Feature Article Analysis

2. Large Image of Feature Artist: The picture is of the solo female artist Lady Gaga,
she is portrayed is her usual unique and recognisable fashion which would be
easily recognisable to the audience as they most probably would have come
across Lady Gaga’s albums or music videos where she also appears to be
dressed and presented in a very original fashion. In this photo she appears to
be very seductive, which could portray her personality and attitude to be
promiscuous. This will engage the reader as they will be intrigued to discover
whether she does actually live up to her appearance or whether she does in
fact portray a different side to her personality. The readers may also aspire to
be like her in the sense that she is so well known, and seen as a very over the
top individual who is clearly incredibly comfortable in her own appearance
and doesn’t feel as though she needs to hide her personality. The background
of this image is white which allows the audience to mainly focus on Lady
Gaga’s bold appearance. The actual photograph of Lady Gaga is in the
effect of black and white to extenuate her features against the background.
Furthermore, in this photo she appears to be naked, using her hands and the
chains around her neck to cover chest. Therefore this represents her character
as being extremely confident, maybe showing other readers that they too
should be able to feel confident in their natural skin rather than looking for the
attention from the other audiences. In addition, her hair has been styled to look
to look volumised, messy and roughed up which further sexualises the
photograph. Her body language is very upright, looking directly at the camera
with her head slightly lifted as if she is luring in the audience with her looks.
Layout: The feature article for this issue of Q is set out over a double page
spread, with the text ordered in organised columns, so that it is able to be easily
read by the readers. The actual article will generally be informal to ensure that
the reader feels comfortable reading the content. The layout of this feature
article contains many simplistic elements, however, it comes across as very bold
with a classic style. The main photograph takes up a full A4 page on the left
hand side of the double page to open up the whole feature article letting the
audience know who and the article is about. Then on the right hand side of the
double page is where the text begins. It is formatted in columns, which has a
very large letter ‘L’ behind the text to signify the artists first name that is
recognised by. This would immediately draw in the readers attention, purely just
by how bold it is. The ‘L’ also follows the colour scheme of Q as it is in red,
ensuring consistency.
Large Heading: The main heading of this page is a quotation of the artists
name ‘Lady Gaga.’ Her surname is in large block capital letters, in a black font
which not only keeps the professional consistency of this magazine, but
adheres to the colour scheme also. Having this bold heading placed at the top
f the page makes the reader want to continue reading to be able to find out
more information.
Pull Quote: This article does not actually contain any pull quotes, however they
would usually be seen in double page spread feature articles to grab the
readers attention, by exemplifying the most exciting quotes within the article
making the reader want to read the full story so that the quote would then be
able to make more sense to them. Although as previously mentioned this article
does not have any pull quotes, making it looks minimalistic by keeping a
standard classic look.
New Media: This is usually placed on magazines to allow their audiences to see
new information on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook
before certain issues of magazines have been released. However in this issue of
Q magazine it doesn’t display any new media information, but is more than
likely to have it in other (previous or future) issues. I believe that it has purposely
not been displayed on an article such as this one due to it demonstrating a
very classic and vintage look.
Page Numbers: The page numbers adhere to the codes and conventions of a
music magazine, as they have numbers placed on the bottom right hand
corner of each page with the word ‘page’ next to the number making it look
more formal and sophisticated. These numbers are there to show the reader
what each page that is listed contains and what number they may need to go
to, to be able to see the specific content they are looking for. The colour of the
page numbers follows the colour scheme and house style of Q as the number
are white, in front of a plain black background.
Introductory Paragraph: This gives the reader a very brief description of what the
feature article is about, usually it will include the most exciting aspects of
information to draw in the readers attention, making them want to continue
reading until the article ends. The exciting content is usually personal information
about the artist themselves or some of their personal opinions about the music
industry or other artists….However this feature article does not have a separate
introductory paragraph, in this case it has all been merged as one keeping the
organised column style.

