My textual analysis for Media Studies. I analyse the front cover, contents page and a double spread article from three different magazines.

1. Loud and Quiet is a free monthly magazine with a circulation of thirty-two thousand. It’s an indie magazine that
you can either get in stores, read online or have sent right to your door. They write about alternative music, often
promoting unknown artists. The magazine is aimed at young people, college and university students, which is why
they decided to make the magazine free as their readers won’t prioritize buying a magazine every month on their
income. Because the magazine is free it’s spread widely amongst people and because it’s audience is the age group
which many argue run the music industry as they’re more likely to promote their favourite artists, this magazine
can earn very well on advertisements for concerts and/or albums. I’ll be analysing the front cover, contents page
and a double spread article from issue 73 of this magazine.
LOUD AND QUIET

2. Masthead: At first glance you can already tell this magazine cover is unique.
It does not follow the standard rules of what a music magazine front cover is
supposed to be. The title is the first step to create a different effect. The
masthead uses a simple bold font across the centre of the magazine to really
bring attention to its name. It’s also above a white background rather than
the image itself, which is unusual. It’s almost creating an individual box for
its masthead, letting you focus more on it. Not only is the masthead placed
on a white background, the text is black, really making it pop out and grab
any attention it can. The title of the magazine is ‘Loud And Quiet’ which in
itself is a very interesting concept but I think it really speaks to their
audience as it is an unusual thought – something being both loud and quiet,
and their readers tend to like things that force them think. It also aims at a
younger audience, who often have more ups and downs than a stable adult.
Price / issue: They’ve placed the price right under the title in a font
matching the cover – this is very rare. Usually you’d have a barcode and date
at the bottom, sort of hidden, but here it’s on display. This I believe is done
due to the fact their audience is mostly students and the fact it says ‘Zero
Pounds’ can quickly make them interested in the magazine as these days
young people realize they can go online and read almost anything they want
for free, so paying for a real life magazine seems silly to most teenagers
these days – but, in this case the magazine is free and students all over
might grab a copy for that reason alone.

3. Feature article image / main image: The placement of the main image is incredibly
different. Usually, a music magazine will have the main image fit the magazine size,
but this image is placed in the middle with a frame around it, almost like an art piece
at a gallery. The image focuses on Tobias Jesso Jr. who is the topic of their main article
this month, making us curios who he is and why they decided he deserved to be
placed on the front cover.
Headline and Cover Line: So far, we have already realized that this magazine is testing
all the usual rules for a music magazine, and it doesn’t just stop at the masthead and
main image, even the headlines seem like an odd choice for a magazine cover, but I
don’t think it is. They’ve gone for a minimalistic look with their cover, and focuses on
being aesthetically pleasing and their headline just emphasises that. It’s placed in the
middle having the text central and the headline ends with three dots adding a bit of
mystery to the main story, making us want to open the magazine and find out just a
little more. This is a similar tactic as writing a short description of the article under the
headline in hopes that’ll catch their interest more, but in this case you don’t need a
description because you have the dots instead. It’s also the only big text on the cover
except for the masthead, really making you curious why this is so important.
Sub Heading: Right above the sub headlines there’s a plus sign showing us that there’s
tons more in the magazine to look at, this helps create a stronger curiosity for the
contents in the magazine. It’s in a bright yellow colour, really making it stand out. Then
there’s the cover lines where the different articles stand, this helps to show that even
if you’re not interested in Tobias Jesso Jr, there might still be something for you in this
magazine. It really helps putting tons of small sub headlines on the cover to show the
reader how much they’ll gain out of grabbing a copy.

4. Character: The front cover image shows one man
in a medium shot standing towards the camera
with eye contact – the eye contact gives a sense of
equality with the reader. He’s expression is also
kind of an emotional one, which makes the reader
curious to why that is. It also appeals to their
usual readers as they want normality in their
music magazines. The person looking a bit sad
makes them even more equal to the reader than if
you have them on stage with a guitar rocking out
in front of thousands of people, as the reader
can’t relate to this part of the artists life.
Lighting and Editing: The lighting for the front
cover image is very interesting as it’s very direct
on the model. This has been done to really bring
the attention to him, rather than the background.
The way they’ve made the contrast greater really
emphasises what they’ve done with the lighting.
Combined it’s a very strong photograph and it’s
almost looks a bit unreal with all the contrast,
which shows us that he’s something new,
someone who dares to take risks when it comes to
music which is something the audience likes –
something new, something you wouldn’t find on
the cover of a mainstream magazine.
Colour Scheme: The colours used in the photograph is a very
interesting choice for a front cover image. Usually it would be filled
with bright colours all over it to really make it stand out but in this
case it’s all natural colours, almost blending in to the rest of the
world. This is due to the specific readers they have, the audience
they are reaching for prefer a more grounded magazine and this
magazine talks about unknown artists and the colour schemes
really makes you feel like this artist is equal to you. And they
continue this on to their text, it’s all black and white which are
quite average colours that don’t really scream anything, they’ve
mixed it up with some yellow in there, but even the yellow is kind
of a dark shade to neutralize it. All the colours are well thought of
and just makes this magazine issue appeal even more to their
readers.
Language: The cover uses proper language for their readers and
their intelligence. It’s feature article simply says ‘’I’ve been Tobias
Jesso Jr’’ which is a bit of a poetic statement, this would imply their
readers are reflective people. They also have an article named ‘’Fat
White Family’’, this indicated their readers are politically aware and
of all races. Had they only written ‘’Fat Family’’ the entire thing
would seem like maybe a funny article, but adding the white adds
the political vibe that shows this magazine is not afraid to talk
about political issues like for example race. This all adds to the fact
that it’s not just a music magazine, it’s a music magazine that puts
attention on issues and talks about the real issues with media, and
even focus in big parts on politically influenced music.
FRONT COVER
MISE-EN-SCENE

