Analysis of Film Magazine - Total Film (Shutter Island)

1. ANALYSIS OF FILM MAGAZINE: TOTAL FILM
(SHUTTER ISLAND)

2. What is the name of the mag? Why do you
think its called that?
The magazine is called “Total Film” is called
this because the magazine is based and
dedicated to film, the name could suggest that
the focus is totally on films and nothing else.

3. What can you say about the sell lines?
The sell lines standout from the rest of the
magazine through the use of bright and vibrant
colours such as red and white. The fonts which
are used also help to make the sell lines
standout as they are eye catching.

4. What can you say about the layout design
(fonts, colour schemes)
The colour scheme matches the genre of the
film and the overall feeling of it. We know that
Shutter Island is a psychological thriller and
therefore contains some form of horror and
therefore red is used to perhaps symbolise
blood and terror, the font which is used to
stylise the words “SHUTTER ISLAND” are very
effective as it helps to set the overall tone of the
film itself. The eerie blue which is used goes
well with red which is offsetting and could link
to locations in the film.

5. What genre of film does it cover?
It covers the psychological/thriller genre, the
eerie looking background could show that the
film is based in a desolate location and could
lead to us developing a greater understanding
of the film and the lighthouse could suggest
that one of the main locations is in an area
which is far from land.

6. Who is the target audience? (demo and
psycho)
The target audience could either be fans of film
in general, people who have subscribed to
Total Film, fans of psychological/thriller films or
even fans of Leonard Di Caprio. The magazine
may be aimed at people around the age of 18-
50 as we see that many older people have a
keen interest in film.

7. Who are the major competitors of the mag?
The major competitors of Total Film could be
“Empire” and “British Film” who are also two big
British Film magazines and would look to
attract the same or similar audiences.
What is the magazine's mission statement
or slogan?
The slogan of Total Film is “THE WORLD’S
BEST MOVIE REVIEWS”.

8. Discuss the types of representation on its
front page.
The front cover focuses on the feature film
which is Shutter Island, reviews (considering
that Total Film classes itself to provide “THE
WORLD’S BEST MOVIE REVIEWS”), movie
art from filmmakers, new upcoming films and
interviews from directors.

9. Discuss any content/features that attempts
to construct roles or attitudes for its target
audience.
The heading “GREATEST MOVIE ART EVER”
alerts readers towards this article and makes
them believe that this is the greatest movie art
ever and the interviews from directors also
allows the audience to understand the views of
people responsible for films.
What type of features are within the mag?
The features are of reviews of films, views from
directors of successful film, the feature film
which is Shutter Island, filmmakers displaying
their movie art and more information about
upcoming films.

10. What sort of film stars or directors are
featured?
The star of the feature film, Leonardo Di Caprio
is featured along with James Cameron the
director of the highest grossing film in the box
office, Avatar.