3. 1. Q Magazine – Lady Gaga:

4. Large Image of Feature Artist: The picture is of the solo female artist Nicki Minaj
in her usual recognisable attire which would be easily recognised by audiences
as she is also seen to be showing off styles such as this one in her music videos
and advertisement posters. In this photograph she looks very sarcastic and
sassy which represents her personality and attitude. Having Nicki demonstrate
her attitude in this way engages the reader as they would aspire to have an
attitude like her as she is clearly comfortable in her own skin and appearance
although she may had audiences that feel dislike towards her. Niki is wearing a
top which is made up of the two colours black and white, this makes the main
photograph very memorable as it gives of a bold and distinguishing look.
However, Nicki as an artist is usually associated with wearing bold bright colours
that demonstrate a playful style, however, in this photograph she is displaying a
more sophisticated and professional look, this could be due to the fact that it is
being published in a globally published magazine. The plain baby pink
background has connotations of femininity, Barbie, and playfulness which is
clever as it does get some of Nicki’s personality across, however, just in more of
a subtle way. She is wearing bold makeup on both her lips, cheeks and eyes, in
order to draw the readers attention to these particular facial features as these
are seen to be the most luring features. Another important aspect of this
photograph is the fact that she is wearing a large ring which reads “icon,” this
suggests that she is seen as an icon to her audience and fans, and she is highly
proud to be labelled as that, this will also engage the readers of the magazine
as it will allow them to feel as though she is doing all this in order to give back to
her supporters. She is looking directly at the camera, demonstrating a serious
facial expression, this could show hoe she may feel like she has authority over
other possible artists, exemplifying her bold personality.
Large Heading: This is of the quote “The Gospel According to Nicki Minaj” this is
in large block capitals in the colours black and pink which follows the colour
scheme of the whole page, demonstrating consistency which adds a
professional appearance. The word “Gospel” is emphasised as it portrays the
artist as holy and influential to the readers.
Pull Quote: This article does not actually contain any pull quotes, however they
would usually be seen in double page spread feature articles to grab the
readers attention, by exemplifying the most exciting quotes within the article
making the reader want to read the full story so that the quote would then be
able to make more sense to them.
Layout: This feature article is on a double page spread and the text has been
ordered in organised columns. This adheres to the codes and conventions of a
magazine, regardless of the genre. Also the articles in these types of music
magazines will usually be written in an informal manner, this allows the reader to
feel more comfortable when reading the full article as they can empathise with
the artist if they are discussing more relatable and casual subjects. Furthermore,
most double page spreads will have a bold capital letter at the beginning of
each article, however, not only does NME have one at the beginning of each
article but also at the beginning of each new paragraph to almost break up all
of the smaller text making it look a lot more interesting. The bold letters used in this
article match the colour scheme of the page and not necessarily the house style
of all NME issues making each article seem personal to each featured artist. In
addition, the main photograph and title has been placed in the middle of both
of the pages, with each column of text placed around both of these aspects
almost acting like a frame, extenuating the image and title making the page a
whole lot more eye catching.
Introductory Paragraph: This gives the reader a very brief description of what the
feature article is about, usually it will include the most exciting aspects of
information to draw in the readers attention, making them want to continue
reading until the article ends. The exciting content is usually personal information
about the artist themselves or some of their personal opinions about the music
industry or other artists. For example in this article the introductory paragraph starts
with a large letter “W” this is the first letter of the first word in the article and
therefore starts off the article is a very powerful way.
New Media: This is usually placed on magazines to allow their audiences to see
new information on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook before
certain issues of magazines have been released. However in this issue of Q
magazine it doesn’t display any new media information, but is more than likely to
have it in other (previous or future) issues. I believe that it has purposely not been
displayed on an article such as this one due to it demonstrating a very classic and
vintage look.
Page Numbers: The page numbers adhere to the codes and conventions of a
music magazine, as they have numbers placed on the bottom right hand
corner of each page with the word ‘page’ next to the number making it look
more formal and sophisticated. These numbers are there to show the reader
what each page that is listed contains and what number they may need to go
to, to be able to see the specific content they are looking for.

