7th Oct 2013: Weekly Coursework Analysis

This week I have started my AS Media Studies coursework. I have produced a questionnaire for people to fill out by using Survey Monkey. This questionnaire is still on going now and will possibly be closed on Monday night at the latest. I will then get my results together and possibly make a final decision on what I want to base my coursework on. I have picked 5 types of magazine covers and I have texually analysised them to give myself and anyone else a good understanding of the cover. I will use this to help pick what the base of my work will be. I'm possibly thinking of going down the route of "Geek" magazine but I'm still in the debating stages with that.

Textual Analysis: Neo

Masthead
The masthead for Neo magazine is big, bold and very unique. it is recogniseable to its targetted audience. The masthead has a japanese-ified type face. This is used as the magazine's visual branding tool and it attracts the audience. The masthead is a layer behind the main image, this technique is being used quite a lot with magazines and it looks very effective. However, it isn't covered much so the masthead is still very readable to it's audience.

Cover lines
The cover lines stick to a colour scheme of black, white and red. They have white backgrounds so they stand out against the main image. They are like this due to the fact that the main image is too busy for the cover lines to go onto without a background. If they went on without a background then they wouldn't be very easy to read or that they won't stand out as well as they need to be. They all link towards anime and anything to do with the wonderful country of Japan. This is anything to do with music, anime, games, etc. Some of the cover lines are in red or are in a bold font. This suggest that these parts are more important which makes our eyes go to them first and make us want to know more.

Main image
The main image features three main characters from an anime of the name of Hetalia. Japan, Italy and Germany (the three characters) are all making full eye contact with the audience. Their gestures represent each of their personalities very well. Italy, being the main one out of the three, is shown in the middle which makes him seem more important than the other two. Due to this, our eyes draw to him first out of the others because of the way the main image is laid out to the audience. Before we look at the rest of the magazine, the main image is the part that we look at first and gets the reader interested.

Main cover line
The main cover line for this issue of Neo is towards the bottom of the magazine. It is in big, black, bold letters which tells us that its very easy to see and will get the audience's attention very well. The main cover line, like the others I have analysised, links with the main image. It promotes how much of a success this anime has become in Japan and possibly the countries in the other corners of the world. The main cover line is in a similar style to the other cover lines to give it a professional look about it. Although the main cover line is rather simplistic, it sure does attract the audience very well. We see this cover line just after main image is viewed. This gives the audience a better meaning of the image they just looked at.

Textual Analysis: Your Dog

Masthead
The masthead for Your Dog is different to the other ones I have analysed. It takes up quite a lot of room in the top horizontal third. Its big, bold and red which definitely grabs the audience's eye. The masthead is very, very basic when compared to others. This is probably due to the fact that its not a well known brand or that its a low budget company. The masthead doesn't have a fancy name like "Cosmopolitan" or "Vogue" like other genres of magazines. As its a interest/factual magazine then it doesn't need as much of a 'fancy' title.

Cover lines
The coverlines are wildly spread on the cover and explain key parts of the content within the magazine. They are all dog related to fit the magazine theme. They don't have much of a colour scheme like the others but the colours that have been chosen work well together to make the cover lines stand out from the background. With this cover, the cover lines are made up of different fonts and some parts are more bolder than others. This tells us that these parts are slightly more important than the other parts. Due to the boldness of these parts, our eyes will wander off to those parts more than the smaller areas of text.

Main image

As its a dog magazine, the main image is of a dog. The dog is seen sitting down with his head looking upwars towards the audience whilst making full eye contact with them. This gives off a sense of cuteness as it's eyes are gazing at the audience. This draws the audience in due to the full-on cuteness that is being presented. We see this image first before we see anything else on the cover. The dog also has his roght paw lifted off the ground slightly with his head tilted. Its as if he wants the attention off the audience and is begging for there affection.

