An analysis of a front cover of the Total Film magazine

1. CoverLines
Puff
Pug
Box Out
Splash
Kicker
Masthead

2. Thisissue of Total Film;amainstreamfilmmagazine thatexploresreviewsonpopularandindie
films.Inthisissue itfocusesonInception,otherstoriesitfocusesonisPredators,Clashof the Titans
and Toy Story3. The target audience of Total Filmispeople whoare interestedinfilmsandfilm
reviews,thesepeople are likelytobe aged16+, due to the milduse of language. LeonardoDiCaprio
isshownon the frontof thisissue ashe isthe star of Inception,alsobecause he isarecognisable
star, popularamongstthe publicandtherefore more likelytosell more copies.
The image seenonthe front (DiCaprio) usesadirectaddressasit staresat the audience,this
suggeststhe magazine wantstoestablishafriendlyandcomfortable relationshipwiththe audience,
thiscontinueswiththe language usedinsidethe magazine,asTotal Filmusesa coherentbutcasual
language style.The anchorage textof the image isthe filmname (Inception),thoughthissuggests
that DiCaprioisa smallerstar,itin fact isthe opposite,asDiCaprioissucha recognisable face there
isno needtolabel him,insteadTotal Filmconnectshisname withthe filmsothatthe audience are
more likelytogosee itin the cinema.
The use of the word “HeadTrip” suggeststhatthe filmisa mysterythatwill confuse butintriguethe
audience,ithintstothe audience whatthe filmisaboutbutdoesn’tgive enoughawayforitto be
spoiled.
The magazine iscalledTotal Film,thissuggeststhatthe magazine ispurelyandwhollyaboutfilmand
no othermediaform.The blue usedinconjunctionwiththe mistsuggestsmysterylinkinginwith
Inceptionanditsnarrative.
Lastlythe phrase “Mind BlowingIssue”,alsoreferredtoasa grab quote whichwill grabthe audience
and make themwantto buy it.Alsothe phrase linksinwiththe mysterythatInceptionhas
constantlybeenconnectedwith.