Main image and representation analysis

1. Francis Evdokimov
Main image and representation analysis:
Mise-en-scene: In this music magazine cover the
mise-en-scene represents and gives an idea of
what the character is like to the audience.
Background/Lighting: The lighting in this cover
is bright due to the white background. White is
associated with a well-balanced, sensible, discreet and
wise person. This challenges the convection of a
rapper as rappers are correlate with wealth,
wearing a lot of jewellery, showing themselves off
and violent. Therefore the white colour maybe
what the rapper ‘Plies’ thinks of himself, obviously
not what the audience see. The colour green is
used as well in a light tone. Green represents a
practical, down-to-earth person with a love of
nature. Clearly again ‘Plies’ looks far from down to
earth and practical from his facial expressions
(NVC – non verbal communication).The-non-verbal
communication used tries to show off all
his prosperity and materialism. He opens his
mouth to show his gold teeth. ‘Plies’ looks very
intimidating. His eyes focus on you, as if trying to
get a message across. This maybe is linked to the
text “Plies- is the future of rap”. His eyes give the
impression that no one can stop him and he
doesn’t want ‘YOU’ to get in the way. The green
colour as said before shows a person who has a
love of nature. Looking at the image this c ouldn’t
be more wrong. ‘Plies’ displays all his ric hes and
treasure portraying a very greedy and profane
person. Props: The props used in this magazine
front c over portray a typic al rap artist. ‘Plies’ is
shown to have a lot of wealth and has put it on
show for everyone to see. This infers a very cocky
and a massive self esteem. Rappers usually wear
bold, shiny pieces which say that they are a bold
person who don’t lack in confidence. The jewellery
emphasises his wealth, something which is widely
associated with rappers. The base ball cap worn is
also associated with rap, but his cap looks very
expensive and personal made. The ‘A’ on the c ap
looks shiny and made of good material which
portrays his love of materialism and wealth.
Costume: Clearly in the magazine cover, the
rapper ‘Plies’ wears no c ostume. This infers that
not only does he want to show off his riches but
feels very confident about his masculinity and sees
it as a big asset of his. It also is another way of
showing other jewellery he hides showing he is
covered with it which represents his wealth.
Tattoos are used to portray his self expression and
individuality which applies to the convention of a
rapper, so he isn’t muc h different or unique as
majority rappers have ink on them. Lighting:
Lighting is very effectively used to portray his self
assured personality. The lighting does not hide any
of his body. His body is clear in light, inferring that
he is confident in his looks and wants everyone to
see what he looks like.
Positioning/camera angle: ‘Plies’ in the c over takes up
most of the page. The image is shot at a mid-close up
which presents his high confidence. The image is a close
up whic h make ‘plies’ the main feature of the c over. It
represents him as a vain character as he wants to be the
star, the main interest of the whole magazine. He is
placed slightly more to the right but is mostly in the
centre. Again this shows a bold, fearless character. His
Body language is very cocky as he is seen point up. This
point, infers there is only one way up for him. It connotes
that he will be the best and currently he believes he is
getting higher and higher in rap. This can be backed up
by the quote beside his finger: ‘Plies-is the future of rap’.
The fact that his finger is bigger than the actual text just
presents how big he thinks of himself.

2. Francis Evdokimov
Mise-en-scene: Colours: Jay-Z in this double page spread is in a mixture of the colours blue and red. The
colours are representing him as a character as they are based on his face and the background inferring the
colours present his personality. Blue is associated with appearing to be confident and self-controlled, but
may be hiding a vulnerable side. The blue definitely depicts Jay-Z as a good person and trustworthy. Blue
also is the colour of a reserved and quite person, not liking to make a fuss. Clearly this colour represents
Jay-Z as a good reliable character rather than a thug or violent rap artist. On the other hand the colour red
is also used to cover the other side of his head. Red is associated an extroverted, optimistic, courageous
and confident person. This contradicts the blue side of his face. It may therefore show he can be a good and
bad person. The red c olour doesn’t nec essarily mean he is a bad c harac ter but it shows a muc h more vain
and confident person. Red also is linked with violence therefore the audience do get this more intimidating
character when looking at the picture. The colour red does seem to be interfering with the blue, taking up
more than half of the image. It shows he is dominated by a more confident character but there is a part of
him which shows he is vulnerable. Props: In the double page spread, Jay-Z has two props on him. Again
like the front cover image of a rapper, Rap artist are associated with materialism and wealth. Even though it
in not as obvious, it still is large and noticeable. Jay-Z wears glasses and the background gives the
impression it is inside. This shows his confidence in order to wear sunglasses indoors. The glasses being all
black also give the idea of a mysterious character, and that he may be hiding something from the audience
which is revealed in the text. Glasses are also associated with a villain or a bad character. Therefore they
may be representing an evil side to Jay-Z. Costume: The costume that Jay-Z is wearing is very simple and
in the colour black. The colour black is a colour of someone who hides his vulnerabilities and covers his
emotions and so on. This could portray Jay-Z’s personality and that he has muc h whic h is c overed and
people don’t know about. Again this c ould signal that the text/artic le would involve all the sec rets and
mysteries Jay-Z is hiding. NVC (Non verbal communication) Jay-Z’s non verbal c ommunic ation c omes
across to the audience as a rough, serious person. The fact he hides his eyes shows his seriousness and he
doesn’t show any weakness as he hides it through his c ostume and glasses. The lighting shows two sides to
his personality, but his face remains serious through both to show most of the time, he is a rough and
intimidating character. Positioning & text: Jay-Z is positioned on one whole page of the double page
spread. This shows his significance as well as how big of a character he seems to be. The picture is a close
up, to show emphasis on him and what the audience should be looking at. On the second page of the article
with the text, a Massive red J is placed in the centre covering the page. It is in red as it links to the brand
identity, the typical house style found with this particular magazine. The J could also be so large to
exaggerate his significance and status.