Textual Analysis Feedback
Very good work Louise but you have focused on representation a bit too much. You need to look more at the generic elements of magazine design. You need to identify these elements so that you can replicate them, i.e. analyse the connotation of the name "Metal Hammer", the use of fonts and colours, how the magazine uses design elements to create a sense of house style etc.
Preliminary task.
In order to fulfil assessment objective AO2, I have applied knowledge and understanding to show how meanings are created when analysing media products and evaluating their practical work. This task also meets Assessment Objective 4, having the ability to undertake and apply appropriate research.
In this assignment I shall be analysing the front cover of a college magazine. I wasn't able to find a magazine for a college but I was able to find a couple of university magazines. As you can see, the mast head of Cardiff University is the dominant text on the page. The background they have chosen has been edited and it is an extreme close up shot of some daffodils. If you click the image to make it bigger, you can see in detail what the text is on the magazine, including pugs and other texts that briefly introduce the contents of the magazine. It is a very basic cover so there isn't much material on it. But it fits the generic element of a college magazine quite well because of the images, the mast head and the pugs that all magazines have.
In this assignment I shall be analysing the front cover of a college magazine. I wasn't able to find a magazine for a college but I was able to find a couple of university magazines. As you can see, the mast head of Cardiff University is the dominant text on the page. The background they have chosen has been edited and it is an extreme close up shot of some daffodils. If you click the image to make it bigger, you can see in detail what the text is on the magazine, including pugs and other texts that briefly introduce the contents of the magazine. It is a very basic cover so there isn't much material on it. But it fits the generic element of a college magazine quite well because of the images, the mast head and the pugs that all magazines have.
Metal Hammer - textual analysis.
In order to meet the requirements for Assessment objectives 2 and 3 I have researched several Music Magazines in order to identify their generic characteristics.
I have selected a music magazine called Metal Hammer. It is a niche magazine with a specific demographic audience. Despite the magazine being targeted at both genders, I think most men are more likely to read the content within the magazine as opposed to women. Metal Hammer is sophisticated through the use of its vocabulary and explicit content – such as swearing and the pornographic adverts that are included.
The first magazine – Metal Hammer – is of Cristina Scabbia.
She is positioned in the rule of thirds to draw our attention to her. The image is a close up of her face and she appears to be naked. She is using her hands to suggestively connote that
she is covering her modesty. This has been used to show her sexuality in a suggestive, vulnerable way and this cover would definitely appeal to a male audience. The background of the image is a soft red colour which connotes passion. Cristina is also quite pale and her make-up has been selected carefully to connote lustrous eyes and the use of red lipstick to enhance her sexuality and feminism. The title is white which is purely for it to stand out and has been decorated with leaves and an effect of dripping paint to juxtapose the image of Cristina and to connote the soft, feminine feel of the magazine, despite its content! The title of Cristina's band is in a different colour, although using the same font face to distinguish between the mast head and the bands name, which is in black compared to the mast head which is white. Cristina represents an ideal partner on the front cover because she is covered in make-up and naked and the males who read this magazine are interested specifically in metal music - Cristina is the front woman for metal band, Lacuna Coil. Many men find this attractive that women can be sexual and at the same time into the same gritty metal music as they are. The women who read this magazine, including myself are represented with an ideal self and what we should aspire to look like, despite what we listen to.
The gender represented within this magazine are women who are into the same type of music equally as much as the men are but the women are not stereotypically grungy in anyway, in fact they are very sexy and always have suggestive eyes – especially Cristina Scabbia and Angela Gossow from Arch Enemy who is also included within the magazine.
The mode of address on the front cover is peer to peer despite its vague content. The subculture is represented because of the use of the image – if you are not familiar with the magazine, you may not recognise who the bands are or the artist on the front. The subculture is underground and the magazine I have selected seems to represent this through the use of the generic use of the pale female and the make-up.
The mast head is Metal Hammer, which specifically denotes the genre of the magazine – metal. There is use of a strap line, but more importantly a sell line, beneath the mast head that says “Defenders of the Faith”. The text is also positioned within a sword which is quite manly to represent the desired audience, or maybe some ladies with a bit of balls about them!
