POP Magazines Double Page

Spread Analysis

First Analysis of Double Page Spread

There is a dominant image of Cher Lloyd on a separate page to the text which is representing the young, beautiful artist is telling the reader plenty of exclusive news. This is shown a numerous of mise-en-scene elements. Cher has her hand over her mouth with a shocked and wide eyed expression which makes us feel she is saying “oops!” This makes the reader think Cher is mischievous, just like the target audience. She uses a camera as a prop to indicate that she is regularly watched and preyed upon young, public figure. Cher is posing very cheekily in a bent over position. This helps us to establish her unique personality. It also shows she is a fun, bubbly and stylish artist, loving the attention of her fans and haters. The magazine have used a whole page for the image of Cher, because they want the image to relate to the storyline and if the image is small, it wouldn’t attract the audience.

The first thing the reader notices on the double page spread is the storyline due to the bright, big, bold text. They have taken a pull quote out from the interview which stands out and appeals to the reader of the magazine. This is a common feature of double page spreads as it gives the reader an insight into the content of the article. The pull quote says ‘I was the girl parents blamed for their kids turning out wrong’ and beneath in small font says ‘Forget everything you think you know about Cher Lloyd…and read this interview now!”. This makes young girls realise they should not judge people by what they hear on gossip, they should only judge if they know the artist in person. This links to Cher as there have been many rumours about her, and she is trying to attract people to read her side of the story. The word ‘now’ will urge the reader to make them believe they must read the article as quick as possible.

By having a plain white background and high key studio lighting, it is making us focus on the text, rather than the image. The reader would immediately want to know why Cher was judged and blamed for kids turning out wrong. This is making the audience feel sorry for Cher as all she has done is followed her dream and became successful. It can also make readers change their view upon Cher, decreasing the amount of haters she has. The main three colours are pink, yellow and black which shows the gender of the magazine is girls. The heading is in black which matches the costume of what Cher is wearing; is done to stand out from the white and pink. The magazine has used the colour yellow to highlight important information of the text and to stand out. It's done to make the reader realise how important the highlighted text is, making them realise how she is feeling. The questions are in a bright pink colour to maintain the publications brand identity and the colour pink is appealing towards young girls. It is also making it easier for the audience to differentiate between the questions and answers.

There is a small image of Cher to break up the text, so the interview and page itself doesn't look boring. The image links to the interview as it shows who she is now, which involves her fame and her fans supporting her. In both image Cher is wearing what a typical, teenage girl would wear. The dominant image of Cher shows her costume is funky and stylish which is giving the target audience inspiration and showing them what is in fashion. Her clothes tell us she is fun and energetic which attracts the reader even more, which will make the reader look up to Cher as a role model. The artist is wearing black and white striped leggings which reflects the fact that there are no grey areas within Cher’s personality. Her t-shirt is tight fitting which is showing off her slim figure, which young girls love to have.

The article is an interview with Cher, explaining her side of the rumours and stories we have all heard about her. Cher is an artist where the target audience either love her or hate her. The purpose of this interview is for Cher to speak out loud and get fans to read and know her side of the story, about the things they have heard about her. The aim is to turn around Cher’s haters and allow them to be more understanding and give Cher a chance. After the target audience read this article, it would have an outcome of them likely to change their point of view on Cher, as she has finally spoke up about the rumours about her. She has not been given the chance to defend herself in the past, but she finally has in this interview with We Love Pop. Cher comes across as mischievous, fun and giggly which links to the personality of the readers and making them want to read the article.

The body copy is presented in a standard interview format, as it shows the question and then the answer from Cher beneath the question. The article uses a typical convention layout as the it uses columns to layout the text. This is to make it easier for the audience to read instead of a huge chunk of text as it the reader can be put off due to the amount of text. As it is set out neat and tidy, it allows the reader want to carry on reading. By the magazine using a puff at the top of the page, saying ‘”cover story”, it grabs the target audiences attention and persuade them to read the article. It is common for a double page spread to have a large starting letter. This is because it instantly draws attention to the article. Furthermore, the letter “W” is in italic which allows it to lean forward towards the body copy so that the audience is able to carry on reading.

