Film magazine analysis

1. The mast head of this magazine is the largest text
seen by the reader and with it being at the top of
the magazine, it catches the reader’s attention and
stands out from the rest of the text. The colour of
the text goes with the overall colour scheme seen
within the magazine and typography is unique to
that magazine making it recognisable from the
reader’s perspective. The main image overlaps the
mast head giving an overall 3D effect, but drawing
the reader’s attention more to the image than the
mast head – but as Empire is such an established
film magazine they can afford to do this and still
know that their readers will recognise their brand
of magazine.
The title for this film is seen to be the second
biggest text upon the magazine which will capture
the reader’s attention after looking at the mast
head for this magazine. It is positioned to the side
of the main image so that the main focus still
remains on the main image. The colour of the text
is a prominent red which matches the overall
colour scheme used throughout the magazine and
the actual colour palette seen within in the main
image. By having similar colours it makes the
overall magazine cover more appealing and draws
the reader’s attention to the film featured.
On this magazine there are two taglines/anchorage
text which feature above and below the main title
for this film. The tagline above says ‘THE ORIGINAL
AVENGER’ and the tagline below it says ‘DOWNEY
JR.’S LETHAL WEAPOM FLIES SOLO’. By doing this,
the reader is given some insight into what the
article may include and gives an engaging
introduction to the film and what the film itself
may include (themes, characters, plot etc.).
Featured right at the very bottom of this magazine
is a list of the other articles featured within this
issue. This allows the audience to get a glimpse of
what they can expect within it and allows them to
establish if they want to continue reading. The font
and colour scheme go with the rest of the magazine
which makes it aesthetically pleasing to look at.
The strapline found right at the top of this
magazine offers products/stories linked either to
the main story or the magazine itself – this
therefore gives the audience an insight as to what
else they can read within this issue influencing
their decision on as to whether they read the issue
or not. The colour scheme of red and gold once
again oblige to the colour scheme seen on the main
image – tying the whole magazine together.
On this magazine front cover, all of the fonts are
the same, with exception of the masthead –
allowing the attention to be drawn to it rather than
the other text. The font of the text is quite bold and
tall which relates back to the main image seen on
this front cover – and reinforces the idea that
Robert Downey Jr. who is on the front cover is a
bold and prominent character in this movie.
The slogan for this magazine is featured just below
the mast head and helps remind the reader that
this magazine is a well established film magazine
that will offer valid and reliable information about
upcoming popular movies – this therefore
reassures the reader’s decision in choosing this
magazine.
Just underneath the mast head features the price
for the actual price for the issue. This is placed
almost out of view and the font used is very small.
This diverts the audience’s attention from the
pricing and keeps it discreet so that it is the last
thing that the audience sees.
Underneath the mast head also features the
website for this magazine: empireonline.com. The
font is a lot smaller and not as colourful as the rest
as the magazine, this has been done to give the
audience additional information without diverting
their attention from the key images and text
featured upon this magazine.

2. A puff has been placed at the top right hand corner
of this magazine cover giving the reader a glimpse
of what other movies are going to feature within
this issue. In the picture, a main character is
featured accompanied by a strapline saying ‘FREE
INSIDE: MARVEL ART BOOK’. This offers some
additional information about the actual puff and
also adds an extra incentive as the audience will be
getting something in return for buying this issue.
Upon this magazine a stamp of approval can been
seen saying ‘THE WORLD’S BEST MOVIE REVIEWS’.
This reassures the reader that they have selected a
trusted, well established film magazine which will
offer informative reviews on new upcoming
movies. It also ensures the audience that they will
be quality and it will be worth the money they
spend on this magazine.
The title for the feature film is right in the centre of
the magazine and is the second largest piece of text
found on this cover. This instantly draws attention
to it and informs the audience of what this film is
about. The font for this title is bold and prominent
and is capitalised – this assists with drawing
attention to this title and the colour choice for this
title means that it relates back to the colour palette
of the overall magazine cover (e.g. – oranges,
browns and reds).
Just above the title of this film is the word
‘EXCLUSIVE’ suggesting tot eh audience that
everything featured in this issue relating to this
movie will be unavailable anywhere else – this
pushes the audience to buy the magazine to buy
the magazine, otherwise they may feel like they
have missed out if they don’t buy it.
At the bottom right hand corner of this magazine
cover is the barcode and price of this issue. This is
placed just out of view and the font is also very
small so that the pricing is discreet and so that it is
one of the last things the reader will notice on the
cover.
The masthead of this magazine is largest text on
this cover in order to catch the reader’s attention
when thy first pick up the magazine. The font is
prominent and bold which sets itself from the rest
of the font on the magazine which also helps the
audience to notice it a lot more quickly. The type of
the font used for this masthead is suitable for the
theme of this magazine as the ‘rusting effect’ seen
at the top of the font relates to the metal arm seen
on the woman in the main image – this allows the
audience to make the link between the two and
the dedication of this magazine to promoting this
film. The main image overlaps the masthead to
give a 3D effect to the magazine and to make the
image seem more prominent from the audience’s
perspective.
Located on the side of the magazine is an article
featured within this magazine. As it is just above
the title for this feature film it also draws some
attention to it from the audience. Using the
heading ‘ULTIMATE PREVIEW’ makes the audience
feel like they will be missing out on something
spectacular if they don’t buy this magazine, urging
them to actually buy the magazine. The overall
colour scheme for this additional article goes with
the colour scheme found on the rest of the
magazine, making it aesthetically pleasing from the
audience’s point of view.
Right underneath the title are the sell
lines/anchorage text that relate back to what this
movie is actually about. Through this information
the reader’s can get some insight regarding to what
this article may include influencing their decision
into as to whether they want to continue reading
the magazine or not. Due to the fact that these sell
lines have an influential impact on the reader’s
decision, the use of the words like ‘EPIC’, ‘INSANE’
and ‘SPECTACULAR’ are a suitable range of words
which will help justify the reader’s reason into
buying the magazine.

