Textual Analysis (Q Magazine)GEORGE HARDY

Cover (Q Magazine) The main image on a music magazine is conventionally a medium-long shot, however this goes against conventions as the camera is a medium/close up. He also has a direct gaze.

The masthead of the magazine is big, bold and is red so it draws the readers attention very quickly. Connotations of the colour red include determination, passion and power. The artist is overlapping the masthead which may suggest that he is more important than the masthead.

The typography used on the front cover is quite rough which may link with the artist on the front cover’s lifestyle. The typography of the front cover suggests that the magazine may be for an older audience, as even though the font used is rough it is still laid out well and isn’t messy. The colour of the text is black so it is easy to pick out and read, which contrasts with the white background. The colour black has connotations of power, elegance and mystery.

Contents (Q Magazine)Much like the front cover, the contents page of the Q magazine is presented in a clean and sophisticated way. Most photos are organised neatly and there is a clear house style of red, white and black.

The photos on the magazine look older than they actually are, they give the magazine a vintage look to them. Both the text and the images are presented in a way so that the magazine looks around 20 years in the past, this could link with the target market of the magazine, for older generations rather than teenagers or young adults.

There is little amounts of text on the contents page, when you read it, it is straight to the point which shows that company prefers to present their magazine through their images rather than text.

2 Page Spread (Q Magazine)It is now very clear that the house style is white, red and black throughout the whole magazine. The giant red ‘J’ which covers the text symbolizes the artist being interviewed (Jay Z) and is slightly transparent so that the target audience can still read the text. By the artist there is a quote from the artist which may summarize the whole interview in one sentence, which may persuade you into reading it. The text is sophisticated and organized which connotes with the target audience of the magazine. The mise-en-scene of the medium/close up can tell you a lot about the artist. The tint of red on the left side can connote with anger or danger, and the fairly bland right side can connote with peace and emptiness.