5. Masthead: The mast head on the contents page is very interesting as it
doesn’t grab your attention like titles usually do, instead, it sort of leads the
way. It’s not as bold and strong as some magazines would make it, and it’s
even less eye grabbing as there’s a similar title very close to it saying
‘welcome’. This follows the style of being a minimalistic magazine, the
simplicity of it shows they’re confident the magazine can sell purely based
on content. They don’t need fancy decorations and colours, they just need
quality articles about great indie bands. However, their use of font is rather
unusual. It’s a serif font that looks to be very similar to the font that would
come from typewriters. I believe this is due to their readers. Their readers
like to feel classic, like they’re making a stand against the modern age – and
this font does just that.
Headlines / Page Numbers: The headlines for all the article are all placed
down the page like a list. This continues the style of being a simple straight
forward magazine. And each title does not have a description of the article,
which I find quite interesting – you have to flip to the page to really know
what it’s all about. This also shows they have talented writers, writers who
can catch your attention with just the title of their article. The page
numbers are placed right next to the titles in the same font and colour. This
plays into the whole simplicity style. This choice of presentation for the
content is very unique. It looks very clean and simple, but the minimalism of
it all is a really bold choice for a music magazine.

6. Welcome Note: On the right hand side there’s a welcome ‘note’ from the magazine
editor, this is also very popular to do with teen gossip magazines – but not as
popular in music magazines. This I believe is to make the magazine more personal,
to make the reader feel equal to the writers. However, what I think really makes
this an incredible idea to include in the magazine is that the readers of this
magazine are often politically aware, and like the idea of being part of something
bigger and I feel this welcome note does exactly that, it creates a sense of being
part of a community.
Footer: This is a very interesting part of the magazines that really shows how down
to earth this magazine is supposed to be. The first part of the footer is the front
cover again and has written the photographer of the feature image. This gives a
sense of being a local small-time magazine where you can call up their
photographer easily and access the same resources this magazine has. Then you
have the contact info for the magazine workers themselves. Usually contact info for
magazines can be found on their website a bit hidden so that only people
interested in serious business proposals bother finding it, but in this case – it’s open
for all. Then we have a list of contributors showing this really is a magazine for the
people by the people. It’s a short list compared to most of the other best-selling
magazines out there, which just helps to prove their not part of the companies that
their readers dislike. Then at the right hand side we have the e-mail for
advertisement deals, which again, shows us it’s a magazine about the people. This
footer is very minimalistic and flows perfectly with the magazine style. Only new
thing is that now the titles are even more similar to the content itself, it’s the same
size and same font just with a little black line under the words telling us this is
something to pay extra attention too.

7. Page Number / Website: At the very bottom they have the page number,
usually in a music magazine because they’re usually quite messy and
colourful the page number can sort of get lost in all of it, but here it’s at the
bottom in the middle of the page just like a proper book. This makes it easy
to navigate for anyone while also giving a sense of professionalism when it
comes to their writing. We get the impression that the creators of this
magazine treat it like their very own best-selling book. We also get a
website which shows they’re a modern magazine that is up to date and
knows current issues and current bands which is great as their readers like
to go to concerts and support their artists which is hard to do if the artist is
either passed away or no longer active in the music industry.

8. Fonts: The interesting thing here is that all the
text is in uppercase letters, and in a typewriter
looking font. I believe all of this plays to the
audience. Their readers like to feel like they’re a
part of something and rebelling against
something and the uppercase font does that, it
plays in to that wish of speaking up when
something isn’t right. It also suits the name of
the magazine. They vary between large text and
small text, while still using the same font –
showing how something can be both loud and
quiet. And with the small text, it’s still in
uppercase showing that very same thing again.
Colour Scheme: The colour scheme on this page
is black and white with a hint of blue to it. The
blue is a very natural colour just like on the front
cover, but it’s also an interesting choice as blue
can mean so many things. I believe it’s about
both showing they can be depressive and talk
about issues rather than ignore them, but also
about aiming higher, as to the blue sky. I think
they want their readers to feel like this magazine
will show you music that is above all else.
Language: Their use of
language in the letter from
the editor to the reader is
once again suited for their
typical reader. They use
some more advanced
words mixed in with well
written sentences about
deeper meaning behind
things. The fact that the
readers are intelligent
allows the writers to use
academic English for their
articles.
CONTENTS PAGE MISE-EN-SCENE

9. Main Image: The main image used is a medium
shot photograph of Rosie Lowe, the topic at
hand. They spread across almost the entire left
page without any text on top of it to really
emphasise that it’s not just about her music
but about herself, the person behind the music.
The image gives a sense of getting some inside
tell about her. The image also has a white
frame around it made by the edges of the
magazine. I think framing her is big part due to
their style of minimalism, having the white
frame surround it makes it less chaotic and
better organized, more planned.
Image Information: On the top of the right
hand side page there’s some red text with a
line above it. It’s letting us know where the
photograph is taken and what company they’ve
worked with on it. I believe this is to give a
sense of realness to the staged image. It’s
letting the readers know that this is a real
person who had to go someplace to be
photographed for the article. And it’s also a
way to make sure the magazine can stay free.
Instead of paying money they don’t earn, they
pay in recognition.
Headline: The headline is written in big slim letters and it simply says Rosie Lowe. It’s
reminding us that we’re reading this to really get into Rosie’s head, to know what inspired
her music. It grabs the reader’s attention as they become curious just who this woman is.
The font is slim and kind of round in the edges, giving us a sense that this girl is soft but
also stands tall. The title and article itself is placed pretty far down on the page. This is
very minimalistic and follows the style of the magazine just like on the front cover and
contents page but it’s a very daring move. Tons of empty space can make a reader feel like
they’re not getting enough content, but with this magazine the writing is inspired and the
content is original so the reader won’t even think about the empty spaces as a bad thing
but rather as an aesthetic choice.