The other text that is on the front cover includes “Die, die, my darling” I am not completely sure where this has originated from other than it has a ethereal feeling to the front cover. I’m guessing that this had been encoded to represent anchorage as Cristina who is on the front cover is very pale and basically looks dead. This connotation has been given to represent Cristina as dead/dying, perhaps?
The use of pugs are present, including the ISBN on the bottom of the page to draw our attention to the price of the magazine and the date of issue. Other pugs include the mast head, the image and any subtext within the magazine.
Cristina is placed in the rule of thirds and shallow depth of focus has been used on her so that we are only really exposed to her face. This has been used to connote her sexuality and her eyes are very suggestive, and through clever use of shallow depth of focus, her modesty in essence is blurred out. It is also a close up of Cristina, so again we are only exposed to her face.
DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD.
The mise-en-scene of the two page spread again is very much based around Cristina Scabbia, whilst her band members are in the background. Reading the content of the magazine, she does become confronted by the journalist who asks her if she uses her sexuality to enhance the bands success. Cristina immediately refuses to accept this, but with the mediation of the all of the images, whether they include her or her band are always sexual and/or have sexual connotations which are present on the two page spread. She is wearing a virginal white dress, but with pointy boots and some cleavage on display. She is again placed within the rule of thirds on the single page so she is exposed to our view. Her eyes are also squinting which can be connoted as sexual. On the right hand side of the spread, the text is stereotypical in its function with use of the headline and its emphasis – the text is also quite grungy but still has the leaves on for the effect of the band’s name, likewise on the front cover.
On the right hand side of the headline is a smaller image of Cristina that has been text wrapped to fit around the text to make it look appropriate even though it isn’t – again this magazine is connoting that she is the most important member of the band. Below the title is the use of the lead, this is the introductory paragraph leading up to the article. This has been used to introduce the article briefly and also uses picture credits on the end. The text is in three columns and they are all justified – this is to make the page look neat. The opening sentence has use of drop capitals so we as an audience know where to begin to read. The whole representation of this two page spread signifies that the band is a serious, metal band but with a lot of help of the sexuality that Cristina denotes. There appears to be binary opposition (Levi Strauss) present in this two page spread, as Cristina is seen as the dominant figure compared to the subordinate band members. The whole background consists of an image that a photographer has taken, as opposed to a custom made/edited background. There will have been a lot of editing, such as the lighting – which is natural light because they are in a real location – but would have been emphasised in places such as on Cristina and darker lighting on her fellow band members in the background.
The design of the leaves also dominate the top right hand side of the right page and they are overlapped onto the background to create an official band article. It appears that front women on a metal band are becoming more dominantly ideological with other bands such as Arch Enemy, Nightwish and The Distillers. There is use of a head line within the house style which is “Lacuna Coil” which is the band’s name. There is also a pull quote present which is stereotypical in its use because they are used in every magazine. The pull quote is attributed towards the interviewee (Cristina) and the quote has been placed on top of her image looking sexually and has been juxtaposed and paradoxically placed because the quote states “I like to look feminine, I like to look sexy.” yet in the content of the magazine she denies in all aspects she uses her sexuality to increase her band’s status. Furthermore, the use of shallow depth of focus has been used again to represent Cristina’s importance, whereas her band members are in the background and vague to see. The use of Cristina placed in the rule of thirds has been used effectively so that as an audience we are positioned to accept an ideal self, or an ideal partner depending on the gender of the audience. The choice of this band is also to promote their new album and gather some more fans because the album is a lot more professional and accurate, according to the band and the magazine. The mode of address within this article is teacher to pupil I think, because after reading the content, it’s basically pragmatically saying that this band are slightly pig-headed and at times over confident, despite using positive ways to endorse the band. We are the pupils because we are learning about the band and the way they are and their aspirations. The demographic audiences are represented in two very obvious ways – male and female audiences. The males in the band are very stern, mostly with long hair and beards which is a stereotypical view towards men who are interested in heavy music and the same applies to females – they are very slim, sexy and usually have dark hair, so yet another stereotype. I think this is a limited range of representations though, because not all females in metal bands have to be slim, sexy and have dark hair to still get the same message across so it doesn’t necessary promote the right representation but it still holds dominant ideology that we’ve come to accept.
CONTENTS PAGE.
