Analysis of Heat's typeface

In order to recreate Heat's style effectively, I need to ensure I use the same fonts as them to create authenticity and consistency. For this I have used existing analysis of their typeface which I found on the internet- and then font websites which I can eventually download and use for my own print work.  

• The real extract taken from Heat's article is on the right, and on the left I have replicated their typeface. 
• For this I used the font 'Franklin Gothic Book' in a size 12, a sans serif font. 
• As I have already established I am creating the cover story which uses a colour scheme of primarily red, white and black, it is conventional for Heat to enlarge the first letter of the article and put it in a red, square text box.
• I think my immitation of Heat's typeface looks authentic therefore I will use this font for the main body of the article.  

• To replicate Heat's logo I will use the font Clarendon. This is a Serif font and when I used the samples (above right) of this font it is nearly identical to the font Heat actually uses.   

Introduction

• My critical investigation was titled 'To what extent has reality TV encouraged consumerism?'. For this I used Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Made in Chelsea and The Only Way is Essex as case studies- since my questionnaire revealed these were the most popular reality TV shows. The main ways reality TV encourages consumerism which I concluded from my investigation were through the use of social media, celebrity endorsement and merchandising.
• My linked production piece will therefore be 3 pages from a magazine of a 'deconstructed', behind the scenes insight into reality TV show, TOWIE. I feel this is a strong continuation of my critical investigation because I heavily focused on the word 'reality' and how the audience is aware that isn't the case for some of what is shown on TV. I have also chosen the print platform because this is where my strengths lie and this way I can incorporate all of Heat's codes and conventions effectively to realistically recreate their house style. 
• On initial drafting of ideas of what my article could include I thought I could have pictures of the cast reading scripts and talking to directors (connoting reality TV is scripted) and a stylist and a wardrobe (connoting that the stars don't actually own any of the expensive, materialistic goods they are seen to be promoting on screen).  
• The primary audience of reality TV is women aged 18-30, who are mainstreamers, and have a socioeconomic group of D- C1. I have chosen Heat as the magazine because they share the same target audience as reality TV, and because I am now very familiar with this target audience, I know how to address them and what will attract them- which will make my linked production piece successful. 
• Furthermore, the audience primarily uses reality TV for entertainment (McQuail- Uses and Gratification) so I will attract them using humour, portraying reality TV in a light-hearted, superficial light.

Analysis of language used in Heat magazine

After deconstructing the layout of the front cover and double-spages in Heat I now need to analyse the language they use in order to fully replicate their style. All the content in Heat magazine is about celebrities lives and scandals, fashion, and beauty advice. 

• The fashion content tends to be the latest red carpet dresses or celebrities that have been caught going out either in a really fashionable or unfashionable outfit that has gained a lot of attention. In all the fashion articles there is always a "high street" style next to the celebrity style, which show that the target audience are of a socioeconomic group (I have already identified that this is C1-D), and that they can only afford  the high street style.
• The articles, captions, mastheads and sub-heading are all written in a humorous, light-hearted way with the use of some puns and innuendos e.g. "Kar-crashian Fashion". This is because the audience mainly use the magazine for entertainment and this is a good way of attracting and retaining their attention.
• Informal mode of address using words such as "kids" instead of children, using short-hand words such as "they're" instead of they are, and using swear words "s**t". This is all in cultural context because this is the type of language heat's target audience would mostly likely use, and will therefore identify to the language used in Heat. 
• Uses 3rd person to connect with the audience and for them to get a sense of personal identity and social interaction (Uses and Gratifications) e.g. "We all know that feeling", "the photos that made us change". 
• Uses a lot of quotes from celebrities, especially is the story is based on them e.g. daily routines, their opinions on their body image etc. This is also informal. Khloe Kardashian said "I looked massive next to my sisters".
• When Heat does an article that goes behind the scenes of something, they refer to the reported as 'our insider'. 

As a result of this I will: 

• Use 1st person somewhere in my article- but primarily 3rd person referring to all the celebrities in TOWIE.  
• Refer to the reporter as 'our insider'. 
• Use and informal mode of address to appeal to the target audience.
• Incorporate humour into the text in my article- and I could even think of a pun to use in the masthead. 
• Use (make up) a lot of quotes from the stars of TOWIE to make my article feel more real.     

Double page analysis

Here I have analysed the codes and conventions of some double page spread articles from Heat magazine. Although these articles are different aesthetically, they do share some codes and conventions that Heat uses throughout their magazines so their house style can be easily identified from other magazines. One common similarity is the space dedication of their articles, i.e. 3 quarters is taken up with images, and the rest little amounts of text organised into columns. Below I have chosen 3 different examples of double page spreads in Heat magazine to get ideas of possible layouts I could use for my own article.  

