TASK 2 DETAILED CLASS

ANALYSIS OF MUSIC MAGAZINE

ONE NME

TASK 2A. Analyse the front cover of NME, September 2009

There is a main image of Dizzee Rascal and he is wearing a gold chain, white
vest, sneakers and saggy jeans and he is in bent down position with hes arms
out; the connotation is that hes identity relates to the rap culture and has a
gangster-like sense of fashion. The genre is hip-hop because the main image is a
Hip Hop artist and the mis-en-scene shows the background which looks creative
with all the graffiti and all the different colours, the colour scheme relates to the
genre and theme very well because Hip Hop is creative and so is the range of
bright colours used. The main colours used are red, white and black with a hint
of yellow. This eye contact Dizzee presents to the camera attracts the reader by
creating a feeling of closeness and this shows direct address too. This shows the
rule of thirds too because Dizzee is at the centre and covering the hotspots too.
The main image is a long shot because it shows Dizzees fashion which allows
the audience to see his fashion and set a fashion trend which will inspire the
audience. The masthead is clear, bold and bright red which could represent the
colourful graffiti and relates to the theme Hip Hop which is normally a busy
theme; the masthead is very attractive and eye-catching to the audience too
and its positioned behind the main image because the main image shows what
the magazine is about without putting it into context.
The main cover line is Dizzee Rascals name which tells the audience who the
main image is and what the magazine is mainly about as it is an ongoing theme.
In addition, the anchor shows a quote from Dizzee himself and the quote is very
inspirational to the audience and it makes the audience see how he is like and
feel a connection with the artist Dizzee.
There also contains a puff next to Dizzee which advertises other things which
the viewer might be interested at. In conclusion, the target audience for this is
mainly old teens (15-20) because they are interested in Rap and Hip Hop music
unlike older people who are more interested in classical music, also, the gender
would most likely be male because Hip Hop suits males more because Hip Hop is
mostly used by male artists rapping about their lifestyle which men can relate to
but females think its more suitable to listen to female artists because it suits
them and also relates to them too.
You can also clearly see a barcode has been added on the bottom right of the
cover.
There are two strap lines (top and bottom) and the top strap promotes one of
the pages in the magazine which persuades the audience to check the page

TASK 2B. Analyse the contents page

from NME
This is the contents page of NME, the contents page uses a
particular structure called the rule of thirds. The lay out of this
contents page is neat as it has a list on the left hand side showing
all the cover lines with the page number references whereas on
the right hand side, it shows the main cover lines of the main
topics that is most to look forward to in the music magazine so
its telling the audience that those which are in bold are more
important. The contents title is NME CONTENT which still follows
the colour scheme same as the front cover which is red, white
and black. The colour scheme relates to the genre and the theme
of Hip Hop very well as Hip Hop is creative and it really shows this
with the use of bright colours such as red and yellow. Underneath,
the contents title, it tells the audience the issue date so it keeps
the audience up to date. There is a box around the middle which
contains an image of a girl about to go on the coach for a tour
with an explanation underneath which is informal as it says
Thank god and eh?, this targets the audience as people who
like Hip Hop tend to talk with slang so theyll find this easier to
read and relate to. The audience is mainly aimed at 15-20 year
olds as that is the age group which mainly talk in slang and like
Hip Hop/Rap. The connotation of the box is that its a touring
luggage and the denotation is that its used by musicians who go
on tour and people who come to tours so it targets the audience.
The contents page only contains one image which is a medium
shot as it is shows the woman from waist up. The mis-en-scene of
the image is that it is located outside with a tour bus so it targets
the audience who like going on tours. The woman gives direct
address as she is looking straight at the audience with a very
happy facial expression to tell the audience that it is really fun to
go on tour. The picture anchors with the cover line as it tells the
audience about the Touring Special. In the bottom right hand
corner box, it shows an advert and further contact information so
if the audience have any worries or concerns, they can use them.

2C. Analyse the double page spread

from NME

This is a double page spread of the Dizzee Rascal

magazine and the page layout is very clean ; the
first page on the left shows the connotation of
Dizzee with a spray can and he is looking to the
left while he is spraying the wall behind him with
his left hand. The denotation of this shows that the
background of graffiti relates to Hip Hop and shows
Dizzee is creative both ways, a music artist and an
artist with graffiti. Also the red jacket looks very
colourful and shows his personality is bright and
he relates to Hip Hop a lot, stereotypically, its like
gangster clothing too.

At the bottom right the connotation is that there is

empty beer bottles and a radio box, the denotation
shows that this relates to his story and puts images
into context which is very intelligent and persuades
the viewer to read hes story; it shows that he was an
alcoholic but always had a passion for music which
relates to the title and how he started from the
bottom. The title is FROM TAGS TO RICHES, which
tells us that he started from poverty and climbed his
way up to wealth.
The large letter at the start of the article starts with
Y to show to the reader where the article begins.
The colour scheme is always the same, it has many
colours in the style of graffiti in the background of
both pages which relates to the theme of the
magazine which is Hip Hop. The use of space is laid
out well, the first page is filled up with a medium long
shot of Dizzee and graffiti background which takes up
a lot of space. The second page is filled up with a title
at the top and an article with images underneath;
there's not any dead space which makes the
magazine attractive and eye catching. In addition,
both pages have the same width and are positioned
very structural.
The right page is filled with text and images. The
main bold text with a huge font size is positioned at
the top right so the denotation is that it is the main
text and the title for this page; also this title relates
to Dizzee because it defines that Dizzee went from
poverty to wealth which is very inspirational to the
audience. Underneath the title it tells the reader
Dizzees amazing story which is interesting to read

TASK 2D. Identify the elements that connect

the 3 different parts of the magazine
An element that connects all 3 magazines is the colour
scheme, the colours red, black and white with a hint of
yellow is used in each magazine which flows really well as an
ongoing theme. The colour scheme relates to the genre and
theme very well because Hip Hop is creative and so is the
range of bright colours used.
The clothing what Dizzee Rascal wears in the front cover and
double page spread is the same as the colour scheme, also
the image on the contents page, the mis-en-scene of that is
outside with a tour bus which is red so this also connects
well to the colour scheme. The clothing Dizzee Rascal wears
is gangster related and stylish and is perhaps trying to set a
trend towards his audience.
The mis-en-scene on the front cover is showing Dizzee
Rascal in front of the graffiti wall but the mis-en-scene on the
double page spread is showing Dizzee Rascal spray painting
graffiti on the walls so its an ongoing theme of him with
graffiti so it connects well.
Another element that connects well is the fonts that has
been used, theyre all similar to each so it connects very
well.
The structure of all pages connects well also, as it is neat
and uses the rule of thirds structure.
The language used in the magazine is informal and this is
constant throughout the magazine so this connects well. The
artist used is Dizzee Rascal and hes always constantly
mentioned or linked well towards the magazine so it doesnt
go off topic in any certain way.