The contents page is quite jam-packed; it has information about the content within the magazine and is laid out in a certain house style to match the demographic of the magazine. On the left hand side, there is a column that states the issue number and a summary of the front cover and a separate column that has an alphabetical order of all of the bands that are included within the magazine and the page numbers. The image of the background is of a man and woman – the male is from a band and the woman is a model. The male is represented as cool, young and rebellious and the woman is seen as clinging onto him – again binary opposition (Levi Strauss) is present – the female is seen as the subordinate figure through her posture. This represents an ideal self for males and an ideal partner for women.
There is use of pugs, especially in the top right hand corner that draws our attention through use of vibrant colours such as it’s yellow and the other colours used are either red, white or black. The positioning of the text has been used between the member of the band and the band’s name – this has been used to its full effect in the sense of it is positioned in the rule of thirds so our attention is drawn to the text. The number of the page has been put into a different colour so it is distinguishable from the text that is the bands name.
I have selected a music magazine called Metal Hammer. It is a niche magazine with a specific demographic audience. Despite the magazine being targeted at both genders, I think most men are more likely to read the content within the magazine as opposed to women. Metal Hammer is sophisticated through the use of its vocabulary and explicit content – such as swearing and the pornographic adverts that are included.
The first magazine – Metal Hammer – is of Cristina Scabbia.
She is positioned in the rule of thirds to draw our attention to her. The image is a close up of her face and she appears to be naked. She is using her hands to suggestively connote that
she is covering her modesty. This has been used to show her sexuality in a suggestive, vulnerable way and this cover would definitely appeal to a male audience. The background of the image is a soft red colour which connotes passion. Cristina is also quite pale and her make-up has been selected carefully to connote lustrous eyes and the use of red lipstick to enhance her sexuality and feminism. The title is white which is purely for it to stand out and has been decorated with leaves and an effect of dripping paint to juxtapose the image of Cristina and to connote the soft, feminine feel of the magazine, despite its content! The title of Cristina's band is in a different colour, although using the same font face to distinguish between the mast head and the bands name, which is in black compared to the mast head which is white. Cristina represents an ideal partner on the front cover because she is covered in make-up and naked and the males who read this magazine are interested specifically in metal music - Cristina is the front woman for metal band, Lacuna Coil. Many men find this attractive that women can be sexual and at the same time into the same gritty metal music as they are. The women who read this magazine, including myself are represented with an ideal self and what we should aspire to look like, despite what we listen to.The gender represented within this magazine are women who are into the same type of music equally as much as the men are but the women are not stereotypically grungy in anyway, in fact they are very sexy and always have suggestive eyes – especially Cristina Scabbia and Angela Gossow from Arch Enemy who is also included within the magazine.
The mode of address on the front cover is peer to peer despite its vague content. The subculture is represented because of the use of the image – if you are not familiar with the magazine, you may not recognise who the bands are or the artist on the front. The subculture is underground and the magazine I have selected seems to represent this through the use of the generic use of the pale female and the make-up.
The mast head is Metal Hammer, which specifically denotes the genre of the magazine – metal. There is use of a strap line, but more importantly a sell line, beneath the mast head that says “Defenders of the Faith”. The text is also positioned within a sword which is quite manly to represent the desired audience, or maybe some ladies with a bit of balls about them!
The other text that is on the front cover includes “Die, die, my darling” I am not completely sure where this has originated from other than it has a ethereal feeling to the front cover. I’m guessing that this had been encoded to represent anchorage as Cristina who is on the front cover is very pale and basically looks dead. This connotation has been given to represent Cristina as dead/dying, perhaps?
The use of pugs are present, including the ISBN on the bottom of the page to draw our attention to the price of the magazine and the date of issue. Other pugs include the mast head, the image and any subtext within the magazine.
Cristina is placed in the rule of thirds and shallow depth of focus has been used on her so that we are only really exposed to her face. This has been used to connote her sexuality and her eyes are very suggestive, and through clever use of shallow depth of focus, her modesty in essence is blurred out. It is also a close up of Cristina, so again we are only exposed to her face.
DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD.
