if a music magazine can get a famous artist to pose for an image for them to put in the magazine they will generally make sure that he is in the centre of the image to suggest that he is the most important part of the image.

The colours that are used white, black, blue and yellow. The colour white connotes perfection which may be used to suggest that Billboard is the perfect magazine for pop music fans. The colour black connotes power which may be used by the magazine to suggest that they are a powerful brand when it comes to pop music magazines. The colour blue connotes softness which may be used to attract a wider audience. Finally the colour yellow connotes happiness which is used to attract more people to the magazine. This will also link in with Hebdige's theory of "Youth as Fun" which will as a consequence attract their target audience of young people.

The layout is very busy as there is a lot of text. The main stories are in the main part of the page and are highlighted in blue whereas other stories such as the album charts are separated from the main part of the page in a separate column on the left hand side of the page. This may be used to highlight the importance of some of these stories as they are separate from the rest of the minor stories.

The contents page uses words like beat, which is a word that is heavily related to pop music, in order to attract an audience of music lovers as these kind of "key" words will instantly attract someone who is passionate about their music.

Also the font used are quite formal which suggests that the magazine take itself seriously as they are passionate about the music and stories that they include in their magazine which will attract their target audience.

The masthead for this magazine is much less formal than the one on Billboard shown previously. This is because instead of using the word contents it uses the phrase "We love this...". This suggests that the magazine is fun which would appeal to their target audience of young people unlike Billboards target audience which is an older audience of young adults. This masthead is much larger than most conventional mastheads. Also the masthead includes the magazines logo which suggests that the brand is important to their reader.

The main image is of Olly Murs a popular artist in the pop genre and is even more popular with their target audience. They have chosen to use a picture of him and have a story on him because any fans of his will want to be able to view exclusive interviews with him which will then encourage them to purchase their magazine.

The colours used are green, yellow, blue and white. The colour green connotes freshness which may be used to suggest that We Love Pop magazine has got the "freshest stories." The colour yellow connotes happiness which will relate to the target audience of young people because fun is important to them. The colour blue connotes softness and is a popular colour with their target audience so they are more likely to purchase their magazine. The colour white connotes purity which will relate to their target audience of young people because young people are at times seen as "pure".

The layout is quite busy with many stories and images. This is also quite a fun layout because of the way the stories are laid out around the images. This will appeal to their target audience of young people because this kind of style is popular with them. This links in with Hebdige's theory of "Youth as Fun"as the magazine's primary audience is a young audience.

The stories that are included will appeal to their target audience as they will interest them so they are more likely to purchase their magazine. For example the story about Olly Murs will intrigue the target audience because young people especially young girls will be interested about stories like this because they are such big fans of his.


In my magazine I will use a few ideas from each of the two magazines across to try and increase the age range of my primary audience as We Love Pop is aimed at a younger audience and Billboard is aimed at an older audience. For example I will use similar layout style to We Love Pop but use some of the fonts and colours from Billboard.

In the magazine on the left, the mashed actually states that the page is the "Contents" page whereas the magazine on the right doesn't actually include the word "Contents" and instead reads "NME This Week". The fact that they don't use the word contents suggests the magazine is more fun and friendly and less formal.

In both magazines the font is the same all the way through the contents page which shows that the magazine is organised and professional. Also they both include page numbers rather than page titles so that the reader can easily find the stories that interest them. Also both magazines make the main stories stand out from the rest by making them bold, a different size and/or a different colour.

The contents page on the right NME's contents page uses the colours red, white, black and yellow. The colour red connotes passion which can relate to the target audience as they may be passionate about their music. The colour black connotes power which may be used to suggest that the magazine NME is a leader in the Indie/Alternative genre magazine industry.

Photography research

Studio Lighting 

This tutorial shows some studio lighting techniques.

Most studio lighting uses three point lighting which is where an object is light up by three different sources of light. This kind of lighting needs three light sources, stands for these lights and preferably a boom for the hair/ background light. For a portrait image the camera should be position 6-12 inches above the subjects face. The distance for the subject to the camera is determined by the type of lens the camera uses.

