AMP Magazine: Analysis of existing double page spreads

This double page spread is incredibly simple, but uses that simplicity well to create an elegant article. The colour scheme is very metallic with greys, white and black to make the patches of red stand out from the page. This colour scheme not only runs through the text and title, but in her out fit as well. By dressing the artist in a short, tight black dress and tight, tall, black high heels, there is great emphasis on her fiery red hair and the skin colour of her legs. It also emphasizes the red of the flag she sits on, which ties in with the article title, ‘USA got the love’. They have created a symbiotic link between the image and the text through a word play on the artist’s song; “You've got the love”. This clever wording also connects to the article. The musical genre is portrayed through this image by the straight face and the casual stance; the image of someone who doesn't care. Indie music is known as the music for those who couldn’t care less, and this image draws from that stereotype. It is a long shot, showing her entire body and the props she sits on, to accentuate the straight lines her body forms whilst in that pose, and the sultriness of the shot appeals to a male audience.

The font of this article is sans serif, a convention of indie music magazines, in a dark grey to stand out from the background, but part of the title and the first letter of the text are of an italicized sans serif font and a much more stylized one than the other. The flowing look is almost romantic and classic, playing on the latter half of the title. By placing a large ‘D’ at the beginning of the article, the reader can easily see where it begins, the font also continues from the title. The introductory paragraph is in a serif typeface, emulating that of a type-writer, to give an authentic, classic feel to the article, but a contradicting classical look than that of the title; this section is much more sharp edged and blocky rather than flowing and smooth. The paragraph gives a teaser to the article and compels the reader to carry on.

The image to text ratio is of about 75:25; there is more room for the image than text to attract a reader as they flick through the magazine. The text is formed to fit around the image and the title, those being most important in terms of size because they get the reader to look at the article, the large block of text doesn’t do that. By placing the text into three columns, and along with the font and image, the editor has made the article very clean cut and almost smooth. 

                                                                                                                                                       

Kerrang has placed the main focus of this double page spread on the images of the members of the band. The images and the white and red sidebar frame the two, neat columns of text. The banner in the top left hand corner of the left page attracts the reader due to it's use of  buzz words; "world exclusive". The white on red on black makes the message stand out from the page. It also  follows the same colour scheme of the rest of the article. Black has the obvious connotation of darkness that is often assigned to the rock genre, and the red and white combination is often linked to danger, painting an image of the stereotype of rock music. By having the images in black and white, Kerrang plays on the image of darkness in rock music, in turn making the sidebar on the right of the page stand out like a beacon from the article. By placing red and black on top of that, it catches the reader's eye and practically forces them to read it. The images give the reader an immediate idea of what the article is about without even beginning to read it. They also give a good image of the band, especially the main one of the haggard looking lead singer, and convince the audience that the band work hard, and that makes the audience like them even more., and in turn the magazine. The darkness of the article makes the images more highlighted, and with the photo on the bottom set of images on the far left; the lighting is behind his head and the shot is angled upwards; creating an angelic look and contrasting the darkness of the article.
 Apart from the set of three images at the bottom of the pages and the text, the layout of the other components seems to be slightly skewed, almost disjointed. This reflects the genre of music, rock, as it is supposed to be loud and messy. Another element that promotes this image is the style of font. By having a slightly degraded looking font, the magazine makes it seem as if the volume of music has reached through the article and begun to shatter the text.  The  enlarging of part of the title, "the best MCR", attracts the reader immediately. The phrasing makes the reader feel empathetic towards the band and shows the reader that they are human too, and that forms a bond between the artist and the audience, and the magazine and the audience. The use of exclamation marks emphasises the title and combined with the large text; looks as if it is jumping out of the page. The sub-title underneath is of the same slanted direction, but is in a neater font forming a segway into the rest of the article. The colour scheme is continued in the text with white writing and a large red 'M' to start it off, keeping with the continuity that the article contains.