Magazine finished

looking back at the preliminary task what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to a full product?

Since doing my preliminary task I have learnt many skills that have helped me progress to the full product. One of the main things I have learnt that has improved the quality of my magazine is learning the conventions of a magazine and how to present them on the page.

Also one of the main tools I learnt how to use to progress my magazine to the full product of my music magazine was the use of Photoshop. Photoshop was something I used from a young age but I stopped using it for a long time and I lost my skills so when I started using it again for the first time in a long time I felt like an amateur. This helped to improve the quality of my magazine as it made it look more professional.

My task was only supposed to consist of a front cover, contents and a double page spread, I was able to learn how to work on an A3 canvas and use the space accordingly.

Through my progression from my preliminary task to the full product I learnt how to fully attract my target audience and include them in my product. I also learnt how to focus my magazine on a particular social group; my music magazine had a specific audience so I was able to make my magazine more focused and more suited to that target group. I had to research my target audience and put in a lot of thought into how I was going to present them in my magazine.

what have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

For the process of constructing my magazine I learnt many things about technology that aided me in constructing my magazine. Firstly I learnt how to use a canon E0S 400D camera to take all my images. All my pictures were taken in many different locations. In order to create my desired effect and good quality pictures I had to be aware of time and how bright or dark my location would be. As I was using a high quality camera to take all my images, I could use the flash to enhance the quality of the photo. The main problems which I faced whilst using the camera was keeping it in focus and steady whilst using it, I didn’t have a tripod to help keep the camera steady so it was quite difficult to keep the camera steady but I still managed it in the end, after a while I got used to the camera.

Another technology I found I had learnt a lot from was using Adobe Photoshop as my skills on photoshop was very limited before the process of constructing my magazine.

I also learnt that photoshop was very useful in creating JPEG files which was needed to upload images to my blog, as blogger does not accept images unless it’s a JPEG file. I used photoshop to convert all my images to JPEG.

Whilst constructing my magazine I also learnt how to install a font into photoshop so I could use it; this was something new to me that I never knew how to do.

Similarly, in Photoshop, I learnt how to use tools like the stroke tool, which helped in making particular text stand out for example my cover lines and masthead. Although it was easy to use, it was difficult to find the correct size of the stroke as if it was too big or small it would ruin the professional look of the magazine.

How did you attract/address your audience?

I feel that I attracted my target audience in many numerous ways. Firstly, one of the ways in which I attracted my target audience was through my front cover which is a very significant part of the magazine as it determines whether my target audience decides to pick up my magazine. I felt that the models on the front cover of my magazine attracted my target audience because they are about the same age range as each other so my audiences can associate and relate themselves with the models. The models are wearing casual clothes that represent a particular style associated with hip hop and rap. Furthermore one of my models is wearing a gold chain which most rappers tend to wear in their music videos.

Another way that I attracted my target audience is by keeping focus on the hip hop/rap music scene as this is what my target audience wanted; I did this through my cover lines and issues discussed throughout the magazine. I used well known modern day hip hop artists to attract my audience and issues that I felt would appeal to my target audience; one of my cover lines had famous rap artists like Wiz khalifa and lil Wayne and this would attract my target audience because both of those artists are making a good breakthrough in the music scene today.

Throughout my magazine I used many non-serif fonts to give my magazine a simple and legible look, which I feel works very well with the genre of music I decided to base my magazine on so this would attract my target audience. In particular, I used a non-serif fonts that I downloaded from dafont.com for my masthead and cover lines to create a strong and recognizable trademark look so that my target audience will be attracted to its uniqueness.

On my contents page I attracted my target audience by keeping it neat, tidy and organized thereby allowing them to read on because it is easy on the eyes, everything is set out clearly so my audience doesn’t feel like they need to look all over the page for something they want to find at once.

who would be the audience for your media project?

As stated in my audience research RIDDIM is targeting a young aged 14-25 year old male and female audience of all ethnicities. This is because hip hop and rap is global and is listened to all over the world.

I decided to target a younger audience because the artists featured and the content in the magazine is more likely to appeal to them rather than any older age group. The younger generation is more familiar with the latest new songs and artists rather than an older audience. The magazine could also appeal to an older audience because it contains news on some celebrities and rappers from the UK as well as the US.

