NME Double page spread analysis

Colour

The colours of this double page spread are very dull dark colours. This is apparent at first glace as none of the page has anything colourful or eye catching for the audience. The general colour theme of the page is a off white grey and black. A reason for this colour scheme could be to suggest the mood of the music portrayed by the particular artists this double page focuses on. This could be suggesting the tone of this music and the characteristics of the artists pictured.

Design

The design layout of this page is very simple There is a title going along the top of the spread with a large image on the left hand side which covers half that side. The majority of the spread is covered with lots of writing including a few additional pictures on the right hand side of the spread, these pictures are situated in a different coloured toned box, separating this writing from the rest suggesting it is on a different topic allowing a variety of different interests to be supplemented on the one double page. This sort of design is effective in the sense that it easily allows the magazine to produce alot of information for the customers to read, however all this writing can put people off a page as there is alot to read most people can be lazy and just not bother preferring to rather just scan the timeline along the bottom of the page instead giving them a brief overview of the band and fulfilling their interest. This design is effective for those who want all the details and to a degree is effective for those who just want to skim over the information thanks to the timeline, but for the target audience of rock people and a more student age this page isn't very appealing as students are stereotypically lazy and will not read everything here they would much prefer a page with alot more visual content.

Images

The main image on this double page spread is on the left hand side of it its a medium long shot of all the band, all sat along the a sofa in what appears to be a very bland living room. The lighting of this image is very poor with little light on their faces or bodies in general the image is brighter around them. This could be suggesting the picture is trying to portray the band as a dark mysterious, it gives an edge of danger and excitement about the band and will draw the audience further. On the right hand side of the double page spread we have a close up of the singer Jack white, the picture is very plain but a brighter image than the main image. On the lower right hand side of the right hand side there is a image of the artists called Arcade Fire this is a low angle mid / long shot looking up at the band, the lighting on this page is well done as it allows us to clearly distinguish their faces and emotions portrayed upon them allowing the audience to feel like they can connect better with the people in this picture in comparison to the main image.

Pose style hair and makeup

The pose in the main image is a very simple one, with all members of the band sitting on a sofa pulling serious expression which can appear quite intimidating, the style is of a typical 'Alternative fashion' with a variety of unusual hair cuts amongst the group suggesting that they like to be seen as a different from the normal type of band.The close up picture of Jack white gives the image of a slightly crazy person his hair is in a very messy long shaggy style his eyes appearing red rimmed and a serious look across his face. the second smaller picture of 'Arcade fire' again has one of them serious composed faced expressions giving a intimidating feel to the band. No make up appears visible in the majority of the pictures showing a natural element to the pictures.

How are the words used on the page

The words are used on the page in a variety of effective forms. The title is in a very large bold print along the top of the page. When wanting to promote a name or band name the page uses coloured circles to highlight the first letter of it, this draws the audiences eye to them. To make the main story stand out to the others the Klaxons is wrote in a white font while the others are in black, doing this means that it looks different from the other heading and therefore grabs the audiences attention first. Each article has the first letter in a very large font and bold to grab the audiences attention to the story. Quote are again in a larger font and in a bold font around the page to attract the audiences attention The majority of the font on the page however is in a small times new roman text.

Language

The language used is fairly simplistic however, in comparison to the other double page spreads i have analysed it is defiantly more complex than them, the language style used however is easily understandable to the students and people of a lower / middle class range without being too 'dumbed down' and making them feel stupid. The article is worded very successfully.

Overall impression

Overall i believe that this double page spread is a alright one, it is very well structured, laid out and organised, however despite all this i believe that there is too much writing on the page, there is alot of information for the audience to digest. I believe they could have perhaps condensed the article down a bit and made the page a bit more exciting as it can appear quite dull to some readers. However in saying this it does fulfill the purpose of its task and is very well detailed for the reader who wants a in depth amount of information.

Rocksound double page analysis

Colour

The colours of this page are incredibly simple and very effective. The main background is a black and white image, whist the surrounding writing is of a white font on the darker areas of the image so at it stands out. There is the in the top left hand corner a pug advertising the online sector of the magazine, which is in a bright splash of yellow making it stand out greatly on this page and instantly drawing the audience onto the page subconsciously because of the contrast in colours. The colours are simplistic and work well on this page, the colours create a dark and sexy look to the page.

