Textual Analysis

Vibe Magazine

• There are many conventions to a magazine which make a magazine, literally a “Magazine”. Some of which are the Masthead, which is the brand of the magazine, for example, VOUGE, FHM,MATCH, VIBE, These are all giants in the magazine industry. In this instance, the masthead is the big red word which is placed behind the main cover image (T.I) on the left side of the screen .A magazine can’t just focus one story to grab the attention to their desired target audience, so that’s why they all use extra cover lines, maybe about 4-5 additional ones to interest the buyer before purchase and inflict some sort of curiosity with usually big stories about celebrities which are over exaggerated when read. The main cover image is what the magazine is focused on and it’s main selling point, this is the core of the front page usually and normally has significantly larger text to grab the audience’s focus.Convergence is not as noticeable as the other key features but is usually always there, convergence is extra platforms and links to social media or things off the magazine which the audience can interact with. On this magazine the magazine is directing the consumer to vibe.com .

BASIC CONVENTIONS OF A

MAGAZINE

DENOTATION:MASTHEADThe masthead on this magazine is placed behind TI’s head as vibe as a brand feel that they are powerful enough that people in the audience will instantly know the name of the magazine.

DENOTAION: COVERLINESThe cover lines in this magazine are stereotypical and also conventional to other magazines as they all contain celebrities in them. These cover lines attract the audience.

DENOTATION: MAIN COVER IMAGEThe main cover image is T.I a successful rapper. The ideology behind the magazine is to use direct mode of address to draw in the audience, this is a common technique used in the industry therefore it is very conventional.

Convergence:A lot of magazine use convergence to expand there magazine over the internet and social media as they are the most viewed things in the world. This magazine used there website and a QR code to interact with the audience therefore potentially improving their magazine.

DENOTATION:PUFFMagazines use key words to attract the audience, in this magazine it uses the words “GIFTS” AND “EXCLUSIVE” To draw the consumer into making a purchase.

DENOTATION:COLOURThis magazine used the conventional 3-4 colours, them being Red, Blue, Black and white, these colours stand out and give the magazine a sharp edge when it needs to catch the eye. A known rule for a magazine is to never go above 4 colours as the colours won’t have the boldness they would and wouldn’t stand out in the shop.

MAIN COVER IMAGE

The main cover image, is T.I, he is using direct mode of address to interact with the consumer and make the consumer feel like he is looking at him. Because the main cover image is T.I, the consumer feels more special as he is a celebrity. The shot is at eye level therefore strengthens the power of direct mode of address. This ties in with Richard Dyer’s star theory, this is when the media uses a star to mass brand and uses that star as a selling point to their desired target audience.A main cover image is near enough on the front of every magazine.

This shot is a medium shot as you can see his upper body and his whole face. This is a popular shot choice in magazines.The focus depth of this shot has T.I in focus.

The lighting in this image is not natural as the image has been composed so that T.I has been more lit up than the background so he looks more sharp and the consumers focus on him more.

• T.I’s facial expression ties in with the cover line which says “PEOPLE HAVE BEEN COMPARING ME TO TUPAC” His facial expression is aggressive, serious and focused which connotes that he is in the rap industry to be the best of the best, (TUPAC was the best of his time) His pose also represents that he is ready and prepared to start going up in the industry.

The fonts are also all serif fonts which gives an element of professionalism to the magazine and also could represent T.I’s seriousness and professionalism in the image as well.

The rule of thirds is more to do with photography rather than magazines but is used always in magazines.Here you can see that the magazine is composed so that T.I, the main cover image is placed in the centre of the shot so that his eyes and face are in the middle centre third.