In terms of ethnicity although hip hop and rap are mainly associated with black people, RIDDIM target all races equally and targets both genders. This is to make the magazine more accessible and this will make the magazine get more money because it is getting money from both genders and different races. The target audience has a deeper passion for music that goes beyond listening to their favorite rappers and artists on phones and MP3.

what kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Time inc would have published my magazine because they are the same publishing company that published the magazine called vibe, and vibe has the same genre of music and the same target audience that I am using for my magazine. Vibe focuses mainly on rap and some R’N’B music.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My music magazine is aimed at a teenage audience; both male and female who are rap and hip-hop and even R’N’B listeners. I showed this particular social group through the images used in my music magazine. Firstly, the models on the front cover of my magazine represent particular social groups in many different ways.

One of the ways in which this is done is through the clothes that they are wearing; one of them is wearing a plain light green t-shirt with a gold chain and the other is wearing a white designer t-shirt. This look suggests masculinity which is stereotypically associated with other Hip hop and rap artists such as 50 cent and Eminem. The type of clothes they wear are the type of clothes that other rap artists would wear, especially the gold chain and designer t-shirts. These clothes are also the type of clothes that fans may imitate and probably even wear to their favorite rap artist’s concerts and shows so I felt this represented that social group very well.

The jewellery that is seen on one of the models is not just any type of chain that you may find in any market it is real gold and that is the type of jewellery that rap and hip hop artists wear; they do not wear fake jewellery because they like to show that they have money so they wear real flossy and shiny jewelry. The pose that you see at the front cover of my magazine that the models are doing is cool sort of hip hops pose that a lot hip hop artists use in photos. Both models are looking straight into the camera with a slight smile on each of their faces although most hip hop artists may have a serious not caring attitude look to the camera these models seem different because they are younger models.

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In what way does media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

At the beginning of the project I explored existing magazines to see how magazines presented or used the conventions like the masthead for example to attract their chosen target audience. There are a lot of ways my product uses challenges and develops forms and conventions of real magazines. In my hip-hop music magazine I used these conventions to follow real magazines and make my product look more professional and real. One of the conventions which I used in my magazine that is important in most magazines is the large masthead at the top of the magazine, as I wanted to follow real magazines, and make my masthead stand out from the rest of the front page of the magazine; I downloaded a particular font that I liked from a website called dafont.com to do this. By doing this my magazine will be able to attract my target audience as it is very dominating and will stand out on the magazine stands in the shops. I particularly chose a bandana font to adapt the text to familiarize it to the target audience. The font used in the mast head is a non-serif font as it is targeted at a younger audience rather than adults. Another recognizable convention I used is placing the masthead behind the model; I chose to do this because it makes the magazine look more interesting and more professional.

The selling line of a magazine is another convention that was used in my music magazine. It is used by many music magazines as it is one of the magazines main selling points and briefly explains what the focus of the magazine is. Also the selling line acts as a way of promoting the magazine. As my magazine is a hip hop magazine my selling line was another way to communicate to my audience what the principal focus for my magazine is and helps to grab the attention of my target audience. One of my main selling lines was of various artists however another selling line was ‘Celebrity gossip’.

In order to follow conventions of a magazine I used a barcode, although in most magazines there is also a dateline featured usually beneath the masthead or on top of the barcode, I decided to make the dateline part of my masthead as it would look better and would stand out more.

In order to fully attract my audience I had to use various cover lines. Cover lines are another convention generally used in magazines as they give an insight into what will be featured in the magazine and attract my target audiences as they are short and snappy, colorful and eye-catching. I used different fonts for different cover lines on my front cover.

Contrastingly, a common convention of music magazines is to use a medium close up as the main image, in my magazine I used a medium long shot because it makes the image seem more in your face and creates an image of being in close proximity of the model or models. Also, the way in which the model is standing grabs the attention of the audience in which I feel suit my target audience.

My contents page also developed and followed conventions used in real magazines. I included other images, which are used as a convention in a lot of other magazines, this is used to illustrate what other topics will be discussed inside the magazine and also it could determine whether the reader continues reading or not. In order to attract my target audience I included pictures that correlate to the front cover to show a sense of continuity.

Similarly my double page spread uses and develops conventions. I did not use the same type of background as my front cover and contents page so that it creates a modern and professional look. I arranged my paragraphs into columns like a proper news paper article with a headline and the name of the article.

