This presentation will include textual analysis of 2 magazine front covers, 2 contents pages and 2 double page articles. One of each page will be from NME and one from Q, because these are the conventional magazines I hope to base my own on.

House Style This cover uses a simple house style, with four constant, neutral colours which would appeal to both genders. It is continued throughout the magazine to create a consistent theme. The Q logo is repeated throughout.

Language Bestial language seems to be a recurrence on this cover to coincide with the photograph; “beast” “tiger”. The language is informal and conversational (good lord), appealing to the particular target audience. Simple, abrupt language is used to convey a lot of the magazine’s content without losing the simple style of the cover.

Image Only one main unframed image used. No framed smaller images, focuses audience attention on the musician featured, which is effective due to her huge fan base and success. The long shot allows Lily’s conventionally attractive shape to be emphasised, attractive female readers who admire her and males who are attracted to her. The props used are unconventional, giving the photo an edgy and individual tone. They carry connotations that Lily is fierce and there is a mysterious side to her, attracting the reader further through curiosity. Only grey and black are used for background, costume and props, which give the cover a ‘dark’ atmosphere. The part nudity shows this magazine’s use of content which may not appeal to some of the public – a kind of informality. Their target audience being young individuals who accept controversial images.

Strap lines Short, simple sentences focusing on band names by making them bold, hinting at what is inside. Audience gratification > information about musicians an audience is interested in propels them to buy the magazine. Attracts large potential audience due to popularity and quantity of bands mentioned.

Masthead Q’s masthead could be said to be unconventional due to the logo appearance, as opposed to the horizontal text commonly used. The bold red background attracts attention and the colour fits into the house style. Lily is superimposed onto the masthead slightly, suggesting her importance and fitting editing conventions. The small font in the masthead “a different take on music” suggests the magazine’s individuality. The date of edition is included in tiny font so as not to make the magazine seem crowded with text.

House Style This cover is much busier than the Q cover, although they still use four main colours of yellow, red, black and white which would appeal to both genders. There are many more framed pictures, text and splashed making the magazine seem full of content.

Language The language doesn’t elaborate on headlines as much as in Q. They include mostly titles of musicicans/bands and aim for these alone to appeal to the target audience. Q uses more informal language on the cover whereas NME uses basic summary of much of the content inside the magazine.

Image There are many images crowded together on this issue. The main image is a mid shot of a very popular musician looking similar to a fashion photography shot – her costume and makeup fit these conventions as does the prop of flowers around her. The smaller framed images are effective; a mixture of posed shots and action shots and a mixture of genres will attract a large possible fan base.

Strap lines The main headline across the splash suggests that the reader will gain information on a lot of music from this ‘special’ issue. The graphics are effective on the splash as it looks like a torn page. They include many photos of bands suggesting that the magazine is very full and up to date. The PLUS at the bottom effectively includes more information in a small space. Underneath the main headlines there is smaller text trying to attract the audience further, making it slightly mysterious.

Masthead The NME masthead is conventional; simply a font across the page. The black, white and red are effective colours for a music magazine. They use a banner textbox over the logo, fitting it into the design where it doesn’t necessarily have to be at the top of the page, which I think suits the crowded look of NME.

Tattoo On show to highlight the ‘edginess’ of NME.

Splash Much of the text over coloured boxes or circles, ensuring that text does not get lost in all of the photographs and graphics.

Bar code, price and edition date All are essential in professional magazines, therefore I will remember to include these in order to achieve a professional look.

House Style Consistent house style with front cover, also uses the same colours as the cover and logo. Professional and effective look.

Headline A different take on typical text ‘contents page’ is effective. Including the logo in the headline enforces the magazine title. The black background attracts attention there first and the huge text contrasts with the other text on the page which is much smaller.

Index On the left hand side is a list of every music act included in the magazine, and their page number. The text is very small, as it doesn’t need to attract attention – this will be used for a reader looking for a particular page.

Red arrow A small graphic, simply states another piece of content in the magazine but adds to the appearance of the page, bringing the red colours into attention, which is effective for a music magazine as red can connotate anger and has a ‘loud effect’.