10. Cover Line: The cover line is short and
introduces Rosie Lowe in a positive light.
'The future RnB star who will tell you
everything' it says. This immediately
makes you long for more inside
information about this girl, and you
suddenly want to know everything this
girl will tell you. The cover line is written
with a cursive font I believe this is done
to make it seem like a personal quote
from the journalist to the reader.
Photography / Writer: Under the cover
line you can see a short line telling you
who photographed the girl and who
wrote the article. This is pretty usual, but
having it be so prioritised is a bit unusual.
I believe this is done to save money, as
with the photographer they pay with
recognition rather than cash. And also to
emphasise that this is a magazine made
by humans just like you rather than a
bigger company.
Article / Columns: The article layout has an unusual layout. Four columns
is 2 or 1 more than the usual magazine articles likes to use. This is done
to make the page more balanced, rather than having one big block of
text they have four thinner boxes of text that make the page breathe
more. It doesn’t feel as heavy on the reader. The text is also set to justify
rather than to align left, this I believe is done to continue the organized
vibe of the magazine, while also creating more noticeable lines between
the columns, so people know exactly where to read.

11. Character: In the photograph Rosie
is seen sitting while leaning her
arms on the object for the camera.
This shows a sense of being
comfortable, to lean on something
isn’t as formal as standing up. This
shows us that this girl is down to
earth and comfortable with the
writers, and confident in herself.
She has a piece of fabric placed on
her arm in a bright pink colour. This
I believe represents her soft side.
Lighting and Editing: The lighting
in this image is very warm, you can
see her skin almost looks a bit
orange some places due to a
specific light and editing. Orange
looking images are often
connected to the feeling of
something vintage, and I think
that’s their goal. Their readers love
old forgotten things. The image
even has a bit of a grain edited on
to it to really give the sense that
this photo could have been taken
15 years ago.
Fonts: They vary between different
fonts on this page. The title is a slim
and soft font that captures your
attention with its elegant
appearance. The cover line is the
same typewriter looking font as on
the contents page, this is done to
make the design look familiar – to
make their readers associate this font
with their magazine because as we
said the readers are fond of vintage
looking things, like that font. The
photography/writer line is written in
the same font as the article itself but
with uppercase letters, this is done to
make it stand out more to the reader.
The font for the article itself is a
classic looking font, similar to Times
New Roman. It’s easy to read, looks
good and isn’t too modern for the
style of the magazine. They’ve made
sure the three fonts match well as to
prevent the reader from thinking it
just looks random and chaotic.
Colour Scheme: The colours used in the image are very warm.
The background is the colour apricot, a warm orange looking
colour that gives us a good feeling about this woman. It’s the
colour of happiness, making us see her as peaceful. And the
pink represents her feminine side, the soft side. Her shirt and
the object she’s leaning on are both grey, a simple colour that
lets us know this girl is just herself.
DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD MISE-EN-SCENE

12. Q is a monthly magazine with a circulation of 44 thousand. It’s an magazine that doesn’t really follow a genre, but
follows more mainstream music. It’s available to get in stores, read online or have sent right to your door. They write
about all types of music, but often focuses on pop and rock. It’s a magazine published by Bauer Media Group, and It’s
one of britains most popular magazine. Their readers are usually in their late twenties and are financially stable, and
willing to pay for concerts/cd etc. which means Q is in a great position to advertise for music related events. I’ll be
analysing the front cover, contents page and a double spread article from issue 73 of this magazine. I’ll be analysing
the front cover, contents page and a double spread article from their January 2015 issue.
Q MAGAZINE

13. Masthead: Q’s masthead is interesting. It’s not centred at the top of the
magazine like it is in most magazines, instead, it’s placed completely to the
left-hand side. I believe this is done due to make it stand out in the stores.
Magazines in stores are often laid out to overlap and just show the left-
hand side of the magazines, and this way – you immediately notice this
magazine because It’s the only title you can really read. It’s also quite big
as there’s only one letter, it allows it to be even bolder and greater in size
than most titles. I believe the red box it’s placed in is there to really bring
attention to the magazine as red is a very attention grabbing colour. The
font is easily readable and it has a soft feel to it, almost elegant, it’s easy
on the eyes – and makes the reader feel like this magazine is classy.
Feature article image / main Image: The main image is a medium shot
placed to fit the frame. This distance is perfect for what they’re aiming for.
They’re trying to show him up close rather than from afar. They’re making
it a bit more personal without invading his personal space, or asking about
things the readers don’t want to know. It’s also edited to make Ed
Sheeran’s head be placed above the masthead. This is a normal thing for
magazines to do. It’s done to bring the magazine to life, to make the entire
thing seem that much more real.

