Key:
Blue - First Third
Orange - Font
White - Appearance and Pictures
Green - Colours
Purple - Words
This magazine is a good example of the use of the first third. In the first third we see the date of issue, issue number, barcode and price. Its important that the price and date are on display so a customer knows how up to date the magazine is and how much it costs.
From previous research I have noticed from other soap magazines that usually the price is large and bold, whereas on this one it is very small. This would be because this magazine is more expensive than the average soap mag, meaning it is not something to shout about, but the fact they have 2 weeks revealed is, so instead, this is large and bold.
We can see the '2 weeks revealed!' this is telling us the time period of the soap plots that the magazine reports. This is shown in the first third of the magazine, so it can been seen on display, as this long time period they cover, is more than likely a unique selling point of the magazine. Also in the first third, we can see '40th Anniversary!' hinting to us that they have story lines about the anniversary of a popular soap, so fans of that soap would be interested if they saw this.
Breaking away from conventions, this magazine has its main story tag line "I want your baby" in white. Usually magazines tend to use a bold colour such as red for the main story, but i think the white has been used well, it would make it stand out on a shelf as it's a different and fresh take on the conventional front covers we usually see. Although a bold colour has not been used, i feel the white is as effective, as it is placed on the dark background, white is the opposite and obvious choice to make words stand out.
The bottom third of the page is taken up with the 'Emmerdale explodes!' section, this part really does stand out within the page, with its 'torn' appearance, it hints that within the soap characters are torn themselves. The use of red as a background colour has connotations of blood, death and violence, directing the audience to possible story lines and that there will be no happy endings. They have used white and yellow for the writing, which is very effective upon the red, yellow seems to be highlighting key, dramatic words.
I have noticed that every word in this section has been written in capital letters, yet again, displaying the importance and significance of the stories.
Following conventions of soap opera magazines, this front cover has almost no clear and unused space, every possible space is taken up with pictures, words and colours.
In the top right there is a story about a wedding displayed, this gives the audience some light relief from the rest of the cover that displays shock and death. This gives the audience something that can relate to more than probably the other stories on the page.
We can see the circle which says 'First Pics!' once again, probably another unique selling point of the magazine, it gives the audience a reason to buy this magazine over others, as others don't have these exclusive pictures.
I believe this soap magazine cover shows good use of colours, many colours have been used, but you can see they have all been well thought over, and suit what story they are displaying. For instance the use of bright pink for the words 'shock plan' emphasizes the fact that the story is about two strong female characters and a female baby, and girls, babies in particular have always been associated in the media with the colour pink. I also think this page has a nice variety of fonts, there is enough that it keeps the writing interesting, but not too many fonts that the page is confusing and busy. Something else that is good is the fat that all the fonts are easily reading and clear.
What strikes me first about this magazine front cover, is that it doesn't seem to be as busy and as full as other magazines of this kind. Most soap opera magazines tend to follow the convention of very little white space left, whereas this mag seems to have a bit. Although I think the only reason for this, is that the pictures are quite small, as this cover in fact has more stories displayed than the magazine above. It is good to compare with with the magazine above as they both seem to be covering very similar stories, but they have been portrayed in completely different ways on each magazine front.
In contrast to 'all about soaps' this magazine displays its own tag line 'Britain's no.1 soap fortnightly'. Having a tag line is a good technique to draw customers into buying your magazine. This one in particular could be the deciding factor for someone when choosing between this magazine and another, as of course your audience only want to read the best.
They have also decided not to place the price of the magazine in the first third, this would probably be because this is more expensive than the average soap mag, so it would not be something they want taking up a lot of the cover space. Once again, like the other mag, it has displayed the date the magazine covers in the first third, informing the audience of the time period of soap news they could read about. Also in the first third is the '2 weeks revealed!'showing that it is competing directly against the magazine above, by have the same unique selling point.
I think by having the magazine titles as it is, across the whole width, it divides the page, and it almost adds to the empty look. On the other hand, I do think it is an effective title as it would stand out amongst others. The red colour used, and easy to read bold, clear font makes the title prominent. The title stands out even more by the black shadow each letter has been given, this almost gives a 3D effect, and brings the titles out from the page.
Like the other magazine, this also has a large section dedicated to Emmerdale at 40, although I believe this one is more subtle and less revealing, it is down to the audience to decide weather this is a good thing or not. The use of blue as a back colour, I think is quite effective as it doesn't have many connotations linked to it. Audiences can make their own opinion on what the stories will be like, instead of having themes directly conveyed to them via the use of red, like the other magazine. The use of the colours pink and white, and having the writing in lower case letters, makes this section, almost seem as if a it's a juxtaposition when you read what the words actually say, as they seem to be all about down beat stories.
Something that I like about this magazine is the fact that for the main story they have chosen, before have the big statement 'taboo love & baby', they have named the two characters involved in the story. I think this works as if a fan of those characters were to see their names on the front of a magazine, they would probably be more inclined to buy it.
Something I notice about this magazine is the extensive use of punctuation, usually a question mark directly followed by an exclamation mark. This makes the cover exciting and keeps the audience on their toes by posing questions that they would have to read to know the answer.
As with the other magazine, all the pictures shown, give the audience hints of the characters current situations, but they are not too revealing, allowing the audience to create their own judgement upon the stories. Most of the pictures are close up shots of the characters faces, that way we can see the emotion they are going through, once again giving the audience a taster of what there is to read inside.
Overall I think these soap opera magazines are very similar at a quick glance, but become quite different when you start to analyse them. I think they both would be very effective at attracting an audience of dedicated soap fans, those people who want a lot of information on soaps, rather than just facts.
By analysing these magazines I have learnt what looks good and what doesn't on a front cover. It has allowed me to see the differences between each magazine, and what would make someone choose one over another. This will help me greatly when I come to create my own magazine front cover as I now understand more clearly the conventions and the effects of them.
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