Textual Analysis

Textual AnalysisKate-Anna Smith

MagazinesMagazine one: Terrorizer (issue 231 JAN. 2013)

Magazine two: Iron Fist (issue 2 DEC/JAN 2012/13)

TerrorizerCirculation: 10,078Readership: Mission Statement:Reader Profiles:Publisher information: Dark Arts Ltd.

Textual AnalysisColour: The colours used here in Terrorizer magazine help to reflect the genre of music that can be found in its content. For example, there is predominately dark colours like black and grey, but on the cover of this particular issue and used through out the magazine is a vermillion, blood red colour. This has been used as it relates to the content with in the magazine and the features on the front such as an artist that uses blood to paint with and the band Hatebreed, whos band logo iconically has red in it.There are no bright or happy colours used in the magazine as this would fit the genre and this would put readers off. By having a selective range of a few main colours too makes the magazine look more professional.

Textual AnalysisLayout and design: Terrorizer have used a clean layout that is easy to read and follow, however, it still remains relevant to the content which some would presume to be slightly messier. Different fonts are coverlines and page titles in the magazine which are distorted and bold. This makes them stand out and adds to the house style. These texts also work harmoniously with the images as well.

One example is on the double page spread about Dr. Rev who paints using blood, the main title on the page looks as if it is written in blood. The body of the text though, as with the rest of the articles in the magazine, are written in a standard serif font that is readable and doesnt make the page too confused. The beginning of new paragraphs are also indicated with with a different style of larger lettering on the first letter of the first word. This breaks the text up for the reader a bit more and makes the text more manageable.

Textual AnalysisLayout and Design: The contents page in this magazine is also has a very clean and sterile layout that is is easy to follow, however, I think in comparison with the rest of the magazine it is actually quite boring. It uses the same fonts and house style as the rest of the magazine, it is just lacking in images to illustrate what is being talked about.The front cover is designed so that a free CD that comes with the magazine can be seen clearly on the front and when on display on a shop shelf. This is important as it a vital persuasion for the audience to buy the magazine as they are receiving a free incentive that they are interested in and therefore would tempt the buy. When the CD is removed by the reader there is also design underneath such as the cover lines. This is good as it doesnt affect the attractiveness of the magazine to the reader.

Textual AnalysisImages and Composition & Framing: The cover images on Terrorizer features the main picture being of Jamey Jasta from Hatebreed. This reflects the content as the magazines main focus this week is on the band. The images used within the content of the magazine are relevant as well as they feature a large image of the band and then there are some other photos of Jamey like that seen on the cover.All of the images used regarding the main story are appropriate to the magazines content. The images are usually in full colour and with this added to the powerful expressions it draws the reader straight in.There is one page where all the photos are in black and white. This gives the photos a slightly different feel but allows the reader to be able to connect with the band more and aspire to be like them.

Textual AnalysisImages and Composition & Framing: Everything from the poses to what the Jamey is wearing in the photos is relevant and something that the intended audience would be able to relate too. This is because he is a influential individual that some readers would look up to for inspiration. Other images used on the cover of the magazine also reflect some of the content that is featured within the magazine. There is nothing that looks out of place and all look like it would be something that the reader would be interested in. The images in the magazine have used the rule of thirds too. For example on the cover the main image is positioned to the right hand side of the page and so that they eyes of the person in shot are in line with the top line on the grid. This is important as it is where the audiences eyes are first drawn too. By having the image to the right hand side and the text on the left it also makes it more natural and comfortable for the reader as here in the UK we read from left to right.