14. Plug: On the right-hand side, almost at the top of the magazine there’s a
plug telling us this magazine has a list of the 50 best albums this year. The
plug is large and bright red, making it one of the first things you notice
about the magazine. It’s also very eye grabbing as there’s nothing similar
to it on the cover, making it really stand out. And once it’s got your
attention it has 50 written in huge letters, almost as big as the masthead,
this is because fifty is considered a large number and if this magazine tells
you it includes fifty albums you should listen to, it’s making you believe
that this magazine has a lot of content.
Headline and Anchorage: The biggest headline is Ed Sheeran. It’s not only
placed a bit strange being in the centre of the magazine, it’s using an
unusual font. It’s a bit of a broken font in bright red. The red is used to
capture your eye, and the font I believe is to further prove to you that this
article will show you the real Ed Sheeran, not the flawless and smooth
image most people tell of a perfect man, but an average man who can be
a bit broken sometimes. And the font almost looks handwritten, making it
feel even more personal for the reader. I believe the unusual placement of
the headline is due to having to grab your attention. They already have a
enormous masthead and a plug that grabs your eyes the second you look
at the cover, so they’ve placed this title deliberately to control where your
eyes move on the cover.

15. Sub Heading: The sub headlines are all placed on the sides of the
magazine. First thing that catches my eye is the Neil Young heading as it’s
bigger than the other sub headings. I believe this is also done so that once
you finish reading the masthead, plug and headline – you move to the first
left-side title, making your eyes move naturally after seeing it. The font is
bold and slim, and elegant, matching the style of this being a high end
magazine. The sub headings are all white, making them stand out from the
dark background. They’ve even added drop shadow to the texts to really
make them all stand out.
Cover Lines: The cover lines are all placed under the sub heading to make
sure you see the headlines first. It’s also smaller in size, as it is further
information. The sub headings grab your attention, and the cover lines are
used to further your excitement about reading the articles. They’re also
grey, making them blend in a bit more with the background. This style, is
making it obvious that it’s just a short description of what you already
know – what the article will include.

16. Price / Issue: The price is placed almost at the bottom. This is quite
interesting as it shows the magazine doesn’t want you to see the price, or
they know their readers are well off financially and won’t worry about the
price. It also has the issue placed there, a barcode and website. This all
shows it’s a modern magazine. It’s telling you it’s a recent issue so it’ll be
relevant to your life. It has a website showing it keeps up with the time,
and that it’s not just a magazine but an online archive of music history.
Footer: It’s unusual to have things placed on a line at the bottom like a
footer on the front cover of a magazine but Q has done it. It’s not very eye
grabbing but you do see it as soon as you’re done reading the entire cover.
And once you’ve read the entire cover the footer starts off with ‘’Plus!’’
letting you know there’s even more. It’s not normal for a magazine to have
this kind of thing on the front cover, but it’s a smart choice to include it.
It’s making you believe that with the 50 album reviews, the Ed Sheeran
article, and all the other articles, having even more is unusual for a
magazine, as readers are used to the bottom being left empty, making
them think this magazine has more than all other magazines.

17. Colour Scheme: The colour scheme for this
magazine is pretty warm. We’ve got reds all
over the place, mixed with some orange
and light brown colours on the image. It’s a
very welcoming cover, it makes you feel like
reading this magazine will make you feel
peaceful, even happy. The red is also good
as it catches your attention. They’ve only
used 4 colours on the cover: red, white,
grey and light browns. It’s a colourful
magazine without having it pop in your
face.
Language: The language used for the cover
is appropriate for their readers. They use
words like saved, miracle and beating,
powerful words. It might really reach their
readers, as it’s not just articles about what
has happened but rather stories being told.
The language isn’t too casual, but not
formal either – it’s personal but
professional in every way.
Character: The main image is a medium shot of the singer Ed
Sheeran. He’s holding a guitar as he looks away from the
camera. This is quiet intriguing. Usually, the model will look
straight in the camera to create a sense of equality between
the reader and the magazine. However, this works in it’s own
way to create a bond. It gives this sense that this guy is
someone people don’t really know, they see him and they look
but can’t see into his eyes long enough to get to know him.
And the cover line saying ‘an everyday tale of one man’
emphasises the fact that if you read this magazine you’ll get to
know more than just the surface. The acoustic guitar is placed
in the image to immediately let you know what music he does.
An acoustic guitar is a key item to songwriter/acoustic music.
And it creates a more down to earth vibe compared to an
image of him holding an electric rock guitar.
Lighting and Editing: The lighting is pretty beautiful in this
image, but a rare choice. They’ve made the light shine on his
face and let the rest of him be a bit dark compared to his head.
It’s a bit of light around him but becomes darker the further
away from him it is, making him really stand out and be the
focus. They’ve also edited the image to have a significant
amount of contrast. This makes the image feel a bit rougher
and in some ways it helps bringing him more to life. This is
done to really capture the attention of the reader.
FRONT COVER
MISE-EN-SCENE

18. Dateline: At the very top of the page it says what month and year this is
from. This is placed on the top so people can easily see it as it’s important
for the reader to know this is a current magazine, it’s telling you that their
content is relevant. It’s in a bit of a dark colour on top of a black box. This is
unusual but done to make sure it’s not stealing attention from anything else.
Masthead: The masthead is interesting. They’re using their famous logo, but
not in it’s usual color scheme. This is done to match the contents page.
They’ve included the logo right next to the contents masthead to remind the
reader that it’s Q that’s giving them all these great articles, kind of selling
themselves to their reader. The masthead is placed in a black box which is
very unusual but it’s done to really catch your attention. The dark black on
top of the white background makes the black really stand out, plus the font
size is larger than anything else on the page. It’s obvious that this is what
this page is focusing on – the content.
Main Image: The main image is placed in the top right-hand side corner. We
know it’s the main image as it’s the biggest in size, and it’s the first image we
think to look at. The woman is holding a Q-prize, making us wonder what
she did to deserve this prize. She’s standing in front of a bright grey
background that matches her grey hair. Her makeup is dark and
experimental. It all makes us curious who this unusual woman is – and why
does Q want us to focus on her.

