1. Analysing Magazine Cover.
Main Image-
Looking at the main image of this music magazine we can
identify that the image is full bleed. It covers the whole of
the magazine and take up the majority of the space however
this doesn't make it look untidy I would say it that it
effectively covers all areas of the magazine and it good use
of a full bled image. The use of direct address is used as
the camera shot. The camera shot that is used here is a
mid shot. However the composition is different, the magazine
uses a symmetrical composition so the main women in centre
front and 2 men behind but either side making it look quite
equal and spaced out.
Analysing mise-en-scene is one of the easier things to
analysis because there is so much going on in the front
image regarding facial expression, body language, costume,
lighting. Looking at the facial expression it reflects the
magazine very well, the magazine isn't too overtop and
neither is the facial expression. Whereas in a pop magazine
the facial expression would be all bubby and lively because
that is what the magazine is but this wouldn't fit the
magazine at all. Looking at the body language, starting with
the men in the background, although they are standing a bit
further back from her you can tell by the stance that they
have that they hold quite a protective instinct over her as
she is the only female in the group. Moving onto her, her
body language isn't too subtle however it is assertive. It
confirms her power and authority. Along with her facial
expressions, her body language shows a confidence and the
fact she is a strong independent women. Looking at
costume now, the use of using black costume for all the
people in the group, it puts so much more emphasis on
Hayley's hair and lipstick, making them stick out. Additionally
it sticks to the colour scheme. As we can see from the
image it is a studio shot rather than a location shot.
Supporting Images- As you can see from
the front cover there is no additional or
supporting images. I believe this would
take away from the boldness of the
main image and distract you from the
top and most important story in the
mCaoglaozuinr-e. There is a constant colour scheme
mixing with one main colour and shades
which is quite simple but by no means least
effective. The one main colour that is used
throughout the front cover is red, with an
additional one off colour of pink used for
the title of the band. I think was used to
really draw the reader to that specific part
of the front cover as to me it is the most
important. The use of red is effective
because it is a striking colour that stands
out compared to the shades that are used.
Forwarding onto the shades that have been
used which is just a simple black and
white.
Masthead- The title is a simple letters NME . I
think the significance of this is that is not
overthought, its not too complicated, its catchy
and simple. Looking at the typography there is
use of bold font with red in the infill and a
use of a white outline and then a black
outline around that to make it stand out that
little bit extra. It does not cover much of the
magazine, it is centre left so it doesn't sit
right on the edge of the page but sort of
shifted in an inch or so. To make the main
women stand out even more than she does
the title is situated behind her but in front of
her band mates.
Sell Lines- There seems to be a lot
of constancy and equality between the
all of the sell lines. There is one sell
line however that is more prominent
than the others which is the top sell
line ‘Professor Jack White 'The reason
this is different from the rest because
it is bigger and bolder fonts and the
fact that it is the only sell line in
black, it attracts you more because of
its difference. The majority of sell
lines are positioned between the top
of the main story and the bottom of
that story. There are also positioned
all on the left The tone of these
sell lines is kind of getting straight to
the point there isn't much tone in
Typography- The majority of
fonts that are used are very
bold fonts that are san serif
and the majority aren't outlined
and just stand out on their
oAwdnd.itional Features-
Banners, Buttons & Other Graphics- There are only two uses of banners and buttons. One is a banner and
button which is used to act as another sell line for the magazine but just in another format.
Slogan- There isn't a slogan used which I think could be something that could be added because personally
I want to know if NME stands for anything or something additional that certifies a magazine confidence like
Britain's Best Magazine.
Plugs- There isn't any plugs used on the magazine but I think that maybe a good thing because I don't
think free gifts or competitions really represent what the magazine is about.
Administrative Detail- I cannot see a price or much administrative detail apart from the barcode. I believe
this is good idea though because you don't really want anything to distract from the magazine itself.
2. Main Image- Analysing this image of this front cover we can see that
this image is also full bleed. It also takes up the whole length of the
magazine but leaving a few inches the top and a lot of spare room at
the sides for sell lines and additional things. This image also uses direct
address like a lot of music magazine will. It gives you a sense of
connection toward the artist when they are staring directly into camera.
Differing to the mid-shot we saw in the last front cover, this shot uses a
full length shot. You can see the tips of the artist feet to the top of their
head. The shot is almost symmetrical so if you split it down the middle it
should look basically the same on either side which gives the magazine
a sense of equality.
Now analysing mise-en-scene is going to be a bit harder because there
isn't much going on and the page doesn't look as full as some other
music magazines. The only thing in mise-en-scene that really sticks out
is the prop that the artist is sitting on. His facial expressions are very
bland and expressionless, just like the previous front cover and like I
said previously it wouldn't fit the theme and genre of the magazine if the
artist was all smiling and bubbly and that is probably not the kind of
artist that he is to be all bright and bold. Moving onto body language.
Personally for me I find his body language to be quite intimidating and
aggressive, that is maybe who the artist is or who he wants to portray
but I just think it very forward and looks like he is ready for a fight,
which isn’t the best selling point for the magazine. Looking at his
costume, again mixing with the theme of colours he went with a black
and it also merges well with his facial expressions and body language.
Supporting Images- I think the magazine has a
recurring theme of not using supporting images
because like the previous font cover and like you
will see in the others it takes away from the
boldness of the main image and features.
Colour- This specific magazine likes to stick
to one colour and normally just one shade.
