DPS analysis answers: Kerrang

Circa Survive is an experimental rock band, formed in Philadelpia, Pennsylvania, in 2004.

The band was formed after going back to his hometown of Philadelphia for a dentist appointment and to visit
his girlfriend Meredith, Anthony Green went to the airport to return to California to work with the band Saosin,
where he was their lead singer. However, while on a layover in Phoenix, he suddenly had an epiphany -
despite the fact that Saosin was close to breaking out, he knew he would be miserable if he returned. When
asked about his decision to leave Saosin he stated, "I left primarily because I didn't want to sign to a major
label in that band." Anthony Green also stated that another reason for leaving Saosin was because he was
very homesick and missing his family.[1] Green returned to Colin Frangicetto, a friend with whom he had
"jammed" with during his stay, and they decided to begin recording and recruiting. Thus, Circa Survive was
born. Colin Frangicetto and Anthony Green, with full support from Equal Vision Records, then recruited
Brendan Ekstrom. Ekstrom had been Frangicetto's band mate in This Day Forward, which had recently
disbanded. Both Ekstrom and Frangicetto had toured with Taken during their This Day Forward days, and
procured Nick Beard, previous bassist of Taken, as Circa Survive's next member. The band met Steven
Clifford through Vadim Taver of the band Marigold (and also from This Day Forward); "Steve jammed with us
for a week and from there it was on", says Frangicetto.

Q: Who is this band? What genre of rock do they play?

1) How does the choice of band featured in the article suggest who the target
audience will be?
The choice of band shows that this article was targeted for people who like the band Circa Survive. Judging
from the image featured in the double page spread, the type of music they produce seems to be similar to
Coheed and Cambria as the text said that ‘the band toured in support of Coheed and Cambria’. This would
probably attract fans of Coheed and Cambria as well since they are similar. The age range of the target
audience might possibly be between mid-teens to early 30s, for both genders (but mainly males). The price
of the magazine and the place where it is sold also shows that this is also targeted for the working/middle
class.
The mise-en-scene can also suggest what type of genre the band often plays and so this can also attract the
target audience.

2) What type of language is used in the article? Give examples of words or phrases
which are specific to the style of the magazine
At the start of the article, the author starts the sentence with “If you...” in capital letters; this is also a drop cap
as it stands out from the other text. He talks to the audience directly so the audience can get dragged into
the article. He also involves one of the band members and creates a situation where the reader is talking to
the drummer of the band to make the reader more interested. The author uses informal language so the
reader would understand it more. They would also feel connected to the article. The author makes it feel like
he is speaking to the reader in a face-to-face conversation. For example, in the first column he says, “...Yet
that has done nothing to diminish the raucous laughter that accompanies it this afternoon. For the record,
Clifford actually likes the first two Coheed albums...” The pause after the phrase 'For the record,' makes it
feel like he is trying to contradict what he said before to balance out the argument; it also a form of informal
language. In the leading text he uses a rhetorical question to drag the reader in.
The author also uses lots of evidence to back up his points. Most of evidence are quotes of what each of the
band members have said during the time he was with them.

3) How is colour used?

There was a maximum of three main colours used excluding the yellow which stands out from the rest of the
colours as this was the only bright colour, excluding white; which technically is not a colour.
The three main colours used are red/maroon, black and white. The colours were chosen by the colours used
in the image – mise-en-scene.
Black was used as the main colour for the body text. This is connected to the image as one of the band
members is wearing a black shirt. Two of the balloons are also black.
White was used for the masthead of the article and also for the white space so the body text is visible.
However, for the white space, the white is a bit faded out so the masthead is also visible and does not
disappear into the white space. White was also used for some of the text where the other colours would
make it hard to read the it. White is connected to the image by the colour of two band member's t-shirts.
There is also one balloon which is white.
Maroon/red was used to highlight the starting phrase of every new paragraph and the leading text which is to
attract the reader into the article. This colour was also used for the sidebar which is located near the bottom-
right corner. This is connected to the image as it is also the colour of the curtains in the background.