In order to get 1:1 ratio lighting (flat lighting) both the key light and the fill light must be at the same intensity. This kind of photography is mainly used in ID photos, large groups of people, families and sometimes engagement photos.

2:1 ratio lighting is where the fill light is one F/Stop smaller than the key light. For example if your key light measured at F11 the fill light should be set to F8. This kind of lighting is used mainly for basic press portraits, full length fashion images and general portraiture.

3:1 ratio lighting is where the fill light will be two F/Stops dimmer than the key light. For example if the key light would be set to F11 then the fill light would be set to F5.6. This kind of lighting is commonly used for all portrait scenarios.

4:1 ration lighting is where for example the key light would be set to F11 and the fill light would be set to F4. This is extremely dramatic lighting as the lighting is becoming harsh shadow lighting. This form of lighting works particularly well on men.

5:1 ratio lighting would be where your key light would be set to F11 and the fill light would be set to F2.8. This kind of lighting is extremely harsh and there will be very little detail on the fill side of the object.

The hair light casts light between the subject and the background to create separation by creating a sharp outline around the subject. This light is typically a spotlight or a Snooted light. To create definition between the background and the subject the light should be cast on the back of the hair on the top of the crown.

Outdoor lighting

In the midday sun the photos have very harsh shadows however when they move into the shadow the photo becomes less harsh and begins to look much better. however this also means that thee image becomes much darker than it was in the midday sunlight.

Then by using a reflector whilst the subject is standing in the shade the photographer is able to concentrate the light onto the subjects face. This means that the photo has less harsh shadows than in the midday sunlight but better lit than it would be if they were in the shade alone. 

Camera angles and shots

Extreme close up

Close up

Medium close up

Medium shot

Medium Long shot

Long shot

Extreme Long shot

Worms eye

Low angle shot

High angle shot

Birds eye

Analysing Pop Magazine Covers

Analysing Pop Music Magazine Covers

I am going to analyse three magazine covers from the genre of pop music so that I can understand the codes and conventions for pop music covers. This will allow me to create my own pop music magazine cover with the same style and conventions as a professionally made pop music magazine.

The audience will need to recognise that my magazine is from the genres as professionally made magazines. The audience recognises products from a similar media language conventions, which means, as Bentley (1977) states “The creative process is the rearranging of the old to create the new.”

The target audience for my magazine will be the same as for any pop music magazine because I want to work in this genre. This target audience consists of mainly young people aged between 9- 17

, heterosexual females in both the middle and lower classes and generally of a white ethnicity. The secondary audience would probably be homosexual males.

I will analyse both the denotation and connotation of each aspect of media language, masthead, layout, colour pallet, images, typography, lexis and other features.

I will also refer to how the media language represents and attracts the target audience. I will also use the theory of representation to support my points.

Billboard Magazine

Billboard magazine is a pop music magazine owned and published by Prometheus Global Media, which is a diversified company with leading assets in the media and entertainment industry. Billboard magazine was first published 1^st November 1894 and is now published on a weekly basis. Billboards circulation is at 20, 431. Tony Gervino is Billboards editor in chief.

The primary target audience for Billboard magazine are young people aged between 9-17 both male and female and has a secondary target audience of homosexual men.

The masthead of this magazine is convention in size as it takes up the whole width of the page. The typography is good at representing the target audience of young people as it is modern and represents both genders with it’s simplistic style . It also has vibrant colours, which relates to young people. The colour red connotes rebellion which links in with Stanley Hall’s 1904 theory that "Adolescence is inherently a time of storm and stress when all young people go through some degree of emotional and behavioural upheaval, before establishing a more stable equilibrium at adulthood". Also the colour yellow connotes happiness and energy, which relates to young people and the colour blue connotes depression, which also ties in with Stanley Hall’s theory.

