A2 Media Coursework

1. Research Into Existing Products: Magazine
Front Cover – Entertainment Weekly

2. Main image – The image used on the front cover of this
edition of Entertainment Weekly takes up the majority of
the page and is consequently used as a tool to lure readers
into purchasing the magazine. As one of the most famous
female actresses of our generation, Jennifer Lawrence is
known to a large range of age and social groups meaning
she would easily be recognised by a large proportion of the
Entertainment Weekly readership. Use of a medium close
up allows the audience to focus on the character and mise-
en-scene such as costume which help the audience to
visualise the character of the film that is being promoted.
For example, Lawrence’s character Katniss is known in the
Hunger Games trilogy to be acquainted with archery and
her mocking jay pin; the inclusion of such iconographic in
this front cover further allows the audience to identify with
the character and relate the props to the film genre. For
those who don’t know the story of The Hunger Games, the
juxtaposition between the out of focus, natural
background with her archery equipment may also suggest
that the film will be one which involves a battle against not
only the natural environment, and also human nature
itself. When considering the editing of the image in post-
production, Lawrence’s face is seen to have a glowing
effect and appears airbrushed to remove blemishes. Whilst
Mulvey’s theory of the Male Gaze can be applied here, the
neutral pose that Lawrence is making connotes strength,
and her costume leaves little skin exposed to suggest the
purpose of this image is not to objectify women, but to
empower them.

3. Minor cover line – This cover line is the smallest in size of all those featured on this
cover of Entertainment Weekly. The purpose it serves is to contextualise the content
of the front cover; as this issue is promoting the first Hunger Games film, people who
haven’t read the books may not know that it was preciously a book trilogy.
Main cover line – The bold, rounded typography of
the main cover line allows it to contrast against the
image. Furthermore, the layering of the black
costume against the white text is eye catching and
entices audiences to read beyond “The Hunger
Games” to the text directly below it. Inclusion of the
adjective “Exclusive” with the exclamation mark is a
very common feature of both film magazines and the
broader spectrum of magazines in general. It further
entices the reader to purchase the magazine due to
the understanding that the magazine has content
that cannot be found elsewhere. Jennifer Lawrence’s
name is also in the same shade of orange as that of
the masthead, whilst it remains the same size as the
other cover lines, it allows it to stand out slightly
more and again allow the audience to identify the
actress. Lastly, the terminology “inside scoop”
conforms to the conventions of film magazine as it
suggests that this magazine will be able to inform the
reader of a detailed account of events from behind
the scenes of this film.

4. Masthead – The masthead is placed behind the main
image to suggest that Entertainment Weekly is an
established brand and the audience will be drawn to
the magazine as a result of its image. Furthermore, the
masthead also takes up a large proportion of the top
section of the magazine cover, suggesting that it is still
of importance in comparison to the rest of the
magazine. In comparison to Empire, the masthead has
considerably more letters meaning it has to fit
comfortably across the entire top section. The colour
that is used for it changes dependent on the cover
feature image and also the cover lines. For this
particular magazine cover, the fact that the orange
coincides with a similar shade to the mocking jay pin
suggests that the two are intrinsically linked and the
purpose of colour here is used to inform the audience
of this.
Date – The date of this issue is the smallest piece of
text of this cover, suggesting it is the least important
piece of information. It does however inform the
audience of how new this issue is, and when they can
expect to see the next issue being released.