Friday, 24 October 2008

Textual Analysis of 3 different magazines


I am going to be analyzing 3 different magazines. These are “Kerrang!” (A Music Magazine). "Closer" (A Gossip Magazine) and "Vogue" (A Fashion Magazine)

Kerrang! Magazine

The first magazine I am going to be analyzing is Kerrang! Kerrang! is a music magazine for an audience who are into the rock music industry, it is aimed at the audience group aged 15-24 years old, however, it is also aimed at anyone who is into the genre of music, rock. The magazine is a weekly magazine which is sold in shops.
Denotation
On this particular cover from 22/10/2008 the cover is very crowded.
Title
On the front page the title is Kerrang! It is in the font color Black and is in Capital letters and is a shattered text to represent the loud sound which is coming out of speakers, the text looks like actual shattered rock, this denotates that the rock magazine rocks so much that it causes the text to brake. Kerrang! is the largest text because it is the masthead of the magazine. The masthead needs to be noticed because it needs to be remembered, this then means readers will buy the magazine.
The masthead stands out from the background which is White, the Black stands out from the white background and emphasizes the masthead of the magazine.
What is unusual is that the hat of one of the band members of ACDC covers the letters “A” and “N” this shows the magazine is so popular some of the letters can be covered, because the covering of the letters represents how well known the magazine is.
Other Text
The other text does not stand out as much as the masthead. Accept one of the names of the articles stands out “ACDC” stands out to show one of the main articles which is in the magazine. ACDC is in Red and White so it stands out from the picture. Underneath is some text saying “The World’s Greatest Rock “N” Roll Band”. This is White so it catches the eye, and stands out from the dark background it is on. The text is at an angle which could represent that the band rock so much.
There is other text which is in a smaller font in Red and White these are giving a clue into what the magazine is going to about. But the text is smaller, because it is one of the smaller articles within the magazine. But again the text is Red and White.
On a Blue Arrow there is the plug which is advertising “Free Posters”, this stands out to show that there is something free with this magazine, the Black text stands out from the Blue Arrow and makes it readable for the audience to spot and buy the magazine for the freebies. There is also a plug at the bottom of the page which mentions all the bands which are in the magazine, this is in the smallest font but still stands out due to the color of the text which is white and is on a Black background with Red edges. The big “PLUS” attracts the audience’s attention because it is in bold and in capitals this catches the eye of the audience and makes the audience more interested in what there is in the magazine. The Red background allows the White writing to stand out.
The Pictures
On the front cover of Kerrang! the pictures are of bands which the magazine has interviewed. The largest picture is of “AC DC” because this is the main article which the magazine is covering. It is a mid-shot where only the top part of the body and face can be seen. The band members are standing in front of the grey background to allow them to stand out. The picture is the biggest so it’s the first picture which catches the audience’s eye, also AC DC have a large fan base so this would catch their fans eye.
The Posters are in a smaller size and you can’t really see them, both posters are again a mid-shot where you can only see the top of the body and the face, they are again in colour which does allow the posters to stand out. There is a smaller picture of one of the band members of Red Hot Chilli Peppers, but this is in Black and White with a Red border, this does not stand out as much as the posters or the main picture. All the pictures have a text which give a clue to what they are about.

The Kerrang! Magazine has a layout which when the eye scans down the page, you can take all the information in at once.

I did some research into the magazine. E-map publishes this music magazine Kerrang! this is described to have attitude. Some of the staff of the magazine includes the editor Paul Brannigan, Daniel Lane (deputy editor), Malcolm Dame a Journalist and a Photographer Scarlet Page.
E-map also released Kerrang! Radio in 2001 which plays the latest rock music, and legends of rock music. In 2001 E-map then launched Kerrang! TV which like the radio station covers the latest music.
Connotation
The Picture
The Main Picture is of ACDC.
The Pose
Both band members look like they are about to jump out of the picture at the viewer. This is to create a sense of excitement and could be said to pull in the reader to read more. The band member on the Left is in a Grey hat and is leaning forward, as if his face is coming out the page, he is gritting his teeth, but in an amusing way to make the audience laugh. The man on the right is stood up straight looking straight forward, but unlike the other band member is standing at the back of the picture as if standing back and letting the man on the left make a fool of himself, the man at the back looks more superior. The man on the right is pulling a slight grin, a cheeky grin to give an impression of a cheeky rock band. His arms are obscured by the guitar the man on the left is holding so it is harder to read his body language. On the other hand, the man on the left looks less serious and is pulling his face; he has hold of the guitar and covers the man’s arms on the right.
The Clothes
Both band members are wearing dark colors which connotates that ACDC is a dark rock band. The background they are stood in front of is Grey so the colors of their clothes stand out. The man on the left is wearing a dark Grey hat which stands out from the picture, it shapes his head well and you can see the expression on his face. The audience can see that the top of the body is in a Black jacket with a White Top and Black tie, this makes him stand out from the background and makes him look menacing. He is holding a guitar which makes him looks powerful. The man on the right is wearing a Light Grey hat which makes the man at the back blend into the light Grey background which covers part of the mast-line Kerrang! He is wearing a Black Vest which emphasizes his arms and makes him look strong and masculine. But again his clothes are obscured by the guitar.
Background
The background is Grey and allows everything to stand out from the magazine all in there own way.

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