2. A British Film Magazine, Empire had it’s first issue published
in July 1989 and is currently the biggest selling film magazine
in the United Kingdom.
Empire is also published in the United States, Australia,
Turkey, Russia and Portugal, reaching a circulation of around
145,117 and is released monthly.
They host an annual “Empire Awards” ceremony where readers
vote for winners of awards such as Best Thriller and Best
Actor.
Regular Features include reviews, previews, film news, “at
home” for DVDs and Blu-ray, Top 10 lists, Celebrity
Mastermind where celebrities are asked trivial questions on
films they have worked on and a spine quote on every issue.
EMPIRE MAGAZINE
3.
4. Also UK based, Total Film is published every 4 weeks totalling
in 13 magazines a year and was launched in 1997.
They offer cinema, DVD and Blu-ray news, features and
reviews. Their regular features also include spotlight
interviews with actors and directors, “making of”, and the
Total Film review, a six-page interview with an actor or
director along with a critique of their work.
Their circulation as of June 2013 was 60,912, but their
presence online is very strong with a website, app and various
social media platforms, which draws in a large audience.
TOTAL FILM MAGAZINE
5.
6. Premiere Magazine is a New York City based firm which is not
published in magazine form anymore, but still available
online. Their original parent company Premiére is still active
however in France.
Ten issues were published every year which sold in the USA,
Canada, Britain, France and Australia among other places
between 1987 and 2007.
The Regular features of the magazine are “Letter Box” which
are letters/e-mails from fans, “First Look” a brief look into
films still in production and “Ask Glenn”, questions posed to
renowned film critic Glenn Kenny.
Annually, they also included “The Power List” of Hollywood’s
most powerful people, “Women in Hollywood” of Hollywood’s
most prominent women and coverage of the Academy Awards.
PREMIERE MAGAZINE
7.
8. A British monthly film magazine, Sight and Sound is published
by the British Film Institute (BFI) reaching a circulation of
22,616.. Founded in 1932, The magazine reviews all film
releases each month, including those with a limited release,
as opposed to most film magazines which concentrate on
those films with a general release.
Every decade, Sight & Sound asks an international group of
film professionals to vote for their greatest film of all time
which is viewed as the most respected “Greatest Ever Film”
polls.
The magazine's American counterpart is the Film Comment, a
journal published by the Film Society of Lincoln Centre in New
York City.
SIGHT AND SOUND MAGAZINE
11. Even though they may come in different styles and lay outs,
movie magazines always have the same components featured
on the front cover that are essential:
A Masthead
Main Story/Main Image
Cover lines
Colour scheme (House Style)
And possibly banners/runners featured along the
bottom or the top of the magazine cover
WHAT IS ON A MOVIE MAGAZINE COVER?
12. Usually located at the top of the magazine so it is seen when
piled on a shop display and immediately visible to the
consumer through use of larger text, the masthead is another
word for the title of the magazine.
In more well known and established movie magazines, the
main image may be placed in front of the magazine’s
masthead and it isn’t entirely on show, and this is because
the brand itself is recognisable so there is no need to have
the full masthead on display.
MASTHEAD
13. Movie magazines can choose to either present their main
image of an actor either in character or as themselves, but
the former is the most utilised strategy and in my opinion
proves to be the most effective.
The main image will correlate with the main story featured in
the issue (the title is usually a pun or a catchy, attention
grabbing phrase), and the backgrounds vary from images from
the film or being totally removed. Shots taken vary largely, but
the most common are close ups, mid shots and long shots.
MAIN STORY/MAIN IMAGE
14. These are the other stories and segments featured within the
magazine, and are written in a smaller font in comparison to
the masthead and main story, but are still of the same style in
order to maintain a professional and polished look.
The title of the segment however is usually more noticeable
and prominent, with the details written below in a simpler
font. These two are usually catchy or puns, to draw the
audience in more through the clever quips and light hearted
remarks.
COVER-LINES
15. Each magazine follows a colour scheme, or the correct media
term is house style. This is a set of colours they follow in each
issue for example Empire always uses red, white and black.
These colours are designed to be the most visually effective
to grab attention of audiences.
Occasionally, magazines may change their colour schemes to
suit a big movie they are covering, for example Empire
incorporated lime green into their colour screen when
covering The Dark Knight and steel grey with Man of Steel.
COLOUR SCHEME/HOUSE STYLE
16. Placed at either the top or bottom of the magazine cover,
these usually advertise special or one off stories, lists or
awards ceremony coverage.
Sometimes, they are just general comments or lines to boost
the issue’s profile such as “Movie’s Biggest Year Ever” or “Our
Most Action Packed Issue Ever!”. This is to entice the viewer
into picking up the “best ever” issue of the magazine and read
there “action packed” coverage.
BANNERS/RUNNERS