Textual AnalysisPoses, style, hair, makeup: The pose and the expression used in the front cover suggest to the audience that the content of the magazine would be about heavy music the pose is strong and the angle the photo is taken at the looking up and the frontman of Hatebreed, making him seem bigger and look powerful. The poses and expressions used in the photos could be described as brutal and kind of angry looking this could relate also to and reflect the style of music that is in the magazine. There is one poses that is particularly strong where it looks like Jamey is reaching toward the camera and shouting.However, though there are all these stronger, more powerful poses, there is one, for example, that sees the whole band looking quite serious. I think that by having the contrast in these images there is more for the audience to be able to aspire to as some of the intended audience are likely in band like Hatebreed themselves, and by having this they can see both sides of the band (the fun, brutal side and the serious about music side) and use this as inspiration for their own band.

Textual AnalysisPoses, style, hair and makeup: I noticed that in the shots tattoos are notable and band t-shirts that Jamey is wearing can be seen too. This could also influence the audience to listen to these bands or look at getting tattoos as it is something that would interest them. By seeing the people featured in the magazine dressed this way the audience would be more likely to buy it as they would be able to relate their own style to it and could potentially be inspired by those in the magazine.

Textual AnalysisLanguage and Written Codes: The language used in the magazine is fairly rich in complex vocabulary. This could relate to the intended audience being a more adult audience, that are sharp and able to understand the words. It also talks to the audience on a level that they want to be talked to; it makes them feel respected.Curse words or swear words also arent omitted from the text. This could show how it is in fact meant to be read by older people and a younger audience might find it a bit heavy to read. The language that has been used is also really related to the audience as it talks about specific semantic fields and use lexical terms relevant to the content and this is something that the audience would need to know about and have a interest min before starting to the read the magazine. This makes the reader feel their likes and interests are important and makes them feel part of a club almost with other people that are interested in the same things as them.

Textual AnalysisLanguage and Written Codes: The size of the text used through-out the magazine is actually pretty small. It is readable, but some readers could struggle. The text is clear though white on a dark background, for example on the double page spread, and it is in a standard serif font that everyone is familiar with. There is also quite a lot of text to read in the magazine though there are lots of images that do take up a lot of the space on the page, there is still a fair amount of text that is printed small on each page. This allows for there to be a lot of detail though that the audience would appreciate. I also think it notable that inserts from the body of the text are often used around the images. The inserts used are all attention grabbing and make the reader want to read on. Titles and coverlines are all written in massive fonts that are easy to read and would stand out on a shop shelf. Terrorizer itself has a recognizable brand identity through the use of the font of its title the entire title doesnt even need to be shown as it that well known by its audience. A lot of the fonts used through-out the magazine and on the cover look distorted or distressed (none of them look out of place and all following the same rule of being in bold, capitals).

Textual AnalysisOverall Impression: Overall I think that Terrorizer has executed its magazine well and created a good brand identity and reputation for itself that is respected an recognized by its readers. This recognition has allows the magazine to grow in popularity and is now up to selling its 231th* issue. The good points of the magazine are its iconic look and house style that get it recognized and makes it stand out on the shop shelf. There are also other elements such as all the content that is relevant to the genre of magazine and images used too. I think the text to image ratio is good as it this breaks down the dense text for the reader, however I think at times some of the vocabulary used might be a little over the top and tries too hard to talk its audience on a level that they want to be that doesnt dumb them down.The colour scheme is really good and works well with the house style this makes the overall look of the magazine professional and the consistency in style makes it look professional too.

Textual AnalysisOverall Impression: The images used are all relevant to the content, however, I think at times sometimes too many images are used at any one time. The styling of those featured in the magazine would attract the right audience and the free CD is something that would tempt a buy too. I think I might like to carry the CD idea over to my own magazine. I also like the amount of image to text ratio as a magazine is read for leisure, I dont want my readers to be over-whelmed by text. The font styles are also something that I think I would like to use in my own magazine. I think they would work well with my own and the way the fonts have been used e.g. lots of capitalizations for titles, different lettering for the starting letter of every word at the beginning of a paragraph would be nice in my own magazine too.