Design

The design layout of this page again is incredibly simplistic, The entire background of the page is a medium shot of the group 'Alkaline' on a tiled background. The white writing is then simply laid out on the darker left hand side of the entire image for easy reading. The headline for the page is in a larger less formal font whist the rest of the text is in relatively small times new roman like font allowing the reading of the text to be easy despite the small text size. The pug of the page is then placed in the top left hand corner where it doesn't obstruct any of the main image but yet can still stand out and draw attention to itself through the vibrant colours. The design is a very successful one and easy for the consumer to see and digest the information available.

Images

Only one image is used on this page, this image consists of a medium shot of the trio band standing together, two of the musicians are wearing hats and standing either side of the tallest one who is not wearing a hat and is also grasping a can of beer. This suggest the main in the middle of the picture is the more dominant member of the band and the leader of them so he looks different from the other two to show his authority over them. They are all wearing very easily replicable outfits, this allows the audience to relate to them as they appear like normal rock guys just like the potential audience, this appeals to the target audience drawing them more to the spread.

Pose, style, hair and makeup

The pose, of this particular shot is not really anything special it mealy shows the band as a united group. Again referring to their style it is easily replicable by the public which the audience would like, their hair styles are very simple and again easily replicable and while looking at the image the use of makeup appears to be very little if any showing the band seem to be genuine about themselves, suggesting their music is genuine and not enhanced either, giving the impression there a band of raw talent in all aspects.

How are the words used

The words are used very simply, The title being bigger and bolder than the rest of the text to attract the audiences attention. There are two captions around on the page one of which is in a black box with white text and one in a white box with black text to make them stand out slightly allowing the audiences attention to flick over them whist still following the colour scheme. The rest of the writing is rather small and will require all the audiences attention when reading meaning their attention has to be focused on the page. The words work well the title draws in the audience and then the rest of the text is readable for the consumer without great difficulty.

Language

The language used is fairly simple. There are a few more complex sentences than what other rock magazine propose normally, but looking at the image it suggests this is a slightly older rock band therefore creating more of a wisdom impression. The majority of the writing is in a simplistic form easy for the lower and middle class, the target audience to understand..

Overall impression

Overall this double page is an incredibly successful one. The main image and colour scheme is very appealing whist the writing is limited allowing the audience to become engage while not getting bored and without the page looking boring. The textual information is of a suitable amount to satisfy the audience on information they want while not boring them.

Kerrang double page spread

Colours

The colours on this page consist of mostly dark colours. Being a rock genre magazine the colours used are mostly dark as these are connoted as colours associating with this music genre. A simple black background is used for the double page spread. The rest of the colour made up is done by a layering of pictures across the page in a collage effect. White is used for the writing on the page with green and red used to highlight specific info. These colours create a exciting edge to the page and attract the readers with the contrasting of colours.

Design

The Design of this page is in a collage like theme. There is writing along the left and right hand size of the page going vertically down the page. Due to this layout there is limited writing on the page so theres not alot for the consumer to read and digest in terms of textual information within the page. The test is in easy to read times new roman font bigger and bolder for titles and using green to emphasise some words within the page. When examining this page its clear to see that is promoting a recently gig from a top band. Because of this its understandable the consumer will be more interested in the pictures as opposed to writing about it. Because of this the rest of the page is made up of a collage of pictures from that evenings gig. This design was incredibly successful because it gives the audience a visual experience of what happened that evening. The whole page is visually appealing to the audience and is very successful.

Images

On this page there is one very large picture dominating the middle of this double page spread. This is of one of the musicians playing the keyboard on stage, it is a medium long shot and is totally natural. This is appealing to the audience. Along the left hand side of this double page spread is a series of medium shots, all in black and white. These are all post performance and are clearly posed specifically for this photo shoot. On the right hand side of this double page spread is picture from the gig when its actually being performed , These contrast with the left hand side as they as colourful and energetic, which is totally different to shots on the other side. The pictures are again mostly medium shots but all shots taking on action of what occurring so the poses and styles from the musicians are natural. There is also a picture of the audience along the bottom during the concert. These pictures all combined together create an effective page for the audience, all these pictures interest the audience and they enjoy the contrast of before and during, there i even more of a flowing through of a timeline with 3 close ups with short interviews of people after the concert so the audience get a all round perspective of the whole night, being portrayed through these few images.

