Task 1b - Analysis of NME contents pageThe masthead-‘NME’ clearly stands out at the top of the page because it is

big, bold writing which is filled with a vibrant red colour. Because of the big font that has been included on the cover and contents page of the

magazine, it will become recognisable to the reader. Thus the point of the masthead is to brand the magazine. Due to this, on some magazines the

masthead can be covered or have letters missing as people will still recognise what magazine it is. It takes up less space on the contents page

compared to the front cover, however it is still in a large dramatic font in order to reach its target audience or niche market. Because the masthead is

the same on the contents and cover page, it will become recognisable to the reader and will begin to brand the magazine. The black outline makes

the typography stand out, and makes it more visible to the reader.

Main heading/ title – the main heading is ‘contents’. This is done to inform the reader of what will appear on the page, and let them know that it will content all the information they will need to know about the page numbers and what the content will include.

Main image/mis en scene – The main image is a medium shot of a girl next to a bus. It shows that she might be in a band as it looks like she is about to go on a tour bus (this is supported by the image caption ‘touring special’). The main image follows the rule of thirds. This is because she is standing within the right third of the image, thus making hotspots for the audience to look at. The image also contains boarders. This is done to separate the image from the rest of the content on the page, and to make it stand out to the niche market/target audience. It is a very large image, suggesting high importance. From this main image you can say that the magazine could have a potential female target audience as some bands including female members have been presented.

Page names and numbers- This is an essential part of a magazine and so is a common convention for each and every issue. These are essential in order to provide the audience with key information about different pages, and on what pages they will appear. They appear in the right third of the page, which makes it a hotspot for the reader to look at because it follows the rule of thirds.

Date/issue - the date is included in the top right hand corner. It is placed under the masthead in order to make sure the reader notices it. They are a common feature of a contents page because it will inform the reader about how recently this issue was released, and also would give them an idea when the next issue might be published.

Puff – – A puff is an eye-catching graphic, which is simply used to advertise more exciting information that can be found inside the magazine. It is also often used to present cover mounts, which give the audience a chance to ‘win’ a competition or to get their hands on free merchandise. They appear at the side of the page around and generally contains cover mounts, important news, free merchandise and subscriptions/social media branding. This particular puff uses buzz words such as ‘subscribe’ and ‘save’ in order to entice the audience’s attention. The use of the vibrant yellow colour entices the audience because this particular colour has been used nowhere else on the page, and so the reader thinks it is important and is drawn to it.

Fonts – there are many different fonts used on the contents page. This is done to help make the writing look more

interesting and fun (which helps it seem user friendly). The use of so many different fonts also helps separate writing into

columns as you can differentiate the different fonts and where the writing belongs on the page. This is also helped by the size of the writing. The size of the writing separates the masthead from

anything else on the page, and also separates important sub headings and titles from less important things on the contents

page.

Mode of address – the magazine contents appears quite informal. This is because it uses colloquial language and

rhetorical questions as a means to involve the reader (direct address). The magazine also uses 1st person such as ‘we’ to

make the reader feel involved and part of the magazine. This therefore makes the reader feel special and will persuade

them to buy the next magazine issue.

Subheadings - Several subheadings are included on this contents page such as ‘news’, ‘radar’, ‘reviews’, ‘live’ and ‘feature’. Subheadings are included in order to pick out and separate important topics in the magazine which would appeal to the niche market/target audience. Under these, there are pages associated with the subheadings. The pages also contain a page description which is used to add in extra information which would entice the target audience and make them want to read that page.

House style and colour scheme – There is a distinct colour scheme of red, white, and black on the contents page. This is similar to that of the cover page, and so it makes a house style for the magazine as the colours become recognisable to the audience as they are used in each issue. This helps brand the magazine because the niche market/target audience will easily recognise the colours and associate it with the NME magazine.

Layout – the contents page of NME has a distinct layout. It has 3 columns, the first containing page names and numbers (band index), the second containing an image and a caption

with text, and the third containing puffs, subheadings and the date of the issue. Columns are a common layout setting

that many magazines follow. This is because it helps follow the rule of thirds if you include 3 columns, and it also helps

separate different bits of writing so that the contents is easier to read and more user friendly.

Rule of thirds – The rule of thirds-a common convention for all magazines -uses a grid (shaped like a hash tag - #) in order to

create hot spots for the reader to look at by aligning the image with intersection points on the grid. For example, the girl in the

image is directly within the middle third of the page, and is looking directly at the camera. This therefore creates hot

spots where the reader will instantly look. Furthermore by doing this, it creates a sense of direct address because the person in the image is looking directly at you. Using rule of thirds helps create a layout for the magazine, which can be

made into a house style so that it becomes recognisable to the reader.