Main cover line
The main cover line is the biggest and boldest on the entire cover. We see this after the main image. It links in with the main image too. This is due to the fact that the way the dog is acting towards the camera, it shows off a needy feel to it. This links to the main cover line very well as it says, "Dogs who love too much. Is your pet too needy?". The main cover line doesn't have much of a colour scheme either. But it is still used to make it stand out from the rest of the cover lines, this shows how important it is over the others.

Textual Analysis: Geek

Masthead

The masthead for Geek magazine is unique but yet simple. It is made to be recogniseable for its audience. It also sticks to the chosen colour scheme for this magazine cover. The type face never changes at all when we look at different covers from the same magazine. This is to make it easy to recognise by the audience. If the type face changes each issue, then the reader won't be able to recognise it as easily as they would of done if they type face stayed the same. For this magazine, the masthead is shown a layer or so behind the main image.

Cover lines

The cover lines mostly apply to the theme of the entire issue for this magazine, which happens to be Star Trek. We can see this through the fact that it says "The best Trek cosplay ever" and "Exclusive Trek movie interviews", etc. The cover lines have their own colour scheme of blue, light blue and grey. These are space-related colours and ties in with the "Trekkie issue" theme. They are made so they stand out from the white effectively. The blues are used to make key parts stand out the most and the grey is used for more 'minor' parts of the cover lines.

Main image
The main image isn't of someone overly famous. This image is probably of someone who works for the magazine and is one of the important members of staff. He appears to relate to the masthead "Geek" quite well. He is making full eye contact with the audience, this draws in the audience, it makes them interested in him and the magazine. His hand gestures are important. He is doing the very iconic hand sign from Star Trek that is commonly seen being used by Spock. This ties into the issue theme. He is also pointing at it with his other hand to show that the hand sign is very important. Its as if his other hand is telling the audience to "Live long and prosper".

Main cover line
The main cover line is in the centre of the cover and is larger than the others. This is to show its importance. This cover line relates to the main image and issue theme due to the fact that its about Star Trek. It also matches the chosen colour scheme for the entire issue. Its promoting the new Star Trek movie series which is directed by J.J. Abrams and how Abrams has made it cool again. This will interest the audience a lot. Due to how much the main cover line stands out, it will catch the audience's attention after the main image has been viewed.

Textual Analysis: Empire

Masthead
The masthead is the recognisable title of the magazine. The masthead for this cover of the Empire is white and is going behind the main image. The white stands out from the background which draws our attention to it. When the masthead can be seen from a far, the cover can be recognised by its audience due to the fact that it's typeface is unique. The masthead is basically like the logo and its seen as visual branding for the title. Empire has such an recognisable masthead as it is so popular and international.

Cover lines
The cover lines are important when it comes to the cover, especially of this magazine. These cover lines are about movie-related things to match the theme of the whole magazine. They are also related to the audience effectively as this is what the audience would be looking for when they pick up the latest issue of the Empire. The colour scheme for the cover lines is made up of red, white and gold. This matches the main image, Iron Man. This is used effectively as it compliments the main image as well as standing out from the background. The way they are laid out give the cover a professional look and makes it seem to be a slightly high end magazine.

Main image
The main image definitely obeys the rule of thirds on this front cover. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) is shown in the middle vertical third in his famous and iconic Iron Man suit. He is looking straight at the audience and so is his helmet. This draws the audience in by making them interest in the main image. The main image is what the audience sees before anything else on the front cover. So it is important for the image to look straight at the audience. The main image is a reason why some people buy the magazine. This is due to the fact that some people would just buy it because like the image on the front.

Main cover line
For this magazine cover, the main cover line links with the main image, "Iron Man 3. Downey Jr.'s lethal weapon flies solo". This cover line is bigger than all the others which suggests that it is the most important. This makes the reader interested to know more about Iron Man 3 and Robert Downey Jr.'s role as Iron Man. This cover line matches the same colour scheme as the others even if its more important than them. The fact that it links to the main image might suggest that the theme of this issue is about the 'due-to-release' Iron Man 3. It is a visual promotion of the film and will get the audience to buy it as it will possibly give them as much insight information they can get.