3. The mast head for this magazine cover is
positioned at the top of page, mainly to catch the
reader’s attention as soon as they pick up the
magazine. The colour of the mast head fits the
theme of the cover, which is sci-fi. The main image
can be seen to overlap the mast head, which then
catches the reader’s attention next. By having the
image over the mast head, it almost creates a 3D
effect as if the image is almost coming out of the
paper.
The date and the price of this issue can be seen
between the mast head, but it is shown in tiny text
mainly to not draw as much attention to the price
of the magazine so that reader’s are not put off
buying the magazine.
The main image on this cover shows the main
character of the film. This gives the reader a
glimpse into what they can expect from the film as
well as what they can expect if they carry on
reading. The costume that the character is wearing
and the sci-fi background adds to the theme of the
cover. This once again gives the reader an insight
into the style/genre of the film.
On the left of the main image, a circular puff can be
found. This is mainly done to get the attention
form the reader but not distract them from the
main image. This puff shows the reader what is
inside the issue in a small snippet. The colour used,
matches with the rest of colour palette featured on
the cover, making it aesthetically pleasing to look
at.
The title for this film can be seen to be the next
largest text featured on this magazine cover. It has
the same font featured upon the cover that is in
the actual trailer for this film, this keeps a running
theme going to make the links between the trailer
and this cover. The colour and the style of the font
matches the theme of the cover. The colour also
matches the mast head colour to make it
aesthetically pleasing to look at as well as, show
the reader that it is of significance importance to
know the title of the film as much as the mast
head.
Just above the mast head is the tagline which says
‘THE NEW ALIEN! THE NEW RIPLEY!’. This makes
reference to the original Alien series, which makes
the reader realise that if they enjoyed the original
series, they will enjoy this version as well. As well
as this, it sums up the film in a snappy way to
instantly grab the reader’s attention but also give
them some insight into this upcoming film.
There is a tagline which states ‘THE WORLD
EXCLUSIVE EVERYONE WANTED!’. This shows the
reader that the magazine initially listened to what
the readers wanted and gave them what they
wanted. By referencing the reader directly it makes
the reader feel an urge to pick up the issue and
carry on reading. Once again, the colours used
matches the colour palette of the overall magazine
cover, making it pleasing to look at.
The website for this magazine can be found
underneath the mast head in small text, this is so
that the reader can visit online and find more
things to read, articles relating to this cover or
similar articles. This spreads the magazine across
other medias, (other than print), to attract a vast
amount of audiences and to ensure that they are
covering as many as platforms as they can when
advertising this film.
In the bottom right corner of this cover, is a small
section of text which discusses a few films featured
inside this issue. This gives the reader a chance to
see whether or not they want to carry on reading.
Above the section is a ‘+’ rather than the word
‘and’, making it seem more informal and
insignificant compared to the rest of the magazine
– but still relevant. The colours featured in this
section are yellow and white, colours which have
been used throughout the magazine cover –
making it relevant and allowing the reader to make
links to the overall magazine.