B Y O L L I E C H A R L T O N

TEXTUAL ANALYSIS

MY TWO CHOSEN MAGAZINES...

• DJ

• Mixmag

MAGAZINE INFORMATION – DJ MAG

Mission

Statement

Thrust Publishing Ltd.'s incorporation date

was 20th February 2009, so its four years

old. Their main magazine is DJ mag and the

company was originally called DJ Mag

publishing Ltd.

MAGAZINE INFORMATION - MIXMAG

COLOUR – DJ MAG

The front cover of DJ mag has bright colors which bring out

and express the magazine from others. The text is a different

colour to the background and image which put it in

contrast against everything else on the page. Which

immediately draws out attention to it making us pick it up.

The bright color theme is

running on through the

magazine, on the

contents page, all the

different headings are

different colors, again

making this appealing to

the eye. All these bright

colors give a very happy

and inviting vibe, even

though the image on the

front doesn't‟t seem that

at all. There is also a

white background on the

contents page and also

on the double page

spread. This is to make

the other colors stand out

more.

The main story‟s double

page spread for DJ mag is

pretty bland when it comes

to colors. It has the black

background with white text.

This gives us a glum mood as

everything about the

background and image are

dark colors, but what „brings

the mood up' is the white

text.

A unique thing about this magazine

is the interesting headline design. It‟s

a very bright red and yellow

„pattern‟ it looks like something you

would see in a club on the wall or

something along those lines.

COLOUR - MIXMAG

The front cover on Mixmag has very dark and

gloomy colors. It looks like there is a flood light

coming from behind the image, this gives me

the impression that the person is at a club or

he is in the spotlight. All the colors on the page

are blacks, reds, whites, oranges and whites.

The contents page in Mixmag is a lot different to the

front cover. There is an image in the middle with very

bright pinks purples and silvers. This makes the page

more inviting and makes it have more of a „forgiving‟

feeling rather then the mysterious feeling you get from

the front cover.

The Mixmag magazine is a

lot like the DJ mag in the

sense of color scheme. The

main background is black

and the text is white. But the

image is the same colour as

on the front cover. This has

a continuous feel to this.

What these colors do

represent is the

different colors that

you would see in the

clubs and lights you

would see in the clubs.

This will make the

reader know /feel its

actually about „club

music‟

LAYOUT AND DESIGN – DJ MAG

The layout and design of this

magazine is very spaced out.

All of the images fit well with

the text and it doesn't‟t look

cramped or squashed in any

parts of the magazine. This

could give the impression that

they are a very chilled group

of people that don‟t want to

cram you with information.

The font type they have

used is sans serif font (no

fancy flicks on the letters).

They do this because it is

very easy on the eye and

it is very easy to read. On

the cover page its obvious

that they use „word art‟ for

the main coverlines so that

they will stand out and

draw your eye to them as

soon as you pick them up.

The layout does go along

with the rule of thirds. All of

the text or the image line

up with one of the „lines‟

on the grid. This makes it

very spaced out and is

easy for the reader to

distinguish.

LAYOUT AND DESIGN - MIXMAG

Unlike the DJ mag, this magazines coverlines and mast head fit around

the main image. Therefore not obstructing it. By doing this it looks very

spaced out and to me it looks sort of empty.

The font style used in this is also

sans serif. This suggests that the

magazine is trying to bring an

emphasized „informal‟ feel.

They do this because they

know that their readers aren't

the „upper class croquet

players‟, they are the young

club loving music fanatics.

The magazine carries on with its

„empty; house style in the

contents page as the text is all

around the outside of the double

page and the middle is just filled

with 2 images. This leads me to

believe the publishers are trying to

mainly focus on images rather

then on content.

In my opinion I don‟t think the

magazine follows the rule of thirds in

regards to placement of features in

the magazine. Most of the images

are directly in the middle of the

page, although they do look „in

place‟ unlike some photo‟s that

don‟t apply to rule of thirds.

IMAGES – DJ MAG

The main image on the front is a long shot of a

single person called Porter Robinson. According to

DJ Mags reader profile they say their primary target

audience is 26 year old males. You can see this with

the image. He looks like someone who would go

out clubbing with hos friends every

week, reflecting/representing the present target

audience.

