Rolling Stone Double Page Spread
- 2. The main image of Adele takes up the right hand side of the DPS (double page spread) and overlaps into the left hand side which immediately attracts the audience and brings their focus on her. The image is a black and white close up of the cover artist of this issue of the magazine, Adele. Her hair and make- up is minimalistic which represents her differently to other female pop artists like Lady Gaga who wear a lot of extravagant make up. This represents her as solely faced on her music and suggests that she doesn’t need lots of make- up to make her stand out as her music speaks for itself. The make-up also connotes being bare and stripped back which suggests that the article will reveal all on Adele and her career. This is reinforced by her mysterious and almost blank facial expression that will further appeal to the reader. She is also looking to the side which could suggest she’s looking at something the audience can’t’ see. This could represent that there will be something revealing in the article. However, it could also represent Adele looking back on her past which shows the audience how far she’s come and emphasises her talent. The image is a simple image in a back and white colour. This suggests that she creates music with meaning and power which represents her as a hard working artist. Having the choice of Adele to be the feature of the double page spread shows that Rolling Stone is into popular music, who’s current and who is liked. With countless number ones and records sold, it is clear that Adele is successful and very well liked, therefore appealing to a very large audience. House style- The representation of this article is simplistic yet bold which is a typical Rolling Stone house style. The DPS sticks to the grey, black and white colour scheme that is used on this issue’s cover page and contents page. This shows the magazine maintains a sense of continuity allowing the reader to easily follow it, which is attractive to the reader. The writing is also kept simple and attractive, with no over dramatic or extravagant fonts used, so we can focus solely on the image of Adele. The bold black adds a dramatic element, also matching Adele’s soft make-up and plain top. A polished and clean look is given to the article, making it look more sophisticated appealing to Rolling Stone’ target audience of people aged 37.
- 3. Text- The headline of the article is ‘The Triumph of Adele’ suggesting that the article will be based around her success and how she made it the top. The subheading of the magazine shows the article will also be based around the making of her album, ‘The voice, the passion and the masking of 21: Inside the biggest pop music story of our time.’ At the top of the page it says ‘Women Who Rock 2012’ which straight away which reinforces the articles topic. The interview is opened with a direct quote from Adele ‘I wanna do something mean1’ immediately the reader is engaged and intrigued as to why she has come out with this remark. It also makes them believe that they’ll be seeing the true Adele. This quote starts with a drop cap letter. The large ‘I‘ emphasised on the page is a first person pronoun which immediately shows the article will be personal. The first paragraph of the article is filled with swearing and humorous phrases from Adele. This appeals to the reader as it shows them the real Adele. The style of the text is informal which shows the writer is trying to portray Adele as on the same level as the reader which creates a relationship with the reader making them feel involved and able to relate with Adele. The embedded quotes also make the reader feel as if they’re there with Adele. For example the conversation with Adele and Ryan Tedder from the band One Republic. Adele’s talent is emphasised where it says ‘still recovering fro the night before (she) still managed to nail it one go’ when referring to recording a new song the day after an awards ceremony. This represents her as still a normal person who has likes to have fun and go out and is still able to record a hit song after it. The website for the magazine is placed in the bottom left hand side of the page which appeals to the audience as it shows that the magazine is available on other media platforms.
- 4. Pull quote- There is only one pull quote used at the start of the article ‘I wanna do something mean!’ which makes Adele seem strong and assertive. It could also represent her attitude towards her audience and her music. It shows she does what she pleases and what she likes to do. It also shows that the music industry hasn’t changed her and she’s still the same person she was before her huge success which would appeal to her fans, especially those who have followed her from the start. Conventions- The DPS has one page dedicated to the image of the artist and the other is the article itself which is a typical convention of magazine DPS’s. However, Rolling Stone have presented the artist differently to most magazines. For example, the main image is usually a long shot of the artist or multiple images to keep the audiences attention. The fact they have used a close up head shot may represent that the close up of the artist may show the readers that Adele is such a big artist that the readers don’t need to be drawn in as she’s such a large part of the music industry that readers are naturally intrigued to know about her personal life. Font-The font is very simple, almost looking like a newspaper article. This shows that the style of the magazine is very formal and factual which would appeal to the audience as it adds a sense of validity to the article. The font is black which fits in and adds continuity to the black and white theme of the pages.
- 5. Tone- The author uses a quite formal tone and addresses the reader as an intelligent fan with word such as “dismantles, super lucrative, garnered” used which are quite sophisticated words that only the older target audience would understand. However, the author embeds quotes from Adele that also make it informal and relatable such as ‘my friends all read gossip shit’, ‘its bullshit.’ This is used to reflect Adele’s bold and brash attitude. Layout: The image on the right, takes up a large amount of the double page spread that is shown. The article and left hand side is very simple whilst the image of Adele takes over the right hand side side of the page. This leaving a little place for the article to be placed. This could show that Rolling Stone heavily uses images of its artists to capture the audiences attention. The type of font that is used in the layout sticks firmly to the font that is used throughout Rolling Stone magazine. The simplistic black and white layout would appeal to an older audience who prefer simplicity rather than an overcrowded and bright layout.