Pose, style, hair and make up

The poses on this page are mostly natural ones of the musicians performing on stage, due to this you see them in all their natural glory, they are sweaty and red faced. Their hair styles are messy and not well set out due to their long performances. Because of this there is also little makeup worn by the artists so the audience can feel like they can truly relate the natural nature of the musicians and been closer to them than more than just a fan base.

How are the words used on the page

The title and strap line of this double page spread are very small and non obtrusive on the entire spread, but yet still clearly visible for the audiences. They suggest that there is not a great deal of attention is needed to be focused on on them. The rest of the writing on this page is quite small, clear to read but not very big so it doesn't draw alot of attention to it. The title and strap lines are big enough to stand out however are not the main focus of the page.

Language

The language used on this page is rather simplistic and easy to understand. This is because it needs to be suitable for the audience it is targeting, being a teenage market the audience will be considered of a lower social class therefore simple easy to understand words and phrases are going to appeal more than more complex textual information.n

Overall impression

Overall i really like this double page spread and think its is incredibly effective. There is a plentiful supply of textual information about the gig on the page however it is not tooo much. The variety of pictures on the page is very good as it allows a large supply of visual representation on the scene for the consumer which is exactly what they would be going for in this type of article. It is easily identifiable on what it is and is successful in what it does. I believe it will appeal to a large majority of readers and is exactly what they look for in a music magazine.

Rocksound contents page alalysis

Rocksound's contents page is again one of a unusual layout, it is spread out over two pages, however it is not in the format of a double page spread, this could be down to two factors, 1. The magazine had some main headline stories they wanted to broadcast on one page together. 2. It was not cost effective for the magazine to leave a blank page to allow a double page spread within the magazine. However studying both pages i believe it is the first option the magazine is going for.

Colour

The two pages of the contents page use a variety of colours across the pages. The first page uses mostly dark tines of a grey colour as the background, white colours is used for the writing of this page with red used for the page number, the colours used in the image are also of mostly dark as well along with a splash of red showing a correlation between both pieces of work on the page. The 2nd page of the content page is alot brighter in contrast to the other, a white background is used for the majority of things with black and red writing. Red is used for the background of the 'edit' section on this page making it stand out. The two pages of colours contrast well with each other to easily appeal with the audience.

Design

The design layout on the first page of the contents page is laid out in a very simple way. The background is a grayish colour, with six different articles being publicised along the stop, the font is of a comic sans style looking handwritten, this appeals to a younger audience as it gives the impression of youthfulness within the magazine. A main image covers the bottom half of this page without cover any of the writing on the page, this is effective in this page so it gives a feeling of a non cluttered layout within the whole magazine. Looking at the second page of the contents page it contrasts dramatically with the previous page, this layout is alot more chaotic and unorganised feeling. There is a mash of pictures and writing mixing together across the page, Here there is splashing of both dark and bright bold colours. The writing on this page is alot more condensed and squished on the page, this appears to show there is less important things on this page and doesn't hold the audiences attention for long. The contrasting of the two magazine creates a typical youthful feel and connection to the target audience it is aimed at. This youthful feel allows it to appeal more to them than a more organised structured magazine would.

Images

The image on the first page of the contents page is very similar to that on the front page of a group of musicians in a apparent riot, mischievous type pose. The similarity between the image on this page and the first contents page creates a feeling of easy flowing through the magazine so that it a sense of continuity is created. The image is in a medium shot format of the musicians brandishing objects and appearing to be looking like they are causing trouble. The are mostly wearing black and dark colours except from one member at the front who is wearing a red and black checked shirt. This suggest that maybe he of a more important relevance to the audience than some of the other perhaps so he is needed to be highlighted more. On the second page of the contents page we can see a unusual string of images. There is one of a rather large man holding a bunch of dead flowers, it is a medium close up shot of the man. There is another image on this page of a couple of men fiddling about with some musical instruments this is a narrow long shot and captured in black and white. There is another image of a man holding a mega phone to his ear, in doing this the image links with the riot theme from the previous page. The editorial of this image looking like it has been cut out and stuck in again follows the youthful look conveyed previously.