The ‘Riddim’ reader: Jacob aged 16; he is a young male college student studying music technology and drama. He is into singing and rapping and has the ability to write his own raps and songs. In his childhood he grew up in the rough part of Thamesmead in South East London. He grew up in a black neighbourhood where he developed his rapping and singing skills through imitation. He performed at many school talent shows and local festivals where he became famous for his skills. Jacob also has the ability of playing the keyboard/piano. He wears the type of clothes that appeals to his type of music for example caps and hats and baggy clothes and trousers. He has an obsession of Gucci and Ralph Lauren clothing. Jacob enjoys his easy life as he is very wealthy and always gets what he wants but he is very grateful and doesn’t take advantage of what he has. Jacob is very ambitious and is academically gifted and talented. Jacob is the only child in his family and lives with both of his parents. Jacob is into all types of music but he is mainly inspired by hip-hop and r’n’b as most of the black culture is interested in this genre of music. Jacobs’s main idols are Michael Jackson, Chris brown, Drake, lil Wayne and Rick Ross. On weekends and in his free time he enjoys playing sports and chilling with friends and in some occasions he likes to go partying. He enjoys junk food and eats heavily; he enjoys takeaways and eating at restaurants.

To develop my magazine for my target reader Jacob, I am going to include several fashion trend sections in my magazine which will consist of many of the products that Jacob likes to wear such as Nike, Adidas, Ralph Lauren and Gucci. There will also be many celebrities modelling these clothing brands. The magazine will not contain just one genre of music which is Hip-hop, it will also contain many other genre’s such as dancehall, Reggae, R ‘n’ B, UK Rap and funky. Artists that will be included will be people like Chris Brown, tinie tempa, trey Songz, and many others; the list goes on.  There will be a star sign section at the end, giving in detail each star sign information of the month. There will be the latest gossip on the music industries, consisting of leaks of new singles and celebrity gossip. And finally there will be a lyrical double page, presenting lyrics of the top 5 singles of the month the product was issued.

The ‘Riddim’ reader: Arnold Johnson; a young male, 18 year old college student studying sports and fitness and also part of the marching band of his college as he plays the snare drum. Singing isn’t really his thing but he is into rapping and has written many raps jus for the fun of it. In his childhood he grew up in South East London, Lewisham. He grew up in a black neighbourhood where he developed his rapping skills and that’s when he new he was into music. He isn’t really into the performing thing unless he is performing in front of his friends in college like he used to do while he was at school. Arnolds drum skills is another thing he is known for as he is very talented and can do many tricks. He is obsessed with famous branded clothes like Nike and adidas as he is a sports fanatic and is a footballer. He doesn’t mind what he wears as long as it suits him and he looks cool. Arnold enjoys life even though he isn’t very wealthy; he does a lot of things on his own without having to go to his parents for everything. Arnold is very ambitious especially with his football career; he hopes to become a professional footballer as he is a semi-professional footballer at the age of 18. He is also gifted and talented academically. Arnold is the middle child in his family as he has an older brother and a younger sister. Arnold lives with his mother and his step father. Arnold is into many types of music including UK Rap and Grime, Funky House and Bashment. Arnold has many idols but he is mostly inspired by Michael Jackson even though Michael Jackson doesn’t have Arnolds type of music. Arnold is busy on weekends as he has football training on Saturdays and has the football match on the Sunday, throughout his week he is in college or at football training. Arnold enjoys junk food but has to maintain a balanced diet because he is a footballer.

To develop my magazine for my target reader Arnold I am going to include several fashion trend sections in my magazine which will consist of many of the products that Arnold likes to wear such as Nike and adidas clothing and footwear. There will also be many celebrities modelling these clothing brands. The magazine will not contain just one genre of music which is Hip-hop, it will also contain many other genre’s such as dancehall, Reggae, R ‘n’ B, UK Rap and funky. Artists that will be included will be people like Chris Brown, tinie tempa, trey Songz, and many others; the list goes on. There will be the latest gossip on the music industries, consisting of leaks of new singles and celebrity gossip. And finally there will be a lyrical double page, presenting lyrics of the top 5 singles of the month the product was issued.