19. Headlines: The headlines are all simple and short, straight to the point. Ed
Sheeran, 50 Albums Of The Year etc. It’s making sure you can either recognize
names you love or be curious about what the article will tell you. Ed Sheeran is
well known and most will want to read the articles based on that, and 50
Albums Of The Year means there might be new albums for you to explore. It’s
all very tempting to the reader. The headlines are all written in a grey blackish
colour with a bold font making it really stand out from the white background.
You see the images, they lead you to the title and suddenly you find yourself
wanting more.
Cover Lines: Once you’ve seen the images, headlines etc. and you’re trying to
figure out what you want to read first, you look at the cover lines and figure
out exactly what you can expect from each article, and go from there. The
cover lines are smaller, because like said – the headlines and images will lead
you to it when needed.
Sub Images: For every article featured as a big article in this magazine on this
contents page, there’s an image. They’re showing there’s even more to the
article than what the front cover told you. It’s showing you tons of different
images, from live shows to photo shoots – making sure there’s lots to grab your
attention and it all appeals to you. They’ve got an image of someone playing
on stage, an image where it says ’50 ALBUMS OF THE YEAR’, another one
where a guy’s holding his guitar in a box – the magazine is telling us via the
images that this magazine is all about the music.

20. Page Numbers: Once you’ve figured out that you’re ready to read about
Ed Sheeran’s road to fame you can easily see the page number above the
image. It’s in a speech bubble which I find interesting. It’s like the writer of
the article is telling you to read it, it’s saying ‘’go to page 50’’. It’s
navigating you. It’s using bright colours, different for each article. This is to
emphasise that even thou the contents page makes all articles look the
same – once you reach the page in the speech bubbles it’ll be completely
different from any other page in the magazine, it’s telling you that every
page is a gift.
Review column: On the right-hand side under the main image there’s a
box showing us that on page 120 there’s something special. There’s
reviews of up and coming artists. It’s a column to preview the article – but
also to sell the artists. It’s telling you that these are names to remember,
names you might not know that you should know.

21. Characters: The characters are all placed differently
but a lot of them are placed towards the camera,
connecting with the readers.
Costumes: The costumes vary. We have Ed Sheeran
wearing jeans and a button up shirt whilst the others
are wearing mostly dark, almost edgy clothing. It’s
letting us know this magazine is a bit edgy but still
mainstream and popular with artists like Ed Sheeran.
The costumes can grab the readers attention – seeing
all these different costumes makes them feel like
anything can happen in this magazine. There’s
something in here for everyone.
Props: There are used several props on this cover.
Mostly instruments. It’s letting us know once again
that this is a music magazine. And one even has a Q
award as a prop. It’s letting you know this is a
powerful magazine when it comes to the music
industry. And the fact that we see Ed Sheeran on
stage, and that lady holding an awards – it let’s us
know it’s not just about the celebrity behind the
music but about the music itself. It’ll focus on reviews
and inspiration rather than celebrities love life.
Lighting and Editing: The lighting vary
between the different images but the
overall feel is that they’re a bit dark.
They’re not over exposed, they’re not full
of colour. They’re simple, and some of
them are edited to look kind of vintage. It’s
once again telling us that this magazine can
do what it wants – they’ll write about
colourful pop but also about dark rock. It’s
showing us through lighting and colours
that there’s no telling what they might
write about. It makes the reader really
interested in what they might be able to
find as they flip through the pages.
Colour Scheme: They’ve used the main
colours black and white but added more
colours through details. It’s showing us
that’s it’s classy and elegant with it’s black
and white colour scheme, but adding a bit
of fun with the colours. The colours are all
different telling us once again that this is a
magazine that isn’t limited to one genre.
The colours are also useful in making the
layout seem more fun than it is. It makes
us see it as a fun design.
CONTENTS PAGE MISE-EN-SCENE
Fonts: The fonts used for the headlines are
bold and sans serif while the cover lines are
the opposite. Through fonts, we can easily
tell what is prioritized for us to read and
what we don’t really have to read. The
font’s are selected because they’re both
easy to read and fonts people recognize. It’s
not experimenting with five different fonts,
they’ve found two fonts they think work
together and stuck to them.

22. Main image: The main image is placed across both
pages. This is very unusual but because the image has a
background that’s blank in some ways it allows them to
use it as a background for the article. This is done to
really emphasise that this entire double page spread
article is all about him. No exceptions. The image is a
medium close up which shows us it’s going to be a
personal piece of writing.
Headline: The headline is just purely amazing. It’s a slim
white font with a drop shadow to it. It almost looks like
it’s from the past. It’s made like this to emphasise the
age of the person they’re interviewing but also his
journey. He’s talking about cancer – which made him
weak and skinny just like this font might seem. It’s a
very well thought of headline design. And it’s placed on
almost half the right-hand side page, grabbing as much
of your attention as it can. It really wants you to focus
and it’s almost like it’s so big they’re telling you to lean
back a bit and see the entire image and text as a whole.
Drop cap: In the beginning of the article, they’ve used a drop cap for
different reasons. First of all, for design purposes. It’s there to make the
readers feel like the article is fun and to make the design more creative.
It’s also there to point out where the actual article begins as the layout is a
bit unusual and some readers could be confused. The drop cap is not
colourful or inside a box, it’s black and bold and just like the rest of the
article. I think this is because of the theme of the article – they’re using
the drop cap to show that it’s not a fun article, it’s about a man’s hard
fight to survive.