Pose, style, hair and makeup

The pose on the first contents page is of a riot like format. A number of musicians are all grouped together brandishing objects in a threatening manner, this follows the riot theme from the front page. On the second contents page we can see that the picture of the man holding flowers is of a unusual pose, with a wide eyed expression making him look slightly strange, this could appeal to a more unique kind of audience within the target range. The picture of the men with the musical instruments links to what the magazine is meant to be offering with a relaxed and ordinary pose of people working with the instruments. Whist the pose of the man with the megaphone is linking with the whole riot theme. Little makeup is used in these images across both pages, suggesting they are trying to represent the musicians as themselves as normal people, this allows the audience to relate to them easily, making the image poses and everything successful.

How are the words used.

The title on this is simple, on the first contents page it states 'main features ' This simple title mearly states the content of that page it is simple to read and understand, a nice large clear easy font is used. Across the other page there are some large sets of words used as subheadings to section off articles, these are clear and easy to read with page number clearly identifiable in a different colour along side. The rest of the writing is relatively small and not as easy to read.

Language

The language used is simplistic and common, This sort of language is easily readable when produced to a target audience like its specific one, being a more youthful market a more slang type language is used to be more appealing. The easy understandable language means that the audience will not feel intimidated by it and are more inclined to buy it.

Overall impression

Overall i believe this contents page has good and bad point. i think the first page of the contents page is really effective as it follows the colour scheme from the front page making continuity through the magazine, it is laid out in a clear manner and information is easily accessible to the audience. The second page of the contents page however i do not believe to be as effective, this page feels alot more crowded and isn't following the conventions being originally set on previous pages in the magazine the main topics within the magazine so finding what your interested in is still identifiable. However overall it is fairly effective however not as effective as kerrang for example, but however i believe better than NME.

Kerrang Contents analysis

Colours

The colours used in this contents page and the layout is incredibly different in comparison to the NME magazine. It uses yellows to draw the eye to subheading of the stories in the magazines. The yellow is also used to attention to a particular section on someone called 'The Rev' who appears to have passed away recently. The rest of the colours used are black tones, with black and red used for giving titles of stories within the magazines and the page number in red, the black and red working together contrast well with each other, red is used to advertise their magazine delivery option at what appears to be a reasonable rate per month. This stands out more than other writing on the page as it is white writing on a red background different to all the rest of the writing on the page. The colours used on this page are typical of Kerrang.

Design

The layout of this contents page works well.. the top 3rd of the page is of pictures of bands or pages within the magazine with a caption and page number attached to them these are presumably bands which the audience may well be more interested din than others so are promoted by a large picture. The bottom 2 3rds of the magazine are more stories and articles within the magazine, some with a brief description and then all having their page number. Down the left hand side of the bottom 2 3rds is a brief part from the editor of Kerrang, acknowledging people involved within the making of the magazine combined with a picture allows the audience to see real people are involved in it, the girl just looks like an ordinary person which appeal to the audience as she could be just like them picking up the magazine to read it. The layout is set out in a very easy to read way, the magazine does not feel cramped and it feels like all information is easily accessible. The font style follow typical conventions of Kerrangs lettering choices and flow through well from front cover to contents page giving the reader a feel of ease through the transitions within the magazine.

Images

There is a fair few images used on this magazine page, however compared to NME its alot different, there is one more dominant image of a band called 'sound garden', this is a meduim shot of the band in a black and white format. However it doesn't take up the whole page and along side this image is two of 2 double page spreads within the magazine, these are all grouped together, this suggests they are a focus point within the magazine so they want to promote them a bit further. There is also several other pictures used in the bottom 2 3rd's of the magazine, on of these is a close up of the editor of the magazine, this is a very bland picture, the woman appears to be wearing no make up and looks very ordinary suggesting that she is indeed a very ordinary person. The lack of creativity with the picture suggest they don't want the audience to be focused on it, more just acknowledge it. There are 3 further pictures on this section, one of a bang with a medium long shot used. This is the same picture as on the front of the magazine showing reference to the story on the front and it within the magazine, the other picture of 'The Rev' is the same image as used in the front cover as well providing a feeling of flowing through convince to the audience. The other is of 2 men, this have been photo shopped and cut out of an existing image and arranged together on the page it appeals, a medium shot of both, two fairly ordinary looking people again.

