Textual Analysis - double page spread

Here, i will analyise three double page spreads. These are from three different magazines that all concentrate on modern cultured music. The purpose of this research existing products similar to the style and structure I intend to use for when I design my magazine. The magazine i will be creating will be for indie/hardcore music so i will try to find themes i can incorporate into mine and that i can take influence from.

The first double page spread I have decided to analyse is from the magazine NME. Its a very pop/indie orientated magazine and its audience because of this, is typically teenagers and ranges from about 15 to 25. We can see this in the article, for example the first thing we read on the page is the word ‘teenagers’. This is the name of the band which is fun and although is a bit of a joke, also subconsiously attracts and involves the reader. For example, the way the picture represents that of a stereotypical lazy teenager (slumped on the bed, relaxing, in a homely poster filled room). The picture is also quite light, this shows the band as being fun, happy and upbeat, whereas a dark picture (for example, often found in a metal magazine such as the kerrang spread below) shows seriousness, emotional unstablitiy, mystery etc. I think this also, in some ways, breaks the teenage stereotype that lots of older people think, and lots of new wave bands do this. It suggests there is a lot more to a teenagers life than what fits the steretype (the 'skins' lifestyle). However i think that the spread does try and attract the audience with stereotypical teenage interests and values. For example, a highlighted part of the interview is a quote from one of the band members. It says ‘of course were a sexual band. Were the teenagers and that’s what we think about’ shows that there trying (hard) to stick to the stereotype and relate to the stereotypical teenager. The photo also shows lots of pictures of nights out and girls which suggests the teenage stereotype and may try to relate to the target audience. At the top, underneath the word ‘radar’ it says the phrase ‘the best music’ This is very direct and suggests to the reader that the type of music they listen to is the best. This is also closed minded which i think is also stereotypical of the closed mind of a teenager.

The double page spread is also busy and full of energy. It does this by putting in lots of text along with the large pictures and by having things at different angles. Which i think represents a bedroom wall full of postors that are at different angles like this. The colours used are also quite happy. Mainly white and blue. These colours can be seen as cheerful and definatly represent that sort of effect within the article, as opposed to the article below using mainly black and red. The article also uses a 'highlighter' style effect on the titles etc. It looks as though it has been highlighted which i feel gives it the d.i.y, homely feel that has been acheived from the angles of the text boxes and pictures etc.

Interestingly, also all the titles i have analysed and looked at are in the middle of the two pages, or more onto the right hand page, i think this is interesting because i thought it would be conventionally on the left page. I also like how it uses just basic colours, black, blue and white. I think this is so that it still looks bold with the use of the bright blue, but doesnt look over the top and is easy to read etc. It also creates continuity with the colours and probably on the layout of the text, for example with the word 'radar' which is probably a continuing, regular article in the month that occurs in every issue. I also like the way that, although the same colours are used, they are used in a different order for the right hand column, with a black background etc. This is to show that that column is a different part of the artice, for example, if the main aticle is an interview with the band, this column might be an album review. I also like the way it uses pictures within the article and this might be an extra way to paint a picture in the mind of the reader and explain whats happening within the article.

This is a double page spread for a magazine called kerrang! magazine which focuses mainly on modern metal and rock music. We can see how the style of the article changes immediatly as the target audience changes. For example, for this article, the intended audience is for young people who listen to 'emo' music. The whole article is geared towards this. For example, the colours in this article are black and red. These colours are very typical in 'emo' dress sense etc. and is assosiated with this group. Both black and red can represent passion, pain and suffering which i think is what emo stands for. However, the other article looks a lot more relieved and happy with the baby blue and white thats used. the vocalists head is also down in the main picture and his body language shows vulnurablility (way we cant see his eyes is also typical of emotional image) and in the smaller picture were he seems to be singing in an emotional manner, almost crying even, which attracts the emotional rock audience. However, The rock influence is also very apparent fromt he large picture. The singer is performing live which is typical of rock music and the choice of clothing (denim jacket, jeans and long hair) which is very typical of rock music. This may be trying to show the audience that my chemical romance are a 'real' rock band as theres accusations that there not.

I also think that, again, in this article they are trying to promote the customised, homely feel with writing etc at angles and making it look like a teenagers poster wall.

It also says 'world exclusive' at the top of the article. This tells the viewer that it is not avaliable anywhere else and suggests that kerrang is the best magazine. We can also see that the band is very involved with the music (also typical with music of this genre) as we can see a picture of them in a recording studio. In relation to this, the article can also be seen as a sort of advert for my chemical romance, by the way it says 'the best' and advertises the new album with the new track section in the top right corner, where it uses words like 'epic'. By the way it says its going to released 'next spring' also adds a sense of anticipation for the fans and makes them think it must be worth waiting for. This adds to the entertainment of the artice and promotes the band.

This double page spread is also from the magazine kerrang! and we can see the differences of the article as its aimed at different fans for a differnet genre but we can also see lots of conventions that are kept through both of them.

First of all, we can see that the main picture shows a typical rock band on stage and shows them as being very ‘cool’. It also does this by the camera angle. The camera is looking up at the band, suggesting that they are more superior. As opposed to the my chemical romance picture where the angle was level or slightly higher (showing the vocalist as vulnerable which attracts the the target audience). It is very typical of this style of rock, having a band that is very cool and the fans often look up to them. This picture also dominates the double page spread, perhaps showing that the music is what’s important to the band. It also has a section called rated: live and the picture is of the band playing live, this shows that the band do play live and do play the instruments. This is very typical of rock music as opposed to new, pop music. The look of the band members is also typically ‘rock’ style, for example Mohawks, tattoos and usual clothing (t-shirt, shorts etc.) as opposed to the ‘show’ put on in pop shows where people dress up. This also suggests that the band is more about the music than the image. This magazine probably does not have as much of a fixed target audience, but is probably more aimed at the younger rock audience. For example, the band is more of a pop rock band. This is probably for people into more mainstream rock for example, a younger audience or people that aren’t so interested in music that they actually search for music. The word ‘rated’ also takes the typical rock look. For example we can see that the word looks broken up and ‘used’ Which relates to the rock style of distressed t-shirts, ripped jeans etc.

More subtly this time, but the double page spread still follows the homely, poster wall layout for example, the boxes at the bottom and top that look 'used'.

All of the double page spreads have inspired me and i have taken some important conventions from them that i will use in my own. For example, i will put things at angles and make it busy like a poster wall, typical of the target audience. I will also make it look busy and i found out that its important to have a 'main' picture and article and then other text boxes and pictures within that. In all of the double page spreads i have analised, there has been a large picture taking up a large proportion of the artice and a lot of writing in a very small font. Along with large quotes and other pictures etc. This means i may also have to make my double page spread busy as i will have a large picture but i will also have to fit the same amount of information as other, similar products. Otherwise readers may not feel it is worth the money compared to similar magazines. I will also have to make it exciting, which also coincides with the double page spread being busy.