23. Article: The article design in itself is unusual. Usually the
font will be aligned to justify so that it creates an illusion
of lines between each column but in this article they’ve
simply but uneven lines between them instead. I think
this is done as e very subtle way of telling you this article
is honest, it’s not using fancy tricks to make you believe
something untrue – it’s simply telling you it straight up
And the font changes. When it’s bold, it’s a sans serif font
but when it’s not in bold they go back to a serif font. It’s
all to show you that there’s a difference between them.
Bold means interviewer asking and thin font means an
answer. And after the first introduction paragraph they’ve
but small diagonal boxes to create a line. There’s a very
interesting use of lines for this article.
Pull out quote: On the left-hand side, there’s a quote
from the artist they’re interviewing. This is done to let
the reader get a bit of a taste for the article before
beginning it. And it’s also a way to highlight what the
article is really about. It’s white text placed on a bright
red box. It might look silly, and even like something a
student would make – but it’s a very smart move as it
grabs all the attention it possible can, which it has to do
when the image is so attention grabbing.
Layout: The layout for this article is overall very unusual, but it
works. You start focusing on the image, wondering who he is and
what he’s thinking, then you move on to the quote and hear a
piece of his story. You then grow interested and learn his name by
looking to the title. You then move on to the article. The creators
have designed the page almost perfectly, it leads your eyes
exactly where you’re supposed to look, while telling stories
through the use of editing and fonts.

24. Character / camerawork: The image
used is a medium close up of the
man, revealing to us that he’ll be the
focus of the story – and that it’ll be a
personal one. He’s looking straight
into the camera showing equality to
us and even confidence. He looks
focused, almost angry – making us
curious what he’s been through. We
can see every detail in his skin, this
foreshadows that the article will be
rough and real.
Costumes / props: The man is
wearing a black suit. I find this very
interesting considering the theme of
the article. It’s almost like he’s telling
us with his clothing that he’s been
closed to death, close to having all
his loved ones dress in black for his
funeral. It’s also a suit showing us
that he’s a professional and that he’s
still in the game now. The same with
the prop, the prop of the award is
telling us that he’s recovered and
back in the game. He’s earned this
award, and he’s not ashamed to be
proud of it.
Lighting and Editing: The image is
strongly edited to show every detail of
this man, and to make him almost pop
out of the page. The contrast makes
him really come alive. And like
mentioned earlier, the image shows all
details of his skin – all the bad parts.
It’s real. I believe this is inspired by the
story. He’s been sick, he’s been fighting
which is the experiences the details in
his skin represent but the contrast in
the image and how he pops out is what
represents being alive, it’s showing him
as an imperfect survivor.
Colour Scheme: The colour scheme is
interesting. They’ve got the hints of
bright red, but mostly black and white
with pale colours here and there. The
background is a pale brown colour,
almost grey. The character is dressed in
black following the white and black,
and his skin is skin colour but it’s a pale
colour. The colour scheme is re-telling
the story. Being sick and weak is the
pales, but the red is his battle and
survival.
Fonts: The fonts used are interesting. For the quote they’ve
used a simple font that is easy to read, this is done because of
the bright colours the box has, if it was a messy font people
might not have been able to read it, but because it’s simple –
people can read it. The masthead is my favourite font here. The
general aesthetic of it added with the drop shadow gives a
strong vibe of it being old, like the design of a 80’s movie title.
It’s skinny and pale just like the man when he was sick. It’s
planned in extreme detail I think. And for the article they’ve
gone with two different standard fonts, that are easy to read.
DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD MISE-EN-SCENE

25. NME is a monthly music magazine published by Time Inc. NME stands for New Musical Express. The magazine’s
circulation is around three hundred and eight thousand. It’s a magazine that doesn’t follow just one genre, but switch
between all genres, but people tend to associate it with rock. Their readers are mostly males and rely strongly on
advertisements to keep them up to date with music and events, this makes NME perfect for earing money off adverts.
The readers are also usually 23 years old, meaning they have a much younger audience than most of the magazines
out there. This makes them better for advertising as young people tend to be more active in the music industry but
also gives the issue that some are students and can’t afford whatever is advertised.
NME

26. Date / Price: The date and price is placed above the masthead. This is a bit
unusual for NME as it’s usually placed in the bottom left-hand side corner
to be sort of hidden from their readers, but on this cover it’s on display as
it’s free and they want the audience to know this won’t cost them a thing.
The date is also placed next to it to bring it to your eyes equal to the price.
When it’s made is important to know because you want a recent magazine
that’s relevant to you. The font is white and slim, and the size is rather
close to being too small to read, but it’s just the perfect size for some extra
information text not everyone will bother to read no matter the size.
Masthead: The masthead is in a large block font with a dropped outline to
create a 3D effect. This is done to really make it pop out and grab your
attention, but it’s covered up by the feature image model letting us know
the magazine is confident you already know of them. The 3D part of the
masthead is transparent, making it softer on the eye and more geometric.
I believe this is done for aesthetic of the cover.
Feature article image / main image: The main image is the feature image
of Nicholas Hoult in a suit. It’s a medium close up shot, making him very
recognisable to the readers as we can immediately see what he looks like.
The image is warm from the shadows being brown-ish to the highlights
being a warm beige colour. It’s all part of their colour scheme.