How are the words used

The title of this page is very simple, contents, which indeed is the name of the page, this is in a reasonably large font at the top left corner of the page in yellow in a black background and overlapping the picture, this can suggest that the title of the content is more important than they image itself, the bight yellow is used to attract attention. However further down the page we see that the strapline of the magazine consists of a similar style white and yellow broken like effect writing on a black background, this is slightly larger than the title of the page itself suggesting they are more interested in the audiences attention being here as opposed to the top of the page. The rest of the words on the page are used in a similar fashion however with smaller font, bolding of words is used to emphasize some of the stories. the content of the magazine is clear to see to the reader and successful in promoting the stories.

Language

The language used within the magazine is simplistic and common, this is because its targeting a lower end of the social class in the social ladder therefore is using easy to read and understand words so as to engage its audience.

Overall impression

Overall this contents page is a very successful one and much more appealing than NME's contents page. It is clearly laid out, this bolding of text and different colours to draw the customers eyes to the important parts of the magazine. The stories are publicized well so the audience feels like browsing all of them rather than one in particular, and it would easily stand out against other magazine contents pages and defiantly be one of the most appealing ones.

NME Contents Page

The general style of the magazine contents page is very unusual for a magazine layout, it is not the most easily readable presented piece and is not the most eye catching or appealing for a audience to view i believe.

Colour

The colours of this contents page are following the colour scheme from the front page. The majority of the writing is red mixed in with some black writing, this create a feeling of ease flowing through the magazine for the audience. this convention allows similarity for the consumer thus providing a good read for the audience. The picture used on this contents page again follows a similar colour style to the ones on the cover, with the colours of the picture being mostly blacks and dark neutral tones so that there is no colours that stand out in particular allowing the attention of the audience to still be drawn to the contents lists of what is in the magazine.

Design

The design and layout of the magazines contents, as stated before is rather unusual for a magazine. These is a list of apparently ever band that if featured in the magazine in a very this strip down the left hand side of the magazine, this is unusual as there is no apparent main stories they wish to highlight, this doesn't allow attention to be directly instantaneously towards the writing but more towards the picture which takes up the majority of the contents page. Using red for the writing however does redirect the attention back to the list of bands after the contents page has been scanned over by the audience. The little publicises on any stories in particular suggest they want the reader to scan the choices available and make a decision, this suggests the magazine is targeted at a variety of music genres within the rock / indie area.

Images

There is only one image used in this contents page, it is a large image of the Klaxons' band, appearing to be the only band on the content page getting any form. This is due to the reference of them of the band being featured in the magazine a number of years in a row. The image is the only one here and very large covering most of the page suggesting that there is a reason they want to advertise the Klaxons alot in their magazine. The image is a master shot of the members of the band all sitting in what we presume is a flat, there all looking natural in fiddling about with with different musical instruments, suggesting music is just part of their everyday life and being a musician is nothing different to them in their normal day to day activities.

Pose, Style, Hair and make up

The poses portrayed by them members of the band in the audience are that of concentration and focus on the task they completing, this pose is effective because it allows us to see the musicians in a seemingly natural state within a flat, allowing us to feel a connection with them. Their clothing style and makeup is very low key, the clothing is consisting of fairly normal, simple styles which are easy to replicate, allowing the audience to feel on a similar wavelength with them. The makeup is very limited meaning we feel like we can see them for who they are not hidden behind some fake mask.

How are the words used on the page

The title of this contents page is titled snapshot, this is referring to the picture of the Klaxons, using the term snapshot allowing the connoting effect of the image to be maximised into reality. The rest of the words are pretty simply stating names of bands and their page number, these are in red and black to contrast with each other and and simply stated what bands were in the magazine and their page number. All the wording on here is fairly simple and allows the audience to find what they are interested in, the writing along the left hand side doesn't particularly stand out from each other however fulfill its purpose adequately.

Language

The language used on this page is very simple, mostly just stating band names, along with a small paragraph about one band, the language is simplistic and common on the same wavelength as the audience they are trying to attract.

Overall impression

The overall impression of this magazine is a mixed one. I don't find it a particularly effective one, because i think some more pages should be more broad casted to the audience, however the use of the colours works well in making that information eye-catching even if it is in a big block, and the one story that is advertised is done so very well. So overall the page works out to be successful... but not the most creative ever seen.