The ‘Riddim’ reader: William Hill; a young male, 17 year old college student studying Music and Sports and also makes instrumental beats for UK Rappers. William is into rapping and has produced many rap instrumentals for upcoming famous young artists. In his childhood he grew up in South East London, Peckham. He grew up in a black neighbourhood where he found his hobby of beat boxing which inspired hi to make rap instrumentals as he was very good. He is obsessed with famous branded clothes like True Religion and Lyle & Scott as he likes to show off what he has got. He doesn’t mind what he wears because he doesn’t dress to impress. William enjoys life even though he isn’t very wealthy; he does a lot of things on his own but still needs the support from both of his parents as he is still growing up. William is very ambitious especially with his Music career; he hopes to become a famous beat maker for rappers and be known global for his skills. He is also gifted and talented academically; he left secondary school passing music with and A* grade. William is the oldest child in his family and has only one little sister. William lives with his mother and his father. William is into many types of music including UK Rap and Grime, Funky House and Bashment. William has many idols but he is mostly inspired by Rick Ross and Tupac and even Biggie smalls. William is a busy person as he makes instrumentals for people and sells them he also helps to record for people as he has his own studio in his house. William enjoys junk food but has to maintain a balanced diet because he doesn’t want to become overweight and start looking unattractive.

To develop my magazine for my target reader William I am going to include several fashion trend sections in my magazine which will consist of many of the products that William likes to wear such as True Religion  and Lyle & Scott clothing and footwear that he likes. There will also be many celebrities modelling these clothing brands. The magazine will not contain just one genre of music which is Hip-hop, it will also contain many other genre’s such as dancehall, Reggae, R ‘n’ B, UK Rap and funky. Artists that will be included will be people like Rick Ross, Meek Mill, trey Songz, and many others; the list goes on. There will be the latest gossip on the music industries, consisting of leaks of new singles and celebrity gossip. And finally there will be a lyrical double page, presenting lyrics of the top 5 singles of the month the product was issued.

Mood Board

Contents Analysis

·         This contents page only contains one picture of an artist named 50 Cent.

·         There are no huge titles that stand out on the page; the image stands out on the page.

·         The contents page seen starts from page 50 to 116

·         The articles are divided into one long column

·         On the bottom left of the page you can see the page number 48 with 50 cents name on the bottom of the number; this shows that the page is for 50 cent as he is in the image.

  

·       This contents page contains two images; one big and one small.

·       The title ‘Base’ runs along the top of the page and the articles are divided into two columns; a small one on the top left of the page and a long list running down the right hand side of the whole page

·       Both images have a little caption and page number.

·       The contents page does not start from page one.

·       The images are in color.

·       The font used is a serif font

·       There are two images used one big image that covers most of the page and one small image

·       The title of the contents is quite small and doesn’t stand out as much as the image does.

·       The articles are divided in to one small column underneath a small image and underneath a small heading called features

·       On the bottom left if the image you see the page number 48 and it is aimed at the people in the big image. Again the contents page does not start from page one.

Double page spreads

Magazine Mock Ups

Screen munches of conversations of favourite types of music etc.

Textual Analysis 5

DENOTATION

The magazine cover consists of a black and white photograph of a man looking directly at the camera. It is a medium long shot showing his head all the way down to where the top of his stomach is; his arms are also visible as they are lifted up. The background of the photograph is white, and the photograph of the man covers the whole of the magazine cover. Behind him is the ‘XXL’ masthead and in front of him and beside him are different cover-lines. The photographed man’s name is in block, black capital letters with a little slogan underneath it. A bar code is visible on the bottom left corner of the front page of the magazine.

MASTHEAD

The ‘XXL’ masthead is similar to the ‘Q’ magazine masthead with the white letters on a red square background. The font used is a non-serif font as none of the letters on the masthead have flick ups or small feet and do not join up. The letters ‘XXL’ is another way of saying extra, extra large. The letters ‘XXL’ tell readers that the magazine is extra, extra large and packed with information about artists and many other things.

CHARACTER

The cover photograph is of the successful black American hip hop/ rap artist ‘Diddy/P Diddy’.

COMPOSITION

He is posed in a very cool and street type of way as he is popping the collar of his jacket up and showing his gold teeth to the camera. He looks a bit intimidating as he is from the ‘hood’.