Branston and Stafford‟s representations

and steryotypes theory can be applied

here because as soon as we see

someone like this or hear about

someone like this we immediately think

of young males/females who go out

clubbing and like dance music.

From stereotyping the

image on the front we

can assume as to what

we will expect in the

magazine. Articles

about clubs, new

music, new artists etc.

In my opinion the

double page spread

doesn‟t reflect the

„clubbing‟ ( or dance

) vibe at all. It is all

dark colors and

gloomy colors which Is

completely different

to the inside of a club.

Perhaps they are

trying to imitate the

dark outside of the

club before you go

in, and then you go in

and its all guns and

blazing.

IMAGES - MIXMAG

Immediately after looking at the main image on the front

cover you can tell that this is a magazine for „clubbing‟ sorts. It

has bright lights with a dark background which is a good

representative of inside a club. There is also a man standing

behind the head (possibly on a podium) who looks to be the

DJ, again representing clubs and dance music.

The usage of a skull and the dark ominous

background can make us think on the

steryotypes of Goths and depressive

people, this would possibly draw someone

away from picking up the magazines but

people who have been in clubs would know

that this so the sort of thing hat goes on.

(Branson and Stafford's)

We can see the stereotypical

images running onto the

contents page as there is a

women who is fairly attractive

and who is wearing a tight

„shirt/skirt‟ (don‟t know what

its called). This Is the kind of girl

„average‟ people would think

would always go to clubs. This

image can also be slotted into

Mulveys Male gaze theory.

The use of the

clothes and bright

colors again reflects

the types of people

who would

constantly be in

these clubs. (double

page spread)

POSE, STYLE, HAIR AND MAKE-UP –DJ MAG

The pose from Mr. Robinson on the

front cover looks very un-natural to

me because no-one walks around

like that. The magazine company

make him do that pose to make it

look like he is „upset‟ or down about

something. This may make the

reader want to read further about

why he looks like this. It‟s a very

staged picture.

Again on the double page spread, the image and style and hair etc. is pretty much the same facial expression but the stance is a little different. This stance looks a little bit more natural if he

was leaning up against a wall or something like that but otherwise it doesn't‟t look natural at all.

POSE, STYLE, HAIR AND MAKE-UP –MIXMAG

The image of the women on the contents

page looks like she doesn't‟t know that a

picture of her is being taken. This makes

the image very real and not staged at all

because if she is in a club then she wont

be concentrating on people, she will be

concentrating on having a good time.

And this is what it looks like is happening;

which is good for the magazine because

it will make the reader want to go where

she is at.

The picture on the opposite side

is very different though. This could

be saying that there is two sides

to a clubber. A wild party animal

and a posh side who can be

nice and gentle.

This image

gives of a sort

of creepy and

uncertain

feeling to it.

The pose is

natural

because its

what

someone

would do but

un-natural

because it

looks like that.

The image on the

double page spread

suggests an excited

yet serious mood

because of the facial

expressions of the

man and the way

that he is standing.

COMPOSITION AND FRAMING –DJ MAG

All the images that I am going to

focus on are long shots (from the

waist up). The do this to not only

show the persons facial

expression but to also show their

body stance and body

language. So this means the

images are obviously

cropped, or they have covered

up the bottom half of his body...

So it is digitally manipulated in

that sense but in special

effects, it has none.

The background on both of these main images is a black backdrop.

This could have been used for many reasons. Maybe to express his

emotions or maybe to represent to outside of a club or dark

alleyway.

In this picture on

the contents

page he is also in

font of a black

background.

Perhaps he is just

a mysterious

character who

likes to keep to

himself?

The first thing you

notice about all

of these photos is

that they are

very dark and

you wonder to

yourself how this

fits into dance

music.

COMPOSITION AND FRAMING –MIXMAG

These two magazines

are very common when

it comes to the image

section. All of the shots

on this magazine are

also long shots. Apart

from the one on the

front cover, that‟s an

extreme long shot.

The background on these two images is

in a club so we can obviously see this.

But the image with the suited man is a

different story. He looks like he is in a

posh hotel or possibly a mansion getting

ready for a sit down dinner.

This image is the extreme long shot (its

to big to fit on the page). This one

looks slightly manipulated because

there would be other lighting effects

and different things in a club

environment.

