DPS analysis answers: NME

1)How does the choice of band featured in the article suggest who the target audience will be?There are a variety of bands featured in the article, including bands which are also TV shows such as the Mighty Boosh. The article also features: Flight of the Conchords and Effy from Skins. Actually, all of these bands have TV programmes which are really popular at the time of the production of this issue of NME. This shows that the target audience for this article are for the adolescent generation, up to the mid 20s (both genders) who watch these types of programmes. They must also like music in the rock genre as these bands play music in this genre and it is featured in a rock music magazine. It is also targeted for middle/working class citizens as this magazine is sold in news agents and supermarkets.On the other hand, people who have never seen the programmes mentioned but have heard of them or have only seen a couple of episodes, can also read this article as they have some knowledge about the programmes; this widens the target audience. I, for one have only seen a couple of episodes of the Mighty Boosh and have never heard of the programme 'Flight of the Conchords' but is interested in the article since I know some of the programmes mentioned.

2) What type of language is used in the article? Give examples of words or phrases which are specific to the style of the magazine

The language used in this article is informal with no use of colloquial language. It is also very indirect as it does not talk to the reader directly. You can notice this from the start of the article as in the first paragraph of the article was all indirect. The writer chose not to use colloquial language; this is most likely because he is being more aware of the readers who don't know much about the bands, but not so much as to talk formally.An example of informal language is the use of brackets to add tiny things about the subject they were talking about. E.G. “Go on TOTP and be patronised by someone so vacuous she's named after two kinds of vegetarians (sorry, Fearne Cotton)”

3) How is colour used?The use of colour is very simple. From this, we notice that the colour throughout the magazine is consistent The colour scheme for the front cover is red, black and white, the same colour is used in this double page spread.Black text is mainly used for the article title, leading text, pull quote, captions and the body text. White is mainly used for the background/white space as this will allow the black text to contrast with the background so the article is easy to read. Red is used to a minimum – only used for the name of the person who said the pull quote and the anchor. This layout keeps the DPS really simpleHowever, the side bar is a navy blue colour; this is connected to the mise-en-scene of the images used. Plus it contrasts with the white text and the red bullet points.

4) What style of text (font type/colour/size) is used? Is it similar to any other pages? What does it say about the image of the magazine and the audience?

The article title, the captions and the leading text are all in a serif font. The body text of the side bar is also in a serif font. This is because a serif font, like Arial, is easier to read when it is a big size. It is again simple, like the DPS itself, bold and straight to the point. On the other hand, it is also used for the body text of the side bar as it shows that it does not connect to the main article, but is related to the topic.The body text for the main article and the pull quote are in a sans serif font. This is because sans serif fonts, like Times New Romans, are easier to read when they are in a small size.

Size of the text shows the importance of each piece of text when making the consumer interested in the DPS when skimming through it. In this case, the article title is the most important piece of the DPS as this would most likely attract the consumer to it. The second most important texts are both the pull quote and the leading text. This shows that they are of equal importance as these are what the consumer would read after the article title; this is similar to my first Kerrang DPS analysis I did before.This DPS is really similar to the other pages as the magazine itself is very simple. This can show that the audience like the simplicity and rather wants the information in the article and wants it straight to the point than the article being all fancy and decorative; this is the opposite of what Kerrang is.

5) How is the double page spread laid out? How much of the pages are taken up by images and how much by text? How does this reflect the audience? What do they value?

The DPS is laid out in a ‘C’ shape like the DPS in Kerrang. This is also because of the reading direction in the west. In this case, the reader would see the top of the side bar first, skim through the top of the article, then to the images and the article title and finally to the bottom of the side bar. The eye flow may be the same, however, the way the DPS is laid out is different as in the Kerrang DPS, the reader would first see the article title whereas in this DPS, the article title is seen secondly.On one page of the DPS, the page is filled with images of the bands which they are talking about and on the other page we have the article. This shows that they value both the images and the article equally. However, we can argue that they actually values the article more as the images page is still bombarded by text from the article title and the pull quote. This can show that the audience also values the article more than the images; as stated in the last question.

6) What tone is the magazine using when addressing the reader (as a close friend, a member of an 'in' crowd or an informed intelligent fan?) - provide evidence

When reading the article myself, I would say that the writer was addressing the reader as either a member of an ‘in’ crowd or an informed intelligent fan. However, I would side more with an informed intelligent fan as the article itself was very informative and dedicated. The writer talks about the a range of TV shows which have a band in it, like the Mighty Boosh, but he also talks about films like Twilight and its soundtrack. It isn’t a very serious tone but more like someone telling you the insight of a TV program they have seen recently; this is why it is very informal yet serious at the same time.

7) How is the artist/band presented to the audience through the images? You may wish to carry out a textual analysis.

The artists/bands are presented as ‘rock-hard’ people who are often having a great time at parties (party hard) and gigs; they are like the popular kids in school.At the beginning of the article it says that TV became popular once again with the younger generation because of these types of bands. You could say that these TV programs saved TV as we know it.

8) How does the style of the article match the style of the front cover?Well, to put it simple, they both have the same colour scheme; the use of black, white and red and they are both really simple. They both use serif font for the article title and masthead, kicker and the leading text. This shows that they are consistent and want the front cover and DPS to be very similar to each other to show their brand. However, there are some differences. For example, the balance of text and images used on the front cover isn't balanced like in the DPS. This is because the front cover relies on images more than the text to attract the reader. Another, would be the eye flow. The eye

flow of the front cover goes in an 'S' shape as it is a special edition, while the DPS goes in a 'C' shape.

9)Does the article demand any prior knowledge? Give examples.As I said before in the first question, the reader don’t really need to know much about the TV bands, meaning that the article doesn’t demand any prior knowledge. This is good for people who do not know much of the bands featured in the article.