Article Analysis

Ciara Oakes

Article 1: Crystal Castles / NME

Forms and Conventions…

One single, large image. The image is bright and eye-catching, with bold colours such as the electric-blue present in the female’s hair. This contrasts with the black and white of the background and the clothes that she and the male are wearing.

The use of props such as the cigarettethat the female is lighting and her skullring sets a daring and anti-social tone.

The female band-member makeseye-contact, creating a personal connection with the audience. In addition, the male looks away, creating a further contrast.

A large, bold and underlined headlinedraws the audience’sattention. This headlinedoesn’t include any Capital letters and flipsAround the letter ‘s’ in‘twisted’ – an interestingtwist on convention.

Information is presented in 3 columns.

A pull quote is used to entice theaudience to read the whole of the article and set the article’s tone.

Graphics areused to break-up different

texts on the page.

The date and page number are used to inform the audience of the issue and to direct them through the magazine.

The font size for thisarticle isparticularly small,indicating to the reader that it willbe rather detailed. Thisalso presents the article as professional.

Different coloured fonts are used to highlight the band’s name and the journalist writingthe article.

Article Analysis 2: Alt-J / NME

Forms and conventions…

A simple black font is used forthis article’s headline. Thecapitals and colouring make the headline stand-out, catching the reader’s eye. Also, this headlineis positioned in the top-left ofthe page: the first place theaudience begin reading. Thus,it is important that the journalistmakes the headline interesting,providing enough informationfor the audience the grasp the article’s content yet not enough for too much to begiven away.

This wide-shot shows the band facing the floor, going against the convention of making eye-contact with the audience.

This article uses red tohighlight the band’s name and the name of the journalist.

A small font size is used notonly for practical purposesbut to give the article a professional finish.

A drop cap is used to capture the audience’s attention. The use of red is bold and is used in conjunction with graphics and other areas of text around the page.

This article is presentedas two columns that arebroken-up by the pull-quotepresent in the middle ofthe two columns. The pull-quote is used to entice the audience to readthe whole article and tosome-what give an overviewof the article’s content.

Multiple images are used in this article, providing the audience with an insight into “behind the scenes” of the band members’ lives. Thereare also images of live performances, indicating that the article is likely to include content on a tour/previous live gigs that may be poignant to the band.

Bold graphics are used tobreak-up the text and highlightspecific information, such asa band member’s name.

The date, page number and titleof the magazine are used to inform the reader of the specific issue, the institution andto direct the reader through themagazine.

Captions are included todescribe the imagespresented and provide moreinformation on them.

Audience….

• Young-people and adults, age 17-24.

• Interested in live music, new albums and artists/bands.

• Want to keep up-to-date with everything that is occurring in the music industry – the audience want to be informed.

• The audience also want to be entertained –new pictures or information on their favouriteartists/bands, for example.

Representation…

• ‘NME’ is seen as a bold, edgy and – at times –risky publication. For example, the use of swearing, sexual content and violence. This article highlights aspects of such edge, such as the title ‘twisted firestarters’, cannotingdanger, violence and anti-social behaviour.

Institution…

• ‘NME’ is an important publication within the UK – it is one of the market leaders, along with ‘Q’ and ‘Mojo’.

• It’s indie-rock focus is well respected by fans of the genre, whom turn to the magazine for the latest information on the indie-rock world.

• It is a recognised brand, with such additions as the ‘NME Awards’.