Magazine Textual Analysis 4 (Contents Page)

This is a legitimate contents page from a music magazine published by music magazine company Vibe in October 2008. The page shows a narrow range of colours within both the background and text. There is an attractive woman filling a lot of the page in a semi-erotic pose. Thos woman is there to be the main eye catcher on this page.  This is a very plain, easy magazine contents page. 

The colour scheme on this contents is very basic. The whole page consists of just black and white, with the background being black at the top of the page and gradually fading to white as it reaches the bottom of the page.  The lighting on this page is clearly staged as there is a visible shadow on the bottom left of the page. From the writing fonts combined with the image on the page, i would say that this is aimed at both genders. This contents page screams basic, but the fonts and image also hint at a classy magazine. The eye gaze and gestures of the woman in the image is aimed directly at the audience, making readers feel more engaged and involved with the magazine. The model used in this image has clearly been dressed in a very erotic yet classy fashion with the legless leotard, bracelets, shoes and make up. There are no props being used or set in place in the image. It is impossible to tell the location of the image as the model is set in front of a blank backdrop with no scenery or even props. The centre of the frame is technically the models legs, however the eye is immediately drawn to the bottom of the page where the models head and body is. The fact that everything on the page seems very simple yet classy connects the elements together.

I would say that the shot distance on this image would be a Long Shot (LS).  This is because you can see the models entire body is visible on the screen however she is not so far back that the shot can be considered an Extreme Close Up (ECU). This camera angle is not quite a birds eye angle as you don't entirely look down on the model, however you do have to look down the page to see the model fully. Everything in this shot is in focus. there is only one thing on this page that really needs focus and that is the image, which is in perfect focus. Even though the sort of theme of this contents page is Black and White, there still seems to be a rather smooth film stock. There is also a high contrast of colours as there are not a lot of shades on the page. As already mentioned, the lighting in not natural as there is a visible shadow caused by staged lighting. 

From the things written on the contents page, the preferred reading is to gain fashion tips and possibly to learn about what the celebs are wearing. This page shows a lot of the typical Vibe conventions that are shown in most Vibe contents pages. The first being the giant outlined V at the top of the page. This is a common trait in a lot of the Vibe magazines, as is the colour scheme used. The use of the plain colours with the dark fading to bright is also a common thing to see in each of the Vibe magazines. This is a rather posh/mature magazine so the use of the simple colours is relevant for this kind of contents page. What else is common in each Vibe contents page is the use of the same two feature articles 'Features and Fashion.' This is a popular fashion magazine, so that is the main topic that the magazine will cover, hens the use of it on the contents page. This contents pages structure shows that it follows the rule of thirds. As you can see, there is the big V on the top left of the page, all of the major information down the entire right hand side of the page, and the bottom is filled with an image. A basic form of the rule of thirds. The overall target audience for this magazine would be women, probably aged between 20-50. The reason the age gap is so far is because this is a more of a mature magazine title as opposed to other fashion magazine. There are a lot of fashion hints and tips aimed at a more older generation as well as tips aimed at the more common generation aged between 20-35.