5. 2. NME Magazine – Nicki Minaj:

6. Large Image of Feature Artist: The picture is of the solo male artist Ed Sheeran in
his usual casual e attire which would be easily recognised by audiences as he is
also seen to be showing off the same styles he wears in his music videos and
advertisement posters. In this photograph he looks very serious which represents
his screwed on attitude towards his career. Having Ed demonstrate his attitude
in this way engages the reader as they would aspire to have an attitude like
him in situations relating more to their lifestyles. Ed is mainly wearing dull neutral
colours which don’t really stand out to the reader as the main focus in this
image is the background, guitar and his ginger hair. However, he has also just
been photographed in his usual casual attire to demonstrate to his fans how
she doesn't’t feel the need to change what he is comfortable in just because
he is being featured in a famous magazine, reassuring his fans that he is an
honest artist. The background of the famous landmark “Big Ben” is significant as
it highlights to the readers that Ed Sheeran, although has made a huge rise to
fame still cares and loves his hometown and will not forget his roots. In this
photograph Ed Sheeran is standing in a very casual way as he is leaning up
against the wall behind him looking away from the camera, this could show
that he is not looking for all the fame that comes with him writing and singing
his songs as he just does it because he enjoys it, as he is looking away from the
camera and standing in a way that he doesn’t want to be noticed.
Large Heading: This is of the quote “I’m Bring Ginger Back!” this is in large block
capitals in the colours white and red which follows the colour scheme of the
majority of issues of Q magazine, demonstrating consistency which adds a
professional appearance. The word “Ginger” has been emphasised by being
typed in capitals as it portrays the artist as being humorous.
Pull Quote: This article has used a different form of pull quote, however it has the
same function as a typical pull quote. In the middle of the first page in where the
article begins we can see a small box that has been placed in the middle of this
text and within this box is information about the new album that the artist had
recently released and probably his main focus within the whole article as an
advertisement opportunity.
Layout: This feature article is on a double page spread and the text has been
ordered in organised columns. This adheres to the codes and conventions of a
magazine, regardless of the genre. Also the articles in these types of music
magazines will usually be written in an informal manner, this allows the reader to
feel more comfortable when reading the full article as they can empathise with
the artist if they are discussing more relatable and casual subjects. Furthermore,
most double page spreads will have a bold capital letter at the beginning of
each article. The bold letters used in this article match the colour scheme that Q
always presents in the majority of their issues to allow audiences to easily
recognise the magazine when browsing in shops. In addition, the main
photograph and title has been placed on the first page of the double page, this
is to immediately show the reader who this article is about and to also give them
a visual representation. In this photograph Ed Sheeran is standing in a very casual
way as he is leaning up against the wall behind him looking away from the
camera. Another important aspect is the background as it is a significant London
landmark which can emphasise his passion for his home town.
Introductory Paragraph: This gives the reader a very brief description of what the
feature article is about, usually it will include the most exciting aspects of
information to draw in the readers attention, making them want to continue
reading until the article ends. The exciting content is usually personal information
about the artist themselves or some of their personal opinions about the music
industry or other artists. However this feature article does not have a separate
introductory paragraph, in this case it has all been merged as one keeping the
organised column style.
New Media: This is usually placed on magazines to allow their audiences to see
new information on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook before
certain issues of magazines have been released. However in this issue of Q
magazine it doesn’t display any new media information, but is more than likely to
have it in other (previous or future) issues. I believe that it has purposely not been
displayed on an article such as this one due to it demonstrating a very classic and
vintage look.
Page Numbers: The page numbers adhere to the codes and conventions of a
music magazine, as they have numbers placed on the bottom right hand
corner of each page with the word ‘page’ next to the number making it look
more formal and sophisticated. These numbers are there to show the reader
what each page that is listed contains and what number they may need to go
to, to be able to see the specific content they are looking for.

7. 3. Q Magazine – Ed Sheeran: