Main Task : Front Cover Texual Analysis

The Masthead:
The magazine name, as in this case is billboard and is simple and bold and contains various colours. The colours brighten up the masthead as the backgroud is a plain light grey colour. The colour does not overdo the masthead and fits in nicely. There are also no drop shadow or any affects included and uses a sans serif font, which shows that the target audience which will be teeenagers will only focus on the main image and coverlines which are the main things telling them what the magazine is about.

Denotation:
The cover of the magazine consists a coloured picture with a boy looking directly at the camera. It is a medium long shot where his body is visible up to his knees/ upper leg and is slightly slouching towards the camera. The background of the photograph is a light grey, and the photograph covers most of the front cover. Behind the boy is the Billboard masthead followed by 5 coverlines in front of him. The name of the boy in the photograph is placed at the bottom right hand side of the front cover in a large bold white font. Four of the coverlines have headings bove them in blue while the main cover line under the boys name is in a yellow colour to match his jewellery as it is about him. The dateline is also placed underneath the D of the masthead and was published Dec 13 th 2008.

The Main Image:
The photograph is a successful american singer called 'Soulja Boy'. The main image is based on what most of the magazine is about and is bold and very large which takes up most of the page but grabs the attention of the audience and also doesn't clash which the other elements on the cover.
Costume:
His clothing is very baggy and he has a lot of jewellery which shows the style of most american artists, and the colour of his outfit will also appeal to his target audience which will be young girls.
NVC:
His non verbal communication is very attractive. He has a nice smile which shows his white teeth and looks directly at the camera.
Lighting:
The lighting is high key and is a clear bright image.
Setting:
There is not much of a setting which makes it dull and not much to see. The image does take over the whole front cover which bright colours but there is just a plain light grey setting in the background.

The main coverline that relates to the main image says 'Cranks Out The Birdwalk, Kicks Into The Sneaker Game And Animates Online Video'. The other coverlines that are on the front cover shos that the magazine doesn't consentrate on just one genre of music and is diverse in what it chooses to write about. This consists of rock, rnb and hip hop.

Looking at all the points, the target audience will be more females than males but there will be some males interested about the rock section or the rnb. The estimate age of the audience will be from 17-21.