Semotic Analysis of Splash page

The main text on the splash pages are the images down both the left side and the right side. The image on the right is the largest, and is more dramatic as he is the lead singer of the band. He is wearing white as this conotes innocent which is unstereotypical of a rock band. His shirt is baggy which conotes that he is relaxed and laid back. His eyeliner conotes mysteriousness and that he has a dark side which the reader would be eager to learn more about. However the other two band members on the left are in black leather jackets, which is conoted as very tough. The man in the bottom left is wearing a smart shirt and tie, this balances out the baggy shirt that the lead singer is wearing, and appeals to more than one of their target audience. It is red which conotes danger and excitement which is what the band offer. Both the pictures on the left are juxtapostioned next to each other as they are the least important members of the band, and this is why they are not featured on the front page as not many people would recognise them. The writing is small and simple, so as not to confuse the reader as it is given in a simple, staright forward form. This could make the reader loose interest and so key, important words are in larger, more bold fonts such as 'THEY SAY' and 'POSSESSING SUCH'. The main quote from the lead singer is featured accross the bottom of the picture of him, it is in white writing, highlighted in black so as to make it stand out from the other texts because it is giving any aspiring musicians encouragement and advice and also it shows his rebelious side which is what stereotypically rock muscians have.

Semiotic Analysis of contents page

The contents page informs the reader of what is in the magazine in detail and what page to find it on. The largest picture is placed on the left, with an artist revealing its bum, whilst looking cheekily at the camera, this conotes that they are intreguing and interesting artists. The tatoos are stereotypical to the audience that the magazine is aimed at. The coverline with the picture says 'sex offers and body art' this is playing on the slogan 'sex, drugs and rock and role', it is juxtapositioned with the text where the artists bum cheek is showing to further add to this and create more suspension on what gossip the magazine holds. A bold yellow has been used in order to attract the readers eye to the most important information such as the page numbers. The names of the bands/artists are in bold black, this is because black is seen as a tough, powerful colour. The contents page itself has a white background, this is so that the texts show up better.

Semiotic Analysis of front cover

The magazine that I am going to analyse has a sub genre of mainstream, it targets a specific audience which is teenage males and females aged around 14-25. I think this because the bands that are shown to be featuring in the magazine are bands which stereotypically both male and female teenagers who enjoy rock would listen to such as The Used, and 30 Seconds To Mars. The lead singer of 30 Seconds To Mars is based in the centre of the front page, it is a medium close up so that the reader can clearly see his facial expression which is anger. The eyeliner he is wearing is stereotypical to those who read the magazine and also conotes anger and darkness of a male. His face is a very light colour which conotes innocentness which when juxtapositioned with the eyeliner it therefore adds to his 'strangeness' and the confusion that he embodies. He is wearing a white top which conotes youth as it is young people who read the magazine, the colour also conotes purity which in this case is used in order to be ironic and sarcastic as rock bands aren't stereotypically innocent. The reason that he is placed in the centre and without his band is because people recognise him more than the other members as he is the lead singer in the band. The masthead is black, the font appears as though it has been ripped or broken, attracting the readers attention. The word kerrang is to appeal to the magazines audience because kerrang is a cord on the guitar. The exclamation mark at the end emphasises the word and conotes anger. The main cover line reads 'Inside the cult of 30 Seconds To Mars' this is in bold, light blue writing in order to grab the readers attention and also because they are the band that is more popular in the magazine, and so they want to make the readers aware of who the main band is and therefore appealing to more people. Also the word 'inside' makes it seem as if the magazine holds key important information that know body else knows about the band and so targets your curriosity. Other bands such as The Used and Turisas are featured on the front so that if the reader doesnt like the main feature band, they have other bands that may appeal to them. The Used all look rather serious apart from the lead singer who is placed at the front and is titling his head in order to look commical and sexy which appeals to female audiences, who would view them as being their ideal partner. The magazine looks like a pin board with the pictures placed slightly titled. The sub heading 'Free posters' in my opinion is aimed at both the male and female target audience as stereotypically teenagers like to have posters of their favourite atrists around their bedrooms.