Q magazine- Muse Task 3

1. Q magazine

2. Front Cover
• This magazine includes/ I will
talk about:
• Masthead
• Main image
• Main cover line
• Cover lines
• Shot type
• Genre
• Rule of thirds
• Layout
• Colour scheme
• Denotation and connotation

3. Masthead- the masthead has been located at the top right of the
front cover. This is purely so the audience can quickly
notices the magazine if on a shelf in a shop. Due to the
simplicity of the masthead, it becomes iconic and
recognizable by not just the target audience but by
everyone.
Main cover line- the main cover lines quickly informs the reader
of what the magazine content will be about. “Muse is the
band featured in the main image and the main cover line so
they will be the main focus involved inside this magazine.
The main cover line quotes “Boldly go where no band has
gone before” this will lure readers whom are interested into
wanting to buy the magazine due to how big of a statement
this actually is. Furthermore the background links in with the
main cover line as the band members are in space. This
simply emphasizes that the band are willing to go to
extreme extents to try something new.
Cover lines- Most of the cover lines are placed at the bottom most
probably because of their lack of interest in comparison to
the cover line at the top. The cover line at the top stands out
from the others as it’s on its own so readers would be more
included to read that stand alone cover line then the bundle
of others at the bottom. Every cover line on this magazine
has a short header which entices the reader to read the sub
heading. “Cat power” on its own doesn’t make much sense
but with the sub heading “she’s having kittens”, gives more
of a short glance of what to expect in the magazine.
Main image and shot type- the main image is of the band Muse
which is told from the main cover line. The band members
are all looking serious, which could furthermore suggest that
they’re serious about their music and the what’s mentioned
in the main cover line. Two of the members either side are
looking away where as the singer in the middle is using
direct address which helps the audience feel the impression
that he’s looking right at you. The shot used is a medium
close up. By using a mid close up, you can focus more so on
their facial expressions and less so on their body language.

4. Genre- the genre would mainly appeal to those who listen to
rock/alternative music. The age range would be young
adults most likely male ranging from 16+. The type of
people who’d buy this magazine would be those of a
working class. Due to the magazine not being priced on the
actual magazine and on a separate section to the magazine
(plastic cover), shows that the magazine couldn’t be too
much in terms of price.
Layout- The magazine is laid- out in a very clear and open way,
furthermore the magazine doesn’t feel cluttered and the
actually text featured on the magazine is well spaced out.
Colour scheme- The colour scheme on the magazine is very
simple and keeps the consistence of red and white. Other
colours such as blue and black are featured as a
background colour to put more emphasis on the main
image. By just mainly using red and white, helps the
audience become familiar with the style of the magazine
and the masthead. The colours used are also the same
colours as the masthead which also shows the link in the
front cover of the magazine.
Rule of thirds- At the bottom left of the magazine is usually
where the less important information is added onto the
front cover. Due to there being some information on this
magazine (at the bottom left), it’s not known as dead-
space. This magazine challenges the stereotypical way in
which most magazines leave the bottom left blank or put a
barcode/ issue number there. In addition to that, the cover
line that is put at the bottom left, most probably doesn’t
shine to the target audience and would only appeal to a
niche target audience.

5. Contents Page

6. Layout- straight away on the bottom left of the page, the
cover story has been added in with another shot of the
band featured on the front cover. This helps show the
connection between the two also informing the reader
of where to go if they’re interested by the front cover.
With a short header following on from that, lures
readers into the magazine article on the certain page.
“we’ve really gone the whole hog this time”,
immediately entices the readers into thinking about
what the band as done differently in comparison to
their previous work. The contents page is spread
across two pages and in four different columns. This
helps readers visually scan the page in smaller
sections, making it easier to read the text and find a
certain page number.
Images- despite the front cover picture not being the main
picture on the contents page, it still has what looks like
a regular spot on the contents page. At the bottom left
of the first page, it says cover story. This clearly shows
where to find the article on the band featured on the
front cover. The picture at the top right and the two
smaller ones next to them have grab quotes which tell
the reader a brief bit of information on what to expect
on that certain page. The two larger pictures on the
other page are of two other articles featured inside the
magazine and also have grab quotes to lure the
readers into wanting to read on. The bigger the
picture, the more of the interest the audience will
have on that article.

7. Colour scheme- The colour scheme is very consistent and just
like the front cover, it keeps the same colours (red, white
and black). This is purely to show the sheer familiarization
the magazine has with these colours whilst also making
them iconic Loyal buys of the magazine/ subscribers will
start to notice the colour scheme and start to relate the
colours featured in one magazine to the rest. In addition
to that the colour red stands out which catches the
audiences eye, which is good purely because the reader
will notice the text more so than if I was black.
Subscriber advertisement- The advertisement has been
located at the bottom right of the second page purely so
as the reader will turn the page, they’d notice who they
could subscribe to the magazine and actually get the
magazine weekly.
Front- the font for the header to page numbers has been put in
bold red writing purely so it stands out in addition to the
other text. The red text is of a bigger font then the black
text which helps show that the red text is the header and
the black text is a sub heading.

8. Double page spread

9. Layout- The layout has been divided into three columns
on one page and a stand alone picture on the
other. This makes it easier to read for the audience
purely so they can read down the page in sections
as apposed to reading across. A picture has also
been put into the middle of the text to break up
the text more and make it easier for the audience
to visually see the text as apposed to just simply
reading the text. The band name has also been put
at the top of the page to make it easier and clear
for the audience to know what this page is about.
Furthermore it has also been put there so if the
reader was skipping through the pages, they would
notice the title ‘Muse’. The magazine name ‘Q’ has
also been put at the bottom of the page to tell the
reader that this certain article is excusive to this
magazine.
Font- The giant M has been put to start off the article
whilst that also being the first letter of the band the
article is formally about (Muse).
The main image- The main image shows the band and
their instruments which helps the audience visually
see what they play in the band if they either didn’t
know or just don’t know the band.
Colour scheme- The colour scheme is very similar all the
way through the magazine and keeping the three
main colours (red, white and black). The main text
tends to be black and the header text tends to be in
red and also in bold.