Research and Planning - Music Magazine Analysis

The first example I am analysing as an example to my magazine is from 'XXL'. This magazine covers the genres of 'RnB' and 'Hip-Hop' and we receive this impression through usage of the main colours and the photo of the people on the cover. Firstly the masthead is in the top left corner, and is of the colours white and red. The positioning of the masthead shows the importance and relevance of the magazine, as audiences normally look at the top left corner before anything else due to the fact most people read items left to right rather than any other way.

These colours are used because they are eye-catching and  make the magazine stand out to the audience, also being a famous magazine, this logo/masthead will be easily recognisable and identifiable, especially if this is the colour scheme usually used by them as it will be associated with this company. The colour red is an intense colour and is often the most noticeable and recognised colour - the use of colour on this magazine coverline could link to the two people on the cover (whom are positioned directly next to each other) and hint there is some sort of emotional link between the two people, and makes the reader wonder if there is some sort of romantic history between the two.

The photo on the cover is a two-shot, meaning the camera shot features two people in it, and is also a medium long shot. This connatates to the audience the idea of getting to know the people on a personal level, but not completely as the short distance from the camera creates the effect we will not find out everything completely, that they will keep some things to a personal basis. The facial expressions on the people who we see are fairly serious. The woman's expression shows her looking directly at the camera in a cold kind of way that could be represented as seductive. This creates an idea of power and independence on the woman's behalf, we receive the impression she has made her own money and success. The facial expression of the man is similar to the woman's - however his is more warmer and makes him look friendlier. The direct eye contact with the camera gives the impression he is fairly relaxed and makes you wonder if he is more used to the attention and whether that doing magazine photo shoots are more familiar to him. Directly looking into the camera with a neutral but somewhat friendly expression gives the audience the idea of him being honest, and that we shall find out a lot from him in this magazine.

My second example comes from the magazine 'Vibe' from the genre 'RnB'. We can tell this from various things used in the mise-en-scene. Firstly the colours used are simple and if looked at alongside the photo can connatate elegance. Black and white are often colours used for posh events, like black ties and suits - which is also the costume of the person in the photo. The way he is dressed and surrounded by the colours show simplicity and wealth: as suits are often associated with the idea of successfulness and money.
The masthead on this magazine is a bold, bright colour of red. This attracts attention easily in the respect that we look straight at it. The word 'VIBE' completely stands out in comparison to the rest of the magazines black and white theme, and the colour red is also associated with danger - if we look at one of the coverlines  it says 'gangster for life.' This is also written in the colour red, emphasising the idea of danger and gangsters.
The photo of the person is a mid shot, displaying his face and shoulders. Because of the close proximity of the shot we can see clearly and directly into his eyes, showing the seriousness and power behind his facial expression. This tells the audience that the character in this shot is serious, and powerful (again, link to the costume). This shows the person in the shot is powerful and could potentially have a lot of resources behind him.

My final example and analysis of a music magazine cover is of 'Vibe' once again. This magazine uses 3 colours, which are yellow, black and white. These are to some extent quite neutral colours, as black and white are quite often partnered with each other and the yellow can represent and appeal to both genders without being more biased to one than the other. The masthead is in the colour white; this stands out completely against the black background and is often related to the idea of perfection. This gives the magazine the impression of godly-ness and makes the magazine seem very appealing. The use of the colour gives the magazine a bold/stand out representation, making it seem better than the others. The photo of the man is a halfway between a medium long shot and a mid shot. This enables us to see his shoulders and part of his body, and from this we see he looks strong and manly. To the audience this can represent his strength, and suggests the large amount of impact he has made on the music industry. Also on his t-shirt is written 'unstoppable', those that are fans of this artist they will know that this is the name of one of his songs and those that don't will simply relate it to the general meaning of the word which is quite positive. The rest of his costume fits into the general idea of what a rapper would wear, such as the fitted cap and baggy t-shirt.