Task 3

Find an example of a music magazine feature spread and label it with the correct key terms.

 

The masthead

The masthead is bold and done in a 'highlighted' style with the blue around the black text. This makes it easy to see what the article is about. I think that because it is done in a bright colour this attracts peoples eye to the article. It is in a bigger font then anything else on the page because it is the most important part of the magazine that people see instantly. The masthead suggests what the article is going to be about because it is the bands name 'The Teenagers'.

The sub-heading

The sub-heading says 'Young, dumb and full of...filthy tunes' It relates to the main heading because it is still about the band. Using the words young and dumb are immediately linked to teenagers hence why they have used these words. The font is not 'highlighted' and in the same font like the masthead because it is not the main text on the page.

Drop capital

The drop capital is used because it creates a nice visual effect. Sometimes they are used more then one time in an article to break up the blocks of writing. They are also used to show the start of the text. It is in black because this follows the colour theme on the page.

The first two paragraphs

Although the first two paragraphs are not readable. They are often there to introduce the band/artist and give you some background information on them. It also introduces what they may be interviewing the band about. I think this is a good idea to do because if someone reads the article who doesn't know the band, they may come to like them and want to carry on reading.

The questions

Again you cannot read what has been written, but normally in an interview with a band or artist the interview is set out in a Question and Answer style. It is done like this because it is neat, tidy and easy to read. Depended upon who the magazine are interviewing they may use formal or informal tones. However I found after looking at music magazines in shops, the majority of interviews are done in a informal and conversational style. I think they do this because you want an interview to be relaxed and as a reader you feel more comfortable reading this style of writing rather then formal writing. I also think that if you as the interviewer and are more relaxed and informal you are more likely to have a better interview and get more answers form the band/artist. The questions are often either in a different colour, bold or underlined, this is done so that the layout format is easier to understand. The questions are often to relevant to the target audience the magazine company are trying to attract.

Images
The main image is of the band featured, 'The Teenagers'. Personally I think the main image suits the bands name and the article. They are all laying on a bed, looking lazy which is what teenagers do, they don't have any sort of facial expression and are sat there 'lazying' about which again are what teenagers are known to act like. The posters stuck on the wall are not put up straight, the way they are angled are done in a clever way so that the lines of the pages draw you into the band members on the bed. Overall it is one of five images on the page but is by far the biggest image covering the whole of one page.

Pull quotes
The pull quote used says "Of course we're a sexual band. We're The Teenagers and that's all they think about" it is said by one of the band members called Quentin. It is positioned in the middle of the page again 'highlighted' like the masthead to draw your attention in. I think it proves that although the band are serious about their music they are also out just to have fun like any other teenagers.

Layout
The layout is very tidy and organised. It is not overcrowded with text and is broken down by a number of images used. On the right hand side they have a column about other band which are like the feature band 'The Teenagers'. They also in the bottom left hand corner have what looks like a ripped out note page, how it is layed out reminds me of a shopping list. With the things you need to know being listed.

Colours
One of the colours used is blue, i think they have used blue because it is stereotypically associated with boys and the band is all boys. However really blue is a colour for both genders so I think it will interest both male and female readers. The other two colours are the simple colours black and white. Using a mixture of these 3 colours creates a good contrast and all the colour looks well together and layered together. However for the advertorial NME still use their colour they are associated with which is red.