Second Analysis of Double Page Spread

I chose this double page spread as I believe it is effective in its approach to style as it is presented in a fun and exciting way which drew my attention. They done this by having a dominant image with good body language and the use of rope as a prop made the double page spread more interesting.

In this double page spread, there is a long shot image of Union J running through both pages. Union J are famous from the well known UK TV show, the X Factor. It is a dominant image of all the young group, Union J grabbing onto a tug of war rope and all members look directly at the camera which allows the reader to have a connection between themselves and the boy band. On the second page, on right hand corner is a small long shot image of District 3, who are also known from the X Factor. This shows the competition between both young and good looking groups. The magazine has done this to represent the conflict and tension between both groups. The main image is used through both pages to capture the readers attention. It is appealing to the reader as the image is dominating, which makes the audience know what the article is about. The use of the smaller image of District 3 shows the magazine is pulling most of the attention on Union J, due to the different sizes of images.

This double page spread uses mise-en-scene elements throughout. The image shows they are having fun and brings out their personality of people cool and humorous. We know this as they are smiling and have happy expressions. This links to the personality of young teenage girls. It also shows they are living life to the full, just like the reader. The costume, hair and makeup are all symbiosis across the band. There is a link to the clothes the boy band are wearing as they are all wearing purple-blue items which shows they are a strong group. The clothes that both groups are wearing, are fashionable and stylish which makes them look even more attractive. The clothes are also casual and current to what teenage boys would wear now.

Furthermore, the image of the boys Union J all have a unique and individual hairstyle. This shows their individuality and personal style. The rope is used to show the reader the competition between both boy bands, which links to the TV show, X Factor as they both were to compete to win the show. This in encouraging readers to find out and investigate more information about the boy bands. The colours presented are bright and bold which persuades the target audience to read the article, attracting their attention.

As the dominant image is of a young, attractive boy band, this is attracting young girls as they would want to find out more information and evaluate their looks. This is increasing the amount of fans of Union J, as well as readers as more people would want to read about them. The boys are all making direct contact with the reader to make them feel they are talking noticing and appreciating each reader. This is forming a bond between the reader and magazine.

The images are captioned with scripts of text which is appealing to the reader as they are able to learn about the content of the image. For instance, beneath the small image is a caption that says "Their fighting it out on the X Factor tour - So will District 3 or Union J win the battle of the boy bands and whose side are you on?". This is giving the reader the acknowledgment that their is tension between both boy bands, making the competition between both bands extremely intense. This also gives the reader an overall feature story, to give them an insight about what the article is about and the theme of the image which is tug of war. The image stands out even more because of the use of fact boxes. This appeals to the reader as they are establishing the identities of each boy within the group. If the reader is already a fan, the fact boxes help them to develop their knowledge of their pop group idols, like their age and where they were ect.

The headline is in the middle of the page so it captures the audiences attention. The headline itself read "BATTLE OF THE FITTEST" which is again used to establish the conflict rivalry between both boy bands. It is attracting the reader as it's making them connected and engaged, allowing them to have their own views and opinions. It is in bold and bright colour to attract the reader and it makes people recognise it is a pop magazine. The simple sans serif font is bold to stand out and make the reader want to read the article. The white background is used which makes the page stand out even more. It also makes the pink, blue and yellow boxes recognisable and drawing the reader in to read.

Due to the content of the text is questions and answers, we would believe this is an interview. The questions that are being asked is in yellow text whilst the answers are in white. This structure is appealing to the audience as they are able to know the difference between the questions, and the responses given, making them not confused. This is attracting the reader as they are able to read about each individuals members opinion on topics being asked. The double page spread is presented in different boxes which breaks up the amount of text on the page. It is making the audience easier to read and navigate, making them not put off the amount of text being used.

The colour scheme of the page is yellow, purple and blue. These colours are bright and feminine which reflects the target audience. This makes the double page spread more appealing and attractive which is more likely for the reader to stop and read the article. The aim is for the readers to stop and find out more information about the young, boy band which will increase the amount of fans they have. They also do this to have an outcome of the young teenage girls, talking about the boy band and telling each other information and facts about the band.