Contents Page

The main image that is on the contents page is a copy of the front cover. This is effective as the audience can refer back to the front cover without having to flick back through to the actual front cover. This is also good as the audience can link the article names and the stories back to the front cover so that they get a true insight into the magazine so that they know whether they want to read it or not. Selena Gomez relates to the pop genre and this is shown through her position that she is in as well as her appearance. She looks like she is in a position that she feels comfortable in but she also looks stylish and as if she is having fun.

Another image on the contents page is of three of the five members of One Direction- Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles. This relates to the pop genre as they are a big well known pop band and girls of all ages are interested in them, many people like them because their friends like them and they have been influenced by other people. The position that they are in is relaxed and they look rather ‘cool’ in it, this shows that they are just typical teenage boys with amazing voices.  The angle is straight on and the photo has been shot so that it looks as if the three band members are looking directly at the reader which teenage girls would appreciate.

The language that they have included in the contents page in the Top Of the Pops magazine is very basic, this is because the magazine is aimed and children and younger teenagers around the age of fourteen. Therefore they need to be able to understand it. This means that no long or complicated words have been used; slang has also been kept to a minimum.

The headline that is called ‘inside the mag…’ is also very straight forward and it is easy for younger people/ children to understand. This is a lot better than calling it just ‘contents page’ as this does not sound very interesting whatever way you read it but with the headline that they have used it sounds a lot more fun and interesting.

The headings that they have used for the different parts of the contents magazine work really well because they also sound fun and they have used similar language that children or young teenagers would use so that it is familiar to them. Also, the ‘We <3 Shopping’ also attracts the target audiences attention as they have used a familiar single and this also makes it sounds catchy and it is also eye catching because of the colouring that they have used.

The layout of the magazine contents page is effective because it is easy to read and it is also eye catchy. I think it works well because of the way that they have split it up into different sections and it is easy to refer back to. For instance they have categorised the boxes such as ‘We <3 Shopping’ and ‘All About You’ with pictures of what is inside the magazine have been dotted around randomly. I don’t think that this works very well as it is hard to link them to the text even though it has a page number next to it. I would not randomly add pictures onto my contents page as I do not think that it works. The different size fonts show the importance of the text and what they want the reader to see before anything else. This is the reason for the title of the contents page being in a larger and different font. They have kept the different fonts to a minimum. This is good as it does not look too overcrowded and in your face as such. The main text which is where it is telling you what is on each page is in a simple and plain font, this is so that it is easy to read for the reader of the magazine.

On the contents page they have included very bright neon colours. The predominant colour that they have used is pink. They have used pink the most and it is associated with females and that is who the magazine is aimed at. They have also used pink a lot because the majority of girls that like pop music and young boy bands are also quite girly so would like to see the colour pink in a magazine. Different props have been used for the different artists on the magazine such as the microphone that is being held by one of the artists; this straight away informs the audience visually that she is a singer without them having to read any information about her. Also the way that they have used a headband on Selena Gomez shows that they are trying to make her come across as a hippie and this makes her look like she is an indie artist as well as a pop artist.

The images on the contents pages of ‘Q’ magazine are very powerful. They are very bold and in your face. The different images represent the genre of music that that particular artist sings and performs. The way that they have included the front cover of the magazine on the contents page is really useful. This is because the audience can skim over the contents page and refer back to the front cover without having to turn the page over as it will be there in front of them already. This is also good to have because if the audience saw something that they liked the look of on the front cover the can see that same thing again inside and it may jog their memory. The majority of camera shots that have been used are mid shots. This is so that it shows some part of the person in more detail while still giving an impression of the whole person or thing. The only reason why the picture of Cheryl Cole is not a mid shot and it a close up is because that was the photo that was used on the front cover so it had to be powerful and a bit in your face. This is also so that you get the right impression. All of the images have been posed so that they look like the genre that they are trying to portray.

Focus on annotating the language & register: the pull quote, the headline, the sub-headline - what are the connotations of the language and register of the whole interview/article?

The language that they have included on the contents page is easy to understand. This has been done on purpose so that it can be read quickly without the reader having to think too much about what they are reading. Although it is short and brief the reader gets a quick insight into what the magazine includes. The language has been aimed at a particular audience. You can tell this when reading the contents page because of the nonstandard English that has been use. Swearing has been used but if you were to pick up ‘Q’ then you would have to expect that as it isn’t aimed at young children and is mainly aimed at people who are sixteen and upwards.