4) What style of text (font type/colour/size) is used? Is it similar to any other pages?
What does it say about the image of the magazine and the audience?
The text of the masthead is a sans serif font called '28 Days Later'. This font is most suitable for the big bold
text to show off its features. It gives the feeling of the article and sells the genre the band performs. It could
also be used for the masthead of the front cover of a rock music magazine as it gives off that vibe. This
shows that the band is more into the rock genre and fans of them also interested in this genre. The
masthead stands out from the rest of the text as the size is outstandingly big and the phrase 'Breaking Out'
increases the curiosity of the audience and so would want them to find out what exactly are they breaking out
from.
The text of the leading text, drop cap, pulling quote and the side bar are all in pain sans serif font. This is
because it is suppose to stand out from the body text. The size of each of these is slightly bigger than the
body text and is roughly the same size of each other. They are not suppose to stand out from each other as
each one is as important as the other, however, more important than the body text, but less important than
the masthead.

5) How is the double page spread laid out? How much of the pages are
taken up by images and how much by text? How does this reflect the
audience? What do they value?
The double page spread is laid out in a 'c' shape so it follows the eye flow. When turning the page, the reader
always looks at the right page first. This case, if a reader turns the page, they would see the masthead first
as this is located at the top right corner of the right page in big bold text. They would also see the by-line in
small text just above the masthead. The second feature they would notice would be the image of the band as
our eyes would automatically go to the left because of the direction of how we read in the west; this may be
different in the east.
The body text is the only text which is in a serif font. This is because serif fonts in general are easier and
more suitable to read in a small size.
The size of the text shows which one is more important than the other to attract the reader.
After looking at the image, we would then look at the bottom of the right page. After skimming through the
look of the double page spread, the reader would then decide whether to read it or not.
The image itself seems to take up two-thirds of the double page spread and the article itself takes up one
third of the DPS. This shows that the audience are mainly attracted to the image than the text meaning that
they value the image more. This is because only by looking that the image, the audience can find out who
the article is about. They could also find out what the article is talking about the band by the surrounding text
around the image, such as the pulling quote and the leading text.

6) What tone is the magazine using when addressing the reader (as a close friend, a
member of an 'in' crowd or an informed intelligent fan?) - provide evidence
The tone of the magazine seems very friendly and is well informed. It addresses the reader like a member of
an 'in' crowd who has a lot of information about the band.
When he quotes one of the band members, he would often say “and I was like...” The author was writing as
if he was having a face-to-face conversation with the reader. This would let the reader understand the article
better as it’s informal.
He shows his points with lots of evidence, keeping the reader informed of every word the band said as the
reader would most likely want to know about it.
 7) How is the artist/band presented to the audience through the images? You may
wish to carry out a textual analysis.
The image seems to be not as hardcore as Coheed and Cambria. The image indicates that the type of rock
they play is not too hardcore and not too light. It is somewhere in the middle. At first, they look like five middle
aged men who just happens to be in a band, a band which happened to have toured around with another
well-known band. But when you read the article, it changes the first impressions of the image.
The pulling quote located in the bottom left corner of the DPS, also happens to be one of the surround texts
of the image. This quote totally contrasts with the impression the image gives out.
The masthead could mean something. The term 'Breaking Out' could refer to their first impressions in the
image and wanting to break out from that stereotype.

8) How does the style of the article match the style of the front cover?
Both the article and the front cover make it feel like a rock magazine, by the type of fonts used as well as the
language. In the article, the author quoted some swearing which also give out this feeling. This is what you
would expect from this type of magazine.
The front cover seems to be more hardcore as it has an image of slipknot with their masks on.
The layout of the front cover, however is in an ‘S’ shape because the issue where this article was featured
was a special and so it displayed in this layout. The DPS is also laid out in a ‘C’ shape because of the read
direction in the west.

9) Does the article demand any prior knowledge? Give examples.

No prior knowledge needs to be known before reading this DPS. This is because this article gives
information about the band for people who don’t know about the band at all. Evidence for this is the side bar.
The side bar contains information about each band member and what they specialised in i.e. Vocals, lead
guitar etc. The author informs the events which are happening and what he is talking about in detail and so
fully informs the reader of what is happening.
The author lets the reader get to know the band members in a relaxed and informal way by asking them what
most rock star thing is about them and in response they would give a funny answer. This can relax the
reader.