Media Alevel NEA Research

1. Coursework
research
A LEVEL MEDIA NEA

2. Researching font types, colour palettes of existing
entertianment magazines
Analysis of font types, shape, layout and colour palettes
Layout:
The gradient background often follows a theme, of being lightest in the middle and gradually gets
darker to the corners.
• This is very effective as the light in the middle highlights the image of the characters on the cover and
the darkness around the edges is a good background for the typically white sell lines to stand out
against.
• The gradient is often achieved through the use of two colours but has also been done through the use
of light in images (typically clouds). The background on the front cover of entertianment weekly is plain
to give more focus on the central image
Masthead : Entertainment Weekly always uses the same font for their masthead, making it more
recognisable for their audience. So we would need to copy this font. • However there is not one notable
colour for the masthead that is generally linked to the company's house style, although there are
certain colours that do seem to be repeatedly used. • Common colours; red, blue and grey. Sometimes
the masthead reflects the film or genre portrayed
Main Image: The main images that are used on the magazine are always placed in the centre of the
cover, matching to the gradient background which highlights the image.
• The image is also very large, generally covering much of the cover, really making a bold statement to
the reader.
• The images are generally of characters from films or TV shows or singers. The image is always of a
character not the actor, so they are dressed and posed like the character they portray in the film or
programme.
Sell Lines: due to each issue being about a different type of entertainment, film, TV etc. It is hard to imply there
is a single phrase that is repeatedly used, but there are some general phrases used often. Plus there is a
common theme of the typography of the titles. Common repetition of the phrases ‘exclusive’ and ‘first
look’ intriguing the audience due to the uniqueness of the magazines feature
Shape: 3D,
rectangle/ square
and bold

3. Researching font types, colour palettes of existing
entertianment magazines
 Typography and font type:
The Entertainment Weekly logo was custom drawn by Cyrus High smith based on Scout.
Scout is a multi-weight sans serif font family that derives structural elements from both
new and old: DIN, Venus and Cairoli.
The style of the typefaces remains the same throughout the magazine. It uses different varieties of the Scout Font
TYPOGRAPHY: For Entertainment Weekly what makes it stand out is its with its bright, and bold font.
They use the Scout font for their nameplate. For their Headlines they are usually a mix between
Bureau Grot and Century Expanded, fluctuating between both depending on the overall feel of the
cover. For the cover lines they do the same staying consistent with these two fonts.
Entertainment uses a lot of pull quotes, and the style mirrors the celebrity being
interviewed, and conveys their ideals, and the topic of that issue. For one of the
issues the pull quotes are used to inspire women in the industry.
For the outlines of the magazine, they included the name of the celebrity
photographed and the movie they were recently in. And for the labels in the
magazine they were straightforward, focusing on Movies, TV, Music, and Books.

4. Researching font types, colour palettes of existing
entertianment magazines
Total Film is a very well known and established magazine. The magazine releases
monthly issues and is UK based. This magazine provides its readers with exclusive
interviews with stars, directors, producers etc. The genre isn’t limited as they cover a
range of different film genres each month (often more than one genre is covered
throughout the magazine each issue)
Typography and font styles: bold font that is capitalised. The font is in impact san
serif font which is usually consider as a modern font
Sometimes total film incorporates the film in its masthead
Common font colour on masthead : black, blue, red, white
The layout for Total Film varies with each issue, something that stays the same
however is the placement of the masthead. This is always at the very top fitting the
width. There is a slight difference in this one as instead of the bold white font,
however they have incorporated part of the film into the masthead, luring the
audience in to see what it is about. The layout on the front page of Total film is
structured to reflect the style of the movie
Colour pallets will depend on the film. For example, inception is a film which is involves
science and technology hence the blue and black colours connotes a futuristic setting

5. Researching font types, colour palettes of existing
entertianment magazines
The masthead & font style: the masthead for Empire Magazine makes a statement on the page. The
red especially stands out on the dull background used for the image
Their fonts used favours clean, modern type styles.
Font type: EF Kaffeesatz Schwarz and Bernhard Gothic Heavy SG.
The Layout of Empire magazine uses a conventional layout of a magazine to maximise the front
cover's effectiveness. The masthead is placed at the top of the page, just under the tagline, and this is
because the typical western eye instantly goes to the top-left of a page. Using this knowledge, Empire
magazine makes sure that the first thing that the reader sees is the masthead, instantly letting them
know what magazine they are about to read. The tagline is placed just above the masthead, ensuring
that it is one of the first things the reader sees. This allows the reader to be enticed by the magazine
very quickly, making them want to buy and read the magazine. The major sell line is placed just to the
right of the page, next to the model in the main image. This is conventional of magazines, since the
reader will see the sell line right after looking at the masthead, tagline and main image.
Colour palates: the colour palate will depend on the film being portrayed. Empire uses a range of
bright, vibrant colours that contrast each other to grab as much attention from the reader as possible. A
varied amount of colours are featured on the front cover. Common colours on masthead are black,
white and red which are usually known to be bold colours to help the central image stand out

6. Researching colour palettes of existing
entertainment magazine
Colour palate: overall the colour palate is dark.
the green is one of the main colour as its part of his appearance.
The green matches with the typical makeup of clowns making
the magazine stand out
It also makes the magazine stand out
Colour palate is overall dark. This is intentional as the
background could be a studio which links to the masthead
The gold yellow and blue on the magazine are
complementing each other making the magazine more
attractive
The Avenger is an action movie, which stereotypically a
male audience would watch. By making the dominant
colour pallete in neon pink appeals to females. There is
a mixture of darker colours which fits their image as
superhero.

