Textual Analysis: Q double page spread!

 The main article in the Q magazine features artist Professor Green who is an up and coming rapper. The magazine uses presentational devices such as the visual link between the size of both the heading ‘the nutty professor’ and the main image of the artist, this link becomes suggestive of his dominance in the industry as they both stand out on the page. The phrase ‘nutty professor’ also forms intertextuality as that is the title of a popular movie making the artist accessible to a wider audience. The image itself has the stereotypical connotations of the glamorous rap lifestyle whilst still portraying the grounded nature of the artist, this can be said due to the fact the artist is seen holding a sparkly microphone and has a number of visible tattoos but at the same time has not gone for a glam photo shoot and has chosen to be pictured in his natural environment. The theme of a grounded nature is then again confirmed when the colour scheme comes into focus when beginning to focus on the colour scheme used by the magazine produces, they have chosen to use quite earthy and natural colour tones. The typography for this article and throughout the whole magazine is simple, clean and sophisticated communicating the consistency of the magazine and the features within it.

Overall this article presents an artist in their natural habitat and due to the grounded nature of the article it breaks the barriers between the audience and the artist make the artist likability factor a lot higher.

Textual Analysis: Kerrang double page spread!

This double page spread from Kerrang straight away presents a rock feel with the colours black and red as they are regularly uses to represent the genre due to their immediate connotations of anger, pain and passion. The overall layout is busy and has quite a few images within the article but they placed in line on the page, contrasting with the usual thoughts associated with the messiness of rock. The masthead is big, bold and spreads over both pages this firstly draws the reader’s attention straight to the mast head and as it is spread across both pages its presents the importance of what it says as it dominates both pages. The font used with the masthead when closely focused on is distorted this is significant due to how the music of this genre sounds and people perceptions of it. The four images featured on the double page spread show the group at work, the fact that they went against having a big photo shoot with glamorous outfits but choose to portray themselves in a natural light grounded at work gives of the feeling that for them it is more about their musical influence and that what they are in the industry for. There is also the factor that the pictures are in black and white as they don’t show colours the pictures still build a boundary between the band and the consumers as we still fully don’t know what they really look like in colour.

Overall i believe that this double page spread is relevant to its genre as it uses the stereo typical connotations of rock and uses them to form an overall judgment of the group shown.

Textual Analysis: Kerrang Contents page!

 

This is the contents of Kerrang magazine a leading heavy metal and rock magazine. The overall layout of the page is very cluttered and busy this could signify the complexity of rock and heavy metal music. The colour scheme throughout the contents page features the colours black and yellow. The black is significant as rock and heavy metal are genres that are presented as dark genres but the fact that yellow is used for the text brings in a contrast as yellow usually symbolises happiness this contrast breaks the stereotypical views and allows a wider audience base to take interest in the page rather than a limited one. There is also the feeling that the page is easy to access because there is clearly the main article portrayed with the biggest main image and the use of the visual links, due to the fact that the images have the page number in the corner. This proves to be a good feature as it helps regular consumers get what they want from the magazine and also acts as guidance for new consumers who may not be as familiar with bands and artists linked to the genre of music.

Overall I believe this contents page fits specifically to its genre with some aspects but then to encourage wider audience to benefit the magazine as they have tried to use universal techniques such as colour.

Textual Analysis: Vibe contents page!

 

 

This contents page focuses on the genre Hip Hop and portrays it accordingly. Firstly it holds the regular connotations of Vibe Magazine, it has the image of the ‘V’ emerging from the background, the usual layout of the word ‘contents and finally the logo in the top right corner, these all just reference magazine in general. The main image is of a rapper posing topless putting his excessive amounts of jewellery on show, the pose is a portrayal of the artists’ individual confidence and the jewellery represents the glamorous lifestyle stereotypically attached to a successful rappers life style. The fact that the other subtitles and text are white breaks through the red making them bold and easily accessible against the background.

Textual Analysis: Vibe Contents Page

 

This is the contents page of Vibe magazine a popular magazine that highlights its main genres as Hip Hop and RnB, two urban genres, its target audience would be the younger generation. Firstly the masthead on this page is the word ‘contents’ split up into three sections dominating the right side of page this is typical of all vibe magazines. The fact that this text is in white again the dark background draws the consumer straight to text meaning they will read on. The minimal text on the page only features four of the articles present in the magazine meaning that in order for the consumer to obtain the full experience of the magazine they must buy the magazine and read on which is a good strategy to sell magazines and keep consumers reading. The use of colours and fonts for the text on this page other than the masthead is black and the style of writing is not bold nor is it clear at first glance this pushes the consumer to focus and make an effort to read all the information on the page as it is not clear at first glance. The main image on the page is off well know RnB artist Ciara who is lying on her back with her legs taking the form of a ‘v’ which represents the title of the magazine (vibe). The image also has factors of the stereotypical views of Hip Hop and RnB when it comes to females as the image has the portrayal of sex appeal due to the featuring outfit and body language.