This is my film magazine front cover overview for my A2 media studies coursework on horror films.

1. FilmMagazine Front Cover Overview

2. The eight magazine front covers I have chosen have been designed to promote
successfulfilms and to drawin theaudienceto buying and reading themagazineso they
learn more about the film. By analysing these front covers and comparing them to each
other, I have made it achievable to pick out similarities between themand to establish
repeated patterns. This can be seen in the types of films that are promoted on the
magazine front covers as they are all popular films that will most likely be very
successful when released.
All eight front covers feature regular film magazine conventions which we can quickly
recognisesuchas the fact that the mastheadin all of thefront coversis thelargestpiece
of text on the cover and sits at the top above the main image. In six of the eight posters
I have chosen, the masthead font colour is red which could have been used to make the
front cover stand out more or link to the fact that the films feature blood and intensity.
Plus, the fact that the main image takes up all of the frame in each front cover and gives
a hint to what the films narrative will include. For the magazine Fangoria its masthead
will show of its brand identity as the title font is in the style of fangs which is associated
with horror. This helps to distinguish it from other film magazines as the audience will
recognise the font and know which magazine it belongs to. On each of the magazine
front covers, the mastheads are all in uppercase and this is effective as it helps them
stand out and it also emphasises the importance of the magazines in trying to grab the
audience’sattention. However,youcandistinguishbetweenthemastheadsofFangoria,
a horror film magazine and the others (Empire, Total Film) which are regular movie
magazines. The Fangoria masthead design is more specific to the horror genre so the
audience recognise what type of films are going to be advertised in the magazine
compared to the other masthead designs which are more simple and universal.
You can see other repeated patterns such as in all eight front covers I have chosen; the
main protagonist/s are featured in the main image. This is so that the audience will
instantly recognise the characters and therefore be more persuaded to buy the
magazine. The genre of the films are suggested on the magazine front cover as in The
Hunger Games and Terminator Genisysthe audienceare givena hint to the genreas the
characters have weapons in their hands which indicates that the genre is action
adventure. In Tron Legacy and Black Swan the camera shots are close ups of the
protagonists faces, this shows us that the films will most likely be centred on those
characters and their journeys. In three of the eight front covers a common use of the
camera is to have a long shot or medium long shot which shows someof the setting too
which may suggest that it is not just the protagonist who is important in the film but
also the situation they are in may affect their worlds as a whole.
It is commonly seen that in the main images on these film magazine front covers the
models will be presented in character, not as the actors themselves. This is done so the
audience link the character in the main image to the film that is being promoted. Also,
the settings are presented in the background of the main images showing the location

3. that the film is set in and this does not occur on lifestyle magazines as in their main
images, the background is usually a blank background.
You can identify similarities in the mise-en-scene for these magazine front covers as in
seven of the eight front covers the character in the main images costume is black which
suggests that they have a dark personality and a dark past which will draw in the
audience as they will want to know the reason behind their mysterious demeanour.
Also on all of themagazinesexcept ShutterIslandtheprotagonistisgivingdirectaddress
to the camera which makes it more personal for the audience and makes it look as if
they’re being directly targeted.
As well as this, you can pick out patterns in the colours chosen to feature on these
magazine front covers as in Tron Legacy, Shutter Island and Maleficent the colour blue
mainly appears around the main image which could link to the Science-Fiction, Fantasy
genre or to the fact that the tone of the film will be cold and detached. Whereas on the
other five front covers the colours white, black and grey are presented which could
indicate that in the films who the antagonist is, is not always clear so it could leave the
audience guessing or trying to find out what the mystery is. The colours used on the
magazine front covers are also used to create a symbiosis with other promotional
material for films such as posters, etc.
There is a consistent pattern in the way which sell lines are used on the magazine front
covers as in all eight front covers I have chosen; they feature the names of other
successful films on them which is used as a technique to draw in a wider audience as if
they are not interested in the film advertised on the cover they might want to read
about another of the films promoted inside the magazine. Plus, on seven of the eight
covers there are bold skylines at the top of the magazinesfeaturing statements like THE
WORLD’S BIGGEST MOVIE MAGAZINE or THE HITCHCOCK LEGACY and THE 3D EVENT OF
THE YEAR. These pieces of textcontain common skyline content which is used to attract
the reader to the magazine as it will get them excited about the articles that are shown
inside the magazine and could persuade them more to purchase it.
It is easy to see recurring patterns in the layout of the film magazine front covers as in
half of them, the actual name of the film advertised on the front is placed to the left
next to the main image which could represent that the main focus of the film is in the
main image so they have to sit side by side. In addition to this, on the other half of the
front coversIhave chosen,the titleof thefilm advertisedis placedunderneaththemain
image. This could be because the magazine wants to draw in the audience first then
present them with thefilm’s name once they genuinely want to learn what theimage is
promoting. These similarities could mean that it is conventional to place the name of
the film like this on a front cover. The majority of the barcodes on the magazine front
covers are positioned in the bottom left corner with others being placed on the right
side.

4. In three of the eight magazine front covers, feature article photographs are laid out on
the cover either at the bottom of the cover or on the side. These are used to show
pictures of other films that will be featured inside the magazine which is effective
because the audience can see what other films they could read about and in turn
convince them to buy the magazine.
In conclusion, all of the film magazine front covers I have chosen are effective in
promotingthe films on theirfront coversas manyaspectswill draw in a wideraudience
who will want to find out more about the movie. When generating ideas and starting
my practical work I will take from this the many repeated patterns that are used and
will apply them to my own film magazine so that it can be successful in advertising my
film also.