COSTUME

The image is black and white so you cannot really tell what colour clothing he is wearing but I can see a white jacket and white shirt with a chain hanging on his neck. This costume has been chosen carefully to appeal to the target audience of the magazine, who are most likely to be young male and females but mostly females. The clothing worn is similar to what other hip hop artists would wear in videos and photos. The sunglasses on his face complete the look.

NVC

His non-verbal communication is also very cool, fly and even seductive. His mouth is open in a way that his shiny teeth are showing and his eyebrows are arched as if he is screwing his face at the camera

LIGHTING

The lighting is used is high key as the photograph displays brightness and no obvious shadows.

SETTING

From the camera shot that is used we can’t really see any setting because we can only see some of his body and the rest is cropped out the photo.

COVERLINES

The main cover-line that relates to his photograph says: “Hip hops No.1 mogul Diddy” this cover-line is trying to convey to readers that Diddy is very successful in the hip hop culture and his fans him as the king of hip hop. The “Mo Money. No Problems” reference relates to the fact that the more money you have then the fewer problems you will have. The different cover-lines tell us that this magazine doesn’t concentrate on just one genre of music, and doesn’t fully focus on music either, but is diverse in what it chooses to write about. Artists mentioned on the cover lines include Chris Brown, Soulja Boy, Nas and Damien Marley (there is a definite emphasis on American artists). None of the cover-lines use a serif font.

TARGET AUDIENCE

Considering all these points, the likely target audience would be young male and females equally because they see Diddy as an idol to them as he inspires them with great songs and collaborations that he has done with other artists. They would have a good knowledge of popular culture and a definite interest in a wide range of musical styles and the music industry generally. They are also likely to be well educated/well read, and have an interest in American popular culture.

Textual Analysis 4

DENOTATION

The magazine cover consists of a colour photograph of a man looking directly at the camera. The camera shot used is a medium close up as you can see his body from his chest and upwards. The photo looks as if he is standing straight but you can never be too sure as we ca only see the photo from his chest and above. The background of the photograph is grey, and the photograph covers the whole of the magazine cover. There is nothing behind him but in front of him is the ‘Q’ masthead and several cover-lines. The masthead ‘Q’ has a white letter and a red square background. The cover-lines are in different fonts and sizes. Some of the cover lines contain a non-serif font while the others contain a serif font. The photographed man’s name is in white capital letters in a serif font. A bar code is visible in the bottom right corner of the magazine.

MASTHEAD

The ‘Q’ masthead is very unique because it only contains one letter and it is surrounded by a red square to help it stand out. The font used on the letter ‘Q’ is a serif font as it has a flick up on the end of the letter. The font used on the letter is the type of font used on the famous ‘coca cola’ writing and connotes American culture; the music magazine is from the UK but also talks about American artists such as Michael Jackson.

CHARACTER

The cover photograph is of the successful king of pop, American singer ‘Michael Jackson’

COMPOSITION

He is posed in a very cool and superior manner as he is smiling at the camera with sunglasses on. His body language shows that he is posing for the camera to look presentable.

COSTUME

You can clearly see from the chest that he is wearing a shirt with no colour and a blazer. The costume has been chosen carefully to appeal to the target audience of the magazine, who are most likely to be everyone because he is seen as an idol and king of pop. The sun glasses on his face complete the look.

NVC

His non verbal communication is calm and the sun glasses on his face show that he is cool and the sunglasses stand out on his face. He is also looking directly at the camera with a smirk on his face.

LIGHTING

The lighting is slightly high key as there is a bit of darkness but there is still a bit of brightness in the photograph.

SETTING

There isn’t any setting visible in the photo as the camera shows a medium close up from the top of his chest and above, however the grey background connotes the fact that Jackson’s mad and bad world is revealed.

COVERLINES

The main cover-line that relates to his photograph says: “MICHAEL JACKSON UNMASKED: inside his mad, bad world”.  This is making reference to the lifestyle that Michael Jackson was living before and during his music career and how it has affected him over the years e.g. when he had many operations on his nose, the changing of skin colour from black to white and so on. The different cover-lines tell us that the magazine doesn’t concentrate on just music itself  but also reveals that the magazine focuses on current news events as well- e.g. “No more cramps – the Neil young endurance test’. Some of the cover lines us e serif font and the rest use non-serif fonts.

