DJ Double Page Spread Analysis

Competitor Magazine Evaluation

 

Double Page Spread 

 

 

 

This double page spread is conventional for the type of genre of Dance and Club Music.

The second part of the headline is bold and clear against the white background. This creates a bold statement for the article, making the reader want to look at it. The headline consists of two different fonts and colours creating a contrast which not only expresses the key information of the headline but connotes a contrast in the genre again. The words chosen in the headline do not make complete sense to any reader therefore intrigue the reader to find out more.

The stand first in this double page spread is quite long, however it offers a full brief into what is in the article.  The mix of short and long sentences allow textures within the this piece of text to again make the read more interesting too the reader. The byline creates a connection between the writer and reader to make the article more personal.

A drop cap is used to lead the reader into the article and is conventional in most magazines and other journalistic texts. The drop cap allows the reader to know if they are getting a professional story from the magazine.

 

When reading the article I felt as though I was reading a piece of persuasive in the way that once reading it, I felt as though I want to have the same experience. The demographic audience are young people with a club lifestyle who like to party and this article allows them to find out about the next experience they can have.  I enjoyed reading the article as the langue used is exciting and fun which reflects the music genre. “The plush party destination” would be a typical example of the language persuades the reader with this exciting language.

The mode of address in this article is very personal and connects to the reader in a way that is different to any other informative article. This article tells a personal story of the writers experience as the approach is friendly. The article doesn’t use a lot of jargon which makes the article less technical and allows a more pleasant read.

So this tells us the reader is likely to be a person wanting to be part of this experience therefore the article  allows an insight to this certain experience to entice the audience to become part of it. 

 

The use of a lot of pictures in this article is a little unconventional however is conventional for the demographic audience of young people who would have visually see what they are reading. The use of bright colours and people smiling entices the reader as It lights up the page, brings it to life and also sets a fun tone.

The photos on this double page spread are positioned like the contents page as both pages use the small write gaps in-between photos to make them easier to look at and to make them stand out more.

 

DJ Magazine Contents Page Analysis

 

 Competitor Magazine Evaluation

Contents Page

 

The Photos in the contents page are positioned in such a way that makes it very easy for the reader to take in the rest of the information on the page.  The larger  picture that is separated from the main body of photos is the photo of the feature article, therefore the magazine is again trying to attract  the reader to read this article. There is a balanced photo: text ratio.

 

The photos are used to show that the magazine very visual rather than consisting of a lot of text which attracts the target demographic of young people  with the clubbing lifestyle would rather see the information is picture form.

 

The small gaps between the photos not only make them stand out, but they allow the reader to navigate through the contents page more easily .

 

The two photos showing technical equipment connotes that this magazine is more for aspiring DJ’s as well as those who are into club music.

 

 

The use of the columns make the page easier to follow and the colour-coordinated subtitles and sections also allow the reader to navigate and find the section they are interested in. The reason for this is that the target demographic are young, busy people who are always going out and therefore not have the time to be reading all of that magazine, but only the parts they find interesting  (For example: a person who has no interest in becoming a DJ will be able to know what pages they don’t need to read)

The use of the running head is used just to allow the reader to follow the order of the magazine.

The contrast of colours but also the contrast of photos to text show how different the genre of music is and how exciting it can be. This will interest the reader.

 

 

DJ Magazine Front Cover Analysis

Competitor Magazine Evaluation

 

DJ Front Cover

 