As a result of analysing these double-page spread articles I will: 

• Be creating the cover story therefore exemplar article 1 is the most relevant to me in terms of codes and conventions I need to incorporate. 
• Use a white, red and black colour scheme. 
• Use a running head in the top right corner, titled 'cover story'. 
• Put the date, Heat's website and the page number as a footer on every page. 
• Dedicate 3 quarters of the page to lots of little images to build up a behind-the-scenes picture- something that could not be achieved with just one big image.  

In conclusion, if I incorporate all the codes and conventions used throughout Heat, then I have a lot of creative freedom regarding the layout and placement of images of my final double-page spread. 

Analysis of Heat magazine front covers

I have chosen to use Heat magazine for my linked production piece because it links well with my critical investigation focus, reality TV. Being a well established celebrity gossip magazine, Heat already has a loyal readership base which I can use to target with my production piece. Heat's primery target audience is mainstream, young-to-middle-aged women. The cover of any magazine is imperative as it's the first thing the target audience will see and therefore decides whether or not they'll read it. With Heat the first thing that you notice are the bright colours used on it's front cover. This is so that when consumers are looking for a magazine they see Heat first as it has the brightest colours, biggest fonts and interesting photos. This creates the representation of Heat magazine to be fun, action packed, exciting and scandalous. Therefore I am analysing the codes and conventions of Heat's front cover because I will have to replicate it when I come to create my 3-page print production piece. 

• Different from other magazines, Heat uses lots of different images on the front cover to explain all it's different stories instead of just one main image. Heat uses tag words such as "Exclusive", "Shock confession", "Only in Heat", "Reveals all" etc. to lure readers in and make them feel as though they have to read Heat otherwise they're missing out. 
• Ambiguous questions such as "Did Gwyneth 'cheat with Lawyer'?" to get readers thinking of possible outcomes to the stories but then they actually have to read the magazine to see if their assumptions are correct. 
• Some headlines are written in capitals and some in lower case which draws the readers attention to shocking stories. 

• The masthead (their logo), heat, is always in red with a white background, is all in lower case letters and is in a different font from all the other typography. 
• The logo stands out on it's plain background and red is stereotypically seen as a feminine colour, therefore this will attract it's target audience. Using the same logo on every magazine makes them instantly recognisable from other magazines and creates a strong brand identity. 
• It's also conventional for Heat to have 6 stories on the front cover; one main story in the middle, 2 at the bottom and 3 at the top. These are all individually identifiable due to the use of box-outs, i.e. different coloured boxes behind each story, and with their own small images. 
• Each story is given a short, punchy caption along with a small image so readers know what the magazine's content it, and so they're also attracted to read the magazine either through personal identity (Uses and Gratification- Bulmer and Katz) e.g. overweight celebrities; shock, or humour (entertainment).  

• It is rare that the main image, if any of the images, are actually posed for and shot in a studio. Instead they're usually action shots that paparazzi have taken, and aren't flattering to the celebrity. This represents the celebrities in a more 'normal' light, going about their day-to-day lives which would appeal to the audience through personal identity. Colours used on the front cover are feminine, bright colours such as reds, pinks, baby blues, and yellows which will also attract the target audience's attention from a long distance- meaning they're more likely to buy Heat than other rival gossip magazines.    

• It is conventional for Heat to write it's slogan,'This week's hottest celebrity news", above it's logo on every magazine front cover. They also reference their cross-platforms e.g. "www.heatworld.com", which is placed vertically before the H on the heat logo. 
• It's issue number and date is also found above the logo on every front cover e.g. "Issue 905 10 - 16 APRIL 2015". 

• Heat's barcode is positioned in the bottom right hand corner, which has a black banner underneath where all it's prices are found. The price in pounds is the biggest price and is in yellow, "£1.65". All the  other prices for different countries it sells in is then listed in white, "Spain & Canaries €2.90; France €3.40; Germany €4.40; Greece €3.30". This provides basic information to readers.     

As a result of my analysis of Heat's front covers I will: 

• Recreate Heat's logo and use it on my front cover, along with their slogan, issue number, date and their website. 
• Use my double-page spread article on TOWIE as the main story on the front cover, so it will therefore take up the majority of the space. 
• Create 5 or 6 smaller articles and place them in boxes around the edge of the front cover. 
• Recreate their barcode and put it in the bottom right corner of the front cover, along with their prices.   
• Use a bright colour scheme; primarily reds, pinks, baby blues, and yellows which will attract the target audience's attention.