TARGET AUDIENCE

Considering all these points, the likely target audience would be universal as all people admire Michael Jackson’s music and he had been around for a long time promoting his music and performing music for children and adults of all ages. All the fans would have a good knowledge of popular culture and a wide range of musical styles and the music industry generally. They are likely to be well educated/well read, and have an interest in American popular culture.

Textual Analysis 3

DENOTATION

The magazine cover consists of a colour photograph of a young boy looking directly at the camera. It is a medium close up shot showing his body from the chest upwards to his head. He is standing straight but we are not 100% sure because we can only see his body from the chest upwards; there is also someone’s arm that can be seen which is clearly not the boys arm, it could be a females arm pulling on his tie. The background of the photograph is white, and the photograph covers the whole of the magazine cover. There is nothing behind him but in front of him are about 7 cover-lines and a masthead. The masthead is in red and the cover-lines are in black. The photographed boys name is in black. There is no bar code visible on the cover of the magazine.

MASTHEAD

Vanity Fair’s masthead is has a unique font; the edges of each letter are sharp and pointy; the letters are also red. The font used on the masthead is a non-serif font as the letters don’t have any flick ups or feet and don’t join up. The title Vanity Fair comes from the word vanity which means that someone is too aware of there looks and only cares about how they look. The magazine is about pop culture, fashion and current affairs.

CHARACTER

The cover photograph is of the successful young American singer ‘Justin Bieber’.

COMPOSITION

He is posed in a very calm manner looking directly at the camera and not paying any attention to the hand that is on his tie. His pose, body language and clothing are very sexually suggestive and provocative.

COSTUME

His clothing is a bright white shirt with a black and white tie, the tie looks as if it is undone and he also has lipstick kiss marks on his face and shirt. The way the costume has been presented has been chosen carefully to appeal to the target audience of the magazine, who are most likely to be young females.

NVC

His non verbal communication is also very seductive as he has a sharp smile showing his teeth. He has lipstick marks on his shirt and face and has a feminine hand pulling on his tie while he is looking directly at the camera.

LIGHTING

The lighting is high key, as the photograph is in a bright background and it is free from dark shadows.

SETTING

There isn’t really any setting apart from him standing there looking at the camera with a feminine hand holding his tie.

COVER-LINES

The main cover-line that relates to his photograph says: “Justin Bieber; is this the adorable, inescapable face of 2011?” This is making reference to the fact that he was one of the youngest successful male artists in the world and one of the most adorable and most common faces of 2011. The many different cover-lines tell us that this magazine doesn’t concentrate on just one genre of music, and doesn’t only focus on music either, but is diverse in what it chooses to write about. There are no other artists mentioned on any of the cover-lines apart from Justin Bieber himself. The way the cover-lines are written reveals that this magazine also focuses on current news events as well- e.g. “The alleged rip-off behind a $350 million online phenomenon”. All the cover-lines use a serif font as all the letters have flick ups and small feet, connoting tradition. It suggests that the Vanity Fair magazine has existed for a long period of time, and has almost become an American institution. This can tell its readers they will receive accurate and challenging journalism.

TARGET AUDIENCE

Considering all these points, the likely target audience would be young females (teenagers from age 13-19 but also older female’s as well). They would have a good knowledge of his songs and his style of music and his lyrics; they are likely to be well educated/well read, and have an interest in American popular culture.

 DENOTATION

The magazine cover consists of a colour photograph of a young boy looking directly at the camera. It is a medium close up shot showing his body from the chest upwards to his head. He is standing straight but we are not 100% sure because we can only see his body from the chest upwards; there is also someone’s arm that can be seen which is clearly not the boys arm, it could be a females arm pulling on his tie. The background of the photograph is white, and the photograph covers the whole of the magazine cover. There is nothing behind him but in front of him are about 7 cover-lines and a masthead. The masthead is in red and the cover-lines are in black. The photographed boys name is in black. There is no bar code visible on the cover of the magazine.

MASTHEAD

Vanity Fair’s masthead is has a unique font; the edges of each letter are sharp and pointy; the letters are also red. The font used on the masthead is a non-serif font as the letters don’t have any flick ups or feet and don’t join up. The title Vanity Fair comes from the word vanity which means that someone is too aware of there looks and only cares about how they look. The magazine is about pop culture, fashion and current affairs.

