The document provides an analysis of several film magazine covers. It discusses various design elements used across the magazines' covers that signal their horror genre focus, including large red mastheads alluding to blood, dark color palettes, unsettling images, and buzzwords to attract readers' interest. Typography and layouts are also described as generally reinforcing an ominous atmosphere through fonts, positioning of elements, and use of negative space. Conventions like barcodes and roof lines are mentioned, along with some unconventional design choices meant to intrigue audiences.

1. Film Magazines Analysis By Melissa Turner

3. The masthead is considerably bigger than any other text on the poster the bright red colour draws your attention because of the white background it stands out. The Image takes up 2/3 of the page, it isn’t a conventional image because of it being a long shot. The magazine have chosen to do this because of the promiscuous image of Megan Fox in a cheerleading outfit, however you at first don’t notice her hand covered in blood. This contrasts the innocent girly cheerleader. The red blood also correlates with the masthead and other writing on the page. The typography across the whole magazine only 2 fonts using bold and colour to make different writing stand out. There is a conventional bar code, there are buzz words to make the reader want to buy the magazine such as ‘our biggest preview ever.’ The mode of address is directly at the audience and her seductive facial expression is misleading against the blood. The magazine also includes mini photos of what to expect in the magazine which draws the reader in and makes them want to buy the magazine. From the bright red colour and the blood you can infer that the genre is a horror movie for the main article. The magazine has also included quotes to give a tease of what to expect.

5. The masthead is red which is a connotation of blood and is an icon of horror movies. It stands out from the background by the white outline. The buzz word ‘IN 3D’ also makes the audience want to read one. The typography of the front cover is all the same apart from the bottom section which is a stereotypically typography for horror as its like a haunted style which reinforces the genre and adds to the atmosphere. The magazine is the genre of horror which the audience can tell because of the masthead, the image and the house style. The house style is red, greens, blacks and browns which are all dark colours and correlate together to set the atmosphere of a horror. The magazine is conventional because of the layout having rooflines, the size and position of the masthead and the barcode.

6. The image also reinforces horror as Freddy is un-natural looking because of his face and this hand has knives as fingers which is scary and reinforces the horror genre. The props used with the dolls broken and battered with no eyes or wobbly eyes also suggests something unnatural and horror like. The chair also adds to this mood as it is a brown old torn and battered chair adding to the horror genre. The eye contact of Freddy is looking directly at the audience which is also more scary. The medium long shot of Freddy isn’t very conventional because it is usually a medium close up or close up, they may have done this to set an atmosphere and to show of the props. They have also included a website so the audience can visit that. The rooflines also capture the audiences attention making you want to buy the magazine.

8. The magazine immediately indicates that it is a horror genre because of the title and masthead saying that it is horror. The masthead is conventional because of the size and position on the page. The house style is again dark colours with red splats which are icons of blood and again reinforce the horror genre. There are many buzz words on this page which are designed to capture the audiences attention such as ‘Special Edition’ and ‘ Free Gifts.’ There is a consistent typography which is bold and stands out, this is easy to read. They have chosen to use red and white text as the house style, which words well as you can clearly read them over the dark background. There isn’t a barcode on this magazine which is unconventional unless it is on the back. The headline is the top 20 horror villains which also makes the audience want to buy the magazine.

9. The mode of address is looking at the audience which adds to the creepy feel. The image is a medium close up of 3 very famous horror villains. It is unusual to have 3 on one page but because it is a special edition this may be why. The roof line in this magazine is very thick and uses photos and writing to engage the audience. The background colour is white so everything stands out. The buzz word of ‘free’ and the images showing what is free makes the reader want to buy this. There is a banner along the bottom including names of films that may interest them to give a tease or taster of what to expect when buying this magazine. The house style of the writing is also all in capital letters which makes it seem more fierce and bold. The titles of each section are a different font with a red background which adds to the horror atmosphere on the front cover.

11. This although it isn’t a film horror magazine is about Halloween and I thought it was quite effective. The masthead is again red which is an icon of blood and is normally used in horror movies. The typography is also old fashioned and a haunted style and uses a church cross as the ‘t’ which is associated with graveyards which are stereotypically a vulnerable creepy place. The roofline along the stop uses a dash to create a pause which indicates horrors by paranormal. The background colour correlates with the pumpkins and the masthead, it also suggests horror because of the fire burning which is an icon of danger and pain. The house style is very dark colours and fades to the orange. There is more colours used on the writing however which does make it look too busy and some are hard to read. The typography is also varied between two different styles, a bubbly thicker style which looks quite creepy and a clear bold font which is easy to read.