Iron Fist...Circulation: Readership: Mission Statement: Iron Fist is for fans of bands who push the boundaries of performance, who dont just play a show, they put on a show, who write music that has a mission statement, who play like their lives depend on it. With blood, sweat and tears, Iron Fist will follow their journeys whether its their 25th year of extremity or their first steps to heavy metal infamy. If its being talked about in the obsessive circles of the heavy metal underground then Iron Fist will be on the frontline.Reader Profiles:Publisher information: 2000 BC Publishing Ltd.

Textual Analysis...Colour: Through-out the magazine the predominate colours are black and white, and then important parts of the magazine and things to grab the readers attention are highlighted in a dark red colour. This monochrome theme gives a darker vibe to the magazine working harmoniously with the content which is heavy music, but it also makes it more grown up and therefore more appropriate to the audience. For slight variation in the magazine, yet still suiting the house style, neutral pallet colours have been used occasionally and different shades of red (slight brown-orange colours) to make the house style slightly more complex and professional looking.The magazine has a very sophisticated feel about and this is brought out with the use of colours. There is nothing too bright and out-going in the colour pallet as this would distracted from the content of the magazine and likely put off the intended audience from buying the magazine.

Textual Analysis...Layout and Design: Iron Fist has a very clean and sophisticated layout and design. There is nothing messy about it at all unlike what you might see in some magazines of similar genres I think this is because the audience here is aimed to be more adult. The rule of thirds has been applied to the layout of this magazine as all of the images are positioned in a way that catches the reader eye (this works well with the neat design of the magazine). For example, the front cover of the magazine features a image of Motorhead the three band members are positioned with their eyes on the top line of the rule of thirds as this is where the readers eyes are naturally drawn to.The fonts used in the design fit well with the magazine there are bold capitalised fonts used on the cover title and cover lines etc. and this makes them easy to read and they stand out. The fonts are simple but work well the clean layout. The body of the text is written in easy to read sans-serif font. I would think typically a serif font would have been used in this type o f magazine but by using the sans-serif it gives it a more contemporary feel and, again, works well with the design and style of the magazine.

Textual AnalysisLayout and Design: Through-out the content of the magazine there are other fonts used too these fonts however are fonts relevant to the bands and artists featured in the magazine. For example, band names might be written in the style of their band logo. An example would be of the main band featured in this issue, Motorhead. On their double page spread in the magazine their band logo is used instead of it being written one of the house style fonts. This adds more relevance to the images and pictures though. Another good thing about doing this is that the magazine could gain more buyers should someone looking at the magazine who has never brought it before picks it up in a store and flicks through it, they would see these band logos and be more tempted into buying the magazine.The contents page of this magazine is very clean and simple which compliments the house style. However, nothing really stands out on it and the only image used is the cover image this could make readers over look it as it just looks like a long list.

Textual Analysis...Images and Composition & Framing: There is only one images featured on the cover of this magazine and that is of the main band featured this week (Motorhead). This images takes up the entire cover of the magazine and text and inserts are put on top of the image. The image reflects the content of the magazine as they are the main artist featured in this issue. The image can be related to the target audience as the people that read this type of magazine are likely in bands themselves or are aspiring artists and Motorhead, with them being such a massive success, could be a band they look up to and are inspired by.The images on the double page spread also take up the page too this makes the feature stand out and grabs the readers attention. However, I dont think this works as well in a magazine as by having the image so big to fill one page and then having only text on the opposing page the text looks rather daunting for the reader and it looks heavy. This could put the reader off as magazine is something they want to pick and read for their leisure. The text is also rather small which doesnt help.

Textual Analysis...Images and Composition & Framing: A lot of the images used through out the magazine are old i.e. they are done by the magazine in a planned photo shoot this is because most of the bands featured are older bands. This means a lot of the images are in black and white or some look like the colour is very faded and almost sepia this adds to the style and vibe of the magazine though. Even some of the newer bands that have had planned photoshoots with magazine are photographed in black and white too this adds to the running vibe that the magazine has though and looks good with the house style.The framing and composition of the images used through-out the magazine mostly follow the rule of thirds. They photos are arranged in a clean fashion that matches the rest of the magazines style. The magazine uses mostly either shots that take up one whole half of the page(s) and then have the text on the opposing pages, or sometimes the images can be seen as inserts in and around the text.