CHARACTER

The cover photograph is of the successful young American singer ‘Justin Bieber’.

COMPOSITION

He is posed in a very calm manner looking directly at the camera and not paying any attention to the hand that is on his tie. His pose, body language and clothing are very sexually suggestive and provocative.

COSTUME

His clothing is a bright white shirt with a black and white tie, the tie looks as if it is undone and he also has lipstick kiss marks on his face and shirt. The way the costume has been presented has been chosen carefully to appeal to the target audience of the magazine, who are most likely to be young females.

NVC

His non verbal communication is also very seductive as he has a sharp smile showing his teeth. He has lipstick marks on his shirt and face and has a feminine hand pulling on his tie while he is looking directly at the camera.

LIGHTING

The lighting is high key, as the photograph is in a bright background and it is free from dark shadows.

SETTING

There isn’t really any setting apart from him standing there looking at the camera with a feminine hand holding his tie.

COVER-LINES

The main cover-line that relates to his photograph says: “Justin Bieber; is this the adorable, inescapable face of 2011?” This is making reference to the fact that he was one of the youngest successful male artists in the world and one of the most adorable and most common faces of 2011. The many different cover-lines tell us that this magazine doesn’t concentrate on just one genre of music, and doesn’t only focus on music either, but is diverse in what it chooses to write about. There are no other artists mentioned on any of the cover-lines apart from Justin Bieber himself. The way the cover-lines are written reveals that this magazine also focuses on current news events as well- e.g. “The alleged rip-off behind a $350 million online phenomenon”. All the cover-lines use a serif font as all the letters have flick ups and small feet, connoting tradition. It suggests that the Vanity Fair magazine has existed for a long period of time, and has almost become an American institution. This can tell its readers they will receive accurate and challenging journalism.

TARGET AUDIENCE

Considering all these points, the likely target audience would be young females (teenagers from age 13-19 but also older female’s as well). They would have a good knowledge of his songs and his style of music and his lyrics; they are likely to be well educated/well read, and have an interest in American popular culture.

Textual Analysis 2

DENOTATION

The magazine cover consists of a colour photograph of a man looking directly at the camera. It is a medium long shot showing his body from the waist to the head. He isn’t sitting or leaning on anything he is simply just standing there looking at the camera. His posture brings out his shoulders and muscles as he is topless. The background of the photograph is black but the background is of black tiles as if he was in a shower and he is wet. The photograph covers the whole of the front cover of the magazine. Behind the man is a ‘Vibe’ masthead, and in front of him are about 6-7 cover-lines in white and red. The photographed man’s name is in white. A barcode is visible in the bottom left corner.

MASTHEAD

The ‘Vibe’ masthead is simply red and plain but it still grabs the attention of readers/buyers of the magazine. The font used on the masthead is a non-serif font as it doesn’t contain any flick ups or small feet on any of the letters. The font used is more modern because the letters are not joined up together like a serif font would be. The word Vibe comes from the word vibration and vibration is used to create sound; without sound there is no music. That is probably where the owner of the magazine got the idea of the name of the magazine.

CHARACTER

The cover photograph is of the famous black American singer ‘Trey Songz’.

COMPOSITION

He is posed in a very seductive way to attract female audiences; he is shirtless and wet and that is the sort of things that girl would like and especially the fact that he has muscles; his pose, body language is very sexually suggestive and provocative to teenage girls and young adults.

COSTUME

He isn’t really wearing any clothing; all you can see are the tattoos on his topless body and you can just about see his Calvin Kline Boxers. The image has been chosen carefully to appeal to the target audience of the magazine, who are most likely to be young females.

NVC

His non verbal communication is also very seductive. His body is wet and he has a sort of screw face which makes him look like a bad boy type. His mouth is slightly open and he is looking directly at the camera.

LIGHTING

The lighting used is low key lighting because the image looks quite shadowy and directional and the background is dark.

SETTING

There is very little setting, however the black tiles in the background connotes water, swimming or a shower and is keeping with the theme of water as Trey Songz is wet; he could be in a shower.