Image A live long shot of a band performance, however the lighting and composition is effective, due to the spotlights and dark background.. It is small framed making it not the main feature of the page.The musical instruments and costume fit in with the genre of the magazine and reinforce the different genres covered in NME. The text underneath explains the photograph in simple review-type language.

Subscription box The first page of the magazine advertises a subscription which could be effectively profitable. It stands out with a bold black background and bright yellow, bold text. The persuasive language is typical of advertisements (‘just £5.57’) and the image adds to the overall effect of the page.

Contents The bold headings outlining what the articles are about are well organised and look effective with black background for the heading and white writing.

House Style This contents page is much simpler than the NME page. The main background is also the only image on the page, making this the focal point. The list of contents is very basic, yet still underlines what is in the magazine and the use of colours is consistent; red, black and white.

Headline Q uses a conventional headline with the magazine logo and ‘contents’ written across the top of the page, and the bold text in different colours make this effective. The date of the edition in a smaller, lighter font and aligned higher works well.

Index On the left hand side is a list of every music act included in the magazine, and their page number. The text is very small, as it doesn’t need to attract attention – this will be used for a reader looking for a particular page. As this is a special ‘best albums’ edition, the features are split into two; the articles in the special category and the monthly regular features. The magazine expects the reader to look through more thoroughly. The red background makes this text easier to read therefore suggesting its higher importance, and the white list of contents is less easy to read and not very effective. The list of contents is generally conventional.

Image This posed mid shot was most likely taken in a studio environment and the plain dark background is effective for a contents page. It makes the background of the page making it a bigger focus of attention than the NME photograph. The musician’s outfit and body language is appropriate for a music magazine and it creates a dark, but edgy atmosphere.

Text box at the bottom This white text box with red and black writing attracts attention and the language itself is shocking and blunt. This reinforces the informal, young and careless language used in Q. The sentence is very odd to read therefore making the reader curious of its content and want to read the article.

Headline This headline reflects the image of NME, as it uses edgy graphics, language and music. The attention grabbing text disagrees with what it says, perhaps showing a satirical sense of humour. It takes up most of one page, showing the importance of the headline and the back and white fits in well with the musician’s costume and the house style.

Language Lily Allen has based her music career around being real, honest and aware of the lifestyles of many young britons today. Therefore, this journalist has reflected this in the writing. The language is honest, sharp and witty, whilst including unknown information and detail on Lily Allen (what the reader is looking for). The style of writing reflects the edgy, slightly careless tone of this magazine.

Image The mid shot of Lily takes up a whole page so is a main focal point. Her costume, body language, make up and hair is in a ‘grunge’ style, which is quite different to her usual quite feminine self so perhaps aims to show a different side of the musician. It is still posed similar to fashion photography, however, and shot in a studio setting showing how fashion photograph can play a big part in the photography of music magazines. Music is a form of fashion, so it represents this.

Type of article This article is longer than a double page, however these are the first two. It is a journalistic style article, instead of an interview, however the journalist includes direct quotes from Lily and information about her body language to create the same personal, close effect that a written interview has (only it includes other detail too).

Headline This headline is quite unconventional for a music magazine. Although the font is clear (black writing at the top of the page on a light background), headlines are usually much larger and more graphic. This is effective in making her seem more important as they expect the reader to know her by the photograph.

Language This journalist writes a biographical article of Lady Gaga, mixed with the reactions and words she gives the journalist about each detail. The language is sophisticated and intelligent, yet is extremely blunt and expletives are very common (swear words and explicit imagery also reflect the musicians’ attitude).

Image This medium close up of Lady Gaga is similar to photographs often used on front covers or posters; showing its quality. The de-saturation and high contrast gives the picture a very emotional, dark atmosphere. The fact that she is naked reflects the edgy and careless attitude of the artist as well as the magazine. Her hair and make up is done to make her look very attractive to appeal to readers and fashionable, showing the target age. There are no smaller framed images, only this one which takes up an entire page, making the overall effect very simple and elegant.

Style of page This is a very simple house style; one page is a full photograph and one full of very small font. This suggests that the article is aimed at a more intelligent audience who are deeply interested in the musician/ genre. The L across the page adds a splash of colour and interest without covering up the writing, as it has been made translucent.