This document provides a textual analysis of the contents page and double page spread (DPS) of a music magazine. It summarizes the key elements of the magazine layout including the subline, main image, magazine credits, sub-headings, pull quote, stand first, drop capital, and reasons for including these elements. The analysis explains how each element engages the reader and represents the celebrity featured, following conventions like Richard Dyer's Star Image Theory. It also notes design considerations for the elements like font, sizing, coloring and positioning.

1. Music Magazine –
Contents Page and DPS
Textual Analysis
Name: Thomas Jericho Salango
Candidate Number: 1220
Center Name: St. Andrew’s Catholic School
Center Number: 64135
OCR Media Studies – AS Level
Unit G321: Advanced Portfolio

2. Subline: As mentioned earlier,
the subline follows the sub-
heading; this is basically a short
summary of what the content of
a page is actually about. These
are usually very concise, around
2-3 sentences, so as to inform
the reader but at the same time
tries not to reveal too much.
Buzzwords, such as ‘Dr. Dre’ or
‘Eminem’, in this case, are
emboldened to highlight their
importance, and to create a
striking effect on the reader.
Main Image: This is the image
which takes up the majority of the
contents page. In this case it is a
photograph of Eminem. The
significance of having a celebrity
represent your magazine
contributes to financial gain thanks
to having the rapper being able to
target a large audience. Because
fans idolize these celebrities it
becomes easier for both the
magazine and celebrity to sell their
products. This is all part of Richard
Dyer’s Star Image Theory, which
evolves around the thought that
celebrities possess the power to
attract more money.
Often times lighting and
positioning contribute significantly
to the aesthetics of the contents
page. Notice how there is a
shadow covering a minority of
Eminem’s head, with the rest in
the light, adding focus on his face.
Eminem here is pictured with a
mid shot, focusing on his clothing
and upper body; this shows more
detail on what is shown whilst also
giving the reader a small
impression of the rest of the
model.
Magazine Credits: This is
simply information about who
participated in creating this
contents page. Credit is given to
the author, and at times the
model’s stylist, makeup and
photographer. If the model is
wearing a particular brand of
clothing the company will often
times want credit, to inform the
reader and promote their
clothing.
Sub-Headings: These titles
indicate the different pages in
the magazine, followed by a
short summary of the actual
content (the subline). Notice
how the font very clearly stands
out from the background whilst
still keeping the same colour
scheme and matching the colour
of the background image.

3. Pull Quote: often times this is taken
from the interview, quoted by the
interviewee. Notice how it is styled
particularly to suit the celebrity on the
left; the character of the celebrity is
reflected on the font of the pull quote; it
is slim, sleek and has an urban youth
feeling to it. The colours are strategically
chosen to match the whole theme of
the page, the red and black tattoos and
writing very well suit the colours of the
quote and contrast strongly against the
bright white background. The pull quote
is highly likely to be short yet intriguing,
it doesn't reveal too much of the article
but gives the reader a very brief taste of
the content. ‘Shooting Star’ has
connotations of success, individuality
and fame, which could influence
viewers to read on.
Main Image: Again, same as
the previous slide but in this
case this image uses a close
up shot, focusing on the
model’s features. The colours
of brown, red, black and
white fit cleverly with the rest
of the double page spread.
Stand First: The stand first is, in
essence, a short summary of the
topics touched upon in the
article. The language used in this
case is very concise, it asks the
reader a question, persuading
them to read on to find the
answer for themselves. The
stand first is often restricted to 1
to 2 sentences so as to keep the
reader in suspense of the actual
focus of the magazine.
Magazine Credits: As mentioned in
the previous slide, this is basically
information about who did what job in
creating the page. In this case there is
an author and a photographer. In some
cases there may be a model stylist and a
fashion director, but as seen above
there seems to be no example of either
those. The credits are coloured red
which breaks the boring black pattern
and keeps in style with the main image
and pull quote.
Drop Capital: The drop capital is essential
to any magazine article, it is typical to
include this convention in all sorts of
magazines. Notice how it is coloured red;
this draws attention from the reader to
focus on the article whilst at the same time
maintaining the same colour scheme with
the rest of the page. The drop capital is
also considerably large compared to the
rest of the article,this adds significance to
the name ‘Soulja Boy’, which can influence
interested fans to read on.

4. Repeat (Steve Neale – 1980)
Pull Quote: I intend to repeat this convention because
of its overall effect on the magazine reader; it gives the
reader a very small insight into what the article may be
about, the font is bold and large which draws attention to
it and at the same time the colour and style can be used
to represent the celebrity mentioned in the article or
featured on the main image.
Main Image: In addition to the pull quote, the reason
for me repeating this in my own magazine is the same
reason that it engages the viewer, an easily recognisable
celebrity allows for the reader to immediately identify
who they are, giving them a sense of achievement and
closeness. Due to the eye contact the audience feels
seen, creating a kind of connection between the two.
Drop Capital: The drop capital is
essential to any magazine. It catches the
reader’s eye due to its intentionally large
size compared to the rest of the article; I
would like to repeat this for my own
magazine in order to engage my readers
into reading the whole article rather than
just skimming pages of the magazine. This
overall is a typical convention to include.