Textual Analysis...Poses, style, hair and makeup: The styling of the people featured in this magazine is very heavy metal rock n roll. By this I mean the style of everyone in the magazine can be associated with these stereotypes and this is what you would expect the reader too look like too. The creates impressions for the reader that could be connected with the stereotypical rebel side that comes along with heavy music. A lot of the poses used in the magazine are natural as they are actual photos of the band that have been used as opposed to planned shoots. This makes the photos un-staged and something that the readers might want to see more of as they can see their favourite bands and artists doing what they do and not posing for another magazine. The poses, natural or other wise, make the artists look like they are having fun and like they love doing what they do. Some of the more staged photos look like the artists are quite serious about their music though.

Textual Analysis...Poses, style, hair and makeup: Most of the artists featured in the magazine look dark and like they would listen to heavy metal music. At times some of them also look quite rowdy and look like rebels, for example, the cover photo used of Motorhead. By using lots of just regular photos of the band having a laugh on tour an then shots of them on stage etc. the audience get to see both sides of the band which helps to create different moods and feels. A lot of the images in the magazine the people in the shot look like they are following the 70s/80s fashions for metal music with lot of leather, denim and signature wild, messy hair. Other artists look more satanic and dark, using face paints to create the corpse paint look and dressing in only dark clothes. These could be fashions that the readers chose to follow and therefore this is another area where they could be inspired by bands and artists.

Textual Analysis...Language and Written Codes: The magazine talks to the audience on a level that they want to be talked to it doesnt dumb them down and in fact makes them feel they know a lot about what is being talked about and would be able to relate their own knowledge to what is in the magazine. The magazine is dedicated to old style heavy metal and therefore the readers have a shared context of this and what is being spoken about in the magazine. Specialized lexis is used in parts that only people interested in this type of music would understand and this can make the audience feel important and valued. It could also give a sense of unity between the readers and that they all share the same likes and interest in their music tastes. I think the language used is also aimed more for an older audience and this works with they idea that the magazine focuses on one style heavy metal music, therefore the majority of the people reading it might be an audience that grew up in the 70s/80s when metal music first started out. The magazine wouldnt appeal to younger people and teenagers for this reason also because of the text to image ratio younger people might find it too much to read in a magazine.

Textual AnalysisOverall Impression: Overall I think that Iron Fist has really channeled the older heavy metal music in a way that would appeal to its intended audience. For being a new magazine there is a lot about that would already get it noticed on a shop shelf. I think the content is key to its success and the way it is aimed at old school heavy metal and new underground metal bands I think there was a niche in market for this genre. The magazine has lots of good points, my personal favourite being its clean and tidy layout that is easy to read but still executed in a fashion that works well with the magazine. I think, considering it I focusing on older music, it is very contemporary and appealing to a wide audience of people who grew up listening to this music and younger people who are now interested in it. I do however think the text to image ratio is swayed too much to text a magazine is something read for pleasure and at times the text in Iron Fist looks a bit daunting.

Textual AnalysisOverall Impression: I like the use of the images and the way some of them are actual photographs of the bands and artists so this makes natural and un-posed. This could be something that I look to do with my own magazine. I also like all the live shots that there are of artists. I like the sans-serif font used in the body of the text as it looks contemporary however, I am not sure if it works/ what would be expected in this type of magazine I do like the modern edge this gives though. I dislike the contents page on this magazine as to me it looks like a boring list I would want only key points highlighted to me with some images and inserts too. The level at which the magazine talks tot its audience is something I really like and would like to carry over to my own magazine. The layout is definitely something I want in my own and I will use this magazine as inspiration for it it looks so professional and the incorporation of the band logos to make some of the key points and features stand out.