Textual Analysis: Official Nintendo Magazine

Masthead

The magazine's masthead is the actual logo for the company that the magazine is about, Nintendo. By looking at the masthead, we recognise it and realise what it is about. The masthead is very unique as it's a logo for a company at the same time. Most gaming magazines are like this. Its the visual marketing of the magazine by the fact that we know the target audience just by looking at it.

Cover lines

There aren't a lot of cover lines on this magazine cover. The cover lines are very spaced out from each other and they don't make the cover look busy and overcrowded. It makes it look more mature for it's audience. The cover lines have all sticked to the same colour scheme, which is orange, brown and white. These have been chosen to match the main cover line which makes the magazine look professional. The colours that have chosen have made the cover lines stand out from the image. This makes them easier to read and easier for it's audience to view them. The cover lines appeal to the audience very well and tell us about certain topics that we might want to know about. They interest the reader which makes them intrigued to buy it.

Main image

The main image is what draws in the target audience. The way the main image is on this cover is slightly different to how most magazines. The main part of the image is towards the bottom of the cover. This is pretty much unique but however it still obeys the rule of thirds as the main characters are in the middle vertical third. The main image is of the latest Animal Crossing game, Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Anyone who is interested in this latest release, would be wanting this magazine. This links in with the fact that the main image attracts the audience.

Main cover line

The main cover line is the largest cover line on the cover and usually links with the main image or is the  most important topic within in the magazine. The main cover line captures the attention of the audience first after we see the main image. For this magazine cover, the main cover line is the most unique I have seen. They have put the main cover line in the middle of the cover which is different to most magazine covers. This causes our attention to draw to that first before that main image that is below it. The main cover line is also made up of the official logo for the game, Animal Crossing: New Leaf. The fact that it says "A whole month inside Nintendo's glorious new world!" tells us what the topic is actually about. This would interest the audience as it will give them an insight of what you can do on the new release. This will make it the major component of success of the magazine due to the fact that some people would just buy the magazine just for what it says in the main cover line. 

The Official Nintendo Magazine

The Official Nintendo magazine is normally targeted at a young audience normally between the ages of  13 to 30. As this magazine is about gaming, the audience would be mainly built up on males. But however, some females do buy this magazine. The Nintendo Magazine has a very niche audience. This is because it is very specific and the people who would buy this magazine would buy it as they know a lot or are interested in Nintendo. For example, Mario is a very, very iconic character and has practically became the face of Nintendo but, people who may recognise him might not know a lot or not even anything about him so they are less likely to buy this magazine. 

The 'Rule of Thirds' has been used very effectively on this cover. Mario's face is in the middle horizontal third, the masthead is at the top, etc. The cover-lines on this cover target the audience very well. They tells what is within the magazine and they relate to the magazine's theme, games. The cover lines feature game titles for upcoming games such as, Mario Kart 8 and Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. These attract the audience, some people might want to buy it because they are a big Zelda fan and are interested in the latest Legend of Zelda game that is due to release for the 3DS. The main cover-line stands out the most due it being in bold and that it's background is in yellow. It catches the audience's eye. E3 is mentioned in the main cover-line. It is every gamer's dream to go to E3 and the fact that its information is from E3, people would be eager to know what is said. The cover-lines are in black and red which stands out from the white and makes them more noticeable for the eye. 

The representation that is being used on the front cover is hard for me to tell in a way. This is because it doesn't have a real person on the front, instead its a game character. But however, there is still representation on this front cover. The game character, Mario, is shown in an 'epic' pose with a fireball in his hand. This gives a feeling of 'awesomeness' when we look at it. The cover seems to be represented to be aimed at people in the working or under classes. But I could be wrong. Due to the fact that its layout is very professional looking as its laid out neatly and not over crowded, it could also be aimed at the middle class. Magazines with a specific theme, like games or cars, don't normally have much representation that is easy to see when looking at its cover.