September 2015 Issue 549  

Alex Sherman DJ Front Cover Evaluation  

The Title of the magazine is very simple for the reader to grasp the content of the magazine and the genre that is enclosed. Using 'DJ' instead of Disc Jockey tells us that the target reader is the type of person who wants to read a simple yet exciting magazine as the abbreviation is short and snappy. This connotes that the target reader is young and enjoys a fast pace of life. 'DJ' also suggests that the reader is likely to listen to Dance music, but also enjoy the clubbing experience where there are DJ's. The Masthead is small for a conventional magazine however the boldness of the red captures the reader in the same way a plain and large masthead would. The font is also bold which connotes that the genre of music is very exciting and outgoing. The masthead could also be smaller due to the fact that it is a well identified magazine brand. The Masthead has a black outline, making it stand out from the feature article photo, suggesting that the genre of music is different and contrasting to other types of music, which dance music is supposed to be. There is a disc above the J in the masthead which creates the link between the genre and the magazine. Inside the D there is small piece of horizontal yellow text that reads DJ MAG. This creates a more exiting, fun and different look for the masthead and allows the reader to become adventurous.  The font used is a bubbly font that connotes that the target reader is likely to be quirky, adventurous and be the type of person to stray from normality, otherwise the font would have straight edges.   The feature article photo is extremely bold and exciting for the reader to look at and captures the attention of the reader very quickly. The cover star is wearing a large green hooded jacket, with sunglass. The photo is using low key lighting as the darkness covers parts of this face and all of his neck. The lighting of the photo is most likely coming from one light that is above and behind him. The background is made up from an explosion giving off sparks. This image connotes that he is a mysterious and different artist who is in a way intimidating however is an artist who readers aspire to be like. The explosion connotes that this is an explosive music genre and that the magazine holds an exciting article inside. This shot is a conventional mid shot however below the upper waist, the picture fades into darkness. This sets a mysterious yet intriguing tone for the magazine. The cover start is an artist called Paul Woolford. The feature article photo shows a mysterious character with some sort of dominance. He is a really interesting person who makes you want to buy the magazine.   This particular magazine brand uses a Puff on its front cover: "LIVING AND BREATHING DANCE MUSIC". This enhances the brands identity as it allows the target reader to quickly and easily learn that the magazine is very professional and is fully dedicated to the music genre. The Puff allows a more personal approach to the reader as it is small and easy on the eye creating the right Mode of Address allows that connection between the magazine and the reader as is it a simple feature for an audience who wants to read something simple yet interesting.   The Cover line is extremely bold and captures the readers attention instantly with this use of typography as the yellow and white text stands out on its black background. This connotes that this music genre stands out. The cover line takes up around 40% of the page which is very large however this makes the reader feel as though this article needs to be read so they buy the magazine. The word 'DETONATES' links into the background of the feature article photo which connects the look of the magazine together.  The font of the cover line is different to the plugs and other text however they are the same colours. This creates more of an interest for the feature article while also having a link to the rest of the magazine. The rough effect on the font gives the text an edgy look and a less sophisticated tone. This is because the target reader would be a young, outgoing person who enjoys clubbing and dance music.   The Plugs are of alternating colours of yellow and white (like the cover line) and different boldness make the cover easier to read yet more interesting. This also connotes that Dance music is different and individual which the target audience aspire to be. There are small boxes underneath each bit of text that creates a separation between the background of black and orange to make it easier for the reader to read. The plugs are flush left and flush right creating a more organized look.   From looking at this front cover I have made an estimated judgement on the demographic audience:   Gender - 70% Male    30% Female (the dark colours create a more masculine tone however the genre of music is for both genders) Age -  16-25 (the this the age group in which are part of the clubbing, dance lifestyle and therefore this is who is likely to read the magazine) Class -  Lower Middle and Skilled Working Class (the reason I have suggested that this magazine is for these class brackets is that the members of these classes earn a certain amount of money which they will need in order to fund sophisticated but has a certain classiness about it.) Sexuality - All (the genre of music attracts all sexualities as it appeals to them all. The bright colours, but dark club night mis en scene of the magazine really brings this across) Ethnicity- White (Dance music is traditionally aimed at the white ethnicity) Education-  Average Income - Middle (Although younger people don't have very large incomes they need enough money to fund some of the activities inside this magazine such as club nights, festival tickets etc.

 

 

 

 
 
The Title of the magazine is very simple for the reader to grasp the content of the magazine and the genre that is enclosed. Using 'DJ' instead of Disc Jockey tells us that the target reader is the type of person who wants to read a simple yet exciting magazine as the abbreviation is short and snappy. This connotes that the target reader is young and enjoys a fast pace of life. 'DJ' also suggests that the reader is likely to listen to Dance music, but also enjoy the clubbing experience where there are DJ's.

The Masthead is small for a conventional magazine however the boldness of the red captures the reader in the same way a plain and large masthead would. The font is also bold which connotes that the genre of music is very exciting and outgoing. The masthead could also be smaller due to the fact that it is a well identified magazine brand. The Masthead has a black outline, making it stand out from the feature article photo, suggesting that the genre of music is different and contrasting to other types of music, which dance music is supposed to be. There is a disc above the J in the masthead which creates the link between the genre and the magazine. Inside the D there is small piece of horizontal yellow text that reads DJ MAG. This creates a more exiting, fun and different look for the masthead and allows the reader to become adventurous.  The font used is a bubbly font that connotes that the target reader is likely to be quirky, adventurous and be the type of person to stray from normality, otherwise the font would have straight edges.