COVERLINES

The main cover-line that relates to his photograph says: “Trey Songz the hardest in R&B”. This making a reference to what his target audience and his fans think of him. The different cover-lines tell us that this magazine doesn’t concentrate on just one genre of music, and doesn’t only focus on just music either, but is diverse in what it chooses to write about. Artist mentioned on the cover-lines include Young Jeezy and Buju Banton (there is a definite emphasis on American artists). The way the cover-lines are written reveals that this magazine also focuses on current news events as well- e.g. “HAITI: A survival story”. All of the cover-lines us e a non-serif font; this suggests that the magazine is modern and not old fashioned and appeals to its young audience.

TARGET AUDIENCE

Considering all of these points, the likely target audience would be people (male and female, though more female audience members than male) aged 14-25. They would have a good knowledge of popular culture and a definite interest in a wide range of musical styles and the music industry generally. The target audience would definitely be good fans of the magazine and the artists in the magazine and they would know the structure of the magazine already; they are likely to be well educated/well read, and have an interest in American popular culture.

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Textual Analysis

T

Denotation

The magazine cover displays a colour photograph of a man looking directly at the camera. The camera shot used is a medium long shot showing the top of his waist, his arms and obviously his head. He is standing up with his arms crossed; his legs cannot be seen in the photo as it is a medium camera shot. The background of the photograph is white but at the bottom and at part of the top you can see that the white fades into a grey colour. The photograph covers the whole of the magazine cover. Behind the man is the vibe masthead and on each side of him are different cover lines in grey, red and black. The photographed man’s name is in red block capital letters.

Masthead

The ‘Vibe’ masthead is very unique; it starts off black at the top of each letter and fades from black, to maroon, then to red. The font used on the masthead is a non-serif font as none of the letters are joined up or have small feet or flick ups on the letters. The word vibe comes from the word ‘vibration’; it’s the slang word for vibration and sound is created by vibration and that is related to music which is why the creator of the magazine may have chose the name ‘Vibe’. Vibe is the voice and soul of urban music and culture; this was said by the owner Quincy Jones.

Character

The cover photograph is of the successful American Rapper ‘Eminem’

Composition

He is posed in a very serious and cool guy kind of way. His pose, body language, and clothing, are very thuggish and gangster like.

Costume: His clothing is basically just a sleeveless vest top showing his masculine arms with tattoos all over them. He is also showing his icy wrist watch and Jesus piece chain. The hip-hop and rap culture is seen to be a gangster and thuggish style of music and thugs usually wear chains and icy watches and the man on the front cover and what he is wearing appeals to the target audience of the magazine, who are most likely to be young male teenagers and even male adults. The clothes that He is wearing is similar to what other male rappers wear in video and pictures..

NVC: His non verbal communication is very intimidating. He is looking directly at the camera with his face screwed up in a serious look with his arms folded.

Lighting: The lighting is high-keyed as the background is displayed bright with no visible shadows.

Setting: There is actually no setting all you can see is the man’s body from the waist up with his arms folded looking directly at the camera.

Cover-lines:

The main cover line that relates to his photograph says: “Vicodin.Valium..Methodane”, “literally almost dead” “EMINEM comes clean”. This is making a reference to part of eminems lifestyle that he admits to which may most likely be in the past. He made a few raps about his past life and even did music videos. The “who’s the best rapper? You decide” reference conveys the fact that Eminem has competition with other rappers but it’s up to the target audience to decide who the best rapper is. The different Cover-lines tell us that the magazine doesn’t concentrate on just one artist and doesn’t only focus on music either, but is diverse in what it chooses to write about. Artists mentioned on the cover line include Drake & Young Money, Gucci Mane, Clipse, lil Wayne, Jay-Z etc. (There is a definite emphasis on American artists). The way the cover-lines are written reveals that this magazine also focuses on current news events as well- e.g. “Are the roots too black for Jimmy Fallon?”. None of the cover-lines use serif-font; this shows how modern the magazine is by not using old fashioned fonts of writing.

Target Audience

Considering all these points, the likely and most obvious target audience would be people (male and even females, though more male audience members than female) aged 12-27. They would have good knowledge and understanding of the popular rap and hip-hop culture and also a definite interest in the wide range of musical styles and the music industry generally. They are likely to be well educated/well read, and have an interest in American rap, hip hop and R&B culture.

Music magazine front cover & contents page