This is because the magazine likes
consistency throughout their magazine and
don’t want too many different colours and it
doesn’t look even, it looks odd. The use of
the boldness of the yellow and the shade
black really makes the main colour of yellow
and the prop that the artist stick out, it draws
you toward it and the black really brings this
oMuat.sthead- Compared with the previous title this
is bold but doesn’t need any outline, it stands out
on its own. It is a bit bigger than the last one and
I think that is because there is less on the page
so it doesn’t need to compete as much to be
seen in on the page so that is why it isn’t
covered with outlines and gimmicks. The artist is
a bit further away in this front cover so the title
isn’t all covered up, only just the end of the title.
Sell Lines- This cover isn’t splattered with
sell lines to try and increase the
magazine sell rate. The major sell line is
the main story which is the artist and that
is situated in on the lower left side.
Additionally the sell line of the main story
is bigger than the majority of sell lines
within the magazine. The other sell lines
aren’t as big and they are as bold. They
are quite bunched together and they are
placed in the centre on the right. They
are harder to reader than the big sell line
because it isn’t as bigger selling point as
the major story in the magazine.
Typography- There are only two different types of font used.
The littler font is using serif and the bolder is sans serif. The
bolder fonts are used for the main sell line and the smaller
serif fonts are used for the description of the story because
it isn’t as major and the main selling point.
Additional Features-
Banners, Buttons and Graphics- There isn’t any use of any type of banner button or graphic on this magazine cover.
Slogan- Unlike the first magazine this one actually has a slogan, which I prefer because it explain what the title NME stands for
and if a magazine didn’t have that it could cause a bit of confusion.
Plugs- This magazine doesn’t use any plugs because I don’t think it reflects what the magazine is about.
Administrative Detail- All administrative detail is positioned out of the way because you don’t want to use valuable front cover
space on things that don’t matter. The barcode is positioned on the lower right side and issue number and price are placed in tiny
font above the title so it is out of the way.
3. Main Image- Like most music magazines we can see that the main image is
full bleed, it takes up the whole centre of the magazine and that is to make a
statement. That this is main story and it is all about the artist on the front
cover. There is also a use of direct address in the shot. I really like this
within any magazine not just a music magazine. I think it gives a lot of
intensity and a connection to the artist who is on the front cover. Personally
to me, I can feel them trying to engage with me and push their passion onto
me through the pages of the magazine which I think boost the appeal of the
magazine. Being a female artist on the front cover, I would say that a close
up shot is used here. I believe this is to really capture the artist beauty and
her features also with the use of the make-up which I will pick up upon in the
next paragraph.
Now analyzing mise-en-scene. Firstly looking at her facial expression. It is
quite approachable in a sense, with a female artist I think it is key to try and
appeal to the right market and if you have a aggressive female on the front it
wont sell as much as a feminine female would. There isn’t really much to
analyze about her body language because you cannot see it and the parts
you can see is hidden by her hair I can see however that her body language
is very relaxed, it doesn’t seem forced or theatrical, it seems very natural
which I like. Now moving onto costume which I like because like the rest of
the artist, it isn't over the top like her make up, it makes a statement but it
doesn’t look very over powering, it is subtle but bold. As we can tell from the
front cover itself and most covers it is a studio shot rather than location.
Supporting Images- There is no supporting
images on this front cover. I think this front
cover is very filled up already, but right now it
looks very well laid out and maybe
supporting images will just crowd it up and
make it look a bit too full.
Colour- Like most magazine covers there is a use
of one shade and one colour. In this case the
colour that is used is a dark/light pink. This is used
for the littler wording, the subtext. The shade that
is most commonly used in magazine is white and
this is the one that is used throughout the cover.
This is used on the bigger block letters and for the
main story. This also matches the costume of the
artist. The only problem with the positioning and
the shade of text is that in some parts such as the
main story in the lower right corner is that it is hard
to read as it blends with her costume. My critic for
this is to just maybe take into account colour and
positioning at the same time.
Masthead- The title of this magazine is ‘Billboard’.
The typography is nice and block bold letters that
you can clearly read it. There isn’t any outline on
the lettering, there is just a infill of read and a
touch of yellow in the centre of the ‘D’ at the end.
This is to give it an artistic touch and not make the
title too bland. I think it is better that there isn’t a
outline, because the title is bold enough as it is,
the outline might make it look a bit tacky. To really
make the artist stick out and because it is a well
known magazine, the title is situated behind the
artist head.
Sell Lines- There is a variety of
sell lines on the front cover
spreading evenly across the left
on the right. There is also an even
distribution between the subtext
that is white and pink and also the
main sell line. The tone is very
snappy, it gets to the point very
quickly. You know what the story
is about so you know what you
are buying. Some sell lines are
bigger than others and buy
reading them, it is based on
selling ability, so what stories are
going to drag you in. The problem
with the smaller stories is that it is
hard to read and that could deter
a person from buying the
Typography- The typography is all fairly the same big block
letters. This makes everything a lot more bolder and in some
cases easier to read. The artists name holds a different font
however, it uses a sort of bubble font. This is to make it unique
and have a bit of individuality because it is the main stories, it
should be bigger, bolder and more different than the other stories
on the page.
Additional Features-
Banners, Buttons and Other Graphics- There is no use of buttons, banners or
graphics that I can see on the front cover.
Slogan- I can see there is a slogan just under the title but it is very small and sort
of unreadable which seems to be a reoccurring comment throughout the
magazine.
Plugs- There is not evidence of any sort of plug on the front cover of this
magazine.
Administrative detail – The only time I condone tiny writing it with the administrative