The mise-en-scene of the two page spread again is very much based around Cristina Scabbia, whilst her band members are in the background. Reading the content of the magazine, she does become confronted by the journalist who asks her if she uses her sexuality to enhance the bands success. Cristina immediately refuses to accept this, but with the mediation of the all of the images, whether they include her or her band are always sexual and/or have sexual connotations which are present on the two page spread. She is wearing a virginal white dress, but with pointy boots and some cleavage on display. She is again placed within the rule of thirds on the single page so she is exposed to our view. Her eyes are also squinting which can be connoted as sexual. On the right hand side of the spread, the text is stereotypical in its function with use of the headline and its emphasis – the text is also quite grungy but still has the leaves on for the effect of the band’s name, likewise on the front cover.On the right hand side of the headline is a smaller image of Cristina that has been text wrapped to fit around the text to make it look appropriate even though it isn’t – again this magazine is connoting that she is the most important member of the band. Below the title is the use of the lead, this is the introductory paragraph leading up to the article. This has been used to introduce the article briefly and also uses picture credits on the end. The text is in three columns and they are all justified – this is to make the page look neat. The opening sentence has use of drop capitals so we as an audience know where to begin to read. The whole representation of this two page spread signifies that the band is a serious, metal band but with a lot of help of the sexuality that Cristina denotes. There appears to be binary opposition (Levi Strauss) present in this two page spread, as Cristina is seen as the dominant figure compared to the subordinate band members. The whole background consists of an image that a photographer has taken, as opposed to a custom made/edited background. There will have been a lot of editing, such as the lighting – which is natural light because they are in a real location – but would have been emphasised in places such as on Cristina and darker lighting on her fellow band members in the background.
The design of the leaves also dominate the top right hand side of the right page and they are overlapped onto the background to create an official band article. It appears that front women on a metal band are becoming more dominantly ideological with other bands such as Arch Enemy, Nightwish and The Distillers. There is use of a head line within the house style which is “Lacuna Coil” which is the band’s name. There is also a pull quote present which is stereotypical in its use because they are used in every magazine. The pull quote is attributed towards the interviewee (Cristina) and the quote has been placed on top of her image looking sexually and has been juxtaposed and paradoxically placed because the quote states “I like to look feminine, I like to look sexy.” yet in the content of the magazine she denies in all aspects she uses her sexuality to increase her band’s status. Furthermore, the use of shallow depth of focus has been used again to represent Cristina’s importance, whereas her band members are in the background and vague to see. The use of Cristina placed in the rule of thirds has been used effectively so that as an audience we are positioned to accept an ideal self, or an ideal partner depending on the gender of the audience. The choice of this band is also to promote their new album and gather some more fans because the album is a lot more professional and accurate, according to the band and the magazine. The mode of address within this article is teacher to pupil I think, because after reading the content, it’s basically pragmatically saying that this band are slightly pig-headed and at times over confident, despite using positive ways to endorse the band. We are the pupils because we are learning about the band and the way they are and their aspirations. The demographic audiences are represented in two very obvious ways – male and female audiences. The males in the band are very stern, mostly with long hair and beards which is a stereotypical view towards men who are interested in heavy music and the same applies to females – they are very slim, sexy and usually have dark hair, so yet another stereotype. I think this is a limited range of representations though, because not all females in metal bands have to be slim, sexy and have dark hair to still get the same message across so it doesn’t necessary promote the right representation but it still holds dominant ideology that we’ve come to accept.
CONTENTS PAGE.
The contents page is quite jam-packed; it has information about the content within the magazine and is laid out in a certain house style to match the demographic of the magazine. On the left hand side, there is a column that states the issue number and a summary of the front cover and a separate column that has an alphabetical order of all of the bands that are included within the magazine and the page numbers. The image of the background is of a man and woman – the male is from a band and the woman is a model. The male is represented as cool, young and rebellious and the woman is seen as clinging onto him – again binary opposition (Levi Strauss) is present – the female is seen as the subordinate figure through her posture. This represents an ideal self for males and an ideal partner for women.
There is use of pugs, especially in the top right hand corner that draws our attention through use of vibrant colours such as it’s yellow and the other colours used are either red, white or black. The positioning of the text has been used between the member of the band and the band’s name – this has been used to its full effect in the sense of it is positioned in the rule of thirds so our attention is drawn to the text. The number of the page has been put into a different colour so it is distinguishable from the text that is the bands name.
Project Set Brief.
In this project I will be researching similar magazines in order to create a magazine that replicates one house style. I will be using all of my knowledge of theory, and learning new ones to establish a music magazine. This project has to be completed by the beginning May, with all work completed.