The way that the contents page is broken down into different areas also makes it easier to read. This helps the audience as they can go straight to the section of the contents page that they want to look for the correct page number. The headings for each section of the magazine on the contents page are easy to read as they are short, recognisable and easy to remember.

The page layout is not the standard page layout that you expect to see for a contents page in a music magazine. The first reason for this is because it is spread out and isn’t in any particular order. They have put the text into columns. His is useful for the target audience because they can find it easier. The other thing that is different on this contents page to other contents pages that you may look at is the way that they have used more images than they have text. This is better in a way because it is then suitable for people who take things in visually and through images and it is also suitable for people who take more things in when they are written.

Having the page numbers and some of the text overlapping the images on the contents page of ‘Q’ works well as it shows that that section of the text relates and is connected to that audience.

The size of the text shows the importance of it. For instance the heading and the page numbers that are on then images are in a larger font, this has been done on purpose so that the audience’s eyes are drawn straight away to this. The italics that have been used for the page numbers that are overlapping the images also stand out a lot more because of the fact that they are in italics. This stands out because it is slanted. The headings for each section of the magazine on the contents page have been put in a bold font. This is so that the audience can tell the difference between the information about that article what the article is called. It also makes it easier for the audience to refer back to that section as it stands out.

The two predominant colours that have been used on the contents page are black and red. Theses colours have probably been used as they are bold and they stand out. They also contrast each other which is good as different things stand out for different reasons, such as the headline standing out in white because of the bold red that has been used behind it.

The feather headband that is been worn by one if the people of the contents page adds to the genre of music that they are trying to portray. They are trying to put across the indie genre of music and I think that they have done this by including the feather headband as a prop.  The leather gloves make the genre of music look as if it is related to rock music; I think that this could have been improved by making the artist wear clothing that is more Indie.

 

The image on the NME contents page is of the Arctic monkeys performing on stage. It is therefore an action shot of them singing. This represents their style of music as it includes the instruments that they use and it also shows the audience that they play live with their instruments at concerts and gigs. The photo has been taken from the tight hand side of the stage looking diagonally across. This works well, the other things that works well is the lack of editing that has been done to this photo. It doesn’t look fake which is a good thing as it still looks sharp and in focus.

The language on the content page is straight forward and easy to understand for the majority of people. The majority of people would understand the language that has been used but children and young teenagers may not understand some of the language that is being used this is because the magazine is not aimed at them and it is aimed at people aged sixteen and upwards. They have made the language in the magazine and contents page suitable for their target audience.

The headline is straight forward, this particularly looks good and works well as they have got straight to the point ‘NME Contents’ shows the target audience what the magazine is called and also explains what the page is about.
A pull quote isn’t included in the NME contents page and this has been done as they don’t think that you need one, they obviously think that enough information has been given through the other text on the page and by the main image and the other small image that is n there at the bottom of the page.

The headings for the different sections of the magazine are short and straight forward. ‘News’, ‘Radar’, ‘Reviews’, ‘Live!’ and ‘Features’ all add to the feel of the magazine and adds to the rock and heavy metal genre. This also grabs the attention of the reader and encourages them to carry on reading the magazine and to read the main article.

The rhetorical question in the text about the Arctic Monkeys ‘and how excited should we be about them’ makes the audience think about the excitement that they will be feeling and this helps them to connect to the magazine. The purpose of the rhetorical question is to make it feel personal to the reader and as if they are personally been talked to.


Flat Plan

 

 

I took a variety of photos of Hannah who modelled for me for this photo-shoot. From the photos that I took of her I decided that I would pick the three best ones that I thought were the most suitable for the main image on a contents page in a music magazine based at children and younger teenagers. I picked the three photos below for different reasons.

I like the first one as she looks very sophisticated and stylish in it and she also looks glamorous and like a pop star in it which I am trying to show in my pop music magazine.
I like the second one because I have included a prop in it which is the ukulele. I think that this looks good as it shows of her style of music and it relates to the article in the magazine which includes a section about her learning to play the ukulele and how she became interested in it.
I like the third one because she looks like she is at a festival or going to a festival. This shows that she has become a well-known pop star as she is able to perform at festivals in front of thousands of people.

 

I will now manipulate these photos using ‘Pixlr’ to make them look professional, I will then pick the most popular image and use that one on my contents page in my pop music magazine. I will find out which one people prefer by showing them the three edited photos and asking them to put a tick next to the one that they prefer.