Case Study1 - Rwd Magazine Front Cover

 

This is the front cover of Rewind magazine from 2010. The two models that are sharing the front cover are artists in the music industry; Giggs and Tinchy Stryder. The masthead is more of a logo than just plain text; it’s in white so it can stand out and look bold and strong against the dark grey background. Although the masthead is being slightly covered by the models, Rewind is a well-known brand in the UK so the audience still know what the logo is; the only change in the logo on other editions of Rewind magazine would be the colour scheme to match the rest of the cover.
On the bottom left corner of the page are the cover lines, they are a list of the artists who are featured throughout this edition. The text is written in white so the audience can see it against the dark background. The main cover line advertises ‘Def Jam Rapstar’ as its own independent brand by keeping their logo in this cover line as opposed to changing the text to match the rest of the text in the textbox. The main topic is about Giggs and Tinchy Stryder, both their names are in the same font and the same size showing that they are both equal until the winner of Def Jam has been crowned. The rest of the text isn’t in bold but is in the same font. All of the text in the main cover line is written in black, this portrays an image that the battle will be tough and fierce it is also the only text on the cover written in black. The main cover line is positioned directly in between the two models. This also helps to illustrate the idea that they are going head to head in the battle but are both equal until one of them wins.
The background is dark grey with a bright patch that looks like it could represent a white light shining between the two models to show that although the battle will be a challenge it will consist of pure talent and fairness; the winner will come to light and get the recognition he deserves. I also noticed that this magazine doesn’t have a bar code, selling line or a date line on the front cover, this is a trend that is continued throughout all the Rewind Magazines.
The images of both models are represented in totally different ways although they are being put against each other. Tinchy Stryder (on the right) is more of an urban artist; his costume and accessories help the reader to form an idea of this personality and style of music he produces. He is wearing a range of jewellery earrings, a necklace, a watch, a ring and sunglasses. His sunglasses prevent the audience from seeing his eyes this could represent deception because we don’t know where he is looking. Whereas Giggs is more of an underground artist and is shown as a character that doesn’t wear jewellery to illuminate his image or represent his talent. Giggs isn’t wearing sunglasses and therefore has direct eye contact with the audience this shows his honesty and loyalty to his fans and the general audience. His serious facial expression doesn’t give anything away and therefore encourages the audience not to over or underestimate his talent but to assume that it is raw pure. I noticed that both of the artists were holding the microphone in their left hands, this could be just because they’re left handed or to literally demonstrate that neither of them have the upper hand and they both have equal opportunities. The camera shot of the models is a mid-shot this is to show the audience a bit of their costumes so they can form personal opinion of them.