codes and conventions of film magazines

1. CODES AND
CONVENTIONS OF FILM
MAGAZINES

2. Most popular film magazine companies
◦ SFX
◦ Sight and Sound
◦ Empire
◦ Total Film
◦ Cinema Scope
◦ Shoot Magazine
◦ Little White Lies
◦ Moviemaker

3. What are the codes and conventions?
◦ Tagline – tends to be bold lettering, sometimes overlapping main image, must be eye catching and informative of the main
stories.
◦ Audience – Sight and Sound – aimed at educated readers who are interested in films, critical analysis of films and who see
films as art.
◦ Sell lines and secondary leads – usually on the side of the cover, almost bordering the main image, also informs the reader
of a brief summary of contents.
◦ Masthead – usually the name of the magazine and located in top centre of cover and is bold and large text and font fits the
theme. On more favourited magazines, sometimes the cover image may partially cover the masthead, but due to its
popularity, audiences are still aware of what the magazine is.
◦ Cover Image – often more than one featured image so front image has to be bold and striking to grab the target
demographic’s attention. This image essentially will be the one that ‘sells’ the film and the magazine to the audience, so
that they want to read more about the film. Usually a character pictured using direct mode of address, which is always
effective with audiences to grab their interest.
◦ The rule of thirds is also usually used a lot on magazines to ensure that the cover appears balanced.

4. IMAGE : Front cover images are usually an image of the main character of the film that they’re advertising and mainly
always a close up or a mid-shot. As seen above, most characters are pictured using direct address, as if they’re looking
at their audience, where the producers of the magazine are aiming for the audience to feel more connected and
attracted to the film being advertised as it is almost as if they are being included and are part of the film themselves.
The image is always in relation to the genre and mood of the film but also has to be in keeping with the magazine and
the style of it.

5. TITLE/MASTHEAD : The title is always at the top of the page. The typography used here is bold and striking, reinforcing
Empire’s brand identity as they want it to be one of the first things that audiences see. Empire magazine mainly
advertise action related movies and so the colour red that they use for most titles is very in keeping with the mood and
theme. This attracts the audience to the magazine itself, allowing the advertisement to have a positive effect and be
successful. The word ‘Empire’ also connotes a sense of importance, which also adds to the positive branding of the
films that they advertise.

6. LANGUAGE : The use of the words ‘essential’ and ‘first look’ create a sense of exclusivity for the audience when looking
at the front cover. This will therefore encourage more sales. This language is also attractive to the audience as it creates
a high value/interest to the audience of the media you are targeting. These words are also known as ‘buzz words’,
meaning they attract and excitement and attention to them when seen by the audience.

7. BARCODES: Barcodes are almost always located in an ‘out of the way’ area of the cover, vertical and usually relatively on
the smaller scale. Sometimes it can even be completely removed from the front cover and instead placed on the back
cover of the magazine, if it doesn’t fit the theme or look of the main front cover.

8. What are the codes and conventions?
◦ Tagline – tends to be bold lettering, sometimes overlapping main image, must be eye catching and informative of the main
stories.
◦ Audience – Sight and Sound – aimed at educated readers who are interested in films, critical analysis of films and who see
films as art.
◦ Sell lines and secondary leads – usually on the side of the cover, almost bordering the main image, also informs the reader
of a brief summary of contents.
◦ Masthead – usually the name of the magazine and located in top centre of cover and is bold and large text and font fits the
theme. On more favourited magazines, sometimes the cover image may partially cover the masthead, but due to its
popularity, audiences are still aware of what the magazine is.
◦ Cover Image – often more than one featured image so front image has to be bold and striking to grab the target
demographic’s attention. This image essentially will be the one that ‘sells’ the film and the magazine to the audience, so
that they want to read more about the film. Usually a character pictured using direct mode of address, which is always
effective with audiences to grab their interest.
◦ The rule of thirds is also usually used a lot on magazines to ensure that the cover appears balanced.