27. Plug: They’ve added a plug to the cover to emphasise the text inside it. It
simply says ‘Music, Film, Style’ confirming it’s an entertainment magazine.
It’s an orange colour making it really pop, especially as it has a drop
shadow making it appear to jump out of the page. It then has the text
inside written in uppercase letters with an underline making it stand out
even more. It also looks a bit worn out giving it a bit of an edge. I believe
this is done to make readers know it’s a magazine that isn’t scared to talk
about new, maybe even unpopular music.
Headline and Anchorage: The headline is really interesting as it differs in
fonts within the title. It starts off with a simple font in white saying ‘From
boy to…’ and then goes over to a tilted text saying ‘Murderer’ in
uppercase letters with a rather interesting font. The font is torn apart in
places and nothing is aligned. It’s in orange, matching the colour scheme –
but also making it stand out from the white texts around the magazine. I
believe all of this is done to make it seem more dangerous, it’s about
creating the illusion that this article will be about something extraordinary
like out of a horror movie. It then ends of with an anchorage saying
‘Nicholas Hoult and the dark side of the music biz’ and ‘exclusive interview
by author John Niven’, they’re in smaller fonts but Nicholas Hoult is
capitalized, this is done to give you more information about their model
for the front cover and also in hopes that if you don’t recognise his face –
you will recognise his name.

28. Sub Heading and Cover Line: There’s only one other headline except the
main headline. This is very unusual, it shows us the magazine is confident
their usual readers are already expecting tons of content and doesn’t need
to be convinced and it makes new readers curious about what more there
might be inside that they haven’t even gotten a preview of. It gives a sense
of exclusivity.

29. Character: The model is pretty interesting.
He’s standing up with a suit on. He’s
looking very sharp and almost ready for a
business meeting or for the Oscars. He has
his hand over his lips as to show his hand
more. He’s looking straight into the camera,
giving us a feeling of understanding for the
guy or a sense of equality. The way his one
eyebrow is further down than the other
makes us almost feel like he knows
something we don’t. Making us even more
curious to open to magazine.
Lighting and Editing: The image is fairly
bright, even the shadows aren’t as dark as
they could be. It’s a sharp image edited to
make the colours warmer. The lighting is
focused on his head/face, making him
really stand out. The lighting is telling us
that this guy is the focus, where the
spotlight for this magazine is set. All
attention is on him much due to the
lighting and editing done.
Fonts: The fonts chosen for this front cover are very
interesting, especially the masthead and headline,
everything else is sort of standard magazine fonts and
colour. The masthead, however, is a popular block font
but with special effects making the font appear to be in
3D.
Colour Scheme: The colour scheme combined with the
date makes me know it’s supposed to be Halloween
themed. It’s not that the colours are dark and scary,
they’re actually the opposite, however – it’s the pattern
of using orange and the choice of font for the headline.
The cover only uses four colours really. Brown as the main
colour then orange and white as secondary colours. It’s a
warm and intriguing.
Language: The use of language tells me their readers are
fairly young. They use slang like ‘biz’ instead of business,
knowing their audience will understand it. They also use
the word murderer to try and grab attention making me
think the readers like to be surprised by the magazine.
FRONT COVER
MISE-EN-SCENE

30. Masthead: The masthead is similar to the one on the front cover but in
opposite colours which is very interesting. It’s showing us that the logo
isn’t set on a colour, it can adapt for the colour scheme if needed. And it’s
also adding a fun effect by changing colour along the edges of the main
image. This is done to make the page look more original and creative.
Main Image / Images: The main image is of an artist named Halsey and it’s
in black white. I believe it’s edited this way to minimalize the use of
colours, to make the page a bit easier on the eye as having it in colours
could be very distracting, same thing for the other image on the left-hand
side.
Note by Editor: The note by editor is added to personalize the magazine,
which makes you feel like it’s something you’re a part of rather than
something you read every now and then.
Sections: The different articles and page numbers are placed inside
sections. I believe this is done to show new readers what’s usual for the
magazine and what to expect in the future. And also for old readers to
immediately see what page their favourite regular column is on.

31. Buzz Word: Right above the page numbers and headlines, there’s a buzz word.
It’s inside a black speech bubble, making it really grab attention. It’s there to
bring your eyes there first, and once your eye is there you see it’s telling you
what the feature story is, and your eyes move down. It’s there to create a sense
of order on a pretty unusual layout.
Page Numbers: The page numbers vary. In the first section with the features
they’re large as to give them more attention and even to signalize this is what
you should read now because it’s not something they usually write about, as
opposed to the regulars. The page number on sections are smaller making us
feel like they might not be our greatest priority. And then the regulars – the
numbers are placed to sort of end sentences and tell us what page articles are
on in a simple way. All page numbers are in red which really grabs our attention,
and also makes them stand out – If they were black they’d blend in with the
headlines.
Headlines: The headlines vary as well. The features one are big and bold, usual
titles that grab our attention perfectly well. And in the sections part, we have
different logos as headlines that all give an idea what the article is about to new
readers, but to old readers – just let them know this is where to find the page
number for your favourite section. They’re quite colourful which contrasts to
the black and white theme of the page, making them stand out and really grab
anyone’s attention. The last section, regulars, have smaller titles that are easy
on the eye. They’re not as important or great or just as long as the feature
articles.