The layout is fairly sophisticated as there is only one main image and the layout is not too busy yet it retains an element of youthfulness, which attracts a target audience of young people, but young people that are not too young. The cover only includes five stories, which stops it from looking too busy but still gives the audience an idea of what’s inside so that they can tell what is inside and if it will interest them. However the layout has an element of fun to it as there is a mixture of fonts, font sizes and colours. This is important in representing their target audience of young people as Dick Hebdige 1998 says “Youth as fun” which means that youth are stereotypically fun loving. This layout would appeal to both a male and a female audience, as the layout isn’t one gender dominant with text, fonts or images.

The colours used are red, blue, yellow, green and white.  These colours are used as part of the masthead, with fonts and in boxes for text. The colour red connotes rebellion and passion which relates to Stanley Hall’s theory of the youth having emotional and behavioural upheavel. The colour blue connotes depression, which also relates to Stanley Halls theory. The colour yellow connotes happiness which relates to Dick Hebdige’s theory of “Youth as fun” as happiness and fun are strongly linked.  The colour green connotes growth which relates to young people as they are still progressing into adults and the colour white connotes purity which is often related with young people as they are sometimes said to be “pure and innocent”.

The main image is a close up of Ke$ha a famous artist of the pop world. In the image she wears a lot of make up which may suggest rebellion which links in with Stanley Hall's theory about youth. Ke$ha also is wear accessories and make up with glitter on them which connotes glamour which would interest a young audience. Also the background is glittery which also suggests glamour and fame. The light is focused on one side of her face which suggests a black and white theme. This connotes one purity and the unknown which suggests that Ke$ha has two sides to her personality.

Top of the Pops

Top of the Pops magazine is also a pop music magazine and is published by the Intermediate Media Company. It was first published in February 1995 and is a monthly magazine and has an average circulation of 63,483. The current editor is Peter Hart.

The primary audience for Top of the Pops magazine are young females aimed between 7-14, with a possible secondary audience of homosexual men.

The masthead for this magazine is quite unconventional as it doesn't take up the whole width of the cover as it only takes up only about two thirds of the width. The typography of the masthead is good at representing a female audience as the font used is quite feminine as it has swirly shapes on the letter S and seems to be fairly fancy which is popular with young females. The colour pink is the dominant colour in the masthead. The colour pink connotes compassion, love and feminism which are key themes for the target audience which allows them to relate to the magazine. Also the colour white is used in the masthead which connotes purity which also helps to relate to the magazines target audience. Another way in which the masthead relates to the target audience is by using star shapes to border the name of the magazine. Stars are seen as a feminine shape which allows this magazine to attract it's primary target audience.

The layout is fairly busy but also leaves a sense of sophistication which will help to attract the target audience as young females like to see themselves as sophisticated member of society. However the busy layout may be used to suggest fun by the designer of the cover which represents the target audience of young females because as Dick Hebdige says "Youth as fun" which suggests that youth are a fun loving group of people. The cover also includes many stories which makes it look very busy but it also means that the target audience of young females can easily see that the stories are targeted to them.  

The colours used are pink, white, yellow and blue. Pink is the main colour used because it is a popular colour with their target audience and it connotes compassion, love and feminism which allows the cover to clearly represent it's target audience. The colour white connotes purity which allows the magazine to represent it's target audience as young females are seen at times to be pure and innocent. The colour yellow connotes happiness and happiness and fun are strongly linked. As Dick Hebdige said "Youth as fun" meaning the young people are lovers of fun so the colour yellow helps the magazine to relate to it's target audience. Also the colour blue connotes depression which is something a lot of young girls feel due to bullying or low self-esteem. This is also observed by Stanley Hall who says young people go through "emotional and behavioural upheaval".

The main image is a medium shot of One Direction a famous pop group who is particularly popular with the magazines main target audience. In the image all members are dressed smartly and are mainly clean shaven which gives them a sense of class which helps relate to the target audience as young females generally want to appear as sophisticated members of society. This also is the opposite to Stanley Hall's theory as they do not appear to be anti-social or they participate in criminal activity even though they are still young. Also most of the people in the image are smiling which suggests they are fun people which help relate to their target audience because as Dick Hebdige says "Youth as fun". The lighting is fairly consistently bright which connotes that the members of One Direction are pure and innocent which can help them to relate to their target audience as young females like to see themselves as pure and innocent.