When

presented

with these

pages

your eyes

immediat-

ely go to

the bright

colors and

the

interesting

photos.

This is

what the

company

wants

from a

magazine.

WRITTEN CODES – DJ MAG

What's different about the text on the front cover and on the contents page to the image, is that they are bright and nice colors. From these colors we can tell that there will be a nice inviting article inside. If you‟re someone who likes these magazines you would be able to tell what's inside from the text on the front.

The strapline and the coverlines are the biggest text on the page and they are defiantly big enough to be red from a distance and I think they would defiantly stand out on the shelf because of the bright colors.

They suggest the interests of the readers by putting the main text in a different color or style so its eye catching so the reader will notice it first and think “oh I want to read about that”

WRITTEN CODES - MIXMAG

Although this magazine is very colorful, the straplines and coverlines is what‟s letting it down. They are red colors but they

are very bland and numerous magazines have either white or black text on the front, this is what puts it aside against other magazines.

Just from quickly looking at the magazine I can tell that its going to have several articles on lots of different clubs from different countries and different people and DJ‟s.

The colors may be letting it down but the size and „weight‟ of the

text compared to photo is very good. Its quite big and it‟s a completely different color to the background so it stands out very well. Its also positioned very well because no matter how the magazine is stacked on the shelf, some of the text will be showing because there is a big title at the top and then all the cover lines are going down the sides. – defiantly big enough to read from a distance.

LANGUAGE – DJ MAG + MIXMAG

The language used in this magazine is obviously what you would have expected from something like this.

Words like „grim, skanky, (curse words)‟ and, more subtly, slang terms are used in this magazine to address the reader to make them feel like they are actually in the club. They make them feel like this by using the sort of language and addressing them how they would be used to be addressed in a club or something like that.

But what tricky‟s me is that some of the language used is very sophisticated and formal.

This might back up what I was saying earlier about the man in the suit. Even though they are talking like common people, they also have a nice posh side.

Its almost like this sort of people have a different dialect to humans. They come up with new words that are only used in clubs and hen they are used outside of clubs they sound unfamiliar and no-one understands them.

OVERALL IMPRESSION – DJ MAG

DJ Mag‟s text is very colorful and very

eye grabbing which is very important

when designing the magazine. It has

the right size and layout of text so that

its not to big and not to small.

The language used is very inviting to

those who talk like that. It makes them

feel like they are part of something and

not just clubbers.

Its easy to know what the main storyline

is going to be as soon as you look at it

because of the picture and the text so

you don‟t have to read through the

whole thing.

The framing and layout of the front

cover, contents page, and double

page spread is very clean and very

nicely spread out. This will help the

reader to get a clear idea of what is

happening, and not just „all in your

face‟

The double page spread is very bland

and very dark colors. This isn't very

inviting and doesn't‟t want the person

who picks it up to read it.

To me all the pages seem the same

and they all aren't the most beautiful

works of art ever.

If I would change this I would defiantly

put more color in the double page

spread and in the magazine in general.

If the magazine is about dance then it

should have that dance vibe to it

which include lots of color and lots of

excitement.

The one and only existing element I

would use in my magazine is the „Porter

Robinson‟ masthead. I really like the

way they have made that word art

and I'm defiantly going to try and

imbed it into my magazine.

OVERALL IMPRESSION - MIXMAG

This magazine has a lot more color

then the other one. BUT it is only really

about 5 colors maximum.

Red, black, white, orange, and

another one. It would stand out

against some other magazines

because of the big white

background, but against other music

dance magazines, it might not be the

one that grabs your eyes.

The contents page and the double

page spread are the ones which

looks most like they belong in a

dance magazine. They have nice

bright colors and natural poses so

that it actually looks normal and not

completely staged.

As before, the language is very

inviting to people who use that sort of

language. They have clearly done

their research so that they know how

to use their words to manipulate

people into buying their magazine.

The layout and design of all the

features on the page are fine to

emphasize the image but to me the

page looks kind of empty because

there isn't anything on the page. If I

would have changed something I

would have moved a few of the

coverlines so that they lined up with

the picture (maybe) and then made

them a bit bigger so the reader

would know exactly what the main

story is about instead of not knowing.