7. Colour palettes of existing
magazine
Colour palate tends to be vibrant
and bold – especially if it is an
action film.
If the film is thriller or horror they
contain a dark colour palate or less
use of colour to ensure the main
focus is on the actor

8. Conventions of entertainment
magazine:
The actor or star
image is usually
captured in a close-
up shot. However,
longs shots and
middle close up
shots are equally
included on the
front page
The master head is usually behind
the star image or in front
depending on the position of the
actors and shot type
Sell- lines and cover lines
always correlate to the
film. There is also
promotion where the
reader are encourage to
either buy or look further
into the magazine
Colour pallter
corresponds to the
theme/ genre of
the film being
promoted

9. Target audience profile
NEA brief requirements:
Cross-media production target audience:
a fun-loving 16–25 year old mass market demographic.

10. My target audience
 My target audience:
 16-25 year olds who enjoy fantasy action films
 They are also aware of controversial topics such as
racism and race which will be depicted on my second
cover
 Interest: my audience will probably be tech savvy, a love
for film, movies, books and a desire to have fun
whenever possible
 My target audience is gender-neutral as it’s a film
magazine
 Class demographic is mix
 My target audience interest - are typically music, movie
and are digitally savvy

12. Over the course of three weeks , I researched planned and created an entertainment
magazine in preparation for NEA.
Having researched and studied the magazines produced by Hearst, I have decided to
do a film magazine that will be fun loving.
My first cover is going to be based on a show called shadow hunters and the book ‘the
mortal instruments’. This fantasy genre film will appeal to my target audience as it’s a
popular genre.
Having looked at what magazines were already in production, my intention was to
create a magazine which are similar to style of Total Film, Empire and Entertainment
weekly . I will ensure that my magazine fits the NEA requirement with making clear that
the movie I am promoting is fun-loving.
This meant my magazine was based on fantasy but it will still have an element of fun-
loving in it. For example, I will be creating a sequel on the film ‘To all the Boys I’ve
loved before’ which is a teen romance and stereotypically ‘chick flick’
Developing my ideas and ensuring that this links with the NEA
requirements and Hearst Magazine

13. Questions I will be asking
myself when considering my
target audience

14. Researching target market

15. Results:

16. Analysing the results from the questionnaire
From my data, I have gathered I have found that my target audience overall enjoy
watching Netflix, film or TV shows in their free time. This part of the questionnaire was
important as I wanted to gain a general understanding of what their interest where and
what they did in their spear time. I also asked ‘what do you think an entertainment
magazine is’. This question enabled me to grasp what type of genre they knew and the
typical magazine they will pick up/ Majority of my target audience picked film magazines.
In addition, I asked general questions such as their likes and dislike, what books or
activities they are interested and what typical film genre they enjoy. These general
questions were important to my research as I wanted to gain a basic understanding of
my target audience, to specifically produce a magazine front page that would be of
interest to them.
From my data, I have noticed that the most popular genre for films are fantasy, chick flick
and action. This will be important as I will used to create my magazine cover using this
research and result.

17. Preparation for magazine front
cover
Masthead ideas
Cue the Film/ or CUE film
Film Noir
Exquisite Film
Unprecedented
film
Block buster
Movie Maqie
CineMix
Love Film
Film Reel
FFY ( Films
for you)
Movie Medley
Movie Mix
Movie Mayhem
STARBURST
RealFilmReel

18. What master heads people like?
Names Like Dislike total
Film Reel IIIII 5
Cine MIX III 3+
Cue the
Film
II 2+
Movie
mayhem
I 1+
Movie
Maqie
I 1-
Exquisite
films
IIIII 5-
Block
Buster
III 3+

19. Experimenting with fonts
On this page, I have decided
to experiment with different
types of font for my
masthead on my front page
My chosen font will be
something similar to this as
entertainment magazine use
a standard bold font for the
magazine

20. Experiments
I have done two experimental pages
where I was practicing organisation texts
and choosing font. I also tried to edit and
insert images such as the barcode. This
learning process was crucial as it enabled
me to understand the way magazine are
organised and set to appeal to the target
audience.

21. EXPERIMENTS on Canva.com

22. Books inspiration for magazines

23. Fun loving movies

24. Final idea 2 – to all the boys I’ve loved before
– movie inspiration 2

25. Breakdown analysis of Total
Film

26. Breakdown analysis of Total
film

27. Breakdown analysis of Total
film