Magazine Textual Analysis 1 (Cover)

This is a magazine published by the magazine company 'Ebony.' This magazine clearly follows the rule of thirds as the main title and also most of the feature articles are presented on the left hand side of the page. The main eye catcher of the magazine cover is the photo of Beyonce that fills a lot of the page. The image of Beyonce is positioned in the center of the page. The background colour and also the clothing on Beyonce is presented as very dark. The writing on the page, however, is very bright. The magazine is clearly made for adults as some feature articles include 'Who's watching your kids?' and '9 tips for managing your money.' Also the use of Beyonce on the front and the feature article concerning children, this could be passed as a parenting magazine of sorts. Beyonces hair also covers up a part of the masthead yet the feature articles are placed over Beyonces image. 

The background colour and the dress that Beyonce is wearing is a very dark shade. This would be put in such a way so that the brightness of the text would stand out a bit more and catch the eye a little easier. Even though there would have been staged lighting in order to get the picture of Beyonce, it seems all natural as the image is made out to be somewhat realistic. This magazine was definitely made for the more older generation but the use of Beyonce on the cover steers it more towards a females magazine. There is not really a specified class that the magazine is aimed at as Beyonce is well known throughout classes and also races. The eye gaze of Beyonce is as if she is looking straight at the reader as if she is telling all the info in the magazine herself. Her expressions and gestures give across almost a serious yet interested feel as if she was serious and supports all of the magazines contents. It also seems like she is somewhat proud to be the face of the magazine.

I would say that the shot distance would be a Medium Shot (MS) as you can clearly see the whole top half of her body yet you don't see anything from the waist down. Again, the camera angle is just simply at a medium/eye level. this gives the impression that Beyonce is staring into the eyes of the reader. a worms eye or a birds eye camera angle wouldn't give the same effect. Everything on this cover is perfectly in focus. this is because the background is just a plain brown one so there would be no need to blur anything out. The image of Beyonce is the only thing left on the page, other than the text, so there would be nothing else to fade out. The film stock over all is rather detailed therefore making a smooth film stock. Although the colours on page, mainly the background colour, is very plain, all of the page is in colour and not black and white. The lighting is set to look natural, but i would expect that it would have been staged lighting. The overall image shows some low key lighting and also has a very sharp focus which draws your attention to the image. All of the text is in either white or bright green which is used to make the writing stand out a lot more in contrast to the dark shade from the background. Its all in bold and all text, except from the masthead, is place in front of the image.

The Feature articles are used cleverly as they are all problems or topics that a lot of parents (in particular) can relate to meaning that they would be interested in reading about them. There is also a rhetorical device used as they have merged the words 'Beyonce' and 'evolved' in order to make it sound clever. Overall the magazine is aimed at adults, more specifically parents, and the magazine is set to possibly help them with any troubles or issues they may be having. In terms of the target audience as a whole, it is clear that this specific edition of Ebony magazine is aimed at the black community. This is clear to see as Beyonce herself is black, but also the other famous faces mentioned on this cover are also black icons. These icons include Regina Taylor (American Actress), Eamonn Walker (English Actor) and even the President of the United States, Barrack Obama. This would also be aimed at the more mature audience as the cover features things such as 'Who's watching your kids?' and also '9 tips for managing your money.' This would cry out to the age range of maybe 25+ as this is around the age many people have children and houses of their own.