Music Magazine –

Contents Page and DPS Textual Analysis

Name: Asuka YoungCandidate Number: 4149Center Name: St. Andrew’s Catholic SchoolCenter Number: 64135

OCR Media Studies – AS Level

Unit G321: Advanced Portfolio

Issue details (dates, Issue number etc). This is positioned at the top to clarify thisInformation.

Contents heading with Mast HeadThis heading uses the same font of the masthead, which brings a sense of a house style and unity. The colours are yellow and black which stands out.The yellow may connote livelinessand the black may connote the depth of information.

The sub headings is Of a house colour,Inverted to the heading.The font is in capital letters which connotes shouting and impact, which excites the audiences.

The contents listings areStructured in a way of: Having a content title inbold, then a description of the content in a smaller font. The page number is in red so that it’s easy to recognise.

The main image is in black in white which makes the bandseem old and therefore somethingPrecious, but also fits with the house style of the page. It is of a medium shot in order for the costumes to be seen, which is conventional to rock genre. The sunglasses prop conveys a ‘starappeal’ (Richard Dyer) to attract readers.

This is a promotion Where it is promoting Their own magazines, And giving offers so thatReaders will buy more.

The large portion of the contentspage does not mention the main story, but is presenting a prize campaign, with the star musicians Involved in it. The red font ‘Metallica’stands out particularly considering that the main house colours are yellow, black and white. The languageused here: kill ‘ em connotes Informality but also a rebelling character.

The Editorial & editorial photo- describes his experience of writing an interview with a star : experiencing feelings similar to the readers (self identity –Katz).

Stand first- this stand first describes the hardships the band has gone through during the creation of his new album. The language used here such as ‘One of the biggest bands in Britain’ makes them sound high in hierarchy and powerful,but the next line which says ‘But they’re human too..’ let’s the readers relate and be on the same stage as the singer. Moreover, the dots at the end leaves the readers reflecting and thinking upon what has been said, and makes them want to read on to the main article.

The main image here is of Biffy Clyro looking in the mirror ,but the camera angle and the editing allows the mirror’s reflection to look evil / furious, which is a binary opposite to the man looking into the mirror. This may connote to the readers, that the article is going to be something psychological and something that almost anyone can relate to, and about their new music.

The article has a dropcapital, which emphasises the articleand clear for the readers to know where to read first. The colour representsan emotional state,which may be anger or\greed. The article itself talks about the new album cover design, and the intentions behind it.

name of the editor - conventional.

The page number and the nameof the magazine beside it.

The headline of the DPS uses a unique font. This produced a sense of mystery, and convinces the readers to find out more about the article. Using languages such as ‘Demons’ connotes a metal genre, and ‘be gone’ connotes a rebellious attitude towards the readers.

4

Features I intend to Repeat (Steve Neale - 1980) from my analysis

For the magazine contents page, I would like to repeat (Neale) the following conventions:

1- The structure of the page. Having one main story / event presented in near middle, and putting the content listings and titles beside it, with the editorial / editor photo underneath. This is a comprehensive layout that I can use to navigate the readers easily.

2- Use font match and suitable use of house colours- solid and using the right colours for the parts I want to emphasise. The font for the heading ‘Contents’ should match those of the masthead’s, to produce unity.

3- It is necessary for the main image to have a star appeal- I will choose an image that does, and perhaps edit it to black and white in order to have the annotated connotations.

For the magazine DPS page, I would like to repeat (Neale) the following conventions:

1- Having one large image as a background. This is because it would be clear of who and what the article is about for the readers, but also it brings unity to the page. If the main image is taken of a high quality, then this image would bring impact in the DPS.

2- Having the article in one of the three columns on a page, or typing it in a very small font. This seems to be very conventional for music magazines, and it creates a much more interesting layout rather than having a page full of the article.

3- Having the magazine name after/before the page number, and adding the writer’s name at the edge of a page. The page number may only be on one side of the page, as it is not necessary to number every single page (Unless the pages are on the contents page).