 

The feature article photo is extremely bold and exciting for the reader to look at and captures the attention of the reader very quickly. The cover star is wearing a large green hooded jacket, with sunglass. The photo is using low key lighting as the darkness covers parts of this face and all of his neck. The lighting of the photo is most likely coming from one light that is above and behind him. The background is made up from an explosion giving off sparks. This image connotes that he is a mysterious and different artist who is in a way intimidating however is an artist who readers aspire to be like. The explosion connotes that this is an explosive music genre and that the magazine holds an exciting article inside. This shot is a conventional mid shot however below the upper waist, the picture fades into darkness. This sets a mysterious yet intriguing tone for the magazine. The cover start is an artist called Paul Woolford. The feature article photo shows a mysterious character with some sort of dominance. He is a really interesting person who makes you want to buy the magazine.

 

This particular magazine brand uses a Puff on its front cover: "LIVING AND BREATHING DANCE MUSIC". This enhances the brands identity as it allows the target reader to quickly and easily learn that the magazine is very professional and is fully dedicated to the music genre. The Puff allows a more personal approach to the reader as it is small and easy on the eye creating the right Mode of Address allows that connection between the magazine and the reader as is it a simple feature for an audience who wants to read something simple yet interesting.

 

The Cover line is extremely bold and captures the readers attention instantly with this use of typography as the yellow and white text stands out on its black background. This connotes that this music genre stands out. The cover line takes up around 40% of the page which is very large however this makes the reader feel as though this article needs to be read so they buy the magazine. The word 'DETONATES' links into the background of the feature article photo which connects the look of the magazine together.  The font of the cover line is different to the plugs and other text however they are the same colours. This creates more of an interest for the feature article while also having a link to the rest of the magazine. The rough effect on the font gives the text an edgy look and a less sophisticated tone. This is because the target reader would be a young, outgoing person who enjoys clubbing and dance music.

 

The Plugs are of alternating colours of yellow and white (like the cover line) and different boldness make the cover easier to read yet more interesting. This also connotes that Dance music is different and individual which the target audience aspire to be. There are small boxes underneath each bit of text that creates a separation between the background of black and orange to make it easier for the reader to read. The plugs are flush left and flush right creating a more organized look.

 

From looking at this front cover I have made an estimated judgement on the demographic audience:
 

Gender - 70% Male    30% Female (the dark colours create a more masculine tone however the genre of music is for both genders)

Age -  16-25 (the this the age group in which are part of the clubbing, dance lifestyle and therefore this is who is likely to read the magazine)

Class -  Lower Middle and Skilled Working Class (the reason I have suggested that this magazine is for these class brackets is that the members of these classes earn a certain amount of money which they will need in order to fund sophisticated but has a certain classiness about it.)

Sexuality - All (the genre of music attracts all sexualities as it appeals to them all. The bright colours, but dark club night mis en scene of the magazine really brings this across)

Ethnicity- White (Dance music is traditionally aimed at the white ethnicity)

Education-  Average

Income - Middle (Although younger people don't have very large incomes they need enough money to fund some of the activities inside this magazine such as club nights, festival tickets etc.

What I Have Learnt and What I Am Going To Do

Other Photographs From Lighting Workshop

 

Other Photographs

 

 

Lighting and Portrait Workshop



 
I used the lighting to make one side of my models face lit and the other darker, but still clear. I had a two light set up of soft boxes for this photograph and I used one light in front of my model, the other lighting the background. This created a well lit background which created a nice contrast with the lighting of my subject.

 

  

In this Photo I used a 3 piece set up and used all 3 lights to light up the subjects faces, however to get the brightness correct I should have used a black backdrop. I didn't have any softboxes lighting up the backdrop. The black backdrop would've allowed me to focus on the darker tones on their faces

In this image I used a 2 light set up with 2 soft boxes and also a fan to create the effect with the hair. The lighting was only directed onto the subject and not the backdrop to allow a dark background for the shot. I then put a black and white filter on the photograph on Photoshop and decreased the levels of red in the picture to make it darker.