32. Footer: NME has decided to have a footer at the bottom of their contents
page. There you can learn all of their workers and sponsors. It’s put here
to give the magazine some trust, to make those who are sceptical to
magazines know this is a safe bet. Especially because all writers are on
display, so if one was to write something false the readers would have a
name to attack plus it could ruin that writers career, so having them like
this makes the reader feel safe that these writers will be honest.

33. Character: The model is placed in a city, and it’s
taken while she’s taking of her sunglasses
almost making it look like some photo they just
took. Her makeup is heavy around the eyes,
really bringing attention to them. It all makes
us wonder what we don’t know about this
person. She’s dressed very stylish with a leather
jacket. This will make people think of her as a
fashion icon and as someone cool, someone
they look up to – making them want to know
more about her again.
Editing: The editing of the images are rare as
magazines don’t usually go for black and white
images. This is done to not grab the attention
from the contents of the articles, they want the
focus to be on their good writing rather than
the visual. The main image is also edited to
look a bit faded – making it look vintage. I
believe this is done to foreshadow the article as
once you read it you’ll know her genre of music
is a bit vintage.
Colour Scheme: The colour scheme is black
and white overall, but with colours in the
details like page numbers, certain names
and lines. I believe this is done to control
the chaos of the layout. It’s a good layout
but it’s not minimalistic or even organised,
and because of that keeping the colours to
a minimal help make the page more
pleasing to the eye and easer to navigate
as it’s not all over the place as if everything
were to be in different colours. It’s part of
what makes the page more minimalistic.
Fonts: The fonts vary. We have the bold 3D
masthead, and then titles and text, and
then lastly, the sections titles. They all
bring something to the table. Some are just
easy to read and some are just fun but they
look good together. I believe the reason
the sections titles are incredibly different is
because they’re not just titles – they’re
logos. And they’ve used logos so people
will recognise it from earlier issues or so
that new readers will remember it because
of the unusual design of the headline.
CONTENTS PAGE MISE-EN-SCENE
Layout: The layout is very interesting and a bit
messy but works for the magazine style. It’s a
bit chaotic but you can still manage and read it
fine and from the NME covers I’ve seen, I’ve
noticed it’s a pattern that they get a chaotic
layout to look more organised than it is. I
believe this is reflecting on their content. Their
content isn’t limited to one genre, it’s all
genres in one big messy magazine – but it’s
quality content and it makes sense together.

34. Main Images: There are two main images for the
article and both are placed in the corners, and this is
one of two reasons we know they are the main
images. The placement and the size. It’s deliberately
put in the corners to make them individual and
different from the smaller images from the text, so
people know these images are the important ones.
Highlighted Texts: In the text, certain words and
sentences are highlighted and then there’s a
highlighted line from that text to an image. These are
key words that people might not know, stuff like
mentions of TV-shows or other actors and the line is
made to connect it the words to the correct image
and caption for it. This is a smart way to make sure
readers understand the article while also creating an
interesting layout for the magazine.
Sub Images: There are tons of images placed around
the article that your eyes go to from the words in the
article. It shows you what he’s talking about –
making the article more visual and fun to read. All
images remain a small size to make sure it doesn’t
grab your attention before needed.
Sub Images Captions: The images come with captions in white text
that have a grey background behind it, this is to further your
knowledge about the things you might not have heard of and to make
the article seem like it has even more information for you. It’s put in
these different colours to make sure you don’t read it as part of the
article itself.

35. Author Bubble Image: In the beginning there’s a
photo of the author making us curious who he is, this
is an innovative way to give the journalist it’s
recognition. It’s also more personal, it’s not just
some random name you’ll never remember – it’s
John and John has a face. This is something I’ll
remember for my magazine as it’s a fun way to make
that ignored line of ‘Written By’ more noticed.
Pull Out Quotes: There are two pull out quotes in
opposites corners from each other. They’ve
deliberately placed them there to create a sense of it
being more organised than it is but still asymmetrical
to keep the creative sketchbook look of the page.
The quotes are used to make the reader curious
what he’s talking about even before reading the
article, and also to really highlight some things the
journalist found interesting from the interview.
Drop Cap: In the beginning there’s a drop cap that matches the
colours for the background of the sub images captions. It’s placed
there to keep the creative way of designing an article layout on
track, and to make sure the readers know where to start as it is
quite a heavily filled page.

36. Colour Scheme: The colour
scheme is amazing in my
personal opinion. It uses soft
colours like grey and brown for
their main colours, but highlight
yellow for some details. It’s very
aesthetically pleasing. It’s a
warm article with a bit of a
professional vibe to it, which I
think the colours emphasise.
Fonts: There’s only one font
used on this page, which is quite
unusual. I believe this is one of
the ways NME has managed to
make this chaotic layout look
more organised than it is
because our eyes see it all as
similar. They’re in different sizes
as the quotes want to grab more
of your attention than the
article but other than that the
fonts are pretty standard.
Layout: The layout is by far the most messy one I’ve analysed but It’s also the one I personally prefer as
it’s unique. You don’t find this in any magazine. It looks almost like a page out of a sketchbook, but well
organised. It all looks to make no sense, but as you get closer and start reading it’s like there’s an arrow
always telling you where your eyes should go and the layout feel natural to the eyes.
DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD MISE-EN-SCENE