Double Page Spread Research

Now that I've (finally) finished my Front Page and Contents Page, I'm starting to move on to the Double Page Spread (DPS). This is arguably the hardest part of my Coursework, and is made even harder since I have only ever read 2 Double Page Spread articles in my life... Anyhow, I still plan on doing a good job. So I'm going to start researching into articles that have already been written, namely the article on Rise to Remain in issue of Kerrang! Magazine that I analysed for my Front Page, and also a Double Page Spread in Q that my college analysed for his Front Page research. So, here we go;

KERRANG!

The Kerrang! Article I'll be Analysing

The Basic Layout

This Double Page Spread is laid out in a very simple way, with the main image taking up one page and the article confined to the next page in the magazine. This particular layout does look professional and the article itself is split into three distinctive columns that have been text-wrapped around 4 other images and a thin banner explaining about Ben Tovey's conductor for a Father. Although this is a favorable layout for some DPS articles, it isn't one that I will use myself. Instead I will probably go for a  less grid-like layout and try to integrate the image and the article itself a bit more than has been done in this DPS article on Rise to Remain.

The Main Image

Austin Dickinson (Front man of Rise To Remain) is the main focus of the main image of this DPS. The first thing that springs to mind when I look at this image is how he isn't looking at the camera, in fact he doesn't even have his eyes open. His gaze is focused on his eyelids, and his mouth is wide open screaming into a microphone. The shot itself is classed as a Medium Shot, and his clothes are similar to those worn by him in the Front Page, and of course this creates similar connotations. The city backdrop also adds to the modern feel and matches the colour scheme of the clothes, and also can be linked into the Front Page image of the same Band.

The Style of Writing in the Article

The article itself is written in more of a narrative sense, documenting the events of the interview as well as a few questions that Rise To Remain were asked throughout the Photo Shoot. There are several things that catch my eye when I have a look at this article in particular, and one of them is that it doesn't document an interview as such, rather than a Photo Shoot that Rise To Remain are doing on top of a London Skyscraper. This is a new idea to me since I have never read a DPS article that wasn't documented in an interview situation, and I've always thought that this was the only way to format an article like this. Preconception No.1 Busted! This article is also written in quite a Formal Style, with the only colloquial language used in direct quotes from what the Band Members have replied to certain questions from the writer of the article. This has also come as a bit of a shock to me, as I would've thought that a magazine like Kerrang! magazine, with the reputation that is has and the way that the coverlines are written, would go for a more colloquial style of writing throughout the entire magazine. Of course, as things mainly are, I was wrong. This is definitely something I need to remember for when I'm writing my own DPS article, to make it fit in more with the real media world. Finally, there is a small banner in the middle of the article page, towards the top, that has a small paragraph of information about the lead guitarist Ben Tovey and his classical background. I'm not sure whether this is a good idea or not, but I might think about including something like this in my DPS article.

Little Bits and Bobs

Here, all I am going to do is have little look at a few of the little touches that have been done to make this article fit in with the magazine itself;

1. Page Numbers: The Kerrang! Masthead is included next to the page numbers on both pages. This little design element subtly groups the rest of the magazine pages together, improving the magazine's "identity", and also gives the page just a little extra something to set it apart from just having simple numbers in the corners of each page.
2. Paragraphs: The first letter of the first word of each new paragraph has been enlarged to at least 10x the size of the other text, bolded and re-coloured. This is known as a Drop Cap, and (obviously) makes it stand out more on the page and also shows when a new paragraph begins.
3. Quotes: There is a Pull Quote from the article enlarged and highlighted, and them embedded into the main image. This does many things such as emphasises that specific quote, adds a little bit of extra flare to the main image and acts as a hook to pull the reader in to the article.

 Q 

The Q Article I'll be Analysing

The Basic Layout

The main image of this DPS article is in the centre of the page and takes up most of the space for the article. The article itself is confined to a column on the outside of each page, and personally I don't think that works as a professional layout for a DPS article. The models themselves look incredibly dressed up using a variety of different costumes and props to make the picture look different and interesting, as if it is acting as another hook to read the article. Personally I think that the image takes up way too much space than it should, and that the text should be wrapped around the image in the centre of the page. This would eliminate the space that is left by having such a blocked layout and would also allow for more content to be included in the article.

The Style of Writing in the Article

The entire article is written in a Question and Answer style, whereas the Kerrang! Magazine article is written as a narrative so this gives me an idea of how both of the styles of writing look in the real media world. I prefer the way that a Q and A article is structured personally and will try to incorporate this style into my own DPS article. Since this article features in the "The Music That Changed My Life" feature of this issue of Q, it makes it harder to look at the questions themselves since they look solely at the music tastes of Billie Joe Armstrong and who has influenced his taste in music. So as a separate task I need to look into what questions are included in a first interview.

Little Bits and Bobs

Second verse, same as the first:

1. Page Numbers: The Q Logo is included with the page numbers, similar to the way Kerrang! uses their Masthead next to their page numbers. This reinforces the importance of the page numbers of a Double Page Spread, and this is an element that will definitely be integrated into my own Double Page Spread article.
2. Paragraphs: There is no use of Drop Caps as there were in Kerrang! magazine, however this could be down to the use of a Question and Answer structure to this article rather than the Narrative structure used in the Kerrang! magazine article. Each question and answer is separated by a new paragraph, and again this is an element to be incorporated into my Double Page Spread.
3. Quotes: Again, a Pull Quote is used on this article to draw the reader to the content of the article. The quote itself is situated in the middle of the page to the right, and the design element used to frame it is similar to those used throughout the magazine to improve the House Style. The Pull Quote is large enough to draw attention to itself appropriately, and takes up a lot of space in the article but again I feel that the space left behind is what dramatically decreases the strength of this article compared to the Kerrang! article on Rise to Remain.